X570 or B550?

geek 0001

Member
I'm building a pc to play the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. I want to build something that is "future resistant", in that I will be able to upgrade it again into the future without having to replace a lot of components.

I know for certain that I want a Ryzen processor, probably R7 3700X, because the Intel chips of this generation are not great. In addition, I want something with pcie 4.0, because, although there is not much benefit to it now, it might be an advantage in the future. so I have narrowed it down to X570 and B550, but after a lot of research, and looking around, I can't really see that much difference, other than that X570 boards are more expensive.

What would be my best option?
 

jevery

Active Member
I eventually quit buying the expensive premium motherboards. Found I didn't use or really need the additional features.
 

Pupp

Member
I eventually quit buying the expensive premium motherboards. Found I didn't use or really need the additional features.
I'm the exact opposite. I get the premium motherboard and use intgrated graphics.

I'm an old school computer nerd. After I get a Thunderbolt 3 dock, I think my next project might be getting a Focusrite Scarlett and do some pod casting.
 

Pupp

Member
My first computer was an Atari 1200 XL that I bought used from a priest. I had to buy a cassete player to load programs. The first game I bought was Telengard and took 20 minutes to load.
Thankfully, a few months later, Atari released a 5.25 floppy disc reader. At some point, Atari or a 3rd party company released an OS update that allowed sub-directories.

I had a few games where I literally typed in the code that was published in a magazine.

Power isn't gaming or having the world's best computer. Knowledge is power. I use computers to increase my knowledge.

That reminds me... in the 80's a hacker group was arrested. They used Commodore 64s...
apparently the FBI was stymied trying to retrieve data off the Commodore 64's after they unplugged them and hauled them to a lab.

You don't need a graphics card to study and pass industry standardard computer certifications from powerhouses like Comptia, Microsoft, Cisco, and others.

Ok, people go to college for many Cisco and Microsoft certs, but Comptia is very easy to self study.
 
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geek 0001

Member
You don't need a graphics card to study and pass industry standardard computer certifications from powerhouses like Comptia, Microsoft, Cisco, and others.
You don't need a fancy motherboard, or a fast processor either...
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
An AM4 system isn't going to have as great of longevity with AM5/DDR5 right around the corner.

It will still offer acceptable performance for years, but won't be upgradeable from a socket or RAM standard perspective.

I eventually quit buying the expensive premium motherboards. Found I didn't use or really need the additional features.
I had this mentality until buying a CHV. If you upgrade semi-frequently there's a higher third-party market demand for higher end boards and you can usually recoup about half the cost into a new board.
 
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Intel_man

VIP Member
I tend to aim for mid-range boards because
  1. Top end boards are geared towards extreme OC needs. If you're not using any of those features, you've basically wasted your money and could've gotten the same experience with a midrange board.
  2. Low end boards come with absolutely horrible VRM's and expansion I/O's. Not something you want to save a buck on.
 

geek 0001

Member
An AM4 system isn't going to have as great of longevity with AM5/DDR5 right around the corner.
That's true, but my gaming pc is likely to lag a year or two behind, because I can't justify the latest tech right now, especially with availability and pricing as it is. My idea is to get something that is pretty good now, and that will allow me to max it out (plus perhaps a little OC'ing) in a few years time when the current top-end Ryzen 5000 chips go down in price.

With Pcie 4.0, any future graphics card that I would use would not be bottlenecked by the motherboard.
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
With Pcie 4.0, any future graphics card that I would use would not be bottlenecked by the motherboard.
Not likely going to be the case any time soon. PCIE-4.0's main advantage is currently for nvme drives. Unless we see massive jumps in gpu performance that's likely greater than what we've seen in the past, you'll likely be out of your current machine before reaping in the benefits of PCIE-4.0 for gpus.
 

Pupp

Member
I went through college and didn't get any cisco or Microsoft certs.
I meant that many colleges, especially 2 year technical colleges, offer degrees in Microsoft MSCE, database/SQL, Cisco training, etc.

I think even with a degree, I think a student still has to pass the requisite industry certification tests. Sorta like a law student has to pass a bar exam after graduating law school.
 

Pupp

Member
You don't need a fancy motherboard, or a fast processor either...
I did spend extra for a good motherboard. I got an i7 6700k processor... now officially slower than the what you get in a $600 budget computer. Built in 2015, shortly after TB3 motherboards came on the market. PCIe 3.0, limited to a maximum 32GB m.2 nvme card that I declined to purchase. Figure I'll wait till 2026 or 2027 for a new computer....

Seriously thinking about refreshing my memory on TCP/IP with 3 books totalling nearly $200 after taxes and shipping...
 
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voyagerfan99

Master of Turning Things Off and Back On Again
Staff member
Would that mean faster loading times? That's an advantage I'd also like to have. :)
I built a new desktop last year with PCIe 4.0 and a Sabrent Rocket 512GB NVmE drive. The thing installed Windows faster than it took the machine to POST.
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
Would that mean faster loading times? That's an advantage I'd also like to have. :)
PCIE4.0 nvme drives are faaaasst but I'm not sure sure they're worth the $/gb extra currently unless you want to nerd out on it because you can, or your specific workloads would benefit from that extra bandwidth.

Upcoming games might benefit from it? Really depends on the push for game developers to really utilize it now that next gen consoles (PS5/XBone Series X) use them.

Just be aware that the jump from pcie 3.0 to pcie 4.0 nvme drives is not the same day to day noticeable improvement as sata hdd to sata ssd, or even the smaller gap between sata ssd to pcie 3.0 nvme.
 

voyagerfan99

Master of Turning Things Off and Back On Again
Staff member
PCIE4.0 nvme drives are faaaasst but I'm not sure sure they're worth the $/gb extra currently unless you want to nerd out on it because you can, or your specific workloads would benefit from that extra bandwidth.
For me it was the fact that I hadn't built a new rig since college so I decided I'd go balls to the wall.
 

Pupp

Member
I'm a supernerd:

G1.Sniper Z170 motherboard from Gigabyte
i7 6700K
2T HDD Boot Drive
3T HDD internal data drive
3T External Data Drive
5x USB Type C ports.
Various other USB type 2 and 3 ports.
1x USB 3 charging port (doubles as BIOS port)
2x Thunderbolt 3 ports

Duel 1920x1080 monitors.

I already maxed out a different 3T external HDD and now it sits collecting dust as a failsafe against a ransomware attack.

Ransomware can do some serious damage, but it can't encrype a hard drive sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

I actually keep the external HDD powered off unless I'm manually running a backup program.

Alpine Ridge (Rev. 2) Thunderbolt 3 card -LINK

USB Type C 4 port PCIe card -LINK
 
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