Yes, (Another One!) New Gaming Build Spec Thoughts

[Gilbert89]

Hi all

Just to give some Background… !

Previous build was a 12400F & RX6600, this was short lived due to lack of time so I decided to sell up and switch to a Series X.

I believe and hope to have more time to game therefore I am wanting to build a AM5 System paired with an AMD GPU.

Already Purchased
GPU = Sapphire 7800XT Nitro+ (Paid £402)
Storage = Western Digital 850X NVME Gen4 1TB (£79.99)
Ram = DDR5 Corsair Vengeance RGB 6000 (CL36) (£94.99)

Leaving a Requirement of Case, CPU, PSU, CPU Cooler, Motherboard…

I have come up with the below and welcome any opinions, suggestions or any comparability issues to be discussed helping me along with my purchase as I’m only in the loop to the extent of very recent research.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DT-AM) = £329.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen - Space Marine & Unknown 9 Awakening Games Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-02908) = £0.00
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K1-AS) = £169.99
• 1 x MSI MAG A850GL 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-012-MS) = £89.99
• 1 x Antec C3 ARGB Midi Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-02727) = £79.99
• 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III ARGB High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01992) = £89.99

Total: £759.95 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

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I am tempted to do it "Cheaper" with a 7600 for £177 or 7600X for £188 mainly to cut costs but still allow me to game at 1080P / 1440P with High-ish settings for a couple of years.​

Undecided / Un-sure on the following...
PSU - I decided 850W incase down the line I upgrade CPU and GPU which should give me enough headroom to run a relatively high end GPU. This PSU states ATX 3.0 and PCIE5 So I assume this will have all the required connections I need now and for any potential realistic given the 850 Wattage for future CPU / GPU Upgrades?

Case
(Not wanting something small but neither too big, have always opted for a Corsair 4000D and been pleased with the size)

Antec C3 ARGB is what I have narrowed it down to as it can house a 360 AIO in the top and comes with a generous amount of pre-installed fans but are there any other cases I should consider? AIO would most likely be an Antec Vortex 360 to fit in with the aesthetics If I go with this case.

Will the GPU and PSU fit the C3 without issue?

Any input on the back of my rambles would be highly appreciated

 

[Gilbert89]

Thanks! Certainly provides food for thought.

With an AMD card you don't actually need any of that, because they still use the old PCIE 8-pin. The newer nvidia cards (4070 Super and up) use the 16 pin which comes with ATX3.x/PCIE5 PSUs, but they do include adapters in the graphics card box.

Great - I suppose even though not required certainly nice to have if I decide to move to a newer NVIDIA Card.

850 should be enough for cards like the 7800 XT / 4070 for the foreseeable future and you can even power a high-end (e.g. 4080/4090) card from these PSUs if you need to.

I'd suggest upgrading to the A850G while it is discounted to £110, since it is a higher-tier model with double the warranty length.

hwbusters have a review of the GL and Anandtech have a review of the G.

Thanks - Will Consider this!

I'd look at Phanteks XT Ultra and Lian Li 216.


Yes, max PSU length is 195mm. Max GPU length is 415mm.

Not too keen on those, Lian Li is favourite but more expensive. What are your thoughts on the Corsair 4000D? I previous had one and only downside was a 360 AIO If I did go that route had to go in the front with pipes at the top.

One way to cut costs is buy a £25 arctic freezer 36 instead of the AIO.

I have always had AIO mainly for Aesthetics and to usually fill space where usually you would spend additional money on extra fans but this does look like a great option to keep costs down - Thank you.

If you play the kind of games that really benefit from the X3D's cache then I'd be inclined to stick with it (e.g. sims, racing and MMOs), but if you don't, then the 7600 is fine.

Mainly AAA Titles, BF2042, MW3 - Maybe some WoW but unlikely these days. Would the 7600X at £10 more be worth it or no real improvement?

 

[Gilbert89]

The difference is small, but I'd say £10 is worth it. The 7600X doesn't include a cooler though, whereas the 7600 does. I'm hoping that the price cuts on the 7700 seen elsewhere will arrive in the UK and the 7600 will drop significantly, maybe to £150 and the 7700 around £200.

Think I’ll go for the 7600X - I could go for the 7800XD3 but happy to save £141 + another £100 by going for the Air Cooler also for now.

If I ever feel the need I can upgrade at a later date, whether that be second hand or if the 7800XD3 drops or if there is something newer and better.

I'm not sure if BF2042 or MW3 benefit from the X3D's cache, but WoW does.


Looks fine, but afaik it includes 2x 120mm fans (1 rear, 1 front), so the stock cooling would be inferior to the Antec C3, Lian Li's 216 or Phanteks XT Ultra.

It does include 2 Basic Fans - I like the Antec C3 but concerned about quality of materials, but I’m aware of the price and have to be sensible.

I do think that’s at top of the list, hoping to get it all ordered tomorrow as I’ll be able to build on Friday if so.

Any specific reasons you disregarded it? (Not in a challenging way, curiosity)

 

[Gilbert89]

Another alternative is the Montech cases, but I don't know much about them.

The one similar to the C3 is called the SKY TWO and there's also the X3. The prices look reasonable and I believe they include fans.

Will check them out, Thank you.

Which one do you mean? The C3 or the Corsair 4000D? I'm not familiar with Corsair cases and I think the Antec ones are fairly new on the market?

Antec C3

They are, I’ll watch a couple of hands on YouTube videos on it to see if I can determine what the quality is like.

It’s the one I’m likely to go for currently.

 

[Gilbert89]

do they do USB - Pathia Warmers?

Take my money if they do!!!

 

[Gilbert89]

I managed to accidently order the none WIFI/Bluetooth Motherboard! (I mainly wanted Bluetooth so I can connect up Bluetooth Headphones, Xbox Controller) Rather than messing around I decided to build the System anyway as It's not the end of the world.

Overall - It all went smoothly despite a couple of things...

A) Memory - No issues running EXPO for 24 Hours, Since then I am unable to boot into Windows with EXPO Enabled, Motherboard shows Orange DRAM Light.
B) CPU Cooler - Being out of the loop for many years and my previous CPU being a 12400F, the temperatures and amount of fan fluctuation to running at full speed left me convinced it wasn't seated correctly.

However - After some additional CPU Research it appears the high temperatures to achieve the boost speeds are just part and parcel of these chips therefore all is well! Idles 40/45c and Gaming BF2042 for 2 Hours 70-75c.

I have adjusted Fan Curve in BIOS which has improved things slightly and may opt for a 360AIO at a later date in a effort to reduce temperatures and noise, I will also most likely run the CPU in Eco Mode and look into Reducing Voltage (All the CPU Core Optimiser Stuff) to achieve the same/better performance whilst reducing temperatures.

Edit: Took a quick photo of the build to update a friend of my progress, @Ace Modder I decided to go with the Antec C3.

 

[Gilbert89]

Are you running the latest bios for the board? If not I would suggest updating to the latest and trying EXPO again.

Hi

Yeah - Running the latest BIOS (3024) 07/08/2024.

Initially it booted fine running Expo but following day upon a cold boot the Orange DRAM Light showed for a couple of minutes before booting into Windows.

Since then it just became stuck with Fans Running and Orange DRAM Light on but after disabling EXPO it boots first time every time.

Annoying as I bought an Expo Kit but I know I’m not the first to have this issue!

 

[Gilbert89]

Yeah, that's normal behaviour with these CPUs, but you can definitely do some tweaking to get it behaving more to your liking. The eco mode probably won't help that much with the ramping up/down because these CPUs don't use that much power anyway.

Ramping Up and Down was addressed by fine tuning Fan Curves within the BIOS.

To reduce Temps and Noise Levels further I am using AMD Eco Mode 65w along with a Negative 25 All Core Curve Optimiser (All done within the BIOS)

Prior to the above Cinebench would hit 95C and throttle almost instantly where as now tops out at 75C.

Gaming Temps have gone from 80-88c down to mid 60, low 70s although this is based on BF2042 which hammers my CPU at 1080P.

In terms of CPU Tweaking - Any advice?

Have I gone the wrong way about it? … I’m aware of a performance sacrifice but I haven’t found it significant enough to go back to default and deal with increase in power, temps and noise.

 

[Gilbert89]

Wow Gilbert mate, thats a clean looking build. Love the Cable management, looks good all in black as well.

Thanks mate, being my 2nd ever PC Build I was pleased with how it’s turned out

ARGB has since been tamed (It was a quick Interior Photo as the System Posted for first time) Now running White on the RGB.

Since I now know it’s fully stable, when time permits open it back up to try and tidy the GPU Power Cables more symmetrically as well as neatening up the bends of 24 Pin, USB 3 etc.

In the near future most likely opt for a Artic Freezer 360AIO but for now, I’m happy it works!