New build spec check please 2020

Willowbark

Willowbark

Willowbark

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
278
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Elsewhere
Hi,

My name is Willowbark and it's been 5 years, 4 months and 21 days since my last build. I've had a few minor lapses in this time: Swapping out HDDs for SDD, upgrading memory and I've reseated a few processors on the sly.

Really pleased with the machine from my last spec check post:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/threads/new-build-spec-check-please.18666789/#post-27931352

i built two machines with these specs and they've been brilliant games workhorses but they're starting to show their age, so i'm looking to do the same again. to keep it simple i've got the spec below as if it was one machine. again the budget is approx £1k each, but is flexible for the right component. i think the ddr4 is on the limit of speeds the board can support. if anyone can point out any obvious gaffs or things i've missed in recent trends i'd be really grateful.

ASUS TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING (Socket AM4) DDR4 MATX Motherboard £83.99

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail £299.99

Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit £79.99

Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card £379.99

be quiet! Pure Power 11 400W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply £59.99
be quiet! Silent Wings 3 120mm Fan (3 @ £18.95) £56.85

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £6.49

£967.29 inc Vat

Corsair Carbide mATX cases and SDDs still going strong. I could re-use the PSU too, but I used to consider that a consumable. Thanks in advance :)
 
500-550w is better for RX5700XT .

Solid card . Although rtx 3070 launch end of next month will hammer it though for £450-550 price range
.

Push b450 Tomahawk at least over the TUF

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £992.02 (includes shipping: £11.10)


7 yr warranty I think in the PSU

OCUK is quite heavy on 3700x pricing .

2080S/2070s pricing should shoot down on the 17th , or at least next month​
 
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Dropping a 3070 into your old system would have the biggest impact on performance.

You say they're starting to show their age, could you elaborate please.

What are you gaming at ?
 
Willowbark said:
I could re-use the PSU too, but I used to consider that a consumable.
Click to expand...
Well, what PSU did you end up with?

For new one would start from this:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-formula-series-650w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-ca-22z-bx.html
5700 XT is power hungry with factory OC'd non-references cards going even past 250W.
So 550W would be pretty much sensible absolute minimum.

And RTX 3070 isn't really much better with NVidia's reference card TDP being 220W.
 
Thanks folks, super speedy responses as ever :)

Lots of issues:
Overheating in summer - Total strip down of both machines was needed to clean filters and fans. Despite care taken they still sound like an Avro Lancaster taking off on start-up.
GPU fans randomly stop
Cooler fan randomly stops
Also getting BSOD issues with PC2 and unable to update the mainboard driver because error message "this computer doesn't meet the minimum requirements"

Games:
Replaying the Witcher 3 and Shadow of Tomb raider with bigger monitor was a struggle
I'd like to be ready for Assassin's Creed Valhalla on something more than basic display settings

Good idea about the PSU warranty, but I can't say it's faulty for sure and with other errors I think I've had my money's worth out of them

Thanks for those swap-out suggestions, I'll have a look
 
Willowbark said:
Thanks folks, super speedy responses as ever :)

Lots of issues:
Overheating in summer - Total strip down of both machines was needed to clean filters and fans. Despite care taken they still sound like an Avro Lancaster taking off on start-up.
GPU fans randomly stop
Cooler fan randomly stops
Also getting BSOD issues with PC2 and unable to update the mainboard driver because error message "this computer doesn't meet the minimum requirements"

Games:
Replaying the Witcher 3 and Shadow of Tomb raider with bigger monitor was a struggle
I'd like to be ready for Assassin's Creed Valhalla on something more than basic display settings

Good idea about the PSU warranty, but I can't say it's faulty for sure and with other errors I think I've had my money's worth out of them

Thanks for those swap-out suggestions, I'll have a look
Click to expand...

really is dishing it out. able to do a fresh reinstall ? latest bios as well ?
 
I think I've got a plan - I'll make one good one from these two clunkers with just a few new fans and maybe a second hand GTX 1080Ti. Then buy orbitalwalsh's recommended list:
Total: £992.02 (includes shipping: £11.10)
Thanks again folks :D
 
Willowbark said:
I think I've got a plan - I'll make one good one from these two clunkers with just a few new fans and maybe a second hand GTX 1080Ti. Then buy orbitalwalsh's recommended list:
Total: £992.02 (includes shipping: £11.10)
Thanks again folks :D
Click to expand...

same priciing, but proobing from 7-5 yr warranty. might just give more wiggle room for GPU power in future

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-formula-series-650w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-ca-22z-bx.html

though GAMING OC does draw lower power with lower temps and nice clock speeds

The Gigabyte EX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8G averaged 186W during the test. This draw is lower than the other 5700 XT’s found on the graph. The Nitro+ averages 208W and the ASRock the most at 216W. The reason we see a difference is mostly due to lower clocks and voltage needed to sustain those values.
Click to expand...

https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/gigabyte-rx-5700-xt-gaming-oc-8g/4

corsair RMA IS much better!
 
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