Upgrading to Ryzen - need advice (model, motherboard and chipset, RAM...)

[dakrazeedude]

Hello,
I've been looking to upgrade my Core i5-4670K to one of the new Ryzen CPUs, but I've a few questions holding me back. I'd love to hear your advice about the following:

1.I've a budget to go anywhere between the Ryzen 5 1500x to the Ryzen 7 1700x, but I'm not sure which one to get. The general purpose is a CPU to last at least about 4-5 years, yet I'm not sure which one is enough. I'm mostly unsure about the balance between higher clock speed and less cores or lower clock speed and more cores.

2.My current chassis fits only (up to) mATX motherboards, and I'm not looking to replace it, which leaves me with only the B350 chipset. Should I decide to go with a 1700x - will it make sense to use it with a B350 motherboard? I'm hoping to overclock towards 4.0Ghz, though I won't lose sleep over 3.9... (note: I'll probably upgrade in about a month, in case there are any mATX x370 boards about to be released...)

3.From what I've read online, RAM speeds make a big difference. Which speed should I go for, and where can I find a list of compatible kits?

4.Slightly less relevant. My current headset uses an SPDIF output, which all motherboards I've found lack. Is there any solution that will still let me use it? (adding a port, somehow...)

I'm planning on using the PC for gaming, some rendering and some virtualization.

Thank you in advance!

My current PC:
CPU: Core i5 4670K @4.3Ghz
Motherboard: Asus Maximus vi Gene
GPU: MSI R9 390
PSU: Seasonic SSP-550RT 550w
RAM: Corsair XMS3 @1600Mhz (2x4)
Cooling: Coolermaster Seidon 240v CLC

 

[Seanie280672]

Hello,
I've been looking to upgrade my Core i5-4670K to one of the new Ryzen CPUs, but I've a few questions holding me back. I'd love to hear your advice about the following:

1.I've a budget to go anywhere between the Ryzen 5 1500x to the Ryzen 7 1700x, but I'm not sure which one to get. The general purpose is a CPU to last at least about 4-5 years, yet I'm not sure which one is enough. I'm mostly unsure about the balance between higher clock speed and less cores or lower clock speed and more cores.

2.My current chassis fits only (up to) mATX motherboards, and I'm not looking to replace it, which leaves me with only the B350 chipset. Should I decide to go with a 1700x - will it make sense to use it with a B350 motherboard? I'm hoping to overclock towards 4.0Ghz, though I won't lose sleep over 3.9... (note: I'll probably upgrade in about a month, in case there are any mATX x370 boards about to be released...)

3.From what I've read online, RAM speeds make a big difference. Which speed should I go for, and where can I find a list of compatible kits?

4.Slightly less relevant. My current headset uses an SPDIF output, which all motherboards I've found lack. Is there any solution that will still let me use it? (adding a port, somehow...)

I'm planning on using the PC for gaming, some rendering and some virtualization.

Thank you in advance!

My current PC:
CPU: Core i5 4670K @4.3Ghz
Motherboard: Asus Maximus vi Gene
GPU: MSI R9 390
PSU: Seasonic SSP-550RT 550w
RAM: Corsair XMS3 @1600Mhz (2x4)
Cooling: Coolermaster Seidon 240v CLC

All / most RyZen CPU's overclock to 4ghz or there abouts, so doesnt matter if you go for a 1700/1600/1500x, etc, its just a 1700 that didnt make the cut, so had 2 of its cores switched off, the X versions come with a feature called XFR which only boosts 2 of the cores to a higher frequency, not all of the cores, thats what you're paying the extra for, and thats dependant on your cooling solution.
Therefore save some money, if you choose to go down the R7 Route, get a 1700 and overclock it easily to 1700X speeds and beyond, mine does 3.9ghz.

As for B350 mATX boards, my suggestion would have to be the MSI B350m Mortar, Ive had the Gigabyte AB350m Gaming 3, what a load of (insert your own language here), worst bios in the world and next to no bios updates, and ive had the ASUS B350m Prime, no heatsinks on the VRMs, even say overclock to it and it breaks out in a sweat, but great bios, I had my best luck on an MSI B350m Mortar, great bios, and heatsinks, re-enforced PCI-e slot, and has a SPDIF output.

Finally, 3200mhz used to be the sweet spot, but from what ive read, after the next AGESA bios update in a week or 2, looks like 3600mhz is going to be the new sweet spot, you will find most 3600mhz kits are the famous Samsung B Die chips too, especially where G.Skill are concerned, providing you go for low cas latency kits.

 

[Supahos]

If you don't get at least a 1600 I wouldn't call it an upgrade at all.

B350/x370 seems SLI is the only major difference honestly.

Any gskill flare kit should work, or gskill tridents that are 3000mhz or faster should work at 2993 or faster.

Unsure on the headset as I have no experience with it in particular

 

[Seanie280672]

+1 for the only difference between X370 and B350 is Sli Support, i'll never waste my money on another X370 board again.

also, X300 Mini ITX boards are on there way very soon, Biostar have one out now, and Gigabyte and ASRock have announced theirs.

 

[dakrazeedude]

Thank you for your fast, helpful answers!
I've actually been looking between those particular B350 boards, so it's great you weighted in on that!
I also failed to notice the SPDIF port, which again is nice to know.

As for the CPUs - I'm mainly looking towards the X versions for better binning (hoping to reach the same frequency at a lower voltage...) I'm not sure if the difference is worth it, though...

And finally, for the RAM kits, it's good to know selection isn't as narrow as it was during launch. I've heard lots of kits have compatibility issues...
So, to sum things up - is it worth going for the X CPUs (either 1600 or 1700, still unsure) for better binning?

 

[Supahos]

1700x makes some sense. I don't like the idea of the 1600x personally it a good bit more and every 1600 reviews I've seen got at least 3.9ghz

 

[Ditt44]

1600x with a faster base speed, but 1600 if budget is an issue and you're not afraid to push the OC. I got my 1600x to 3.95 at stock voltage. I think I got lucky with the CPU quality. G. Skill Trident or Flare-X at 3200... maybe you can push it towards 4000 in a few weeks.

I went with an x370 Taichi. In the B-class... I'm partial to the mortar but it's MSI and there are still mixed results there. I would therefore nudge you toward the ASRock AB350M Pro4, based on my excellent experience so far with the Taichi. Historically, I'm an ASUS motherboard buyer/builder but very pleased with my choice this time around.

 

[Supahos]

As of today Asrock is iffy with memory on their b350 boards the tachi is top notch maybe the new update from AMD that came out a few days ago will help but I wouldn't buy an Asrock b350 board today

 

[dakrazeedude]

Thanks for the answers!
Seems I'll be going down the 1700X and MSI Mortar route, as I've gotten good prices on both.
I think I'll be getting 3200Mhz memory as it seems like a sensible compromise.
It's great to know I won't be missing much with X370.
Thank you all for your help! I've selected the most comprehensive answer as best but you've all helped me greatly.