Memory
Ram is such a simple concept but things you want to look out for. If you’re running a big CPU air cooler, make sure your heat sinks are not high like the Corsair Vengeance ram or just buy bare ram w/o heatsinks. Unless you plan to overclock your ram pretty far, they are mostly for aesthetics.. Otherwise, make sure it matches the following:
I used to recommend a minimum of 8GB, but any budget of $500+, 16GB should be considered as many programs we run are becoming resource hogs. Intel does not benefit as much from fast ram when compared to Ryzen. However, 3000-3200MHz is often only 5-10% more expensive than 2133/2400MHz so it is advised to always aim for 3000-3200 especially for Ryzen and is a NECESSITY for the Ryzen 2xxxG series CPUs.
I used to recommend a minimum of 8GB, but any budget of $500+, 16GB should be considered as many programs we run are becoming resource hogs. Intel does not benefit as much from fast ram when compared to Ryzen. However, 3000-3200MHz is often only 5-10% more expensive than 2133/2400MHz so it is advised to always aim for 3000-3200 especially for Ryzen and is a NECESSITY for the Ryzen 2xxxG series CPUs.
Motherboards
This used to be a much longer section telling people what to buy in different price points. In 2018, most boards are selected more on style and features over quality because the level of quality have improved quite a bit over the passed few years. Some things to consider when selecting a motherboard are:
There are in most cases many quality boards in each price point. I could easily recommend multi brands and models, but to keep the list shorter, I will make 1-2 recommendations as each price point. I sometimes recommend an MATX board and ATX board. That is not so say one is better or to avoid ITX. Make sure you buy the board that fits your case properly and do your research!
Intel (LGA 1151 Series 3xx)
~$65 MSI B360M Pro-VH
Here's the the truth. This board is not very great. It uses a 4+2 power phase design with 1 high side and 2 low side mosfet for each power phase. It does however have 2 fan headers (1 CPU 1 System) M.2 slot, USB 3 front header and 6 USBs in the rear. I would ONLY use this for a 4 core or less CPU.
~$95 Gigabyte B360 HD3
While there are better boards for slightly more, we are in lower Z370/Z390 territory. This adds a better VRM solution 4 fan headers (1 CPU 3 System), 4-pin 12V RGB and an additional MSATA Slot for Wifi.
~$120 Gigabyte Z370p D3 (rev. 1.0)/ASRock Z370 Pro 4
I have 2 boards listed here as they normally sell for around $110-120, but the Gigabyte one often goes below $100. The ASRock board is better with a 10 (8+2) phase power design vs 5+1 design on the Gigabyte one. But they both should handle mild OC, have 3 system headers + CPU header, support M.2, but the gigabyte one lacks USB type-c and RGB.
~$160 ASrock Z390 Extreme 4
Features a 12+2 (6+1 with doublers) Power phases for the VRM. It is a tad weaker from a VRM Standpoint but offers a few more features like USB-C, more RGB options, etc. Not a bad option and can be considered if you want to save $10-20.
~$170 Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite
I have used this board on a 9600k & 9900k. Featuring a solid 12+1 Power Phase VRM capable of pushing most Intel CPUs to at or over 5GHz (if unlocked and binned well). Features 10 USB Ports (lacking USB-C though), Intel Gigabit LAN (i219v cbE), RGB & ARGB headers with fully controllable RGB with the Fusion Software (Works well with Fusion supported GPUs). Audio solution is ALC1220-VB which is fine for most people.
AMD (AM4) - READ THIS FIRST!!!
~$80 ASrock B450M Pro 4/MSI B450M Pro-VDH Plus (ONLY)
Both of these are quite capable in handing up to a 3800x with some mild OC. The MSI Board features a 4+2 VRM Phase but has no heatsinks on the SOC VRM so I wouldn't recommend it for an APU. The ASrock Board is a 6+3 actually shares the CPU VRM without doublers, so it is a 3+3. But still fine for some mild OC but should be better for APUs.
~$110 MSI B450 Tomahawk
While this has some minor issues with the Ryzen 3000 series, this board is absolutely fantastic. It does feature a 4+2 power phase VRM but it should handle a stock 3950x and a 3900x with PBO enabled without issue. The heatsink design is fantastic, but this board does lack features such as Addressable RGB and very little RGB Lightning options.
~$160 Asus X470-Pro
Solid board with a 8+2 power phase design. It does like 3-pin 5V ARGB connections but does have 2x4-pin RGB headers. Plenty of fans, I avoid using the top m.2 heatsink if you notice the NVME SSD gets too hot. The plate is connected to the chipset.
~$200 Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
This board is the budget performance X570. Capable of handling up to a 3950x with some mild OC it doesn't has as many bells as say the MSI X570 Gaming Edge WiFi but it makes up for it in power deliver and VRM Cooling. It has a 12+2 (doublers so 6+1) power phase design, supports 3-pin 5V and 4-pin 12V RGB, the top M.2 slot does NOT touch the chipset cooling and has some RGB
~$250+
In the link above is the spreadsheet for almost all AM4 motherboards. It does over the types of VRMs used, what it can and cannot handle, etc. My recommendation is to error on the side of caution. If something is yellow, don't chance it. I have an 3900x running PBO roughly 130-140A and the VRM does hit in the 70*C area which is fine but I do have airflow from the top fan running over it.
- Overclocking capabilities
- M.2
- Number of ram slots
- Number of SATA Ports
- USB 3.0 header (sideways vs vertical)
- VRM Cooling
- Rear I/O
- Color Scheme (RGB Lighting anyone?)
There are in most cases many quality boards in each price point. I could easily recommend multi brands and models, but to keep the list shorter, I will make 1-2 recommendations as each price point. I sometimes recommend an MATX board and ATX board. That is not so say one is better or to avoid ITX. Make sure you buy the board that fits your case properly and do your research!
Intel (LGA 1151 Series 3xx)
~$65 MSI B360M Pro-VH
Here's the the truth. This board is not very great. It uses a 4+2 power phase design with 1 high side and 2 low side mosfet for each power phase. It does however have 2 fan headers (1 CPU 1 System) M.2 slot, USB 3 front header and 6 USBs in the rear. I would ONLY use this for a 4 core or less CPU.
~$95 Gigabyte B360 HD3
While there are better boards for slightly more, we are in lower Z370/Z390 territory. This adds a better VRM solution 4 fan headers (1 CPU 3 System), 4-pin 12V RGB and an additional MSATA Slot for Wifi.
~$120 Gigabyte Z370p D3 (rev. 1.0)/ASRock Z370 Pro 4
I have 2 boards listed here as they normally sell for around $110-120, but the Gigabyte one often goes below $100. The ASRock board is better with a 10 (8+2) phase power design vs 5+1 design on the Gigabyte one. But they both should handle mild OC, have 3 system headers + CPU header, support M.2, but the gigabyte one lacks USB type-c and RGB.
~$160 ASrock Z390 Extreme 4
Features a 12+2 (6+1 with doublers) Power phases for the VRM. It is a tad weaker from a VRM Standpoint but offers a few more features like USB-C, more RGB options, etc. Not a bad option and can be considered if you want to save $10-20.
~$170 Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite
I have used this board on a 9600k & 9900k. Featuring a solid 12+1 Power Phase VRM capable of pushing most Intel CPUs to at or over 5GHz (if unlocked and binned well). Features 10 USB Ports (lacking USB-C though), Intel Gigabit LAN (i219v cbE), RGB & ARGB headers with fully controllable RGB with the Fusion Software (Works well with Fusion supported GPUs). Audio solution is ALC1220-VB which is fine for most people.
AMD (AM4) - READ THIS FIRST!!!
~$80 ASrock B450M Pro 4/MSI B450M Pro-VDH Plus (ONLY)
Both of these are quite capable in handing up to a 3800x with some mild OC. The MSI Board features a 4+2 VRM Phase but has no heatsinks on the SOC VRM so I wouldn't recommend it for an APU. The ASrock Board is a 6+3 actually shares the CPU VRM without doublers, so it is a 3+3. But still fine for some mild OC but should be better for APUs.
~$110 MSI B450 Tomahawk
While this has some minor issues with the Ryzen 3000 series, this board is absolutely fantastic. It does feature a 4+2 power phase VRM but it should handle a stock 3950x and a 3900x with PBO enabled without issue. The heatsink design is fantastic, but this board does lack features such as Addressable RGB and very little RGB Lightning options.
~$160 Asus X470-Pro
Solid board with a 8+2 power phase design. It does like 3-pin 5V ARGB connections but does have 2x4-pin RGB headers. Plenty of fans, I avoid using the top m.2 heatsink if you notice the NVME SSD gets too hot. The plate is connected to the chipset.
~$200 Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
This board is the budget performance X570. Capable of handling up to a 3950x with some mild OC it doesn't has as many bells as say the MSI X570 Gaming Edge WiFi but it makes up for it in power deliver and VRM Cooling. It has a 12+2 (doublers so 6+1) power phase design, supports 3-pin 5V and 4-pin 12V RGB, the top M.2 slot does NOT touch the chipset cooling and has some RGB
~$250+
In the link above is the spreadsheet for almost all AM4 motherboards. It does over the types of VRMs used, what it can and cannot handle, etc. My recommendation is to error on the side of caution. If something is yellow, don't chance it. I have an 3900x running PBO roughly 130-140A and the VRM does hit in the 70*C area which is fine but I do have airflow from the top fan running over it.