motherboard How do I evaluate a motherboard's VRM?

[DumboDodo]

If I wanted to know how efficient or high-quality the VRM of a motherboard is, How do I evaluate it? Do I simply count the chokes (phases) of the VRM? How do I know if its heatsink is good enough or good at all? How do I even know if the chokes themselves are decent? How do I know if the board would be suitable for 4, 6, or 8 cores? I'm averagely knowledgeable in hardware, so I understand all the theoretical features and aspects of motherboards. What I don't understand, however, are subjective properties of motherboards, like the efficacy of the heatsink or the quality of the VRM chokes, which are mostly things exclusively known by people who had experience with these boards in particular. In short, how do I evaluate the quality of a Motherboard more precisely in regards to its VRM & heatsinking regardless of its main specs and chipset? (Considering that I have this motherboard, of course)

 

What led me to ask about this is that I have a motherboard that, for some reason, only a few people have. It's the Asus ROG Strix B450-E. The B450-F is quite popular, but the B450-E isn't, like, at all. I can't seem to find any detailed reviews or tests for the B450-E. It's sold less, reviewed less, and it's overall less popular than the B450-F and not popular in general. It's not even evaluated in the AM4 motherboard tier-list, which is what led me to want to know how good it is myself, especially because I'm planning to upgrade to a 3700X later. I currently have an R5 2600 and I wanted to know how well the board would handle an un-OCed 3700x or a 3800X in case I do upgrade my CPU. Back to the board, it has 12 phases (Idk how many are for the CPU and how many are for the RAM) and, I'd say, average heat sinks. Can I deduce a rough evaluation of how well it could handle a 3700X/3800X just from that? Thanks!

[5x5]

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1046357-motherboard-tier-list-x570-update/

[DumboDodo]

6 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1046357-motherboard-tier-list-x570-update/

I've already checked it, and it unfortunately doesn't contain my B450-E board. It seems to compound all Strix-E boards on the same tier for some reason, but that's inaccurate because obviously each E model is different.

P.S : OR he did mention it (but not separately) and I just can't seem to understand the post and he ranks the boards based on

[5x5]

Message the author of the list

[Jurrunio]

8 minutes ago, Deathtroya said:

I've already checked it, and it unfortunately doesn't contain my B450-E board. It seems to compound all Strix-E boards on the same tier for some reason, but that's inaccurate because obviously each E model is different.

It does, we call it the Strix-E in B450 chipset. Tier D fyi.

 

You evaluate a VRM with mosfets or powerstages used in powering the CPU cores, as well as cooling system for those components. Phase count is a thing but to a lesser degree

[SliceT]

Look any B450 would handle any 8 core easily as long there's enough air flow, companies have certifications and wont just put a motherboard out there that would just die if used with a 8core.

Obviously there are better motherboards and those basicly can even run passive with no airflow at all.

[DumboDodo]

7 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

It does, we call it the Strix-E in B450 chipset. Tier D fyi.

Didn't notice that, thanks for the heads-up

 

8 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

You evaluate a VRM with mosfets or powerstages used in powering the CPU cores, as well as cooling system for those components. Phase count is a thing but to a lesser degree

*confused cat meme*

No need to know that. I found it in the tier-list which means that someone else has gone through the detailed testing and reviewing for me. I just need to check the results and comparisons. Mehehehehe

[Jurrunio]

11 minutes ago, Deathtroya said:

Mehehehehe

Just make sure you dont count inductors like a dummy. It's easy to fake that.

[DumboDodo]

34 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

Just make sure you dont count inductors like a dummy. It's easy to fake that.

what are inductors

[DumboDodo]

36 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

Just make sure you dont count inductors like a dummy. It's easy to fake that.

ohhh you mean the chokes?

That's exactly what I do lmao

[Mister Woof]

That list changes all the time. While I appreciate the effort that goes into the making of these "tier lists", I don't really like what they eventually become.

 

The B450 board I got was in Tier B when I got it, and now it's changed to E-level trash.

 

People tend to use it to substantiate their criticism for other people's buying choices more than to use it as an informational tool, imo.

[Mister Woof]

The actual answer is to wait for someone on the internet to do a breakdown of the board such as Tweaktown, De8auer, or Actually Hardcore Overclocking, and they will go into great detail about what specific power components are used.

 

Manufacturers marketing and heatsinks will really prevent you from finding out easily on your own.

 

I used Tweaktown to make my purchasing decision for my Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 5.

 

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8460/gigabyte-z370-aorus-gaming-5-motherboard-review/index.html

 

It performed fine, and my experience mirrors theirs. I haven't had any issues on this board and am at a 5ghz overclock for over a year now. It is a "B tier" motherboard on the list.