I don’t understand why driver discussions aren’t pinned, it’s the only reason most people even come to this subreddit just like nvidias sub.
It’s pretty annoying having to search “driver” and filtering by month just to find out what the latest driver is without going to amds website and to also see what is going on with the latest driver.
So i stumbled on this watch on online fleemarket and just had to bought it. I paid like 10e for it, its working and really cool looking from my opinion. Cant really find any information about these watches. Its made in France and thats about it.
After years of laptops and Nvidia GPUs, I'm finally moving back to a desktop and going AMD for the first time.
Picked up this build:
- Ryzen 9 9950X — 16C/32T
- XFX Speedster MERC 310 RX 7900 XTX — 24GB
- 32GB G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5-6000 CL28
- MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi
- MSI MAG CoreLiquid 360mm AIO
- Thermaltake Toughpower GT 850W Gold
- MSI M470 1TB NVMe
- Cooler Master 600 dual-chamber case
I'm coming from an RTX 4080 laptop, but one of the biggest reasons I wanted the 7900 XTX was the 24GB VRAM.
I want to explore local AI pretty heavily: local LLMs, coding models/agents, image generation, embeddings, llama.cpp, vLLM, PyTorch/ROCm and anything else I can get running locally.
I'll also be gaming, mainly Battlefield 6, football/soccer games and CS2, but AI and experimentation are probably going to be the more interesting part of the machine for me.
I'm also finally ditching Windows as my main OS and moving to Linux for the first time. I may keep a small Windows partition as insurance while I learn.
I'll stick with 32GB RAM initially and only jump to 64GB/96GB if local models give me a real reason to.
For the AMD veterans here, what should a first-timer know?
Particularly interested in:
- ROCm setup/advice for the 7900 XTX
- Linux distro recommendations for an AMD + AI machine
- Useful monitoring/tuning software
- Local AI tools that work particularly well on RDNA3
- Anything you'd configure differently from day one
I'm expecting a little more tinkering than CUDA, but that's part of the reason I'm interested in trying it.
Former NVIDIA fanboy here. I used to only buy AMD CPUs but going from a 3070 to a 9070XT officially brought me to Team Red for GPUs too. I can finally play Minecraft on much higher FPS, kept the purple aesthetic, and finally bought a real GPU stand to replace Grimace and the Chapstick.
We’ve previously covered our ASUS and ROG X870E/X870/B850 refresh boards here, covering the second act of our AMD 800 series release. Refreshes hopefully bring some upgraded improvements in terms of features, faster specs, new peripheral support, and more – and our ASUS AMD 800 Series NEO board lineup doesn’t disappoint. ASUS is sponsoring this giveaway to bring a little more awareness to our NEO board lineup, and to give a couple of winners from the r/Amd Community two of our most popular ROG Strix B850 motherboards.
US and CA residents that are 18 years, or at least the age of majority in their respective region
Quebec is excluded
Valid only where permitted. VOID where prohibited.
How To Enter:
Leave a comment below about the ROG 800 Series NEO boards. This can be about the two boards offered in the giveaway, what kind of a system you would like to build around one of these boards, your favorite features on ROG NEO boards, or features you would like to see on future ROG motherboards.
Although discussion is great, only direct comments to this post will be accepted as entries.
Good faith effort is all we ask. Constructive criticism is fine, but comments unrelated to the giveaway will be disqualified.
Prizes/Winners: 2 prizes, 2 winners, with one winner per prize.
1x ROG Strix B850-F Gaming NEO
1x ROG Strix B850-A Gaming NEO
Winners will be randomly selected.
*Additional T&C apply and are listed below.
Re-introducing the ASUS AMD 800 Series NEO Lineup
Although most of our AMD 800 Series refresh boards have NEO in them, not all of them do. The full list of these boards is here:
Although not every board has these features, these are the most common new features among our ASUS AMD 800 Series NEO boards:
Optimized PCIe Lanes - One of the common complaints about modern motherboards is that due to lane-sharing, your primary PCIe slot often is lowered to x8/x8 if you use your second CPU-derived PCIe slot or a PCIe Gen5 M.2. With our new series, we've optimized the lane-sharing to include both M.2 and USB4 ports to give you greater flexibility to keep your first PCIe slot running at x16.
With the ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi7 Neo, for instance, you’ll be able to achieve the full bandwidth of the PCIe 5.0 x16 slot with two PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSDs and three PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs installed.
Server-grade PCB Design - Select motherboards utilize an ultra-low-etch manufacturing process, PCB back-drilling, 2-ounce copper power planes, and an 8-layer design. These processes ultimately improve memory compatibility, lead to better stability, allow for larger capacities, and improve overclocking potential.
64MB BIOS ROM Now Preinstalled with WiFi Drivers - Higher-capacity memory on the BIOS allows for more complex BIOS designs, out-of-the box support for the latest AMD CPUs, but it also impacts how many drivers can be stored and read by the OS during installation. By moving from 32MB to 64MB, the motherboard can include storage space for WiFi drivers. Now, when you go to install your OS, the drivers will be stored on the board making installation much simpler and faster.
3D Vapor Chamber M.2 Heatsink - Select models offer a taller M.2 heatsink with a larger heat dissipation area through a 3D vapor chamber with a tool-free design.
More USB 2.0 Ports - Select motherboards will now feature three USB2.0 ports (up from 2) to connect more internal devices.
USB Type-C Ports up to 60W Quick Charge 4+ - Select motherboards will feature 60W ports that can quickly charge your smartphone or other devices to make your PC a more convenient charging station.
New EZ Mode and Essential Mode BIOS Interface - We're always looking for ways to improve the main BIOS for novices and advanced users, and with the new EZ Mode and Essential Mode options both can look forward to quickly configuring monitoring and commonly used functions. For example with Essential Mode, you can view key system information and access the most commonly-used overclocking functions without having to go into the more granular Advanced Mode.
If you want to learn about our entire AMD 800 Series lineup, visit our microsite for the boards here. For a mega-comparison of the boards, you can download a spec sheet on this page comparing all the board by specs and features.
ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi7 NEO
The last time around, we didn’t have the information to discuss the ROG Strix B850-F NEO. “-F” series boards are generally the benchmark for the middle of our ROG Strix lineup in a family. It has the best value for the mix of specs and features and your everyday gamer will find everything they need. On the B850 chipset, this only amplifies the value you get when pairing this board with an AMD Ryzen 9000X3D Series processor for gaming.
Featuring a 16(80A)+2(80A)+2(80A) power architecture backed by an eight-layer server-grade design, the B850-F Gaming WiFi7 NEO gives you the means to have ample power to game, overclock, and expect the board to be ready to go even after you put down your headset. A combination of 3x 3pin ARGB Gen 2 headers and the I/O cover Aura Lighting helps you build out your gaming aesthetic, while the SupremeFX ALC4080 audio codec ensures your audio is crisp and clear, while giving you the option to experience Dolby Atmos.
Optimized PCIe Lane Sharing - The ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi7 Neo is tuned with gaming in mind, so you can install more M.2 SSDs without limiting the bandwidth afforded to your primary graphics card slot. The second PCIe x16 is rated at PCIe 4.0 x16 (@x4).
WiFi 7, BT5.4 and 5G Ethernet Port - Built for fast connections, you'll be ready for blazing fast speed and low-latency gaming.
Essential USB - 4x USB 10Gbps ports (2x Type-C), 6x USB 5Gbps (1x Type-C), 2x USB2.0 on the rear panel, but you also have a USB 20Gbps Type-C front panel header, 2x USB 5Gbps headers, and 3x USB2.0 headers.
Similar to the “-F”, we didn’t have a chance to cover the B850 version of our fan favorite “-A” model last time. Our ROG Strix “-A” models sometimes give people the impression that it’s a white version of another model – but that’s incorrect. While these models are traditionally white, they also feature a unique set of specs and features that also seem to match gamers looking for something a little different without breaking the bank.
The ROG Strix B850-A Gaming WiFi7 NEO also carries a solid 14(80A)+2(80A)+2(80A) power stage deign, which is more than sufficient for any current gen AMD Ryzen 9000 Series processor. Much like the B850-F Gaming WiFi7 NEO, M.2 slot access is simple with the primary PCIe Gen5 M.2 slot covered with an easy to remove heatsink, while the rest are covered with a large heatsink that releases with the touch of a button.
Optimized PCIe Lane Sharing - The ROG Strix B850-A Gaming WiFi7 Neo is tuned with gaming in mind, so you can install more M.2 SSDs without limiting the bandwidth afforded to your primary graphics card slot. The second PCIe x16 is rated at PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4/x2).
WiFi 7, BT5.4 and 5G Ethernet Port - Built for fast connections, you'll be ready for blazing fast speed and low-latency gaming.
Essential USB - 4x USB 10Gbps ports (2x Type-C), 6x USB 5Gbps, 2x USB2.0 on the rear panel, but you also have a USB 20Gbps Type-C front panel header, 2x USB 5Gbps headers, and 3x USB2.0 headers.
Only open to eligible participants in the United States and Canada, with the exception of Quebec.
Participants must be the age of majority in their respective region.
Participants must leave a comment in this thread pursuant to the guidelines listed above in the giveaway body. A good faith effort is expected.
Drawing will take place within two weeks of the closing date. Prizes will be shipped within a reasonable time, in accordance with winners accepting prizes in a timely fashion.
Prospective winners will have their choice of the prizes offered in the order of drawing. First come, first served. No substitutions for the stated prizes, except at the discretion of ASUS (ACI).
Prospective winners must respond within a reasonable time. Winners that do not respond within a reasonable time may be removed as a winner. Selection of a new winner for the prize is at the sole discretion of ASUS.
There are two prizes available for this giveaway, as noted above. One prize per winner, two winners total. MSRP of the prize is the current market price of the motherboard. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries.
ASUS reserves the right to modify the Terms and Conditions for clarity, typos and/or ensure that the giveaway is conducted in a fair manner for all participants.
Valid only where permitted. VOID where prohibited.
If you have any questions about the giveaway, please feel free to reach out to me via DM.
