MSI X370 vs Gigabyte AB350 - Which one?

[iiNNeX]

MSI AMD Ryzen AM4 X370 GAMING PLUS ATX Motherboard - £99.98

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-x370-gaming-plus-amd-x370-s-am4-ddr4-sata3-m2-2-way-sli-3-way-crossfire-realtek-gbe-usb-31-gen2?v=c

 

Gigabyte AMD AM4 Ryzen AB350 GAMING 3 ATX Motherboard - £94.49

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ab350-gaming-3-amd-b350-s-am4-ddr4-sata3-m2-(pcie-sata)-realtek-lan-usb-31-a-atx?v=c

 

Which is better for overclocking? Will be used with a Ryzen 5 1600 for 3.8/3.9ghz OC with Corsair 3200mhz memory.

 

Thanks!

[PCGuy_5960]

Why not get an ASUS B350/X370 board instead? Like this one 

 

It should be better than both of the boards you listed for overclocking. If you can't get an ASUS board, just get the Gigabyte board, MSI boards have a lot of BIOS issues

Edited December 28, 2017 by PCGuy_5960

[iiNNeX]

Just now, PCGuy_5960 said:

Why not get an ASUS B350/X370 board instead? Like this one 

 

It should be better than both of the boards you listed for overclocking

More expensive (even though not by much) and also I want this stuff tomorrow, and that board is not in stock (it says due in tomorrow though).

 

I know it will be better but will the boards above not get a ryzen 5 to a healthy 3.8/3.9? The Gigabyte one has great reviews for OC.

[just_dave]

That MSI is your best choice over all B350 boards.

Look for Asus Prime X370 Pro

[iiNNeX]

4 minutes ago, dave_k said:

That MSI is your best choice over all B350 boards.

Look for Asus Prime X370 Pro

Nice board, but £132 lol

[iiNNeX]

Having a look around the web, the Gigabyte board seems to be better regarded in terms of overclocking and stability when compared to that X370 MSI one, this review was nice in particular: https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_ga_ab350_gaming_3_review,18.html

 

That Asus Prime is really good too though... do I spend another £30 or not.. hm

[DocSwag]

3 minutes ago, iiNNeX said:

Having a look around the web, the Gigabyte board seems to be better regarded in terms of overclocking and stability when compared to that X370 MSI one, this review was nice in particular: https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_ga_ab350_gaming_3_review,18.html

 

That Asus Prime is really good too though... do I spend another £30 or not.. hm

If you're gonna have a fan pointing towards the vrm heatsinks it'll be ok. Otherwise don't get that board with a high 1600 OC.

 

I would probably just go MSI. The vrm isn't the greatest but by having so many components I think it should be ok.

[iiNNeX]

1 minute ago, DocSwag said:

If you're gonna have a fan pointing towards the vrm heatsinks it'll be ok. Otherwise don't get that board with a high 1600 OC.

 

I would probably just go MSI. The vrm isn't the greatest but by having so many components I think it should be ok.

What about the X370 Gaming Pro ? Not much more than the PLUS: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-x370-gaming-pro-amd-x370-s-am4-ddr4-sata3-m2-pcie-sata-2-way-sli-3-way-crossfire-gbe-usb-31-gen2?v=c

[iiNNeX]

Screw it, the Prime X370 it is... Read up on it's VRMs and they are really strong for that price point, also has 40A Dual N-FETs, just like on the C6H, except 6-phases instead of 8. 

 

Thanks guys!

[DocSwag]

5 minutes ago, iiNNeX said:

What about the X370 Gaming Pro ? Not much more than the PLUS: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-x370-gaming-pro-amd-x370-s-am4-ddr4-sata3-m2-pcie-sata-2-way-sli-3-way-crossfire-gbe-usb-31-gen2?v=c

At that price you're starting to get into prime pro territory, at which point you'd be better off getting it.

 

What exactly are the advantages of the pro? I'm not too familiar with MSI X370 boards.

[iiNNeX]

6 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

At that price you're starting to get into prime pro territory, at which point you'd be better off getting it.

 

What exactly are the advantages of the pro? I'm not too familiar with MSI X370 boards.

Also will my ram selection be ok for 3200mhz? It seems like on their supported list there is the 3000mhz version, but I can't find the 3200mhz version model number.

 

I've chosen: Corsair CMK8GX4M2B3200C16 Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2x4 GB) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 XMP

 

The closest they have is: CMK8GX4M2B3000C15(Ver3.21) which is also 2x 4GB

 

But then they have: CMD8GX4M2B3733C17(Ver4.31) 8GB(2*4GB) which works fine at 3200 and is CAS 17 (but i believe that's a 3733mhz kit).

[just_dave]

30 minutes ago, iiNNeX said:

Screw it, the Prime X370 it is... Read up on it's VRMs and they are really strong for that price point, also has 40A Dual N-FETs, just like on the C6H, except 6-phases instead of 8. 

 

Thanks guys!

yep, thats why it is the best cheap board on Ryzen atm 

[iiNNeX]

1 minute ago, dave_k said:

yep, thats why it is the best cheap board on Ryzen atm 

 

How important is Memory QVL? Can I pick the best cheap 3200mhz kit I can find, or does it have to be on that list? The stuff on the list is at least 20-30% more expensive

[iiNNeX]

Ah well all bought up now, wallet will be crying this month lol

ASUS PRIME X370-PRO + Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3000C15 Vengeance LED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3000MHz C15  on their way

 

[DocSwag]

3 hours ago, iiNNeX said:

Ah well all bought up now, wallet will be crying this month lol

ASUS PRIME X370-PRO + Corsair CMU16GX4M2C3000C15 Vengeance LED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3000MHz C15  on their way

 

Corsair's 3000 CL15 kit seems to work nicely with Ryzen. Most likely you'll be able to hit at least 2933. Have fun building!

[iiNNeX]

12 hours ago, DocSwag said:

Corsair's 3000 CL15 kit seems to work nicely with Ryzen. Most likely you'll be able to hit at least 2933. Have fun building!

Yeah it's on the QVL list so should work. I was looking for a 3200 kit to buy but first off they are another £40 on top of the 3000 kits and really don't seem to make that much of a difference over eachother, and also the only ones that I can find on the QVL are actually with speeds greater than 3600, which then work at 3200 DOCP. 

 

Flare X 3200mhz CL14 would be nice but £225  I remember buying 3400mhz of Dominators in 32GB form back a year and a half ago for that much money... I hope ram/ssd prices stabilise soon.