Mobo recommendation for Ryzen 5 3600

[chippywood]

I'm having to rebuild my Linux Mint system, and I'm planning it around a Ryzen 5 3600. I'm not a gamer, but an infrequent developer, occasional video creator and frequent photo editor, so no requirement for extreme performance.

Does anyone have recommendations for a suitable motherboard + cooler that works well with LM? One issue is finding a cooler that fits within any physical restriction of the mobo, and is no taller than 13cm (case restriction). Oh, and is quiet. A known combination is better than guesswork.

EDIT
I don't need onboard wi-fi (will be a wired connection) or integrated graphics (I have a Sapphire HD 7750 PCI-e card).

[Moonstone Man]

Does anyone have recommendations for a suitable motherboard + cooler...

Gigabyte X570-UD with an Alpenfohn Silvretta low profile cooler or a SilverStone KR01 cooler.

[ugly]

I have a Ryzen 3600.

I bought a MSI Tomahawk B450 (non-MAX version).

I'm a little disappointed with it. The big issue for me is that the boot time is incredibly long. Using systemd-analyze I get 24.5 seconds of boot time in firmware. So, you turn the PC on, and basically nothing shows up for nearly half a minute. Then once the drives are detected and Mint starts loading it only takes a a couple of seconds. I updated from a Skylake Intel processor, and that thing would boot to desktop within 10 seconds.

I don't know if this is an issue specifically to the MSI B450 motherboard. I've heard inconsistent reports from other users. Some don't have the issue and some do. And some have the same issue with other AMD motherboards.

My other complaint is that if you use the NVME connector for an SSD, then it disables 2 of the 6 available SATA ports. But I think that is a limitation of the B450 chipset, so brand doesn't matter.


One tip for a quiet fan if using the Ryzen 3600 is to adjust the fan curves. Ryzen CPUs tend to spike quickly in temperature and then go does again quickly. This can cause a fan to ramp up quickly and then ramp back down. Even with a quiet fan, the continually ramping up and down gets annoying. Some motherboards have a delay setting or more advanced motherboards have curves you can set to try and limit ramping up/down.

[DPM]

One issue is finding a cooler that fits within any physical restriction of the mobo, and is no taller than 13cm (case restriction). Oh, and is quiet.

Your case choice has already ruled out the really good coolers so that you can only try to minimise the impact of your case choice - or buy a proper case. That said, I think the be quiet! Shadow Rock TF 2 would be the best you can find within that restriction.

For the mobo, Asus B450-F Gaming II is good, in particular because you can set detailed fan curves. It also allows an "onset delay" for the fans (all of them!) so that they won't rev up and down. I have the B450-F Gaming (without II), and this would also suit a 65W class CPU like the Ryzen 3600. But the II version has better VRMs and doesn't cost more anyway. You may have to do a BIOS update because there were BIOS versions that would crank up the fan to 100% once the CPU hit 75°C, and that happens easily with Ryzen 3000/5000.

B550 or X570 mobos cost more, but don't add value for your use case because the main thing they offer is PCIe 4.0, and that's only interesting for extremely fast NVMe SSDs like for professional video editing. However, then you'd also want a more powerful CPU.

With the RAM, you should fit two RAM bars. Only one would cost you performance, and four means you wouldn't have future expansion room without tossing the RAM bars you buy now. To get the full RAM speed, you have to enable DOCP in the BIOS. I can recommend Crucial Ballistix BL2K16G32C16U4B which is a 2x16GB kit. If you want only 2x8GB, Crucial Ballistix BL2K8G32C16U4B is a good choice. Both are 3200MHz, that's what a Ryzen 3600 supports, and CL16. CL14 RAM would cost more without adding much benefit.

[chippywood]

Thanks for all the advice, esp. @DPM. Comments re. B550 vs B450 very useful as I don't need PCIe 4.0. I do tend to use Asus boards so your advice is well, confirmatory, although I was considering the Prime B450-Plus - how would I chose between that and the board you suggest? (I've tended to avoid anything with a "gaming" label on it but that's just because I'm not a gamer.)

..or buy a proper case

Er, I'll assume you meant a bigger case. It's the one I have so that's it. But the Shadow Rock TF 2 looks excellent so I'll probably go with that.

[Larry78723]

Is your case new or are you reusing one you already have? If you're reusing a case, double-check that the PSU will handle all current requirements for the new MB, fans, processor, etc.

Just my 2 cents.

[DPM]

I do tend to use Asus boards so your advice is well, confirmatory, although I was considering the Prime B450-Plus - how would I chose between that and the board you suggest?

The B450-F Gaming II has an Intel I211-AT LAN chip that works nicely with Linux (my older B450-F has the same chip). The B450-Plus however has a Realtek chip, and going by the help forums here, these aren't as hassle-free under Linux. That alone would make me choose the B450-F.

The B450-F has two M.2-slots (if you don't use a CPU with iGPU) while the B450-Plus has only one. The B450-F Gaming II supports BIOS flashback without CPU, the B450-Plus doesn't (my older B450-F doesn't either). Also, the B450-F has a better audio chip than the B450-Plus. The B450-F has 5 audio jacks (and also digital audio output), the B450-Plus only 3. The B450-F Gaming II has better VRMs (voltage regulators) so that you could also plug in a CPU with a TDP class higher than 65W once you can get them for cheap as second hand items.

I'm not sure about the BIOS features, but the B450-F offers a whole lot of things exactly because it targets gamers, and probably more than the B450-Plus which is Asus' entry level board. You won't need all these overclocking features, but you might decide to disable certain auto-overclocking features of Ryzen itself. That would lose you a bit of performance, but the CPU wouldn't run as hot, hence more silent cooling.

Also, don't worry, you can switch off all RGB stuff right in the BIOS of B450-F so that no annoying light shines through the rear fan exhaust of your case.

[chippywood]

Is your case new or are you reusing one you already have? If you're reusing a case, double-check that the PSU will handle all current requirements for the new MB, fans, processor, etc.

It is my existing case and PSU. Rough estimate of TPC of 350w should be well within the Zalman ZM500-ST 500w.

[chippywood]

The B450-Plus however has a Realtek chip, and going by the help forums here, these aren't as hassle-free under Linux. That alone would make me choose the B450-F.

I've had a look back through the forum and I'm persuaded. The other features you mention are probably not important for me.

I do find all the go-faster stripes and boy racer artwork that surround gamer boards all a bit unnecessary, even ugly - just my opinion (and probably my age). But once it's in the case I don't have to look at it .

Thanks for your help.