Time for a new PC - Advice appreciated

Associate
Joined
19 Jan 2017
Posts
10
Hi

I am considering building a new system as my current system is getting old. I built it some time ago, so would be grateful for some advice and recommendations on the current available hardware.

CPU

My current system has an i5 3570K processor and I later regretted not getting an i7. It seems that the AMD Ryden chips are the way to go.

Price is obviously a consideration, so the RYZEN 9 5950X is not really an option. That leaves the RYZEN 9 5900X, the RYZEN 7 5800X or the RYZEN 5 5600X

I have read that for gaming, there is a minimal performance difference between the RYZEN 5 5600X & the RYZEN 9 5900X. So, is it worth the extra cost for the extra 6 cores which for gaming only provide a minimal benefit? Or, for future-proofing, is the RYZEN 9 the only real option?

MOTHERBOARD

I have a full size tower, so will get a full size ATX version, and I have been looking at the Asus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (AMD AM4) B550 ATX MOTHERBOARD. This seems a decent board, or are there any other recommendations?

I do not need one with Wi-Fi capability.

I have read that some MB's will need a BIOS update before they will take the RYZEN 9 chip. From that, it seems that the chip does not need to be in / working on the board to flash the BIOS. Is that the case?

I expect that this would be done through the BIOS flashback utility BEFORE the chip is installed?

RAM

I want at least 32GB, possibly 64GB. Do you get better performance if all 4 DIMM slots are occupied, and if so does it make that much difference?

If it does, I'll need 4 X 16GB modules, but was only planning on getting 32GB at the moment, adding more later if needed, though some say that this is not recommended as it should all be from the same batch. How much of an issue is this, as packs of 4 modules aren't that common?

Is 3600 MHz RAM the best speed to get?

SSD

Looking at the Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-E 3.0 X4 NVME SOLID STATE DRIVE, though some reviews question its durability. Is the WD BLUE SN550 500GB NVME M.2 2280 PCIE GEN3 SOLID STATE DRIVE a better option?

I only need a boot drive, the data drives I have will be moved over.

COOLING

The i5 runs pretty cool, even under heavy load. I believe that the RYZEN 7 & 9 run quite hot, but the RYZEN 5 doesn't seem to have this issue.

I have an Artic cooler at the moment which is fine, so if I get a RYZEN 5 I am looking at the ARCTIC FREEZER 34 ESPORTS DUO WHITE CPU COOLER - 2 X 120MM. Will this do the job?

How much cooling is needed for the RYZEN 7 & 9?

GRAPHICS

I have a RTX 2060 Super at the moment. It’s not at the top of the range but will be fine for a while. I'll upgrade later.

POWER SUPPLY

I already have a 850W Modular PSU.


Thanks for any help :)
 
Man of Honour
Joined
23 Mar 2011
Posts
16,744
Location
West Side
Hi.

Cpu the mores cores will give you an elimante of futureprofing and multi tasking, unless you need 12 cores 6 or 8 would be my choice.

M2 western digital is excdllent value.

Thd arctic e34 duo is good had a tdp 210w and would handle the 5800x and could cope with higher cores.

Motherboard is a solid choice.

64gb why is this ? 3200mhz to 3600mhz is ideal on ryzen the latter being the sweet spot. 2x 16gb will allow you to upgrade further .
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2008
Posts
11,616
Location
Finland
Most games have been designed in 4 cores is high end Intel stagnation era.
(Intel was the biggest obstacle for advance of game development in last decade)
Hence 6 core is more than enough for most games with only minority being able to benefit from more cores.
Though new consoles have 8 core CPUs with 7 cores dedicated exclusively for running games.
That means bigger budget games will start to become increasingly capable to using high core counts.
And in couple years heavy games are probably designed to console level core count to run optimally.

Of course if you keep web browser etc open on background those would need extra core or few to minimize disruptions to running game.
If game is intended to be run on certain core count it simply won't like sharing cores with else at all.
Another big factor is if you want same base platform to stay good for long time, or would upgrade CPU to higher core count one.


MSI B550 Tomahawk would be very good B550 board.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-mag-b550-tomahawk-amd-am4-b550-atx-motherboard-mb-359-ms.html
Also TUF B550-Plus would do finely with any CPU.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-gaming-b550-plus-amd-am4-b550-atx-motherboard-mb-6f9-as.html


For memory 32GB is enough for long time, even if you have that web browser etc open.
3600MHz is optimal for performance vs cost.
And getting faster RAMs to run synced with InfityFabric might not be easy.

Besides bus speed for the best gaming performance Ryzen would like to have two memory ranks per channel for command interleaving.
Though achieving that isn't anymore that easy.
Because of server markets eating all bigger than 8 Gbit DRAM chips earlier, 16GB DIMMs used to be all dual ranks.
But now 16 Gbit DRAM chips are apparently becoming common in desktop memories.
Only certain excemption to that are Samsung B-die chips using memories, because those chips max at 8 Gbit capacity.
And those chips aren't found certainly from anything but 3200MHz CL14 and 3600MHz 16-16-16 kits. (or at least equal in absolute latency)
4x 8GB DIMMs would also give two ranks per channel.


Just forget Samsung drives, which are all more or less brand overpriced.
And using limited M.2 slots for small drive isn't sensible.
1TB doesn't cost much:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/wd-b...-solid-state-drive-wds100t2b0c-hd-56l-wd.html
WD Black would be high end drive.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/wd-b...-solid-state-drive-wds100t3x0c-hd-55v-wd.html


For basic 5600X Arctic Freezer 34 would be very good.
But normal version without price bloating is out of stock and might as well go for Alpenfohn Brocken Eco Advanced, which is slightly beefier heatsink.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpenfohn-brocken-eco-advanced-cpu-cooler-120-mm-hs-05j-al.html
Brocken 3 would be good all the way to top models.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpenfohn-brocken-3-cpu-cooler-140mm-hs-05a-al.html
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Jan 2017
Posts
10
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Based on your feedback, I have a couple more thoughts / questions I could use your advice on.

CPU

Seeing as the Ryzen 7 is back in stock, I’ll probably get that for the extra couple of cores. Slightly more future proof than the RYZEN 5. You can never have too many cores, right :)

RAM

I don’t really want to get 4x 8GB DIMMs, just in case I need 64GB at some point. My current system has 16GB, and when I was playing with 2 game clients open and under heavy load a few days ago, the memory was at 98% utilisation. So I need to have the facility for extra capacity if needed.

So from what you were saying about having two memory ranks per channel, how much of a performance increase would it make?

Would either the
VIPER STEEL 32GB (2X16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHZ DUAL CHANNEL KIT, or the
VENGEANCE LPX BLACK 32GB (2X16GB) 3600 MHZ AMD RYZEN TUNED DDR4 MEMORY DUAL KIT
Do the job ?

SSD

I understand what you were saying about a smaller M.2 drive not being ideal. However, I tend to install games on a separate drive to the boot drive. I was thinking of getting 2 M.2 drives, one for a boot drive and one for games. Do you think that’s overkill, or just get 1 and also use it for game installations? Though the TUF B550-Plus board only has 1 M.2 connector

COOLER

Would the Brocken 3 cooler be ok for the RYZEN 7 ?


Thanks for your help.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Jan 2017
Posts
10
I am thinking of getting the stuff in the basket below.


My basket at Overclockers UK:


Just a couple of questions:

Does the 3600Mhz memory have stability issues, as I heard that sometimes the 3200Mhz is more stable ?

Over the years, I gave always had a smallish boot drive with apps and games on other drives. In the basket I have put 2 M.2 drives, a 500GB boot drive with a 1TB for games etc. Is this overkill, or do people put everything on the boot drive these days ?

Thanks​
 
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