Need new motherboard and Processor

Hey lads

I had to donate my old processor and motherboard for my cousin’s system and looking for a new combo for myself. My rest of the specs are
Asus gtx 1060 6gb strix
8GBx2 Corsair Vengence DDR4 2400MHz
Corsair vs450
Ssd and hdd

Purpose is mainly AAA titles quality gaming and budget is 20k. Interested in both, AMD and Intel combos.

Intel i5 9400F and B360 board would cost about 20k.

nac said:
Intel i5 9400F and B360 board would cost about 20k.

+1 to this
The i5 costs 12k & Asus Prime B360M-A for 7.5k is a good choice of motherboard. Highly recommend that you change PSU to Corsair CX550 for 4.5k-5k as well, VS450 is shit, not designed for gaming PCs, especially something with GTX 1060.

Thank you for the suggestions. I checked out reviews of 9400F and it indeed looks promising, especially from price point of view. Can I get some suggestions for motherboard too?

I can live up with rest of the differences between H370 and B360 chipsets, but what about the max. PCI 3.0 express lanes? The H370 consists of 20 compared to B360 which is having 12.

Wouldn't it impact overall performance of graphics card, as these usually can use upto 16 lanes (I guess)?

Don't get confused with CPU pcie lanes and Chipset PCIE lanes. CPU pcie lanes handles graphic cards, chipset pcie handles pcie storage, sata etc...

Intel recently announced a chipset - B365 which is based on older tech (basically it's a renamed 200 series board) , but has 20 pcie lanes but lacks usb 3.1 gen 2 support. If you're interested in more pcie lanes on the chipset, cheaper alternative is B365. H370 cost around 10k or more.

W

Also don't forget that B360 mobos may require bios update for 9th gen while B365 mobos come with out-of-the-box compatibility.Here is a good model for example.
Buy Online Asrock B365 Phantom Gaming 4 Intel Motherboard lowest price in india at www.theitdepot.com

nac said:
Don't get confused with CPU pcie lanes and Chipset PCIE lanes. CPU pcie lanes handles graphic cards, chipset pcie handles pcie storage, sata etc...

Intel recently announced a chipset - B365 which is based on older tech (basically it's a renamed 200 series board) , but has 20 pcie lanes but lacks usb 3.1 gen 2 support. If you're interested in more pcie lanes on the chipset, cheaper alternative is B365. H370 cost around 10k or more.

I didn't know that. Thank you for this information.
I suppose I'll be good with a B360 motherboard then, considering its cheaper and fulfills all my usability.
@whitestar_999 If I may have to update BIOS, will it be possible to do it without a cpu? (something like this:

)

That depends on board. If it has bios flashback, then you can. But I don't remember seeing such feature on B360 boards.

Don't worry it's been months since all board makers uploaded BIOS to support 9th Gen. New shipment should come with 9th Gen ready. Ask seller if it's 9th Gen ready, if not ask them to update BIOS for you.

W

Randy_Marsh said:
@whitestar_999 If I may have to update BIOS, will it be possible to do it without a cpu?

It depends on mobo,some models(usually higher end ones) support bios update from usb without a processor.As suggested better ask the seller to update it for you or else just get a B365 mobo. ASUS PRIME B365M-A MOTHERBOARD

Many B360 mobos nowadays come with latest BIOS pre-installed, so 9th gen works out of the box.

W

anupam_pb said:
Many B360 mobos nowadays come with latest BIOS pre-installed, so 9th gen works out of the box.

But that is not a guarantee(plus this is India where many sellers keep old stock for months).Also there isn't much price/feature/build quality difference between Asus prime B365M & similarly priced asus/gigabyte B360 mobos(leaving MSI because coupled with their poor RMA there is no reason for going for them unless it is tomahawk/mortar/gaming pro carbon with ryzen 1st/2nd gen).

Okay, so cost 2 cost in Nehru place have following prices:

B360 AORUS GAMING 3 (fancier motherboard with some RGB and B360 chipset): 7.5k + 18% taxes - B360 AORUS GAMING 3 (rev. 1.0) | Motherboard - GIGABYTE India
Asus Prime B365-A (basic motherboard with B365 chipset): 7k + 18% taxes - PRIME B365M-A/CSM | Motherboards | ASUS Global

Personally, I am more inclined towards the Gigabyte model above.

Regarding processor, I saw i5 9500 listed on intel's website but couldn't find it online. Not sure if its available in Indian market.
One question: If I think of spending approx. 15k on a processor and 5-7k on a motherboard, can I get a better performing combo from AMD?

Go for Aorus Gaming 3. And check if it's 9000 ready, else ask them to update bios for you.

No, 9500 isn't launched. Intel announced about 20 models, but only launched about a handful of models.
For 15k, you can get Ryzen 2600 and for 7k Asrock B450 Pro4. By spending 10% (2k) you get 10% more multi threaded performance with this build, but 9400F is about 20% better with single threaded performance. And gaming could benefit from that.
@ 17k there is Ryzen 3600 and that gives about 40% more performance than 2600 in both multi and single.

I guess these numbers is gonna confuse you and you gonna wrestle with your mind whether you should spend more for Ryzen or stick with original budget and go for Intel.

@nac Thank you for the detailed information. Yes, wrestling between AMD and Intel has started in my mind now.

I just checked reviews and direct comparison of Ryzen 3600 vs i5 9400F (AMD Ryzen 5 3600 vs. Intel Core i5-9400F: Mainstream Titans Clash), and something hit me.
The combo which I'll purchase now should cater at-least for next 5-7 years. This combo will also see a graphics card upgrade sometime in future.
Including taxes, Intel setup is costing approx. 20k and the AMD setup (R5 3600 + a 7k motherboard) would be approx. 24k.

As it looks like R5 3600 is certainly more future proof and pretty darn better performer, I think spending additional 4k makes sense. What do you guys think?
1. I have Corsair Vengeance 8GBx2 2400MHz sticks (*www.amazon.in/Corsair-Vengeance-2400MHz-Chipset-CMK8GX4M1A2400C16R/dp/B01ARHCZYO). I have read that Ryzen processors are better suited with faster RAM sticks. I wonder if there would be a performance hit because of my current RAM sticks? I am certainly not looking for new RAM sticks right now.
2. Please advice a good motherboard. @nac is B450 chipset good enough for 3600? I don't know anything about AM4 chipsets as of now.

W

R5 3600 is certainly better but if you are going to buy a 7k mobo for it then I suggest not to overclock/put extreme load(cpu usage 90%+) on the system. Asrock B450 Pro 4 is the minimum you should go for any ryzen mobo nowadays.It is available on primeabgb for 6999 & you can ask them over phone/email(do both) to update the bios for ryzen 3600 before shipping.Your current ram sticks will have some performance penalty(but shouldn't be noticeable for your usage) but nothing you can do except trying manual OC of ram to 2666/2800/2999Mhz.

Asrock B450 Pro4 VRM temps are very good, one of the best B450 ATX board wrt VRM temps. It was one of two boards I shortlisted when I was buying last year, unlucky me it gone out of stock when I was about to place the order. I am really jealous that it's available now and it's almost 2k cheaper than it was 10 months ago. It has all the things I wanted in the board. It is feature rich, good vrm design, can handle overclock well (just don't go crazy with that) all in all it's a solid board.

Yeah, B450 is good enough.

Yes, having higher frequency is good for Ryzen. But not good enough to ditch your existing to get a new one. I have Corsair Vengeance 2400 CL14. I tried to OC, both manual and preset numbers. Nothing worked, couldn't even get to POST. Once I ran Memtest86 @ 2866mhz for one pass and stopped. It was fine and good, but the next boot didn't POST. It's a time consuming thing. I tried for about an hour, then dropped the idea. May be I will try again when I am free.

Randy_Marsh said:
@nac Thank you for the detailed information. Yes, wrestling between AMD and Intel has started in my mind now.

I just checked reviews and direct comparison of Ryzen 3600 vs i5 9400F (AMD Ryzen 5 3600 vs. Intel Core i5-9400F: Mainstream Titans Clash), and something hit me.
The combo which I'll purchase now should cater at-least for next 5-7 years. This combo will also see a graphics card upgrade sometime in future.
Including taxes, Intel setup is costing approx. 20k and the AMD setup (R5 3600 + a 7k motherboard) would be approx. 24k.

As it looks like R5 3600 is certainly more future proof and pretty darn better performer, I think spending additional 4k makes sense. What do you guys think?
1. I have Corsair Vengeance 8GBx2 2400MHz sticks (*www.amazon.in/Corsair-Vengeance-2400MHz-Chipset-CMK8GX4M1A2400C16R/dp/B01ARHCZYO). I have read that Ryzen processors are better suited with faster RAM sticks. I wonder if there would be a performance hit because of my current RAM sticks? I am certainly not looking for new RAM sticks right now.
2. Please advice a good motherboard. @nac is B450 chipset good enough for 3600? I don't know anything about AM4 chipsets as of now.

If you can spend 5k more, R5 3600 is definitely much more futureproof.

Your RAM is slow for Ryzen, but it will work for now. There will be performance hit compared to faster memory. But for GTX 1060, I doubt it will be much as you will likely hit GPU bottleneck first. Upgrade them later to maybe 3200/3600MHz 16/32GB dual-channel.

MSI B450 Tomahawk is considered to be a good B450 motherboard, costs 10k. Like others, it needs BIOS update for sure. I think cheaper B450 mobos will work fine as well. The overclocking potential of Ryzen 3rd gen isn't much, so you will likely be running at stock.

W

nac said:
Asrock B450 Pro4 VRM temps are very good, one of the best B450 ATX board wrt VRM temps. It was one of two boards I shortlisted when I was buying last year, unlucky me it gone out of stock when I was about to place the order. I am really jealous that it's available now and it's almost 2k cheaper than it was 10 months ago. It has all the things I wanted in the board. It is feature rich, good vrm design, can handle overclock well (just don't go crazy with that) all in all it's a solid board.

My friend got AB350 Pro 4(B450 pro 4 is almost similar to it with few enhancements but I believe VRMs are same) for 7.5k last year in Nov & it is just lying there in the box(seal open as vedantcomputers open the box for testing I think or maybe they did bios update) till now because at that time ram prices were too high & finally when ram prices cooled down & he even bought it in march this year(along with ryzen 1200 which cost 5.5k) again due to some real life issues he hasn't been able to assemble the system. In short,life is unpredictable & when something is not meant to happen it won't happen & vice versa.

Thank you for the inputs.
@nac Thank you, looks like Asrock is best for the buck then. I think jealousy will always be there, no matter what you end up buying.

@anupam_pb Okay. I am not a overclock enthusiast so I guess I'll be fine with this setup then. I didn't look for MSI boards because I read somewhere that MSI's support isn't good in India. Is it true?

I checked out one more motherboard: TUF B450-PLUS GAMING | Motherboards | ASUS Global This would cost somewhere between 8-8.5k in Nehru place. I think this should be a better option considering the brand and "gaming" level quality. Suggestions please?
@whitestar_999 A lot of pain in your friend's story

W

Asrock B450 pro 4 is better than asus tuf B450 while being cheaper also so unless you strongly prefer asus brand("gaming" logo is just for marketing,it has no practical value.In fact asus Tuf B350 series was of poor quality so asus improved their Tuf B450 series) there is no reason to go for it. *i.redd.it/7n48gewun0p21.png

Pain is a part of life which many people forget & that's why they are unable to cope when situation turns bad.Always remember it & you will be better off than those who don't.

Me too wanted to get Asus or Gigabyte board. But they didn't have the things I wanted in my board. It was a hard decision to make, I even tried to get older board from Gigabyte but couldn't source after weeks of searching and enquiring.

As for VRM, yes TUF takes a hit against Pro4. But that's one factor. For most of us who just game or just for general use or not core heavy workloads for extended period of time, this VRM temp is almost meaningless. Of course, it shows the quality of the board. On the plus side, TUF gets better BIOS esp. for non overclockers. Better support/after sales.

Choice and money is yours. You gotta take the decision with the information you got.

W

Btw Asrock B450 Pro 4 is ATX while Asus Tuf Pro gaming B450 is MATX & also using a m2 sata/NVMe drive on tuf gaming will reduce the sata ports available from 6 to 4 while on B450 Pro 4 one can still use all 6 sata ports while running a m2 NVMe ssd.

TUF M PRO is mATX, TUF PLUS G is ATX.

W

nac said:
TUF M PRO is mATX, TUF PLUS G is ATX.

He is getting Tuf M pro for 8600 & Tuf Plus for 9200(as per costtocost latest price list) compared to 7k for Asrock B450 Pro 4.

P.S. just noticed that even the ATX Tuf Plus has same limitation of not able to use 2 sata ports when using any m2 slot.Just this reason is enough for me to not recommend this board compared to B450 pro 4.

I guess that limitation is pretty much common with all boards or at least with budget boards like B450. There are so much lanes available in cpu and chipset, if they are giving too many options, then the lanes have to be shared with PCIe and M.2 or SATA. As for as I remember this is how it is even the boards which has two M.2 slots. May be there are exceptions, I don't know. If anyone wants a quick comparo, here is one from Anandtech

Analyzing B450 for AMD Ryzen: A Quick Look at 25+ Motherboards

*i.imgur.com/mnXAs5J.png

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nac said:
then the lanes have to be shared with PCIe and M.2 or SATA.

This is where asus tuf/similar mobos fail,they choose to share 1st m2 NVMe slot with 2 sata ports while asrock disable 2nd pcie x16 slot(which is pretty much useless for majority anyway).

Thank you @nac and @whitestar_999 for detailed info. I've decided to go for AsRock B450 Pro 4 then. I'll be going to Nehru place this weekend for the buy.

W

Randy_Marsh said:
Thank you @nac and @whitestar_999 for detailed info. I've decided to go for AsRock B450 Pro 4 then. I'll be going to Nehru place this weekend for the buy.

I doubt you will get asrock mobos on big shops like costtocost,try this shop as another member here reported that this show was able to offer asrock x570 wifi mobo so maybe they got asrock B450 Pro 4 too.
Performance Desktop under 80K

@whitestar_999 yes, I checked with cost 2 cost and it looks like they don't deal with AsRock boards. I checked with the contact you've provided and he said it's available for 7.5k. Thank you.
Well, it shows that Asrock is at least available with some of the sellers in Nehru Place so I'll try to get the best deal.

Regarding online options, this board is out of stock from mdcomputers.in but available on primeabgb. However, I am not very confident in purchasing it online. First, I'll try to get it from Nehru place only.

W

Primeabgb.mdcomputers,vedant,theitdepot are trusted(& recommended) online sites for pc parts as they are physical stores(in fact the biggest ones in their cities--mumbai,kolkata,chennai) & also official distributors of many brands(mdcomputers is in fact official distributor of asrock as mentioned on asrock India site). Primeabgb also get some good reviews on reddit /r/IndianGaming for their after sales support. Still 400-500 rupees is not that much so you can also buy from nehru place too(but do get a proper gst invoice bill for any item you buy).

whitestar_999 said:
Primeabgb.mdcomputers,vedant,theitdepot are trusted(& recommended) online sites for pc parts as they are physical stores(in fact the biggest ones in their cities--mumbai,kolkata,chennai) & also official distributors of many brands(mdcomputers is in fact official distributor of asrock as mentioned on asrock India site). Primeabgb also get some good reviews on reddit /r/IndianGaming for their after sales support. Still 400-500 rupees is not that much so you can also buy from nehru place too(but do get a proper gst invoice bill for any item you buy).

Yes, but the courier service can not be trusted. I've experienced few bad instances in past so I prefer buying delicate components via shops. That way I would also be in a better state to get the BIOS updated in front of me.

W

These sites pack product very well though so there should not be any damage(I only avoid buying internal hdd online no matter how good the packing is) & they also update bios on request before shipping but still since price difference is not much so offline buying is also alright in this case.

I agree. I'll even be bargaining in the market to get a better deal than online. lol
Now that processor and motherboard is decided, I am thinking of upgrading my PSU as well, as the current one is VS450. Which should be the best and affordable option for my system? I think I would never need a PSU with >500w power and it would be best if I can get some modular flexibility. Please advise.

W

Depends on your budget,cheapest good option is Corsair CX450 which is non-modular followed by CX550(both non-modular) or CS450M(semi modular) which is a bit inferior to CXx5x series.One thing you should note is that there is very little chance of getting these in Nehru place as nowadays most shops there only sell low end psu(like VS series) or high end psu(like 8-9k+ corsair HX,RMx series etc) but nothing in between(aka good budget psu in 3-8k range). No issue with ordering them online as I also ordered CX550 from mdcomputers & packaging was like a tank & took minutes of blade & scissor to cut open.Only thing is that shipping charges are high(~300-400 as heavy item) but I ordered during a festival sale when shipping is free so you can wait till Oct/Nov also.

Sounds good. Looks like I'll go for CS450M during festival sale for free shipping. Thank you!