Upgrade your AM4 motherboard and cooler for better performance.
Upgrade your AM4 motherboard and cooler for better performance.
Hello everyone! Region: USA
Background: I’m looking for ideas to upgrade my AM4 OEM motherboard and cooler. I know AM4 is no longer supported, but the processor itself works fine. The main issue is the motherboard’s limitations—like restricting RAM clock speeds, lacking XMP support, missing PCIE 4.0, and having a very basic BIOS. I run the system for programming, 3D modeling, and gaming. I bought this PC prebuilt, but I’ve started swapping in better OEM components. My setup includes: AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (OEM only)
OEM Motherboard Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 32GB SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB
OEM Cooler MSI Gaming X RTX 3060 Corsair 4000D Airflow Corsair RM 750W ATX Motherboards
I’ve found these options through research: Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero ($380.99 @ Amazon)
ASUS ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming WiFi ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Coolers: DeepCool AK620 ($64.99 @ Amazon), Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black ($109.95 @ Amazon)
The D15 cooler definitely stands out, while the 5800x packs a powerful single-core punch. X570 chips are more budget-friendly than the CH8.
These boards come with a higher price tag. Are you focusing on particular capabilities these chipsets offer, or are you looking for a comprehensive set with strong CPU power delivery? For instance, the X570 Aorus Elite earned positive feedback during its early launch and offers great value. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/nHxbt6/...orus-elite https://pcpartpicker.com/product/McfFf7/...ime-x570-p
I purchased a Scythe Fuma 2 and a Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro-P. The board is currently on sale for $110 in the US. The main drawback of the motherboard seems to be the absence of a USB 10G header and the limited number of SATA ports. Overall, I’m satisfied—performance is solid, design is clean and simple, and it works well without any issues.
@Fasauceome Thank you for your insight! I was hoping to get a motherboard that has great VRMs and also has a set of well rounded features. I was looking to get a board that at least has a 2.5 g LAN port (I was told to go for Intel), support for PCIE 4.0, NVME GEN4 support, BIOS flashback. Bonus round would be for the motherboard to have the Dr. Debug code LED. This sounds like a great board, the only thing that worries me is that I heard that the X570's chipset fans fail or are really loud which is why I thought that it would be worth it to get a X570S instead. I love ASUS products and am familiar with their BIOS layout. I kind of got overwhelmed with there motherboard selection, is there any other motherboards from them you recommend. Thank you! Edit: Fixing a requirement
X570 fans produce a noticeable sound only to those who pay close attention, while most users won't notice much difference compared to standard fans. For a typical setup, the noise level matches regular fan sounds. Look at options like the ASUS TUF gaming B550 Pro with ATX motherboard or the Wi-Fi version of the same model. These models feature a solid VRM design, making them capable of handling high-core CPU configurations effortlessly. They also include 2.5Gb LAN, and both B550 and X570 support PCIe 4.0 with 3000 and 5000 series CPUs (APUs like 5600G or 3400G are exceptions).
The Strix XE is a sturdy board with some nice extras. It could be a bit excessive, but definitely worth it.
I’d have to concur with this remark. You receive comparable results in a more concise format, and it looks more attractive visually.