AMD Ryzen Upgrade, Looking For Advice

[Thentilian]

So, I haven't upgraded in a long time. I only use AMD CPU's for my personal rigs. I'm still rocking a Phenom II 965 BE @3.8GHz. It's been an awesome CPU over the years, but it's time to upgrade. New games are becoming way too CPU intensive for the 965 to keep up. I wasn't compelled by the FX series and waited.... Well, that wait was WAY longer than I thought it was going to be.

I'm looking to upgrade to a Ryzen 1600, 1600x, or 1700 on a B350 motherboard. My budget is pretty tight and I do not have an AM4 cooler either, which is a concern. I've looked into parts for my CM D92 and they would take 1 to 4 weeks to ship from the UK, same goes with Silverstone to ship an AM4 bracket for my TD02 slim liquid cooler. Silverstone also is not giving them away for free anymore and wants 10 bucks. Not a huge thing, but I really don't want to wait 1 to 4 weeks for the parts. So, I'm gonna have to either wait, or pony up some extra cash for another cooler, since I plan to hit Micro Center this week to by the CPU and motherboard.

I already have a DDR4 kit. 16GB Corsair Vengeance 2400MHz. It's at least a starter kit, until I can upgrade to 3200 to maximize Ryzen performance, but that's a minor thing at the moment and having the kit already is going to save me a good chunk of change.

So, given the information that I've talked about already, the main thing is what B350 board is really solid right now as far as VRM, OC, BIOS updates, etc? I've seen a lot of talk about the ASUS B350 Prime, MSI B350 Tomahawk, and the Gigabyte B350 Gaming 3 motherboards. I've been looking at the specs on them, but that doesn't really tell me much about the quality of components used on the boards. I have been liking the Gigabyte boards lately. They look nice and pack a lot of features for the price.

I definitely want to be able to OC whatever CPU I end up getting. I was leaning pretty heavy toward the 1600x, simply because it has the highest clocks out of the box and probably can hit highest OC compared to the non-x 1600 and 1700, unless I get lucky with a nice non-x chip. The other reason I am looking at the non-x versions is because they come with a cooler and that would work until I can get the bracket for my TD02 slim water cooler. But then I wonder if I might get a crummy chip that won't OC much and be stuck with a dud.

I would go for an X370 motherboard, but about the only thing they offer is more VRM phases, because I really don't need the extra SATA ports, nor do I need SLI/Xfire capabilities either. I know they offer more stuff than that, but I really don't need it, so it's a waste of money to me.

Anyhow, I would really appreciate any advice on what to look at before I head down to Micro Center in the next couple of days. Thanks in advance.

 

[||Console||]

1600 vs 1600x I have seen a Few "X's" that overclocked a bit better than the non (50-100mhz). I think you have a better chance hitting 4ghz with the 1600x but nothing is for sure . But if you are going to get the X and still need a HSF then You should probably look @ the 1700 if budget permits. Thats just my line of thinking .
I will be building a system for a buddy soon With his budget I picked the Gaming 3 / 1600 . He is not a big overclocker so what ever I can get from the stock hsf will be fine with him .

 

[bigtallanddopey]

For the most part the none x chips seem on average to be 0.1 Ghz behind the x chips when it comes to overclocking. Obviously there will be some better and some worse. But there are many examples on the internet of people hitting 3.8 with the stock cooler on the 1700. Then getting water cooling and only hitting 3.9 anyway.

For me the 1600 and the 1700 are the chips to go for when looking at ryzen just because of the price vs performance once overclocked.

 

[Daleon]

Depends on what kind of OC you want. 3.8 with a mild voltage bump then any B350 and any cpu will get the job done. If your really wanting to see a magic number its going to take voltage to get there and its luck of the draw how much voltage it takes to get them there even with the X's.

On a budget though it makes more sense to go either Aorus or Strix for the B350 and a 1600/1700.

 

[DaveB]

So, I haven't upgraded in a long time. I only use AMD CPU's for my personal rigs. I'm still rocking a Phenom II 965 BE @3.8GHz. It's been an awesome CPU over the years, but it's time to upgrade. New games are becoming way too CPU intensive for the 965 to keep up. I wasn't compelled by the FX series and waited.... Well, that wait was WAY longer than I thought it was going to be.

I'm looking to upgrade to a Ryzen 1600, 1600x, or 1700 on a B350 motherboard. My budget is pretty tight and I do not have an AM4 cooler either, which is a concern. I've looked into parts for my CM D92 and they would take 1 to 4 weeks to ship from the UK, same goes with Silverstone to ship an AM4 bracket for my TD02 slim liquid cooler. Silverstone also is not giving them away for free anymore and wants 10 bucks. Not a huge thing, but I really don't want to wait 1 to 4 weeks for the parts. So, I'm gonna have to either wait, or pony up some extra cash for another cooler, since I plan to hit Micro Center this week to by the CPU and motherboard.

I already have a DDR4 kit. 16GB Corsair Vengeance 2400MHz. It's at least a starter kit, until I can upgrade to 3200 to maximize Ryzen performance, but that's a minor thing at the moment and having the kit already is going to save me a good chunk of change.

So, given the information that I've talked about already, the main thing is what B350 board is really solid right now as far as VRM, OC, BIOS updates, etc? I've seen a lot of talk about the ASUS B350 Prime, MSI B350 Tomahawk, and the Gigabyte B350 Gaming 3 motherboards. I've been looking at the specs on them, but that doesn't really tell me much about the quality of components used on the boards. I have been liking the Gigabyte boards lately. They look nice and pack a lot of features for the price.

I definitely want to be able to OC whatever CPU I end up getting. I was leaning pretty heavy toward the 1600x, simply because it has the highest clocks out of the box and probably can hit highest OC compared to the non-x 1600 and 1700, unless I get lucky with a nice non-x chip. The other reason I am looking at the non-x versions is because they come with a cooler and that would work until I can get the bracket for my TD02 slim water cooler. But then I wonder if I might get a crummy chip that won't OC much and be stuck with a dud.

I would go for an X370 motherboard, but about the only thing they offer is more VRM phases, because I really don't need the extra SATA ports, nor do I need SLI/Xfire capabilities either. I know they offer more stuff than that, but I really don't need it, so it's a waste of money to me.

Anyhow, I would really appreciate any advice on what to look at before I head down to Micro Center in the next couple of days. Thanks in advance.

I liked the ASRock AB350 Pro4 which has a robust power section and is only $90 at Microcenter ($80 after rebate). I also used the $80 mATX version for a Ryzen 5 1600 build.

 

[bos_dc2]

I was in your situation not too long ago then I slowly started to piece things together and ended up with a Ryzen 5 1600 build on a ROG STRIX B350-F GAMING motherboard.

Currently it's running at 3.8GHz and 1.4v but hopefully I should be able to lower the voltage...

With the newest bios update: Version 0809 2017/08/11 , I was able to change the ram under D.O.C.P auto settings to 2933MHz without a hitch so that's a big bonus right there. (Corsair Vengeance LED 2x8GB 3000MHz)

 

[Thentilian]

1600 vs 1600x I have seen a Few "X's" that overclocked a bit better than the non (50-100mhz). I think you have a better chance hitting 4ghz with the 1600x but nothing is for sure . But if you are going to get the X and still need a HSF then You should probably look @ the 1700 if budget permits. Thats just my line of thinking .
I will be building a system for a buddy soon With his budget I picked the Gaming 3 / 1600 . He is not a big overclocker so what ever I can get from the stock hsf will be fine with him .

Yeah, I think if I have to spend extra, I might as well get a 1700 and have that 8 core goodness, since I plan to do some streaming and video rendering.

For the most part the none x chips seem on average to be 0.1 Ghz behind the x chips when it comes to overclocking. Obviously there will be some better and some worse. But there are many examples on the internet of people hitting 3.8 with the stock cooler on the 1700. Then getting water cooling and only hitting 3.9 anyway.

For me the 1600 and the 1700 are the chips to go for when looking at ryzen just because of the price vs performance once overclocked.

I would like to hit at least 3.8Ghz, I plan to use water cooling. I will probably buy the AM4 bracket for my current water cooler in the meantime, then save for a better AIO unit and see how far I can push whatever chip I get. 4GHz would be ideal, but that's always luck of the draw on the silicon lottery anyways. Something I usually do not have much luck with.

Depends on what kind of OC you want. 3.8 with a mild voltage bump then any B350 and any cpu will get the job done. If your really wanting to see a magic number its going to take voltage to get there and its luck of the draw how much voltage it takes to get them there even with the X's.

On a budget though it makes more sense to go either Aorus or Strix for the B350 and a 1600/1700.

I think I have made up my mind on the ROG Strix board. It's fairly inexpensive, has good sound and an Intel NIC. Plus it looks to be a 6+2 phase PWM, most of the other boards are 4+2 or Asrock is 3+3 from what I've heard and read.

I liked the ASRock AB350 Pro4 which has a robust power section and is only $90 at Microcenter ($80 after rebate). I also used the $80 mATX version for a Ryzen 5 1600 build.

I was in your situation not too long ago then I slowly started to piece things together and ended up with a Ryzen 5 1600 build on a ROG STRIX B350-F GAMING motherboard.

Currently it's running at 3.8GHz and 1.4v but hopefully I should be able to lower the voltage...

With the newest bios update: Version 0809 2017/08/11 , I was able to change the ram under D.O.C.P auto settings to 2933MHz without a hitch so that's a big bonus right there. (Corsair Vengeance LED 2x8GB 3000MHz)

Yeah, 1.4 seems a bit high for 3.8GHz, might not be much left in that chip, but who knows more BIOS updates could make them more stable as time goes on. As I said before, I think I've settled on getting the Asus ROG Strix board. Seems to be a very solid choice. Good VRM, sound, and Intel NIC. I do not require a lot of USB, or SATA connectors, and the fact it has 6 SATA is a bonus, compared to 4 SATA on most other B350 boards. I only need 3 of them. I have my 2 disk drives, and 1 DVD player. I don't plan on adding more, but if I do, I still have space and I might get an M.2 at some point, so at least I have options with that board. I'll never SLi/Xfire anyways, so I really don't need an X370 motherboard.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I'll probably go with the Strix board and 1700, since I do want to do vlogs about my weight loss and exercising on youtube, and some twitch streaming. Makes sense to get the 8 core and it has the decent cooler (for a stock cooler) already. I can order the bracket from Silverstone which could take up to 4 weeks to arrive, so that makes sense to get the 1700 with a cooler to use in the meantime and see how lucky I get with it.

 

[trents]

I liked the ASRock AB350 Pro4 which has a robust power section and is only $90 at Microcenter ($80 after rebate). I also used the $80 mATX version for a Ryzen 5 1600 build.

Ditto! I recently put this board in my wife's computer with a Ryzen 1600 o'cd to 3.8. That board is a winner! Can't beat the value.

 

[bos_dc2]

Yeah, 1.4 seems a bit high for 3.8GHz, might not be much left in that chip, but who knows more BIOS updates could make them more stable as time goes on. As I said before, I think I've settled on getting the Asus ROG Strix board. Seems to be a very solid choice. Good VRM, sound, and Intel NIC. I do not require a lot of USB, or SATA connectors, and the fact it has 6 SATA is a bonus, compared to 4 SATA on most other B350 boards. I only need 3 of them. I have my 2 disk drives, and 1 DVD player. I don't plan on adding more, but if I do, I still have space and I might get an M.2 at some point, so at least I have options with that board. I'll never SLi/Xfire anyways, so I really don't need an X370 motherboard.

I sure hope so, first time overclocking so I forgot to change the voltage from auto to manual therefor seemed like it automatically adjusted to 1.4v.

I'll update this thread tonight after I play around with the voltage and see what I come up with



Edit:

I gotta say tho, this Strix B350-F board is probably the nicest looking B350 board available on the market currently. None of that black/red theme.

It was cheap on Newegg couple weeks ago as well, $132.99 CAD & $15.00 Mail-in-Rebate

 

[Thentilian]

Ditto! I recently put this board in my wife's computer with a Ryzen 1600 o'cd to 3.8. That board is a winner! Can't beat the value.

I might look into that board, but I've been wary of Asrock boards since I bought one that was a stinker. I think I'm pretty made up on the ROG Strix board, seems like the best bang for the buck in the 350 space. 6+2 phase power, Intel NIC, ALC 1220 sound chip, that's something you do not see on many 350 boards, let alone the combo of all 3. There is plenty of fan headers too, which I need. I have at least 3 case fans, plus 2 CPU fans and a pump. That requires 6 headers. Currently I have to use a 12 volt with an adapter pin and another CPU adapter to split the two radiator fans on my AIO cooler. I would like to have them all on their own header.

I sure hope so, first time overclocking so I forgot to change the voltage from auto to manual therefor seemed like it automatically adjusted to 1.4v.

I'll update this thread tonight after I play around with the voltage and see what I come up with



Edit:

I gotta say tho, this Strix B350-F board is probably the nicest looking B350 board available on the market currently. None of that black/red theme.

It was cheap on Newegg couple weeks ago as well, $132.99 CAD & $15.00 Mail-in-RebateView attachment 192818

Oh that auto power, always seems to overcompensate and push too much voltage. My motherboard tries to set 1.45 volt on my Phenom II... that would be correct for the earlier versions, but mine is C3 stepping, which only requires 1.35, but the BIOS reads it wrong for some reason, or the BIOS revisions stopped before then. I can't say for sure.

Anyways, that board does look nice. I could do without the white pin stripes all over it. Just a nice black finish works for me, but I agree about the red/black... this board is neutral enough where most other colors should get along with the grey and white scheme.

 

[Thentilian]

I purchased my parts yesterday at Micro Center. I ended up getting a R5 1600 and a Asus Prime X370-Pro motherboard. I have 16GB of Corsair DDR4 2400 CL14 RAM. I want to upgrade that RAM to 3200 at some point, and I decided against the ROG Strix simply because the X370 was only 20 dollars more and will serve me better down the road if I end up with an R7 CPU.

Thanks again for all the advice and comments.