First upgrade in a while - pretty out of touch!

AlexTrickle

AlexTrickle

AlexTrickle

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So I'm finally looking to do a new build as my current setup (7700k and gtx1080) is getting on and I can feel the limitations starting to creep in.

I used to do new build almost every 2 years but this build is like 6 years old and I'm very out of the loop.

My personal needs are mostly gaming but things like WoW and Minecraft but I've recently started enjoying the latter with pretty fancy shader packs which are actually pretty taxing on my system and getting big fps drops.

I intend to re-use my case, PSU and storage so don't need these. Pretty much all my builds have been Intel/Nvidia but some initial research has said the Ryzen 7800X3D is currently top dog for gaming specifically?

My initial first parse in my basket is as follow:
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £1,487.95 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

I'll probably add a H100i AIO (basically the new version of what I currently have) for cooling.

One big question I have is that OCUK doesn't seem to sell Windows USBs anymore? I always use to buy Windows from OCUK to install with a new fresh build. The only copies I see are on a DVD apparently - I remember these used to be sold in USB form to boot from - has this completely changed? DVD seems to be a little backwards no?
 
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ben1987 said:
Most people download Windows from the Microsoft website onto their own usb drive and then purchase an activation key for about 20 quid. You can find these on Google.

Do you need a mobo with all those features if your main use is gaming?

www.overclockers.co.uk

Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Order Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

Something like this is almost half the price and would probably allow you to get a 4070ti super with the change.

6000mhtz ddr5 seems to be the sweet spot for AM5 and the 7800X3D so you could possibly look at slightly faster ram for about a tenner more.
Click to expand...
No I probably don't need as fancy a Motherboard feature wise. I do have my case on display so looks are important still; so I don't want a plain black board with no lights and generally 'ugly'. I guess that's reasonably important to specify.
I think I was naturally drawn to the ROG Strix as I've always had good experiences with ROG motherboards but when I was younger I did actually get into overclocking (tbh not something I'm fussed with now as my time is more limited!)

Thank you for the spot on the RAM - I wasn't sure what speed RAM would work out of the box without any tweaks. I know a long time ago the highest speed RAM often required special settings to work properly and wanted to avoid that kind of thing this time around!
 
Mr Oxide said:
My only gripe is buy a new PSU.
Click to expand...

Haha I had a feeling someone would say this! I do understand the importance of PSUs but mine is 1000W Platinum and its been well maintained, not even close to stretched over the last few years so I'm reasonably confident in its healthiness. Is there any official way to test this out of interest?
 
From the sounds of most of the replies I think the biggest/most obvious saving I can make is on the motherboard so I will likely drop that.

I see most people recommending B650 boards - is there very little performance decrease between B650 and X670? As mentioned I'm very out of the loop and even then always been on team Intel so AMD is a first!
 
Okay thanks everyone I'll come back with a revised basket tomorrow I think - all very welcome suggestions and comments.

ben1987 said:
Most people download Windows from the Microsoft website onto their own usb drive and then purchase an activation key for about 20 quid. You can find these on Google.
Click to expand...
Circling back to this - I only have old/small USB sticks - what kind of size do you need for the Windows install file? If its this simple then this is definitely what I'll do. Do you need to format the USB in any particular way?
 
Thank you again for the replies. I have decided so far on the following:

1. 100% going for the 7800X3D for CPU

2. Dropping down to a B650 board.
I was looking at the ROG Strix B650 boards and saw there is a 650E-E and 650E-F and couldn't tell what the difference is for one to be £60 cheaper? (Leaning towards the £60 cheaper one as a result)

3. GPU - agree no need to spend extra on the TUF version of the 4700 Super. So I've gone for the basic ASUS model the Dual EVO.

4. RAM upgraded to 6000mhz per recommendations above.

Basket now looks like:

My basket at OcUK:


Included both motherboards for comparison

Edit: This does leave me with a little headroom budget wise and after a few people mentioned it I am considering a new PSU as well. Better safe than sorry. Would 850W be enough for this?
 
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail
CP-3DT-AM
£500 (incl. VAT)
£350 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Asus ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard
MB-6JW-AS
£280 (incl. VAT)
£240 (incl. VAT)
FREE DELIVERY
Find out more
Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel
MEM-CRS-01124
£150 (incl. VAT)
£110 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Asus GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Dual EVO 12GB GDDR6X PCI-Express Graphics Card
GRA-ASU-02141
£800 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard
MB-6JX-AS
£200 (incl. VAT)
£190 (incl. VAT)
FREE DELIVERY
Find out more
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Tetras said:
A decent 850 is overkill, but it leaves you room for upgrades. I wouldn't replace a Leadex Platinum though, unless it is an antique.
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It is about 7 years old and never ran close to capacity even when I did overclock. I'm not sure what classes as an antique in PSU lifetime?
 
Update - parts are ordered and arriving tomorrow. Very excited!

As people said my PSU should be fine I decided to put the spare budget into the GPU and actually got a 4070 Ti Super! It is the basic Zotac model but still a better card than I initially thought I would get!

Now I'm going to try and sort a windows install on a USB today ready for tomorrow.
 
Components arrived.
CPU slotted, RAM fitted and heatsink for the H100RGB is fitted. All smooth no problem.
Little confused that the block has a 4pin and a 3pin coming out of it. The online instructions from Corsair only refer to the 3pin.

Corsair instructions say to attach to CPU fan header.
Asus mobo instructions say to attach to AIO Pump header?

Which is better for the 3pin and what should I do with the 4pin?
 
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Tetras said:
I'd assume the 4 pin is for the RGB, but I haven't even looked at the manual or any reviews.
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That would make some sense, I'll see if it's mentioned at all later in the Corsair documentation.

Side note: surprised that Corsair don't provide a printed manual/guide of any kind in their box!!
 
Okay so seemingly all gone well build wise. Booting fine, seemed to install windows fine. But then on Windows setup I get to:
"Let's connect you to a network
You'll need an Internet connection to continue setting up your device. Once connected, you'll get the latest features and security updates".

I've tried both the WiFi antenna that comes with the motherboard (in a room I know the WiFi is very strong) and plugging directly via ethernet.
Nothing comes up and no option to skip or anything. I'm just stuck on this screen.
Help?
 
nlel1975 said:
I had the same issue but luckily I had an old WiFi stick which automatically installs windows drivers when you plug it in so I was able to continue. If you search google you’ll find there’s a way around this.
Click to expand...

Good to know its not an isolated issue and a quick Google showed me plenty of complaints about this.

Trying a workaround with shift+f10 to bring up command prompt and bypass the "out of box experience" which has given me an option for limited setup. Not sure if this will cause problems down the line?
 
nlel1975 said:
Should be fine, the reason why you have this problem is because neither your WiFi or network card have drivers installed so you can’t continue. I have an old WiFi stick which installed the drivers when I plugged it in.

You’ll have to install the drivers when it’s been installed.
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Doing all the driver downloads onto a USB at the moment from my laptop.

Such a bizarre default setting though from Windows - seems a huge oversight!?
 
Okay seem to be all up and running, happy days.

Finally thing in CPU-Z it says my DRAM frequency is only 2400mhz. Is there a setting in BIOS I need to activate to get my RAM at full speed? I seem to remember back with my old Intel board I needed to do something similar but first time on an AMD board so not sure what to look for?
 
moppy89 said:
And here's me thinking this whole section of the forum is just for daydreaming, not actually planning purchases!
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Haha a rare follow through?

Regarding the EXPO I will try it now this evening after work. I have now extensively run the PC over Sunday and Monday stretching its legs with some overly demanding/fancy Minecraft shaders and Portal RTX. Seems to be running flawlessly which is always a great relief, even more so as it was a while since my last build. Thank you again for everyone's help.

I think only surprise is that the Ryzen seems to run quite warm - at sustained 100% load it is hitting about 75-78 degrees. I don't believe this is dangerous but still hotter than I maybe expected?
 
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Tetras said:
.This is kind of long, but if you have 20 minutes it is interesting:
www.youtube.com

Current CPUs are Overheating? The Honest Opinion of an Intel Engineer

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/der8auer---------------------------------------------------------Music / Credits:Outro:Dylan Sitts feat. HDBee...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
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Just finished watching - quite interesting that they're intentionally working at closer to limit temps now. Eases my mind about my temps given they were talking about 90+degrees.

Edit: Most important part - edited the old signature :D
 
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