Motherboard VRM Tier List v2 (currently AMD only)

[Jurrunio]

14 hours ago, sailsman63 said:

Does anyone know if the MSI B550M-A Pro is one of the mATX boards where the power handling does not match up to the full-sized version?

 

The B550-A pro is rated as  a tier-A board, but looking at pictures of the B550M-A Pro, I see some major differences:

• First, the smaller board lacks the VRM heatsinks that are present on the larger. This makes me think that MSI does not expect you to run much power through the board.
• It also appears from counting the VRM caps, what I can see of the mosfets on the larger board, and some of the capacitor layout around the 24-pin, that the entire power-handling structure is built differently here.

If it is different, does anyone have insight on what the smaller board might rate as?

It's tier E or F material, definitely not ljke the ATX version

[sailsman63]

11 hours ago, JerryPoste said:

MSI PRO B550M-VC WiFi

I've been eyeing the two of those as well. Some actual differences that I've spotted:

 

• VC has a secondary SATA controller, for a total of 8 SATA vs 4 on the VDH board
• VC has slightly newer connectivity options (Two of the USB3.2 ports are gen 2)
• VC has newer WiFi support (up to ax vs. ac on the VDH)
• The VC WiFi is a pre-installed key in the M2_2 slot. Not clear if the VDH's WiFi is actually on-board or is also an M2 key.
• In addition to the GPU slot, VC has 3 full-format x16-size PCIe slots, vs the VDH, which has 2 x1 slots. (Note that even though they are the x16 form-factor, they only run in x1 mode. Presumably, they are a split bus with M2_2, which is an x4 slot all on its own)

Visually, what can be seen of the power-handling end of the board appears to be identical. That doesn't say anything about component ratings, though.

[tbob22]

The MSI PRO B550-VC (non M) seems like a slightly modified version of the B550-A PRO, I noticed two more SATA ports, the PCIE x1 slots are now full length (x4 wired?), the third slot may only now be wired for x4 instead of x8 previously, and the fan header below the SATA ports is rotated but it looks very similar otherwise. I'm guessing they share the same VRM design.

[Yuuki Mikagami]

i currently using a MSI B550 Tomahawk.
I'm currently playing around with low voltage and power plan tuning for increased responsiveness like this.

 

 

curse of dreaded MSI, a feature that no other company has, catches me and won't let me go.

Do you have products that meet the following conditions?

MSI again? 

 

1. Socket AM5
2. VRM switching frequency in BIOS menu can be set above 1000KHz (Faster VRM Responce Time)

3. Support PBO and Curve Optimizer
4. Support setting PWM of Low fan to 0% in BIOS.
     *The above settings are possible even when the fan is not connected.
5. Fan control is enabled as soon as the PC boots. (perfect silent boot with no fan noise)
6. Price between $150-250
7. Fan connector x4 or more
     *B550 Tomahawk is supports 2/3/4/5/6/7

     *A plastic cover over the VRM is not required.
      I know the I/O cover and LEDs are garbage as I removed the cover on my X570 Aorus Elite and the VRM temperature dropped by 8C.

     *Asrock's official spec is VRM Efficiency 95% (250KHz).

[beyondgoodandevil]

Hey, is there any updated version of the initial file with AM5 motherboards please?

[PierreJG1982]

There's a guy that wrote his own bios for an A320 and ran a 5950x on it. Man I can just imagine how much pressure those vrm had. Is it convenient, obviously not but it can be done. I would reckon it won't last long though

[Krzeszny]

What about ASUS PRIME B550-Plus ?

 

I've been browsing this list for a long time and that's the only mb I've seen that isn't on the list.

[Jurrunio]

24 minutes ago, Krzeszny said:

What about ASUS PRIME B550-Plus ?

 

I've been browsing this list for a long time and that's the only mb I've seen that isn't on the list.

The VRM area looks exactly like the B550 TUF boards so it's probably tier A material as well, but the heatsink did shrink so I wouldn't say it's as good.

[BotDamian]

AM5 list soon?

[ahmad13610]

Am5 heyyy

 

why stuck now

[Booterbotter]

On 12/24/2019 at 10:10 AM, Jurrunio said:

Credit to: @LukeSavenije

 

The following list is based on facts, ranked on power delivery and known problems. The list will include boards that support CPU overclocking available at retail from different brands.

 

There are still differences in performance among boards of the same tier. As a result, those that barely made it into that tier will be in orange while those that are better than others in the same tier are in blue. Unless specified, boards sharing the same name and chipset in different form factors are ranked the same.

 

For advanced users: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Smj5dh97n32wJqm5dkdDcQt8ID7vH52-lKzaaXUUQx8/edit?usp=sharing

 

AMD

 

All current draw figures are based on Prime95 small FFT with AVX unless otherwise specified, in other words the worst case scenario.

 

Only often recommended sku of CPUs in the same generation and core/thread count configuration is named, others share the same rating.

 

Zen scales down frequency and voltage according to EDC (current limit) and TDC (thermal limit) settings of the motherboard so in theory you won’t cook the VRM of any board at stock, you just lose frequency.

 

For tier A and above, due to lack of feasible CPUs that allow testing of the boards at higher current ratings, there are some level on guessing in terms of how much more power the VRM can take.

 

AM4 (Athlon, Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9)

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Tier S: 300A current draw on little ambient airflow (i.e below a big air cooler in a well-ventilated case), maxed out 5950X and 3950X on liquid nitrogen (LN2) overclocking

Asus: X570 Crosshair VIII Hero, Crosshair VIII Dark Hero, B550 B550-XE

Gigabyte: X570S Aorus Master, X570 Aorus Xtreme, B550 Aorus Master

MSI: X570 Godlike, Creation

 

Tier S-: 250A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 5900X and 3900X on liquid nitrogen (LN2) overclocking

Asus: X570 X570-E, Pro WS Ace, B550 B550-E

Asrock: X570 Taichi, Taichi Razer Edition, Phantom Gaming X, Creator, B550 Taichi

Gigabyte: X570 Aorus Master, B550 Aorus Pro (& AC & AX) (ATX), Vision D

MSI: X570 Ace, Unify, Tomahawk, B550 Tomahawk, Edge (ATX), Carbon

 

Tier A: 200A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 5950X and 3950X on ambient cooling, 2700x on LN2

Asus: X570 X570-F, TUF Plus, Prime Pro, Crosshair VIII Impact, X570-I, X570-P, B550 B550-A, B550-F, TUF Pro, TUF Plus (ATX & mATX & mATX WiFi), B550-I X470 Crosshair VII Hero, B450 TUF Pro S, TUF Pro II, TUF Plus II (ATX), X370 Crosshair VI Extreme

Asrock: X570 ITX/TB3, B550 Extreme 4, Steel Legend (ATX), Velocita X470 Taichi (Ultimate), X370 Taichi, Professional Gaming

Gigabyte: X570 Aorus Ultra, Pro (ATX), B550 Aorus Elite (ATX), ITX, X470 Gaming 7

MSI: B550 A-Pro, Gaming Plus, Mortar, Pro-VC (ATX), ITX

NZXT: B550 N7

 

Tier B: 160A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 5900X and 3900X, 3950x at 1.2V on ambient cooling, maxed out 1800X on LN2

Asus: X470 X470-F, X370 Crosshair VI Hero, X370-F

Asrock: X570 Extreme4, Steel Legend, Pro4 (ATX & mATX), Phantom 4, B550 Steel Legend (mATX)

Biostar: X570 GT8, X470 GT8, X370 GT7

Gigabyte: X570 Aorus Elite, ITX

MSI: X470 M7 AC, Gaming Pro Carbon

 

Tier C :125A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 2700, 3900x and 5900X at 1.2V on ambient cooling (P95)

Asus: X370 Prime Pro

Asrock: B550 Pro4 (ATX & mATX), Phantom 4

Gigabyte: X570 UD, Gaming X, B550 Aorus Pro (mATX), Gaming X, X370 Gaming K7, Gaming 5

MSI: X570 Gaming Pro Carbon, B550 Pro-VDH WiFi, Pro-DASH, Pro-VC (mATX), Bazooka, X470 Gaming Plus (& Max), B450 Gaming Pro Carbon (& Max), Tomahawk (& Max), Gaming Plus ATX (& Max), B450-A Pro (& Max) (ATX), Mortar (& Max), Gaming Plus mATX, Bazooka Plus, Gaming Plus ITX, X370 M7 ACK, XPower Titanium

 

Tier D :100A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 1700, 3700X and 5800X, a tad more than maxed out 2600/1600AF, 105W TDP CPUs at stock with downdraft air cooler

Asus: X470 Prime Pro, X470-I, B450 TUF Pro (mATX and ATX), B450-E, B450-F II, B450-I, X370 X370-I, B350 B350-I

Asrock: B550 B550M-ITX/ac, X470 Master SLI, K4, ITX, B450 Pro4 (mATX and ATX), Pro4-F, K4, M/AC, Steel Legend, ITX, B350 Pro4, K4

Biostar: B550 GTQ

Gigabyte: X470 Gaming 5, Ultra Gaming, B550 Aorus Elite (mATX), Gaming, DS3H, B450 Aorus Elite (mATX), Gaming

MSI: X570 X570-A Pro, Gaming Plus, Edge, X470 Gaming Pro, B450 Pro-VDH (& Max & V2), Bazooka (& Max Wifi & V2), X370 Gaming Pro Carbon, Krait Gaming, SLI Plus, Gaming Plus, Gaming Pro, B350 Gaming Pro Carbon, Krait Gaming

 

Tier E: 75A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 1600, 3600 and 5600X, a bit more than maxed out 2500X, 95W TDP CPUs at stock with downdraft air cooler

Asus: B550 B550M-A, X470 TUF Plus, B450 B450-F, TUF Plus (mATX and ATX), TUF Plus II (mATX), Prime Plus, B450M-A II, X370 X370-A, B350 B350-F, Prime Plus, TUF Plus

Asrock: B450 HDV, X370 Gaming X, Killer SLI, mITX, K4, Pro4, B350 ITX, HDV, AB350M

Biostar: X470 GTA, GTQ, GTN, X370 GT5, GT3, B350 GT5, GT3, GTN

Gigabyte: B450 Aorus Pro (ATX), Aorus Elite (ATX), Aorus M, Gaming X, S2H, DS3H, ITX, X370 Gaming K5, K3, 3, Gaming, DS3H, B350 Gaming 3, Gaming, DASH, DS3H, AB350N Gaming-WiFi

MSI: B450 Pro-M2 (& Max), B350 Gaming Plus, Tomahawk, PC Mate, Bazooka, Mortar, Pro-VDH, Pro-VH Plus, Pro-VD Plus

 

Tier F: 50A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 1200/2200G (CPU only)/3100/3300X or 65W TDP CPUs at stock with downdraft air cooler

Asus: B550 B550M-K, B450 B450M-K, B450M-A, Dragon, B350 B350M-A, B350M-E, B350M-K

Asrock: B450 HDV R4.0, B350 HDV R3.0, HDV R4.0

Biostar: X570 GT, B350 B45M2, HiFi B350S1, ET2

Gigabyte: B350 D3H, D3V, HD3, DS2, B450 B450 H

MSI: B450 Pro-M2 V2, B450M-A Pro, B350 Gaming Pro

 

Tier H2O: Liquid cooled only VRM, quite bad if cooled only with air, tier S if liquid cooled

Asus: X570 Crosshair VIII Formula

Asrock: X570 Aqua

 

Tier W: Workstation features, can appear here and above tiers

Asus: X570 Pro WS Ace (proper ECC certification) 

Asrock rack: X570 D2I, D4U-2L2T, D4I-2T, X470 D4U (ECC cert + KVM switch), D4U2-2T (ECC cert + KVM switch)

 

 

B550 and X570S Speculation: If you cant find the board above, then it should be here. If it's already up there, then ignore what it's placed here

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Tier A: Gigabyte X570S Aorus Pro AX, Aero G, Asus Prime B550 Plus

 

Tier B: Asrock B550 Phantom Gaming ITX, Biostar B550 GTA, Gigabyte X570S UD, Gaming X

 

Tier C : 

 

Tier D : Asus Prime B550 Plus, Gigabyte B550 S2H

 

Tier F:  Gigabyte B550M H

 

 

TR4 (Ryzen Threadripper 1xxx and 2xxx) X399

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Tier LN2: 700A current draw under mist of liquid nitrogen and high RPM fan (ambient air? unrealistic), maxed out 2990WX under an awful lot of liquid nitrogen

Asus: Zenith Extreme Alpha

MSI: Creation

 

Tier S: 500A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out (1.35v) 2990WX on ambient cooling (P95), 2970WX on liquid nitrogen

Asus: Zenith Extreme Alpha

MSI: Creation

 

Tier A: 400A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 2990WX on ambient cooling (Cinebench R20) or 1.2V in Prime95

Someone occupy here plz

 

Tier B: 350A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 2970WX on ambient cooling (P95), 2990WX limited to 1.175v (P95)

Gigabyte: Aorus Xtreme

 

Tier C 300A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 2970WX on ambient cooling (Cinebench R20) or 1.2V in Prime95

Asus: Zenith Extreme with cooling kit

 

Tier D 250A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 2950X on ambient cooling, 2970WX limited to 1.15v (P95)

Asus: Zenith Extreme

MSI: Gaming Pro Carbon AC, SLI Plus

 

Tier E: 200A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 2920X and 1950X on ambient cooling

Asus: X399-E, X399-A

Asrock: Taichi (mATX & ATX), Professional Gaming

Gigabyte: Gaming 7, Designare EX, Aorus Pro

 

Tier F: 150A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 1920X on ambient cooling

Asrock: Phantom 6

 

Tier G: 100A current draw on little ambient airflow, maxed out 1900X on ambient cooling

Thank god nothing is here

 

sTRX4 (Ryzen Threadripper 3xxx) TRX40 (largely guessing since there's little data)

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Tier S: 500A current draw in low airflow condition (i.e. no case fan blowing over the VRM), maxed out 3990X (1.3v) with watercooling (to the point which it doesnt thermal throttle)

Asus: Zenith II Extreme Alpha, Zenith II Extreme

Gigabyte: Designare, Aorus Master, Aorus Xtreme

MSI: Creator

Tier A: 350A current draw in low airflow condition, 3990X conservative (1.2v) overclock
Asus: Prime Pro, Prime Pro S, TRX40-E, TRX40-XE

 

Tier B: 275A current draw in low airflow condition, 3990X locked to 300W PPT, maxed out 3970X

Gigabyte: Aorus Pro

MSI: Pro WiFi, Pro 10G

Asrock: Taichi

 

Tier C : 225A current draw in low airflow condition, 3970X stock and maxed out 3960X

Asrock: Creator

 

 

Sources:

  Reveal hidden contents

Hardwareluxx.de: VRM parts table (AM4 B350/X370/B450/X470)

 

Hardware Unboxed: MSI X570 Unify; Flagship X570 VRM thermal test; Affordable X570 VRM Thermals; Budget X570 VRM Thermals; 3950X on B450 boards; TRX40 boards with overclocked 3990X; Some MSI boards; Cheaper B550 board test

 

/u/CR1318 on reddit: Motherboard Tier List

 

Tweaktown: biostar x370gt7; biostar x370gtn gaming; biostar a320mh pro gaming

 

Buildzoid: Gigabyte's Z390 lineup; Asrock X470 Master SLI; Asrock AB350M Pro 4, AB350 Pro 4 and AB350 Gaming K4; ASUS Prime X470-Pro; Asrock X370 Taichi; MSI X470 Gaming Plus; MSI B450M Mortar Titanium; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme; ASUS Maximus XI Apex; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra; MSI MEG X399 Creation; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi; ASUS TUF B450M-Pro Gaming; ASUS TUF B450M-Pro Gaming; Asrock X470 Master SLI / Gaming K4; "Asrock X470 Master SLI VRM temperature sensing is broken"; EVGA Z370 Micro; Gigabyte B450M Gaming; EVGA Z390 FTW; Gigabyte X370 Gaming K5; Asrock X570 Pro4; Asus X570 Strix-E; Gigabyte x570; MSI x570; Asrock x570; Asus x570; Asus X570 Prime-P; Asus X570 Strix-F; Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra; Gigabyte X570 Gaming X;

 

GN (Buidzoid): Best Motherboards for AMD Ryzen 2018 - AM4 X470 & B450; Best Z390 Motherboards for VRMs, 10Gb LAN, Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX (2018); Best AM4 Motherboards for Overclocking (X370 & B350); EVGA X299 DARK; MSI Z390 Godlike; ASUS Maximus XI Hero; ASUS Crosshair VI Hero X370; ASUS X399 Zenith Extreme; EVGA X299 DARK; MSI X570 Tomahawk

 

Bitwit: Biostar Racing X370 GTN

 

Kitguru: MSI TRX40 Creator

 

Sebelas Hardware: Biostar Racing X370 GT3

 

hardwareinside.de: biostar-racing x370gt5

 

play3r.net: biostar racing x370gt5

 

back2gaming.com: biostar racing b350gt5

 

Proclockers: biostar h310mhd pro

 

de8auer: MSI X570 Tomahawk, Asus B550-E and B550M TUF-Plus WiFi

 

XFastest: Biostar B550 GTQ

 

 

Legacy list thread: Those looking to dive into Intel's outdated process node and recycled (for many times) architecture please refer to the old list

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

Any updated motherboard tier list? Also, would there be an AM5 version but yeah AM4 updated one would suffice since we know AM5 is still new but a lot of users are still using AM4  

[GamerMoment]

How's the Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master? 

[tdkid]

does anyone know if any company besides MSI puts their motherboards into tiers? what i mean is MSI has MAG for their low end, MPG for their mid level and MEG as their high end motherboards. 

i am researching on what board i want to buy and what CPU. 

[MAKTUB]

does anyone know the vrm quality of the asrock b550 pg riptide, does it fall into which rank on the chart? rank a and rank b
https://pg.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B550 PG Riptide/index.br.asp
 

.

[BotDamian]

Any plans to add AM5 to the table?

[Level99]

Hello everyone, I hope you are well.

I have a small query, I have the MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI within my reach for €190, and the MSI MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI for €200, when I see that the X570S TOMAHAWK is not on the list, what do you recommend?

Is the Tomahawk X570 better than its 'successor' X570S?

Thank you so much.

A cordial greeting.

 

 

[Jurrunio]

3 hours ago, Level99 said:

Hello everyone, I hope you are well.

I have a small query, I have the MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI within my reach for €190, and the MSI MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI for €200, when I see that the X570S TOMAHAWK is not on the list, what do you recommend?

Is the Tomahawk X570 better than its 'successor' X570S?

Thank you so much.

A cordial greeting.

 

 

None of the X570S boards are performance wise different enough to warrant a different rating, they are almost just different colour and less old first BIOS.

[Level99]

Hace 4 horas, Jurrunio dijo:

Ninguna de las placas X570S tiene un rendimiento lo suficientemente diferente como para justificar una calificación diferente, son casi solo de un color diferente y menos antiguas que la primera BIOS.

Hello  @Jurrunio !

So in this case the only difference is the cooling, which goes from active to passive.

I'm thinking of retiring my AMD B350 and I've noticed that a nearby computer store has stock of the X570S Tomahawk, if the only change there is cooling, I may go to that motherboard.

Thank you very much for your help!

[ThalesMML]

Hi, I will buy new AM5 motherboard, cpu and rams. I plan to get Ryzen 7 7700 (Stock cooler), 32GB XPG Lancer DDR5 6000MHz CL30, but it is hard to chose motherboard. I definitely don't want to overspend on motherboard but I want it to support future AM5 cpu like Ryzen 8800X3D or 9800X3D. So, how much VRM should I look for on motherboard? I saw the video of Hardware Unboxed, used Gigabyte B650M DS3H with 7950X and said it is fine.

 

Gigabyte B650M DS3H (PP:6 60A)

MSI PRO B650M-A WIFI (PP:8 55A)

 

These two are the most I look for because of low price, or should I look for higher end boards?

[podkall]

@Jurrunio I remember ASUS M-K boards being at E tier, spread across different tiers,

 

why are all M-K MBs suddenly F tier?

[Jurrunio]

2 hours ago, podkall said:

@Jurrunio I remember ASUS M-K boards being at E tier, spread across different tiers,

 

why are all M-K MBs suddenly F tier?

I dont think that has ever been the case. Boards running mosfets bare are always down there since they need downdraft air coolers to help with cooling. Gone are the days when entry level systems only have 2 CPU cores.

[podkall]

8 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

I dont think that has ever been the case. Boards running mosfets bare are always down there since they need downdraft air coolers to help with cooling. Gone are the days when entry level systems only have 2 CPU cores.

I remember ASUS PRIME B450M-K, being E tier, on this tierlist,

 

I remember because, recommending powerful VRM wise MB is a thing you need to know, and, despite not having budget - I wondered how much my MB could handle CPU upgrading before I had to upgrade it,

 

and I remember feeling relieved because I saw it in E tier.

 

@Jurrunio am I hallucinating then?

[Jurrunio]

9 hours ago, podkall said:

I remember ASUS PRIME B450M-K, being E tier, on this tierlist,

 

I remember because, recommending powerful VRM wise MB is a thing you need to know, and, despite not having budget - I wondered how much my MB could handle CPU upgrading before I had to upgrade it,

 

and I remember feeling relieved because I saw it in E tier.

 

@Jurrunio am I hallucinating then?

Spoiler

A screenshot of a test post of the tier list before I made it public back from 2019. M-K boards are down in tier F from the beginning.

 

Or maybe you read that from the older motherboard tier list made by someone I forgot the name of (this is v2 after all, I didn't make v1)

[podkall]

15 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Or maybe you read that from the older motherboard tier list made by someone I forgot the name of (this is v2 after all, I didn't make v1)

I remember, asking like 2 years ago (probably 3-4 years ago), if my MB would support an upgrade, and people replied quoting 2v tierlist, that it's in E tier or something, definitely not F tier, because I asked 5600x specifically

 

15 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

A screenshot of a test post of the tier list before I made it public back from 2019. M-K boards are down in tier F from the beginning.

2019? are you a time traveller?

 

[Jurrunio]

7 hours ago, podkall said:

2019? are you a time traveller

The test post was created in 2019, but my screenshot is from yesterday XD