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Get me started again! My rig is like a decade old.

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Keep it for backup or wipe it and give it to a nonprofit organization. I provide tech support for some nonprofits and they generally don't need the latest greatest.

Oh I’ll find it a home for sure.
So this morning I saw ddr4 3800 16gb on sale for $75. One day too late. Man it’s crazy how affordable ram has become for a decent amount.


 
You'll love that case I think. Just the right size for where you're headed and has a simple, clean solid look to it. No LED gltz. Great air flow and quality dust filters. Since I don't think you'll be able to use that Fury with a fan in the bottom hole of the front case panel, I would put two exhaust fans in the top panel.
 
You'll love that case I think. Just the right size for where you're headed and has a simple, clean solid look to it. No LED gltz. Great air flow and quality dust filters. Since I don't think you'll be able to use that Fury with a fan in the bottom hole of the front case panel, I would put two exhaust fans in the top panel.

Oh definitely... and I have TONS of fans over the years (those I never got rid of).
 
My FX8320 is kinda old. It still runs like a boss on my ASUS Crosshair V.
I had my CPU and GPU both watercooled. Got sick of watercooling and ripped out the GPU cooler when I upgraded my card a few years back. I now want to rip out my triple 120 radiator for the CPU and go to air cooling, and get a smaller tower. This full tower is loud, even at low fan settings, and too huge. I'm done with that madness.

If I can do mATX in a sick case, great, but I'm guessing mid-tower is my best bet for some OCing room.

I'm thinking about picking up the ryzen 1600 AF chip to get the best bang for my buck. I can always upgrade later, so would like to pick up a motherboard that gives me that option.

Shoot away at ideas, if anyone has the time to educate me. I knew my OCing like the back of my hand 10+ years ago, but I am heavily outdated. I knew DDR and DDR2, not sure I OCed much at all on DDR3.

Please let me know if there are new basics to learn. I just recall FSB, multiplier, RAM timings, FSB to RAM ratio, cpu voltage, dimm voltage, NB chipset voltage. And for GPUs they seem so much more complex... I'll leave that as is for now.

Goal is a new Mobo/CPU/RAM combo, and a nice case. I'm going for AMD. I usually do (no, I'm not biased really... just leaned AMD 8/10 times).

Here's a little motivation to OC the old stuff - Top my score if you can!
https://hwbot.org/submission/4415740_bones_cpu_frequency_fx_8320_8121.79_mhz
(Yes I had to do that.) :p

You already have the foundation of a nice benching setup, why not use it?

Anyway, I just slapped together a low powered setup for the basics (Daily) and it's doing well but you'd probrably want something a tad more updated.
I'm currently running a 220GE in an A320M board with Ubuntu as the OS. It's a nice, snappy little thing and only issue right now is settling on the exact OS I want to use and that's directly on me.

Basically for any DDR4 setup a minimum of 8GB's with Win 10 but 16GB's is preferred, some even going up to 32GB's but that's probrably overkill here. Have 16GB's in this one running some G.Skill Flares that's PC3200 (B-die) and they are cheap too with nice specs (CL14 set).

I'd suggest (As a daily) a B450 based board for features and so on combined with a Ryzen 3600 (non-X) chip.
Enough cores/threads to do you for sometime to come and it doesn't use too much juice either.

For more such a real OC'ing, definitely one of the X boards such as an X470 or 570 board with one of the Ryzen X chips too.
If you want more cores you know what to do there vs a 3600X as a starting point.
 
Haven't heard back from you G0dM@n in several days. Still waiting on parts?
 
Here's a little motivation to OC the old stuff - Top my score if you can!
https://hwbot.org/submission/4415740_bones_cpu_frequency_fx_8320_8121.79_mhz
(Yes I had to do that.) :p

You already have the foundation of a nice benching setup, why not use it?

Anyway, I just slapped together a low powered setup for the basics (Daily) and it's doing well but you'd probrably want something a tad more updated.
I'm currently running a 220GE in an A320M board with Ubuntu as the OS. It's a nice, snappy little thing and only issue right now is settling on the exact OS I want to use and that's directly on me.

Basically for any DDR4 setup a minimum of 8GB's with Win 10 but 16GB's is preferred, some even going up to 32GB's but that's probrably overkill here. Have 16GB's in this one running some G.Skill Flares that's PC3200 (B-die) and they are cheap too with nice specs (CL14 set).

I'd suggest (As a daily) a B450 based board for features and so on combined with a Ryzen 3600 (non-X) chip.
Enough cores/threads to do you for sometime to come and it doesn't use too much juice either.

For more such a real OC'ing, definitely one of the X boards such as an X470 or 570 board with one of the Ryzen X chips too.
If you want more cores you know what to do there vs a 3600X as a starting point.

Atta boi on that OC!!
I'm going with the 1600 AF for now. Not sure how much power I'll need. You'll see in my info below, but had I known the parts would take this long, I could have saved a good amount of money and went with the 3600 after all. Oh well.

Haven't heard back from you G0dM@n in several days. Still waiting on parts?

Evreything came super fast except the motherboard because it was coming from a 3rd party. Man, I miss the old newegg.
I had a chat with newegg this past Fri or Sat mentioning how it had been a full week and the tracking still shows only as the label being created. They couldn't cancel the order without hearing back from the vendor they said, and to wait 1-2 business days for a reply.

I got a response yesterday from the vendor that they're sorry but they are 4-6 bus days delayed due to COVID. OK... guess I'll wait, right?
Just now I get an email of an RMA and refund being processed by NewEgg.

This stinks due to three reasons:
1. I paid with an AMEX gift card, so I hope this goes through correctly
2. I saw the motherboard on sale for $80 directly from newegg YESTERDAY. I was sooo tempted to order, but told myself to wait one more day. Yes, so it's $20 cheaper from newegg if it was in stock when I ordered 1.5 weeks ago.
3. The motherboard is no longer in stock by newegg and only by yet another third party seller, but for even more now, over $110.

So... is there another mATX 4dimm motherboard I can get, comparable to this MSI PRO B450M PRO-VDH MAX I had on order?

What stinks even more is had I known it'd take this long, I would have shopped around more. I saw RAM go on sale several times, NVMA drives, the case was on sale... could save easily saved myself another $75 if I knew it would take this long.

Even my 7 year old came into my office this morning and asked me, "Hey dad... when is the motherboard coming in?" -- he wants to help me build it b/c I kept talking it up that he can help me. He's just as excited haha.
 
https://www.newegg.com/msi-performance-gaming-b450m-gaming-plus/p/N82E16813144195 is actually a stronger board. The VDH MAX is decent for the price, but at the $100 price point it really doesn't stack up IMHO. Also you can find the VDH MAX on amazon for $90 which I still find to be a bit high but it is an option.

Edit: I noticed the link on Newegg is also a 3rd party. I found this on amazon for $90 as well https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Performance-Motherboard-B450-PRO/dp/B07F7WQDZJ?tag=gamersnexus01-20&th=1.

The demand for these boards has been consistently high since so many B450 boards have weak VRM.
 
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https://www.newegg.com/msi-performance-gaming-b450m-gaming-plus/p/N82E16813144195 is actually a stronger board. The VDH MAX is decent for the price, but at the $100 price point it really doesn't stack up IMHO. Also you can find the VDH MAX on amazon for $90 which I still find to be a bit high but it is an option.

Edit: I noticed the link on Newegg is also a 3rd party. I found this on amazon for $90 as well https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Performance-Motherboard-B450-PRO/dp/B07F7WQDZJ?tag=gamersnexus01-20&th=1.

The demand for these boards has been consistently high since so many B450 boards have weak VRM.

Thanks. Man, Amazon shows items as not currently in stock. I did want 4 dimm slots just in case, but I guess it's not mandatory. Not sure I'll ever need more than 16GB.
Now, I am curious about one thing... what's so great about the B450 chip over say the X570 or other options?

*EDIT*
Oh, and lookie here... I'm in NY, so I could get this soon:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1507117-REG/msi_b450m_pro_vdh_max_matx.html

Still curious about B450 vs the other chips.
 
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Really nothing other than price and availability. There are not many x570 mircoATX or Mini ITX boards and some of them are quite expensive. You'll get more features in x570, pcie-gen4 which may eventually be relevant for gaming (its not at this time), and the vast majority of the boards have solid VRM.

I believe we went the b450 route because it is a functional no-frills solution with a budget fitting the 1600AF and microATX. That said the market being dry of them it may make more sense to go x570, or even x470 (although from a feature prospective the only thing it offers over b450 is SLI and unlike x570 many of the boards are weak and overpriced). If you want things like wifi, gigabit ethernet, USB3 or PCIE gen 4 then x570 is worth looking at. It just seems odd to pair a $170+ board with a $85 CPU. I guess look for features you want in the form factor you like and then check to see if the board is strong enough for future upgrades
 
Really nothing other than price and availability. There are not many x570 mircoATX or Mini ITX boards and some of them are quite expensive. You'll get more features in x570, pcie-gen4 which may eventually be relevant for gaming (its not at this time), and the vast majority of the boards have solid VRM.

I believe we went the b450 route because it is a functional no-frills solution with a budget fitting the 1600AF and microATX. That said the market being dry of them it may make more sense to go x570, or even x470 (although from a feature prospective the only thing it offers over b450 is SLI and unlike x570 many of the boards are weak and overpriced). If you want things like wifi, gigabit ethernet, USB3 or PCIE gen 4 then x570 is worth looking at. It just seems odd to pair a $170+ board with a $85 CPU. I guess look for features you want in the form factor you like and then check to see if the board is strong enough for future upgrades
You're right about an expensive board with a cheap CPU, but I always start off my builds like that. I usually hold onto the motherboard the longest, and upgrade CPU and GPU first, maybe RAM (but not planning on RAM this time). So I want a board that will also take the better CPUs down the line... so if I finally do get back into gaming, I can easily swap out the CPU and know this board will do just fine with a little bit of OCing on a bigger CPU.

There are less than a handful total of x570 mATX and miniITX motherboards available. Supposedly, in June the B550 boards will come out but we have no way of knowing what form factors will be available.

https://www.amazon.com/Equipped-Sup...sr=8-24&swrs=EA17303343291C11F60B5C3DCB4C91E2

Thanks for the info. I was also looking at the AsRock B450M. I'm not biased on motherboard brands. I've been in love with AsRock, Gigabyte, MSI, Abit, and ASUS, all over the years. :)
 
Really confused here... been looking around all over the place. Is B450 scarce? BH photo has decent prices and is close to me, but man every single B450 mobo listed is either backordered or available in 7-14 business days. Not sure if this is a COVID thing, or if they're all planning on clearing stock for the newer chipset. =/

Yet... newegg.com is OOS themselves, but are selling 10+ on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-B450PV...-GB-DDR4-D-SUB-DVI-HDMI-mATX-Mot/303508538969

Not as interested in ASUS TUF B450M-PRO GAMING because it only has 4 USB ports. I do like the MSI for having a ton.

*UPDATE*
I spoke with newegg and they said that their ebay inventory/stock isn't updated real-time, and that if I ordered from there it would likely get cancelled. Good to know Newegg kinda sucks now. Man, I'm so disappointed. They used to be king!!
 
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IMO, there have been plenty of choices in the AM4 mATX category, just as many I would say, as there has been for earlier AMD sockets. It's just that mATX and ITX aftermarket boards are never as popular as ATX boards among enthusiasts and gamers. So, the choices in the mATX category have always been limited in that sense. And with Ryzen, because the overclocking headroom is so much less than it has been for earlier AMD CPUs many don't even bother with it like they used to. So, really strong VRM components seem not to be as important as formerly. For Ryzen, it just isn't going to make a lot of difference as most boards out there will handle most all socket AM4 CPUs without a problem. And keep in mind, OP is going to be using a 1600AF, not a 3900X.
 
But, he states he wants to be able to upgrade to, presumably, something like a 3900x. Although that's correct it hasn't really been clear what sort of upgrade headroom he wants.
 
mATX is not an optimum platform for a 3900X, agreed. But the case he has chosen won't take a full size ATX board. But he also stated in the beginning he wants to move to smaller and quieter. Maybe the old saying is applicable here, "you can't have your cake and eat it too".
 
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Hey guys, not saying I want to get the best CPU ever available, but the 1600AF is probably not gonna be what will go on for the life of this mobo. Just wanted room for a bigger and better CPU in the future.
In any case, I found a MSI PRO B450M PRO-VDH MAX on eBay for $80+ tax brand new. It'll take a while to get it, but let's hope shipping doesn't get missed up on this guy.

My 7yo son asked where the motherboard is again haha!!

You guys have all been awesome!
 
That motherboard will handle the 3900x just fine actually, acording to DaveB, at least on stock settings. And certainly you'd want the best AIO water cooling and the best possible air flow through the case with a big gun CPU like that. And yeah, you would likely get noticeable throttling with the 3900x on a system like that. But it will do it. That's the thing about Ryzens. They adjust themselves to the limitations of the other components in the system.
 
I am looking at doing a similar upgrade. I also haven't been paying attention to hardware for the last 10+ years. Which MB would you use for atx?
 
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