Zekk Pacus' AMD Ryze(n) hardware thread, July 2017

**rufuske** · January 13 2022, 07:23:34 PM

I have similar experiences. All ram slots filled are bane of cheap motherboards. If you couple that with having anything else but gfx card in your pci slots, you're just asking for trouble.

**El Capitano** · January 14 2022, 10:01:53 AM

Originally Posted by Cosmin

5900x generally runs higher in frequency than 5950x because it has less cores and dissipates much less heat, it's easier to work with, etc. If I didn't have my own stuff needing as many cores as possible then I would have went for the 5900x. There's always a balance to strike somewhere.

This just isn't true. Take a look at this review of the 12900K, the 5950X basically consumes the same power as the 5900X unless you run a heavy stress test and then it consumes slightly more. The 5950X uses aggressively binned dies that run at a lower voltage than those in the 5900X and hence they have the same TDP and power levels. You'll get essentially the same gaming performance at lower temperatures and better multithreaded performance.

Also motherboard model/layout most definitely matters when trying to run for a specific case (e.g. four high density modules in four slots).

Posting an article about the 400 series chipsets that came out when Ryzen was notoriously picky about RAM is a little unfortunate. Things have improved quite a bit and yes, there are still issues and maybe going higher end will help with RAM compatibility, but you're still talking about a good B550 rather than needing an X570. You could easily slip 32GB of RAM into 2 of the RAM slots and that will be just fine for the vast, vast majority of gamers. Again, if you need more, you're talking very niche.

And yes, of course sample sizes of one are problematic. Today found out another friend has issues with the same RAM/MB configuration that my friend has

Of course samples of two are also problematic. But if you want a high end CPU you should not skimp on the motherboard if you want to milk it for all the performance it can offer - if you plan running stock, you do you, though.

Depending on your use case, you're talking *maybe* 5-10% performance increase. There's really little point going high end on the motherboard until/unless you've maxed out everything else.

This is just silly. High end motherboards aren't only for LN2 territory.

But you didn't just list a high end motherboard, you listed a really expensive close to top end motherboard. It's got massively overkill VRMs that are designed for really extreme overclocks.

My ASUS Rampage IV Extreme served me well since 2013 and will continue to do so in that system. All the high end motherboards I have ever owned have had amazing lifespans, measured in decades. By comparison I've also owned cheap motherboards that needed recapping every 4 years or so and similar stuff. Yes, nowadays the situation is much better and you can get a cracking motherboard for a really really good price.

Meh, I owned a Z series from that era (maybe 77, may have been 75) that was upper mid level and it's still going fine for the friend I gave it to. Never had to do anything to it, it still works fine.

But again, if you want to milk your system for all it can offer 24/7 - you need something bit more expensive than what you can get at the corner store. If that's not your use case, fair enough and no issues, again, you do you

But most people don't, it's a rather niche case, so saying you should expect to pay as much for a motherboard as you spend on your CPU is just wrong unless you have a very niche use case.

**Overspark** · January 14 2022, 12:30:43 PM

I think we should agree on cheap mobo = bad, extremely expensive mobo = overkill for most situation, mid-end to upper-mid-end is where the sweet spot is.

Also B550 vs X570 is also a bit of a special case. B550 came out later and there are lots of boards with them that have a VRM that is at least as good as on the X570 boards. B550 boards aren't as budget as their chipset name might suggest.

**rufuske** · January 14 2022, 12:32:02 PM