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Which one makes more sense to buy?

Links to those boards would be nice - not just so we don't have to look up each of the specs, but also because that will show us prices (which often vary in different parts of the world.
 
Bill_Bright said:
Links to those boards would be nice - not just so we don't have to look up each of the specs, but also because that will show us prices (which often vary in different parts of the world.
Click to expand...
Actually, that's exactly why I didn't include links. Prices are very different in my country, but all three are between $250-400. I added links for the features.
 
seksensekiz said:
Actually, that's exactly why I didn't include links. Prices are very different in my country,
Click to expand...
You asked, which makes more sense but you neglected to state what your priorities are. We have no clue what you intend to do with this system. Game? CAD/CAE? Office tasks?

And I assure you, to a very large percentage of users, price maters very much. And spending $150 more for a motherboard that will yield very little, if any "noticeable" performance gains makes no sense at all.

For "me", I am not a big gamer, so if those were my only choices, I would probably go with the MSI. But that's me. Also me is I like Gigabyte boards.
 
seksensekiz said:
Actually, that's exactly why I didn't include links. Prices are very different in my country, but all three are between $250-400. I added links for the features.
Click to expand...

I agree with Bill....thats a pretty big price gap. Depending on your workload or preferences, is there any specific feature which is required on the most expensive of the 3 which isn't available on the $250 option?

For most users, the cheapest of the bunch will be more than sufficient. The rest boils down to individual requirements/preferences. For example, i have a preference for the more likely inclusion of ALC1220 audio codec on X-series (direct contact to chipset) which would be nice, but i've seen plenty of positive reports from buyers using ALC4080 plugged on the USB 2.0 interface (basically soldered on but acts like a USB device) without issues. Saying that, I would still need 'more' useful or preferred features/functionality in order to push on a +$150 more expensive board (assuming X-series is the $400 option). If your workload leans more heavily on higher core count power famished chips, more generous bandwidths or needs faster or multiple faster USB I/O for specific tasks, we can take a closer look at boards with beefier VRMs, better USB setups and stronger PCIe configs. But if its just your typical gaming and everyday productivity setup, all 3 of these boards already pack a punch and a half.
 
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I can make it even more efficient for you.

0. Make your mind up regarding what you actually need from the motherboard, including size, USB port count, m.2 port count etc.
1. Use e-tailer's filters to throw everything else out.
2. Order by price, lowest to highest.
3. Pick the cheapest.
4. ????????
5. PROFIT
 
Macro Device said:
I can make it even more efficient for you.

0. Make your mind up regarding what you actually need from the motherboard, including size, USB port count, m.2 port count etc.
1. Use e-tailer's filters to throw everything else out.
2. Order by price, lowest to highest.
3. Pick the cheapest.
4. ????????
5. PROFIT
Click to expand...
wheresmycar said:
I agree with Bill....thats a pretty big price gap. Depending on your workload or preferences, is there any specific feature which is required on the most expensive of the 3 which isn't available on the $250 option?

For most users, the cheapest of the bunch will be more than sufficient. The rest boils down to individual requirements/preferences. For example, i have a preference for the more likely inclusion of ALC1220 audio codec on X-series (direct contact to chipset) which would be nice, but i've seen plenty of positive reports from buyers using ALC4080 plugged on the USB 2.0 interface (basically soldered on but acts like a USB device) without issues. Saying that, I would still need 'more' useful or preferred features/functionality in order to push on a +$150 more expensive board (assuming X-series is the $400 option). If your workload leans more heavily on higher core count power famished chips, more generous bandwidths or needs faster or multiple faster USB I/O for specific tasks, we can take a closer look at boards with beefier VRMs, better USB setups and stronger PCIe configs. But if its just your typical gaming and everyday productivity setup, all 3 of these boards already pack a punch and a half.
Click to expand...
Bill_Bright said:
You asked, which makes more sense but you neglected to state what your priorities are. We have no clue what you intend to do with this system. Game? CAD/CAE? Office tasks?

And I assure you, to a very large percentage of users, price maters very much. And spending $150 more for a motherboard that will yield very little, if any "noticeable" performance gains makes no sense at all.

For "me", I am not a big gamer, so if those were my only choices, I would probably go with the MSI. But that's me. Also me is I like Gigabyte boards.
Click to expand...
First off, sorry for not giving enough info earlier — let me give you the full picture. I live in a messed-up country where inflation’s been floating around 80% for years, so I stopped caring about money a long time ago. I’ve got more than enough cash in my pocket, and I recently built a system.

Originally, I was using the ASRock B850 LiveMixer motherboard, but it fried a few days ago. Now I’m looking to buy a new one. Just to be clear: please don’t get hung up on the price — saving $150 means absolutely nothing to me.

All I’m asking is for some solid motherboard suggestions in the $200–$350 range. If there’s something great around $400, I might stretch for it too. I already listed a few boards I liked up top.

Here’s what actually matters to me:
  • The system is mainly for gaming and 3D rendering,
  • I need at least six USB ports,
  • I’m using two M.2 drives, so having heatsinks on extra M.2 slots would be awesome,
  • And if possible, I’d like something with a bit of flashy looks — not a dealbreaker, but it’d be nice.
Again, apologies for the missing details earlier. I’d really appreciate it if you could look at this with less focus on the money side and more on what fits the build.
 
The 5Gbit Ethernet could be nice. MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max Wi-Fi

Personally I would pick MSI. My ASUs prime x670 p mainboard hardly gets an uefi update or a delayed uefi update. And it has a lot of firmware flaws. I did not had such issues witH MSI B550 gaming edge wifi and MSI X670 Tomahawk Wifi. MSI at least had small uefi bug. Asus has several in my mainboard.

You may think about if you may also be satisfied with any of those 600 chipset mainboards.

-- you may really think several times to buy any mainboard with "1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot with Q-Release Slim". That feature regularly destroys graphic card. That means RMA denied and issues selling such graphic cards or add in cards.
Short: I would never buy anything which has not the classic peg slot mechanism. REgardless what they advertise it
 
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If it's MSI, I'm going up to sky.
 
Thanks for clarifying. Note you are not unique. Many live in countries with high inflation rates and limited options.

Are the three you listed your only options, or just what you have narrowed down your search to? My point is, while both MSI and ASUS make great boards, ASRock, Gigabyte do too.

You may need to look at after sells support and adjust your priorities to see who offers the best warranty support, for example. While nobody wants to return something, even the best of the best can make a unit that fails prematurely. Or perhaps an item may arrived smashed to pieces.
 
Bill_Bright said:
Thanks for clarifying. Note you are not unique. Many live in countries with high inflation rates and limited options.

Are the three you listed your only options, or just what you have narrowed down your search to? My point is, while both MSI and ASUS make great boards, ASRock, Gigabyte do too.

You may need to look at after sells support and adjust your priorities to see who offers the best warranty support, for example. While nobody wants to return something, even the best of the best can make a unit that fails prematurely. Or perhaps an item may arrived smashed to pieces.
Click to expand...
Exactly why I’m sticking with MSI and ASUS.
The models don’t necessarily have to be the ones I listed, but the brand has to be MSI or ASUS.
In my country, they actually stand behind their products and offer proper support.
I’ve had issues with ASRock before — my previous board also failed, and I had to deal with the distributor and service for 2 whole months. Never again.

Rover4444 said:
None of them, get an X670E unless you need USB4 40GB.
Click to expand...
Which X670E exactly?

_roman_ said:
The 5Gbit Ethernet could be nice. MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max Wi-Fi

Personally I would pick MSI. My ASUs prime x670 p mainboard hardly gets an uefi update or a delayed uefi update. And it has a lot of firmware flaws. I did not had such issues witH MSI B550 gaming edge wifi and MSI X670 Tomahawk Wifi. MSI at least had small uefi bug. Asus has several in my mainboard.

You may think about if you may also be satisfied with any of those 600 chipset mainboards.

-- you may really think several times to buy any mainboard with "1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot with Q-Release Slim". That feature regularly destroys graphic card. That means RMA denied and issues selling such graphic cards or add in cards.
Short: I would never buy anything which has not the classic peg slot mechanism. REgardless what they advertise it
Click to expand...
Chances are, I won’t even be able to use 1 Gbit internet for the next 3–4 years. The infrastructure here is absolute garbage.

That said, I’m kinda leaning toward MSI too. I think I’ll switch my preference from ROG to MSI.
I hate the way it looks — way too industrial for my taste — but realistically, it’s the most reasonable option out of the bunch.

I’ve heard that MSI has had issues with the 9000 series CPUs — how true is that?
 
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seksensekiz said:
Which X670E exactly?
Click to expand...

Short: Please check the online mainboard manual first. Download the pdf and read it please

If you do not need usb 4 you may be better of with B650E or X670E.

I bought on purpose only pcie 4.0 on the graphic card slot which was the limitation for the X670 chipset, not X670E chipset. I highly doubt i will have a need for a pcie 5.0 graphic card in the next 4 years. The mainboard and processor is already 2 years old.

Here in Austria, central europe, i see a lot of AM4 mainboards in the 100€ region. They are only PCIE 4.0 on the grpahic card slot and without USB 4. it depends on your need and if you want to overspend 150€ for such features.
 
seksensekiz said:
Exactly why I’m sticking with MSI and ASUS.
The models don’t necessarily have to be the ones I listed, but the brand has to be MSI or ASUS.
In my country, they actually stand behind their products and offer proper support.
I’ve had issues with ASRock before — my previous board also failed, and I had to deal with the distributor and service for 2 whole months. Never again.


Which X670E exactly?


Chances are, I won’t even be able to use 1 Gbit internet for the next 3–4 years. The infrastructure here is absolute garbage.

That said, I’m kinda leaning toward MSI too. I think I’ll switch my preference from ROG to MSI.
I hate the way it looks — way too industrial for my taste — but realistically, it’s the most reasonable option out of the bunch.

I’ve heard that MSI has had issues with the 9000 series CPUs — how true is that?
Click to expand...
The cheap X670E boards are pretty good. MSI Tomahawk or ASRock PG Lightning. Literally any X670E is better than every X870 board.
 
I would also consider which company has the better customer service for your country if you needed to RMA. Unless your e-tailer overs to cover the warranty on your behalf.
I have gone off Asus as a brand which the only thing I would buy from them are their Zephyrus laptops if I had to pick.
My vote would be MSI MAG Tomahawk or maybe Gigabyte Aorous Elite B850?
I am a fan of Asrock so I'll throw in the Asrock B850 Pro RS B850 if it has all the features you need and at least its the "cheaper" option out of those in the UK. The Steel legend I think people are iffy off still because of "melting" or bricking the x3d CPUs?
 
The 9700x can fit on any of these boards as VRM power and DDR5 Expo, only 8 cores after all.
If you're looking at some extreme overclocking - then not every board is good, but for everyday use... just look at the price, warranty and connectivity and it's all your choice.
So you need to look at M.2 do you want 5.0 or 4.0, how many USB ports, how many SATA or M.2 slots do you want, etc.
 
No, I’m not really into overclocking. I just want to choose a long-lasting motherboard so I won’t have issues later if I upgrade to a 6000 series GPU and CPU.

Guys, I think I’m going to go with an MSI X670E. I haven’t decided on the exact model yet—it could be either Gaming Plus or MAG. When I think about it, I don’t really need X870 or B850. USB 4.0 isn’t that important to me, and the same goes for 5G or Wi-Fi 7—my country doesn’t really support those. After all, the X670E offers the PCIe 5.0 support I want for both M.2 and GPU. So the X670E seems like the most modular and reasonable chipset that supports PCIe 5.0 for the GPU. I’m currently checking out ASUS and MSI’s X670E models.
 
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