How do you choose Motherboards with so much choice ( and other noob questions!)

[martimu]

I'd spec'd a PC with my lad a while ago but got no further as the graphics cards were so expensive.

Anyway, he's massively lucked out as I've won a 3080 Ti FE which is way more than we were originally thinking of. He's bouncing off the walls with excitement as we were looking at 3060 levels.

How on earth do you spec a motherboard that is the right level for this sort of card.
I'm happy to get something decent and was thinking of going for a AMD Rysen 5900X ( or is that overkill?) and a X570 based motherboard.

But there are loads of them so how do you choose?

I mean what's the difference between say an MSI MPG X570 GAMING EDGE WIFI at £170 or an ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wifi at £380?

​

He wants to game on it obviously, but he's also doing electronics and computer science (GCSE level) and I'd like something that can cope with CAD type functionality that will last him a few years potentially through Uni etc.

I've got a budget of about £1500 to get all the rest of the bits including the case and monitor ( which I'll try and sort over black Friday) so let say around £1200 to get everything except the monitor and graphics card. I can up the budget if it is going to make a big difference but would prefer to keep it around those levels as that seems like a hell of a lot to me already.

And, of course, he wants all the RGB lighting etc.

Does it make sense to go for one brand for compatibility simplicity?

Or any good mags etc we should be reading to learn more for ourselves? There's so much conflicting stuff online.


Thanks in advance,
Martin

 

[EndlessWaves]

Unless you're overclocking it's a case of choosing the one that offers the ports and features you're likely to use. Graphics card has little bearing on it.

So for example the more expensive of the two high end motherboards in your example provides more capable connections like extra PCI-E 16x slots and 2.5Gb Ethernet. Generally you find high end motherboards offer a combination of niche features for the most demanding users and the first implementations of the latest standard revision or new technology.

I'd make a list of the things you're definitely going to use, find the cheapest motherboard that satisfies them and then look at the slightly more expensive options to see if there's anything there that can justify the extra cost.

 

[martimu]

Unless you're overclocking it's a case of choosing the one that offers the ports and features you're likely to use. Graphics card has little bearing on it.

So for example the more expensive of the two high end motherboards in your example provides more capable connections like extra PCI-E 16x slots and 2.5Gb Ethernet. Generally you find high end motherboards offer a combination of niche features for the most demanding users and the first implementations of the latest standard revision or new technology.

I'd make a list of the things you're definitely going to use, find the cheapest motherboard that satisfies them and then look at the slightly more expensive options to see if there's anything there that can justify the extra cost.

Thank you. So nothing that would really throttle any performance then. We don't need tonnes of connections. We'll need decent wifi capability as it won't be ethernet if it goes where we are thinking of using it.

I don't know about overclocking. It's not something I would personally be looking at but it may well be something he's interested in doing as he gets to grips with it so I'll have that in mind too

 

[CARLOS]

A recommendation for MB from me would be a MSI X570 Tomahawk its a great board with plenty of features at a reasonable price, currently on offer on Ebuyer eBay store with code MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI AM4 ATX Motherboard 4719072718985 | eBay

As for CPU the 5900X is probably overkill compared to the 5800X for gaming but those extra cores would be good for production like CAD etc

Also go for 32GB of fast 3600Mhz ram.

Overclocking isn't really worth it on the Ryzen as it is small gains and producing more heat and using more power.

Also WI-FI is OK but if you can get a wired connection it would be better especially for online gaming as lower latency = less lag in game.

£1500 is a very good budget, you can also get some decent fast storage (Gen 4 Nvme)

 

[oneman]

Personally had good experiences with Asus but don't bother with their top of the line motherboard. Midrange should be fine. Get larger ATX if can.

Also WiFi wise, you might be better off with a PCIe card based on AX210 and antenna on a cable so they can be placed away from the PC

 

[martimu]

Thank you all. ATX is the plan.
I spoke to someone this morning who does IT and builds gaming PC's as a hobby he also said his preferred boards are Asus. I'll compare that and the MSI which does review well when I had quick look last night. Good to know that you are all suggesting mid-range is fine as that really helps with the budget. He also mentioned Viper Ram as being well worth a look at.

 

[EndlessWaves]

Yeah, a mid-range board around the £75-125 mark will cover most bases. Most people aren't going to use the extras a £200 board provides, or not get enough use out of them to justify spending that much extra.

Even a budget board for £40-50 often doesn't have anything critical missing and works perfectly fine, but it can be worth paying a little extra for things like integrated wi-fi.

 

[CARLOS]

Yeah, a mid-range board around the £75-125 mark will cover most bases. Most people aren't going to use the extras a £200 board provides, or not get enough use out of them to justify spending that much extra.

Even a budget board for £40-50 often doesn't have anything critical missing and works perfectly fine, but it can be worth paying a little extra for things like integrated wi-fi.

I wouldn’t say £75 to £125 is mid-range

 

[martimu]

This a complete overkill or something that is going to last for a decent time?

I can shop around a bit more for the parts to hopefully bring it down a bit, but I hoping it's a fairly balanced build? I've put what I think is a mid-level motherboard

System Builder - AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, NZXT H710i ATX Mid Tower - PCPartPicker

System Builder - AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, NZXT H710i ATX Mid Tower

uk.pcpartpicker.com

Thanks

Martin

 

[JollyJamma]

My vote goes towards the B550 Vision D-P. Always refer to proper reviews by GamersNexus/Buildzoid.

I wouldn't go for the X570 Tomahawk. I have one and it's not as good as the Vision D-P.

 

[EndlessWaves]

This a complete overkill or something that is going to last for a decent time?

Generally the most powerful parts are aimed at being at the cutting edge and the most demanding uses rather than lasting longer.

And obviously a lot of the buyers will be replacing frequently for the same reason.

If you're not chasing the sparkliest possible graphics then they do last a bit longer, but offer nowhere near as much extra life as the price increase would suggest. You generally get far better longevity for your money by spending half of it now and half of it in four or five years time.

I've put what I think is a mid-level motherboard

Nah, £280 is strictly enthusiast territory. The majority of people who buy boards like that in your situation are either doing so for the aesthetic or because they've been told it's 'good', rather than because they're actually getting something they're willing to pay an extra £200 for.

 

[martimu]

Spoken to someone who builds these things and he's recommended something completely different :
Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor £279.59

CPU Cooler Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler £144.90

Motherboard Asus PRIME Z690-A ATX LGA1700 Motherboard £261.48

Storage Corsair MP600 Core 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive £213.40

Case Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case £109.00

Power Supply Corsair RMx (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold

Plus VENGEANCE® 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 DRAM 5200MHz C38 Memory Kit — White


It's a bit cheaper than what I'd put together and think the new processor looks great - something I'd not considered an i5 but this thing packs a punch.

 

[JollyJamma]

That's a fantastic build.

DO NOT skimp on the CPU cooler - the new Intel series are a hot son of a dog.

 

[Fe_man2000]

Yeah a lot of things on that list are way more money and level specific use than it needs to be really - £260 for a motherboard wow, never spent that much on one ever. 1000 watt PSU thats a lot of power.

I like the case and the NVMe 2TB is fine, that liquid cooler is not something I would have but I dont overclock so liquid cooling is an unnessary cost for me.

an eye watering £254.99 for 32GB DDR5 RAM .... ouch !! Switch to DDR4 and get a cheaper motherboard and PSU you will be £250 better off

looks like this what some one would list if cost was no object - could cut hundred off that and get the same gaming performance.

 

[martimu]

Yeah a lot of things on that list are way more money and level specific use than it needs to be really - £260 for a motherboard wow, never spent that much on one ever. 1000 watt PSU thats a lot of power.

I like the case and the NVMe 2TB is fine, that liquid cooler is not something I would have but I dont overclock so liquid cooling is an unnessary cost for me.

an eye watering £254.99 for 32GB DDR5 RAM .... ouch !! Switch to DDR4 and get a cheaper motherboard and PSU you will be £250 better off

looks like this what some one would list if cost was no object - could cut hundred off that and get the same gaming performance.

Not a cost no object but as I was fortunate to get the graphics card for £2.49 I have a bit of flex on the other parts.

I'm trying to spec something that from my POV doesn't need changing for 6-7 years which will get my lad through uni. He's been saving up for a long time and I'll stick a chunk in towards it too, with family putting in a bit as a Christmas pressie.

There's an element of him wanting it to look good too (14 years old he wants the nice lights lol)
I need it to do other things, not just the gaming. It's effectively going to be the home PC relegating my work one as we don't have space for two pc's so it needs to function for that as well ( which I'm sure most of these things romp through the standard PC stuff)

Note I've not done this before, he's learning so after this any changes will be up to him!