2700x build - Workstation

[poster86]

Hi,


I would really appreciate any help/info as I am struggling on what components I should get.

I need to build a workstation, for VMs and database work - So cores and RAM are important. I don't do any gaming whatsoever and I can't be bothered with overclocking unless it’s going to offer me significant performance gains and a stable environment for not too much hassle.

I have decided on the 2700x as it seems to hit the sweet spot for price/performance ? Ram - I may start with a single 16GB module but I think I will end up needing 32GB Ram quite quickly. I have got 2 existing Samsung SATA3 SSD and a SATA3 HDD which I will continue to use for now.

I want to future proof any build I do now and ensuring that it’s stable and reliable

I think I want a mATX motherboard, reading around the ASRock B450M Pro4 seems decent enough. The only concern is that B450M has as DVI-D as one of the outputs, whilst the larger ATX B450 Pro4 has displayport 1.2 instead. I always use 2 monitors, this could end up being 3, also I’d like to future proof for 4k displays.

But isn’t it a moot point, as I need to buy a graphics card anyway, and I’ll be using outputs from there ? In which case can someone please recommend a budget video card with 3 outputs.


Is the ASRock B450M Pro4 or ASRock B450 Pro4 a good choice (they seem vey similar) or are there others I should consider? Many Thanks

 

[blaineoliver]

Video outputs on the board are only for the APUs that AMD sell, the 2200G and 2400G etc.

This time around the VRMs on the B450 boards have been under scrutiny and MSI boards are favoured for low temperatures and stability. The MSI b450 tomahawk looks good. Any board will allow you to upgrade CPU until 2020.

No real need to overclock just make sure the 2700x is using turbo and you can get 4.3ghz on some cores under load, the better your cooling the more the CPU can boost itself (up until a certain point).

If you need bandwidth then 2*8GB sticks would be better and you need a minimum speed of 3000mhz for Ryzen as the between core communication via infinity fabric runs at half the speed of the ram. Add another set for 32GB total when you need to. The team Vulcan ram rubs really happily with Ryzen CPUs.

For a graphics card with 3 outputs:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-198-gi.html
You can only run two outputs from any combination of hdmi, DVI or VGA. Regardless of the graphics card. This one has DVI, hdmi and displayport so will be fine. Display port doesn't have the limitation of the other connectors in limiting the number of outputs.

This card should do, could go for something older if you wanted but I went for something that wouldn't run too hot. It can do 4k with HDR over both hdmi and displayport and it can do hevc video encoding and decoding which is useful.

 

[poster86]

Hey, Thanks for the info.

Better VRM = more stable and potential longer lasting board ? Is it relevant even though I have no plans to overclock ?

Looking at your suggested tomahawk MB, I saw this board, It has integrated WiFi, 2 M2 slots Bluetooth and half-decent sound too. And only costs about £20 more.

MSI AMD Ryzen B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC

My question is the VRM on the B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC as good as the Tomahawk ? After all thats one of the main selling points of MSI MB

 

[chroniclard]

Actually if multi core speed is important the 2700X is usually fairly easy to clock to 4.2 all cores with good cooling. At stock it will generally do 4 ish all core workloads.
Get good quality b-die ram.

 

[blaineoliver]

Hey, Thanks for the info.

Better VRM = more stable and potential longer lasting board ? Is it relevant even though I have no plans to overclock ?

Looking at your suggested tomahawk MB, I saw this board, It has integrated WiFi, 2 M2 slots Bluetooth and half-decent sound too. And only costs about £20 more.

MSI AMD Ryzen B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC

My question is the VRM on the B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC as good as the Tomahawk ? After all thats one of the main selling points of MSI MB

The VRMs running cooler does give you headroom for overclock that for sure, but the main part I saw for your needs is that it provides stability and longevity as the board will last longer if the VRMS don't get so hot.

This is the comparison I'm referring to regarding VRMs.
https://youtu.be/EqQcgwz1hYA

I can't be certain but from my looking it seems like he same VRM circuits are used across the MSI b450 range.

Hopefully that's answered your questions? Happy to help if you have any more.

 

[poster86]

This is my shortlist so far and would appreciate any advice:

MB: MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
CPU: 2700X

Memory:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...hannel-kit-black-cmk16gx4m2b30-my-445-cs.html
Or
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-Ba...&sr=1-2&keywords=crucial+ballistix+elite+16gb


Video Card
You suggested the RX 550 which is £100 But I thought I may go for a 4GB RX560 card, which allows for occasional low- res gaming for when my nephew wants to use it. Plus I’ll be running Linux, VMs and maybe hackintosh – I’ve read that AMD Video card is probably better for this. Any good ? Overclockers don’t do any RX560 cards, however I have seen this for £140.

Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 560 OC V2
https://www.**********/products/gigabyte-amd-radeon-rx-560-gaming-oc-4g-v2-gddr5-graphics-card

But then I saw this about V2 of the card
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/review/graphics-cards/gigabyte-radeon-rx-560-gaming-oc-review-3661467/


PSU - No idea. I know I’ll have 2 SSDs and 1 HDDs and of course above video card. Not much else.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-kl-600-600w-80-plus-bronze-power-supply-ca-012-kk.html

Case - I guess just personal preference, I would like something as small as possible.

 

[blaineoliver]

Hi

Nice choices so far, will give my opinions below:

Motherboard:
MSI gaming Pro carbon - good choice if you're not reusing old SSDs then you should get an NVMe drive as the speed improvements are massive.

Memory :
I have the exact same ram running on a 1700x, it's perfect for Ryzen and has a little headroom for running faster than spec.

Video card:
I did think the 560 might be a better option but for the fact you said you never gamed I didn't want to suggest anything more expensive. Good research though, seems the newer version has no pci-e connector so is slower. I've seen cards around the £160 mark (the link you sent has been censored, I wouldn't recommend the V2 version from what the review has said. The Rx 570 is found around £200 and doubles the shader count again, but then costs more.

Power supply:
Always recommend a decent one such as:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/be-q...0w-80-plus-silver-power-supply-ca-11p-bq.html
People seen unfair on kolink PSUs and typically you will be told to get Corsair (regularly you can get them cheap as 'refurbs' from another site). You probably could get away with 400w, 500w gives you a little headroom.

Case:
Depends on your preference to the design, a couple I like are:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-comrade-midi-tower-white-windowed-ca-183-bx.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aerocool-aero-500-midi-tower-case-black-window-ca-153-ae.html
I like the aerocool as has space for dvd drive still and a 240mm radiator at the top or 2*120mm fans for good airflow.

Are you using stock cooler for the CPU? If you're considering after market the id cooling frostflow 240 cooler can be had for around £50 or less, I have the 280mm version and it's fantastic.

 

[poster86]

I've been busy with work but bought a couple of components as I saw them on offer.

MSI RX 570 ARMOR 8GB OC GDDR5 - £185, comes with 3 free games - Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey, Strange Brigade®, and Star Control®: Origins .
I'm not a gamer, but it seems like good vaule for a 570 with 8GB RAM. The games are a bonus for kids are around. What attracted me to card was 5 outputs, 3 DisplayPorts, HDMI and DVI. It has AMD Eyefinity, means it actually support upto 5 simultaneous displays ?! The downside is that there is a MK2 available, which I think only brings better cooling ? Any thoughts on this card/price ?

EVGA 650 GQ, 80+ GOLD 650W, Semi Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, Power Supply 210-GQ-0650-V3 - £62
It was Tier 2 on this review https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated
I know nothing on PSU, but it seems like its powerful enough with some to spare. Does it have all neccassary connections?

I'll be ordering the Ryzen 2700x and the MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC from here. Case - I'll have a look around

 

[blaineoliver]

Good price on the RX570 and yes that card should support 5 displays. There is usually a maximum of 2 outputs from hdmi/DVI/VGA outputs. And then no limit on DP monitors depending on the amount of connectors on the card. Price wise seems pretty great to me!

The PSU looks plenty to me and a gold rating efficiency wise means it will be using good components. I can't see any connectors you would be missing from that PSU.

Awesome build so far, make sure your ram is fast (3000mhz or higher) and that will be an epic build.

 

[MyBrainz]

I've been busy with work but bought a couple of components as I saw them on offer.

MSI RX 570 ARMOR 8GB OC GDDR5 - £185, comes with 3 free games - Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey, Strange Brigade®, and Star Control®: Origins .
I'm not a gamer, but it seems like good vaule for a 570 with 8GB RAM. The games are a bonus for kids are around. What attracted me to card was 5 outputs, 3 DisplayPorts, HDMI and DVI. It has AMD Eyefinity, means it actually support upto 5 simultaneous displays ?! The downside is that there is a MK2 available, which I think only brings better cooling ? Any thoughts on this card/price ?

EVGA 650 GQ, 80+ GOLD 650W, Semi Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, Power Supply 210-GQ-0650-V3 - £62
It was Tier 2 on this review https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated
I know nothing on PSU, but it seems like its powerful enough with some to spare. Does it have all neccassary connections?

I'll be ordering the Ryzen 2700x and the MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC from here. Case - I'll have a look around

Check my sig.. i have same EVGA PSU running this lot and i have no problems with it. The PSU does give some coil whine on a cold boot for the first 10-15 minutes but it completely goes away after that. I always have it on ECO Mode too.