Hey everyone! I'm in the process of building a new gaming PC and I'm on the hunt for a great motherboard to match my setup. Here's what I'm working with:
- CPU: Ryzen 9800X3D
- GPU: Asus Prime RTX 5070 Ti (I've done some research already on this but open to opinions)
- SSD: 2 TB Gen4 M.2
- RAM: 32 GB 6000 MHz (any recommendations here would be great)
I'm planning to retain my Soundblaster Z SE in the new build. I will be purchasing a preconfigured system online, so my options are somewhat limited. Here are the motherboards they offer:
- ASUS TUF GAMING B650-E WiFi
- ASUS PRIME B650M-A WIFI
- ASUS B650E Max Gaming WIFI
- ASUS TUF GAMING B650M-PLUS WiFi
- ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WiFi
- MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi
- And several others.
I'm particularly interested in solid VRMs for gaming capability, support for PCIe 4/5, sufficient M.2 slots, and good future-proofing. I've looked at the MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi from 2022 — is that still a solid choice, or is there a better option available now? Any suggestions for boards that fit my build or offer great value would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance!
2 Answers
For future-proofing, I’d suggest going with a B850 motherboard for the Gen5 GPU slot. The six boards you’re looking at have strong enough VRMs. Just so you know, the DS3H only has two M.2 slots, whereas the Tomahawk Max has four. The MSI Pro B850-P WiFi would be a solid recommendation since it ticks all the boxes.
What’s your budget like? The 9800X3D isn't super demanding on VRM performance, so you should be fine with decent boards. Most should support PCIe 4 and even 5 to the GPU, though that doesn't usually impact performance much. How many M.2 slots do you really need? And when you say future-proofing, what exactly are you looking to upgrade later?
I'd say I can stretch up to 250€ and I’d like the option to add 1-2 more M.2s later. By future-proofing, I mean making sure it's compatible with upcoming GPUs and hardware.