Top choice for legacy PCI support on the Am4 motherboard.
Top choice for legacy PCI support on the Am4 motherboard.
I was checking out the newegg store for an am4 motherboard with legacy PCI, and my choices were pretty slim. I own a costly Creative SB leaggy PCI sound card (about 450USD), and I’m eager to fit it into my upcoming RYZEN project. Honestly, I’m not sure which board would work well. At least one mid-range model should have legacy PCI slots—after all, people won’t waste space on extra PCI-E ports. I believe they’ll secure a solid share if they release a decent Ryzen board with legacy PCI (especially for those with older but still valuable sound cards).
Anyway, let’s skip the complaints and look at what I’m considering:
- Asus PRIME B350-PLUS (poorly reviewed on newegg)
- Asus PRIME X370-A (very cheap for its performance)
- Biostar B350GT5 (reliable but not ideal for Ryzen)
- Biostar X370GT5 (not recommended)
- MSI B350 GAMING PLUS (past failures, BIOS issues)
- MSI B350 PC MATE (same concerns)
- MSI B350 TOMAHAWK (same concerns)
- MSI B350 TOMAHAWK ARCTIC (again, same issues)
My top priority is a stable platform that can support a Ryzen 7 1700X overclocked to around 4GHz, using liquid cooling from EVGA CLC 280. I need the VRMs to stay under 100°C and protect sensitive capacitors. This should be a high-end 1080 Ti build.
I’ll make sure every available fan in my case is installed, so temperature won’t become a problem. Audio specs aren’t important right now.
What would you suggest? Thanks!
It's called legacy because it's outdated tech for everyday use. That $450 sound card probably isn't as valuable now, but I don't know the exact model, so it's tough to say. Likely, modern motherboards have improved or replaced it. Just choose a board you like and give it a try.
It appears you're checking the current price of a sound card on eBay. The item is listed at 270 USD and has been used previously.
It's a sound card from 2005. That's quite a while back in tech history.
Absolutely clear, but sounds cards can seem pricey. At $270 USD today, they should definitely be worth it.
When a product hasn't been made for years, it's hard to say it's gone. If it's a special or limited edition, its worth goes up. These items were likely sold for around thirty dollars back in 2011. They might still be decent cards, but newer PCIe sound cards in the same price range will probably outperform them soon.
There are plenty of AM4 boards with PCI slots available. It's still current enough to consider. Don't feel pressured to discard your PCI card immediately—you can balance your needs. To gauge its value, look for auctions and note the highest bid. Someone might keep it untouched forever without ever selling it. Prices on eBay listings aren't always reliable; I once bought a used soundcard for €25 with poor audio quality. After testing, I noticed a noticeable difference compared to another system using the same chip. It seems improvements often come from software rather than hardware alone. Whether it's worth it depends on what you need, but finding a better option in the same or lower price range is definitely possible.
None of the boards you mentioned can maintain stable temperatures at 1700X with stock settings. Pushing overclocking risks damaging your system. The Prime B350 Plus/B350 PC M8 are the top choices, though I strongly suggest adjusting the CPU voltage or clock speed to avoid overheating.