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What Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard Options do we Even Really Have..??

Calico Morgan
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     Seems like everyone can agree that at this time, Asus has the best Micro ATX AM4 boards (for B350 at least). That's fair. Yeah...right, good. Except that they have basically two options: the Prime and the Tuf. The Prime (both versions) looks fine. Except that I'm going to have MANY case fans in my rig, and the Asus Prime has ONE case fan header. Can you blame me for being unsure if I should attempt plugging 5-7 case fans into one header..? And sure, there are hubs, but if I want PWM control, even if that's the same control for all of the fans identically, I'd still have to use that one header. Let me know if you've done that successfully, but for now I really won't touch that.
The Tuf on the other hand has two headers, which I feel better about using splitters on each to separate the load. So that's kind of a win. My issues with the Tuf are as follows: there are no reviews for it on Amazon US which is where I'm buying my parts. That makes me pretty uncomfortable. Also, the yellow detailing....it's...not exactly what I'm looking for. I actually like it, it just doesn't go with my build. 

 

     My point is this: Where's the selection??? If everyone says MSI B350's suck and that I should get Asus B350's, but both Asus options feel like I'm settling for less, and when what I REALLY want is a proper X370 in a freaking Micro ATX form factor, then what the heck is the answer..?

     

    I can't not get a Micro ATX build. I don't have the space for a colossus. I'm also a fan of medium towers in the cube shape. I need many case fans because not only do I want RGB to show off my build, but I want a very strong positive air pressure to keep out most of the HUGE amounts of dust I have in my closet of an apartment.

 

    I thought that mid tower Micro ATX builds were on the rise in a really big way in terms of popularity and all. Does anyone find it a bit odd that there's no diversity in mATX boards for the AM4 platform..? I know it's new, but it isn't THAT new. No enthusiast boards for AM4 Micro build??
    Furthermore, does anyone have experience with any other B350 mATX boards..? Gigabyte maybe? Reviews are EVERYWHERE, and the only consensus seems that Asus is good, MSI is bad. But again, the Asus option includes two boards. Maybe someone can share their experience with Tuf..? Maybe I can drown out the yellow lol

 

I really want to hear what people have to say about this. Maybe I'm completely misguided on all of this.

 

Thanks for stopping by though!

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There are also motherboards from Gigabyte and Asrock to look for.

CPU: i7-2600K 4751MHz 1.44V (software) --> 1.47V at the back of the socket Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme4 (BCLK: 103.3MHz) CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 RAM: Adata XPG 2x8GB DDR3 (XMP: 2133MHz 10-11-11-30 CR2, custom: 2203MHz 10-11-10-26 CR1 tRFC:230 tREFI:14000) GPU: Asus GTX 1070 Dual (Super Jetstream vbios, +70(2025-2088MHz)/+400(8.8Gbps)) SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (main boot drive), Transcend SSD370 128GB PSU: Seasonic X-660 80+ Gold Case: Antec P110 Silent, 5 intakes 1 exhaust Monitor: AOC G2460PF 1080p 144Hz (150Hz max w/ DP, 121Hz max w/ HDMI) TN panel Keyboard: Logitech G610 Orion (Cherry MX Blue) with SteelSeries Apex M260 keycaps Mouse: BenQ Zowie FK1

 

Model: HP Omen 17 17-an110ca CPU: i7-8750H (0.125V core & cache, 50mV SA undervolt) GPU: GTX 1060 6GB Mobile (+80/+450, 1650MHz~1750MHz 0.78V~0.85V) RAM: 8+8GB DDR4-2400 18-17-17-39 2T Storage: HP EX920 1TB PCIe x4 M.2 SSD + Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD, 128GB Toshiba PCIe x2 M.2 SSD (KBG30ZMV128G) gone cooking externally, 1TB Seagate 7200RPM 2.5" HDD (ST1000LM049-2GH172) left outside Monitor: 1080p 126Hz IPS G-sync

 

Desktop benching:

Cinebench R15 Single thread:168 Multi-thread: 833 

SuperPi (v1.5 from Techpowerup, PI value output) 16K: 0.100s 1M: 8.255s 32M: 7m 45.93s

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I personally use a Gigabyte board(although I'm on the FM2/FM2+ platform), and I'm gonna need a fan hub once I get my new case(PWM doesn't really matter to me). I do like Gigabyte boards, in my opinion they look the best(although I've paid more attention to their Intel boards).

 

Quote or tag me( @Crunchy Dragon) if you want me to see your reply

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Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

I personally use a Gigabyte board(although I'm on the FM2/FM2+ platform), and I'm gonna need a fan hub once I get my new case(PWM doesn't really matter to me). I do like Gigabyte boards, in my opinion they look the best(although I've paid more attention to their Intel boards).

 

I'm only worried about like 6 case fans going full bore constantly lol but I think if worst came to worst I could add a manual dial controller to ramp down at least some of the fans. 
And I agree, Gigabyte boards look pretty sweet. I've heard precious little about their performance on AM4 sadly.

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https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625 601292786 600009017&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=BESTMATCH&PageSize=12

 

Newegg motherboards with filters AM4 and Micro ATX

35 results

I think that's pretty good options.

Currently majoring in computer networking. That's about it yeah. Not much goes on in my life.

Be sure to quote me if you want me to reply!

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2 minutes ago, DarkMatterX1 said:

If you're already going to use, or even have a midtower, why is it so important that the board be mATX? 

Full sized ATX doesn't fit in my case. 

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MSI has cheaper out on VRM for their B350 boards (besides a couple) and their uefi is absolute shit for memory support. 

 

If you are going to overclock with a good cooler to 3.9/4Ghz, the brand new ASUS TUF is a good idea.

 

If you are fine with just getting to 3.7 or 3.8, the AsRock AB350M-Pro4 is a good option with lots of Amazon reviews.  

 

 

idk

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Just now, Calico Morgan said:

I'm only worried about like 6 case fans going full bore constantly lol but I think if worst came to worst I could add a manual dial controller to ramp down at least some of the fans. 
And I agree, Gigabyte boards look pretty sweet. I've heard precious little about their performance on AM4 sadly.

Yeah, the AM4 platform seems to be mostly Asus. I would recommend getting a fan controller for your setup. Unless you get really quiet ones(Corsair ML series for example).

Quote or tag me( @Crunchy Dragon) if you want me to see your reply

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1 minute ago, Droidbot said:

MSI has cheaper out on VRM for their B350 boards (besides a couple) and their uefi is absolute shit for memory support. 

 

If you are going to overclock with a good cooler to 3.9/4Ghz, the brand new ASUS TUF is a good idea.

 

If you are fine with just getting to 3.7 or 3.8, the AsRock AB350M-Pro4 is a good option with lots of Amazon reviews.  

 

 

That's probably the best info I've gotten on that. 
Honestly I'd love to try and crank out 3.9, I probably won't as I don't love the cooler compatibility for my case at this moment. Not an issue though. 
I'll definitely be checking out the AsRock you mentioned. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Yeah, the AM4 platform seems to be mostly Asus. I would recommend getting a fan controller for your setup. Unless you get really quiet ones(Corsair ML series for example).

I'd just have to get creative. Don't have an optical bay to use for a controller in my case. I'm not incredibly worried about this. I'm using mostly Corsair HD120's.

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Just now, Calico Morgan said:

That's probably the best info I've gotten on that. 
Honestly I'd love to try and crank out 3.9, I probably won't as I don't love the cooler compatibility for my case at this moment. Not an issue though. 
I'll definitely be checking out the AsRock you mentioned. 

 

 

I'd just have to get creative. Don't have an optical bay to use for a controller in my case. I'm not incredibly worried about this. I'm using mostly Corsair HD120's.

I'm guessing zombifying your PC and having the cables run out the front of the case to the fan hub resting on the top of the case is out of the question..?

Quote or tag me( @Crunchy Dragon) if you want me to see your reply

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6 minutes ago, kagarium said:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625 601292786 600009017&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=BESTMATCH&PageSize=12

 

Newegg motherboards with filters AM4 and Micro ATX

35 results

I think that's pretty good options.

50/50 reviews telling me to go see Asus. Again, pretty tired of these everywhere reviews. AsRock seems promising though. Haven't checked the details that pertain to my build yet though.
 

 

3 minutes ago, kagarium said:

And then here we go: $30 fan controller for 6 fans

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992015&cm_re=nzxt_fan_controller-_-11-992-015-_-Product

Really bad reviews..even saying it doesn't support 4 pin fans. But I'll be getting the Corsair HD fan controller. It should be good enough unless I want to actually control fan speed.

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1 minute ago, Calico Morgan said:

50/50 reviews telling me to go see Asus. Again, pretty tired of these everywhere reviews. AsRock seems promising though. Haven't checked the details that pertain to my build yet though.
 

 

Really bad reviews..even saying it doesn't support 4 pin fans. But I'll be getting the Corsair HD fan controller. It should be good enough unless I want to actually control fan speed.

Wasn't saying it's all good stuff. Just showing that there is options

Currently majoring in computer networking. That's about it yeah. Not much goes on in my life.

Be sure to quote me if you want me to reply!

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46 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I'm guessing zombifying your PC and having the cables run out the front of the case to the fan hub resting on the top of the case is out of the question..?

I'm open to...stuff. Lol. But I'll have to take a good look and see. Chances are good that I could cut access out of the rear of the psu/cable section. I'm getting the Air 240 btw. I wouldn't be apposed to that. Would keep all the cables mostly out of the way too which is neat. 

 

42 minutes ago, kagarium said:

Wasn't saying it's all good stuff. Just showing that there is options

Yes. Thanks a lot- I'm gonna fish through some of that and check it out for sure. I appreciate it :)

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1 minute ago, DarkMatterX1 said:

Okay. That's not a midtower, that's why I was confused. mATX/mini-itx cube. Sorry dude, my bad. 

Nope, my bad. Referring to it as a mid tower when it technically isn't. I didn't even notice lol. It's nearly the same real-estate as a mid tower in general aside from that bottom section of mobo anyhow.
Honestly I've considered switching to something else so I can just make my life easy with a proper mid size case that'll fit an X370 motherboard. But this case just works for me in every other way.

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Start a new post so you see it...

 

Did you say what all you were going to be doing with the machine? I see where you laid out the problem with distributed cooling via splitters/fan controllers vs limited number of headers. What are you doing with the machine, what parts do you already have, versus still need to get? 

 

If you've already answered, I apologize. I'll go back over the rest of the thread now, I had only read the OP plus our conversation. 

MACHINES:

 

NAS: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/DarkMatterX1/saved/Qfzf8d

 

Das Weifenfrau's Bocks: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/DarkMatterX1/saved/G6W4CJ

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51 minutes ago, DarkMatterX1 said:

Start a new post so you see it...

 

Did you say what all you were going to be doing with the machine? I see where you laid out the problem with distributed cooling via splitters/fan controllers vs limited number of headers. What are you doing with the machine, what parts do you already have, versus still need to get? 

 

If you've already answered, I apologize. I'll go back over the rest of the thread now, I had only read the OP plus our conversation. 

I made an all inclusive final post. Sorry it took me a while. Had to redo my PC Parts Picker page. 

If you're interested.

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1 minute ago, dave_k said:

Only good mATX AM4 is the Asus TUF B350M Plus

Seems to be what the consensus is. Here at least. Everywhere else nobody talks about it. It's a little odd. Seems like a balanced board.

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43 minutes ago, Calico Morgan said:

Seems to be what the consensus is. Here at least. Everywhere else nobody talks about it. It's a little odd. Seems like a balanced board.

It is good until you start overclocking R7, but definitely best out of the B350 Garbage.

 

Don't buy Apple M1 computers with 8GB of RAM

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