Bought a 3700x, Looking for an Appropriate MOBO

[Michael122]

Hello techies,

I am in the process of upgrading my 1500x to a 3700x (big jump). I know that my board (AsRock ab350m pro4), even though technically supporting, can barely handle the power needed to supply the 3700x. So, I need a new board. There is an AsRock x570m pro4 board, but I don't particularly want to spend the money on an x570 chipset, especially when it seems that the power delivery/cooling may not be up to par. Before I continue to rant, I want to mention that I only plan to do smaller overclocks across all cores (100-200Mhz in addition). I have looked into some of the higher-end matx b450 boards and there seem to be some good options, such as the MSI B450M Mortar (which seems to have good enough power delivery). I also wonder if I should just wait for the release of the B550 chipset, though I don't like the idea of waiting that long. I hope that the collective knowledge of the PCMR can bring me some insight.

 

Thanks,

Michael

 

 

[coffeejn]

3700x only needs 65W unless you are overclocking (to around 3800x speeds).  So power wise, it's the same.  At this point, I would try the 3700x without overclock on your setup before worrying about OC with different board.  Just update your BIOS first.  You might be surprised with the results.  You can plan to change the mobo later if you are not satisfied. 

 

B550 are not expected until sometime in December or early next year unless they get delayed.

 

If your budget allows for a x570 and you do not need PCI-e 4.0 for M.2 or storage (no GPU really need PCI-e 4.0 right now), then get a good x470 that meets your need for your budget. I went with an x570 only because I plan to get a PIE 4.0 eventually and I do not change CPU/MOBO very often... every 7 or 8 years, so I usually max out when I build and get the latest.  The heat sink around the chipset get hot around 50c which sits right next to most GPU that stick out from the first PCIe slot... knowing that, I'd got with 400 mobo just on heat alone.  In my case the fan is partially blocked by the GPU.... I did touch the GPU, it does not appear to be absorbing the heat, so I should be fine.

 

Check this video: 

 

[Michael122]

Thanks, I will definitely try that. If you did have to suggest an option for me, what would you choose? wait for B550 or settle for a B450?

[trevb0t]

54 minutes ago, Michael122 said:

Thanks, I will definitely try that. If you did have to suggest an option for me, what would you choose? wait for B550 or settle for a B450?

See if your board can handle it at stock. It should. Otherwise, have a look at:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wb7v6h/asrock-b450-steel-legend-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-steel-legend

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hy97YJ/msi-b450-tomahawk-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-tomahawk

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TWzkcf/gigabyte-x470-aorus-ultra-gaming-atx-am4-motherboard-x470-aorus-ultra-gaming

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/svdxFT/msi-x470-gaming-pro-carbon-atx-am4-motherboard-x470-gaming-pro-carbon

 

These options (though they don't support PCIe4) are hardly what I'd consider settling.

The X570 options in the price range aren't quite up to par, though honestly the Gaming X will likely not be too bad an option either. I would like to see a $30 cut on it before I could consider it a value:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LJxbt6/gigabyte-x570-gaming-x-atx-am4-motherboard-x570-gaming-x

 

For reference, the 3700X and the 1500X both draw the same 65W TDP. So I agree that if the ab350m worked for the 1500X, it should power a 3700X. The question of thermal issues is there, but if you're just using at stock settings, the cooler provided is pretty solid.

[Michael122]

3 minutes ago, trevb0t said:

See if your board can handle it at stock. It should. Otherwise, have a look at:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wb7v6h/asrock-b450-steel-legend-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-steel-legend

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hy97YJ/msi-b450-tomahawk-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-tomahawk

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TWzkcf/gigabyte-x470-aorus-ultra-gaming-atx-am4-motherboard-x470-aorus-ultra-gaming

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/svdxFT/msi-x470-gaming-pro-carbon-atx-am4-motherboard-x470-gaming-pro-carbon

 

These options (though they don't support PCIe4) are hardly what I'd consider settling.

The X570 options in the price range aren't quite up to par, though honestly the Gaming X will likely not be too bad an option either. I would like to see a $30 cut on it before I could consider it a value:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LJxbt6/gigabyte-x570-gaming-x-atx-am4-motherboard-x570-gaming-x

I wouldn't have too much of an issue if I hadn't invested in an mATX case (h400). With the mATX form factor going out the window, I don't think I'll make that mistake again. I do hate to see the form factor losing popularity, as I believe it is a perfect medium between ATX and ITX, but there just isn't much support for it anymore. That said, I don't want to pay for another case, so I was looking into mATX boards specifically.

[Herman Mcpootis]

33 minutes ago, Michael122 said:

I wouldn't have too much of an issue if I hadn't invested in an mATX case (h400). With the mATX form factor going out the window, I don't think I'll make that mistake again. I do hate to see the form factor losing popularity, as I believe it is a perfect medium between ATX and ITX, but there just isn't much support for it anymore. That said, I don't want to pay for another case, so I was looking into mATX boards specifically.

if you can find a mortar then that's still fine for a 3700x, gaming plus if you really can't.

 

edit: your pro4 is still good enough for a 3700x:

https://www.techspot.com/review/1872-ryzen-9-on-older-motherboards/

[Tristerin]

ASRock B450 Pro 4 ATX I have handles the overclock on my Ryzen 7 1700 quite well (4.2ghz @ 1.4vCore) 

[trevb0t]

16 minutes ago, Michael122 said:

I wouldn't have too much of an issue if I hadn't invested in an mATX case (h400). With the mATX form factor going out the window, I don't think I'll make that mistake again. I do hate to see the form factor losing popularity, as I believe it is a perfect medium between ATX and ITX, but there just isn't much support for it anymore. That said, I don't want to pay for another case, so I was looking into mATX boards specifically.

Ah:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gBWfrH/msi-b450i-gaming-plus-ac-mini-itx-am4-motherboard-b450i-gaming-plus-ac (Very Solid)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7422FT/msi-b450m-bazooka-plus-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-bazooka-plus (Very Solid)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hNdxFT/asrock-b450m-steel-legend-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-steel-legend (Pretty Dang Solid)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XXKcCJ/msi-b450m-bazooka-v2-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-bazooka-v2 (Decent)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WcjJ7P/gigabyte-b450-aorus-m-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-aorus-m (Decent)

 

They don't make X470/570 board in MATX form factor. 

[trevb0t]

8 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

gaming plus if you really can't.

The only thing about B450M Gaming Plus is that it drops down to 2 RAM slots. Not a huge issue, but... Eh.

According to the tier list, the ITX version of the Gaming Plus is a very solid buy though.

[Michael122]

Just now, trevb0t said:

Ah:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gBWfrH/msi-b450i-gaming-plus-ac-mini-itx-am4-motherboard-b450i-gaming-plus-ac (Very Solid)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7422FT/msi-b450m-bazooka-plus-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-bazooka-plus (Very Solid)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hNdxFT/asrock-b450m-steel-legend-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-steel-legend (Pretty Dang Solid)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XXKcCJ/msi-b450m-bazooka-v2-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-bazooka-v2 (Decent)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WcjJ7P/gigabyte-b450-aorus-m-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-aorus-m (Decent)

 

They don't make X470/570 board in MATX form factor. 

There is one, it's the AsRock x570m pro4. It is fairly expensive and seems to have dodgy power delivery, hence the avoidance.

[Herman Mcpootis]

Just now, trevb0t said:

The only thing about B450M Gaming Plus is that it drops down to 2 RAM slots. Not a huge issue, but... Eh.

yeah, but the mortar isn't so common anymore. anyways it's moot since his old pro4 is still gonna handle the 3700x just fine.

[ultra99]

6 hours ago, coffeejn said:

3700x only needs 65W unless you are overclocking (to around 3800x speeds).  So power wise, it's the same.  At this point, I would try the 3700x without overclock on your setup before worrying about OC with different board.  Just update your BIOS first.  You might be surprised with the results.  You can plan to change the mobo later if you are not satisfied. 

 

B550 are not expected until sometime in December or early next year unless they get delayed.

 

If your budget allows for a x570 and you do not need PCI-e 4.0 for M.2 or storage (no GPU really need PCI-e 4.0 right now), then get a good x470 that meets your need for your budget. I went with an x570 only because I plan to get a PIE 4.0 eventually and I do not change CPU/MOBO very often... every 7 or 8 years, so I usually max out when I build and get the latest.  The heat sink around the chipset get hot around 50c which sits right next to most GPU that stick out from the first PCIe slot... knowing that, I'd got with 400 mobo just on heat alone.  In my case the fan is partially blocked by the GPU.... I did touch the GPU, it does not appear to be absorbing the heat, so I should be fine.

 

Check this video: 

 

You're saying get a x470 mobo because of how hot the chipset is?

[Michael122]

Okay, interesting new development. I flashed the bios to p5.90, the latest version, in the correct sequence with the correct software. So, I installed the 3700x after doing this, mounted the cooler blah blah blah... The PC successfully posted, and I entered the bios. Everything looks fine until I see the temperatures. The temps were reading around 60 degrees Celsius in the bios... not good. I decided to test it for myself and feel the physical cooler and heat pipes and they were room temperature, certainly not what I would be feeling if the cpu was running at 60c. So that is issue 1 of 2. I decided to continue into windows, knowing that I probably wasn't actually causing any physical damage to the cpu, as it is not as hot as it is reading. After about a minute inside windows, I get frozen applications, then about 30 seconds later a BSOD with the error code DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION. I haven't seen this before, so I google it. Turns out it is typically an SSD type error. I just moved my OS from a SATA SSD to an NVME gen 3 M.2 SSD. I don't know if the cpu is having issues running the gen 3, which I doubt it would, or if there is another problem that I need to sort out, like a driver error or corruption. I don't know how to fix this, hopefully you all can come through again with some answers to these issues.