Z270 Chipset: ASUS or MSI?

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

I'm looking at upgrading my (very ancient) rig before the year is out. I've currently specced:

- i5-7600k
- GTX1080 (hopefully the Windforce model)
- 16Gb DDR4 RAM (most likely Corsair Vengeance)
- Z270 chipset MOBO

In the past I've always had ASUS motherboards, particularly for their ability to reconfigure themselves to boot if I mess up changing a BIOS setting (apologies for the poor explanation) however I've seen a lot of love for the MSI Gaming Pro Carbon. Could someone recommend me a Z270 chipset MOBO for around £150 preferably ASUS but I'm open Thanks!

Finstar · Sep 3, 2017

The quality of Asus boards has gone down a lot after z170 was released, i'd go for the Pro Carbon if i were you.

Why aren't you getting a Ryzen 5 1600 over the i5 though? it's a lot faster and more future proof.

Shektron · Sep 3, 2017

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7VZ2FT/asus-prime-z270-a-atx-lga1151-motherboard-prime-z270-a

^This. Very nice motherboard, both form and function-wise. A bit of a difficult color scheme to work with, if you're into that sort of thing.

Also, consider waiting for 8th gen i5's, the seventh gen wouldn't cut it in a year or so. 6-core gaming is slowly, but surely, becoming mainstream.

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

Finstar :

Honestly... I don't know. I've always had an i5 so I guess force of habit? Never looked into AMD for CPUs

Finstar · Sep 3, 2017

Gregadethhh :

Take a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RMbYe4X2LI

Shektron · Sep 3, 2017

Gregadethhh :

Well you should now, they have extremely competitive products in the CPU market now, would definitely recommend them unless your monitor is 144 Hz or more. If that is the case, it's best you wait for 8th generation Intel CPUs to launch. Definitely avoid the current i5's at all costs though.

A Ryzen 5 1600 would be my recommendation if your monitor is in the 60-120 Hz range.

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

Finstar :

Okay that is a pretty solid argument for the Ryzen... I have a few questions though... how good is the Wraith included cooler, what recommendation for a motherboard? and will it pair well with the GTX 1080?

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

Shektron :

Gregadethhh :

Well you should now, they have extremely competitive products in the CPU market now, would definitely recommend them unless your monitor is 144 Hz or more. If that is the case, it's best you wait for 8th generation Intel CPUs to launch. Definitely avoid the current i5's at all costs though.

A Ryzen 5 1600 would be my recommendation if your monitor is in the 60-120 Hz range.

Currently have a 60Hz (1080p) Samsung LED TV as my monitor... I'm basically upgrading to play Destiny 2 and want the upgrade to last as long as my current build (of 6 years)

Shektron · Sep 3, 2017

The Wraith Spire cooler is good for moderate overclocks only. A Ryzen 5 1600 can hit 3.7-3.8 GHz with the stock cooler. With a liquid cooler, you might just hit 4.0 GHz, though it is not guaranteed.

A B350 motherboard should be fine, something like the ASRock Pro4 or MSI B350 Tomahawk or Asus Prime B350 Plus.

Whether it will pair with the GTX 1080 depends on what resolution and refresh rate you play at. If you play at 1080p 144 Hz, you'll see CPU bottlenecking, so it wouldn't be a good pair. At 1440p, it'll be a great combination.

The Ryzen 7 1700 also comes with a good stock cooler, a bit better than the Wraith Spire that comes with the Ryzen 5 1600.

A GTX 1080 is a little overkill for 1080p 60 Hz, so maybe you should get something lower. But if you want the GPU to last 6 years, a GTX 1080 will actually be the better choice. If you do want that, then the Ryzen CPU is a great match for the 1080.

Finstar · Sep 3, 2017

I had the wraith spire on my Ryzen 7 1700 (2 cores more over the 1600) and i managed to hit 3.8GHz on all cores with it.
I also have the gtx 1080 and i think it pairs really well with it.

Shektron · Sep 3, 2017

Finstar :

At 1080p 60 Hz, it's a little too much, though. But since OP wants the GPU to last so long, it isn't all that crazy.

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

I don't really overclock to be completely honest... (someone somewhere will hate me for saying that haha). For the foreseeable future, I'll not be changing monitor so it'll be 1080p @ 60Hz. So to boil it all down....

Ryzen 5 1600
B350 Motherboard (though curious as to why not X370?)
GTX 1080
16Gb DDR4 at a decent speed (2400Mhz+?)

Should see me comfortably for the next 3-5 years?

Shektron · Sep 3, 2017

Gregadethhh :

Yes, it should last you that much. As for why not X370, you can. But the main difference between B350 and X370 is two, neither of which you'll apparently use -

1. Better overclocking-equipped. High-end X370 boards have more in-depth settings for overclocking as well as better hardware for it. Even the cheapest B350 supports overclocking, though.

2. SLI and proper Crossfire support. B350 supports Crossfire, but not as well as X370. SLI is not supported by B350 motherboards. If you're into those, you should consider an X370.

You probably wouldn't benefit from either of these differences, which is why a B350 board is completely fine.

Finstar · Sep 3, 2017

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($197.28 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $401.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-03 11:48 EDT-0400

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

Finstar :

That's pretty good! I switched it to GBP as I'm UK based but including the 1080 I'm looking at £940 (~$1200).

Are G.Skills the only RAM with Samsung modules in?

Finstar · Sep 3, 2017

Gregadethhh :

As far as i know, pretty much all ram manufactures mix different modules in their RAMs.

You could get Flare X if you want 100% compatibility. It's quite expensive though but should be worth it.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/wX7CmG/gskill-flare-x-series-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3200-memory-f4-3200c14d-16gfx

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

Finstar :

Gregadethhh :

As far as i know, pretty much all ram manufactures mix different modules in their RAMs.

You could get Flare X if you want 100% compatibility. It's quite expensive though but should be worth it.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/wX7CmG/gskill-flare-x-series-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3200-memory-f4-3200c14d-16gfx

Wow that's a lot! Haha ideally I'd like Corsair Vengeance but I'm open. A lot's changed since I last built a PC from the ground up!

Finstar · Sep 3, 2017

Gregadethhh :

AMD have stated Ryzens memory controller can handle speeds up to 2666MHz in dual channel and 2400MHz in quad channel mode.
Everything above that is considered overclocking and there's no telling if it will work or not.
Of course samsung modules seem to be able to hit higher speeds than others but it's still officially not supported.
Though i've heard most people (including myself) have been able to hit at least 3000MHz on non samsung sticks as long as the RAM supports it.

Gregadethhh · Sep 3, 2017

Awesome, thank you so much for the help guys!

Z270 Chipset: ASUS or MSI?

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