Looking at one of these to upgrade my every so slightly ageing 1055T....but also tempted by the 1700.

For gaming, you would be losing out and it would be a downgrade. For tasks such as rendering and video work the ryzen will be better as it has more cores.

​FX8320E and OC about 40% or so for maximum cost effectiveness :wink:

So apart from core count/speed is there any significant difference in performance between this one and 1600x, 1700x and 1800x.

Same here, my 1055T still going strong at ~3.8Ghz but it's time to let it retire after long service. Considered 1700 as well but don't use PC that much this days to justify circa £100 extra so went with this one. Thanks OP

Any recommendations on an AM4 board? Not for gaming.... I'm thinking a B350 or X370? Not sure what; if much difference there is between them but advice appreciated..... (personally not Gigabyte, not a good track record)

Nope, not really. The X chips have a slightly larger stepping for their XFR but if you're going to OC then this is irrelevant, if you're not OCing (they're all unlocked, or K chips in Intel terms) then there's also very little difference, XFR is pretty useless for consumers.

This will also include a stock cooler and fun at slightly lower voltage.

Get the cheapest B350 you can find that has the features you need. Use Pcpartpicker site.

In your case a pricey board on x370 with better VRM phasing is likely a waste.

Asus B350 Prime or MSI Mortar perhaps.