[RFC] What compromise I should make on my motherboard purchase?

nac

Aspiring Novelist
I have been looking to upgrade my rig for the last 3 yrs or so. I have added/upgraded some of the components in the last few years.

I want to wait for AMD 7nm/Intel 10nm chip, but last week my system acted weird and deadlocked few times. So I think it's time and I think it will take more than a year for AMD to Intel to release their 7nm/10nm chip.

I am gonna use my existing components, PSU, monitor, case, dvd writer, ssd, hdd.

I have chosen AMD 2200G+4GB ram. It's an office/home rig. No overclocking, no serious gaming. Mostly browser, MS office applications, very rarely use image editing software like gimp, PS.

Now the reason I am here. I don't want to spend a lot of money for the motherboard. Something around 7k is fine, if I can't any decent board, probably I will to shell out more.

The two monitors I have - one uses VGA and another uses HDMI. Have been thinking about adding third one, but that's not gonna happen now. But I want to have a motherboard which supports the third monitor, preferably 4k 60p. So I need HDMI+VGA+DP/HDMI 2.0 in my motherboard, there is no relaxation in this criteria. I want more real estate in the board, don't want to buy mATX board again, I can relax this (or at least I should relax, coz there is no choice). I prefer to have USB 3.1 gen 2. I wanted to stick with Asus/Gigabyte. None of the B450 Gigabyte boards have VGA port and almost all B450 ASUS boards don't have VGA except two. And one of them don't have HDMI. Only option I have here is B450M A, but it doesn't have DP or two HDMI port with at least one supporting 2.0 version. Most of the B350 boards are either not available or over priced. Gigabyte B350M D3H is the perfect fit, but not available. If anyone knows where I can find, please let me know. Now I have to either compromise on 4k 60p support (displayport) and go with ASUS Prime B450M-A or I have check MSI/Asrock. Again most of the B450 MSI don't have VGA, the ones have lacks DP. Asrock B450 Pro4 has everything I ask for other than it's ASS/reliability and price. I don't know what compromise I should make. I am extremely confused, because of this I had two sleepless nights. Going by the availability,

Asus B450M A - Rs. 8300 - No DP
Asrock B450 Pro4 - Rs. 8800 - ASS/reliability and price
Something else?
 
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
One local shop said they would arrange the D3H board, but keep saying they are checking and as soon as they get it in stock, will let me know.

Searched online, could find about a handful of online sellers have the D3H board in stock. Other than itwares, none of the sellers I know or heard of. Some of them are overpriced and couple of them are reasonably priced and they are from Siliguri and Guwahati. But hesitate to order as they are new to me. Any digitian from Siliguri/Guwahati know these sellers? Sri rathi retails and luitstore.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Online reviews suggest asrock b350/450(ATX version not the mATX version) is one of the best mobo in its class with good VRMs & build quality.I am also thinking about ordering it if I decide to go the ryzen way. AB350 pro4 is similar to B450 but costs only 7.5k,it should be able to support 2nd gen ryzen but you can contact vedantcomputers to update the bios for you just to be sure.As for after sales support I too was initially hesitant but recently I found out the asrock has appointed F1 info solutions as their service centre & I had a good experience with them while RMA of asus laptop so I think this should take care of after sales support.
ASRock > Repair / RMA


Gigabyte has the worst ryzen boards as per online reviews so avoid them unless you absolutely have to buy them for some specific feature.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nac

quicky008

Technomancer
do the onboard video chipsets on these amd motherboards have the ability to drive multiple displays simulatenously?You should check it before you go ahead and buy an expensive mobo with all the display ports you require.

You could probably just reuse your existing gt 710 gpu and connect multiple monitors to it-that would obviate the need to get a motherboard with several display outputs.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
^^There are no more "onboard video chipsets" for consumer level mobos,nowadays it is all decided by your processor integrated graphics or dedicated graphics card.
 

ico

Super Moderator
Staff member
Asrock is fine reliability wise. Infact for the first generation Ryzen motherboards, they were perhaps the most reliable motherboard vendor. Asus and Gigabyte were not at all reliable. I can't comment on Asrock's Indian after-sales service.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nac
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
do the onboard video chipsets on these amd motherboards have the ability to drive multiple displays simulatenously?You should check it before you go ahead and buy an expensive mobo with all the display ports you require.

You could probably just reuse your existing gt 710 gpu and connect multiple monitors to it-that would obviate the need to get a motherboard with several display outputs.
I guess you mean iGPU. Yes, it's capable even Haswell Pentium can do that.
 
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
It happened again, today. System froze and I had to hard reset/shutdown. Even before I switch on I had this feeling that the system is gonna hang, and it did.

Two weeks ago when this happened for the first time, it was rainy and cold. Two days later when it was sunny and normal, I remembered people mentioning that they used to blow hot air at the motherboard to fix the issue. So I suspected that could be issue with my case as well. It rained yesterday, so I kinda expected this to happen. Now I don't think I can wait anymore. "Winter is coming" ;) I better get the new one up and running before this one dies.
 
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
Dropping the idea of getting the D3H model. Tried for two weeks in about dozen places, none of them have in stock or not replied.

Shortlisted these models. Models at the bottom end of the list costs more than the processor. :(
*i.imgur.com/8Gj63uE.png
B450 Pro4
Has all the things I want, but pricey and have concern about its ASS.

Prime B450M A
Second best for my use case. It's a kinda basic board, but price doesn't reflect that.

A320M HD2
One way or other I have to compromise, with this I don't have to spend more. But too many reds/oranges.

B450M Pro VDH and B350M Gaming 3
It's kinda balanced. Both price wise and feature wise. Gaming 3 is pretty much not available anywhere online, only in local store and costs higher than it was a month or two ago.

I am kinda leaning towards Gaming 3 and B450 PRO4. If they say it's Ryzen 2000 ready, probability of me buying that is high. If not, I think I will go for B450 Pro4.
Have been butting my head over deciding the board, either today or tomorrow I finalize one of these and will get it.

Any comments are welcome.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Don't buy gigabyte B350 mobo,better go with msi b450 mobo.I still suggest asrock though,have you checked that service centre list I posted above.It is pointless to buy B450M-A when price difference between it & asrock is very low.Don't get 320M as it may be cheap now but good chances that you will regret it in future.

You missed the asrock AB350 pro 4(was available on vedant) & X370 pro 4(rehashed version of ab350 pro 4,was available on mdcomputers).You could ask for bios update for ryzen support(assuming their manufacturing date was quite old because all bios version since march 2018 support ryzen 2nd gen on AB350 pro 4 while X370 pro 4 support 2nd gen ryzen out of box).
 

quicky008

Technomancer
if the prices of intel cpus had not gone through the roof in recent months,then perhaps an intel g4560+h110 mobo+8gb ram would have been better suited for your requirements.

Will you be reusing your gt 710 gpu in your new build?
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
No need to buy even a H110M as B250M mobos from MSI & gigabyte are even available now for 4k.The prices of intel processors though are not expected to come down even in next 3-4 months.

With 2200G,GT710 is irrelevant.
 
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
Don't buy gigabyte B350 mobo,better go with msi b450 mobo.I still suggest asrock though,have you checked that service centre list I posted above.

You missed the asrock AB350 pro 4(was available on vedant) & X370 pro 4(rehashed version of ab350 pro 4,was available on mdcomputers).You could ask for bios update for ryzen support(assuming their manufacturing date was quite old because all bios version since march 2018 support ryzen 2nd gen on AB350 pro 4 while X370 pro 4 support 2nd gen ryzen out of box).
The concern I have with MSI and Asrock other than the brand/ass that their BIOS implementation wrt XFR boost is not as good as Asus or Gigabyte. Though I got interested (thanks to your video links :-x ), I am not overclocking. So whatever I get with PBO is fine for me, which ASUS and Gigabyte offers better.
When many around are saying MSI and Asrock are better, I can't let go of Asus and Gigabyte. Seems like I am brand biased. :( Will know if I go with the brands or reviews/suggested ones in a day.
B350 Pro4 was in the list, but not available online seller (from popular ones). Come on!!! Vedant is asking too much for shipping. For motherboard they are charging about 300+ for shipping. X370 Pro4 found in the homepage of mdc, but it's out of stock too. Didn't check in any other place. Local store had X370M Gaming 3 which is Ryzen 2000 ready, but costs 8500/-.
Yeah, I checked that link, they have few service points other than Chennai which is little surprising. MSI has only one in Chennai, no other cities/towns. Asus has more service points. Gigabyte has only one in Chennai, but collection points in few other cities.
if the prices of intel cpus had not gone through the roof in recent months,then perhaps an intel g4560+h110 mobo+8gb ram would have been better suited for your requirements.
Will you be reusing your gt 710 gpu in your new build?
I wouldn't have gone for H110 board, but B250. Couple of months back, it would have costed me about 15k (G4560+B250+4GB), at the same time 2200G+B350+4GB costed about 17k. For 2k more, 50% more performance.
NO, why would anyone would want to use GT710 with the new rig?
 

quicky008

Technomancer
do keep us posted about the components you finally decide to get-i was planning to perform a similar low cost upgrade on one of my rigs earlier this year,but had to postpone it due to the atrocious ram prices,with the overly inflated prices of cpus that the market is plagued with right now.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well it is your money so whatever you are comfortable with.If you think asus & gigabyte will be better then go for that.X370 pro 4 was recently launched so initial stock might not be enough.Send an enquiry to mdcomputers,as they are official distributors of asrock mobos in India their estimate should be pretty accurate.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
do keep us posted about the components you finally decide to get-i was planning to perform a similar low cost upgrade on one of my rigs earlier this year,but had to postpone it due to the atrocious ram prices,with the overly inflated prices of cpus that the market is plagued with right now.
Only intel cpu prices are inflated.As for ram if you can make with 4gb of ram at ~3.3k then wait for few months for drop in ram price.Else 8gb ram is already start to sell at ~5.5k.In fact primeabgb just launched 8gb RGB hyperx 3200mhz ram for 6.2k & 3600mhz ram for ~6.3k
 
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
do keep us posted about the components you finally decide to get-i was planning to perform a similar low cost upgrade on one of my rigs earlier this year,but had to postpone it due to the atrocious ram prices,with the overly inflated prices of cpus that the market is plagued with right now.
Only motherboard is yet to be finalized.
CPU - Ryzen 3 2200G
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 4GB 2400mhz
MB - ???
X370 pro 4 was recently launched so initial stock might not be enough.Send an enquiry to mdcomputers,as they are official distributors of asrock mobos in India their estimate should be pretty accurate.
I don't think I can wait for them to restock. And there goes B450 Pro4 out of stock. My options are narrowing down on it's own.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Just enquire anyway,since they are asrock distributors the wait might be a few days/week only.Also ryzen igpu performance depends heavily on ram frequency & being dual channel.At least get 2*4gb 2400mhz ram because igpu itself will take ~1gb ram leaving just 3gb for windows which is really not enough nowadays.
 
OP
nac

nac

Aspiring Novelist
Just enquire anyway,since they are asrock distributors the wait might be a few days/week only.Also ryzen igpu performance depends heavily on ram frequency & being dual channel.At least get 2*4gb 2400mhz ram because igpu itself will take ~1gb ram leaving just 3gb for windows which is really not enough nowadays.
I will add one more 4 gigs later as already things are overshooting my budget. All iGPU gonna do is, getting the display out. I am not gonna do anything to stress iGPU.
I have a feeling that for now 4 gigs will do. I am running my current system with just 1GB ram.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Then it's fine.However do remember to get another 4gb stick later(same model as much as possible) because not just igpu but cpu performance of ryzen too depends on system ram performance(though not as much as igpu).
 
Top Bottom