Question My new rig. Below $2000.

[MtSeldon]

I’m about to buy a new PC but I haven’t built one in years, so I’m a bit lost about the components and combability.
I use the computer excessively for Office, coding, and gaming so I’m trying to buy the most powerful I can afford.
From what I read it is recommended to use water cooling with AMD R9 7950, so I will go one model lower.
I read a few reviews and going AMD made sense. It has lower power consumption and identical cores also in most cases have better performance. But if there are problems and glitches with AMD builds reviews don’t show them.

At some point I will buy Gen5 SSD so a compatible motherboard is necessary.
I’m not going to Overclock so I don’t need faster ram than the officially supported max speeds. I need a silent CPU cooler.

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Hero
Nvidia 4800
Crucial T700 SSD
Corsair VENGEANCE 5200 Mhz 64gb ram.
Case and cooler I haven't decided, any recommendations?

Any reason to prefer Intel over AMD? I

 

[Tech Junky]

I just did a 7900X for about $800 reusing some existing parts.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HntyFs

I then added an A380 for media conversions that sped things up considerably and I've seen it hit 1K FPS on some files but overall on average dropped the time to 1/8th of CPU only.

Any reason to prefer Intel over AMD?

Depends on what you use it for. Intel makes it cheap for some things but AMD opens the doors to other things like being able to bifurcate the slots.

Gen5 SSD

Just adds more expense and heat to the case.

 

[In2Photos]

How do you plan to keep that under $2000? The CPU is $500, motherboard is $640 and the GPU (4080) is $1200.

 

[MtSeldon]

How do you plan to keep that under $2000? The CPU is $500, motherboard is $640 and the GPU (4080) is $1200.

Either I'm going to change the parts to cheaper alternative according to the recommendations here or I will raise the budget.

I've seen the Jay2cents video about switching to Intel, cause he has experienced stability problems mostly with rams.

Does AMD systems still cause these kind of stability, combability problems even if you don't overclock?

@Tech Junky​

Thank you. I wont bother with Gen5 SSD, in this case is there a cheaper alternative to this motherboard?

 

[Tech Junky]

cheaper alternative to this motherboard?

$160 is about the floor for return x670e

If you're willing to drop some lanes and other features the 650's could be slightly cheaper.

 

[In2Photos]

Either I'm going to change the parts to cheaper alternative according to the recommendations here or I will raise the budget.

I've seen the Jay2cents video about switching to Intel, cause he has experienced stability problems mostly with rams.

Does AMD systems still cause these kind of stability, combability problems even if you don't overclock?

@Tech Junky​

Thank you. I wont bother with Gen5 SSD, in this case is there a cheaper alternative to this motherboard?

Jay had problems with his build from day one. He had a faulty motherboard. I think that left a bad taste in his mouth. The problems he is having with RAM stability have been had by others with AMD systems. I believe they are more common on the AMD side for several reasons. 1. AM5 is in it's first generation and this is the first generation with DDR5. 2. People think AMD systems respond to RAM the same way an Intel system would. It doesn't. Jay never tried a different RAM kit despite that being the easiest thing he could have tested. The 7900 and 7950 X3D parts are the first parts to use vcache on a dual chiplet CPU. Much like what happened when Intel started using E-cores is that the system doesn't quite yet know how to handle that. Intel had trouble early on, so did the AM5 parts.

I have 2 AM5 systems in my house. Mine is a 7700 with an MSI B650Edge and 32GB of DDR5 running at 6000CL30. It will run at 6200 too but I didn't see any real world improvement so I opted to run at 6000. My daughter has a 7600X with a Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX and 32GB of DDR5 running at 6000CL36. Her system had some early BIOS issues during first boot, after that it has been just fine.

In regards to your build I think that motherboard is way overkill. It's an enthusiasts board, designed for chasing maximum performance. You don't need that unless you are going to try and achieve max performance. A $200 board will do the same thing unless you need some sort of specific feature. Same with a Gen5 SSD. Right now they run HOT and you probably won't notice the everyday performance uplift unless you move lots of large files everyday.

In regards to the cooling requirements of the 7950X3D, it will run on air. It will run hotter than with an AIO and you might lose a little performance, but with the right cooler it won't be much. Hardware Canucks did a video on AM5 performance with different coolers and the results showed very little performance lost across all but the weakest coolers.

While I believe nVidia makes great GPUs I don't believe they offer great value right now. But I won't steer you away from the 4080 if that's what you have your heart set on.

 

[Tech Junky]

it will run on air. It will run hotter than with an AIO and you might lose a little performance,

I've seen instances where putting the CPU into ECO mode results in 3-5% performance but drops the temps considerably.

The other option is direct die cooling which can chop off up to 20C if done properly and willing to delid the CPU to get there.

It depends on how hard you're going to push things though in reality most of the time I'm running at 50C w/ air. I use a graphite pad though instead of paste. AMD though in general will never see 30C like Intel w/o some drastic cooling techniques. Then again 7900X blows the 13xxxK out of the water in terms of loaded performance. Since it's all P cores w/ 24 threads. There's a trade off between I v A though and there always has been. There's less of a difference between the two though these days as they both offer graphics out of the box w/o the need to buy a GPU unless you want something higher power for gaming or media conversion.

I added an A380 for my media work though to speed things up and dropped the conversion time down to 1/8th the time it took using just the CPU for $100. Worthwhile as the CPU won't be cranking out 75% utilization for sustained periods w/ the GPU doing most of the work. The drop in time spend engaged should pay for the CPU in a short period of time. Though that GPU takes up my top slot which I was considering for data storage. Push comes to shove though I can move the GPU down a slot and reconfigure the other cards in use.

I hate how board OEMs layout the slots and lanes though. Some get really creative and shaft you on bandwidth providing a x1 G3 slot which yields you maybe a 2.5GE NIC if you're lucky. At least bump it to G4 for a single port 10GE if someone really wants to go that route. I thought about it and did find one but then reconsidered digging into TB P2P networking and found it to be faster @ 20gbps link between PCs and throughput testing of 1.5GB/s which isn't bad for a cheap $22 cable and TB ports on both sides.

 

[MtSeldon]

Thans for the replies.

I'm choosing the parts for Black Friday.

AMD 7900XT (Sapphire VGA AMD 20GB GDDR6 RX7900XT Nitro+ Vapor-X) has a price advantage over GeForce RTX 4080 . I haven't been following the hardware scene for a while so I don't have the latest information about them. This latest generation I was told that I should go Nvidia, cause it has features AMD cant match. Is this the case?

As for case, I can only buy from online stores and Corsair, Thermake, Coolermaster, NZXT models are available. Corsair 400D Airflow was recommended. I guess I'm going to go with this one.

 

[Tech Junky]

AMD is an option but, Intel ARC is cheaper if you're not paying ancient games. I put an A380 in my server for media conversion and it the time to process videos down to 1/8th the time it took the CPU only.

If you want great airflow then look to see if you can get a FD Torrent. It has dual 180 fans in the front and room for a couple on the bottom for additional movement.

 

[Zeze]

I just did a 7900X for about $800 reusing some existing parts.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HntyFs

I then added an A380 for media conversions that sped things up considerably and I've seen it hit 1K FPS on some files but overall on average dropped the time to 1/8th of CPU only.

Can you please please spend $20 more and avoid 32gb DDR5-5600 CL46.

That is just too slow when 7900X is a beast. Get 6000 and much higher CL timing. It's going affect your stutters/hiccups.

 

[Tech Junky]

stutters/hiccups

I don't use it for gaming so, not an issue.

 

[MtSeldon]

I need it for gaming too , so I need a faster GPU.
I guess I should be buying Geforce 47000 Ti or Radeon 7900 XT.

I wont OC the ram, it is 5200mhz at best for me. I need a stable system, I cant risk with overclocking .

 

[Tech Junky]

GPU

Compare the A770 with those on a spec level and save some money. I don't keep a close eye on prices for GPUs but, the 770 is usually $350 or less.

 

[MtSeldon]

Compare the A770 with those on a spec level and save some money. I don't keep a close eye on prices for GPUs but, the 770 is usually $350 or less.

I've read some of the reviews about Intel gpus. They seemed to be priced very low for their performance but aren't recommened for gaming either. I also use the Pc for VR gaming, so I need a GPU with dependable software support.
Tough I like the idea of a CPU+GPU AMD or Intel combo.


Kingston rams are recommended if stability is important. So whether I preder AMD or Intel, Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 Memory looks like the right ram for me.
Does anyone use these with AMD 7900X, any problem so far?

Kingston FURY™ Beast DDR5 memory – 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 5200MT/s, 5600MT/s, 6000MT/s, 6400MT/s, 6800MT/s - Kingston Technology

Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 boosts gaming with speeds of up to 6800MT/s, on-die ECC stability and dual 32-bit subchannels.

www.kingston.com

 

[Tech Junky]

Intel has been working daily on their drivers to get them in line with competing with AMD / NVIDIA. The compatibility has been getting better as they get more reports and tweak things. The issue lies with older games using DX9 and prior. Most of the teething issues have been resolved though at this point and performance improvements are now being focused on more than resolving complaints as they have become less and less.

For RAM on my 7900X build I'm just using Crucial at the moment as it was the cheapest option for 32GB. I think most of the issues are / have been a combo of the board / UEFI / AGESA,. My ASR board I just pit the latest 1.1.0.0 update on it and still works fine.

There are some quirks between different things when ti comes to these builds though. Lane splitting automatically when using different combos of slots is a big thing to look into before deciding as some of them do really odd things with the slots / lanes / versions.

 

[Zeze]

With Nvidia (and AMD) doing unprecedented amount of price hikes, Intel entering the GPU is a blessing.

I can't wait til Intel GPU matures in the next 5-7 years to be competitive and have AMD rethink their cushy position at 80%+ market share.

 

[BoomerD]

This past January, I built the following:
15-13600K
MSI Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 board
WD 2TB HDD
Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer II 280mm (later upgraded to ARGB fans)
WD SN770 1TB NVMe
Windows 10 OEM
Box of asstd screws
NOCTUA fan extension cables (never used a single one)
be quiet! Dark Base Pro Rev.2 case (bought used for the build)

Those set me back around $1200 including sales taxes

Already had:
EVGA RTX3070 (bought in 2022, around $550)
HP EX950 1TB NVMe (bought in 2019, around $150)
WD SN770 2TB NVMe (bought in 2021, about $180)
Probably about another $850 at current prices. (both NVMe were much more expensive when I bought them)

Overall, I'm pretty happy about the performance. I kind of wish I'd have gone with a different case...I wanted to be able to invert it so the door was on the right side, but the motherboard just wouldn't quite fit right in that config)

 

[MtSeldon]

I tuned the specs using the recommendations here. I fits the $2000 limit.
Now if I go with B650 chipset based motherboards instead of B650E, I may shave a bit more.
I'm not gonna use Gen5 SSD not, but later I may get one. I will get a Samsung 990 Pro this time. Do I really need B650E?

GPU will be 4070Ti or Radeon 79000 Xt , based on the price on Black Friday. Since I game a bit, and the monitor is 4K, this performance level is the lowest I should buy it seems.

 

[Tech Junky]

Do I really need B650E?

No, but, it depends on how the OEM sets up the lanes / sockets.

They're all different when you look at the specs. There's no real standard but, it should have at least 1 M2 G5 socket per the specs.

 

[manly]

With Nvidia (and AMD) doing unprecedented amount of price hikes, Intel entering the GPU is a blessing.

I can't wait til Intel GPU matures in the next 5-7 years to be competitive and have AMD rethink their cushy position at 80%+ market share.

AMD would love to have 80%+ market share of anything.

I tuned the specs using the recommendations here. I fits the $2000 limit.
Now if I go with B650 chipset based motherboards instead of B650E, I may shave a bit more.
I'm not gonna use Gen5 SSD not, but later I may get one. I will get a Samsung 990 Pro this time. Do I really need B650E?

GPU will be 4070Ti or Radeon 79000 Xt , based on the price on Black Friday. Since I game a bit, and the monitor is 4K, this performance level is the lowest I should buy it seems.

(Intel ARC isn't really an option because it's not considered a true 1440p gaming card, much less 4k.) There is speculation that Nvidia will do a mild mid-cycle refresh in January. So you'll have to mentally compare a Black Friday deal vs. what might come around in 2-3 months.

IIRC Tom's Hardware doesn't like the Ryzen 7900X3D very much. If gaming is your primary use case, the 7800X3D is more than capable. If you really need all the cores you can get, then jump up to the 7950X3D.

 

[Zeze]

Nvidia I meant <3

 

[MtSeldon]

Asus PRIME B650-PLUS, I guess fits my use case. And shaves like another $150.
I dont need Wifi or Bluetooth on the motherboard. Saves from unnecessary drivers too.

Seasonic Focus GX-1000 ATX 3.0, looks like a good choice for PSU. With these latest generation CPUS, GPUs is there a new feature that is required on the PSU? Will this do?

PRIME B650-PLUSï½Motherboardsï½ASUS United Kingdom

PRIME B650-PLUS is equipped with outstanding features, including 6-layer PCB design, DDR5, PCIe 5.0 M.2 support, Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet, Vertical M.2 slot (Key E), rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C®, front USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C®, BIOS FlashBackâ¢, DisplayPort/HDMI, Thunderbolt⢠4 header, Addressable...

www.asus.com

 

[Tech Junky]

I paid $160 for an ASRock PG lightning x670e so, that price seems high. Mind you it was an Amazon return but works just fine.

I would take all of the parts you're thinking about and put them into PCPartpicker.com and see what works and doesn't and prices things out for the PSU. My go to is 850w for my builds and tend to stick around $100. While the new standards and cables tend to be closer to $150 last time I looked.

 

[MtSeldon]

Thats exactly what I did. I prepared alternative lists and this is the one that stays below $2000 and it look ok to me. I may up the SSD to 2gb.

I had problems iwth a ram kit I bought a few years ago. The XMP profile was OC speeds and it did not work with the cpu stabily and the only other profile is was below the official ram speeds of the CPU. It has no built in XMP profiles for the intermadiate speeds.

This Kingston is 6000mhz. I didnt not see on that official page but does it have built in configs for 5200mhz and 5600mhz if needed?

 

[manly]

That's a very good PSU. If you're buying from Newegg, you can consider:

Super Flower Leadex VII 1300W (around $185 after promo code)
be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 1000W ($130)