[SOLVED] Purchasing an AMD Ryzen 3700x CPU and want to know (in my budget) what would be the best board.

[fr1ghtn1gh]

Hello and thank you for coming,

I want your expert opinions on what sort of motherboard I should be buying.

Current components:
CPU: intel i5 6600k processor
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6gb
Motherboard: GA-Z170-Gaming K3
RAM: HyperX FURY 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) 2133 MHz DDR4

For my budget I will probably go with the AMD Ryzen 3700x processor however that means I need a new Motherboard.

I can spend between £100-£250 for a new motherboard.

Thank you.

 

[Nemesia]

Not only will you need a new motherboard but the DDR4 2133MHz won't cut it for a Ryzen Zen 2 CPU.

If you want a good motherboard and 16GB of DDR4 3600MHz CL16 buy this below. You will even be able to buy a Ryzen 5000 series and put it on that board later if you want.

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£159.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory (£68.39 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £228.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-27 13:22 GMT+0000

 

[punkncat]

It may be confirmation bias on my part, but I would check that Corsair RAM vs the QVL for that mobo. It seems that many of the Ryzen "my computer won't....." posts seem to revolve around Corsair oftentimes. Not knocking the RAM, Corsair makes good stuff.

 

[fr1ghtn1gh]

Not only will you need a new motherboard but the DDR4 2133MHz won't cut it for a Ryzen Zen 2 CPU.

If you want a good motherboard and 16GB of DDR4 3600MHz CL16 buy this below. You will even be able to buy a Ryzen 5000 series and put it on that board later if you want.

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£159.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory (£68.39 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £228.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-27 13:22 GMT+0000

Thanks for the insight Nemesia I will have to buy RAM as well then. Thanks for the list of things to have a look at / buy. Will definitely check them out.

It may be confirmation bias on my part, but I would check that Corsair RAM vs the QVL for that mobo. It seems that many of the Ryzen "my computer won't....." posts seem to revolve around Corsair oftentimes. Not knocking the RAM, Corsair makes good stuff.

Thats quite interesting, I'll have to have a read about that as well and make a decision based on that too! Thank you!

 

[punkncat]

Thats quite interesting, I'll have to have a read about that as well and make a decision based on that too! Thank you!

I am personally using Corsair sticks in my 1st gen build and it does fine, even OC to 3200 without issue. It's a very popular brand of known good quality product for price point. Thus why I mention confirmation bias....I see it a lot and there may or may not be a real connection to it. Just the same it never hurts to check motherboard recommends.

 

[Math Geek]

i have the b450 GB aorus pro with my 3700x and have no issues with it. bit cheaper as you don't really need an over-engineered board for the 65w cpu. i have to fire up a torture test to get it to use 90w. average is about ~75w in a game. features are what should drive your decision here.

make sure whatever you get has enough usb ports, headers, fan headers, m.2 slots and so on. if it does not have what you need, then its not worth any price!!

 

[damric]

I am personally using Corsair sticks in my 1st gen build and it does fine, even OC to 3200 without issue. It's a very popular brand of known good quality product for price point. Thus why I mention confirmation bias....I see it a lot and there may or may not be a real connection to it. Just the same it never hurts to check motherboard recommends.

It's actually true. The X.M.P. profiles on Corsair RAM VERY OFTEN cause blunders with Ryzen builds. Usually it's Vengeance or Dominators you're reading about failing, with timing tables that are good enough for Intel IMC but too tight for AMD.

 

[Nemesia]

I have built dozens of Ryzen Zen+ and Zen 2 systems with Corsair Vengeance LPX at 3200MHz and they all worked with the XMP profile.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=corsair+vengeance+lpx&crid=3DYCT5F8A86DA&sprefix=corsair+ve,aps,171&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

This is literally the most sold RAM Kit on Amazon. ~ 61000 Kit were sold as LPX.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thanks for the insight Nemesia I will have to buy RAM as well then. Thanks for the list of things to have a look at / buy. Will definitely check them out.
....

To be clear since you seem to be working on a budget....

That DDR4-2133 memory will almost doubtless work well enough with your new motherboard and CPU...at 2133. Maybe even 2400-2666 if you push it with voltage. The issue is to make a 3700X work really well it needs 3200 memory at least while 3600 is preferred. But if you want to make that part of a 'Phase II' upgrade it's perfectly OK, especially if doing it now would force you into a lesser motherboard.

 

[GarrettL]

I’ve had no issue with Corsair Vengeance on my Ryzen with XMP.