Upgrade Advice

.:MBK:.

.:MBK:.

.:MBK:.

Soldato
Joined
30 Jan 2004
Posts
5,194
Location
Harrogate
With the release of Ryzen my upgrade itch is back, this appears to be common issue at the moment.

Current parts of the rig that up for upgrade near-mid term:

i5 3570k - Stock - Clocking does not appear to be viable, nothing useful appears to be stable. Mobo just doesn't seem to like anything.
Gigabyte Z77-D3H
16GB RAM (2x8GB)
Sapphire R390 Nitro

Bits to retain:
Fractal Design 1000W PSU
NZXT S340 Case
Various SSDs

Currently I game at 1080p, monitor is a 144Hz BenQ XL2411T with no plans to move to 1440/4k at this time.

At the moment I am toying with replacing the CPU/RAM/Mobo whilst waiting to see how the GPU market settles down post miner craze/Vega etc.

Current basket:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £768.96
(includes shipping: £0.00)



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Is the above a viable starting point or would there be more mileage in dropping the 390 first and instead wait for Ryzen to mature/Intel to take them seriously? I'm guessing at 1080p a 1070 would be more than up to the task?
 
If you're not after the X370 for aesthetic reasons, the B350 boards are more than capable of clocking Ryzen and with BIOS/AGESA updates memory compatibility and attaining 3200MHz is becoming more common with standard kits (3000MHz virtually guaranteed with right MoBo). If you don't hit 3200MHz now you should with future releases.

Also, if you were to keep the X370 i would get the 1600X as you're more likely to get closer to 4GHz as the CPUs have better hits (binned better).

Alternate build example with similar results for less money:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £697.42
(includes shipping: £10.50)




EDIT: I kept the Kraken as assumed it was for a windowed case - but again a cheaper cooler will get the same results if it can't be seen.

.:MBK:. said:
Is the above a viable starting point or would there be more mileage in dropping the 390 first and instead wait for Ryzen to mature/Intel to take them seriously? I'm guessing at 1080p a 1070 would be more than up to the task?
Click to expand...

Yes the GTX 1070 will crucify 1080p (you could even get a GTX 1060 - but the 1070 gives you future leg room) - suitable for 1440p.

And the 1600 with its 6 cores/12threads is the sweetspot for a gaming PC and bang for buck.
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Thank you for the input.

To be honest I think when I started looking at the X62 it was on TWO (think ~£125). If there are similar performing ones for less then that is an option. Whilst the case is windowed the window side is actually hidden due to its current location.

With X370 I think I was hoping that it would get the most mileage given AMDs tendency to keep sockets going for longer. Though looking into it a bit more it seems the only difference at a chipset level is quantity of connections and multi GPU, B350 seems to be within my needs for connections.
 
.:MBK:. said:
To be honest I think when I started looking at the X62 it was on TWO (think ~£125). If there are similar performing ones for less then that is an option. Whilst the case is windowed the window side is actually hidden due to its current location.
Click to expand...

If you're after an RGB AIO then the Corsoir H100 RGB is good value with similar performance and will probably illuminate the side of your desk - creating a subtle luminous aura:

My basket at Overclockers UK:


Although, top end air is quieter, maintenance free, last for years and will still get you high clocking results.

.:MBK:. said:
With X370 I think I was hoping that it would get the most mileage given AMDs tendency to keep sockets going for longer. Though looking into it a bit more it seems the only difference at a chipset level is quantity of connections and multi GPU, B350 seems to be within my needs for connections.
Click to expand...

You've pretty much summed it up - more connections, SLI/crossfire and a fraction more BIOS options but the overclocking abilities are virtually the same. And as mentioned previously the X CPU versions have better clocking potential if you want to guarantee a higher clock.
 
Plec said:
Although, top end air is quieter, maintenance free, last for years and will still get you high clocking results.
Click to expand...

Been out of the loop for a while with air. Is Noctua still king? Looking at the dimensions of tower coolers these days height may be an issue, max on the S340 is listed as 161mm which eliminates things like the D15s.

A lot of air coolers also still seem to be missing AM4 compatibility from what I can see on the store.
 
.:MBK:. said:
Been out of the loop for a while with air. Is Noctua still king? Looking at the dimensions of tower coolers these days height may be an issue, max on the S340 is listed as 161mm which eliminates things like the D15s.
Click to expand...

The big Noctua is still king but there's not much in it in real world performance and relative silence with other top end coolers (or even the smaller Noctua) e.g. bequiet, Phanteks even Cryorig.

An example of a couple of coolers that would easily keep the Ryzen chilly and quiet but would be a very tight fit at 160mm and you would need to contact bequiet for an AM4 bracket (it would be free):

My basket at Overclockers UK:


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.:MBK:. said:
A lot of air coolers also still seem to be missing AM4 compatibility from what I can see on the store.
Click to expand...

Nearly all come with AM4 adaptors/brackets as addons when you order - just be sure to select the option if you go down this route.
 
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