Question Recommended b550m mATX for 5900x?

[ketrab]

Hi,

Moving from Asrock b450m (aiming for gen4 build) and upgrading to 5900x. (from 3600) Was wondering if you guys have any recommendation on the mATX mobo?

Not interested in any fancy RGBs and won't be overclocking.

I was originally interested in GIGABYTE B550M DS3H AC but noticed its 8 phase and I'm not sure if its enough for this CPU?!

My next pick is ASRock B550M Steel Legend which comes with 10 phase (RGB as well but don't care) and its only $30 more vs DS3H.

Any other recommendations? Thank you in advance!

 

[Lutfij]

What sort of a budget do you have at your motherboard purchase's disposal? I'd look into something from Gigabyte's Aorus range of boards or MSI's higher end boards(not the Pro's). Out of curiosity, what case are you working with?

 

[ketrab]

What sort of a budget do you have at your motherboard purchase's disposal? I'd look into something from Gigabyte's Aorus range of boards or MSI's higher end boards(not the Pro's). Out of curiosity, what case are you working with?

Probably around $150 top for the mobo. Again not interested in fancy marketing BS but want solid board - The Aorus Elite ($150 is the same board as DS3H meaning 8 phase so not impressed). mATX is my goal and no aio - keeping my noctua. For the case I was looking at either Deepcool Matrexx 40 or Fractal Pop Air Mini - Currenlty running 10 year old ATX NZXT H2 and its time for it. Thanks again for your reply!

 

[drea.drechsler]

Probably around $150 top for the mobo. Again not interested in fancy marketing BS but want solid board - The Aorus Elite ($150 is the same board as DS3H meaning 8 phase so not impressed). mATX is my goal and no aio - keeping my noctua. For the case I was looking at either Deepcool Matrexx 40 or Fractal Pop Air Mini - Currenlty running 10 year old ATX NZXT H2 and its time for it. Thanks again for your reply!

That "8 phase" is actually 5+3 phase; the 3 phases are for the SOC VRM which is very lightly loaded with a Ryzen CPU.

If you can find one cheap enough...MSI B550m Mortar, non-WiFi (10+2) or Asus TUF B550m Gaming Plus (8+2) or Gigabyte B550m Aorus Pro AX (10+2) would be very good choices. They all have VRM's with very good power handling capabilities.

A decent resource for AM4, B550 motherboard VRM specifications:

VRM on the new AM4 motherboards

AM4 Motherboard VRM list: X570 ----- ASUS: ROG CROSSHAIR VIII EXTREME 20-phase[18+2] | 90A?, PWM: ??(?-phase), 10K caps, passive PCH heatsink ROG CROSSHAIR VIII DARK HERO 16-phase[14+2]*' | Texas Instruments X95410RR 90A, PWM: ASP1405I(8-phase), 10K caps, passive PCH heatsink ROG CROSSHAIR VIII...

www.overclock.net

But be advised, mATX boards don't seem to be very popular so they're hard to find and when you do they're priced at a premium. You're also highly likely to get RGB features whether you like them or not since bling helps make stupid high prices seem less irritating. Kind of like car buying: you may not care for leather upholstery but you have to get it if you want the infotainment center.

 

[ketrab]

That "8 phase" is actually 5+3 phase; the 3 phases are for the SOC VRM which is very lightly loaded with a Ryzen CPU.

If you can find one cheap enough...MSI B550m Mortar, non-WiFi (10+2) or Asus TUF B550m Gaming Plus (8+2) or Gigabyte B550m Aorus Pro AX (10+2) would be very good choices. They all have VRM's with very good power handling capabilities.

A decent resource for AM4, B550 motherboard VRM specifications:

VRM on the new AM4 motherboards

AM4 Motherboard VRM list: X570 ----- ASUS: ROG CROSSHAIR VIII EXTREME 20-phase[18+2] | 90A?, PWM: ??(?-phase), 10K caps, passive PCH heatsink ROG CROSSHAIR VIII DARK HERO 16-phase[14+2]*' | Texas Instruments X95410RR 90A, PWM: ASP1405I(8-phase), 10K caps, passive PCH heatsink ROG CROSSHAIR VIII...

www.overclock.net

But be advised, mATX boards don't seem to be very popular so they're hard to find and when you do they're priced at a premium. You're also highly likely to get RGB features whether you like them or not since bling helps make stupid high prices seem less irritating. Kind of like car buying: you may not care for leather upholstery but you have to get it if you want the infotainment center.

Thank you for the feedback. Seems like mortar and aorta is not available. I see TUF for $150. Now if you would have to decide between TUF and Legend? Both are 8+2 what would be better option?! Only $10 difference..

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thank you for the feedback. Seems like mortar and aorta is not available. I see TUF for $150. Now if you would have to decide between TUF and Legend? Both are 8+2 what would be better option?! Only $10 difference..

Both boards use DrMOS vs. discrete FET's so that's good. I think I'd pick the Steel Legend...and I happen to have a B550m TUF gaming Plus

Reasons being: first, I have a beef with Asus in that the board BIOS will instruct Windows to download and install their system control software so you have to disable a setting in BIOS to prevent it. Also it's not a true 8 phase VRM, it has 8 discrete current paths on 4 true phases. So it has very good power handling but somewhat lesser voltage stability at extremes. That's not really a problem though unless trying to all-core overclock with fixed, extreme low voltage (not recommended with Ryzen 5000). And lastly, the VRM lacks any temperature monitoring which, while annoying on an up-market mATX board, hasn't been a problem for me with a 5800X. I have to use an IR thermometer to check temps though.

The Steel Legend has a properly doubled 8 phase Vcore VRM so better voltage control, although not as good as one running on an 8 channel controller. The only real negative is it's an Asrock and I'm not a fan of their BIOS's. Still, there are a lot of happy users so that's why I'd pick one if shopping...just pay close attention to release notes when updating their BIOS.

 

[DSzymborski]

Some may consider this blasphemy, but since you're not planning on really pushing the 5900X particularly hard, have you considered simply updating your BIOS and seeing how the 5900X works for you in your current motherboard?

 

[ketrab]

Some may consider this blasphemy, but since you're not planning on really pushing the 5900X particularly hard, have you considered simply updating your BIOS and seeing how the 5900X works for you in your current motherboard?

450m does not support gen4 and it’s what I’m trying to achieve.

 

[drea.drechsler]

450m does not support gen4 and it’s what I’m trying to achieve.

Please do temper expectations on the benefit from PCIe gen 4. Whether for a GPU or for an NVME drive.

Even if hard over for gen 4 I'd suggest the same: before getting a new motherboard, update the BIOS on your current and try the new processor. Make a good "seat of pants" assessment of system performance doing the things you normally do. Then go through the effort of moving everything over and clean-installing Windows on the new motherboard and make the "same seat of pants" assessment to see if it really matters all that much.

BM's for the NVME do look impressive, but that sequential transfer bandwidth just doesn't matter in Windows use that's almost exclusively random access. That's been my experience; and I can't tell the difference with my B550 motherboard and my son's B450 when I moved my RX5700XT to it.

 

[ketrab]

Please do temper expectations on the benefit from PCIe gen 4. Whether for a GPU or for an NVME drive.

Even if hard over for gen 4 I'd suggest the same: before getting a new motherboard, update the BIOS on your current and try the new processor. Make a good "seat of pants" assessment of system performance doing the things you normally do. Then go through the effort of moving everything over and clean-installing Windows on the new motherboard and make the "same seat of pants" assessment to see if it really matters all that much.

BM's for the NVME do look impressive, but that sequential transfer bandwidth just doesn't matter in Windows use that's almost exclusively random access. That's been my experience; and I can't tell the difference with my B550 motherboard and my son's B450 when I moved my RX5700XT to it.

Totally agree. It’s a free upgrade so I said why not. Now , on your TUF the heatsink for gen3 nvme can it be moved to the gen4 m2 slot or no? Not sure why would they put heatsink on gen3 and not gen4…

ps. Not sure if Navi is gen4

 

[DSzymborski]

Note that PCIE 3 vs. PCIE 4 doesn't really matter for GPUs yet. Even on Navi3x's biggest GPU, the 7900 XTX, it doesn't mean much.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJJas4ydg8

If you want to upgrade, by all means upgrade. But make sure you're doing it for the reasons you intend; PCIE 4 isn't going to boost your GPU and it's not going to change your Windows experience in any meaningful way. If you're just getting PCIE 4 just to see it say PCIE 4, that's a formula for disappointment in your purchase long-term, and I'd hate to see that. PCIE 4 basically matters for workstations.

 

[drea.drechsler]

...Now , on your TUF the heatsink for gen3 nvme can it be moved to the gen4 m2 slot or no? Not sure why would they put heatsink on gen3 and not gen4…
...

No it can not; only the TUF ATX board has a heatsink included for the primary M.2 NVME.

Gen 3 drives can get pretty warm too, so they also need one. I got one of the inexpensive NVME heatsinks on Amazon for the primary drive; they work better than the motherboard heat spreader anyway with more fin surface area to transfer heat to the air.

 

[ketrab]

Note that PCIE 3 vs. PCIE 4 doesn't really matter for GPUs yet. Even on Navi3x's biggest GPU, the 7900 XTX, it doesn't mean much.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJJas4ydg8

If you want to upgrade, by all means upgrade. But make sure you're doing it for the reasons you intend; PCIE 4 isn't going to boost your GPU and it's not going to change your Windows experience in any meaningful way. If you're just getting PCIE 4 just to see it say PCIE 4, that's a formula for disappointment in your purchase long-term, and I'd hate to see that. PCIE 4 basically matters for workstations.

Trust me i get your point. I consider this more of a hardware refresh especially since its free - i need to redeem so. I appreciate all of your input. Its good

 

[ketrab]

No it can not; only the TUF ATX board has a heatsink included for the primary M.2 NVME.

Gen 3 drives can get pretty warm too, so they also need one. I got one of the inexpensive NVME heatsinks on Amazon for the primary drive; they work better than the motherboard heat spreader anyway with more fin surface area to transfer heat to the air.

Got you. Still on edge between your mobo and legend.... :/ I appreciate your feedback!