I recently got my brother's old Legion tower which is equipped with a powerful 4090 and an i9 14900k, but I'm facing some issues with the motherboard. Since I have a brand new AMD 9950x processor, I want to make the switch to that and set everything up in a new case with a fresh power supply.
I'm pretty lost when it comes to picking a new motherboard though. Should I go for a B650, B850, or B870? I've heard good things about MSI lately. Also, I need to buy new RAM because the current sticks are only running at 4800 MT/s, and I want to keep an eye on my budget while shopping. Any advice would be super helpful!
2 Answers
I have a 9950x and used the MSI B650 Tomahawk WiFi before switching to the ROG Strix Z670E-E. Honestly, there wasn’t much difference in performance between the two, especially with tuning options. Just make sure you get a motherboard that supports what you need, like Gen 5 for SSDs or plenty of USB ports. The MSI board worked well for me; I just wanted a different look for my build. The 9950x runs cool, usually staying under 60°C while gaming.
If you're looking for deals, Newegg often has motherboard and RAM bundles. If you're near a Microcenter, you can snag a good deal there too, sometimes even selling the bundled CPU for some extra cash. I've tried a few brands—Gigabyte, MSI, Asus—and they've all been solid. Honestly, there's no one standout brand right now. Just go for quality and make sure it fits your needs!
I thought about that, but I’m just concerned that reselling the CPU might turn into a hassle.