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New US$85 - Ryzen 5 1600 AF - 6-core 12-thread CPU

jonnypb said:
Thanks, I bit the bullet and went for it! Along with the Tomahawk Max and 2 x 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3200Mhz at a bargain price... Now just to find an NVMe and GPU!!
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Good choice. I'd consider an Intel 660p, headline figures don't look that impressive but in the real world you'll never notice. GPU is harder, no bargains but the 5600XT looks decent performance for the money.
 
If you shop around the famous auction site is doing a code which means RX5700 cards for under £300. Also if you don't want some of the problems of the Intel 660p,you can get the WD Blue SN550 for around £100.
 
CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
If you shop around the famous auction site is doing a code which means RX5700 cards for under £300. Also if you don't want some of the problems of the Intel 660p,you can get the WD Blue SN550 for around £100.
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What is wrong iwth the 660p? Only asking as I use one in my PC.
 
willhub said:
What is wrong iwth the 660p? Only asking as I use one in my PC.
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The new Intel 665p looks to have some decent improvements though:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-ssd-665p-m2-nvme-ssd/2

However,you can see the 660p and SN550 compared there. The SN550 beats the 660p in all the tests,and is also more efficient. Its not as fast as an SN700/SN700 or SX8200/SX8200 PRO,but if it was available when I was buying an NVME SSD,I probably would have gotten it instead of my SN700 TBH! The SN550 is a TLC drive unlike the 660p,so it means it tends to have higher write speeds,better endurance(double that of the 660p),and has less performance drop off doing large file transfers(look at the system restore benchmark),especially if the drive is starting to get filled. Some of these problems are inherent to QLC drives as the Crucial P1 shares some of the same problems.

My mate has a 660p(both the 1TB and 2TB models),so I do see a marked difference with the SN700 - sure its faster than an HDD,but the SN550 costs the same as the 660p if you shop around,has the same 5 year warranty and RMA is located in the UK too. So the one advantage the 660p has which was cost isn't there anymore.

Edit!!

Another review,but comparing it to the QLC Crucial P1:
https://www.legitreviews.com/wd-blue-sn550-1tb-nvme-sdd-review_216104/3

As around £100 for the 1TB SN550 it really is a good SSD for the money - the SN750,SX8200,970 EVO,etc cost £30 to £50 more.
 
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212.159.5.208 said:
So I found the CPU for £83.90.
New to AMD so not sure what MOBO and ram combo. Can’t anyone advice please
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As above, the MSI B450 Tomahawk Max (and make sure it's the 'Max' version) is the best budget board around. The MSI B450 Mortar Max is also a very decent board and about a tenner cheaper if you'd prefer the MATX form factor. As for RAM, grab a 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT kit (3200MHz/CL16). They're some of the cheapest around, yet use Micron Rev.E memory chips that get on very well with Ryzen. If you use the Ryzen DRAM Calculator, you'll be able to tighten up the timings and increase the speed easily. Even on a first-gen chip I had 3466/CL14 running without issue.
 
Msi carbon is my fave,wifi,bluetooth,two m.2 slots and better onboard audio

As for memory patriot viper steel
 
The only problem with the Carbon is that there's no 'Max' version, so you only get the cut-down 'GSE Lite' BIOS due to the fact that MSI skimped on the size of their BIOS chips and can't fit everything on there now post-Zen 2. It's missing some features like saving profiles and the graphs for fan control, along with a simplified UI that looks like something from a decade ago (not necessarily a bad thing).
 
Mine arrived yesterday, AF stepping, and initial setup was a breeze, didn't even have to re-install windows moving over from an I5-2500K to this. Not had a chance to benchmark yet, but it all just feels snappier to work with, have a very happy daughter :)
 
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