Looking for guidance on choosing a MOBO? Let me know what you need, and I’ll help!
Looking for guidance on choosing a MOBO? Let me know what you need, and I’ll help!
It is a MATX model. Verify if it's the mortar or mortar max. If it's just the mortar, bypass it; the max supports Ryzen 3000 out of the box.
It’s mainly about appearance, not performance. I’ll check if it fits my needs. Otherwise, the MSI Black and Red Gaming Pro Max remains solid but not fancy, with decent cooling and power.
Absolutely, both options work well. I believe the mortar max supports two M.2 slots, which is a feature many users appreciate.
Mortar offers more advanced capabilities than Gaming Plus, featuring optical output (SPDIF), HDMI and DisplayPort ports (instead of just HDMI and DVI on Gaming Plus). Gaming Plus restricts one DVI output, whereas Mortar provides two additional USB 3.0 ports on the IOSHELD and a USB Type-C port on the same unit. You only sacrifice two PCIe X1 slots when using the Mortar model. All suggested boards support BIOS flashback—even without the MAX variant, which includes Ryzen 3xxx support from the factory. You can transfer the BIOS to a USB drive and flash it without a CPU installed in the socket. The versions without MAX are just smaller BIOS chips, leading to lighter graphics but retaining all features.
I get it, you're looking for a full ATX size for better fit and looks. You also need more SATA ports and fan headers to support your AIO setup with two fans and four others, plus you want to use your GPU for display output. It's frustrating when the case doesn't match your preferences.
Using a m.2 drive will disable two SATA ports, leaving you with four connectors instead of the expected number. On the B450M Mortar model, there are four fan headers—three standard and one sysfan—refer to the diagram. Fan splitters are affordable, so opting for SATA/Molex connections with three to four headers on the front panel is a smarter choice. The main concern remains the matx form factor, which reduces the bottom area slightly, but it’s a minor trade-off.
Are you receiving a discount on mortar purchases?! Since you’re doing well, I think I’ll go with mortar. If I can fit the fans in, as the SATA remains largely unchanged, and even then I know you can link SATA cables to your SSDs... the main challenge is the Corsair case (220t model). The fans and RGB system seem incompatible, only working with their own setup. If I recall correctly, the fans have two cables—one for power to the motherboard and another for the RGB node. If that’s true, will I still be able to daisy chain the power cable for two fans from a single motherboard connection and connect the two RGB fans to the node? If so, I’ll get the mortar and set it up accordingly.