Upgrade guide for 9800X3D with memory and motherboard.
Upgrade guide for 9800X3D with memory and motherboard.
After hearing positive feedback on the 9800X3D, I figured it was time to upgrade my 5800X3D to an AM5 model paired with a 9800X3D. It’s currently on backorder at my dealer. The main decision now is which motherboard and RAM to pick. Typically, the Steel Legend series from AsRock comes naturally to me, but for the X870(e), they opted for a mostly white theme which didn’t appeal to me. I chose the ASRock PHANTOM GAMING X870E Nova. However, after some investigation, I discovered it often doesn’t boot with G.SKill’s 8000MTS EXPO profile—mostly works with 7400. That led me to consider the Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master, which officially supports G.Skill EXPO 8000, boots fine, passes stress tests, but lacks a second M.2 slot and costs about 40% more. I decided to check the memory QVL for the X870E Nova; it supports speeds up to 8000 with several vendors including A-Data, Lexar, and TemGroup, but only with an EXPO profile. Since over the past couple of years I’ve mostly built rigs using G.Skill RAM, I’m unsure about other brands’ reliability. Also, do you think memory stability problems on the ASRock PHANTOM GAMING X870E Nova could be fixed with BIOS updates? It would be frustrating to switch away from G.Skill just for a slightly higher price and fewer slots. P.S. If you’re curious why I prefer such high-speed RAM, it comes from my personal experience with the 9800X3D—its performance hinges more on memory speed than precise timing. With the 9800X3D now fully unlocked, expect overclocking to keep the Liquid Freezer II 360 running smoothly.
Based on the benchmarks I've seen ( example ), 6000 MT/s CL30 is still the sweet spot. There's no real advantage to faster memory, it just makes the build more expensive for no reason. You don't need X870E either, it's essentially a rebrand of X670E with some previously optional features made mandatory. If you get a good X670E board, you can have the same features, but cheaper ( see video ).
For the motherboard I recommend a X670E Taichi Lite. When it comes to RAM, @Eigenvektor is ideal, and 6000 CL30 seems perfect. The Trident Z5 should work well with SK Hymen M-die, so it’s likely stable. Note that the board doesn’t use A-die, but M-die remains solid.
The main factors influencing my choice of X870E over X670E are its memory improvements and SAM/Smart Access Memory features. Starting with memory optimization, DDR5 speeds have climbed to 10,000MT/s, prompting manufacturers to raise base line rates from 5400 to around 7200. This shift will likely result in newer chipsets being fine-tuned for these higher speeds—think B450 versus B550. AMD is recognized for extracting more performance via software tweaks, which should be evident with the X870E lineup right now. I wouldn’t want a standard X670E motherboard four months later if a BIOS update suddenly supports 8200 or 8400 modules, especially with EXPO offering a 2:1 upgrade path for SAM and further performance boosts. Regarding SAM, my experience switching from a B450 to an X570 showed noticeable gains—12-14% in games like ACC, Sniper Elite 5, and Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p. This suggests a link between faster memory and SAM optimizations for AMD GPUs. While I can’t confirm it definitively, the performance jump hints that SAM adjustments likely play a role. The only consistent observation is reduced CPU usage (about 10% drop) when SAM is off, indicating its impact on overall efficiency.
I wonder if bumping frequency higher and compensating with loosening the timings would somehow affect consistency as the lower latency could... cause lower latency when using RAM?
The memory controller in Zen 5 matches that of Zen 4 because they share the identical IO die. For speeds exceeding 6000 MT/s, performance drops to half-speed operation, which largely negates the advantages of higher memory rates. According to HuB's evaluation of X870 boards, achieving 8000 MT/s remains unachievable on many platforms despite advertised claims. Reaching 8000 MT/s only becomes viable when speed surpasses 1:2, compensating for the slower rate. If memory performance were the sole variable, it would be evident as the main issue, but other factors could still play a role depending on the board. The resizable bar ("SAM") enables the CPU to read GPU VRAM in a continuous block instead of fixed segments, though its impact on overall speed isn't clear. Greater PCIe 4.0 support on newer boards might be more critical, as it serves as the key link between CPU and GPU. DDR4 at 3200 MT/s offers a transfer rate of 25.6 GB/s. PCIe 4.0 x16 provides raw throughput of 32 GB/s (one-way). After accounting for a 20% encoding overhead, the effective bandwidth remains around 25.6 GB/s. Therefore, faster memory speeds are unlikely to significantly boost CPU data access rates, as bus speed remains unchanged and becomes the bottleneck.
avoid thinking about high frequencies unless you’re ready to adjust—save yourself from the trouble of XMP not functioning properly. Even if it’s listed for minimal gains, real-world issues like poor secondary and tertiary components can limit bandwidth. The 8000+ rated dimmers still lag behind the B650m HDV, and the x670e model will probably fall short unless you’re willing to invest heavily. These boards are only slightly better than the B450, especially when compared to the DDR5 11k vs 12k options. You’d need to push overclocking limits and risk getting misled—don’t assume higher ratings mean better performance. Stick to well-tuned setups unless you’re prepared to deal with disappointments.