motherboard Which Enthusiast x470 board should I get?

[kaikupen]

I'm putting together a new build at the end of the month. I have decided on going AMD this time around due to compatibility with the upcoming ryzen 3 chips.

 

I have every part but the 2700x and motherboard itself. and for the life of me I can't decide between ASUS, MSI, OR Gigabyte's top tier boards.

I have done extensive reading in reviews for all of them but most store reviews are from angry people who got DOA issues or others who have had them running for less than a day. and expert reviewer sites don't go deep enough into the software and how responsive/reliable it is,

 

THE 3 OPTIONS:

 

1. https://ca.msi.com/Motherboard/X470-GAMING-M7-AC
2. https://www.aorus.com/product-detail.php?p=777&t=53&t2=57&t3=118
3. https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-CROSSHAIR-VII-HERO/

 

My personal criteria is:

•  Hardware/software reliability and quality of the software/BIOS

 

• As for looks I'm fine with all of them though the gigabyte one does look a little over the top XD

 

• RGB implementation and software, as I got the phanteks enthoo evolv x as well as other rgb compatible internal hardware.

 

• The fan control suite is a MAJOR FACTOR as getting a good noise/performance ratio is gonna be key as I'm going ALL NOCTUA in this build

 

• I will be overclocking the cpu, memory, and gpu, but I'm not looking to break records here

 

• Price is no real concern as all of them run around 300 CAD
   

 

 

[ch3w2oy]

I switched the x470 Crosshair VII for my current Gaming 7. I like the looks more. It has more and better placed fan headers, more USB headers (both USB 2.0/3.0), the RGB, IMO, works better and has better presets than Asus and you can set different colors to different parts of the board. They can both overclock about the same, although the Asus does have the advantage with its precision boost overdrive which allows your CPU to boost higher and retain higher cock speeds for longer periods. I don't see much of a point in spending the extra money unless all you care about is overclocking, because I think the Gigabyte is better in everything else (I don't use either of their software). I get similar results benchmarking both boards. Either board is solid, though, so you can't go wrong with either. Most people recommending the Asus over the Gigabyte probably haven't used both boards, so keep that in mind. 

[kaikupen]

12 hours ago, ChewToy! said:

I switched the x470 Crosshair VII for my current Gaming 7. I like the looks more. It has more and better placed fan headers, more USB headers (both USB 2.0/3.0), the RGB, IMO, works better and has better presets than Asus and you can set different colors to different parts of the board. They can both overclock about the same, although the Asus does have the advantage with its precision boost overdrive which allows your CPU to boost higher and retain higher cock speeds for longer periods. I don't see much of a point in spending the extra money unless all you care about is overclocking, because I think the Gigabyte is better in everything else (I don't use either of their software). I get similar results benchmarking both boards. Either board is solid, though, so you can't go wrong with either. Most people recommending the Asus over the Gigabyte probably haven't used both boards, so keep that in mind. 

How is the driver support? the number one issue I have read with gigabyte boards aside the usual DOA's, are the drivers and finicky RGB software.

[ch3w2oy]

12 minutes ago, kaikupen said:

How is the driver support? the number one issue I have read with gigabyte boards aside the usual DOA's, are the drivers and finicky RGB software.

I haven't had any problems except for the wifi, whereas on the Asus, it just worked. On the Gigabyte you have to install the wifi driver from Gigabytes website, otherwise it still works but sometimes you have to restart the computer. Once I installed the driver I never had an issue. I don't think i installed anything else except for the RGB fusion. Every thing I had plugged in, worked (ssd, nvme, gpu, cpu, ram, light strips, etc..). 

 

The RGB, I think it's better. It always saves whatever setup I used last and I don't even have to open RGB fusion when I start windows, it just works for me. Maybe there was issues in previous versions, but not in mine. I think you can do more with it too. Some products that doesn't support RGB Fusion, officially, still works. I imagine most digital RGB (addressable) accessories will work with it. You can set different things to different colors and effects  on the Gigabyte where you can't do that on the Asus, doesn't let you customize by sections. I think most people are just computer illiterate.

[ch3w2oy]

Plus the Gigabyte has dual  BIOSES with switches in case something happens. All the Asus has is a reset button. For the money, you do in fact get more with the Gigabyte. Asus, you're just buying the name. Again, I think the Asus is a very nice board with great auto overclocking features. Manually overclocking, I think they are very similar. You can't go wrong with either. I got the Gigabyte originally just for the RGB on the board, and after using it, I don't regret one thing. 

 

I bought mine from Newegg and it came with all the latest updates already applied. 

[kaikupen]

19 minutes ago, ChewToy! said:

Plus the Gigabyte has dual  BIOSES with switches in case something happens. All the Asus has is a reset button. For the money, you do in fact get more with the Gigabyte. Asus, you're just buying the name. Again, I think the Asus is a very nice board with great auto overclocking features. Manually overclocking, I think they are very similar. You can't go wrong with either. I got the Gigabyte originally just for the RGB on the board, and after using it, I don't regret one thing. 

 

I bought mine from Newegg and it came with all the latest updates already applied. 

Ah yeah the dual bios is a huge plus, the included temperature sensor cables too. I'm sure the fan control software is similar to the Asus suite (which is all that concerns me aside from RGB, though the asus board seems to have a better audio solution, but I already use an external dac. The asus board is 40 CAD more than the gigabyte on amazon. So if I find the gigabyte wanting I can always put up with it and get a next gen asus board, (hopefully they don't skimp out on the vrm next time around)

[ch3w2oy]

20 minutes ago, kaikupen said:

Ah yeah the dual bios is a huge plus, the included temperature sensor cables too. I'm sure the fan control software is similar to the Asus suite (which is all that concerns me aside from RGB, though the asus board seems to have a better audio solution, but I already use an external dac. The asus board is 40 CAD more than the gigabyte on amazon. So if I find the gigabyte wanting I can always put up with it and get a next gen asus board, (hopefully they don't skimp out on the vrm next time around)

Yea I like that the temp sensor cables (two) came with it, I haven't installed them yet but I will be soon. I'm not huge on audio so I can't tell the difference lol. I use headphones while gaming. I haven't used Gigabyte or Asus support so I'm not sure who wins in that department either. I just know you get more with the Gigabyte board. And I use the BIOS to adjust the fan curve for each fan, which works great. Otherwise the Asus software is better if you plan to do it inside windows (no point honestly).

[kaikupen]

1 hour ago, ChewToy! said:

Yea I like that the temp sensor cables (two) came with it, I haven't installed them yet but I will be soon. I'm not huge on audio so I can't tell the difference lol. I use headphones while gaming. I haven't used Gigabyte or Asus support so I'm not sure who wins in that department either. I just know you get more with the Gigabyte board. And I use the BIOS to adjust the fan curve for each fan, which works great. Otherwise the Asus software is better if you plan to do it inside windows (no point honestly).

Hmmm... I read up on people having issues with the fan control software for gigabyte boards, but I also read that people have issues with the current asus AI suite as well (I currently use AI suite 3 on an old matx gryphon from 2015 and it works perfectly lol) If the software is still buggy. it will be annoying going between the BIOS and benchmarking in windows to get the fan curves right.

[ch3w2oy]

27 minutes ago, kaikupen said:

Hmmm... I read up on people having issues with the fan control software for gigabyte boards, but I also read that people have issues with the current asus AI suite as well (I currently use AI suite 3 on an old matx gryphon from 2015 and it works perfectly lol) If the software is still buggy. it will be annoying going between the BIOS and benchmarking in windows to get the fan curves right.

You might be able to get away with using it for testing but I would use BIOS after you figured it out. I would honestly rather use like a corsair hub or something along with their fans. Using ICUE for my AIO and the fans on it is great. If you want I'll test the software for the fans in a little bit. You shouldn't really need to do much testing with them, if you want your temps lower you just raise the fan curve. When I ran my stress tests I put all my fans around 90% just to keep temps in check while checking stability. I use an AIO and my GPU is liquid so I just keep my fans at a lower rpm so they aren't loud.

 

I think AI Suite gave me problems to, like it would keep resetting or just not even apply my settings and I remember I had to keep using auto tune just to adjust my fans. 

[kaikupen]

1 hour ago, ChewToy! said:

You might be able to get away with using it for testing but I would use BIOS after you figured it out. I would honestly rather use like a corsair hub or something along with their fans. Using ICUE for my AIO and the fans on it is great. If you want I'll test the software for the fans in a little bit. You shouldn't really need to do much testing with them, if you want your temps lower you just raise the fan curve. When I ran my stress tests I put all my fans around 90% just to keep temps in check while checking stability. I use an AIO and my GPU is liquid so I just keep my fans at a lower rpm so they aren't loud.

 

I think AI Suite gave me problems to, like it would keep resetting or just not even apply my settings and I remember I had to keep using auto tune just to adjust my fans. 

If you could test just to see how well the current software iteration works that would be helpful . Whether it works or not, I will probably still have to do more BIOS tweaking in the closed paneled enthoo evolv x, I optimized the noctua fans in my current mesh paneled air 240 with ONE click in the AI suite during a benchmark and now runs almost silent at idle. The entho might need a higher rpm on the front NF-A12's to get similar temps XD.

[ch3w2oy]

Okay, so I installed App Center, what you need to use Smart Fan 5.

 

I let it calibrate the first time (you may need to do this more than once if mess up the settings). Doesn't matter what fan you are on, I think it calibrates all of them.

 

 

 

After calibrating I chose Quiet under the 'Smart Fan 5 Auto' tab. Makes it near inaudible and works great actually. I actually don't have a problem with the fan curves that quiet sets up for me, except I use a static RPM for some fans.

 

 

 

You can adjust the Fan Curve yourself, which works for me, although I had to restart and enter BIOS, because when you are in the BIOS you can change each fans curve to run based off different temperatures from either your CPU, VRMs, PCIe slots, many more (even your extension cables that came with it). What I mean by this is that you have the option to control which fans are effected by which temperatures (adding a screen shot below after I restart PC). You cannot change which temperature a fan follows in the program, only in the BIOS. So as I played with it I noticed I had the wrong fans following my CPU temp, once changed and recalibrated it was fixed.

 

 

 

You can also adjust a fans speed by RPM.

 

 

 

I ran Prime95 to increase my temperatures and make sure the fans followed suite. They did. You can view their RPMs in this tab. My CPU fan is my Corsair AIO so I don't ever touch this using Gigabyte stuff so I don't attempt messing it up. I use ICUE for that.

 

 

 

Seems pretty straightforward and as long as you're a little technical, you should be perfectly fine. It's not necessarily 1-2-3 as I had to change a few settings and adjust/play with things to get it right. I still don't think the software is 100% perfect, but it works. Restarting the PC and loading the software seems to start back where I left off. I still recommend using the BIOS after you adjust and find what you're looking for. If you have to, take pictures with your phone and then when you go into BIOS just recreate any fan curves you made. I set some of my fans at an RPM that doesn't change since most of my stuff is liquid cooled. I think this software has been updated because I really don't remember it being this good when I had my Gaming 5 installed (before I moved to the Crosshair VII and then to the Gaming 7).

[ch3w2oy]

Here are BIOS screenshots.

 

 

[kaikupen]

23 minutes ago, ChewToy! said:

Okay, so I installed App Center, what you need to use Smart Fan 5.

 

I let it calibrate the first time (you may need to do this more than once if mess up the settings). Doesn't matter what fan you are on, I think it calibrates all of them.

 

 

 

After calibrating I chose Quiet under the 'Smart Fan 5 Auto' tab. Makes it near inaudible and works great actually. I actually don't have a problem with the fan curves that quiet sets up for me, except I use a static RPM for some fans.

 

 

 

You can adjust the Fan Curve yourself, which works for me, although I had to restart and enter BIOS, because when you are in the BIOS you can change each fans curve to run based off different temperatures from either your CPU, VRMs, PCIe slots, many more (even your extension cables that came with it). What I mean by this is that you have the option to control which fans are effected by which temperatures (adding a screen shot below after I restart PC). You cannot change which temperature a fan follows in the program, only in the BIOS. So as I played with it I noticed I had the wrong fans following my CPU temp, once changed and recalibrated it was fixed.

 

 

 

You can also adjust a fans speed by RPM.

 

 

 

I ran Prime95 to increase my temperatures and make sure the fans followed suite. They did. You can view their RPMs in this tab. My CPU fan is my Corsair AIO so I don't ever touch this using Gigabyte stuff so I don't attempt messing it up. I use ICUE for that.

 

 

 

Seems pretty straightforward and as long as you're a little technical, you should be perfectly fine. It's not necessarily 1-2-3 as I had to change a few settings and adjust/play with things to get it right. I still don't think the software is 100% perfect, but it works. Restarting the PC and loading the software seems to start back where I left off. I still recommend using the BIOS after you adjust and find what you're looking for. If you have to, take pictures with your phone and then when you go into BIOS just recreate any fan curves you made. I set some of my fans at an RPM that doesn't change since most of my stuff is liquid cooled. I think this software has been updated because I really don't remember it being this good when I had my Gaming 5 installed (before I moved to the Crosshair VII and then to the Gaming 7).

 

18 minutes ago, ChewToy! said:

Here are BIOS screenshots.

 

 

Sweet thanks! You're probably right on keeping the final settings locked in the BOIS, less chance of them getting messed up from a windows update or something along those lines.

[Guest]

b450 tomahawk

[ch3w2oy]

20 minutes ago, kaikupen said:

 

Sweet thanks! You're probably right on keeping the final settings locked in the BOIS, less chance of them getting messed up from a windows update or something along those lines.

That and so you don't need the software running at startup. I try to limit as much as I can from starting with my PC. You can also easily control your overclocks for your CPU and RAM using Easy Tune through App Center. Works great, better than Ryzen Master. Of course you play with this and find what's stable and set it up in BIOS.

 

[kaikupen]

just read that the lower m.2 slot on the gaming 7 is only pcie 2.0, which sucks because I wanted to place another NVME drive there later, however I then went to compare with the ROG crosshair hero and though both slots run at 3.0 speeds, the upper slot with the heatsink will reduce the top 16x slot below it to 8x

 

From The tweaktown review

 

"The one without the heat sink is routed to the CPU and doesn't interfere with anything. However, the top M.2 slot with the heat sink will reduce the two top slots to x8/x4 mode if it is in use with a PCI-E x4 M.2 drive. So you should use the bottom M.2 slot first. Otherwise, you won't be able to run your PCI-E slot at x16."

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8612/asus-crosshair-vii-hero-amd-x470-motherboard-review/index2.html

[kaikupen]

Ordered the Gigabyte gaming 7, The issue with the pcie lanes listed above disqualified the ASUS board for me. and the msi does not have as many features as the gaming 7