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Help choosing between two motherboards.

kaiju_wars
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I've decided I want a better motherboard.  TBH, the AB350M I have isn't that great.  It's great if you're on an extreme budget, but I just want a better board. 

I'm looking at upgrading to a Ryzen 5 2600 or Ryzen 7 2700 once discounts start happening cause of Zen 2  (much how Zen 1 got discounted a bunch after Zen+ released).

ASRock already confirmed the two motherboards I want have already gotten BIOS updates to be Zen 2 ready.

 

I'm looking at either the ASRock B450M Pro4, or the ASRock B450M Steel Legend.

 

The Pro4 is currently on sale all the way down to $60 on Newegg after a rebate.  (It's on sale for $70 before rebate).  That's not a bad deal.  The Steel Legend is still full price at $90.  I've check a few reviews, both boards are basically excellent from what I can find from reviews, and I've seen a couple reviews basically saying the Steel Legend is the best mATX B450 board you can buy.  

 

My question is, should I get the Pro4 on sale right now, or should I just go ahead and spend the extra $30 (after rebate) on the Steel Legend?  

 

Also, if someone does recommend a different brand, I am pretty much decided on getting an ASRock board, and please don't recommend MSI.  I've not had any luck with MSI on AM4 (four dead boards delivered, on multiple occasions).

Currently focusing on my video game collection.

It doesn't matter what you play games on, just play good games you enjoy.

 

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I say go for the steel legend, if you ever set your sights on a 12 core you'll have wanted to spend extra on the board. It's got a lot of features.

I WILL find your ITX build thread, and I WILL recommend the SIlverstone Sugo SG13B

 

Primary PC:

i7 8086k - EVGA Z370 Classified K - G.Skill Trident Z RGB - WD SN750 - Jedi Order Titan Xp - Hyper 212 Black (with RGB Riing flair) - EVGA G3 650W - dual booting Windows 10 and Linux - Black and green theme, Razer brainwashed me.

Draws 400 watts under max load, for reference.

 

How many watts do I need? ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 spec, PSU misconceptions, protections explained, group reg is bad

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Just now, valdyrgramr said:

Well, according to the VRM tier list, the Pro 4 has better VRMs than the Steel Legend.

Yeah it does have a 6 phase vs 4

I WILL find your ITX build thread, and I WILL recommend the SIlverstone Sugo SG13B

 

Primary PC:

i7 8086k - EVGA Z370 Classified K - G.Skill Trident Z RGB - WD SN750 - Jedi Order Titan Xp - Hyper 212 Black (with RGB Riing flair) - EVGA G3 650W - dual booting Windows 10 and Linux - Black and green theme, Razer brainwashed me.

Draws 400 watts under max load, for reference.

 

How many watts do I need? ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 spec, PSU misconceptions, protections explained, group reg is bad

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I have the opposite, I had problems with AsRock b450m boards, but MSI B450m mortar Titanium worked. But if i don't look at it from personal point of view, then the B450m Pro 4 was a good board. When i used it the quality felt great, the big heatsinks for vrms were great, temps were low.

While bios felt cheaper than on the MSI board, it technically is the same functionally, it is just a bit harder to use it. Also the boot speed was way faster on the Asrock than on MSI.

So i can say that the Pro 4 is a good board.

 

The Steel legend looks a bit more premium, but i would advise creating a chart with all the features, and then seeing if the Steel legend is worth the 30$ more, is there enough features to justify the price? I don't think so, but it is up to you.

Also as @valdyrgramr said, the vrms on the steel legend is worse, so that makes it harder to justify getting the steel legend.

I only see your reply if you @ me.

This reply/comment was generated by AI.

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24 minutes ago, kaiju_wars said:

I've seen a couple reviews basically saying the Steel Legend is the best mATX B450 board you can buy.  

disagrees in msi mortar (tomahawk vrms)

 

12 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

I say go for the steel legend, if you ever set your sights on a 12 core you'll have wanted to spend extra on the board. It's got a lot of features.

yeah... i don't see that thing pushing enough for that level tbh...

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17 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:
  Reveal hidden contents

7n48gewun0p21.png

Pro 4's VRMs seem to be better, so if you plan to go 2700 and push an OC that.  For suggestions just refer to the image.

 

15 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Yeah it does have a 6 phase vs 4

Oh dang?  Alright, that's something I'll have to keep in mind.  Not that I plan for crazy overclocks.

Though I do have to admit I really like the looks of the Steel Legend.

 

 

14 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

I have the opposite, I had problems with AsRock b450m boards, but MSI B450m mortar Titanium worked. But if i don't look at it from personal point of view, then the B450m Pro 4 was a good board. When i used it the quality felt great, the big heatsinks for vrms were great, temps were low.

While bios felt cheaper than on the MSI board, it technically is the same functionally, it is just a bit harder to use it. Also the boot speed was way faster on the Asrock than on MSI.

So i can say that the Pro 4 is a good board.

 

The Steel legend looks a bit more premium, but i would advise creating a chart with all the features, and then seeing if the Steel legend is worth the 30$ more, is there enough features to justify the price? I don't think so, but it is up to you.

Also as @valdyrgramr said, the vrms on the steel legend is worse, so that makes it harder to justify getting the steel legend.

 

5 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

yeah... i don't see that thing pushing enough for that level tbh...

Yeahhh, and I also don't plan on getting the 12 core beast, tbh.  (granted who knows what the future will hold).

Currently focusing on my video game collection.

It doesn't matter what you play games on, just play good games you enjoy.

 

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24 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

disagrees in msi mortar (tomahawk vrms)

 

yeah... i don't see that thing pushing enough for that level tbh...

The mortar Titanium especially is a really nice m-atx board, i like it.

 

Kaiju if you are buying based on the appearance, and 30$ is not that much, then get the Steel Legend. The vrm's will work fine for the 8core, just don't expect crazy overclocks. And imo it looks much better than the Pro 4. But the feature set is pretty similar, so that 30$ is only a cosmetic upgrade.

I only see your reply if you @ me.

This reply/comment was generated by AI.

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6 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

The mortar Titanium especially is a really nice m-atx board, i like it.

 

Kaiju if you are buying based on the appearance, and 30$ is not that much, then get the Steel Legend. The vrm's will work fine for the 8core, just don't expect crazy overclocks. And imo it looks much better than the Pro 4. But the feature set is pretty similar, so that 30$ is only a cosmetic upgrade.

Oh, I like the looks.  But I'm asking straight up which is the better board.  The Pro4 has the better VRMs, Cosmetics are nice, but cosmetics alone, imo, aren't worth the extra $30 I'm thinking.

Currently focusing on my video game collection.

It doesn't matter what you play games on, just play good games you enjoy.

 

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9 minutes ago, kaiju_wars said:

Oh, I like the looks.  But I'm asking straight up which is the better board.  The Pro4 has the better VRMs, Cosmetics are nice, but cosmetics alone, imo, aren't worth the extra $30 I'm thinking.

Then i would say the Pro4.  I haven't done a comparasion on rear-io etc, but power delivery is pretty much the most important bit of the motherboard, and the Pro-4 wins in that.

I only see your reply if you @ me.

This reply/comment was generated by AI.

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5 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

Then i would say the Pro4.  I haven't done a comparasion on rear-io etc, but power delivery is pretty much the most important bit of the motherboard, and the Pro-4 wins in that.

Thanks, and to everyone else who helped out

 

Currently focusing on my video game collection.

It doesn't matter what you play games on, just play good games you enjoy.

 

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Went ahead and ordered the B450M Pro4.  Better VRMs won the day for me.

Currently focusing on my video game collection.

It doesn't matter what you play games on, just play good games you enjoy.

 

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