Upgraded Ryzen 7 3700X with minimal board and low cost.
Upgraded Ryzen 7 3700X with minimal board and low cost.
Hi, you're considering a great upgrade for your Ryzen 3700X. For overclocking stability without PBO, manual frequency tweaks are key. Your build includes an NZXT H400 case with Scythe Ninja 5 cooler. You're looking at mATX and mITX options under $200. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- **MSI B450M MORTAR MAX** (mATX, ~$110) – solid VRM, good for beginners.
- **Asus ROG STRIX X470-I Gaming** (mITX, ~$190) – compact but may need BIOS updates.
- **Asus PRIME X570-P** (mATX, ~$200) – premium build, strong VRM.
- **Asus ROG STRIX X470-F GAMING** (ATX, ~$180) – excellent cooling, great for overclocking.
Your current setup is decent but could benefit from better airflow. If mini form factors work, skip ATX and go with mITX. Prioritize VRM quality, then stick to your budget. Let me know if you want more details!
I’ll choose the mortar max. I don’t think x570 brings much value.
I'm choosing to oppose MSI mainly because of the poor quality of their software. Command Center and Mystic Light are both completely flawed products. Mystic Light causes my Wraith Prism to flash red every time it boots if connected through USB to the motherboard, yet you must install the Mystic Light program just to silence those intense red lights on the B450 Tomahawk. This is really disappointing. Command Center loads properly at startup but fails to save your custom fan settings or transfer them to the BIOS. Overall, it's a waste of time.
Consider the MSI B450M Mortar Max. I’d love to see it in Canada at a reasonable cost. Doubting whether the third-gen Ryzen 7 and 9 can truly achieve full 100% stable overclocking up to 200 MHz above base speed. It might be wiser to stick with stock settings and PBO, adjusting voltage slightly lower. Maintaining CPU temperature as low as possible within acceptable noise levels often yields better outcomes while keeping voltages normal. Some users pushed over 1.4V and experienced failure after a year.
The review against this motherboard for RGB features is clear. However, Asrock B450 boards cannot handle RAM speeds at their maximum (just search Asrock 450 XMP specs). Both Asus and Gigabyte don’t support M-ATX B450 boards with proper VRM heatsinks. It seems there aren’t many good alternatives—consider X470 or X570 ITX boards if you need better performance, though they’ll leave you with only two RAM slots.
I'm opposing this not just because of RGB, but because their software is really poor and creates a lot of annoyance. I think if you don't intend to use the system, it's okay—but that's one reason a strong board should offer reliable software for managing its performance. Over time, it can become frustrating to boot into BIOS every time you need to adjust settings or do anything useful that other boards handle smoothly.
VRM performance isn't crucial when using Ryzen Master for overclocking. You're not applying enough stress to the motherboard for it to count. The ROG X470-I board looks promising to me. I intend to purchase it with a 3600 or 3700 and aim for 5GHz+ with minimal cooling.
While playing games, I notice all cores hovering near 4.2Ghz with PBO around 60°C for CPU temps. After rendering in Blender, it drops to about 4.0–4.1GHz across all cores, and the CPU temp climbs up to a maximum of 72°C at most. I’m looking for good value, so I was hoping to find something affordable during a sale from places like Canada Computers or Memory Express. I’m curious why they don’t stock the B450 Mortar Max even though they sell many other MSI products.