Best AMD chipset?

[Max1996LTT]

I'm planning to buy a MicroATX AM4 motherboard in the future, but I have to wonder: How do I figure out what the best chipset is for my needs?

[minibois]

The differences between chipsets are minimal, mainly the amount of USB options, PCI lanes and overclocking support or not (A320 doesn't support OC'ing, all the others do).

There are good and bad boards in every chipset though, so you shouldn't judge a board by its chipset.

^This shows a list of boards, ordered by what sort of use case (CPU type and OC'ing) it is good for.

 

That should limit some choices. Then you can look at physical sizes, and for example limit out the boards that won't fit in your case. Then you can check features, like RAM slot amounts, M.2 slot amounts, ports on the back, etc.

 

If you want some suggestions, please do post the build you are planning out, tell us some of your demands for the board, possible budget, etc. 

[Max1996LTT]

Right now, I do have some of the planned components in: 2 x 8 GB DDR4 2400, a PCIe wi-fi card, a CPU cooler and a DVD drive with the planned processor being Ryzen 5 2600.

Still planning on what to choose for the components I don't yet have.

As far as overclocking goes, I don't really have any plans to do so.

 

[boggy77]

Just now, Max1996LTT said:

Right now, I do have some of the planned components in: 2 x 8 GB DDR4 2400, a PCIe wi-fi card, a CPU cooler and a DVD drive with the planned processor being Ryzen 5 2600.

Still planning on what to choose for the components I don't yet have.

As far as overclocking goes, I don't really have any plans to do so.

 

I'd get a b450 motherboard for your r5 2600. I'd also get 3000MHz ram, it does really make a difference.

The best b450 motherboards are from msi. check out tomahawk, a-pro, gaming plus, gaming pro.

[Max1996LTT]

55 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

I'd get a b450 motherboard for your r5 2600. I'd also get 3000MHz ram, it does really make a difference.

The best b450 motherboards are from msi. check out tomahawk, a-pro, gaming plus, gaming pro.

1. Noted.

2. What I meant there is I have those specific components already with me, ready for when I'm starting the actual build.

[Max1996LTT]

Something else I've been wondering about while searching for motherboards earlier: does it matter whether the PCIe x1 slot is above or below the x16 slot on the board?

[minibois]

1 hour ago, Max1996LTT said:

Right now, I do have some of the planned components in: 2 x 8 GB DDR4 2400, a PCIe wi-fi card, a CPU cooler and a DVD drive with the planned processor being Ryzen 5 2600.

Still planning on what to choose for the components I don't yet have.

As far as overclocking goes, I don't really have any plans to do so.

As @boggy77 said, some 3000Mhz+ memory, really does help performance a lot.

The component probably most important for choosing a motherboard (other than the CPU ) would be the case, as it decides the size of motherboard you will be able to use. All the others parts mentioned will not really have an impact on what board you should choose.

Personally I am kind of partial to Gigabyte motherboards as I have found them to be really robust (in terms of build, BIOS, memory support, features, price, etc.).

 

The B450 Aorus Elite (if your case fits ATX) would be a good option for you. You could definitely overclock on this board, it has room for both the GPU and WiFi card, well laid out ports on the back (only 'missing' a USB Type C or USB 10Gb/3.2 Gen 2), good memory support, dual M.2 room..

Although the MSI B450 would work too.

9 minutes ago, Max1996LTT said:

Something else I've been wondering about while searching for motherboards earlier: does it matter whether the PCIe x1 slot is above or below the x16 slot on the board?

Unless you were planning to use all slots; it doesn't matter.

If a PCIe x1 slot is below the top PCIe x16, your GPU will of course overlap the PCIe x1, making it unusable. But usually you have 1 or 2 x16 slots (where lower X cards will fit into as well) and another 1 or 2 x1 slots too. So no big deal.

 

[Max1996LTT]

4 minutes ago, minibois said:

The B450 Aorus Elite (if your case fits ATX) would be a good option for you. You could definitely overclock on this board, it has room for both the GPU and WiFi card, well laid out ports on the back (only 'missing' a USB Type C or USB 10Gb/3.2 Gen 2), good memory support, dual M.2 room..

 

I prefer MicroATX with no OC, as I don't really need that many PCIe slots (1 GPU/graphics card and 1 wi-fi card, that's it) or OC.