Discussion 2021 Gaming Build [AMD Zen 3] ***Updated***

[clocand]

Hi all, hope everyone is staying safe out there.

Budget is ~1.2k USD, With news of AMD's 6800XT expected* to go toe-to-toe with the 3080, I've decided to increase the budget quite a bit and include both new AMD CPU/GPU in my build below, as well as listing a better board - taking full advantage of each part listed below in the process.

*Admittedly, I'm going against my better judgement here: best practice is to wait until independent reviewers have had an opportunity to test/benchmark/compare.

CPU	AMD Ryzen 5900X	$550 - 11/5 Release
GPU	AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT	$650 - 11/18 Release
MOBO	MSI MAG x570 Tomahawk	$310
RAM	2x8GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo	$100 --> $90 [BFPP]
SSD	Sabrent 1TB Rocket TLC PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280	$200
Cooling	NZXT Kraken X63 AIO Liq Cooler	$170 --> $140 [Promo code: 3WTBKNV93] [BFPP]
Case	Cooler Master H500 ARGB Mid-Tower	$120 --> $85 [AR]
PSU	Corsair RM750x	$130
Total		$2165

Reasons for post:
1) I'm brand new to AMD builds, so compatibility concerns.
2) I've just started researching NVME U.2 SSDs, and am interested 3000+ MB R/W (6x faster than current 2.5" SSD)
3) With Black Friday deals just around the corner: price/value marks that I'm sure others would also benefit from seeing!

November 1st Update: Newegg Black Friday deals began today, I've updated the build to include best deals I've found and listed the updated prices.
I have yet to see an update on the release date for the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus - so I will be sticking with the Sabrent 1TB TLC SSD listed.

Note: [AR] = After Rebate cost, [BFPP] = Black Friday Price Protection from Newegg

 

[clocand]

I'm still on the fence about liq vs air cooling, may swap out NZXT Kraken X63 AIO Liquid Cooler with Noctua NH-U12A which is 50 dollars less.

 

[DooKey]

If you plan on keeping that 1060 for a while then I would look at possibly buying an on sale (or used) 3700X cpu and put the money saved towards a bigger SSD or more and faster (lower CL) RAM. That 1060 has you GPU limited and you won't see much improvement in gaming over the 3700X versus 5800X.

 

[clocand]

If you plan on keeping that 1060 for a while then I would look at possibly buying an on sale (or used) 3700X cpu and put the money saved towards a bigger SSD or more and faster (lower CL) RAM. That 1060 has you GPU limited and you won't see much improvement in gaming over the 3700X versus 5800X.

Which GPU(s) would you recommend to limit the bottlenecking of the 5800x (or 5600x)? I'm not seeing much info on SLI, is that still a thing?

EDIT: Nevermind, SLI is dead

 

[DooKey]

Which GPU(s) would you recommend to limit the bottlenecking of the 5800x (or 5600x)? I'm not seeing much info on SLI, is that still a thing?

EDIT: Nevermind, SLI is dead

First of all, what resolution are you gaming at?

 

[clocand]

First of all, what resolution are you gaming at?

2560 x 1440 144hz, but also have 4K (3840 x 2160) monitors I could be using as well

 

[DooKey]

2560 x 1440 144hz, but also have 4K (3840 x 2160) monitors I could be using as well

If you have the budget for it I'd go with a 5700XT. You could go with a 3700X and use the cooler it comes with so you'd save some bucks on both the cooler and CPU then put that money towards a 5700XT.

Maybe something like this one:

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

 

[Shmee]

For those resolutions, whether 1440p @ 144Hz or 4k, I would get the best GPU I could. 5700XT would likely be near minimum. The 5800X is a solid choice for CPU, but you would likely want to go with an RDNA2 GPU when out. That or at least get a 2080 or higher Geforce card.

Also, there should be better deals out currently, and still coming later, than the SN750. Since you will have PCIe gen 4 on your X570, I would go with a gen 4 drive, budget permitting. If not, then maybe go for a cheaper PCIe gen 3 drive to save money. Phison E12 based drives, such as the Sabrent Rocket, or similar performance drives, can be had for about $110 for 1TB, and will be about as fast, sometimes faster, than the WD SN750.

 

[HutchinsonJC]

MOBO: ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570 ~190$

I just read in another thread there's a Pro of this board that's basically the same price. I didn't look into it, but maybe worth a look.

 

[clocand]

Also, there should be better deals out currently, and still coming later, than the SN750. Since you will have PCIe gen 4 on your X570, I would go with a gen 4 drive, budget permitting. If not, then maybe go for a cheaper PCIe gen 3 drive to save money. Phison E12 based drives, such as the Sabrent Rocket, or similar performance drives, can be had for about $110 for 1TB, and will be about as fast, sometimes faster, than the WD SN750.

What are your thoughts on Sabrent? They have a 4th gen 2TB drive releasing 11/9 only 255$ with promo code for 20% off, but its QLC:
Sabrent 2TB Rocket Q4 NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 Internal SSD Maximum Performance Solid State Drive R/W 4800/3600

Or is it worth it to go with the TLC memory type (1TB is 199$ in this case)?
Sabrent 1TB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280

Also, is the heatsink necessary?

 

[Shmee]

I would wait on the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, which will be the new version with TLC. At this point I am wary of QLC. The heatsink is not necessary.

 

[clocand]

I would wait on the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, which will be the new version with TLC. At this point I am wary of QLC. The heatsink is not necessary.

Can you go into more detail about why you are wary of QLC? I know they have less longevity/warranty & lower Max sequential R/W (the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus having ~7gbs vs ~4.5gbs). For a mostly gaming rig, won't the differences be negligible, making the $255 2TB QLC posted above quite a bargain?

 

[Shmee]

While it could be a bargain, my main concern is performance and longevity. Also, a lot of the earlier QLC SSDs aren't even really a good buy compared to the TLC offerings. This may change that though, but I don't know the price yet on the Rocket 4 Plus.

Does it have a 5 year warranty? If so then it is not a bad option.

 

[clocand]

I've updated my choices for GPU & MOBO, and provided some updates for those interested in Black Friday deals. See OP for more details.