Motherboard VRM Tier List v2 (currently AMD only)

[CalvinXC]

I’m looking forward to build a Ryzen 5 3600 system to replace my 2700K system soon.
 

Currently decided to get the MSI B450-A pro (ATX), is there any other difference with the Max version aside from it having an older version of the bios? Will the board basically be a “Max version” after a bios flashback with the latest bios available? 
 

I can’t find Max version of this board in my local market, and comparable MSI Max boards are at least about $25-40 dollars more expensive. My concern is mainly about the memory support, their official website stated it support up to 3466Mhz memory only. However, the Max version has support up to 4133Mhz. Not that I’m going to do that speed anytime soon but still looking forward to at least have 3600Mhz support or even have that potential to oc. The memory QVL for the non Max version does include kits beyond 3466Mhz, so that confused me quite a bit. 

[Jurrunio]

50 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

The B450M S2H from Gigabyte seems to have hit the market, preliminary looks online seem to show that it has the same VRM as the DS3H, 4x4C10N 2x4C06N, with a more substantial heat sink. Would it be eligible for tier E?

I am thinking about tier D since it has on paper better efficiency from the mosfets though smaller heatsink of similar design, but then I can't find any reviews yet so I'm probably still putting it in tier E just to be sure

 

41 minutes ago, CalvinXC said:

Currently decided to get the MSI B450-A pro (ATX), is there any other difference with the Max version aside from it having an older version of the bios? Will the board basically be a “Max version” after a bios flashback with the latest bios available? 

You'll get better looking BIOS with the MAX board, since the non max board's smaller capacity BIOS chip means MSI had to delete the fancy UI leaving behind one that's a lot more old fashioned. You might like that idk

 

43 minutes ago, CalvinXC said:

I can’t find Max version of this board in my local market, and comparable MSI Max boards are at least about $25-40 dollars more expensive. My concern is mainly about the memory support, their official website stated it support up to 3466Mhz memory only. However, the Max version has support up to 4133Mhz. Not that I’m going to do that speed anytime soon but still looking forward to at least have 3600Mhz support or even have that potential to oc. The memory QVL for the non Max version does include kits beyond 3466Mhz, so that confused me quite a bit. 

That just means they verified the max board with 3rd gen CPU while the non max board wasn't. They didnt revaluate the old board just in case there are boards already shipped that can't reach the max board's specs. I doubt they spent extra effort to make max boards better here, not worth their time

[Fasauceome]

13 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

I am thinking about tier D since it has on paper better efficiency from the mosfets though smaller heatsink of similar design, but then I can't find any reviews yet so I'm probably still putting it in tier E just to be sure

 

almost tempted to buy one myself just to test it. What are the performance parameters for D, voltage and clocks?

[Jurrunio]

4 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

almost tempted to buy one myself just to test it. What are the performance parameters for D, voltage and clocks?

Zen+ 8 core 1.28V 4GHz Prime95 small FFT roughly, was using Zen 2 8 core 1.38V 4.2GHz as standard at some point but that's unsafe voltage

[CalvinXC]

1 hour ago, Jurrunio said:

You'll get better looking BIOS with the MAX board, since the non max board's smaller capacity BIOS chip means MSI had to delete the fancy UI leaving behind one that's a lot more old fashioned. You might like that idk

 

That just means they verified the max board with 3rd gen CPU while the non max board wasn't. They didnt revaluate the old board just in case there are boards already shipped that can't reach the max board's specs. I doubt they spent extra effort to make max boards better here, not worth their time

Not much difference that I can notice, appearance is not utmost priority. The board is literally brown in color and I’m not complaining.

 

Checked the QVL between both versions, basically the same from what I can see. 
 

Not sure if AMD would let older boards like X470/B450 to support the 4000 series, just wishful thinking. 

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, CalvinXC said:

Not sure if AMD would let older boards like X470/B450 to support the 4000 series, just wishful thinking.

If it's in the same socket, I don't see why not. Also 4000 is supposedly a refresh of 3000, with optimizations done here and there like 1000 to 2000, but not generational leap like 2000 to 3000 so if AMD cuts compatibility, barely anyone would buy their new CPUs.

[viceice]

Well, S2H is in the Turkish market for a LONG time, actually a lot of friends built pcs with it (cheapest b450 board here in turkey with a vrm heatsink)

 

Here's my friend's r5 2600 on this board after 6 mins of prime95 smallfft

 

[Jurrunio]

4 minutes ago, viceice said:

Well, S2H is in the Turkish market for a LONG time, actually a lot of friends built pcs with it (cheapest b450 board here in turkey with a vrm heatsink)

 

Here's my friend's r5 2600 on this board after 6 mins of prime95 smallfft

Thank you for taking your time, but sadly that's not really useful data as thermal sensors of the VRM on boards that use mosfets tends to be rather inaccurate

[viceice]

3 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

Thank you for taking your time, but sadly that's not really useful data as thermal sensors of the VRM on boards that use mosfets tends to be rather inaccurate

you're right in a sense

 

Btw I had a gigabyte b450 gaming x  as well. from what i know all those gigabyte b450 boards share same vrm counts. some one said s2h has more vrms but i dont think so , weeird

 

oh also, i dialed from 1.30v 4.1 ghz to 1.24v 4.0 ghz for my 2700x for now (maybe would be better for mobo health in long term)

 

cant seem to use PBO. either the mobo or windows bugged.

 

i get an average vcore of 1.42-1.43v in idle

 

and in light threaded games (heroes of storm), voltage is stuck in 1.35v+ levels;

 

 

my paranaoid personality wont let me use this cpu with those xfr voltages. it seems like it will last about 2-3 years and go down after that.. 

 

note that this is with a -0.080 offset of voltage... still 1.35v+ constant in heroes of storm (which uses only one-two core)

 

not to mention, with fixed 1.24 voltage, my idle wattage ise 20-30w

 

but with pbo; idle is always 40-50w ...

 

 

general consensus is "burst" high voltages are ok

 

but how about constant high voltage with low core load? any consensus on that?

 

--

 

should i trust my mobo, xfr and 2700x? or am i better off with fixed 1.24 4ghz or something like that (so far its good, stable in ibt and p95 smallfft for 1 hour)

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, viceice said:

 

general consensus is "burst" high voltages are ok

 

but how about constant high voltage with low core load? any consensus on that?

2nd gen takes more voltage, so it could still be fine.

[TRlAGE]

Hello! Currently I have Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 2060 Super and G.Skill Trident Z Neo 16GB 3600MHz. What motherboard would you suggest? Is the TUF B450 Pro Gaming any good, considering it can handle the 3950x?

 

https://youtu.be/wqVqar209YQ

 

Thanks!

[Jurrunio]

7 hours ago, TRlAGE said:

Hello! Currently I have Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 2060 Super and G.Skill Trident Z Neo 16GB 3600MHz. What motherboard would you suggest? Is the TUF B450 Pro Gaming any good, considering it can handle the 3950x?

 

https://youtu.be/wqVqar209YQ

 

Thanks!

It's a decent board for R5 3600, but that video doesnt mean anything. I dont know what workload he's running, I dont know how much power the CPU is pulling, and measuring the top of the heatsink's temperature for and call that VRM temps is hugely misleading (since the mosfets are below the heatsink and the temperature difference can easily exceed 20C)

[TRlAGE]

I'm really torn between the TUF B450 Pro Gaming and Tomahawk Max. I prefer the looks of the TUF B450 and it has better audio than the Tomahawk. Both are Ryzen 3000 series ready, so there's no dilemma about that. I guess I'll have to do some more researching.

[GoRebs622]

So I just upgraded to a 3800x, but I'm still on an Gigabyte X570 UD motherboard(Tier C). I don't really overclock at all, but am I okay with sticking with what I have or should I sell it and get a higher tier motherboard? All I do is game, so I probably should have stuck with the 3600x, but I got on the emulator train and decided to move to more cores/threads. 

[Jurrunio]

5 minutes ago, GoRebs622 said:

So I just upgraded to a 3800x, but I'm still on an Gigabyte X570 UD motherboard(Tier C). I don't really overclock at all, but am I okay with sticking with what I have or should I sell it and get a higher tier motherboard? All I do is game, so I probably should have stuck with the 3600x, but I got on the emulator train and decided to move to more cores/threads. 

that's more than enough for the 8 core, you're fine

[GoRebs622]

2 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

that's more than enough for the 8 core, you're fine

Thank you for the response.That eases my mind.

[Derael]

So, tier D and above motherboards are more than enough for Ryzen 5 3600? I assume grabbing the cheapest available mobo from that range is a way to go? What about memory overclocking? I was thinking about getting a 3200mhz CL16 Crucial Ballistix kit and overclocking it to 3600 mhz, is C or D tier motherboard enough for this?

 

EDIT: I was thinking about MSI B450-A Pro MAX (98 usd here), ASRock B450M Pro4 (or ATX version, can't find M in the list) (81 usd for mATX, 86 usd for ATX version), MSI B450M Mortar Max (but it's currently a bit overpriced in my country, around 107 usd) and MSI B450M Bazooka Plus (92 usd here). Not sure if it's worth paying extra for MSI board, or ASRock will be just fine for my needs.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Derael

[Jurrunio]

@Derael memory OC is board dependent, in this case the B450-A Pro is the best. Asrock Pro4 and MSI Mortar, Bazooka Plus should be equal in memory OC along with the A Pro, but A Pro has the best VRM for running more power hungry CPUs.

[MMTECH]

On 4/22/2020 at 3:28 AM, Jurrunio said:

@Derael memory OC is board dependent, in this case the B450-A Pro is the best. Asrock Pro4 and MSI Mortar, Bazooka Plus should be equal in memory OC along with the A Pro, but A Pro has the best VRM for running more power hungry CPUs.

Hi all, I am building rig with white theme.

Is B450M Mortar Titanium good enough for 1600 AF, 2600 or 3600 oc ? Is there so much difference from B450 Tomahawk Max ?  I want to go with titanium if it's okay, i'm not too much demanding for huge oc, just playing tier A games story mode GTA5, Witcher 3, Tomb Raider (1-2 hours in a day) and all day internet surf and work.

 

Thanks for all.

[Jurrunio]

9 minutes ago, MMTECH said:

Hi all, I am building rig with white theme.

Is B450M Mortar Titanium good enough for 1600 AF, 2600 or 3600 oc ? Is there so much difference from B450 Tomahawk Max ?  I want to go with titanium if it's okay, i'm not too much demanding for huge oc, just playing tier A games story mode GTA5, Witcher 3, Tomb Raider (1-2 hours in a day) and all day internet surf and work.

 

Thanks for all.

It's sufficient, not that much worse to the point where a CPU that's good for the Tomahawk isnt for the Mortar

[Vejnemojnen]

6 hours ago, MMTECH said:

Hi all, I am building rig with white theme.

Is B450M Mortar Titanium good enough for 1600 AF, 2600 or 3600 oc ? Is there so much difference from B450 Tomahawk Max ?  I want to go with titanium if it's okay, i'm not too much demanding for huge oc, just playing tier A games story mode GTA5, Witcher 3, Tomb Raider (1-2 hours in a day) and all day internet surf and work.

 

Thanks for all.

perfect. According to a dutch test (Ryzen 9 3900x with 1.3V all-core OC, prime95 for 15 minutes), the Mortar is better in terms of VRM cooling.

 

See this chart:

 

one of my favourite boards for ryzen

[Bloudy_Parrot]

.

[Bloudy_Parrot]

in which category is ryzen 5 2600 ???

[Jurrunio]

3 minutes ago, IamA-kid-LEARNING said:

in which category is ryzen 5 2600 ???

just like 2600X, at tier D

[Bloudy_Parrot]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

just like 2600X, at tier D

thanks