[SOLVED] GIGABYTE AORUS MASTER or ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero

[tusker]

As the title mentions, I can't decide between these two x570 boards: GIGABYTE AORUS MASTER or ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero

So I'm putting together a new build (it's been ~10 years since my last one) and the last piece of the puzzle I'm trying to decide on is the motherboard. My build thus far:

• AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
• Noctua NH-D15
• G.SKILL Trident Z Neo Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200
  • The memory isn't on the QVL for either motherboard, but both motherboards are on the QVL for the memory (on G.SKILLS's website)
• Nvidia 2060 super (from my current rig)
• Corsair Titanium 850 PSU
• I'll be putting in 1x M.2 NVME and a few normal SSDs

I do lots of 2D/3D work (so lots of Adobe and Autodesk stuff) but also some gaming. The likelihood that OC is somewhat low, and I know either motherboard is overkill for me since I don't really plan to push the limits of either.

I've read lots of stuff online of people suggested one or the other, I just haven't been able to decide which to go with. Some people like the BIOS in one or the other, or have anecdotal evidence of why they prefer one brand... and the I/O between them is similar but slightly different (e.g. the Gigabyte has one more M.2 slot, the Asus has more USB ports and 2 more SATA ports). The Gigabyte's VRM is technically better, but I don't know how much that matters in my case?

I'm trying to figure out what to do to tip the scale in favor of one or the other... I've read things in favor of either. I know I'm probably overthinking it, but I'm not sure how else to decide.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Darkbreeze]

QVL is meaningless, always use the G.Skill memory configurator or the Corsair memory finder, when possible. If it's showing on G.Skills compatibility list, then it is fine. They test far more stringently and expansively than the board manufacturer does when it comes to their own kits anyhow.

If you'd seen or been part of the discussions over the last year, that we on the moderation team and in a plethora of user threads, have seen, regarding the seriously and dramatically downward spiral of ASUS customer service both in response and poor outcomes, it probably wouldn't even be a question to you anymore which board is the better choice. ASUS used to have fairly decent customer service in years past, but that ship has, apparently, sailed. Gigabyte isn't what I'd consider at the top of the pack in this regard, in the way of companies like EVGA, Fractal design, Corsair, who have exemplary customer service and support, but they have a fairly decent track record overall and I've never encountered any of the problems I've seen from ASUS like shipping out broken parts as part of the replacement process or refusing to warrant still under warranty components for things that are clearly warrantable problems.

Right now I'd be hard pressed to buy anything from ASUS, regardless that some of their products stack well against the competition, because it doesn't matter how good a product is if you can't get it replaced or supported when there are problems or defects with it.

I happen to think pretty highly of ASRock as well. While I haven't bought AS many boards from them over the years as I have from these others, I've been very pleased with the boards I HAVE bought and the very few occasions I've had to contact them regarding support for something, it was handled easily and to my satisfaction. I've not heard anything to the contrary of that from anybody else either.

 

[tusker]

QVL is meaningless, always use the G.Skill memory configurator or the Corsair memory finder, when possible. If it's showing on G.Skills compatibility list, then it is fine. They test far more stringently and expansively than the board manufacturer does when it comes to their own kits anyhow.

That was my thinking, too, I just thought I'd mention it. In the past, I never stuck hard to what the QVL lists said anyway since they don't test with all configurations.

Right now I'd be hard pressed to buy anything from ASUS

Thanks a ton for your input! This is very helpful. And no, I hadn't been involved in any ASUS discussions.

I actually have the ASRock x58 Extreme right now, but I had lots of issues with it initially, then those issues sort of went away? I don't have anything against any brand, really, I just want quality especially because I have the budget for it. So, that was what led me to those two boards, thinking the brand and models were top tier.

Not to get into a whole spiel, but do you have any suggestions otherwise for an x570 ATX board, or brands to keep in mind? As you mentioned regarding brands, that's the reason I went with EVGA (for my gpu and psu) and Fractal Design (for my case). I was going to get Corsair memory, but the G.SKILL is $100 cheaper and just as good, and my understanding is they're a top brand as well?

Part of the issue is I've been out of the hardware game for what's been basically a decade, so I've had to read and catch up a lot. I read all sorts of things about different x570 boards (and b550), VRM, etc. So I apologize if this is a bit scattered.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You can't really hold issues that occur early on against the board manufacturer. Often, those are not their fault, and are due to inconsistent or non-existent compatibility support or errata that is directly traceable back to the BIOS or microcode supplied by the CPU manufacturer, as well as growing pains on new chipsets. You probably purchased that motherboard early on after the release of x58, and my guess would be that either additional driver support from Microsoft and other hardware manufacturers smoothed out the issues OR you resolved them via BIOS updates at some point.

A good example is the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi which was a trainwreck of a failure at release by all accounts in reviews, but which became a much better, very good in fact, performer after things were addressed in subsequent BIOS updates. In THAT case, it probably WAS Gigabyte's fault because many other boards didn't have the same problems it had, nor did some other Gigabyte boards from the same chipset family, but the fact that they DID fix the issues via BIOS updates is a credit to the company for not simply ignoring the problems they had like some others have done in the recent past. (Cough, ahem, B450-F, cough)

Make no mistake on memory, I DO like Corsair, because they are a company that tends to be one of the very easiest to deal with when any question of component fitness comes into play (Recently they drop shipped me a replacement set of SODIMMs for a 6 year old laptop, no questions asked, from Korea. Had it in like four days. Their dime. I didn't pay a single cent to get it replaced. No shipping. Nothing. That is what I call superior customer service), but I put G.Skill at the top of the list when it comes to quality memory and G.Skill is another company that has very good customer service and they fully stand behind their lifetime warranties on their memory kits. You do well going with G.Skill or Corsair when it comes to memory products, especially if you avoid the budget series that both companies sell and stick to the Ripjaws, Trident Z, Dominator platinum and Vengeance Pro kits.

Being out of the loop happens. Even many of us who are regular contributors here have some lapses or periods of time in the past where we have lapsed a bit when it comes to what's current or cutting edge, or even just recent for that matter, and the best way to get back into the thick of things is to simply

1. Figure out WHERE is a good, reputable, accurate place to get information.

2. Who to get it from there, when specifics are needed or opinions are relevant

3. Start absorbing information again, by reading, and these days, watching video. Youtube of course is a very good place to get easily consumable knowledge but you REALLY need to be aware of who is spot on and who is either just BS or primarily geared towards marketing themselves and the products they are pitching. Steve, at GamersNexus, is somebody you can take practically verbatim in terms of being accurate and having solid opinions on a variety of subjects. We have a couple of highly reputable reviewers here on TH as well, but not all of our current reviewers are what I'd consider accurate, trustworthy or even "enthusiasts" who are knowledgeable for that matter. There are reviewers that are journalists or simply marketing mouthpieces, and reviewers that are enthusiasts, and one is a far better source of information than the other when it comes to getting the meat and poatatoes and not ending up with a soybean substitute. No offense to those who like soy products of course.

If you would like to save a hundred bucks, I'd take a look at the Gigabyte B550 Aorus master. It has the added benefit of NOT having an annoying 40mm chipset fan to have to listen to. Normally that probably isn't a problem but I have heard from a few sources that under high load conditions the frequency of the small chipset fans on X570 are audible, even over some other system fans, and especially on systems where very quiet fans and power supplies, or semi-passive graphics card cooling systems, are in use.

A couple of others I'd look at professional reviews of would be the ASRock Taichi X570 and Taichi B550, the X570 Aorus Pro WiFi and if you want a solid motherboard and really don't require something that is expensive only because it has features that most users will never use, I'd look at the ASRock Extreme4 or Steel legend, both of which are very similar in terms of build quality and performance but are really decent in a no-frills sort of way.

 

[tusker]

snip

Thank you so much for your extensive help and explanation! This is fantastic

 

[Darkbreeze]

Anytime man.