First Build- Gigabyte Gaming 3 atx or Asus b350 plus atx? Too many conflicting reviews. Need advice.

Infinite1212

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Sep 10, 2014
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Hi. I'm currently trying to build my first pc, and I can't decide between the two boards. On one hand, I've gotten recommendation for the Asus, but same thing from the other side. What is the state of the boards as of June?

I've heard terrible bios problems regarding the Gaming 3 board, some regarding the Asus one as well, but am unsure whom to trust. This will be my first build, and I want to avoid any headaches. Please help.

Also, is it possible to unbrick a board? I've heard the gigabyte boards have dual bios. Will I lose anything if I don't go with the Gigabyte?

Thanks!

On the side note, how does the the Matx version of the gaming 3 fare against the two boards?
 
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I'd put the gaming 3 above the Asus prime slightly , & that's mainly just for the strengthened PCI express sockets more than anything else.

A lot of the cheaper MSI boards are running weaker vrm setups than those 2 , whether it's a real issue is honestly debatable as the current limit for ryzen is around 4.1ghz & I don't see it changing in all honesty.

MSI have been more on the ball with bios updates , asrock , gigabyte, Asus have only very recently pushed 1.0.0.04a updates out for a lot of boards.

V6 is due , I would expect that to be a much quicker release across all manufacturers.

I wouldn't buy an matx board at all unless you are insistent on an matx case .
If it has to be matx I'd pick the gigabyte gaming 3 or the asrock b350...

Seanie280672

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Mar 19, 2017
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I wouldnt recommend either board, the bios on the Gigabyte AB350m Gaming 3 is rubbish, and theres next to no bios updates for it, (you can check the Gigabyte website for proof of this) and after killing 2 sets of my ram, I killed it, checked the other day, 2 months later, still no updates to fix any of the issues except for AGESA 1.0.0.4a from AMD, brought an MSI board instead.

The ASUS Prime B350m-a doesnt have any heatsinks on the VRM.

Ive not triedd the ASRock board but ive heard good things about it.

I had the MSI B350m Mortar and had great results with it, re-enforced PCI-e slots, heatsinks on the VRM and a great bios.

Just my 2c worth, so out of all 4 top manufacturers, where microATX AM4 boards are concerned id put them in this order.

ASRock and MSI on the same level as ive not tried an ASROCK.
ASUS
Gigabyte

 

Seanie280672

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Mar 19, 2017
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Gaming 3 mATX board came out at the launch of RyZen, I only brought it because there was a motherboard shortage and its all I could get my hands on at the time, had my CPU and RAM sitting on my desk for 3 weeks whilst fighting to get a board.

I cant comment on the ATX versions of either the ASUS or Gigabyte, as I currently have an MSI x370 Gaming Pro Carbon.

However, the next board I want to try is the ASUS Strix B350-F, a newly released board by ASUS that I wish they had of released at the launch of RyZen.
 
I'd put the gaming 3 above the Asus prime slightly , & that's mainly just for the strengthened PCI express sockets more than anything else.

A lot of the cheaper MSI boards are running weaker vrm setups than those 2 , whether it's a real issue is honestly debatable as the current limit for ryzen is around 4.1ghz & I don't see it changing in all honesty.

MSI have been more on the ball with bios updates , asrock , gigabyte, Asus have only very recently pushed 1.0.0.04a updates out for a lot of boards.

V6 is due , I would expect that to be a much quicker release across all manufacturers.

I wouldn't buy an matx board at all unless you are insistent on an matx case .
If it has to be matx I'd pick the gigabyte gaming 3 or the asrock b350 pro 4m personally , because they are EXACTLY the same as their atx counterparts just with less expansion slots,nothing else has been removed or compromised at all.
 
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