(Yet another) new build check

NickM · 12 Aug 2019 at 20:25

Hi all,

Due to an unfortunate sequence of events I find myself in need of a new motherboard so I thought I'd use it as an opportunity to upgrade my i5-2500k build from 2011.

Here's what I'm currently looking at:

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Asus ROG Strix X570-F Gaming
G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3600 CL16 DDR4 16GB
BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (1g)

I have a pretty good idea of what I want, the only thing I'm not too sure about is the memory/CPU cooler combo. The cooler has 40mm clearance under the fan but the memory is 44mm tall. The product page for the DR Pro 4 does show G.Skill TridentZ memory on the board but I'd prefer to be able to get to the memory without having to remove the CPU cooler so I'm open to suggestions.

Also, I might go with the 3800X instead, it depends how impatient I get waiting for 3900X stock

.

Thanks!

EsaT · 12 Aug 2019 at 21:29

Would be about time to upgrade.
Maybe motherboard wanted to complain why you aren't letting it retire gracefully...

With 16GB of RAM DIMM access is surely thing to consider.
If you want PC to last as long as 12 core can do suspect 32GB is requirement for high end for most of that time.
Next-gen consoles coming in next year are likely going to start increase in memory consumption of heavier games.
PS5 might come with quite more than 16GB:
https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/8970/playstation-everything-know-far/index.html

You would get that by paying less luxuries in motherboard.
VRM wise there's no need to pay for extra.
For example while in previous AM4 boards Asus had some literal scam level VRMs, even the cheapest Prime X570-P has VRM good for 200A output.
https://youtu.be/D2gKFzNEgOY?t=11m40s

For CPU cooler notch behind the best Scythe Mugen 5 would be perfectly good for 100W level CPUs.
It has basically full quad channel memory compatiblity:
http://www.scythe-eu.com/uploads/tx_cfamooflow/Cooler_.With_RAM_2_14.jpg
And price is pretty darn good £43
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/scythe-scmg-5100-mugen-5-rev.b-cpu-cooler-hs-046-sy.html

NickM · 13 Aug 2019 at 20:26

Thanks for taking a look!

EsaT said:
Would be about time to upgrade.
Maybe motherboard wanted to complain why you aren't letting it retire gracefully...

Haha, maybe

. It's lasted me pretty well the 2500k, aside from some issues with playing HEVC videos I haven't really felt the need to upgrade.

EsaT said:
With 16GB of RAM DIMM access is surely thing to consider.
If you want PC to last as long as 12 core can do suspect 32GB is requirement for high end for most of that time.
Next-gen consoles coming in next year are likely going to start increase in memory consumption of heavier games.
PS5 might come with quite more than 16GB:
https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/8970/playstation-everything-know-far/index.html

Really, I thought 16G would be plenty? I'm not doing much gaming on the PC any more so I can't really see where I'd need the full 32G memory.

EsaT said:
You would get that by paying less luxuries in motherboard.
VRM wise there's no need to pay for extra.
For example while in previous AM4 boards Asus had some literal scam level VRMs, even the cheapest Prime X570-P has VRM good for 200A output.
https://youtu.be/D2gKFzNEgOY?t=11m40s

After my recent BIOS upgrade issues that bricked the board I do like that the ASUS board has what looks like a simple way to restore the BIOS if something goes wrong!

EsaT said:
For CPU cooler notch behind the best Scythe Mugen 5 would be perfectly good for 100W level CPUs.
It has basically full quad channel memory compatiblity:
http://www.scythe-eu.com/uploads/tx_cfamooflow/Cooler_.With_RAM_2_14.jpg
And price is pretty darn good £43
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/scythe-scmg-5100-mugen-5-rev.b-cpu-cooler-hs-046-sy.html

The 55mm clearance looks promising. Is the fan on the Scythe designed as an exhaust to move the hot air away from the heatsink (i.e. the fan is on the back, away from the memory)? I've always used the CPU cooler fan as an intake on the front where the memory is. If using the CPU cooler fan as an exhaust is good air flow design, the DR Pro 4 would also probably fit as there is 46.8mm clearance to the fins.

EsaT · 13 Aug 2019 at 22:21

NickM said:
Really, I thought 16G would be plenty? I'm not doing much gaming on the PC any more so I can't really see where I'd need the full 32G memory.

After my recent BIOS upgrade issues that bricked the board I do like that the ASUS board has what looks like a simple way to restore the BIOS if something goes wrong!

The 55mm clearance looks promising. Is the fan on the Scythe designed as an exhaust to move the hot air away from the heatsink (i.e. the fan is on the back, away from the memory)? I've always used the CPU cooler fan as an intake on the front where the memory is. If using the CPU cooler fan as an exhaust is good air flow design, the DR Pro 4 would also probably fit as there is 46.8mm clearance to the fins.

Well, many heavy enough workloads to really benefit from 12 cores likely would also like big amount of RAM.

Problems when flashing BIOS using own update tool of BIOS are pretty darn rare.

For dual channel boards Mugen's 5 DIMM clearance is as high as will fit into case, because fan stays in CPU socket surrounding area reserved for cooling system.
https://www.tweaktown.com/image.php...scythe-mugen-5-rev-cpu-cooler-review_full.jpg

CPU heatsink fans are used to push air through heatsink toward back of the case.
Unless trying something crazy like some "reviewers" seem to be nowadays doing installing whole coolers backwards and then complaining DIMM slots aren't completely clear...
Some people just wouldn't qualify for handling any ship, including citizenship, if it needed passing logical thinking ability test.

Noughtboy · 14 Aug 2019 at 11:35

NickM said:
Haha, maybe . It's lasted me pretty well the 2500k, aside from some issues with playing HEVC videos I haven't really felt the need to upgrade.

If you reckon that you are still happy with the 2500k, I may potentially have a solution.

I had a similar issue bricking my MSI MB when updating the BIOS. I sent it off to a man I think in Cumbria who was able to replace the BIOS chip which had the updated BIOS already loaded on. You just post him your board and he will post it back. I think all in was about £25 including postage.

I made a post about it a couple of years ago. I will search for it and try and send the link. That way, if you don't want to upgrade, you can keep on using the 2500k (my kids have been using it for over two years).

Noughtboy · 14 Aug 2019 at 14:50

I found the link I posted. The repair including the new pre-programmed BIOS with the latest BIOS is £25.99 and then the postage to send and get it sent back. I still had my original box and bubblewrapped the MB inside.

So, not sure how much it will be to post but probably figure on £3-£4 each way for a total of £31-£33 so a lot cheaper than a new system provided it still meets your requirements and you don't actually want to upgrade.

His website is:
https://www.biosmaster.co.uk/soldered bios

Hope that helps

NickM · 14 Aug 2019 at 19:48

EsaT said:
For dual channel boards Mugen's 5 DIMM clearance is as high as will fit into case, because fan stays in CPU socket surrounding area reserved for cooling system.
https://www.tweaktown.com/image.php...scythe-mugen-5-rev-cpu-cooler-review_full.jpg

Oh I see, that photo makes it clear! That seems much better than a massive overhanging cooler.

Noughtboy said:
I found the link I posted. The repair including the new pre-programmed BIOS with the latest BIOS is £25.99 and then the postage to send and get it sent back. I still had my original box and bubblewrapped the MB inside.

So, not sure how much it will be to post but probably figure on £3-£4 each way for a total of £31-£33 so a lot cheaper than a new system provided it still meets your requirements and you don't actually want to upgrade.

His website is:
https://www.biosmaster.co.uk/soldered bios

Hope that helps

Thanks for finding the link. I was originally going to try and get it repaired but now I've been looking into upgrades I'm kind of excited about doing a new build

.

Noughtboy · 15 Aug 2019 at 20:17

@NickM,

I did qualify my statement with "if it still meets your requirements and you don't actually want to upgrade."

Truthfully, it may be worth your while to repair the MB and you have a reasonably good spare system for kids, parents etc assuming you have one or both.

On the Asus front, when I bought a new system, used the Asus Strix B350-F and was very disappointed with the BIOS. It just did not seem natural compared to let's say the MSI or Gigabyte.

The quality is good (certainly it hasn't been bricked in the last three (or more) BIOS updates :-)

but the BIOS interface I find frustrating.