Q9650 needs replacement

[Fanatical Meat]

soonish. I’m getting semi regular random crashes and yesterday I had 2 blue screens. One was #41 the other was #88 (I think) both are hardware related. I do have a spare slightly less used power supply but sinking money into this machine doesn’t make much sense.
Used mostly for work web stuff and moderate gaming.
I’m semi concerned about melt down/specter is there areasonable time frame when I see “fixed” processors?
I’m not an amd fan but willing to try provided system is not a hot mess like my fx6300 was.
Are Asus boards still the most reliable overall?
What kind of power supply does an i5 or Ryzen 7 need, do I need to hyper evaluate the rails?
Is memory speed still pretty irrelevant?
I live near a micro center.

No budget at the moment it will likely be $500-$800. Im keeping my P180 case, amd 280x.

 

[VirtualLarry]

To answer your questions, any quality PSU can power an i5 or Ryzen 7, CPU TDPs have been on a mostly downward trend, this isn't BullDozer or Nehalem we're talking about.

I wouldn't say Asus is the most reliable overall. All of the surviving mobo makers are fairly reliable, even budget boards like Biostar are, at stock speeds.

Ryzen loves fast memory, it's far from irrelevant. If you get a Ryzen rig, get DDR4-3200 CAS14 RAM if you can.

Intel chips still have meltdown / Spectre to worry about, Intel won't have "fixed" CPUs out for some time now. If you're concerned about that, I would suggest buying Ryzen, and they are largely immune to those issues.

Microcenter has some nice Ryzen combo deals. They had some really good sales around Memorial Day weekend, I'm afraid that you be a little too late to take advantage of those, but keep your eyes peeled, and check MC's web site for CPU combos, and keep an eye on slickdeals.

 

[f2bnp]

- Meltdown/Specter fixed CPUs will take a while. I think Zen 2 (Ryzen 3) processors will have mitigated the issues or at least that's what they announced a while ago. Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong.

- Ryzen CPUs are fantastic, forget about that FX6300. I moved from an FX 8350 (that's 8 cores/ 4GHz) to the worst of the bunch, the Ryzen 1200 (4 cores, 3.1GHz-3.4GHz Turbo) and saw massive gains in most cases (although I did lose in areas that didn't matter much to me like video editing/encoding etc).

- ASUS boards are great, but a bit overpriced IMO. I'm not a fan of Gigabyte and especially MSI, I've had massive issues with both in the past years. Take a look at ASRock, they have both amazing value boards (AB350M Pro4 beats pretty much everything at that price point) and fantastic high end boards if that's your thing (Asrock Taichi boards are awesome).

- PSU requirements are much better than they were in the previous years. Both Intel and especially AMD have dramatically lowered power requirements in mainstream desktop parts from previous generations. Your R9 280X however is a bit of a hungry card, so I'd say if you want to have something that'll last you, give you some breathing room and be quality overall, go for one of the EVGA SuperNova PSUs, preferably at 650W or 750W if you intend to buy a more power hungry card in the future.

- Memory speed is pretty relevant for Ryzen systems. Dual Channel is a must and preferably you want 3000MHz or even better 3200MHz kits. It truly does make a difference and you can tweak the timings even further if you want to see even more games (although at this point I think it mostly makes a difference in games).

I'm sure someone can find you a great deal at Microcenter, I'm not familiar with them at all as I don't reside in the US.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

To answer your questions, any quality PSU can power an i5 or Ryzen 7, CPU TDPs have been on a mostly downward trend, this isn't BullDozer or Nehalem we're talking about.

I wouldn't say Asus is the most reliable overall. All of the surviving mobo makers are fairly reliable, even budget boards like Biostar are, at stock speeds.

Ryzen loves fast memory, it's far from irrelevant. If you get a Ryzen rig, get DDR4-3200 CAS14 RAM if you can.

Intel chips still have meltdown / Spectre to worry about, Intel won't have "fixed" CPUs out for some time now. If you're concerned about that, I would suggest buying Ryzen, and they are largely immune to those issues.

Thanks man, regarding power is 600+ watts still in the safe range and do I need to be concerned about 5v rail vs 12v rail type stuff.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Thanks man, regarding power is 600+ watts still in the safe range and do I need to be concerned about 5v rail vs 12v rail type stuff.

I've run a Ryzen 6C/12T rig, 16GB RAM, and two modern video cards, off of a 600W Gold PSU, a Rosewill. Runs just fine.

Most PSUs there days, seem to be (effectively) single-rail for the +12V line (except for perhaps Antec), and you don't need to worry about +5V or +3.3V lines on modern PSUs. Unless you have unusual requirements (lots of high-load USB devices???), then you really don't have to worry.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

- ASUS boards are great, but a bit overpriced IMO. I'm not a fan of Gigabyte and especially MSI, I've had massive issues with both in the past years. Take a look at ASRock, they have both amazing value boards (AB350M Pro4 beats pretty much everything at that price point) and fantastic high end boards if that's your thing (Asrock Taichi boards are awesome).

Agree on the Asrock B350M Pro4. It just oozes value. I have one and am very pleased with it.

Couple with a Ryzen 5 2600/2600X and you have a very potent system with a potential long life.

- PSU requirements are much better than they were in the previous years. Both Intel and especially AMD have dramatically lowered power requirements in mainstream desktop parts from previous generations. Your R9 280X however is a bit of a hungry card, so I'd say if you want to have something that'll last you, give you some breathing room and be quality overall, go for one of the EVGA SuperNova PSUs, preferably at 650W or 750W if you intend to buy a more power hungry card in the future.

Thanks man, regarding power is 600+ watts still in the safe range and do I need to be concerned about 5v rail vs 12v rail type stuff.

Whoa. A good quality 500W PSU is more then enough for a Ryzen system with a single GFX card. My own system* doesn't even break 200W while gaming. If you load it fully, it draws ~225W max.

As for the 3.3v and 5v rails, most modern PSUs supply about 20A on both. Which is plenty. Most things today run off the 12v rail. 25A on that should be plenty.

*Ryzen 1700 + GTX1060 6GB with a Seasonic SS-660XP2.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Whoa. A good quality 500W PSU is more then enough for a Ryzen system with a single GFX card. My own system* doesn't even break 200W while gaming. If you load it fully, it draws ~225W max.

As for the 3.3v and 5v rails, most modern PSUs supply about 20A on both. Which is plenty. Most things today run off the 12v rail. 25A on that should be plenty.

*Ryzen 1700 + GTX1060 6GB with a Seasonic SS-660XP2.

True.

My main Ryzen rig, a 1600, has two GPUs, an RX 470 and RX 570. With all three mining (more-or-less a maximum load), my Kill-A-Watt reads around 350W. I have an Antec (SeaSonic) 620W PSU powering that rig.

 

[Charlie22911]

If you decide to go the Ryzen route, it is pretty important you get RAM from the board makers QVL.
The memory compatability issues that Ryzen systems had early on have mostly been resolved, but they can still happen and this is cheap insurance.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Meltdown/Spectre has a minimal effect on gaming and web usage. I would not let that determine my decision. An i5 8400/8500 is a very good choice, as is Ryzen 2600. Stock the 8400 is slightly faster in gaming and doesnt require fast, low latency memory. The 2600 has more threads for productivity usages. Both are 65 watt TDP. I havent followed gpu prices lately, but when (if?) they return to normal, you might look at replacing the 280x.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Agree on the Asrock B350M Pro4. It just oozes value. I have one and am very pleased with it.

Couple with a Ryzen 5 2600/2600X and you have a very potent system with a potential long life.




Whoa. A good quality 500W PSU is more then enough for a Ryzen system with a single GFX card. My own system* doesn't even break 200W while gaming. If you load it fully, it draws ~225W max.

As for the 3.3v and 5v rails, most modern PSUs supply about 20A on both. Which is plenty. Most things today run off the 12v rail. 25A on that should be plenty.

*Ryzen 1700 + GTX1060 6GB with a Seasonic SS-660XP2.

Haha when I built the Q9650 people on these forums were thinking about 850+ watts some were talking about 1k watts. Not for the system I built but for gaming systems

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Meltdown/Spectre has a minimal effect on gaming and web usage. I would not let that determine my decision. An i5 8400/8500 is a very good choice, as is Ryzen 2600. Stock the 8400 is slightly faster in gaming and doesnt require fast, low latency memory. The 2600 has more threads for productivity usages. Both are 65 watt TDP. I havent followed gpu prices lately, but when (if?) they return to normal, you might look at replacing the 280x.

I know for home use specter & meltdown are minimal risks. I just can’t get over the idea that I’m buying a product with a known defect
I generally replace the card every 4-5 years. I’ll likely replace the 280x in a few years or when it either dies or just doesn’t do what I need.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

If you decide to go the Ryzen route, it is pretty important you get RAM from the board makers QVL.
The memory compatability issues that Ryzen systems had early on have mostly been resolved, but they can still happen and this is cheap insurance.

Oh yes, I forgot about this. Thank you for the reminder.

 

[f2bnp]

Whoa. A good quality 500W PSU is more then enough for a Ryzen system with a single GFX card. My own system* doesn't even break 200W while gaming. If you load it fully, it draws ~225W max.

As for the 3.3v and 5v rails, most modern PSUs supply about 20A on both. Which is plenty. Most things today run off the 12v rail. 25A on that should be plenty.

*Ryzen 1700 + GTX1060 6GB with a Seasonic SS-660XP2.

Yeah, I agree, it's just that most people think 600W is the minimum, so I wanted to play it safe and avoid comments on how 550-600 is a little too low. Guess I went a little overboard.

 

[EXCellR8]

I just can’t get over the idea that I’m buying a product with a known defect...

Thank you! I brought this up and stated that prices should be slashed but I was condemned for thinking of such outlandish concepts.

Ryzen was always the answer anyway; there's no way you'd be disappointed coming from a Core 2 Quad. Otherwise, I'd recommend a Sky or Kaby or something.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Haha when I built the Q9650 people on these forums were thinking about 850+ watts some were talking about 1k watts. Not for the system I built but for gaming systems

For really high-powered SLI/Crossfire rigs, sure 850W+ units are appropriate enough. But for the rest of us with a single card, they're way overkill. Which leads to:

Yeah, I agree, it's just that most people think 600W is the minimum, so I wanted to play it safe and avoid comments on how 550-600 is a little too low. Guess I went a little overboard.

Depending on your specific configuration, a decent 600W might be just the right choice. Efficiency wise, PSUs run best at 40-60% load. If you have a system with f.x. an 8700K/2700X with a GTX1080, it could well be right in the sweet spot for a 600W-class unit.

Its just a matter of picking the right tool for the job, because if you go too far up the wattage ladder, you might pay for it with decreased efficiency.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

For really high-powered SLI/Crossfire rigs, sure 850W+ units are appropriate enough. But for the rest of us with a single card, they're way overkill. Which leads to:



Depending on your specific configuration, a decent 600W might be just the right choice. Efficiency wise, PSUs run best at 40-60% load. If you have a system with f.x. an 8700K/2700X with a GTX1080, it could well be right in the sweet spot for a 600W-class unit.

Its just a matter of picking the right tool for the job, because if you go too far up the wattage ladder, you might pay for it with decreased efficiency.

I’ll likely go with a Seasonic model or a Corsair, seems like somewhere in the 600 watt range is good.
Currently I have a Corsair 620 modular power supply. I have no complaints about it pooping out after 9 years.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Grrr....memory is ludicrously expensive.
Grrr....do I go with cheaper Ryzen and more expensive memory or more expensive i5/7 with cheaper memory.....grrr.....irritating and fun at the same time.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Seriously? They both take DDR4, and if you're truly concerned about spectre / meltdown, don't even consider an i5/i7.(Unless 1080P low-detail gaming is your thing.)

Think of it this way, invest MORE of your money in "good RAM", get a cheaper Ryzen (APU, even), a mid-range overclockable mobo, and go to town.

Then you can drop in a 2700X or its successor, eventually.)

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Seriously? They both take DDR4, and if you're truly concerned about spectre / meltdown, don't even consider an i5/i7.(Unless 1080P low-detail gaming is your thing.)

Think of it this way, invest MORE of your money in "good RAM", get a cheaper Ryzen (APU, even), a mid-range overclockable mobo, and go to town.

Then you can drop in a 2700X or its successor, eventually.)

Just venting frustrations

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've got several more-or-less "barebones" Ryzen CPU and APU rigs, that I could let go for a great price, let me know.
With or without included DDR4 RAM.

One rig is a 2400G with a Gigabyte Gaming 3 micro-ATX B350 board, and 16GB of Team DDR4-3000, already running at 3000. APU is currently clocked at 3850Mhz core and 1400Mhz iGPU.

PM me if you want to deal.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I've got several more-or-less "barebones" Ryzen CPU and APU rigs, that I could let go for a great price, let me know.
With or without included DDR4 RAM.

One rig is a 2400G with a Gigabyte Gaming 3 micro-ATX B350 board, and 16GB of Team DDR4-3000, already running at 3000. APU is currently clocked at 3850Mhz core and 1400Mhz iGPU.

PM me if you want to deal.

Tempting, I’d like a spare machine to run a Conan exiles or 7 days to die server.
I’ll be in touch but budget is tight for the next 7 weeks.

 

[ondma]

Grrr....memory is ludicrously expensive.
Grrr....do I go with cheaper Ryzen and more expensive memory or more expensive i5/7 with cheaper memory.....grrr.....irritating and fun at the same time.

An i5 is *not* more expensive than ryzen, unless you go for the 8600k. 8400 is very close in price, actually slightly cheaper last time I checked. Cheap motherboards are now available, and you can save a bit on ram as well.

 

[scannall]

An i5 is *not* more expensive than ryzen, unless you go for the 8600k. 8400 is very close in price, actually slightly cheaper last time I checked. Cheap motherboards are now available, and you can save a bit on ram as well.

Huh, a locked CPU on a deadend platform, with a well documented and unfixable security flaw? What a deal!

 

[walk2k]

True.

My main Ryzen rig, a 1600, has two GPUs, an RX 470 and RX 570. With all three mining (more-or-less a maximum load), my Kill-A-Watt reads around 350W. I have an Antec (SeaSonic) 620W PSU powering that rig.

What it's pulling from the wall is about 20% more (depending on the rating) than what it's feeding the system.
Ie. Your system is only using about 280w.

 

[AtenRa]

If on a low budget, today I would wait for RYZEN 5 2500/X and B450 boards and get a good 16GB 3200 DDR-4 kit. Then next year I would upgrade to 7nm 8Core 16Threads