An AMD Threadripper X399 Motherboard Overview: A Quick Look at Seven Products
by Ian Cutress & Joe Shields on September 15, 2017 9:00 AM ESTCovering the X399 Spectrum
We've seen details on seven boards which, on the surface, can seem similar as far as feature sets go. Owners that just want a Threadripper system to get up and go will get the necessities out of any motherboard listed here. The differences lay in the details: in networking, PCIe layout, RGB, overclocking features, enthusiast level gaming or compute, the want/need for 10 Gigabit ethernet, or storage options like fast M.2 and U.2. Even the type and number of USB ports can all factor into a buying decision.
It is also hard to forget about looks. All motherboards have some form of RGB LEDs scattered around their black PCBs. Some incorporate less than others, with the cheaper boards from ASRock and ASUS only applying them on the chipset heatsink, while others like the Gigabyte X399 AORUS Gaming 7 are loaded to the brim. Only one board, the ASUS X399 Prime, doesn't have wireless or Bluetooth capability. The MSI board sets itself apart from the rest by including bundled sets of vanity plates for the chipset heatsink, I/O and Audio covers, giving owners a bit more flexibility over the boards base appearance. That said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is up to the buyer to figure out which looks best in their system vision. Assuming you care about aesthetics, that is.
PCIe differences come down to the number of slots for the GPUs, and if a user requires tri-slot spacing. For users looking at PCIe co-processors other than GPUs, then there isn't an ideal 7-slot motherboard on the market so far. But plug in a request, see if a manufacturer bites.
What happens when you mix several motherboards together in MSPaint
With Threadripper CPUs TDP set at 180W, an efficient VRM solution will be needed for cool operation, as well as for overclocking: many of the boards are using International Rectifier parts (MSI, GIGABYTE, ASRock) with the phase count ranging from eight to thirteen depending on the board. Keeping the VRMs cool is also a point to be considered, and the boards do this different. ASUS has two heatsinks connected via a heat-pipe, and include a fan for active cooling. The ASRock Professional Gaming, Taichi, and Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 also use two heat sinks but are passive (no fans). The MSI has a single VRM heatsink, but has doubled the standard height.
The table below shows several of the specifications differences between the released motherboards. The bold values are the top specifications for the category.
| X399 Motherboard Feature Comparison | |||||||
| ASRock | ASUS | Gigabyte | MSI X399 Gaming Pro Carbon AC |
||||
| X399 Taichi | X399 Pro Gaming | Prime X399-A | ROG Zenith | X399 Gaming 7 | |||
| Listed DRAM Freq. | 3600+ | 3600+ | 3200 | 3600 | 3600+ | 3600+ | |
| # PCIe x16 Slots | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| SATA Ports | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | |
| M.2 / U.2 | 3 / 1 | 3 / 1 | 2 / 1 | 3 / 1 | 3 / 0 | 3 / 0 | |
| USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) | 8 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | |
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 10 Gigabit Ethernet | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 Gigabit Ethernet | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 802.11ac | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | |
| 802.11ad | N | N | N | Y | N | N | |
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX | E-ATX | E-ATX | ATX | ATX | |
| MSRP | $350 | $450 | $350 | $550 | $390 | $380 | |
| Current Price (9/11) |
Amazon | - | - | $350 | $520 | $390 | $350 |
| Newegg | $340 | $440 | $350 | $550 | $390 | - | |
The table is clearly not the final discussion - each user has different requirements out of their system and motherboard. Some enthusiasts may want to overclock their boards more than others, or have a need for 10 gigabit Ethernet capabilities or the latest wireless networking options, or require an ATX form factor in their current chassis. Perhaps all of those, or none. We're likely to see further products hit the shelves in the coming months and quarters, especially as AMD has confirmed that this socket will stay for at least one more generation of products.
Pricing on the boards range from $340 (ASRock Taichi), up to $550 for the ASUS' flagship Zenith Extreme so there is quite a range already. All boards detailed here are available, with ASUS saying the Strix arriving later.
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LordanSS - Saturday, September 16, 2017 - link
My money is on the latter.... =/vgray35@hotmail.com - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
With CPU power approaching 150 Amps, all these MBs are brain dead right out the gate, for using 50y old 8+ phase Buck converter topology, where VRMs with multiple phases still have poor response settling times (not one cycle settling but 20 cycles), lowish efficiencies way below 98% needing substantial heat sinks; while being saddled with the vagaries of inductive energy storage which takes up a lot of space and cost much more. Instead they should be using hybrid-PWM switching eliminating hard switch of high currents, where fractional cycle resonance ensures zero current switching and almost no switching losses. Resonance frequency scaling of the inductor/capacitor eliminates the need for ferrite cores altogether, reducing both size and core losses.http://www.powerelectronics.com/power-management/s...
Rehashing the same old power technologies with only stepwise minuscule improvements at each iteration, is not going to bode well at all. These engineers need to join the rest of us in the 21st century, and stop rehashing inductive energy storage solutions in power supplies. These new power topologies have been available for 5y to 8y now. And further this will also reduce EMI noise.
vgray35@hotmail.com - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
I might add eliminating the multi-phase Buck converters for a solution based on PWM-resonance switching (hybrid switching), fractional cycle resonance (one cycle settling responses), and resonance scaling of resonance components, will likely permit a X399 mITX board to be made; with all that PSU space recovered for other purposes. Who will take up the challenge? AMD, ASROCK? Or will Intel beat AMD in the rush to high current capability at 99% efficiency? Or one of the other competitors out there! A clarion call to action this is to once and for all retire the Buck converter!ddriver - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
I doubt they will even make a micro atx board, much less itx...It will be a waste, gigantic socket will take up most of the space, there won't be enough room for all 4 memory channels, the CPUs generous amount of PCIE lanes will be utterly wasted.
vgray35@hotmail.com - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
Yes, and yet ASROCK put the X99 on a mITX board. However cutting heat from the VRM's by 60% to 70% or more should be done anyway, not to mention the graphics cards that draw even more power. Why settle for 95/96% efficiency (or worse in some cases) when one could get 98.5% to 99% efficiency. But then again you might be right concerning Thread Ripper, although I would still buy it with M2 slots on the back. The power delivery could be moved entirely to the back of the board without heat sinks with a total height of only 1.5mm (possibly at the center of socket itself on the back). The challenge of course is just as applicable to the graphics cards.ddriver - Saturday, September 16, 2017 - link
Hm, it seems that they launched some lga2066 boards recently, an asrock itx and an msi matx. TR4 however is still atx and up only...DanNeely - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
I agree about how little sense it would make; but there have been a few LGA2011 mITX boards for people who only needed the higher core count. One of the two currently listed on Newegg uses SoDIMMs and riser boards around the CPU socket to make everything fit. Doing it for Threadripper would definitely be harder on account of the bigger socket; but I won't say never.Xajel - Saturday, September 16, 2017 - link
mITX is very hard even with riser boards & only 4x SO-DIMMsbut mATX on the other hand is very plausible... lets hope for a mATX version of the ASRock Pro Gaming with it's 10GbE ( and at least one of it's Intel's 1GbE ), at least 2 of it's M.2's and 6+ SATA ports... and please ASRock, add a front USB 3.1g2 header...
ddriver - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
Amps, or amperes, is a unit of current, not a unit of power. Power is measured in watts."Rehashing the same old power technologies with only stepwise minuscule improvements at each iteration, is not going to bode well at all." - this is unfortunately a fact, and the de-fact motto of the industry.
ddriver - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
I mean it is kinda naive to assume several years old switching circuits will find their way into the mainstream just because they are a few percent better.We've had gas turbine engines for decades, but they are still only used in tanks, helicopters or naval ships, while mainstream vehicles are still stuck with the internal combustion engine, which is easier to break, harder to maintain and a whooping 60% less efficient.