Ryzen 5950X build advice - in particular for RAM

[Andrew Little]

I am looking for some advice on a system spec and build plan – in particular RAM compatibility with Ryzen 5 and any other general advice on a proposed system spec.
I have only ever configured and built 1 PC before so apologies for the stupid questions! As you can appreciate with a build this expensive, I don’t want to make a silly mistake so thought it best to ask the experts first.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Andrew

Specific RAM questions:
I want to pair a 5950X on a ASUS ROG Strix X570-E with 64 GB of RAM – what are the best options?
• 64 GB kit vs 2 x 32 GB kits?
• Brand/model etc
• I see some RAM is advertised as AMD Ryzen optimised and some is not - even if it has the same timings etc. – is it best to avoid anything that doesn’t say it is Ryzen optimised or can you get away with something cheaper that has the same timings?

For example I can find 64 GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro (CMW64GX4M4D3600C18) for £272 but this isn’t listed in the ASUS memory QVL whereas the VENGEANCE LPX 64GB (CMK64GX4M2D3600C18) for £270 is listed in the QVL but doesn’t say it is Ryzen optimised...

General system spec questions:

Looking over this proposed system spec below are there any mistakes/idiot choices/omissions etc. before I jump in with both feet?

How much real term performance increase is expected with a 6800 XT over a 6800 – is it worth the extra outlay to future proof a little or not? Also what advice can you give on which of the options to pick under each category?! I have previously used NVIDIA but want to have an all AMD build and it will avoid issues with NVIDIA on Linux also.

CPU - Ryzen 5950X
Motherboard - ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E Gaming
Graphics - RX 6800 or RX 6800 XT
PSU - Corsair HX850 or HX850i (depending on stock)
AIO Watercooler - Corsair H115i - exact model depends on stock
Case - Corsair 4000d
HDD - Generic fast HDD for storage
M.2 Drive(s) - 2x WG Black or Samsung 980 M.2 SSDs (1 for each OS)
RAM - VENGEANCE LPX 3600 MHz 64GB (2X32GB) CMK64GX4M2D3600C18

Background:
The system will be a workstation/gaming PC - the requirement for large number of cores and large RAM capacity come from the model simulations I need to run (currently on 8 threads taking about 4 weeks to run) but as thread ripper solutions are too expensive for my pocket I have settled on a 5950X build.
For supporting components I am not too fussed – in my proposed build I have specified ASUS and Corsair as these were what I have used on my previous build and it is still going strong 7-8 years later. Likewise I am not overly fussed for RGB support etc – plain sticks of RAM are just fine as this won’t be a show piece it will be tucked away under a desk.

Spend wise, to a point I am happy to invest in better components/things that will last longer but I don’t want it to run away totally – it does after all need to remain affordable and with some of the core system decisions e.g. CPU it is already an expensive build.

Thanks again.

 

[mickyflinn]

Hi

Dont worry about ryzen tuned ram if its on the qvl list then thats guaranteed compatibility but most memmory will work on the list or not.

I wouldn't rule out the new nvidia gpu's and would probably get whichever i could get first.

Workstation does your software use gpu acceleration if so that would leen me towards nvidia.

 

[Andrew Little]

Thanks for your reply - most of what I am using at the moment does not use gpu acceleration but it is a useful consideration that I had overlooked for future requirements.