Help me understand: 6-Phase CPU VRM vs Doubled 3-phase

[maartendc]

Hello all,

 

Hate to start another topic on B450 motherboards, but I have a very specific question:

 

Comparing the Asrock B450 ITX board and ASUS ROG Strix B450 ITX boards. Will use a 2600X at stock speeds with it. I am concerned about CPU throttling and the 2600X not being able to sustain XFR2 boost clocks with bad VRM.

 

- Asrock has a 6+2 VRM, but it is actually a doubled 3-phase for the CPU

- Asus has a true 6 phase VRM (not doubled) for the CPU as far as I can tell.

 

The other features of the boards are very similar. Both have shown to have good heatsinks on the VRM in reviews, with good thermals.

 

The Asus board is WAY more expensive $150, vs $90 for the Asrock on sale. Is the true 6-phase VRM worth the extra cash? I might upgrade to a Ryzen 3000 CPU in the future, is the doubled 3 phase on the Asrock going to hold me back?

 

Thank you!

[jj9987]

2 minutes ago, maartendc said:

I am concerned about CPU throttling and the 2600X not being able to sustain XFR2 boost clocks with bad VRM.

Why? I have never heard of such issues.

[lmeneses]

no, the price difference is more of the asus fee rather than the vrms

[Sauron]

Both motherboards will have no problems whatsoever handling a 2600X at stock speeds. The ASUS board might get you a slightly higher stable overclock, but you'd need a really lucky chip to actually get there.

[Bananasplit_00]

unless you really care about overclocking, and if you were you wouldnt be getting a B450 board, there will be pretty much no diffrence between the two beyond their respecive features. both VRMs are decent and can deliver plenty of power

[paddy-stone]

Agree, at stock speeds you could use almost any board, but if you think you might oc in the future, I personally would opt for the better VRMs. Are you limited to itx boards? or can you fit m-atx? if you could fit m-atx you could go with the msi b450 tomohawk which has IMO much better spec from reviews.

[maartendc]

20 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Agree, at stock speeds you could use almost any board, but if you think you might oc in the future, I personally would opt for the better VRMs. Are you limited to itx boards? or can you fit m-atx? if you could fit m-atx you could go with the msi b450 tomohawk which has IMO much better spec from reviews.

Well I have an ITX system, so yes, only ITX boards apply. There is not much choice honestly, the Asrock and Asus are really the only good options. MSI and Gigabyte ITX boards only have 4+2 VRM. I know theoretically the true 6-phase board is better, but for the price difference... I wonder if you'd really notice the difference in real world OC'ing, hence my question.

39 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

unless you really care about overclocking, and if you were you wouldnt be getting a B450 board, there will be pretty much no diffrence between the two beyond their respecive features. both VRMs are decent and can deliver plenty of power

Limited to ITX, and the X470 boards on ITX are basically identical to the B450.. so yea.

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

Both motherboards will have no problems whatsoever handling a 2600X at stock speeds. The ASUS board might get you a slightly higher stable overclock, but you'd need a really lucky chip to actually get there.

That is good to know thanks. I just got worried because I know the 2600X does boost to 4 GHZ on all cores and 4.2 GHZ on 1 core, so it is essentially drawing the power of a 2600 OC'd to 4Ghz. I want to make sure I have enough power to sustain the (base) clocks of the 2600X. And any future-proofing for 3000 series CPU's that might be more power hungry.

1 hour ago, lmeneses said:

no, the price difference is more of the asus fee rather than the vrms

Good to know. Thanks!

1 hour ago, jj9987 said:

Why? I have never heard of such issues.

I just got worried because I know the 2600X does boost to 4 GHZ on all cores and 4.2 GHZ on 1 core, so it is essentially drawing the power of a 2600 OC'd to 4Ghz. I want to make sure I have enough power to sustain the clocks of the 2600X. And any future-proofing for 3000 series CPU's that might be more power hungry.