[SOLVED] How far can you "cheap out" on a motherboard?

[Daniel.jenkins]

Basically this stems from wanting the fastest but ugliest gaming computer i can get for 850$ give or take 100$. I dont really care about frills like overclocking or LED's, with motherboards seeming like the worst offender in the "needless frills" category.

So my question is:
Is it possible to pair a kinda high quality RTX 5600x Ryzen CPU (~300$)and a kinda high quality RX 5600 XT graphics card (~300$) with an entry level motherboard like a MSI MAG 550 mortar or an ASRock A 520M ITX/ac? (both ~100$)

I just intend to put in 1 2TB SSD and 2 16GB 3200Mhz ram sticks so this seems like all the motherboard i need.




Links to each product

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT review

AMD's RX 5600 XT shakes up the mid-range market with good performance for under $300.

www.pcgamer.com

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X review

The Ryzen 5 5600X may be the runt of the Zen 3 family, but it delivers where it counts most: gaming.

www.pcgamer.com

MSI MAG B550M Mortar review

MSI fires its first Micro-ATX salvo into the AMD B550 market with the affordable MAG Mortar

www.pcgamer.com

ASRock A520M ITX/ac gaming motherboard review

One for AMD's mini-ITX fans on a mini budget

www.pcgamer.com

 

[General Kenobi]

Basically this stems from wanting the fastest but ugliest gaming computer i can get for 850$ give or take 100$. I dont really care about frills like overclocking or LED's, with motherboards seeming like the worst offender in the "needless frills" category.

So my question is:
Is it possible to pair a kinda high quality RTX 5600x Ryzen CPU (~300$)and a kinda high quality RX 5600 XT graphics card (~300$) with an entry level motherboard like a MSI MAG 550 mortar or an ASRock A 520M ITX/ac? (both ~100$)

I just intend to put in 1 2TB SSD and 2 16GB 3200Mhz ram sticks so this seems like all the motherboard i need.




Links to each product

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT review

AMD's RX 5600 XT shakes up the mid-range market with good performance for under $300.

www.pcgamer.com

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X review

The Ryzen 5 5600X may be the runt of the Zen 3 family, but it delivers where it counts most: gaming.

www.pcgamer.com

MSI MAG B550M Mortar review

MSI fires its first Micro-ATX salvo into the AMD B550 market with the affordable MAG Mortar

www.pcgamer.com

ASRock A520M ITX/ac gaming motherboard review

One for AMD's mini-ITX fans on a mini budget

www.pcgamer.com

Get the MAG Mortar it's a really good Mobo and yes it'll work with those cpu if updated to latest bios.

 

[Daniel.jenkins]

okay, thank you! just wanted to make sure the CPU/GPU wouldnt burn up the motherboard or be limited by it

 

[General Kenobi]

okay, thank you! just wanted to make sure the CPU/GPU wouldnt burn up the motherboard or be limited by it

Overtime by getting a cheap mobo with bad VRM's could decrease the lifespan of your CPU as it might get inconsistent voltages and current. As a general consumer i read in Gamers Nexus article that it shouldn't bother much but i am alot sceptical with Intel processor as they take more power so having a good or descent vrm should be the 'aleast'. And skimming on motherboard should always be avoided if possible.
Also click the 🏆 icon to complete the forum or you could have more opinions if needed in this thread

 

[drea.drechsler]

Basically this stems from wanting the fastest but ugliest gaming computer i can get for 850$ give or take 100$. I dont really care about frills like overclocking or LED's, with motherboards seeming like the worst offender in the "needless frills" category.

So my question is:
Is it possible to pair a kinda high quality RTX 5600x Ryzen CPU (~300$)and a kinda high quality RX 5600 XT graphics card (~300$) with an entry level motherboard like a MSI MAG 550 mortar or an ASRock A 520M ITX/ac? (both ~100$)

I just intend to put in 1 2TB SSD and 2 16GB 3200Mhz ram sticks so this seems like all the motherboard i need.




Links to each product

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT review

AMD's RX 5600 XT shakes up the mid-range market with good performance for under $300.

www.pcgamer.com

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X review

The Ryzen 5 5600X may be the runt of the Zen 3 family, but it delivers where it counts most: gaming.

www.pcgamer.com

MSI MAG B550M Mortar review

MSI fires its first Micro-ATX salvo into the AMD B550 market with the affordable MAG Mortar

www.pcgamer.com

ASRock A520M ITX/ac gaming motherboard review

One for AMD's mini-ITX fans on a mini budget

www.pcgamer.com

The B550m Mortar isn't really 'cheaping out'. It's probably the best mATX AM4 motherboard available with a very potent VRM, 8 phases of 60A Vishay power stages. It's overkill in the extreme for a 5600X. Where are you finding this for only $100?

I'd avoid the A520 board...firstly because it's miniITX and going to have a lot of compromises to fit in that tiny form factor, second because it's A520 with virtually no overclocking.

 

[roberttim]

B550m Mortar is great for the setup you're trying to build but if I would have been at your place, I wouldn't mind spending 40 dollars extra to get B550 Aorus Pro, for it brings WiFi, Bluetooth, and 2.5G Lan right off the shelve. At the end of the day, you'd spend those dollars buying an expansion card. Above and beyond, it has even better VRM to serve the purpose.

Best wishes with your build!