Hey everyone! I've built a handful of PCs over the years, but it's been over four years since my last build. I'm looking to upgrade my CPU to an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, moving up from an Intel i7-4790. I want to replace my graphics card later on but plan to tackle the CPU upgrade first. My current motherboard won't support this new, more powerful CPU, and I've never replaced a motherboard before, so I'm a bit unsure about the whole process. I'm considering the ASRock B650 PG LIGHTNING ATX AM5 motherboard. What do you all think of this choice? Is it the right fit or overkill? I'm also currently using a GTX 2070 Super, and while I want to eventually switch to a 5070 Ti, that's not in my budget right now. I'm open to any advice on making this CPU transition! Thanks!
1 Answer
I'd be cautious with ASRock motherboards, especially with Ryzen 9000 chips. There's been some history of them frying CPUs. I’d suggest looking at a B850 motherboard instead; future-proofing with PCIe 5 support could be a good move, especially when buying a top-tier chip like the 9950X3D.
Are you suggesting the B850 from Gigabyte? Or does it not matter as long as it's not ASRock? Also, what exactly is PCIe 5 used for? I know it’s for things like capture cards and WiFi, but is there anything specific I should know?