[SOLVED] Should I upgrade my motherboard when changing to AMD Ryzen 9 5950X?

Dec 16, 2021
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Hello!

Today I have a AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT CPU running on my ASUS ROG STRIX B-450F Gaming motherboard.

I managed to snag a good deal on a brand new Ryzen 9 5950X ($600) and I’m wondering if I should upgrade my motherboard at the same time? Will I have any performance boost in doing so? I read that the VRM on this motherboard may run hot. Could this damage the CPU?

I can get a Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 for $70 (yes $70) or an ASUS Prime X570-P for $170.

Current specs below:
  • MB: ASUS Rog Strix B450-F Gaming
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT
  • Cooler: NZXT Kraken X63 AIO Liquid Cooling
  • RAM: Kingston 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz C16
  • GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3070 8GB GAMING OC
  • SSD: WD Blue 3D M.2 512 GB
  • PSU: 550W Fractal Design Integra (80 Plus Bronze)
Thank you very much in advance
 
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Solution
I would use your current motherboard first and see how you do.
If a change seems necessary, you can do that later.

I think your psu is inadequate for the 3070 you have.
Your particular unit is a factory overclocked version that needs added power.
It requires an extra 6 pin connector over the usual single pin.
It is the graphics card that mostly determines the psu wattage you need.
Here is a handy chart which shows what psu requirements are for various graphics cards:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
Then, also, the 3000 series cards can have some power spikes that the psu needs to handle.

I think you should be looking at a 750w/850w unit.
The price differential is usually minor.
A psu will only consume...

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Make and model of your PSU and it's age? FYI, you will need to invest in a 650W reliably built unit if you want to continue running an RTX 3070...at this moment of time, you're underpowered by 50W on the PSU's end. I'd also ask you to check and see what your current BIOS version for the motherboard is. The processor is supported on your (current)motherboard but you will likely need a BIOS update if you're not on the latest. If you have a number of BIOS updates pending, I'd advise on gradually updating to the latest version as opposed to jumping to the latest version.
 
Dec 16, 2021
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Make and model of your PSU and it's age? FYI, you will need to invest in a 650W reliably built unit if you want to continue running an RTX 3070...at this moment of time, you're underpowered by 50W on the PSU's end. I'd also ask you to check and see what your current BIOS version for the motherboard is. The processor is supported on your (current)motherboard but you will likely need a BIOS update if you're not on the latest. If you have a number of BIOS updates pending, I'd advise on gradually updating to the latest version as opposed to jumping to the latest version.

Thank you for your response!

My PSU is a 550W Fractal Design Integra (80 Plus Bronze). About 2 years old. I've now updated the original post with more detailed specs. Will look for a good deal on a better PSU.

I have reset CMOS and upgraded to latest BIOS when I upgraded my RAM a few weeks back. Now running Version 4602.
 

natcha12

Honorable
Sep 1, 2015
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Yeah you can't always "just" upgrade and drop in 1 thing at a time. What you can do is put one of those wall socket voltmeters on your pc power lead, run some cpu/gpu burners to get the max power draw and add 10%. if your psu has barely any spare capacity, you would need a new psu yes.
 

Vic 40

Titan
Ambassador
The B550 chipset supports pciex4 speeds. Think you'll be fine with the motherboard that you have. As said make sure the bios is up to date for that new cpu.

I actually found a Gigabyte Aorus 850W Gold PSU for $75 which seems to be a good price. Lots of New Year sales 😄
Think for that kind of money it's a good deal. Make sure it's really the Aeorus,

Gigabyte AORUS GP-AP850GM
 
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natcha12

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Sep 1, 2015
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perfect! i did some research and found that your PSU supports Ryzen 9 with NO issue at all

i think you will be good with what you have :)

Good luck!

There is no such thing as a PSU supporting a cpu, its a power supply?

Your 5950x takes up to 140w, the 3070 around 270, then +15% for some overhead and efficiency loss brings just your cpu and gpu to 490/550 watts.

That is a pretty extreme case, but personally i wouldn't let that slide with that little left. But each to their own
 
I would use your current motherboard first and see how you do.
If a change seems necessary, you can do that later.

I think your psu is inadequate for the 3070 you have.
Your particular unit is a factory overclocked version that needs added power.
It requires an extra 6 pin connector over the usual single pin.
It is the graphics card that mostly determines the psu wattage you need.
Here is a handy chart which shows what psu requirements are for various graphics cards:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
Then, also, the 3000 series cards can have some power spikes that the psu needs to handle.

I think you should be looking at a 750w/850w unit.
The price differential is usually minor.
A psu will only consume thee power demanded of it, regardless of the max capability.
One way to determine quality is to look for a 7 to 10 year warranty.
A place to start would be the Seasonic Focus series or the Corsair rm.
 
Solution

natcha12

Honorable
Sep 1, 2015
368
10
10,865
I would use your current motherboard first and see how you do.
If a change seems necessary, you can do that later.

I think your psu is inadequate for the 3070 you have.
Your particular unit is a factory overclocked version that needs added power.
It requires an extra 6 pin connector over the usual single pin.
It is the graphics card that mostly determines the psu wattage you need.
Here is a handy chart which shows what psu requirements are for various graphics cards:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
Then, also, the 3000 series cards can have some power spikes that the psu needs to handle.

I think you should be looking at a 750w/850w unit.
The price differential is usually minor.
A psu will only consume thee power demanded of it, regardless of the max capability.
One way to determine quality is to look for a 7 to 10 year warranty.
A place to start would be the Seasonic Focus series or the Corsair rm.

Precisely. These wattage calculators always er on the side of caution. so they will come out a bit extreme with power usage. But even so, you WANT the extra breathing room they tell you to get.
Using 90% of you psu rating on ONLY the gpu and cpu you are looking at getting will not be pretty. Do you know what happens when you have GTAV, 100fps, in 4k with an overloaded powerspike? Best case is your pc turns off for a minute, worst case is your psu turns off forever. It's just not worth it bud, trust us.

With your current 3600XT, it uses around 30% less power, so without ssd/hdd/led's/mouse/keyboard/external drives etc, you are hanging around at i estimate your PSU 80% mark, leaving 100w for power spikes, accessories, or overclocking if you dare.

TLDR:
You can get the new mobo and CPU if you want, but 0 overclocking and even a throttled cpu/gpu would be required, which defeats the point of an upgrade. It's not as fancy or good looking, but please get a more powerful psu ;)
 
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Yes upgrade to the latest of your bios version.

Plus upgrading the mobo will increase performance

The cost to upgrade motherboard is NOT worth the performance gain you might get from doing it. This is not good advice at this stage. You shouldn't really advise that people spend money until it's absolutely necessary to do so, especially with hardware prices like they are.

OP, make sure your board is on the latest BIOS and give it a try. I think you'll find it'll work fine providing no heavy PBO/OC.
 
Dec 16, 2021
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Thanks for all the replies! I didn’t realise that my PSU was on the limit, as it didn’t cross my mind when I upgraded from a 2060 to 3070 in 2020.

I’ve decided to upgrade the motherboard to a Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 and PSU to a Gigabyte Aorus 850W Gold PSU. I managed to get an additional 10% off, so it totals to $130 for both.

As this motherboard supports PCIe 4.0 I will also look for an upgraded M.2 NVMe. The WD SN850 1TB looks pretty good, price is around $130 for the time being. I could then use my current WD Blue 3D 512 GB as a second disk.

Though this upgrade became larger than originally intended, I believe this will future-proof my computer for at least a couple of years until DDR5 and such is more affordable and widespread.

Plus, it’s the first time I’ll have a top of the line CPU which I’m particularly excited about.

Thanks again for the useful insights and advice.
 

Vic 40

Titan
Ambassador
Not to be a downer, but think spending on that motherboard is not a good investment, might have gotten it cheap, but vrm temps will likely not be better with a 5950X and only for pciex4 is it imo a waste of money. In day to day use will you not "feel" or notice the difference, maybe for professional work. I admit your current motherboard might struggle with this cpu although good airflow will be of help, but depends on the case you have and amount of fans and think that the Gigabyte board won't do any better.

Would rather get something like this which is on sale,
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZPDkcf/asrock-b550-pg-velocita-atx-am4-motherboard-b550-pg-velocita
you talk dollars so expect you are US based. Is more expensive but likely good to handle the 5950X.
 
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