So this is a pretty broad topic, semi rambling on my part but decided to make these three a separate thread rather than bundling them all into my existing Ryzen threads (linked here: https://forum.level1techs.com/t/the-ryzen-1800x-amds-brand-new-flagship/113588 and https://forum.level1techs.com/t/the-no-bs-ryzen-thread-all-official-information-on-ryzen-here/113296
So what is this thread about? Well for starters, it will be my small reviews of both the MSI X370 XPOWER Gaming Titanium and also the Gigabyte B350 Gaming 3.
It will also be some build photos and so forth of Ryzen 5, and I will add in testing results and such when the CPUs launch.
Lastly I will add in the motherboards I have tested with dual rank memory on Ryzen motherboards and make a list, preferably with your input if you have Ryzen motherboards and dual rank memory (and your results with it so far)
So to start, the MSI X370 XPOWER is quite good looking motherboard, though I'm not usually a fan for the white aesthetic but this one is decent enough.
Performance wise is perfectly... meh? IT has all the overclocking tuning you would expect of a $300 board, allowing for a 4 Ghz clock on the 1800X and 1.375V on air, which is pretty nice, i was able to hit higher but not under reasonable temps so might have to test more later if i get an AIO or something that supports AM4.
BIOS: Also, meh. It's got a lot of features, like good fan tuning, but also doesnt really have anything that new/interesting, so. I will say that the early revisions of the BIOS just could not run anything higher than 2400mhz memory stably, but now that it has updated it can support 3000+ mhz memory fairly well. It also CANNOT run dual rank memory, so don't try buying it and hoping it will work. Single rank is the way to go on this board.
Other features: Has dual NVMe, and all the IO you would expect (USB C, USB 3.1, so on) but also doesnt have a backplate or anything like the Z270 XPOWER so that's a bit disappointing. Also this motherboard takes forever to boot, which is a thing.
Verdict: For $300, this motherboard is overpriced. I could see it being good for $200 or so but not the $300 mark.
On to the Gigabyte B350 Gaming 3:
It's one of the better boards aesthetically that I have used, only downside really is the brown PCB as you can see in the below photo:
The RGB lighting on it though is quite nice, it paired with my 1500X under a Wraith Max makes quite a good RGB PC for those who like that kind of thing.
Performance and BIOS:
The bios is rather limited but has all the things you need for overclocking, and also has a fair number of other useful settings i.e. IOMMU toggling, among others. I threw on my 1800X and the noctua u12s and it also was able to take it to 4 Ghz, though wouldn't do a ton more than that. Pretty impressive considering this is round about a $100 board. The computer also boots really fast, which is nice.
Software: The software to tune the RGB and so forth works well enough, and isn't going to give bloatware so thats nice. Other than that, I also tried out Ryzen Master and it has as many if not more tuning than the BIOS so looks like a viable option for overclocking, though I'm still wary of in OS OC tools.
Memory testing: The board works with everything i have tested memory wise. Doesn't like any higher than 2933 Mhz but works with single and dual rank memory no problems whatsoever. Unlike the Xpower lol.
Verdict: 9/10. Great motherboard, really good price, supports pretty much all memory, only downside really is the brown PCB.
Also my thoughts on X370 vs B350:
Go for B350 boards unless you need SLI and so on. As B350 motherboards have most, if not all the features of a lot of the 370 motherboards do, but for a lot less.
Build photos and video of the Wraith Max and B350 motherboard:
(background noise in above is an AC fan not the PC)
Lastly:
So far here is a short list of motherboard that work (and don't work) with dual rank DDR4. Will update as people give input.
MSI X370 XPOWER Gaming Titanium: Does not support dual rank memory.
Gigabyte B350 Gaming 3: Does Support dual rank memory.
Asus Crosshair 6 Hero: Does support dual rank memory.
Will put my review, when i can, of the Ryzen 5 CPUs in this thread too.
