Help me fine tune my proposed new build

rypt

rypt

rypt

Soldato
Joined
22 Mar 2008
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After 10 years away from both PC building and also OCUK ... I finally have the need and desire for an actual desktop PC and have so far come up with the following.

This will be mainly used for some gaming (think Age of Empires, Anno, CS:GO, etc), and some CAD work + rendering, some video editing, all at 4k. I have an XBOX Series X for the non-PC gaming side of things already.

Please critique, suggest alternatives, etc.

Case - Lian Li Q58X4 - I am looking to fit everything in a very space constrained space on my desk (with only 32-33cm of max height)

CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or Ryzen 9 5900X or Ryzen 9 5950X - I know that Zen 4 is coming soon (H2 sometime), so leaning more towards 5800X or 5900X.
Not really considered Intel here, as they run hotter than AMD and I don't want to go AIO as yet.

Mobo - Asus ROG Strix B550-I or Asus ROG Strix X570-I - I'm leaning more towards the B550 given the fact that Zen 4 will use a whole new socket/chipset, so not sure it's worth to spend extra on the X570.

RAM - 32GB? 64GB? I definitely want 3600MHz or above so that I can go for having Infinity Fabric run at 1800. I also can't decide between CL16 and CL18
My shortlist is (all prices are OCUK):
Patriot Viper Steel 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz at around £100
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-29200C16 3600MHz at around £160
Patriot Viper Steel 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz at around £230

I'd love some G.Skill, but not sure I want to pay that much, and Ballistix isn't in stock anymore

GPU - Do I....
go AMD with something like a RX 6800? RX 6800 XT? I don't see the point of dropping down to a RX 6700 XT as the RX 6800 price is so close.
go Nvidia with something like a RTX 3070 TI?

PSU - feel like my only option is Silverstone SX700 700W 80 Plus Platinum SFX
I've love to go for a Seasonic Focus SPX-750 ... but that's not out yet!

Cooling - going to try air for now, and go with something like a Noctua or Alpenfohn Black Ridge - haven't had a chance to work out exactly what will fit in the case / mobo combo as yet.
I don't want an AIO, but am thinking of maybe (in the future!) going custom watercooling.
 
You said intel run hotter, but be warned, 5800x in particular is quite a toasty chip you need a good cooler. 5900 to a lesser extent but I'd still recommend a good cooler.

Also, your comment about an AIO, don't assume an AIO provides better cooling then and air cooler, I'd actually say the top end air coolers provide more cooling then an AIO.

However, they take up a lot of space, and you said you need a case on the smaller side so your need to check dimensions. I'd go for the best air cooler you can fit on those chips personally, if you don't want an AIO.

I'd recommend 5800x/5900x, it really depends if your software uses the cores, in which case 5900x is more or less a no brainer.

If it doesn't, the 5800x is cheaper and I'd argue the better chip for gaming if you overclock at all, because games wont use the extra cores and from what I've seen in test results, the trend is you tend to get a better more consistent 8 cores on a 5800x Vs 5900x, better overclocking, better single core performance. It's marginal between the two though.

RAM, in my humble opinion, 64GB these days, if your CAD software uses it then definitely, and ok in most games you won't use 32gb, but one example my modded cities skylines already hits about 40GB. If you can, try and get it so you are only using 2 DIMMS, it puts less stress on the memory controller.

CL16/18 yes a difference, also cost, you gotta weigh that up. 3600mhz is also where I would go.

GPU, unfortunately it's a bad time to buy, with demand going from mining, pending April electricity prices on top, you may (likely) to see GPU prices start rapidly going down, but I guess at the end of the day you could wait forever... Just be warned your GPU is likely to loose value a lot quicker on a shorter space of time than normal.
 
The above points about temps are really important when building in a SFF case. Even a 5600x gets toasty in my (second SFF) case, to the point that I usually have the side panel removed. Personally if you can wait I would get the Ryzen 5700 when it comes out as that uses less power, so should generate less heat. If you want to buy a 6800 or 6800xt they are obviously overpriced, but make sure that they fit and I would get the one with best cooling.

This is the air cooler I use, Noctua NH-U9S PU Cooler - 92mm | OcUK (overclockers.co.uk). Easy to fit, but even with an extra fan added the cpu gets toasty.

I would stick with the b550, as an itx board is by its very form factor cut down, so you will not get all the benefits of a b570 anyway
 
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Good shout there ... somehow I totally missed that the 5700X was only days away from launch. Thanks both for the feedback!

I think that solves lots of my plan! Lian Li Q58X4 / ASUS ROG B550-I / Ryzen 7 5700X / "probably" 32GB C18 unless I score a good deal on something better / "probably" RX 6800


Guess that gives me about 2 weeks to see if GPU prices keep coming down, and also fully plan out my cooling and work out what SSDs I want :)
 
Figured I should post an update ... finally placed the order today for the following:

Case - Lian Li Q58X4
Mobo - Asus ROG Strix B550-I
CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
GPU - Asus Radeon RX 6700 XT TUF OC
RAM - Patriot Viper Steel 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3600MHz C18
PSU - Corsair SF750
SSD - WD Black SN850 1TB
Heatsink - Alpenfohn Black Ridge
and some extra fans .... 2x Lian-Li UNI SL140 (140mm) RGB, 1x Noctua NF-A12
 
For anyone reading this in the future ... don't make the same mistake as myself and try to use the Alpenfohn Black Ridge with standard RAM on this board. The heatsink doesn't clear the RAM lol!

So the heatsink and all the fans will need to be returned ... and a Corsair 240mm AIO is now in the mail for delivery tomorrow :)
Now I just have to fit a commander core ... instead of using my plan to use the built in Lian Li controller.
... maybe I use the Lian Li fans with the Corsair AIO ... dunno!

rypt said:
Figured I should post an update ... finally placed the order today for the following:

Case - Lian Li Q58X4
Mobo - Asus ROG Strix B550-I
CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Cooling - Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX 240mm AIO
GPU - Asus Radeon RX 6700 XT TUF OC
RAM - Patriot Viper Steel 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3600MHz C18
PSU - Corsair SF750
SSD - WD Black SN850 1TB
Heatsink - Alpenfohn Black Ridge
and some extra fans .... 2x Lian-Li UNI SL140 (140mm) RGB, 1x Noctua NF-A12
Click to expand...

On another note .... the 6700 XT TUF clears the front case connector PCB by about 1mm or 2mm! Talk about a tight fit!
 
can't speak for the Ryzen 3 ... but the above build posted first time just now :)

(now to install Windows haha)
 
Final report .... everything is working together perfectly! Really glad I went for the Corsair AIO in the end.

Here's the result after 15mins of combined Prime95 small FFT + FurMark. This is running in "OC" mode in the ASUS/AMD control panels, however I've not tried to manually OC the system to get the DRAM timing down as yet.

raaG38x.png
 
Will let you know when I get a chance to try to mess about with the infinity fabric + ram settings to see how fast the ram runs

at the moment my IF is at 1333 - so the ram is only doing 2666mhz
 
Just tried finally ... and seem to have no issues running RAM at 3600 C18 / IF at 1800 (so far).
 
rypt said:
For anyone reading this in the future ... don't make the same mistake as myself and try to use the Alpenfohn Black Ridge with standard RAM on this board. The heatsink doesn't clear the RAM lol!

So the heatsink and all the fans will need to be returned ... and a Corsair 240mm AIO is now in the mail for delivery tomorrow :)
Now I just have to fit a commander core ... instead of using my plan to use the built in Lian Li controller.
... maybe I use the Lian Li fans with the Corsair AIO ... dunno!



On another note .... the 6700 XT TUF clears the front case connector PCB by about 1mm or 2mm! Talk about a tight fit!
Click to expand...
doing a build for a friend with similar specs, is there much clearance for the corsair AIO? planning on using a cooler with a slightly thicker rad.
 
if you are using SFX/SFX-L PSU this case has lots of clearance on the top. I have another 6-8mm clearance left over before the riser/mobo tray.

You can also fit a 280mm radiator in this instead of the 240mm like what I went for.


Not the best pics - but the best I could take without having to re-arrange the desk to pull the case out from it's cubby hole

hJbc1Sx.jpg


JkGI6wQ.jpg
 
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