Motherboard Best VRM on B550I?

Platobob

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Jun 1, 2020
6
3
Thanks to the recent price drop of ryzen 9 3900x, I decided to build a workstation and I am looking to pair it with one of the upcoming B550I mobos. The machine is meant for heavy scientific simulations, hence I want to make sure to get a motherboard with strong VRM for stability and longevity. The system will be housed in ncase m1 v6.1 with thermalright AS 130 to hopefully provide adequate airflow for the cpu and the mobo overall.

Out of the 4 contenders, which one do you think has the best VRM?
  1. ASUS B550I-Strix (8+2 Power Stages / ??? )
  2. MSI B550I Gaming Edge Wifi (8+2+1 Phase VRM / 60A power stages )
  3. Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX ITX (6+2 Phase VRM / 90A power stages)
  4. ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming ITX/ax (6+2 Phase VRM / 90A power stages)
 

Fede

Trash Compacter
Jun 3, 2020
38
5
I think the ASUS or MSI...
The Asus have active cooling in the VRM, and low temperatures in VRM is very important

 

thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
@Fede yes lower temps is always better but VRM temp limit is much higher than CPU/GPU, it's like 105C vs 90/95C. IIRC Buildzoid has said many times in his videos that there shouldn't be anything to worry over VRM temps even with a 3950X. My personal point of reference is I have the X570i Aorus and the active cooling solution - tiny PCH fan running 4,000-5,000RPM is definitely the thing I dislike most about it. Minimal temps decrease for added noise and the loss of a fan header.

@Platobob should definitely check out Buildzoid's Youtube channel - Actual Hardware Overclocking. He does a lot of motherboard analysis focusing on VRM and RAM features on various motherboards and platforms.
 

Fede

Trash Compacter
Jun 3, 2020
38
5
@Fede yes lower temps is always better but VRM temp limit is much higher than CPU/GPU, it's like 105C vs 90/95C. IIRC Buildzoid has said many times in his videos that there shouldn't be anything to worry over VRM temps even with a 3950X. My personal point of reference is I have the X570i Aorus and the active cooling solution - tiny PCH fan running 4,000-5,000RPM is definitely the thing I dislike most about it. Minimal temps decrease for added noise and the loss of a fan header.

Yes, but with less temperature the VRM works more efficient and give you accurate power.
A fan always give you some noise...
In my experience, i have the ASUS ROG X570I Impact (2 Fan, one for chipset and another for VRM) and the noise level is really low not allways run at 100% and some time are off.

I use a 3900X (No overclock), if i overclocked them the VRM fan yes is noisy because run at 100% every time.

The 4 motherboards are really good options and no have problem with a 3900X, in ITX i prefered the active cooling, but is a personal apreciation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thelaughingman

Platobob

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Jun 1, 2020
6
3
@thelaughingman yea, I know about Buildzoid, but he has only covered ASRock's B550I board at this point, with a conclusion of "it's pretty good". Since I am looking to order in a few days, I wanted to ask here for opinions.

@Fede fair point on the VRM fan. Hopefully, they are not compensating for the poor heatsink design with a fan.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thelaughingman

Nero

Average Stuffer
May 28, 2020
61
68
The Asus is rumored to have measly 50A power stages. They're the only manufacturer who doesn't specify them on their official page, that in and of itself should tell you they're probably meh.

Sadly all others have fairly underwhelming heatsinks with very reduced surface area (no fins or almost no fins). The Gigabyte one has an heatpipe though, so that might be a good option. It's the one I'm currently betting on having the best overall VRM solution, but Asrock's shouldn't be too far behind. The MSI one could be a good surprise too but I really don't like the SSD fan.

If a board maker had the balls to make a MITX B550 board with actual fin arrays heatsinks I'd literally jump straight on it even if it's $30 more than other boards.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Platobob

Nero

Average Stuffer
May 28, 2020
61
68
Very unlikely.

I was still probably wrong though I've talked to a "friend" of mine though and he tells me it's actually a 8 70A phases + 2 50A phases. He initially assumed it was 50A everywhere after getting a glanced at one of the VRMs butafter talking with his colleagues he got the whole story.


Take that with a grain of salt though I'm obviously not personally "in the know".
 
  • Like
Reactions: lorsch

dKenGuru

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 2, 2019
297
201
dken.guru
Asrock has no LLC in BIOS or any advanced power options in BIOS. All is very simple for this class of board.
Gigabyte has RGB, but can't control it in BIOS. And B550 is copy/paste from X570 I, minus chipset fan, +1 4pin connector, + 2.5Gb Realtek LAN. Still 3 video out, for what?
 

IISNAFUII

Chassis Packer
Apr 13, 2020
19
9
Nero is right about the 50A, confirmed from a review I found here:
https://www.pctestbench.com/asus-rog-strix-b550-i-gaming-am4-motherboard-review/3/

Otherwise, the Gigabyte one looks pretty tasty:

I haven't found concrete information found on the MSI other than they are DrMos 60A.

Unfortunately for me, seems MSI is the only one not being listed yet in Australia so may have to go with the Gigabyte variant (could be worse), just hate the wasted space on the IO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lorsch

Nero

Average Stuffer
May 28, 2020
61
68
Nero is right about the 50A, confirmed from a review I found here:
https://www.pctestbench.com/asus-rog-strix-b550-i-gaming-am4-motherboard-review/3/

Otherwise, the Gigabyte one looks pretty tasty:

I haven't found concrete information found on the MSI other than they are DrMos 60A.

Unfortunately for me, seems MSI is the only one not being listed yet in Australia so may have to go with the Gigabyte variant (could be worse), just hate the wasted space on the IO.

I have no idea what Asus is thinking charging this much for such weak VRMs.

The Gigabyte really looks like a winner.

Btw I don't know what to think about my "friend's" info, he was right first but then gave me wrong "confirmation", so weird. Welp.
 

scatterforce

Master of Cramming
May 21, 2018
408
325
V-core totals:

Gigabyte 6x90 amp = 540 total amps
ASrock 6x90 amp = 540 total amps
MSI 8x60 amp = 480 total amps
ASUS 8x50 amp = 400 total amps

Of note, MSI has 2 phases for SOC and 1 more dedicated to the APU... and has the best RAM overclocking according to Buildzoid. I would avoid the ASrock board with the right angle SATA ports and the ASUS for weak power delivery.

Personally, I have the Gigabyte X570i and I would go with MSI. I have not been a fan of Gigabyte's BIOS. When overclocking, the voltages are never what gets reported in HW monitor and it seems to need more volts to stay stable. Another strike against the Gigabyte board is the lack of USB C front header; to not have one for a brand new board in 2020 is disappointing.
 

dKenGuru

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 2, 2019
297
201
dken.guru
BTW Gigabyte X570i has 6+2 and it is 70A. 420 amps. So, Asus 400 looks normal. And this reason for active VRM cooling on their board.
 

cobalt60

Chassis Packer
Aug 16, 2018
13
5
BTW Gigabyte X570i has 6+2 and it is 70A. 420 amps. So, Asus 400 looks normal. And this reason for active VRM cooling on their board.

It's 90A?



Source: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/gigabyte-b550i-aorus-pro-ax/4.html
 
  • Like
Reactions: Phuncz

scatterforce

Master of Cramming
May 21, 2018
408
325
X570 I has 6+2 - 70A. 6x70=420 for CPU.
It was one of most powerfull board in X570 line. So 540 looks overpowered.
I feel board makers are upping the AMP output for the Ryzen 4xxx series. AMD is moving to a more refined 7nm node, but at the end of the day.... it's still 7nm. Higher clocks will need more voltage. I don't think AMD plans to increase the number of cores offered, so their generational leap will be moving from 4 cores per CCX to 8 to greatly reduce latency and higher base frequencies.
 

IISNAFUII

Chassis Packer
Apr 13, 2020
19
9
70A to 90A isn't a huge deal from efficieny according to buildzoid, but being only 6 phases he said the extra 20A can help when working outside of the efficiency range if running a 3950X, etc. I'm assuming he means at full tilt too.