Don't Bother with A320 Motherboards, Go for AMD's B350 Instead for Raven Ridge

[Julio Franco]

We've learned most of what there is to know about AMD's new Vega-infused CPUs, but those of you thinking about buying the Ryzen 3 2200G or Ryzen 5 2400G after seeing how it competent it is as a budget gaming platform may be asking yourselves whether the chip would be best installed on an A320 or B350 motherboard.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1584-amd-a320-vs-b350-motherboards/

 

[ET3D]

I agree that A320 isn't worth it for any enthusiast. However I think it's reasonable for someone who just needs a PC. I mean, if I bought a PC for someone who just wants basic gaming ability and needs to save money, I think that's a reasonable cost cutting step.

Also, Gamers Nexus had a good article/video about the danger to the VRM from overclocking the integrated GPU, so even with a low end B350 motherboard turning up the overclock too high may be an issue.

 

[RCynic]

Or you may just go for h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 build for the same performance with no need to overclock (I. e. easy memory setup/no voltages issues/less power consumption)

 

[seeprime]

Or you may just go for h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 build for the same performance with no need to overclock (I. e. easy memory setup/no voltages issues/less power consumption)

"Same" CPU performance. Intel's GPU is significantly inferior to AMD's. Intel's CPU require at least a GTX1030 PCIe card to match AMD's Ryzen with Vega processors. See: https://www.techspot.com/review/1574-amd-ryzen-5-2400g-and-ryzen-3-2200g/

 

[Uncle Al]

Regardless of all this I continue to be amazed at how inexpensive so many motherboards are.

 

[hojnikb]

Or you may just go for h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 build for the same performance with no need to overclock (I. e. easy memory setup/no voltages issues/less power consumption)

"Same" CPU performance. Intel's GPU is significantly inferior to AMD's. Intel's CPU require at least a GTX1030 PCIe card to match AMD's Ryzen with Vega processors. See: https://www.techspot.com/review/1574-amd-ryzen-5-2400g-and-ryzen-3-2200g/

Read his post again, there is an 1030GT included, which makes it as fast as 2400G in gaming.

Stricktly for gaming, these apus really don't make a whole lot sense when 1030gt+g4560 exists. If ram was cheaper (or apus wouldn't be as sensitive to memory bandwidth) it would make more sense value wise.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Regardless of all this I continue to be amazed at how inexpensive so many motherboards are.

Same, I thought he was just talking about price -differences- at first, had to re-read it several times because I just didn't believe you could have $30-$50 motherboards.

 

[Boilerhog146]

Regardless of all this I continue to be amazed at how inexpensive so many motherboards are.

Regardless of all this I continue to be amazed at how cheap so many motherboards are..

that's how I read it anyway ,saving 10 -20 bucks and loosing the ability to get another 30 -50 % more performance . out of affordable kit like this,.dump the change out of the kids piggybank. and get the better board .that's a nobrainer, especially if it is for the kid. go from barely playable to smooth gameplay, with a few clicks.kids happy,I'm happy .kids not at my rig anymore.

 

[TadMSTR]

I agree that A320 isn't worth it for any enthusiast. However I think it's reasonable for someone who just needs a PC. I mean, if I bought a PC for someone who just wants basic gaming ability and needs to save money, I think that's a reasonable cost cutting step.

Also, Gamers Nexus had a good article/video about the danger to the VRM from overclocking the integrated GPU, so even with a low end B350 motherboard turning up the overclock too high may be an issue.

As the article points out the A320 can't do the full speed of 3200 RAM. The A320 looks to only be able to do 2666, which is a 12% performance loss from the B350. For gaming, even casual, that will probably make a difference. That along with a higher resale value justifies the extra $20, even if you never overclock anything.

 

[Strawman]

Or you may just go for h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 build for the same performance with no need to overclock (I. e. easy memory setup/no voltages issues/less power consumption)

Why the heck would you do that though? It's just dumb. So you are buying a worse CPU and worse RAM to get the same performance, which means any future GPU you might want to buy is going to suffer. Seriously, only a ***** would pick your build over an APU.

 

[RCynic]

Or you may just go for h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 build for the same performance with no need to overclock (I. e. easy memory setup/no voltages issues/less power consumption)

Why the heck would you do that though? It's just dumb. So you are buying a worse CPU and worse RAM to get the same performance, which means any future GPU you might want to buy is going to suffer. Seriously, only a ***** would pick your build over an APU.

omg, do you people read what you write? buying worse cpu and worse ram will get the SAME performance (actually slightly better in lightweight gaming)
for ryzen 2200g to catch up the g4560/gt1030 build you have to spend more money, spend more time for fine tuning the rig, only to get the SAME performance

so how R3 is better?
oh, and I guess Steve doesn't know about "crappy" ddr4-2400 he used in his tests https://www.techspot.com/review/1463-ryzen-3-gaming/

 

[Strawman]

omg, do you people read what you write? buying worse cpu and worse ram will get the SAME performance (actually slightly better in lightweight gaming)
for ryzen 2200g to catch up the g4560/gt1030 build you have to spend more money, spend more time for fine tuning the rig, only to get the SAME performance

so how R3 is better?
oh, and I guess Steve doesn't know about "crappy" ddr4-2400 he used in his tests https://www.techspot.com/review/1463-ryzen-3-gaming/

That's a bunch of nonsense. You literally need 5 minutes of "fine tuning" to actually overclock. The R3 is a better CPU than the g4560, whether it's for gaming or productivity. That's a fact. Ddr4 3200 are better than 2400. So when the time comes you buy a GPU to replace the IGP of the APU or the gt1030 you'll get better performance if you went the APU in the first place.

As I've said, only a ***** would spend the same amount of money to buy inferior CPU and Ram just to get the same performance because of a GPU bottleneck

 

[ET3D]

As the article points out the A320 can't do the full speed of 3200 RAM. The A320 looks to only be able to do 2666, which is a 12% performance loss from the B350. For gaming, even casual, that will probably make a difference. That along with a higher resale value justifies the extra $20, even if you never overclock anything.

It's not really a $20, because 3200 RAM is still more expensive than 2666.

Frankly, I don't consider these performance gains extremely convincing. Again, I'd never recommend A320 for an enthusiast, but on the other hand, most games work fine with 2666 RAM when you turn down resolution and quality. A difference of 2x or more for $20 is certainly worthwhile (which is what you get for buying a 2200G over a Pentium with integrated graphics, and pair it with A320 and 2400 RAM), but '12%' and 'resale value' is enthusiast talk.

Or you may just go for h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 build for the same performance with no need to overclock (I. e. easy memory setup/no voltages issues/less power consumption)

I wanted to scream 'high price' but then checked and saw that the G4560 is now available for $62 at Newegg and Amazon. Only two weeks ago it was hard to find and over $80 when you did find one. So I'm guessing that the Ryzen APU release did its job wonderfully. The 1030 is still overpriced, $80 at Amazon and $90 at Newegg. So if you compare a h110/g4560/gt1030/ddr4-2400 to a A320/2200G/DDR4-2400, you're still looking at ~$40 difference, and though there's some performance loss going the Ryzen way, I don't think that spending an extra $40 here is clear cut.

So in effect it comes down to paying a little more for a little more performance, and that's an individual decision, kind of like choosing B350 over A320.

For an enthusiast, I definitely won't recommend the Pentium/H110 way, just like I won't recommend an A320. For a consumer, I think that the 2200G is a cheaper solution that's close enough in performance to be worth considering. Future upgradability is better on the AMD path, and while many consumers aren't going to upgrade a CPU, it's still a consideration.

 

[Sam4K]

A320 is indeed a dead product in case your doing some tweaking, this product is meant for the ready PCs at the shops, where buyers plug and play. If you overclock I dont even recommend a low end B350's most of them are crap, The B350 Pro4 and Fatal1ty are the ones that actually built to overclock of all B350's Ive seen so far.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

A320 is indeed a dead product in case your doing some tweaking, this product is meant for the ready PCs at the shops, where buyers plug and play. If you overclock I dont even recommend a low end B350's most of them are crap, The B350 Pro4 and Fatal1ty are the ones that actually built to overclock of all B350's Ive seen so far.

And a Z370/B350 is a "dead-end" product for someone who isn't? Why all the drama? Certain parts are made for certain segments of the market. Nothing you buy today is future proof for life. Thinking of buying some DDR-4 now at the current ridiculously high prices? STOP! It's a dead end. DDR-5 is on the horizon. Sit around and twiddle your thumbs for the next 3 years until DDR4 fades into obsolescence". That's when you should "really strike"!!!

I could go on all day with these kinds of examples but I think you can get the picture.

 

[HyPeroxya]

Apu vs cpu and GPU .. well for some people size matters .. especially if you want for HTGPC (G=gaming) apu can fit in a tiny case that simply wouldnt accomodate a cpu AND gpu eg inwin chopin (a bit stuck for other nice cases, esp with inbuilt 200w -ish power supply).

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I agree that A320 isn't worth it for any enthusiast. However I think it's reasonable for someone who just needs a PC. I mean, if I bought a PC for someone who just wants basic gaming ability and needs to save money, I think that's a reasonable cost cutting step.

Also, Gamers Nexus had a good article/video about the danger to the VRM from overclocking the integrated GPU, so even with a low end B350 motherboard turning up the overclock too high may be an issue.

Did the author of this article even respond to this serious issue that has been raised? I'm still on the fence about whether or not I should send back my A320 motherboard and get a B350 but the point you raise makes me think even harder. My 30 day return window is collapsing fast.

Steven, can you respond to this issue that has been raised? What about the dangers of overclocking the APU and how the life span of the APU might be affected by doing so?

*** EDIT ***: Also, another point about the overclocking. While you probably do get more overclocking feature goodness in the AB350 chipset , I think it's important to realize that there is memory overclocking support in the A320 chipset (or maybe Im stating that wrong, it's on my ASRock A320M motherboard). Although, you do state in the article that it doesn't seem to work like it's supposed to on the A320 which raises an entirely new question for discussion as far as I'm concerned.
If I were to run my DDR4-3000MHz memory on an A320 motherboard @2933 it would be via overclock because AMD doesn't guarantee any speeds over 2666MHz.

What's the missing X factor that makes overclocking your memory more stable or better on an AB350 chipset versus an A320 chipset when both versions (ASRock in my case) says those faster memory speeds are in fact supported on both chipsets?

 

[ET3D]

Did the author of this article even respond to this serious issue that has been raised? I'm still on the fence about whether or not I should send back my A320 motherboard and get a B350 but the point you raise makes me think even harder. My 30 day return window is collapsing fast.

I'd say that if you're at all interested in tweaking performance or power use, get a B350 motherboard. That's what I did. I don't really overclock, but I do want to have the option to play around with voltages and speeds. As long as you don't try to push too far, it should be safe. If tweaking is something that's of no interest to you, then A320 should be fine.

If I were to run my DDR4-3000MHz memory on an A320 motherboard @2933 it would be via overclock because AMD doesn't guarantee any speeds over 2666MHz.

The Raven Ridge chips support 2933 natively, and so should all Ryzen 2 CPUs. I've seen another site saying that A320 defaulted to a low speed for RAM (for high speed RAM sticks), so I'm inclined to think that B350 is safer if you want to make the most of fast RAM. But since you already have your A320 and know how fast your RAM runs, there's no risk there if performance is already where you want it to be.

 

[regiq]

Regardless of all this I continue to be amazed at how inexpensive so many motherboards are.

Since all controllers are in the SoC you only pay for printed board and sockets I suppose...

 

[msroadkill612]

My comment is not those hedging their bets on a dgpu later, or who fancy cobbling outmoded rubbish together as an alternative, but for those who love the fresh new gen apu for what it is, and the money it saves them, and they are happy to reinvest some saved $ to do it right.

I know very well money is hard to come by, but I also know risk/reward/false economy.

as others have said, a lot of mental gymnastics alone for $20~ mobo premium (a few % of TCO).

Hell - mobos are a bargain for what you get - why not just get the lot in an atx x370 and be done with it?

Good; sound/clocking/vrm/io ports/wi-fi.... - the second you have to retrofit some omission or improvement from the mobo's very long manifest of features, it's $50 minimum for an ~add in card & a a hassle.

If you decide and commit to apu, and you wont regret it, you can make a very sweet machine for the least cost possible.

the 3466 ram OC the author got sounds awesome. beg borrow or steal to get that on your apu (assuming it scales performance as well as the 3200 bump does). I would even replicate the reviewers ram and mobo to get it.

spend the extra $70 on the 2400g for gods sake - the extras are worth it, but mostly, without threading, you dont have a proper apu cpu, and will not be in the mainstream of the amd ecosystem.

if you give your troth to the apu graphics, it's hard to find an ideally low power powersupply . I saw one rig with a 300w power supply - unheard of . its a cool quiet rig.

If you are an apu believer (zen vega apu is the culmination of ~8 previous apuS), you may well have waited long. Now, wait longer. Its only a month til the new 400 series am4 moboS. As with all first revisions, it will be significant, especially for the new apuS.

Good cooling - huge dividends for both cpu&gpu from a single improved cooler- however hardware unboxed got excellent results from a frugal 10-20$ air unit as it happens (gammax?).

cooling the uncluttered apu for OCing is a dream vs the dgpu scenario.

word is, 8GB works for gaming, but you will agonise over it so much, resigning yourself to the extra $100 for 16GB is worth it for peace of mind alone. Just decide on 16gb and be done with it.

It bears noting that the cpu is not ryzen. Ryzen shook the world by offering 8 cores, but it paid a price.

It consists of 2x 4 core clusters (ccx), and there is a lag between those clusters.

The single ccx apu may have lost 4 cores, but it also lost the lag. In this important respect, it is faster than previous zen cpuS.

 

[regiq]

My comment is not those hedging their bets on a dgpu later, or who fancy cobbling outmoded rubbish together as an alternative, but for those who love the fresh new gen apu for what it is, and the money it saves them, and they are happy to reinvest some saved $ to do it right.

I do like the new APUs for what they are (the elegance of HSA, virtually unlimited graphics memory, one cooling system), but my "outmoded rubbish" beats their performance in every way for half the price (on a 380W green PSU to be clear).
I'd like to build a system based on AMD APU, but I just can't step down in performance. 16 CUs with quad mem could get close I think, but the price would be significantly higher...

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I'd say that if you're at all interested in tweaking performance or power use, get a B350 motherboard. That's what I did. I don't really overclock, but I do want to have the option to play around with voltages and speeds. As long as you don't try to push too far, it should be safe. If tweaking is something that's of no interest to you, then A320 should be fine.



The Raven Ridge chips support 2933 natively, and so should all Ryzen 2 CPUs. I've seen another site saying that A320 defaulted to a low speed for RAM (for high speed RAM sticks), so I'm inclined to think that B350 is safer if you want to make the most of fast RAM. But since you already have your A320 and know how fast your RAM runs, there's no risk there if performance is already where you want it to be.

My 3000MHz memory would have ran either at 2933MHz if my chips were single rank or at the very worst 2666MHz if they were dual-rank memory chips. I still don't know for sure.

I have a confession to make. I sent my motherboard and CPU combo back unopened under the 30 day return policy. I am very excited about what AMD is doing for the CPU market lately. They have Intel running scared and that's a good thing for everybody. I was very anxious to experience these new processors for myself first hand. But as I kept reading forums, reviews and doing research after my purchase I was nervous about whether it was the right move or not. I know that the APU in the AMD-2200G I bought would smoke what I already have but with new chipsets and processors coming out in April I figured I might as well wait another month or so to see what I can get for my money then. Maybe the iGPU performance will be an RX 560 or 570?

My G4500 is literally 2 days away from being 2 years old. And that's about how long I keep stuff before I sell it. So, I figure I'll wait another month to upgrade if I'm gonna be stuck with what I get for 2 years. It was a very tough decision. But I think it's for the best.

I've also thought about spending the $150 on a discrete graphics card but that just seems like a complete waste of money if you get that performance in a $99 APU anyway. If AMD gives me more for the same money in the next 30-60 days I'll definitely be buying AMD again! *fingers crossed*

The thought of having to update the BIOS by asking AMD to mail me a chip was a small concern in my decision also. I'm pretty sure (99%) it wasn't going to be necessary given the board I had purchased but I don't know anything for (100%) sure. I'll probably just spend more money on one of the newest chipsets that guarantees the CPU I buy is compatible.
This wouldn't have been a deal breaker but it's just one less thing to worry about.

 

[regiq]

but with new chipsets and processors coming out in April I figured I might as well wait another month or so to see what I can get for my money then. Maybe the iGPU performance will be an RX 560 or 570?

And you're right, that's reasonable thing to do now.
But it reminds me of a marketing practics critique in an old Dilbert comics: "We have a Great Product! Next year it will be even better!" And no one buys the actual...

Edit: it's Dilbert no Gilbert, of course

 

[TheBigFatClown]

And you're right, that's reasonable thing to do now.
But it reminds me of a marketing practics critique in an old Dilbert comics: "We have a Great Product! Next year it will be even better!" And no one buys the actual...

Edit: it's Dilbert no Gilbert, of course

I kind of regret my decision now. After even more research, it seems only the CPU Zen+ parts will be out in 60 days. I was thinking there would be a new APU release on Zen+ around the same time. But it looks like about a year wait until the next APU "Picasso" release on Zen+.

I don't remember having this much trouble making a purchase to buy my crappy SkyLake CPU with it's pitiful HD 530 graphics. I think I am over analyzing my decisions now. Maybe, it's just all thats going on in the world.

For example, there are new articles all over the Internet about how the new Ryzen chips are laden with more security flaws.
I haven't had time to read any of the articles to see if this is true or not, or just paid propaganda from Intel (or their fanboys) as a weak attempt to sabotage AMDs incredible momentum.

Then theres the DDR4 inflated prices, GPU inflated prices. Maybe kicking back a year isn't such a bad thing.

Well, my decision is made for now. I'm out for awhile. Until I figure all this out. Maybe DDR4 will be back to reasonable prices by the time "Picasso" chips release.

 

[Max93]

Unfortunately this article misses out the most relevant point : power consumsion. If you want only a decent, compact, cool and quiet gaming rig with only one GPU card and stock CPU clocks without any fancy power hangry watercooled overclocking you can definitively consider an A320 motherboard. You'll not have the "ultimate FPS" but in many cases you will barelly notice a difference with the B350 at stock clocks and with one GPU in terms of performance but heat and power consumsion are much lower. On idle and low charge it's almost 30W less. On an A320 my 1700X rig consumes below 60W in idle, on the B350 it's above 80W from the wall plug.