6xx or 8xx motherboard for 9k 3XD chips?

[Odyn]

Hi Everyone-

I plan on getting the new 9kX3D chip but I'm wondering if I should use an older (I would buy new) 6 series motherboards or if I should splurge on the 8 series? Any must-have features between the two? Honestly, I don't mind spending the money I just want it to last ~4 years like my 5900x did. I'm leaning for the X870E Taichi tbh since all my previous taichi boards were solid. 

I'd also like a recommendation on either a 32 or 64gb kit. Theres so much info out there that is generic and non-specific... with the 5900x I got a 3600 CL16 kit because it was the sweet spot. Is there such a thing that exists on the 9k series? 

[bwalker36]

Can't help you but curious, I plan to do the same thing after the holidays.  I was looking at the tachi's as well hah. 

[Fluxmaven]

The only difference between X670E and X870E is guaranteed USB 4.0. The newer boards will likely support faster memory out of the box as well. 

 

As for a sweet spot, you can toss in a 6000cl30 kit, tighten up the secondary and tertiary timings and call it a a day. X3D somewhat negates the need for faster memory so there's less of an incentive to spend money on a nicer kit unless you actually want to do memory OC. 

 

You mentioned 32 or 64GB but there is a middle option these days. Now that 24GB modules are available you can get a 48GB kit. 

[ozlay]

Some of the 8-series boards have 5GbE. And some have 10GbE. Which is hard to find on 6-series boards.

[Odyn]

9 hours ago, ozlay said:

Some of the 8-series boards have 5GbE. And some have 10GbE. Which is hard to find on 6-series boards.

ahh good point. 

... now I want 5gbe. 

... and now I need a new router, and to buy a 5gbe ethernet card for my nas. 

... sighhhhhhh. 

[J7SC_Orion]

4 hours ago, Odyn said:

ahh good point. 

... now I want 5gbe. 

... and now I need a new router, and to buy a 5gbe ethernet card for my nas. 

... sighhhhhhh. 

 

To answer your original post, there are very few differences between 670E and 870E. Technically, the only 'mandatory' difference per AMD is that the 870E series must have USB4 (psst, Thunderbolt) as standard, while it was optional on the 670E. Then again, you can get a nice 670E and put in an AIC for additional options. Most of my mobos (total ~ 20) are Asus ROG desktop and/or HEDT boards, with the odd Gigabyte and MSI. That said, I picked up an Aorus 670E Master last fall along with a 7950X3D and 2x 24 GB DDR5. That board turned out to be a fantastic performer...DDR5 8000 and beyond is no problem (have run at least 8000 since I completed the build). The system  also has a no-sweat profile for 4x 24 / 96 GB CL30 6400 that works perfectly well when I ran it for a special LLM task.  BTW, I had my 670E Master as high as DDR5 8600 with 2x 24 GB (via bclk, though)...great board for RAM oc.

 

I am waiting to see what the Ryzen 9950X3D is like in real-world testing - I will either add another Aorus 670E Master or pick up an Aorus 870E Master if I go for a 9950X3D instead of another option such as Threadripper Pro. The Aorus 670E Master and 870E Master are almost identical other than the faster network chip. The Aorus top boards like the 670E/870E Master also are among the few boards that can run R-DDR5 (full EEC memory) without any issue, and they also have bifurcation options - both are important to me as I tend to recycle my fun boards into productivity tasks down the line. I should mention that there is also the Aorus 870E Extreme coming out - it is like the Master (both support DDR5 OC to 8600), but the Aorus 870E Xtreme also has dual 10 GBE onboard and some other extras such as programmable LCD screens on the mobo. The only problem: It likely will be around $800 - $1k

 

So for me, the Aorus 670E/870E Master are the best choice, but the vid below has detailed a 21 board feature comparison review for 870/870E - a great reference piece. 

 

 

[Fluxmaven]

I don't see any point in 5Gb since it's so niche. 10Gb is common as dirt in enterprise gear so it ends up being cheaper to build out a 10Gb network than 5Gb. 

 

Most of my network is 2.5Gb since I can run that over the copper that's already run through the house and the motherboards already come with 2.5Gb NICs. My one 10Gb switch is all SFP. I could get a good used Intel or mellanox NIC for less than a single 10GbaseT rj45 transceiver. Not to mention even though x670e and x870e are basically the same, they will likely still charge a premium for the new boards. 

[Odyn]

So i decided on the MSI X870E carbon based on the HW Unboxed video. I know its expensive and overkill but I typically have a 4 year cycle between computers so I think its okay. 

That leads me to my next question ... will that motherboard be able to run the 9xxx X3D chip out of the box? I haven't had to flash a bios with the USB in a looooonnnnggggg time, so even if it doesn't work (failed CPU state or whatever its called when you boot with an unsupported CPU) -- will I be able to flash it sans CPU? If not -- are there any KNOWN motherboards that work out of the box??? I don't want to buy 2 CPUs just so I can use 1 of them, then return it. lol. 

[Sir Beregond]

6 hours ago, Odyn said:

That leads me to my next question ... will that motherboard be able to run the 9xxx X3D chip out of the box? 

No idea considering the 9000-series X3D chips have not released yet. That said, shouldn't matter. That motherboard support BIOS flashing without CPU and memory according to their website, so I think you'll be fine either way.

 

[Mr. Fox]

My Apex beast has a new younger brother to fight with. I just built an AMD system and in the process of figuring out how to tune Ryzen 9 for maximum overclocked benching performance. Very different than what I am used to. I know seeing this is going to cause brain damage to a few people, LOL.

Once I get my bearings I will be ordering the Thermal Grizzly Mycro and Delid Die Mate from Brother @der8auer for added thermal headroom on my water chiller. RAM cooling parts are on the way, along with an EXPO 8000 kit. At the moment I am using an XMP 8000 kit, manually tuned. I am liking it so far. Hoping to learn a few things specific to AMD from our resident AMD HWBOT pros.
 

https://hwbot.org/submission/5686810_

https://hwbot.org/submission/5686765_

Edited November 13 by Mr. Fox

[Sir Beregond]

2 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

My Apex beast has a new younger brother to fight with. I just built an AMD system and in the process of figuring out how to tune Ryzen 9 for maximum overclocked benching performance. Very different than what I am used to. I know seeing this is going to cause brain damage to a few people, LOL.

Once I get my bearings I will be ordering the Thermal Grizzly Mycro and Delid Die Mate from Brother @der8auer for added thermal headroom on my water chiller. RAM cooling parts are on the way, along with an EXPO 8000 kit. At the moment I am using an XMP 8000 kit, manually tuned. I am liking it so far. Hoping to learn a few things specific to AMD from our resident AMD HWBOT pros.
 

https://hwbot.org/submission/5686810_

https://hwbot.org/submission/5686765_

You....built an AMD system?

 

Last thing I was expecting to read. 

[Mr. Fox]

1 hour ago, Sir Beregond said:

You....built an AMD system?

 

Last thing I was expecting to read. 

I still have two Intel systems, both of which are beasts. I had four and too much of the same thing (one Z690 and three Z790 with 13th and 14th Gen i9 processors). So, I sold the two least-used of the four and used the money for the AMD build. This will give me something new and challenging to play with and allow me to rack up some HWBOT points. I was basically tapped out and no longer able to gain any points on HWBOT because my results were maxed out. I would have needed to do LN2 to make any further progress. The new Core Ultra CPUs are a downgrade due to the reduced thread count and stunted overclocking headroom, so it did not make any sense to waste money on a Z890 build. We'll see if Intel brings something better in their next product offering. They are in guinea pig mode right now and homey don't play dat.

[Sir Beregond]

1 hour ago, Mr. Fox said:

I still have two Intel systems, both of which are beasts. I had four and too much of the same thing (one Z690 and three Z790 with 13th and 14th Gen i9 processors). So, I sold the two least-used of the four and used the money for the AMD build. This will give me something new and challenging to play with and allow me to rack up some HWBOT points. I was basically tapped out and no longer able to gain any points on HWBOT because my results were maxed out. I would have needed to do LN2 to make any further progress. The new Core Ultra CPUs are a downgrade due to the reduced thread count and stunted overclocking headroom, so it did not make any sense to waste money on a Z890 build. We'll see if Intel brings something better in their next product offering. They are in guinea pig mode right now and homey don't play dat.

Looking forward to seeing what you can do with it. Also lol to the last line!

 

Edited November 13 by Sir Beregond

[Mr. Fox]

Finally got around to installing Linux on the Ryzen build.