Motherboard VRM Tier List v2 (currently AMD only)

[Jurrunio]

22 minutes ago, p0ttus said:

So what is the difference between an excellent VRM like the B550 Aorus Master and a very good VRM like the X570 Unify / Tomahawk? Would there be a difference in manual hardcore overcloking with an AIO? Or does the difference start to begin in extreme overclocks with LN2 or dry ice?

 

 

I already explained what each tier means in the list. Once the VRM can handle the power draw of a CPU with ease, making it bigger is pointless

[p0ttus]

11 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

I already explained what each tier means in the list. Once the VRM can handle the power draw of a CPU with ease, making it bigger is pointless

So what would you suggest for a guy that wants to do overclocking as much as possible on a 5900X and micron rev-e ram without going extreme like the stuff I mentioned before? I got every other component I needed and don't officially have a limit for a motherboard. I don't need much M2 / SATA / PCIe. Just enough VRM for the OC and 6-7 USB ports. Don't need good network solutions as my ISS only provides like 100mbps so I guess any chipset can handle it. A good audio solution would be nice, like a SABRE DAC but I don't know if they are worth it or much different than ALC1200 / 1220 motherboards. Will eventually get an external DAC but since I got the budget, I may hold on to onboard DAC if they are worthy of the premium price. Also if I need more USBs in the future, would a USB hub / Pcie card solve the problem or are onbard USBs just better?

[Jurrunio]

7 hours ago, p0ttus said:

So what would you suggest for a guy that wants to do overclocking as much as possible on a 5900X and micron rev-e ram without going extreme like the stuff I mentioned before?

For memory OC MSI and Asus boards overall do better than the other brands. As for VRM, tier A is enough since plenty of affordable options already reached that

 

Quote

Also if I need more USBs in the future, would a USB hub / Pcie card solve the problem or are onbard USBs just better?

USB hubs limit the total speed to that of the one port used, PCIe is better if you must add but of course having all built into to begin with is better

[p0ttus]

9 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

For memory OC MSI and Asus boards overall do better than the other brands. As for VRM, tier A is enough since plenty of affordable options already reached that

 

USB hubs limit the total speed to that of the one port used, PCIe is better if you must add but of course having all built into to begin with is better

Thank you. One last question, what is the difference between ALC1220 and ALC1200? Are Asus versions better? Would a ESS onbard DAC be a worthy investment if I am not going to buy an external DAC for a few months, and just use an amp?

[daanneek]

@Jurrunio Question, the Gigabyte Aorus B550 ELITE V2 is on sale right now for 111 euro's. The MSI B550 A-pro I wanted to buy first is 125-130 euros. I'll be pairing it with a  5600x, ill either use PBO or manual overclocking, and I want to get into memory overclocking aswell. What do you recommend? Will I notice a difference between these two boards?

[gmetzo]

Hi guys, noob here confused a little bit about the list. I am getting a ryzen 9 5950x. Tier S says the 5950 is maxed with liquid nitrogen but tier A says its maxed with ambient cooling. I am obviously not using nitrogen so I need an A tier? Sorry for being stupid, I would apreciate an explanation a lot!

[daanneek]

1 hour ago, gmetzo said:

Hi guys, noob here confused a little bit about the list. I am getting a ryzen 9 5950x. Tier S says the 5950 is maxed with liquid nitrogen but tier A says its maxed with ambient cooling. I am obviously not using nitrogen so I need an A tier? Sorry for being stupid, I would apreciate an explanation a lot!

It's not like the Tier S boards can only use nitrogen, they can still be cooled by air or water. This list just states that the boards in Tier S are the best for people that want to overclock with liquid nitrogen. All the boards in the tier S, S- and A are excellent boards, and you probably won't run into any issues with any of them. Its up to you to decide which one to pick. They all differ in extra features and price. 

[Jurrunio]

5 hours ago, daanneek said:

@Jurrunio Question, the Gigabyte Aorus B550 ELITE V2 is on sale right now for 111 euro's. The MSI B550 A-pro I wanted to buy first is 125-130 euros. I'll be pairing it with a  5600x, ill either use PBO or manual overclocking, and I want to get into memory overclocking aswell. What do you recommend? Will I notice a difference between these two boards?

In potential, I dont think these boards will be any different from the other. Not expensive enough for that. Gigabyte BIOS is more difficult to navigate so that's basically what you dont get by spending less.

 

4 hours ago, gmetzo said:

Hi guys, noob here confused a little bit about the list. I am getting a ryzen 9 5950x. Tier S says the 5950 is maxed with liquid nitrogen but tier A says its maxed with ambient cooling. I am obviously not using nitrogen so I need an A tier? Sorry for being stupid, I would apreciate an explanation a lot!

You need a tier A or above board. You can totally use a board meant for liquid nitrogen on ambient cooling.

[gmetzo]

thank you both for the explanation!

[CalmOfDawn]

I noticed a recently launched ASUS business B550 motherboard that wasn't on the ratings-list but seems reliable (conformal coating, 24/7 tested) and cost-effective (under $150) though it has legacy fluff like PCI and keyboard/mouse ports: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/All-series/Pro-B550M-C-CSM/

 

Would you recommend this for a 5950X hybrid workstation/gaming build? (what's the VRM usually for biz mobos like this?)

 

Overall I'm looking for a utilitarian passive-chipset-cooling ECC-RAM workstation-mobo as some better alternative to the ASUS X570 Pro WS Ace.

 

 

[Jurrunio]

20 minutes ago, CalmOfDawn said:

(what's the VRM usually for biz mobos like this?)

It's a joke on this regard. The lowest tier and no arguments.

 

21 minutes ago, CalmOfDawn said:

Overall I'm looking for a utilitarian passive-chipset-cooling workstation-mobo as some better alternative to the ASUS X570 Pro WS Ace

This is a board meant for small offices with decade old printers, fax machines and scanners. The PC with this board will at.most.see powerpoint slides. Not comparable to the WS or Gigabyte Vision D

[CalmOfDawn]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

It's a joke on this regard. The lowest tier and no arguments.

 

This is a board meant for small offices with decade old printers, fax machines and scanners. The PC with this board will at.most.see powerpoint slides. Not comparable to the WS or Gigabyte Vision D

Thank you for that clarity. That disqualifies the ASUS Pro-B550M-C-CSM entirely.

[Willy156]

Hi, I just want to confirm that MSI MPG B550 Gaming plus motherboard is in tier A? doesnt it have bad vrm? 

[Jurrunio]

14 minutes ago, Willy156 said:

Hi, I just want to confirm that MSI MPG B550 Gaming plus motherboard is in tier A? doesnt it have bad vrm? 

It's the X570 Gaming Plus that is bad.

[Legendary Queen]

b450 MSI Mortar max vs tomahawk max(1 or 2 either)
I have ryzen 3600x
Could look into minor overclocking

I looked into mortar cause it has more usb ports 
Both are like the same prices for me so i just need to know if they have any major differences

[Jurrunio]

50 minutes ago, Legendary King said:

b450 MSI Mortar max vs tomahawk max(1 or 2 either)
I have ryzen 3600x
Could look into minor overclocking

I looked into mortar cause it has more usb ports 
Both are like the same prices for me so i just need to know if they have any major differences

The VRM and overclocking related things are the same, so it's down to smaller board with fewer ports or the opposite.

[Legendary Queen]

7 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

The VRM and overclocking related things are the same, so it's down to smaller board with fewer ports or the opposite.

Thanks!

[gokhyildiz]

Hello, i want to use ryzen 5 2600 processor and gigabyte b350m gaming 3 motherboard together. but the motherboards recommended for the processor I mentioned are at tier d level, while the motherboard I want to use is at tier e level. I wonder if there is any information about this? Do I have problems in use? Thank you.

[Jurrunio]

6 hours ago, gokhyildiz said:

Hello, i want to use ryzen 5 2600 processor and gigabyte b350m gaming 3 motherboard together. but the motherboards recommended for the processor I mentioned are at tier d level, while the motherboard I want to use is at tier e level. I wonder if there is any information about this? Do I have problems in use? Thank you.

That means you should not overclock the CPu.

[monsterkiller1]

hello, i have a b550 f gaming, and when i leave the psu on the pc doesn't turn on, i tried everything the problem continues, so i will buy another motherboard  which would recommend i have a 280mm artic , cpu is 5950x, 32gb ram patriot viper, 850w xfx,  ssd nvme 1tb, ssd 240 gb , a 1 tb disc and a Rx 6800xt (do you think the B550 Unify is a good card?) 

ps: I would also like to overclock reasonably
THX 8 

[Jurrunio]

5 hours ago, monsterkiller1 said:

do you think the B550 Unify is a good card?) 

Definitely, if it comes in stock that is.

[monsterkiller1]

3 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Definitely, if it comes in stock that is.

Or you think is better other motherbard?

[Jurrunio]

55 minutes ago, monsterkiller1 said:

Or you think is better other motherbard?

For overclocking, not really. Maybe you prefer more ports and so on but that I dont know.

[monsterkiller1]

I don't need a lot of ports, 4 prots it's perfect

 

 

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, monsterkiller1 said:

I don't need a lot of ports, 4 prots it's perfect

 

 

that means all boards you would consider meet your needs.