Need advice on new CPU and Mobo for clocking

[JustJeff]

I want to build a new computer and need advice for a mobo to pair with either

i5 10600k or 11600k
5600x

I've always owned Gigabyte but am also partial to MSI

Boards I've considered are Gigabyte Aorus Ultra and MSI Carbon and Tomahawk

From what I have read 5600x and AMD in general don't clock well. It seems like if I'm watercooling and clocking I should save a little by getting the i5 and a comparable board for clocking that chip. However it seems also seems like the mobos I'm drawn to are more than the i5 requires. Seems like those boards are more often paired up with i7.

Any thoughts and advice as far as watercooling cpu and mobo combos would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Zerileous]

When you state you want a board for clocking, what kind of overclocking are you planning to do? Set it and forget it daily driver? Competitive benching? Sub ambient? For daily use most any Z-series Intel or x570 AMD (and most b550 for that matter) board should satisfy. I would suggest coming up with a list of needs and wants for the board (i.e. front USB 3.0, or high end onboard audio, wifi, gigabit lan, etc) and choose a board that has what you want for your budget.

Clocks are not everything, it's true the Ryzens don't really give you a lot of room to "overclock" in the traditional sense, because out of the box they do such a good job of using the potential of the CPU without any intervention. They do take advantage of improved cooling though, so I would not say that watercooling a Ryzen doesn't help. Really AMD vs Intel is pretty much down to personal preference at this point.

For conventional overclocking we focus on the power delivery components of the motherboard. The 6 core CPU's that you're shopping for simply don't require as much power as the 8+ core models, so most boards designed to support the higher core count models will be able to overclock them well.