[SOLVED] MSI: B550 A-Pro or wait for MAG Torpedo?

[handtuch]

Well, after deciding to go for 3600 instead 3500x, now's the time for motherboard

Previously i want the people's favorite, b450 Tomahawk Max, however i decided to opt to b550 for upgradeability.
Choosing b550 was pretty hard since almost all of it are more expensive than b450. i found the MSI A-Pro to be quite good for its price (looks good, good M.2 location, good vrm)

but i saw the "launch" for b550 MAG Torpedo last week, no release date nor price yet, but it seems good

the price should be slightly lower than the b550 tomahawk, but i dont know how low, and that's the biggest question
if it's just slightly more than the A pro, i'd rather get it over the a pro

any advice? wait for uncertain mobo or just grab what's available?

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
any advice? wait for uncertain mobo or just grab what's available?

Any of those boards would be a great choice, even the B450 Tomahawk MAX as it's almost certain to get BIOS updates for Zen 3 processors. After all, it was the poster child for shaming AMD into relenting on supporting Zen 3 on B450/X470, so upgradeability shouldn't be an issue there.

What are your concerns? ANY of those boards are going to be overkill VRM-wise for a 3600 processor. Even the B450 Tomahawk MAX will comfortably handle a 3950X. So long as you don't try overclocking. Which is pointless anyway.

 

[handtuch]

Any of those boards would be a great choice, even the B450 Tomahawk MAX as it's almost certain to get BIOS updates for Zen 3 processors. After all, it was the poster child for shaming AMD into relenting on supporting Zen 3 on B450/X470, so upgradeability shouldn't be an issue there.

What are your concerns? ANY of those boards are going to be overkill VRM-wise for a 3600 processor. Even the B450 Tomahawk MAX will comfortably handle a 3950X. So long as you don't try overclocking. Which is pointless anyway.

Yeah i know the tomahawk is b450's darling mobo, but i dont know how the "beta" bios will perform, and i was kinda hoping for the next amd lineup after zen 3 havent change socket yet and will be compatible with b550, i do plan to upgrade cpu in the future so some legroom would be nice

well now that i think about it, i've been going back and forth regarding this topic haha, from one forum to the other..

if i go with tomahawk, i could buy a nvme SSD for extra storage or perhaps higher clocked RAM. if i go with b550, i definitely cannot..., but nvme gen 4 sounds interesting

my god this is confusing

 

[drea.drechsler]

Yeah i know the tomahawk is b450's darling mobo, but i dont know how the "beta" bios will perform, ...

Yeah...being BETA makes it seem a bit scary. From what I can tell all it means is AMD will not fully regression test the AGESA on the platform with Zen 3 processors. Although, the board manufacturers will if they're smart. The same AGESA will, however, be fully tested with Zen 3 processors on B550 so how much that matters is unclear.

This is the same situation we have with Ryzen 3000 on B350 as they also get BETA BIOS's and it's worked out pretty well. Everybody I've known with B350 and a Ryzen 3000 processor have had good results with only the board's design limitations that mess them up. B350 have the worst VRM designs of any boards in the modern era, for instance, so you can't expect much from one in that regard.

 

[handtuch]

Yeah...being BETA makes it seem a bit scary. From what I can tell all it means is AMD will not fully regression test the AGESA on the platform with Zen 3 processors. Although, the board manufacturers will if they're smart. The same AGESA will, however, be fully tested with Zen 3 processors on B550 so how much that matters is unclear.

This is the same situation we have with Ryzen 3000 on B350 as they also get BETA BIOS's and it's worked out pretty well. Everybody I've known with B350 and a Ryzen 3000 processor have had good results with only the board's design limitations that mess them up. B350 have the worst VRM designs of any boards in the modern era, for instance, so you can't expect much from one in that regard.

Hmm ok i guess i'll try to go back to the tomahawk and use the rest for other parts..

altough i gotta check my retailer, it's selling like hotcakes here, if it sold out i'll go to b550