Question Should I Overclock Ryzen 2700(X) ?

arnuld

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Dec 1, 2018
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I am planning to build this PCPartPicker list. After reading so many threads here, there are 2 options I have come up with:
  1. Buy 2700X and let it decide how and when to overclock itself using its XFR2 and Precision-Boost.
  2. Buy 2700 instead and OC it to 4.3 GHz.

is it unsafe to OC ? Do I need to mix-match OC 2700 by OCing RAM and options in Motherboard BIOS ? What things I should take care specifically for 2700 ?

NOTE: I don't do gaming, want to OC just to get more single threaded performance for my programming work, Jupyter Lab software and Blu-Ray movies and YouTube streaming )
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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If you OC you would need to check for stability, basically you should read up on the Ryzen OC guides. To save money, you could get the non X version and OC, but getting the 2700X would be simpler and less testing/hassle.

Just curious though, if you just need faster single thread performance, and don't game, then why get an RX 580 and an 8 core Ryzen? A cheaper video card and an intel i5 or i7 might make more sense for you. Or maybe even just use integrated GPU on the intel. Unless there is a use for more threads as well.
 
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DrMrLordX

Lifer
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The old-school in me says, get the 2700 and OC that sucker. But if your HSF is truly good enough to open up that 2700x then you may be better off just letting it boost itself up as high as it can go. Overall you will burn more power and produce more heat trying to do a straight overclock to 4.3 GHz via multipliers. Something to think about.

Also if you want something other than like, DDR4-2933 then you will technically have to OC your RAM no matter what you do. Fortunately you can leave your 2700x (if you get one) to its own devices and still OC the RAM by hand.

That being said I'm skeptical about that Trident-Z. That isn't even b-die. No way I would pay $200 for Hynix DDR4. Either get one of these kits:

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=403200&L=0,140&sort=price&Z=16384002

or one of these:

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=403600&sort=price&Z=16384002&page=1&L=0,170
 

krumme

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Oct 9, 2009
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The 2700x seems to be perfect for your purpose. But do check if the 2700x is really fastest for your specific workloads vs comparable priced intel system. Have you done that?
 
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IEC

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Single/lightly-threaded workloads will generally perform better on the latest 8th and 9th generation Intel processors (e.g. i7-9700K) as they have a higher fMax and single-core turbo.

Hard to argue with the value proposition of an AMD processor, but if you really need the top end performance then Intel is king and has yet to be dethroned.
 

scannall

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Given that less than a third of 2700X can reach even 4.2GHz, picking up a 2700X and running it at stock is the best outcome overall.
That way you have ~4.05GHz all core frequency and around 4.3GHz single core frequency.

https://siliconlottery.com/pages/statistics
Maybe I have a 'Golden' chip? If I do, it'd be a first. Stock settings, stock cooler I get 4.2 on all cores on a 2600X. On rare occasions on 1 or 2 cores I see 4.3 or 4.4. With modern operating systems there really aren't a lot of times when only 1 or 2 cores are all that's working.
 

arnuld

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@Shmee I have AMD Athlon II X3 440 (bought back in 2010) and it has integrated GPU. Works well for 1080p videos and lot of browsing and searching but not for my work. Jupyter Lab software lags like hell and I can't even work with Anaconda (Python). Then many applications with heavy images/pdfs take too much time to render, sometime even freeze the system. So I decided to get 'X' version of processor. Earlier I was thinking of 2600X but then when I am spending money and not gonna upgrade the system for next 3 years at least, I thought why not get 2700X with 8 core and a good GPU. RX570 and 580 don't have much price difference when it comes to shipping to India from newegg and for extra $20 I am getting 8GB version. So I thought why not.

My plan of buying is pushed a month ahead to Feb (finances). We don't know what is this 2019 Ryzen series gonna bring. It takes 6-10 months before drivers/features of newer CPUs/GPUs start working well with Linux, hence can't afford waiting for 2019 Ryzen either. Even if it comes in March then I have to wait till December till they start working well in Linux. So I decided I will go ahead with Ryzen 2nd gen. It is tried and tested well on Linux now.

@krumme I am AMD fanboy :) , so want to get only AMD

@DrMrLordX I checked all RAM performances, beyond 2933 MHz, the performance boost you get is less than 10%, more of 3-5% even if you reduce latency from 16 to 14. SO I was wondering why pay $100 extra for that ?
 
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DrMrLordX

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@DrMrLordX I checked all RAM performances, beyond 2933 MHz, the performance boost you get is less than 10%, more of 3-5% even if you reduce latency from 16 to 14. SO I was wondering why pay $100 extra for that ?

All I was doing was making suggestions close to the price point you were willing to pay ($200) that outperformed the Trident-Z in your build. If you want to save money try one of the DDR4-3600 CAS19 kits or go for something slower than DDR4-3200. Here are some money-saving alternates:

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=403600&Z=16384002&sort=price&page=1

that G-Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3600 is only $120. Or for something slower:

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=402933,403200&Z=16384002&sort=price

That TEAM DDR4-3200 is only $110.

Now if I had my choice, I would go for the DDR4-3600 CAS19 in case I wanted to upgrade to Zen2 later. With the expanding core counts, there's going to be a need more more memory bandwidth. If I knew I was going to be on that 2700x forever then I might opt for DDR4-3200 CAS16 since I figure the performance would (overall) be better. DDR4-3200 CAS16 should be about the same as DDR4-3466 CAS17 or DDR4-3733 CAS18 (for reference) not taking into account IF speed benefits. As you can see, going to DDR4-2933 offers no cost savings so why buy it?
 

arnuld

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Dec 1, 2018
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All I was doing was making suggestions close to the price point you were willing to pay ($200) that outperformed the Trident-Z in your build. If you want to save money try one of the DDR4-3600 CAS19 kits or go for something slower than DDR4-3200. Here are some money-saving alternates:

I understand your point. What I learned for shipping to India, newegg is cheapest even with extra $50-100 for shipping, yeah even for cooling fans. So, I have great budget but then again it is restricted by shipping charges.


Now if I had my choice, I would go for the DDR4-3600 CAS19 in case I wanted to upgrade to Zen2 later. With the expanding core counts, there's going to be a need more more memory bandwidth. If I knew I was going to be on that 2700x forever then I might opt for DDR4-3200 CAS16 since I figure the performance would (overall) be better. DDR4-3200 CAS16 should be about the same as DDR4-3466 CAS17 or DDR4-3733 CAS18 (for reference) not taking into account IF speed benefits. As you can see, going to DDR4-2933 offers no cost savings so why buy it?

Hm.. that makes sense. I will definitely get DDR4 3200 CAS16 then but the X version when it comes to Trident because that supports Ryzen.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
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I will definitely get DDR4 3200 CAS16 then but the X version when it comes to Trident because that supports Ryzen.

Unless your board QVL specifies that you have to use the Trident-Z RAM (and I have no idea why it would), all the G.Skill RAM of the same clockspeed and same CAS/CL latency should work about the same on a 2700x unless you try to overclock it beyond the stated specs. It'll be the same basic ICs. The main difference is the heatspreader. The Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 CAS16 is essentially the same product as the Trident-Z DDR4-3200 CAS16, for $80 less . . .

The only RAM kits out there (of which I am aware) that are actually tuned/tested for Ryzen configs are G.Skill FlareX, and those are expensive. $204 for DDR4-3200 CAS 14. But if you want to pay $200 for your RAM and you are worried about Ryzen compatibility, get the FlareX.
 

chrisjames61

Senior member
Dec 31, 2013
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Maybe I have a 'Golden' chip? If I do, it'd be a first. Stock settings, stock cooler I get 4.2 on all cores on a 2600X. On rare occasions on 1 or 2 cores I see 4.3 or 4.4. With modern operating systems there really aren't a lot of times when only 1 or 2 cores are all that's working.


You are going to dispute what the Stilt said? The guy is a legend. I would leave it stock like he said.
 

arnuld

Member
Dec 1, 2018
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Just curious though, if you just need faster single thread performance, and don't game, then why get an RX 580 and an 8 core Ryzen? A cheaper video card and an intel i5 or i7 might make more sense for you. Or maybe even just use integrated GPU on the intel. Unless there is a use for more threads as well.

Out of curiosity, for comparison and more of learning from your advice, I built a pseudo-build on PCPartPicker list, What will you add/remove there ?
 

arnuld

Member
Dec 1, 2018
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Your storage choices seem a bit odd. And personally I'd go with the Asrock motherboard. Something like this.

I have watced too many buildzoid videos to choose anything other than MSI (for good VRAMs).

Storage, I don't need 2 TB. I have hardly used 250GB out of 1TB HDD I have right now. So, keeping storage of 200GB separate because that will be used less. If primary SSD dies, because it will be used 10 times more, then my data still is saved.

MX500 and 860 EVO, I thought they were of same quality. Here is one:

 
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scannall

Golden Member
Jan 1, 2012
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I have watced too many buildzoid videos to choose anything other than MSI (for good VRAMs).

Storage, I don't need 2 TB. I have hardly used 250GB out of 1TB HDD I have right now. So, keeping storage of 200GB separate because that will be used less. If primary SSD dies, because it will be used 10 times more, then my data still is saved.

MX500 and 860 EVO, I thought they were of same quality. Here is one:

The cooler that comes stock with the 2700X is very good. The aftermarket one you had really isn't any better. So that will save you a bit.
 

arnuld

Member
Dec 1, 2018
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The cooler that comes stock with the 2700X is very good. The aftermarket one you had really isn't any better. So that will save you a bit.

Oh yeah.. CM Hyper 212 or Gammaxx 400 are way better than stock cooler. There are whole bunch of videos on this. One is :

 

krumme

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2009
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Not going to spoil the buying party but i would wait a handful of days to see how the ryzen 3000 series pans out. It might be a huge huge change in how much performance we can get in the 200-400 USD range. I am sure the fpu grunt will be pretty brutal for a starter. Like Athlon 1999 tractor style :)