Motherboard Tier List (EOL)

[Billy_Wellington]

1 hour ago, LukeSavenije said:

well... theoratically looking the aorus elite would surpass the gaming 7

 

to give some context

 

buildzoid has done a great coverage so far

Yea, both aorus elite and msi gaming plus look like solid boards. If the come out without critical issues it might be a good choice. 

[Jurrunio]

4 minutes ago, Billy_Wellington said:

Yea, both aorus elite and msi gaming plus look like solid boards. If the come out without critical issues it might be a good choice. 

X570 Gaming Plus is between the X470 Gaming Plus (so is the B450 ATX boards) and X470 Carbon, so there's that.

[ThomasYou]

Some motherboards with different chipsets may have similar names, for example, ASUS WS PRO, you can find WS X299 PRO, WS Z390 PRO, WS C246M PRO and WS C422 PRO. And, my first image of WS SAGE is the C621 version with 2 CPU sockets on.

[LukeSavenije]

4 hours ago, ThomasYou said:

Some motherboards with different chipsets may have similar names, for example, ASUS WS PRO, you can find WS X299 PRO, WS Z390 PRO, WS C246M PRO and WS C422 PRO. And, my first image of WS SAGE is the C621 version with 2 CPU sockets on.

the c series isn't taken into my list (yett)

 

the ws sage in this case is the x299

[Vejnemojnen]

On 3/20/2019 at 11:43 AM, LukeSavenije said:

 

I'd like to ask a few questions about the list.

- B365 Pro4 Asrock: would you trust a 9600k for that board? Obviously no chance of OC-ing due to B chipset, but other than that, is the board capable to run the 9600k with stock frequencies and stock boost? Any issues with VRM thermals& throttling?

- Z390 Pro4 asrock: same question, but, with some mild OC, nothing above 1.4V voltage on CPU core (though I think that's pretty high, rather 1.35V should be considered)

 

What are the best affordable picks for OC-ing 9600k, or running a 9600k on stock settings without overclocking? Few options which do not cost a fortune.

 

AM4 boards:

- ASUS B450 boards seem to be low-ranked generally. Esp. TUF and Prime series, but even the Strix E&F ranked into value category. Do they have VRM cooling issues, or other compromising faults placing them that low?

- MSI B450 Pro Carbon vs. Mortar: why is the former ranked below the latter? Costs far much more (roughly 1.5times the price of Mortar). Is it not really recommended then?

 

Thank you for the input in advance. Regards

[Jurrunio]

37 minutes ago, Vejnemojnen said:

- B365 Pro4 Asrock: would you trust a 9600k for that board? Obviously no chance of OC-ing due to B chipset, but other than that, is the board capable to run the 9600k with stock frequencies and stock boost? Any issues with VRM thermals& throttling?

- Z390 Pro4 asrock: same question, but, with some mild OC, nothing above 1.4V voltage on CPU core (though I think that's pretty high, rather 1.35V should be considered)

Same VRM on these two. It should just about handle a mildly overclocked i5. Give the case better airflow to be sure.

 

38 minutes ago, Vejnemojnen said:

What are the best affordable picks for OC-ing 9600k, or running a 9600k on stock settings without overclocking? Few options which do not cost a fortune.

Pro4 will do it fine at stock, for overclocking it's better to get the Gigabyte UD or Gaming X, same VRM between the two but different feature set.

 

39 minutes ago, Vejnemojnen said:

- ASUS B450 boards seem to be low-ranked generally. Esp. TUF and Prime series, but even the Strix E&F ranked into value category. Do they have VRM cooling issues, or other compromising faults placing them that low?

All of them share the same VRM components, only different in heatsinks. Cheap mosfets can only go so far with 8 sets of them at best.

 

40 minutes ago, Vejnemojnen said:

- MSI B450 Pro Carbon vs. Mortar: why is the former ranked below the latter? Costs far much more (roughly 1.5times the price of Mortar). Is it not really recommended then?

Pro Carbon should be a touch better, though not worth being in different tiers.

 

@LukeSavenije plz fix

[d4n1Xd34th]

On 3/20/2019 at 4:13 PM, LukeSavenije said:

Credit to: @valdyrgramr @GoldenLag @mxk. @XR6 @VegetableStu @Jurrunio

 

The following list is based on facts, ranked on power delivery and known problems. The list will include modern motherboards for both Intel and AMD chips From Asus, Asrock, Biostar EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, NZXT and Supermicro (chipsets will be listed). We’ll include the recommended chips we would do with the boards.

 

For advanced users: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Smj5dh97n32wJqm5dkdDcQt8ID7vH52-lKzaaXUUQx8/edit?usp=sharing

 

Intel (x299, z390, z370, h370, b360, b365, h310)

 

Tier S Extreme overclocking (i7oc, i9oc)

Asus: Maximus XI extreme, Maximus X extreme, Rampage VI Apex, Rampage VI, Maximus XI Gene, Maximus X Apex, Maximus XI Apex

EVGA: Dark

Gigabyte: Aorus Xtreme (WaterForce), x299-aorus gaming 9

MSI: MEG Godlike, MEG creation

 

Tier A High-end gaming (i5oc, i7oc, i9oc)

Asrock: Taichi (ultimate) (xe), x299-Extreme4, Phantom Gaming 9, x299-fatal1ty (xe)

EVGA: FTW, Classified K, Micro

Gigabyte: Designare, Aorus Master, z390-Aorus Ultra, z390-Aorus Pro, z390-Aorus Elite, Aorus Gaming 7, x299-gaming 7 (pro)

MSI: M7, MEG ACE

 

Tier B Mainstream gaming (i5oc, i7oc)

Asus: zxxx-Strix, x299-strix, Maximus XI Formula/Hero/Code, Maximus X Formula/Hero/Code, zxxx-Prime-A, X299-TUF, X299-Prime Deluxe

Asrock: Phantom Gaming ITX/6/atx-ac/, zxxx-Fatal1ty, z370/z390-Extreme4
Biostar: B360GT3S, B360GT5S, Z370GT6

Gigabyte: z390-Gaming SLI/plus/m gaming, Gaming 5, x299-aorus gaming 3 (pro), x299-aorus ultra gaming, x299-aorus ultra gaming pro

MSI: zzxx-Pro Carbon, Edge, MPG, M5, Krait, x299-sli plus

NZXT: N7

 

Tier C Value gaming (i3oc, i5oc, i7)

Asus: hxxx-Strix, bxxx-Strix

Asrock: zxxx-Pro4, Phantom Gaming 4, ATX/ac, Killer/SLI, hxxx-fatal1ty, bxxx-fatal1ty, Bxxx-Pro4

Gigabyte: Gaming 3, UD4, z390-UD

MSI: Tomahawk, Mortar, Gaming Pro, bazooka, hxxx-pro carbon, Gaming Pro, Raider, zxxx-SLI plus

 

Tier D Basic (pentium, celeron, i3, i5)

Asus: TUF, Prime-P, Prime-Plus, Prime-C

Asrock: hxxx-Pro4, HDV, DGS, HDVP

EVGA: Stinger

Gigabyte: D3, XP, HD3, DS3H, N-wifi, s2p, n, m h, d3, S2, DS2V, HD2

MSI: A-Pro, PC-pro, Gaming Plus, Pro-VDH, Pro-VD, Pro-VH, Pro-D, Pro-VHL, Pro-VL

 

Tier W: Workstation (i7, i9)

Asus: WS Pro, WS Sage

Supermicro: CGW-O

 

AMD (b350, b450, x370, x470, x399)

 

Tier S Extreme (LN2) overclocking (r7oc, Threadripper 1000oc/2000oc)

Asus: Crosshair VI extreme, Zenith extreme (alpha)

Gigabyte: Aorus Xtreme

MSI: MEG creation

 

Tier A High-end gaming (r7oc, Threadripper 1000oc/Threadripper 2000)

Asus: Crosshair VII hero, Crosshair VI hero, x399-Strix, x399-Prime A, X470/X370-Strix

Asrock: Taichi (ultimate)

Biostar: X370GT7

Gigabyte: Aorus gaming 7, x470-Aorus 5, Aorus Ultra, Designare, aorus i

MSI: M7, x470/x399-pro carbon, x399-sli plus, b450-gaming plus itx, b450-Tomahawk, b450-mortar, b450-bazooka plus

 

Tier B Mainstream gaming (r5oc, r7oc, Threadripper 1000)

Asus: Prime Pro, B450-Strix (other)

Asrock: b450-fatal1ty, b450-pro4, phantom gaming 6, Steel Legend
Biostar: x470GTN, x370GTN, B350GT3

Gigabyte: Aorus Elite, gaming k7, gaming k5, ax370-aorus gaming 5, Aorus pro,  Aorus m, aorus pro wifi

MSI:  x470-Gaming Pro, b450-pro carbon, b450-bazooka, x470-gaming plus, Gaming pro

 

Tier C Value gaming (r3oc, r5)

Asus: b350-strix, B450-TUF, B450-strix E/F

Asrock: Killer/SLI, Master SLI/AC, b450/x370-gaming ITX/AC, ab350 pro4

MSI:  X370 Gaming Plus, SLI-plus, Xpower, x370-gaming pro, krait, pro carbon, gaming k3, b350-tomahawk, b350-mortar, b350-bazooka, b350-pro carbon

 

Tier D Basic (Athlon, r3)

Asus: other TUF, Prime-plus, Prime-a, prime-e, all a320 boards

Asrock: HDV, all a320 boards

Biostar: X470GT8, B350GTN, all a320 boards

Gigabyte: DS3H, ax370-gaming 3, ab350-gaming 3, ax370-gaming, ab350-gaming, all a320 boards

MSI: A-pro, pro-vdh, pro-vh pro-m2, all a320 boards

 

notes

  Reveal hidden contents

(by @fasauceome)

 

Sources:

  Reveal hidden contents

art Sources:

Hardwareluxx.de: VRM parts table (AM4 B350/X370/B450/X470)

/u/CR1318 on reddit: Motherboard Tier List

 

Tweaktown: biostar x370gt7; biostar x370gtn gaming; biostar a320mh pro gaming

 

Buildzoid: Gigabyte's Z390 lineup; Asrock X470 Master SLI; Asrock AB350M Pro 4, AB350 Pro 4 and AB350 Gaming K4; ASUS Prime X470-Pro; Asrock X370 Taichi; MSI X470 Gaming Plus; MSI B450M Mortar Titanium; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme; ASUS Maximus XI Apex; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra; MSI MEG X399 Creation; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi; ASUS TUF B450M-Pro Gaming; ASUS TUF B450M-Pro Gaming; Asrock X470 Master SLI / Gaming K4; "Asrock X470 Master SLI VRM temperature sensing is broken"; EVGA Z370 Micro; Gigabyte B450M Gaming; EVGA Z390 FTW; Gigabyte X370 Gaming K5; 

 

GN(cxzoid): Best Motherboards for AMD Ryzen 2018 - AM4 X470 & B450; Best Z390 Motherboards for VRMs, 10Gb LAN, Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX (2018); Best AM4 Motherboards for Overclocking (X370 & B350); EVGA X299 DARK; MSI Z390 Godlike; ASUS Maximus XI Hero; ASUS Crosshair VI Hero X370; ASUS X399 Zenith Extreme; EVGA X299 DARK

 

Bitwit: Biostar Racing X370 GTN

Sebelas Hardware: Biostar Racing X370 GT3

hardwareinside.de: biostar-racing x370gt5

play3r.net: biostar racing x370gt5

back2gaming.com: biostar racing b350gt5

Proclockers: biostar h310mhd pro

 

MSI Meg Ace Tier A and Maximus Xi Hero Tier B, Reasons? Which one makes a better choice?

[Jurrunio]

18 minutes ago, d4n1Xd34th said:

MSI Meg Ace Tier A and Maximus Xi Hero Tier B, Reasons? Which one makes a better choice?

Weak VRM on the Maximus XI Hero, Code and Formula leading to high VRM temperature. Not even the Gene and Extreme are all that strong either but then this list do take feature set and software into consideration.

 

Depends on what you're doing with the system.

[DSP]

Can anyone guide me in terms of picking a good motherboard for an AMD mATX build? Main purpose will be gaming however I do not plan on going too crazy with overclocking, but I would like a board which is somewhat futureproof. Plan on getting either the R5 2600 or 3600. 

 

Currently undecided between Asrock B450M Pro4, MSI B450M Mortar, MSI B450M Gaming Plus however I'm open to other suggestions and would be interested in hearing people's experiences!

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, DSP said:

Can anyone guide me in terms of picking a good motherboard for an AMD mATX build? Main purpose will be gaming however I do not plan on going too crazy with overclocking, but I would like a board which is somewhat futureproof. Plan on getting either the R5 2600 or 3600. 

 

Currently undecided between Asrock B450M Pro4, MSI B450M Mortar, MSI B450M Gaming Plus however I'm open to other suggestions and would be interested in hearing people's experiences!

B450M Mortar is the best for now, and I dont see X570 boards competing with it in price either.

[LukeSavenije]

3 minutes ago, DSP said:

Asrock B450M Pro4, MSI B450M Mortar, MSI B450M Gaming Plus

I've seen some deals on the aorus m recently

[oroalej]

Why is b450 Pro Carbon 1 tier lower than b450 tomahawk?

[LukeSavenije]

39 minutes ago, oroalej said:

Why is b450 Pro Carbon 1 tier lower than b450 tomahawk?

because it's changing soon, mostly a mistake on my own side

[Billy_Wellington]

After some serious thoughts i finally decided to go for AMD path upgrade.

Has anyone actually tried X570 TUF Gaming plus?

I decided to follow buildzoid recommendations on X570 and between Aorus Elite and TUF - TUF is currently the only one i can get.

200$ is still the biggest i am willing to spend on mobo, and according to him these 2 are the best i can get. I just wonder if i can control chipset fan, or how precise are fan speed contols on it in general and if realtek lan vs intel lan really makes much of a difference.

I decided to avoid older boards for a few reasons, in particular i think X570 will be better suited for future CPU's if AMD decides to stick with AM4 for the next generation and generation after that.

[Jurrunio]

18 minutes ago, Billy_Wellington said:

realtek lan vs intel lan really makes much of a difference.

In past boards I've used, there's no difference. Both brands failed me at some point

 

19 minutes ago, Billy_Wellington said:

I decided to avoid older boards for a few reasons, in particular i think X570 will be better suited for future CPU's if AMD decides to stick with AM4 for the next generation and generation after that.

Even supporting next gen's chance is really unclear, AM4's lifespan is planned to end in 2020. Maybe they'll make an AM4+ if DDR5 is still not here with limited compatibility with AM4, idk.

 

But X570 is definitely not better by any useful means in power delivery capability nor connectivity. The 16 core should max out at about 250w no matter how you push it, the flagship X470 boards can all do it along with those sharing similar VRMs.

[Billy_Wellington]

15 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

In past boards I've used, there's no difference. Both brands failed me at some point

 

Even supporting next gen's chance is really unclear, AM4's lifespan is planned to end in 2020. Maybe they'll make an AM4+ if DDR5 is still not here with limited compatibility with AM4, idk.

 

But X570 is definitely not better by any useful means in power delivery capability nor connectivity. The 16 core should max out at about 250w no matter how you push it, the flagship X470 boards can all do it along with those sharing similar VRMs.

I dont like how some older boards are getting stripped of stuff to be able to flash new BIOS and overall support seem to be bugged depending on the mobo vendor.

[Jurrunio]

16 minutes ago, Billy_Wellington said:

I dont like how some older boards are getting stripped of stuff to be able to flash new BIOS

Older boards stripped off stuff? For example? This doesnt match anything I know of.

 

17 minutes ago, Billy_Wellington said:

overall support seem to be bugged depending on the mobo vendor.

Yeah you have ti wait for the eventual fix as priorities are given to new boards

[Billy_Wellington]

6 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

Older boards stripped off stuff? For example? This doesnt match anything I know of.

 

Yeah you have ti wait for the eventual fix as priorities are given to new boards

I have seen on reddit how someone mentioned that simplified bios looks were enforced and he lost precise fan control on his B350 board.

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, Billy_Wellington said:

B350 board.

dont buy something that old then. newer boards of MSI come with BIOS chips twice the capacity (128 vs 256) for example

[Billy_Wellington]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

dont buy something that old then. newer boards of MSI come with BIOS chips twice the capacity (128 vs 256) for example

As far as i know simplified BIOS is used on B450 tomahawk as well, not sure about other features - that's what my friend bought just yesterday and we installed it together with bios flashback feature.

[Jurrunio]

Just now, Billy_Wellington said:

As far as i know simplified BIOS is used on B450 tomahawk as well, not sure about other features - that's what my friend bought just yesterday and we installed it together with bios flashback feature.

tbh not sure what the fuss is all about with the simplified bios thing. That's what older Asus boards have (you can literally search for bios guides on Asus Z87, exactly the same layout)

[Quadriplegic]

On 6/30/2019 at 9:17 AM, Vejnemojnen said:

I'd like to ask a few questions about the list.

- B365 Pro4 Asrock: would you trust a 9600k for that board? Obviously no chance of OC-ing due to B chipset, but other than that, is the board capable to run the 9600k with stock frequencies and stock boost? Any issues with VRM thermals& throttling?

- Z390 Pro4 asrock: same question, but, with some mild OC, nothing above 1.4V voltage on CPU core (though I think that's pretty high, rather 1.35V should be considered)

 

What are the best affordable picks for OC-ing 9600k, or running a 9600k on stock settings without overclocking? Few options which do not cost a fortune.

 

Bit late... But what about Tomahawk or Extreme4? IIRC, Tomahawk is decent enough to run overclocked 9600k. Extreme4 is bit more expensive ($150-180), but it can handle overclocked i7

[Kharnak]

I narrowed down my search a little bit.. stumbled upon this thread. Got my research kinda verified!

I was looking at the b450 Tomahawk but it seems like the B450I Gaming Plus is better in the VRM department.
Which board would be the most viable for a 3900X overclock?

Which board in this price range would beat the B450I Gaming Plus?

(a small handful of people have told me that B450 Tomahawk wont be anywhere near good enough for the 3900X oc'd)

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, Kharnak said:

I was looking at the b450 Tomahawk but it seems like the B450I Gaming Plus is better in the VRM department.

They dont compete with each other, being on opposite ends in feature set and form factor

 

and also the ITX board has bad cooling inherent for its small size, so it needs that better components to increase its efficiency as much as possible

 

1 hour ago, Kharnak said:

(a small handful of people have told me that B450 Tomahawk wont be anywhere near good enough for the 3900X oc'd)

I call that BS. This board (or rather, both) handled the 2700X maxed out, and 3900X draws about the same amount of power. 

[Kharnak]

2 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

They dont compete with each other, being on opposite ends in feature set and form factor

 

and also the ITX board has bad cooling inherent for its small size, so it needs that better components to increase its efficiency as much as possible

 

I call that BS. This board (or rather, both) handled the 2700X maxed out, and 3900X draws about the same amount of power. 

so you would say the Tomahawk or the ITX board is better for the 3900X for oc'ing to the CPU's limits? The Tomahawk does look better in terms of features for me at least, expansion slots for sound card etc

If we completely ignore VRM temps (i can solve any temp issues fairly easily with a custom cut copper block for a dollar or two) or adding a fan i guess