Question Ryzen 5 3600 - Boards Ready Out of the Box

[THRobinson]

So... started off looking for a cheap used PC for my niece, and now thinking upgrade mine and donate her my old parts.

From another thread, I was convinced to try AMD over Intel. Read some good things about that Ryzen 5 3600. My current CPU is a Xenon e3-1231v3 3.4Ghz, which is about 5yrs old. Runs great but hey... she gets a PC and I get an upgrade, win/win. 😀

I was thinking i7-9700k but, the Ryzen saves me about $425CAD overall.

I really only research computer parts when I need to, and never followed what AMD was doing so right now scratching my head over motherboards.

Is there a performance difference between a B450 and a X470 and X570? I know there are different features but most sound like stuff I'd never use.

I have a single SSD 2.5" drive, single 3.5" HDD, DVD Burner that I haven't touched in over a year, a GTX1060 6GB video card and a couple of case fans. My case will hold a full sized ATX as well.

Would a B450 run this stuff and a 3600 just as fast as a X570? Same hardware on both boards, no overclocking, would be probably the same correct? I'd just be losing options I don't use like SLI, M.2 slots, etc....?

Other issue I'm having is finding boards that are pre-flashed to work with 3rd Gen Ryzen. Some say 3rd gen ready, or capable... few reviews say if you don't have an old Ryzen CPU to boot with to flash the Bios you're outta luck, and I seen a few where after the BIOS flash they have post issues with the new Ryzen (matisse) CPUs so, compatible but flakey.

Hoping someone can help clear up if I get any performance perks with my setup between B450 and X570... and, if anyone can recommend a motherboard that works with Ryzen (matisse) out of the box.

I'm looking at
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/LY3Bgw

Plus what's in my signature.

I'd rather ASUS, but, can't confirm if a few of them will work right away, and I'd like 2-3 onboard fan plugs, as well as 6 USB ports on the back, not USB-C.

Thanks

 

[rgd1101]

400 series "max" already have bios update to at least boot with 3000 series. then update to the latest
so the one you pick would work.

 

[Obakasama]

As you mention in terms of the motherboard chipset it's a difference of features, much like Intel's equivalents. The main difference with the X570 is PCIe 4.0, and a chipset which needs to be cooled.

There was an old review of, I think it was an H110 MSI motherboard on Tom's here which showed it outperformed some higher chipset motherboards by margin of error amounts. Could be possible there are slight differences, though I suspect that's more to do with motherboard design than something inherent to the chipset.

As rgd1101, and you've also chosen in your link, mentions the MSI Max motherboards are supposed to be compatible with the Ryzen 3000 series out of the box. As are the X570 motherboards (for completion's sake).

 

[DMAN999]

The CPU, MB and RAM you chose will all work well for you out of the box.
That motherboard is pretty basic though so I'd personally look into getting a slightly better board like the MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX.

 

[THRobinson]

@DMAN999 ... what does 'Basic' mean anyways for boards?

From what I can see, the Tomahawk has I guess 2 more SATA ports, an extra RGB LED controller which honestly, I disable all LEDs right away. Power and HDD light is all I need. Is there anything on it that's better in terms of surge protection? cooling? etc?

I was looking at the ASUS boards, I've been using ASUS for 20yrs without issues. But, for example, the TUF board seemed to be a lot of plastic guards and reinforced slots and headers etc... my case sits next to the desk and doesn't get moved around. So paying extra for those features would be a waste. The Asus Prime B450-Plus was $10 more than the MSI board and looked good.

I'm also open to a Micro-ATX... since I don't need more than 1 slot for the video card. But again, min. of 2 headers and need 6 full sized USB ports on the rear.

(keyboard/mouse/scanner/printer/wacom tablet/battery backup)

Asus PRIME B450M-A/CSM Micro ATX for example, is $80CAD for $125CAD for the ATX version.

I like to futureproof, but I haven't needed extra PCI slots for anything in a long long time.

 

[THRobinson]

I think I'm down to 2 boards...

1. Asus PRIME B450M-A/CSM Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard - $80CAD
2. MSI B450-A PRO MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard - $114CAD

Were a few cheaper MSI's in the mATX format, but went from having 3 case-fan headers down to 1.

Asus looks good and $34 cheaper... but as mentioned, the MSI should work out of the box and if not can be flashed at least.

Leaning towards MSI... plus ATX vs mATX. Always felt like have everything spread out a bit more would be easier to cool. The only concern I have would be a few reviews complaining about slow post on the MSI. One said takes 16sec to post with an M.2 drive. I have an SSD drive and a 5yrs old system and only takes 11sec... not a big dif but seems odd to be slower than what I have.

 

[DMAN999]

By basic I just meant that it has lower tier components like sound, ethernet, etc. as is stated in the links I posted.
And I couldn't find any info on the VRMs.
But as long as you are happy with that, and it meets all Your needs, then by all means go with it.
I am sure it will work just fine for you with a Ryzen 5 3600.

And I personally like ATX boards better myself just because they are easier to work with due you be larger.

Here are a few charts that will help you see what components and quality the different motherboards you are considering are:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...IVNyMatydkpFA/htmlview?sle=true#gid=639584818

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wmsTYK9Z3-jUX5LGRoFnsZYZiW1pfiDZnKCjaXyzd1o/edit#gid=2112472504

 

[THRobinson]

@DMAN999 so, what does the Tomahawk have over pro max?

When looking at side by side comparisons, both seem to have the same Ethernet and sound. VRM I don't know which has what for that.

I have a few price watches set.... Probably will pull the trigger nearer boxing day for sales, after I'm done Xmas shopping and getting the tie rod fixed on my truck (grrr). I like what I have picked out, but of course if something has better audio or Ethernet for about the same price, I'd switch models.

Or brands. I kinda went from Asus to MSI, and never gave ASRock or Gigabyte a second glance.

Motherboard - The world leader in motherboard design | MSI Global

www.msi.com

 

[DMAN999]

It seems you are correct.
For some reason I was thinking that the MSI Tomahawk Max had better Audio and LAN (like my Asus ROG Strix B450-F), but apparently I was mistaken.
As far as the VRMs go I do know that the Tomahawk Max has pretty good VRMs but I couldn't find any info on the VRMs used on the MSI B450-A PRO MAX.

 

[THRobinson]

I guess another case of paying for a fancier name, splash of colour... 😀

Again, I'm lucky it's a basic system, once I get it I flash the BIOS, set it up and never touch the hardware/BIOS again. On a new build for the first few days I run a bunch of benchmarks, mem tests, stress tests, etc... make sure all is stable and compatible. If it passes I'm happy.

Futureproof wise... in another 2yrs I may upgrade my video card. I doubt I'll add more ram. Far as I can tell 16GB is plenty and barely anything out there exceeds 10GB game wise. Maybe in 2-3yrs hop on eBay and buy a used Ryzen 7 or 9 cheap.