Lol SPEC ME!

matt100

matt100

matt100

Soldato
Joined
31 Jul 2004
Posts
13,791
Location
Surrey
I'm nowhere near new to this but I've been out of the loop a long time so I am somewhat lost... Years of macs and NUCs has gotten me out of the loop.

I'm being brought back to PC gaming due to my unwillingness and inability to use a pad plus wanting to play some proper FPS stuff.

that and the fact I've managed to bag a 2070 super FOC :D

Anyway.. I've got a few criteria and I'm interested in what the experts would suggest I went with now..

The requirements:

Case: Smallish - it's going to live on a desk, ideally inverted as it will live on the left so a window on the left would be useless for now although I am moving so this is minor. I am quite taken with ITX/MATX though. Has to be classy though, I always used to build in things like Lian Li, I most prefer a simple box, clean lines etc. I had considered NZXT stuff, looks pretty boxy and black, I like that but what's the suggestion nowadays?

CPU: Not crazy money, mid range overclockable CPU but not stuck on intel or AMD, I'm a "pro" of nothing. Light basic office use and then light gaming, I won't be benching or editing anything or whatnot.

Mobo: Similar with mobo but want it to look good, I gather RGB is a thing nowadays? Also I like to make colour matched stuff so for example all black and orange or similar. Decent audio, built in wifi and ethernet and ideally NVME slots preferred.

Ram: I guess 16gb, again ideally RGB I suppose.. again I'm taken with the fact you can get pointless dimms that just have the lights, i like that!

Cooling: I used to be deep into custom water, not sure I can bothered now and I'm a bit freaked by the whole hardline thing that's happened since I stopped.. Maybe AIO? That does leave the 2070s though which I always remember the GPU being the noisy but and quiet is an absolute must as it'll likely be on 24/7.. or do I just man up and do custom water with soft tubes or even worse.. take the plunge all the way?

PSU: Fully modular, not overspecced, I'm never going to SLI etc

Is that it? It's mostly the case I'm stuck on.. I was thinking about a Phateks Enthoo Elvolv Shift but I'm not convinced the GPU cooling is up to it and I guess I can't do dual AIOs? Is there even a 2070s AIO?

So what I don't need: Windows, a screen, GPU, storage, peripherals.

No defined budget, I'm just not planning to go mental with anything.

HALP!
 
ryzen 3600
+ b450 tomahawk max
+ 16gb of whatever is cheapest 3200mhz ram (do recommend crucial ballistix LT 3200c16)
+ arctic cooling freezer 34
+ leadex 3 650w
+ phanteks p350x
 
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £714.11 (includes shipping: £13.20)
​



I'd stick with the stock cooler tbh. Just an idea. You get a nice new wifi RGB mobo with this one too. Will be an awesome little gaming system with a 2070 super.
 
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Ooh. haven't noticed that. I'd still stick with a 570 board though. If you're not totally adamant about built in wifi, you can pick the Aorus Elite up for £210.
 
 
@tamzzy @robfosters

Just go x570 Aorus ITX.. £210-30 for 6x 70amps and enough ram speed if you've got more sense . Blows the Tuf and Elite/Gaming X out the window .

Also, nzxt H USB 3.1 C ports now on sale, though heard they charge silly amounts

H200 has better airflow then aweful h500 @matt100

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £729.25 (includes shipping: £12.30)
​


Run ryzen 20 cores on that ^^^
If GPU is 2.5 slot then Neo G Mini or Silverstone RVZ ;)

**Spec wise, double the VRM power, double the PCB layering and better the warranty
 
Last edited:
orbitalwalsh said:
@tamzzy @robfosters

Just go x570 Aorus ITX.. £210-30 for 6x 70amps and enough ram speed if you've got more sense . Blows the Tuf and Elite/Gaming X out the window .

Also, nzxt H USB 3.1 C ports now on sale, though heard they charge silly amounts

H200 has better airflow then aweful h500 @matt100

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £729.25 (includes shipping: £12.30)
​


Run ryzen 20 cores on that ^^^
If GPU is 2.5 slot then Neo G Mini or Silverstone RVZ ;)

**Spec wise, double the VRM power, double the PCB layering and better the warranty
Click to expand...

He wants RGB RAM.
 
tamzzy said:
to be honest, i don't see the point in spending the same amount of money on the mobo as on the cpu. makes no sense whatsoever.
if 'just' getting the 3600 - pair it up with the b450 tomahawk max or carbon.
Click to expand...
Depends if he wants to drop something bigger in it later on.
 
robfosters said:
He wants RGB RAM.
Click to expand...

Extra 2 FPS :D

Been sharking at Zadak for theirs but not bite :(

tamzzy said:
to be honest, i don't see the point in spending the same amount of money on the mobo as on the cpu. makes no sense whatsoever.
if 'just' getting the 3600 - pair it up with the b450 tomahawk max or carbon.
Click to expand...

True , very true . Until b550 and Al support is ditched for it . CAnt blame vendors though .
 
Cheers all.. so it's Ryzen is it? Do I need a specific one to clock like intel K series? I come from a time when clocked the bus and you could clock anything!

And I don't see a world where I spend £200+ on a mobo, is that really necessary?

Also.. very unlikely to upgrade, I'll likely change everything in a few years not do a CPU upgrade
 
matt100 said:
Cheers all.. so it's Ryzen is it? Do I need a specific one to clock like intel K series? I come from a time when clocked the bus and you could clock anything!

And I don't see a world where I spend £200+ on a mobo, is that really necessary?

Also.. very unlikely to upgrade, I'll likely change everything in a few years not do a CPU upgrade
Click to expand...
No, they all overclock, but overclocking is kind of done by the chip itself now using PBO. There’s really very little gains to be made from manual overclocking. It’s a dying art with Ryzen.

If you don’t want to upgrade and want to spend less than £200, then go for tamzzy’s option of a B450 board with Wi-Fi. You may need to update the bios before you can use a zen 2 CPU though. If the board hasn’t got one of the new cpu less bios flashing functions, then you will also need an earlier ryzen to get up and running.
 
robfosters said:
No, they all overclock, but overclocking is kind of done by the chip itself now using PBO. There’s really very little gains to be made from manual overclocking. It’s a dying art with Ryzen.

If you don’t want to upgrade and want to spend less than £200, then go for tamzzy’s option of a B450 board with Wi-Fi. You may need to update the bios before you can use a zen 2 CPU though. If the board hasn’t got one of the new cpu less bios flashing functions, then you will also need an earlier ryzen to get up and running.
Click to expand...

And it's Ryzen based on price Vs performance? I would assume extra threads would be wasted on me.

Anyway of knowing for sure about the bios? Not mad about the idea of needing a spare CPU.

Also @anyone... Cooling? Fair to assume no option for GPU aio? Other than I think I've seen an NZXT option?
 
tamzzy said:
ryzen 3600
+ b450 tomahawk max
+ 16gb of whatever is cheapest 3200mhz ram (do recommend crucial ballistix LT 3200c16)
+ arctic cooling freezer 34
+ leadex 3 650w
+ phanteks p350x
Click to expand...

That is the correct option, with a case of your choice.

Also if you must have RGB things, then make sure you can run them all together with one piece of software.

X570 is a waste of time for the majority of builds, and for some reason a lot of people seem to think you need to make a huge deal about the VRM, which for the most part is complete overkill.
 
Ok so the difference between X570 and B450 is things like VRMs etc? I don't need an enthusiast board just something capable and good looking.

Can we concentrate on case and cooling for a moment?

Is NZXT the best option for a classy BLACK box with a window?

Are there many options for inverted cases with windows so I can have it on the left of my desk?
 
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