Which B450 is the Best for my System? (or should I rather go for the Z570)

[Katarn]

I am making an AMD build:

- R5 3600

- RX 5700 XT

- 2 x 8GB DDR4 (thinking of 3200MHz CL15)

- 1 TB HDD

- 2TB Western Digital Blue SATA3 5800RPM (this is my storage HDD, migrating from my current build)

 

The motherboard I've seen recommended by Tech Deals is the MSI B450 Tomahawk. It seems like a good pick. But I've noticed that it advertises RGB, and I do not care for RGB (I would not pay extra for it). The Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite sells for around the same price (slightly less) and, as far as I know, Gigabyte is more reputable than MSI when it comes to motherboards. In the meantime, I see that there are other B450 motherboards sold at half the price of the Tomahawk, like the Gigabyte B450M-DS3H. On the other hand, it seems as though, as of lately, the preferred motherboard for a Gen 3 Ryzen has been the X570 (recommended by AMD engineers). The least expensive one on offer is the Gigabyte X570 Gaming X.

 

So, I am looking not to overpay for redundant features and I am trying not to cheap out and get a bad deal because of it.

Keeping in mind that I would rather avoid paying for RGB, I am not interested in overclocking, but I would like quality onboard audio (recording purposes) which motherboard best suits the system I am planning to build? _{(and why is it the Tomahawk)}

[samcool55]

Basically any MSI board with MAX in its name is a good option.

The reason why the tomahawk is such a popular board is because it does basically everything decently and isn't insanely expensive (so that includes RGB)

 

The MAX suffix in the name of the product means that it will support ryzen 3000 guaranteed right out of the box, it's like a revised version of their non-max variants and have a bigger BIOS (more megabytes to fit all the code for all the different CPU's).

[Epimetheus]

The Tomahawk is considered better since it has good vrms and can support bios updating without a zen or zen+ cpu.Even better, the tomahawk max has compatibility out of the box and will support 4th gen ryzen too without problems due to its bigger bios. If you already have a 1st or 2nd gen ryzen chip, the Aorus Elite is a good choice too. I'd avoid the other too options, they're cheaply made. If you want to get x570, the lowest you should go is the Asus prime x570, surprisingly good for the price

[Katarn]

Is the B450 Tomahawk without Max in its title as good a choice?

The one I'm seeing on the store's website does not have it, and I can't seem to find a "Max" version (or another Tomahawk) elsewhere.

 

I might be able to order a Max, so (if possible), should I? What price margin should be the cutoff point between the two?

[samcool55]

1 hour ago, Katarn said:

Is the B450 Tomahawk without Max in its title as good a choice?

The one I'm seeing on the store's website does not have it, and I can't seem to find a "Max" version (or another Tomahawk) elsewhere.

 

I might be able to order a Max, so (if possible), should I? What price margin should be the cutoff point between the two?

Yea the board itself is fine, just know that you probably need to update the BIOS first before the motherboard will work with the CPU.

So, I would suggest reading about it a bit (it's not that complex and nothing to be afraid about) but just make sure you understand it and did your housework because if you start panicking and doing random things, it might end up broken.

But again, do your homework, prepare properly and stay calm and it will all be fine.

Just know you need a properly formatted USB flash drive and a working PC to prepare the USB.

[SliceT]

For that CPU you dont need much, get a X570 Gaming K4 and be done with it.