Help me choose my new CPU and Motherboard!

MatthewJamess_ · December 22, 2020

Hi! I was recently able to come up with some buy after buying old stuff I wasn’t using anymore, and I decided to start the last phase of my rig update. I already have a new GPU and a power supply. So now I need to update my CPU, motherboard, and RAM.

My current PC has an Intel Core i5 4460, an ASUS H97M-E motherboard, and 16gb of ddr3 RAM at 1600Mhz. I decided to switch to an AMD system.

TL,DR: I need help choosing a new motherboard and Ryzen CPU. Motherboard options are: AsRock B450 Pro4, ASUS B450m-a II, Gigabyte AORUS B450, and AsRock B450 Steel Legend. CPU options are: Ryzen 5 1600 AF, and Ryzen 3 3100.

Quick heads up: I live in South America. This is to explain why I talk about local stores and websites, and never mention pages like Amazon or Newegg. Also, I use my PC mainly for gaming, but I also use some architecture and digital design programs.

Motherboard: I decided to go for a B450 motherboard because they are usually good budget options and will be getting 5000 series support in the future. I’m not going for a B550 because they are way too expensive for me right now. My B450 options are between 9000 and 12000 pesos, while B550s are about 20000 pesos.

My 4 options are: AsRock B450 Pro4 (or Pro4-f), and ASUS B450m-a II on the cheaper side; and Gigabyte B450 AORUS (multiple variations, but they are mostly the same) and AsRock B450 Steel Legend.

CPU: Based on my budget and availability where I live, the 2 contenders are Ryzen 5 1600 AF, and Ryzen 3 3100. Both processors are about 11000 pesos, while going with something like a 3600 would set my back around 26000 pesos. I know most games heavily favor clock speeds over cores, so 3000 series CPUs have the advantage, but the digital design programs I use favor cores, as they process lots of entities at once. The 3100 also has some features I won’t be able to take advantage of, like PCI-E gen 4, which I guess would make it less valuable, but I’m not so sure about that.

I won’t talk about RAM on this post, since there’s not much to talk about. I’m going with a 16gb (2x8) kit at 3200Mhz. I know older gen Ryzen is a bit picky on what it likes, but I will sort this on the AMD website if needed.

I’m sorry this post is so long. I hope you can read it and help me decide what to do.

Downkey · December 22, 2020

4 minutes ago, MatthewJamess_ said:

Hi! I was recently able to come up with some buy after buying old stuff I wasn’t using anymore, and I decided to start the last phase of my rig update. I already have a new GPU and a power supply. So now I need to update my CPU, motherboard, and RAM.

My current PC has an Intel Core i5 4460, an ASUS H97M-E motherboard, and 16gb of ddr3 RAM at 1600Mhz. I decided to switch to an AMD system.

TL,DR: I need help choosing a new motherboard and Ryzen CPU. Motherboard options are: AsRock B450 Pro4, ASUS B450m-a II, Gigabyte AORUS B450, and AsRock B450 Steel Legend. CPU options are: Ryzen 5 1600 AF, and Ryzen 3 3100.

Quick heads up: I live in South America. This is to explain why I talk about local stores and websites, and never mention pages like Amazon or Newegg. Also, I use my PC mainly for gaming, but I also use some architecture and digital design programs.

Motherboard: I decided to go for a B450 motherboard because they are usually good budget options and will be getting 5000 series support in the future. I’m not going for a B550 because they are way too expensive for me right now. My B450 options are between 9000 and 12000 pesos, while B550s are about 20000 pesos.

My 4 options are: AsRock B450 Pro4 (or Pro4-f), and ASUS B450m-a II on the cheaper side; and Gigabyte B450 AORUS (multiple variations, but they are mostly the same) and AsRock B450 Steel Legend.

CPU: Based on my budget and availability where I live, the 2 contenders are Ryzen 5 1600 AF, and Ryzen 3 3100. Both processors are about 11000 pesos, while going with something like a 3600 would set my back around 26000 pesos. I know most games heavily favor clock speeds over cores, so 3000 series CPUs have the advantage, but the digital design programs I use favor cores, as they process lots of entities at once. The 3100 also has some features I won’t be able to take advantage of, like PCI-E gen 4, which I guess would make it less valuable, but I’m not so sure about that.

I won’t talk about RAM on this post, since there’s not much to talk about. I’m going with a 16gb (2x8) kit at 3200Mhz. I know older gen Ryzen is a bit picky on what it likes, but I will sort this on the AMD website if needed.

I’m sorry this post is so long. I hope you can read it and help me decide what to do.

If they are the same price, the 1600AF would be the best option. All of the mobos you mentioned are not bad, so just go with the cheapest of them all. 2x8 3200mhz CL16 would be a great option for RAM.