Dirk Broer
09-09-2019, 01:37 PM
The various hardware sites have their quarterly mobo specials and -apart from Tom's Hardware, that I can't take seriously anymore- some have some interesting choices.
Take AnandTech (https://www.anandtech.com/show/12072/best-motherboards), it comes with
Motherboard Recommendations: Q4 2019
Motherboard
Amazon
Newegg
"Money Is No Objection"
ASUS ROG Dominus Extreme
$1800
$1800
Gaming and/or Performance
GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Pro WIFI
$270
$270
Best Value for Money
MSI B450 Tomahawk
-
$115
Mini-ITX
ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac
$186
$186
Note that political correctness by now has extended to hardware reviews!
All four tier one mbo brands are evenly spread here, and the four mobos are also evenly divided among AMD and Intel.
But Gavin Bonshor at least states "Our recommendations for motherboards are based entirely on my personal and professional opinion...so I selected my top four picks based on the four segments, regardless of chipset.",
while the earlier mentioned Tom's Hardware gives no clue as to why a mobo is the best in its class. They just seem to take an at random model, and in doing so giving even BioStar (https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-motherboards,3984-2.html) a place to shine.
But personal and professional opinion aside, if "Money Is No Objection" and you're willing to part with $1,800 for a LGA 3647 mobo to be able to house a Intel Xeon 8180 $10,000 28-core CPU, you might reconsider when you know that a 32-core Threadripper 2990WX costs a mere $1,600 and that an ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme Alpha X399 -almost the most expensive possible X399 mobo- to be able to house it goes for $600. I'm just saying....
In the next category, Gaming and/or Performance, my personal favorite is the ASUS AM4 PRO WS X570-Ace, by virtue of its absence of RGB and its workstation features. Gaming? not for me, it's crunching performance I'm after. The WS X570-Ace might be the best X570 mobo for that, and it keeps the computer room darker at night than the Coney Island boards.
When it come to Value, I would personally go for a newer edition of the MSI B450 Tomahawk, the MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX, to be able to house future CPUs/APUs by virtue of its double-sized BIOS chip.
iTX-wise I am of the opinion that it makes no sense to use high-end (SLI/Crossfire capable) chipsets on an Mini-iTX mobo.
Keep it simple, use a low end chipset and a CPU with internal graphics, so you're able to build two systems for the same amount of money.
But the local Asrock agent won't import the A320 iTX....
You can of course buy a MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC Mini-iTX mobo and use a Ryzen 9 together with a RX 5700 card, but then invest is a case like the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX in order to keep it cool.
Take AnandTech (https://www.anandtech.com/show/12072/best-motherboards), it comes with
Motherboard Recommendations: Q4 2019
Motherboard
Amazon
Newegg
"Money Is No Objection"
ASUS ROG Dominus Extreme
$1800
$1800
Gaming and/or Performance
GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Pro WIFI
$270
$270
Best Value for Money
MSI B450 Tomahawk
-
$115
Mini-ITX
ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac
$186
$186
Note that political correctness by now has extended to hardware reviews!
All four tier one mbo brands are evenly spread here, and the four mobos are also evenly divided among AMD and Intel.
But Gavin Bonshor at least states "Our recommendations for motherboards are based entirely on my personal and professional opinion...so I selected my top four picks based on the four segments, regardless of chipset.",
while the earlier mentioned Tom's Hardware gives no clue as to why a mobo is the best in its class. They just seem to take an at random model, and in doing so giving even BioStar (https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-motherboards,3984-2.html) a place to shine.
But personal and professional opinion aside, if "Money Is No Objection" and you're willing to part with $1,800 for a LGA 3647 mobo to be able to house a Intel Xeon 8180 $10,000 28-core CPU, you might reconsider when you know that a 32-core Threadripper 2990WX costs a mere $1,600 and that an ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme Alpha X399 -almost the most expensive possible X399 mobo- to be able to house it goes for $600. I'm just saying....
In the next category, Gaming and/or Performance, my personal favorite is the ASUS AM4 PRO WS X570-Ace, by virtue of its absence of RGB and its workstation features. Gaming? not for me, it's crunching performance I'm after. The WS X570-Ace might be the best X570 mobo for that, and it keeps the computer room darker at night than the Coney Island boards.
When it come to Value, I would personally go for a newer edition of the MSI B450 Tomahawk, the MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX, to be able to house future CPUs/APUs by virtue of its double-sized BIOS chip.
iTX-wise I am of the opinion that it makes no sense to use high-end (SLI/Crossfire capable) chipsets on an Mini-iTX mobo.
Keep it simple, use a low end chipset and a CPU with internal graphics, so you're able to build two systems for the same amount of money.
But the local Asrock agent won't import the A320 iTX....
You can of course buy a MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC Mini-iTX mobo and use a Ryzen 9 together with a RX 5700 card, but then invest is a case like the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX in order to keep it cool.