[SOLVED] Motherboard for 3300x & zen3? B550 or budget X570

Zoladex

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Apr 11, 2013
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Hi

Im in the process of upgrading my old i5-3570 to AMDs 3300x (gaming only so dont have the need for a 3600). Im a little puzzled over what to look for in a motherboard.

I believe i have narrowed it down to a B550 which supports Zen3, so i can upgrade CPU at a later date. But they seem pretty pricey compared to my old one, which i think was about £70. I have the budget but i was just surprised and thought i might be missing something. Is this simply because i should be looking at A520 boards, which seem to have been delayed?

Any tips or board suggestions? ATX, or maybe a mATX though i have a wifi card.
I aiming for memory overclocking as it seems to show better fps gains than AMD processor OC's. I saw someone mention a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite, but didn't really know what to look for in it.

Edit: at this price point is it worth considering a budget x570?

Regards,
Zola
 
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Solution
B550's are expensive because they are relatively new.
As for either b550 or budget x570, I'd go with the b550, a budget x570's are low quality while b550 are good quality but just lack extra features.
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-b550-phantom-gaming-4/p/N82E16813157935

The asrock phantom gaming has been well received, check it out and see if the prices and features meet your criteria.

As for atx or matx, this depends on your desire build and case. mATX do lack certain overclocking features but since you're using a 3300X I wouldn't be too worried about that. Those types of boards also go for less too and overall perform just the same. Go ATX however if you do plan to overclock in the future.
B550's are expensive because they are relatively new.
As for either b550 or budget x570, I'd go with the b550, a budget x570's are low quality while b550 are good quality but just lack extra features.
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-b550-phantom-gaming-4/p/N82E16813157935

The asrock phantom gaming has been well received, check it out and see if the prices and features meet your criteria.

As for atx or matx, this depends on your desire build and case. mATX do lack certain overclocking features but since you're using a 3300X I wouldn't be too worried about that. Those types of boards also go for less too and overall perform just the same. Go ATX however if you do plan to overclock in the future.
 
Solution
Unless you have a specific need for a 500 series motherboard why not look at one of the high quality B450’s. The MSI B450 Tomahawk Max often drops to £100 on sale. The B550 Tomahawk has a few more features but is not worth a 50% price hike. The B range should be more value oriented but the B550’s are so darn close to X570 they are demanding a ridiculous price for what are supposed to be average user boards and not enthusiasts boards.