Question building a computer later this month, some feedback?

[QueBert]

I was set to go with Ryzen 7000, but the more I'm reading up the more I'm thinking Raptor Lake. I liked the gen 5 m.2 on the X670e boards, but there are no gen 5 drives out. And what I buy will be my system for the next 7 years. So I probably wouldn't be adding gen 5 NVME, assuming there's even any noticeable real-world difference. I'm looking at the Asus Rog Strix z790-A Gaming Wifi D4 with a 13700k. I know AMD had said a few future gen cpu's will work on AM5 boards. But if I'm going to stick with the build for 5+ years by then I'm sure I'd probably want a newer chipset MB if I upgraded my CPU. I priced out 2 builds on pcpartpicker and was shocked they were so close, AM5 $1084 and Raptor Lake $1132. 7700x/13700k, 32gb (ddr4 for the Intel) Asus ROG board for both. I figured one would be a good deal cheaper and BOOM I'd have my answer. Like I said I won't be upgrading for who knows how long and right now the benchmarks I've seen the 13700k beats the 7700x in most category.

I read a few articles on DDR4 vs DDR5 and it doesn't seem like it matters much with current chipsets and cpus. And fast DDR4 was even edging it out in some of the benchmarks. But I know synthetic benchmarks don't = real world. And I probably wouldn't notice a difference. Strangely, the Z790 MB I'm looking at's ddr4 whereas Asus has a bunch of much cheaper Z790 boards that are DDR5.

I did a ton of reading on AM5 and LGA1700, I know there's no right answer here, both are great and both sides have an army of fanboys. But I just can't make my mind up so I thought I'd ask here. Maybe there is a reason or 2 I'm overlooking that'll get brought up. And if I manage to get 3 replies with AMD or Intel that's what I'll buy. I'm ordering around Xmas because I was told BF like deals are probably gonna pop up around then. If I don't get any replies by then, I guess I'll go to my backup plan and flip a coin 3 times lol.

If anyone has any thoughts here, thanks.

 

[Tech Junky]

ASRock used to be part of Asus until it go spun off. There's quite a bit of value on ASRock boards with the past few generations. If you want to step up your game look at the velocita.

 

[BoomerD]

ASRock used to be part of Asus until it go spun off. There's quite a bit of value on ASRock boards with the past few generations. If you want to step up your game look at the velocita.

Yeah, I remember when they were just a division of ASUS. Like the others, they make very good boards and some not very good ones.

 

[Tech Junky]

Yeah, I remember when they were just a division of ASUS. Like the others, they make very good boards and some not very good ones.

Well, Asus has/d an issue where they reversed the polarity on a cap and let the smoke out of the box and had to do a ton of RMA's with a couple of ADL MOBO options and GB had another issue and had to do a recall. So, every option has bad options. Picking the right stuff comes down to looking at reviews not YT postings and seeing what real users have to say about a particular board.

 

[BoomerD]

Well, Asus has/d an issue where they reversed the polarity on a cap and let the smoke out of the box and had to do a ton of RMA's with a couple of ADL MOBO options and GB had another issue and had to do a recall. So, every option has bad options. Picking the right stuff comes down to looking at reviews not YT postings and seeing what real users have to say about a particular board.

I agree 100%.

 

[igor_kavinski]

OP may want to consider this: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/sonic-motherboard-review.2608357/post-40912029

 

[QueBert]

OP may want to consider this: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/sonic-motherboard-review.2608357/post-40912029

Yes that's on my radar, I know a lot of people hate on ASRock but I really liked my older ASRock board. And you don't have to look that hard to find what seems like a lot of people who have very little good to say about Asus or Gigabyte. The same with MSI. Who does that leave, Biostar? lol.

 

[BoomerD]

Yes that's on my radar, I know a lot of people hate on ASRock but I really liked my older ASRock board. And you don't have to look too hard to find what seems like a lot of people who have very little good to say about Asus or Gigabyte. The same with MSI. Who does that leave, Biostar? lol.

Every manufacturer has their lemons...some just seem to have more of them...or just have more problems.
I'm not an ASR fan...but am considering a combo from Newegg with one of the 12th gen Intel processors and an ASRock Extreme mobo.ld The board sells (at least now) for under $200, while the two ASUS boards I like are over $300...

 

[QueBert]

Switched memory to 2x16, 2x32's kind of dumb as I'll never need 128gb. If I add 2x16 more in the future I'm pretty sure 64gb would be uh, a lot. And then I noticed I had overlooked and left the add on screen for the AIO on my lists. I can buy it later and have glorious animated gifs on an AIO pump. I mean how dumb is that? RIGHT up my alley dumb that's how much. Also dropped the semi silly idea getting a $400 Acer Intel ARC a770 video card. The drivers are getting better every week and it might be faster than a 3080 one day blah blah blah. I don't have luck like that though, so I'm now at $1561 with a Powercolor 6650 xt card, yes a mid end lower end card, but it's white! And If I can't manage to swing an extra $60 in my budget I have no business building a new PC. At least white fits my theme, and there's zero sense in me waiting to see if Powercolor releases a white hellhound 7900 XTX. It's doubtful, and even if they did it would cost more than my entire budget lol.

GLORIOUS 1080P GAMING HERE I COME! And some 1440p gaming at fairly meh sub 100 frame rates. Googling the 6650 XT it would appear performance wise it's not quite up to snuff with a PS5. Which was a bit disappointing to read, all this effort and planning, and basically I'm building a fancy looking home console? But at least a year down the road I can swap it out for whatever performance lacking overpriced model Powercolor has a white card for. I did find a used 6700 xt Hellhound (white) for the low price of $900. YIPPIE. And a new one for $1287. Close to $1300 and it would struggle at a lot of 4k gaming and probably barely chug along at 1440p with RT enabled. What a steal. I need to keep perspective, right now I game on a Ryzen laptop that has a 5800u, while it can play some newer games at 720p ultra low settings with almost passable FPS. It's not good for gaming, so a 6650 XT on a Raptor Lake would be like 47 leaps up.

I finish this rant by saying WHITE BUILDS ARE A STUPID IDEA. *I knew this getting into it* lol.

You can make the AIO pump screen show useful info like CPU/GPU temps or fan speeds. Or, you can do this. This is the official Corsair animated gif for the product. Of all the cool shit they could have shown apparently they thought an animated cat in glasses would sell the product. Time to go see if I can dig up some of the animated gifs I use to have on my badass Geocities webpage back in the day.

Did I mention white builds are a bad idea?

 

[QueBert]

I was watching some random YT videos and in my ever changing mind, I came up with an ITX build. And oddly enough, the ITX case I found is basically larger than the 4000x I just bought. And from a few YT videos I watched on it, it's uh, oddly designed to say the least.

BUT... I could make an ROG themed build, which is 0% the white build I was going for. But the case looks neat and the Asus AIO with the big ass screen on it would be fun for pointless bling bling.

Probably still gonna go with the white'ish ROG build I posted a few days ago, but this could be a more interesting build.

ITX build, probably not but who knows.

I will be ordering the parts tomorrow or Wed, and won't watch any YT videos or read any reviews of anything so I don't stumble on something else that catches my eye lol. The case is the Asus ROG Z11 for anyone who wants to look it up. It's ummm a weird ass case to say the least.

 

[igor_kavinski]

ITX build, probably not but who knows.

That's a good selection.

But please get this: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qs...-16-gb-ddr5-5600-cl36-memory-kf556c36bbek2-32

DDR5-5600 is the official minimum speed for 13th gen. Anything less would be suboptimal.

 

[QueBert]

That's a good selection.

But please get this: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qs...-16-gb-ddr5-5600-cl36-memory-kf556c36bbek2-32

DDR5-5600 is the official minimum speed for 13th gen. Anything less would be suboptimal.

AH! Thank you, I did do a bunch of reading on 4800 vs 5200 vs 5600, but nothing mentioned what you said. And I didn't even think to check if there was a min recommended spec for 13th gen CPUs, which makes sense now.

With my list updated it's still under $1500! I did add a single 32GB stick though. From what I read 1 vs 2 sticks on a DDR5 the speed difference will be less noticeable on DDR5 vs DDR4. And I could still add another in the future. I'd like 64, but even with 32 it'll be stretching my budget to the max. And I figure even if it's a few % slower, 1 stick of 32 vs 2x16 with the option to add a 2nd 16/32GB would be worth it. As much as I think to myself I'll never even need 64GB. I remember when I thought my the 2MB I had in my 386 would be all I'll ever need lol. So leaving the option there to add more's a good idea. If I go the other list I'll have 4 slots, but ITX you have to plan ahead for its shortcomings.

This list is still just an idea, but I'm really interested in all the challenges the Z11 will present lol. It's about as impractical of a case as you'll ever see but it looks like it could be frustratingly fun to figure out and build in. I had planned to do heads/tails best of 5 to figure out which to build but now with a 3rd list I'm going to have to figure out another method. I really don't think I'd be able to decide on my own.

 

[QueBert]

Well for better or for worse I've decided on the ITX build, to assure I don't change my mind yet again by potential comments on here (even helpful ones) Or something I stumble upon in an ad while on the web or YT. I've decided to not use the internet until I'm ready to order the parts. So I added everything to my shopping cart and won't log on until the minute I'm ready to place the order. I'm fairly certain this isn't the best list for my final build but I can't seem to make my mind up on anything. So I'm disconnecting from the net and taking a 1-2 day vacation.

I appreciate everyone who gave me feedback here, techie people can understand the struggle of coming up with a new build. Hopefully this won't turn out to be my worst idea for a build ever lol.

 

[igor_kavinski]

If you can manage to make it work, I think it would be a very attractive and compact build with plenty of power for your needs.

Watch this video to understand what you might be getting yourself into:

Some patience will be required when building it.

 

[QueBert]

I ordered it but I'd watched 6 videos and read 3 reviews. I know it wasn't a great choice, even worse considering I did a solid day of research lol. At $280 no chance in hell, but for $150 and the build challenge it seems interesting to me. And I won't have some monstrous 400-watt triple slot card so my thermals might even be decent. The fact some YTers who build computers all the time struggled with it should probably have me more worried than I am though lol.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Good luck on your adventure!

 

[QueBert]

The case I ordered has the video card's facing a window, I'll attach a pic, anywho this is just to maybe get an opinion or 2. But I'm looking for a mid level not so chonky card. The case technically supports up to 3 slot GPU's, but with the design being 90% for aesthetics, there's no ventilation and a card that thick is not advised by any review I read. So I'm looking at lowly 2 slot cards. Which are surprisingly hard to find lol. I mean for something semi current gen. I know an RX 580 or 1060 would fit. I looked at Asus's 6650 XT, thinking it would be fitting to put an Asus card into here since it's an ROG case + ROG MB + ROG AIO. But even that card's triple slot, and it's not like 6650's are powerhouses. So there went my Asus GPU idea.

What says anyone for a card? I'm leaning towards an A770, and the Intel & Acer cards are both dual slots. Wondering about other options out there though. I haven't ordered anything except the case, but I know what I'm ordering for the rest of the components. I'm just really struggling to figure out a GPU that will fit, and look nice. I think both the Intel & Acer cards would look pretty sweet, but I know there are other smaller cards out there that would look slick. The case design for the video card slot's terrible for thermals. I think I really outdid myself from a "shit's gonna be a struggle" standpoint with this case.

lol.

 

[igor_kavinski]

What says anyone for a card? I'm leaning towards an A770, and the Intel & Acer cards are both dual slots.

None that are really good for the price.

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-DisplayPort-Axial-tech-Protective-Auto-Extreme/dp/B09CBS8ZF3/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09J8879JC/

2080 Ti NEW: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144848041532

Open box 2080 Ti: https://www.ebay.com/itm/394379064401

Used Titan X: https://www.ebay.com/itm/374410968682

Used Titan X (conditions looks good): https://www.ebay.com/itm/165835772190

Titan XP (also seems to look good): https://www.ebay.com/itm/165835778816

Used: https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-rtx-2070-super-turbo-rtx2070s-8g-evo/p/231-008H-000J4

If none of the above appeal to you, the Acer A770 seems to be your only great choice, beating the 3060 in most benchmarks with the newest drivers. It's a good future investment too, due to the additional VRAM.

The slimmest option with 16GB VRAM: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115574684165 (lightly used)

Brand new RTX A4000: https://www.ebay.com/itm/295429570167

You could try bidding on this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/275581659587

Older card with 16GB: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175535816044

I have this and it's fine for 1080P gaming: https://www.ebay.com/itm/374410968682

Or how about ditch the whole build idea and just get this open box DTR monster: https://www.ebay.com/itm/295287411558

 

[igor_kavinski]

By the way, check locally. I'm sure there are a lot of people wanting to get rid of their cards before they fall in price.

 

[QueBert]

PSA for anyone building a new PC, pay close attention to #$%^.

For some reason I thought the case supported PSU's up to 165mm and my PSU was 160mm. Welp, I had the numbers switched and the PSU is 5mm too long DOH...

 

[QueBert]

I know nobody has this case, but there are some waaaaay smarter people than me here. So I have a question. I got the PSU to fit, but I had to remove a shroud. I watched a few YT videos and I found out it's for air flow to the GPU and to keep PSU cables from potentially hitting the fan blade. Since I won't even have a GPU for probably 2 months, I'm not even worried about the GPU cooling, and I can zip-tie the few PSU cables I will be using to the case to keep them safe. But I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on shroud vs no shroud. I really would like to keep this PSU if at all possible, and I know the worst-case scenario when I get the GPU if it ends up needing more cooling I'll have to buy a PSU. My budget will be kind of really tight for q1 of 2023 thanks to this build so I'm not trying to do any more than I absolutely have to at this point. Here's a video with the timestamp.

 

[Tech Junky]

@QueBert

It's only functions are keeping cables out of the way and airflow. I wouldn't worry about it and if it becomes an issue then you just put the shroud back into place and pick a different PSU or case.

 

[QueBert]

@QueBert

It's only functions are keeping cables out of the way and airflow. I wouldn't worry about it and if it becomes an issue then you just put the shroud back into place and pick a different PSU or case.

I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed temps won't lead to the GPU throttling, if I have to buy a new PSU I won't be eating meat again until summer lol. Also, I had a $1k budget and I've dropped a hair over $1500 without the GPU. Gonna be difficult to explain to my lady how my $1k pc turned into $2k. It was my bad for originally telling her I could build a system for right around a thousand lol.

The build quality of this case is damn amazing though.

 

[BoomerD]

I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed temps won't lead to the GPU throttling, if I have to buy a new PSU I won't be eating meat again until summer lol. Also, I had a $1k budget and I've dropped a hair over $1500 without the GPU. Gonna be difficult to explain to my lady how my $1k pc turned into $2k. It was my bad for originally telling her I could build a system for right around a thousand lol.

The build quality of this case is damn amazing though.

I think you'd be better off returning that case and getting a different one...one that will let you fit your hardware inside without cramming stuff in like that guy did. (he came off as a complete idiot...well, maybe not complete...I think he was missing some parts.

 

[QueBert]

I think you'd be better off returning that case and getting a different one...one that will let you fit your hardware inside without cramming stuff in like that guy did. (he came off as a complete idiot...well, maybe not complete...I think he was missing some parts.

I make poor choices sometimes, but at least this is a stunning case that I can't get over the build quality. Almost everything on its aluminum and there's zero flex on anything. Building in it, well that will be interesting. But after I'm done, outside of some cable management I'm done. I'm not much of a tinker-er, which is good here because this doesn't seem like a case I'd really want to tinker around in much.

I had to actually look in the manual to figure out how to take this one panel off, so yeah you're right I probably should return it lol. I haven't even ordered the MB+CPU yet (next week) so maybe I'll come to my senses and return this and find something else.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm actually looking at this one:

https://www.amazon.com/HYTE-Aesthetic-Panoramic-Mid-Tower-CS-HYTE-Y60-BW/dp/B09TPZ5R6B/ref=asc_df_B09TPZ5R6B/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598250021259&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15543071840313810975&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033542&hvtargid=pla-1757235087327&psc=1

Steve @ Gamers Nexus and Jay at Jayz Two Cents both rate it VERY highly. Can't comment personally on the build quality though.

I also really like the looks and reviews of the Fractal Torrent. They have 3 sizes...maybe one small enough for you?