Choosing a motherboard for a new build involves considering performance needs, compatibility, and future upgrades.
Choosing a motherboard for a new build involves considering performance needs, compatibility, and future upgrades.
Hello everyone. I'm assembling a new PC and facing a bit of a challenge when choosing the motherboard. The budget is around 85-90 euros maximum. I need a MATX case, and I've already filtered down some options that fit within that price range. My processor will be a Ryzen 5 5600G in a Thermaltake S100, and I'll start with the built-in cooler. Here are the models I'm considering: Asus TUF B450M-Plus Gaming II, MSI B550M A-PRO, MSI B550M PRO-VDH, MSI B550M PRO, GIGABYTE Aorus B450M, and Asrock A320M with a 2200g cooler. I'm currently using an Asrock A320M with a 2200g cooler. Any thoughts on these picks or other suggestions would be really helpful. Thanks ahead!
Looking at the options, I prefer models with more features and better expandability. The Aurus, Pro-VDH, and TUF all come with four RAM slots, which seems more attractive than just two. Focusing further, the PRO-VDH supports USB 3.1 along with 3.0 headers, even though its case doesn’t support USB C—it would be handy if you plan to upgrade later. It also offers two NVMe drive ports, whereas the others have only one. That’s the model I’d likely choose.
Even though I won’t likely use more than two DIMMS at once, I still think it’s a good idea to have that choice. Thanks for your response. Regarding the RAM slots—do you know whether the speeds change if there are only two slots available? That’s something I’m trying to figure out.
I don't think adding two RAM slots will make much of a difference; the main impact will come from how the system handles memory, especially since both can use dual-channel or single/quad channel configurations. I believe you wouldn't notice any change just by switching to 2 or 4 slots, mainly because of upgrade potential and flexibility. The current setup seems to cap at around 64GB for two slots and 128GB for four, which is more than enough for most needs—though it might feel excessive in some cases.