Question Which AMD CPU/GPU or CPU mated with a RX580/RX570/8GB/4GB will work best in B550 or B450 M/B? I also have some Intel questions too.

[bob4432]

As title states, which AMD CPU/GPU will work in a B550 M/B? This machine will be used strictly as a HTPC running Netflix, YoutubeTv, Discovery+ & Amazon Prime (I think that is all my wife has us set up for...)

For gaming I have a X570 MB / RYZEN 5 3600 (I thought this was a 2nd gen chip but Newegg lists it as a 3rd gen? Is that correct? / 16GB RAM / WD BLACK 500GB SN850 NVMe GEN4 PCI-E / RX 580 8GB GPU / SEASONIC 750W 80+ GOLD PSU which I know is overkill but a SEASONIC 550W 80+ Gold will be going in the HTPC. Both machines will have 16GB of PC3000 (or possibly faster, but I have 2 sets of 16GB PC3000 DDR4 RAM sitting here already - would I gain much by going faster or more RAM in the gaming rig and give it 32GB -insert speed here- DDR4 RAM in them, but I think the machines should be fine with 16GB each as the gaming rig will be running a 1920x1200 via DVI connection and the HTPC will be running a 1929x1080 display via HDMI (that had been acting up lately, so that may be moved to a 4K display, after all is built, and if the HTPC display is still acting up, a 4K will be swapped out for the now known to be defunct 1080p display.

As far as the HTPC goes, if a CPU/GPU all-in-one chip is not the best route, I do have a RX570 4GB GPU - you guys and girls direct me to the best outcome that will last me the longest, and I know the HTPC will last a decent amount longer than the GAMING RIG. The HTPC will also act as the Home Server running a WD BLACK 500GB SN750 NVMe GEN3 PCI-E & A PAIR OF RAID 1 SPINNERS, encrypted at my place and then upload to AWS where they will get encrypted again and possibly to a third place which I have not figured out yet whether it be a Safety Deposit Box or another Cloud Based setup (important data).

I have taken about a 7 year hiatus from gaming (the last game I played was Battlefield 4 on a used i5 2500k / NVIDIA 560 TI).

I see CPU prices climbing quickly so I would like to pick one up for the HTPC ASAP.

***** NEW INFO 05/10
Regarding Intel, looking at a 10400/F mated with a B460 based M/B (need to verify the M/B I have inind will be OK a PCI-E 3, 4x (I think that would be the correct syntax 🤔, anyway the main drive will be a WD SN750 NVMe, then 2x 5400GB spinners in RAID 1) and if the built in GPU will work with a single display upto UHD 4k, or will I need to use a RADEON RX570 4GB?

Is there a better Intel setup that would be more cost effective than what I am looking at? The HTPC will not see any gaming, just upto ripped/non-compressed (I own the originals) 4k, UHD Blu-Rays and streaming services, so max 4k video & HD Audio.
***** END NEW INFO 05/19

Appreciate the time and knowledge,
Bob

 

[DrMrLordX]

Not a problem. If you're looking at 10400 and 11400, you will find that the prices are similar. You may find some cheap H510 boards that will meet your needs. Just be aware that if you want PCIe 4.0, you need either Z490 or Z590 which is not cheap.

 

[bob4432]

As far as the NVMe 4.0 drive, I just wanted to see if i can even feel the difference. I am coming from a SATA SSD, so curious if any difference between the 3 will be noticed.

Regarding a completely different item - RAM, Quantity & Speed.
Currently I have 2 sets of 16GB, nearly the same speed, in fact the same speed, just different timings. Both sets are 3000MHz and I plan on keeping each set seperate. Am I going to run out on the gaming rig @ 16GB?

Also, where do both the different CPUs need different aspects of RAM? Is 3000MHZ too slow for the gaming rig? I picked these two sets up quite a while ago and they were suppose to be identical as they were sold under the same company SKU, but turned out to be different (but very close) manf sets.

Could somebody give me a quick rundown on what AMD vs Intel needs to get the most out of the RAM for each manf, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, why the fluctuations in the different parts - just speaking about the M/B & CPU at the moment, or maybe I am just looking at so many parts it appears there is a fluctuation - somebody set me straight

Here is s crazy idea - what about moving the old Mining Rig over to take on the duties if the HTPC, but disable the i5-2500K's onboard iGPU and put a RX570 4GB in its place. As thing sit right now, the HTPC is a Z68 M/B w/ the i5-2500K and when I have watched a 4K movie on the 1080p display, the first ~15-30s has a bit of an issue, and I can tell the i5-2500K is struggling on the 1080p display - would it still struggle on a 4K display? How would the playback be if i disabled the i5-2500K's iGPU and put in a RX570 4GB? Would that take away the struggle? Like i have said in the past, the HTPC ONLY watches movies, streams and holds backups from the HTPC, a couple laptops and then the Gaming Rig once it is online. My wife may do some FB stuff on it, but for that she uses her laptop or phone ~95% of the time.

So would a i5-2500K / RX570 4GB be able to play UHD 4K Blu-Ray rips (that I own the originals to)?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

 

[DrMrLordX]

DDR4-3000 is generally considered to be too slow for gaming rigs these days. You can probably get by with it, but both Intel and AMD setups will leave performance on the table with RAM that slow. If all you want is 60 fps at 1080p or 1440p then it may not make a big deal.

Right now, DDR4-3600 is about the sweet spot for price/performance for gaming rigs. You can do better with more-expensive kits, but improvements become cost-prohibitive beyond that point. Not sure if games are going past 16GB yet but I think they will in a year or two, if they aren't already.

 

[B-Riz]

DDR4-3000 is generally considered to be too slow for gaming rigs these days. You can probably get by with it, but both Intel and AMD setups will leave performance on the table with RAM that slow. If all you want is 60 fps at 1080p or 1440p then it may not make a big deal.

Right now, DDR4-3600 is about the sweet spot for price/performance for gaming rigs. You can do better with more-expensive kits, but improvements become cost-prohibitive beyond that point. Not sure if games are going past 16GB yet but I think they will in a year or two, if they aren't already.

I have run super budget DDR4 at 1.35v 3200MHz 16-16-16-32 on Zen2 since it came out; the memory controller is one of the best parts of Zen2.

But, Intel has the ring bus on the CPU, so, less benefit from faster memory than AMD.

 

[DrMrLordX]

But, Intel has the ring bus on the CPU, so, less benefit from faster memory than AMD.

Common misconception. Many CoffeeLake/Comet Lake users have reported significant gains from fast memory. Truth is that everyone should want fast RAM given an unlimited budget. AMD CPUs are now quite comfortable running DDR4-3600, and DIMMs can be had for that speed with decent timings for not much money, so that's currently the sweet spot. Used to be DDR4-3200.

 

[B-Riz]

The 10400 was mentioned earlier in the thread, I do not know the Intel stuff at all. The 11400 is now on my radar, it is just that I have been out of the loop for so long, I don't even know what I don't know, and I still need to learn/mess with the RaspberryPi stuff, which I have not had the time yet to get to it. So much stuff to do, do little time. I think I should mess with the RaspberrryPi 4b+ 8GB (I had read that the 8GB units are not much better than the 4GB units as the image that you install on it only supports a MAX of 4GB 😟 - can anybody verify this?) being out of the loop for SOOOOO long, it seems like the only logical choice, and I would like to pick up a HAT (correct verbage?) so I can run at least a SATA 6Gb/s (and just so I have this correct, SSD connected via REAL SATA cable, then connect to network GbE via USB 3.x ( do not remember what that USB 3 port was up to, for some reason 2.5Gb/s is sticking in my mind, can anybody verify this?)).

Just so know, I think I have been out of the scene since ~2012 give or take a couple years in either direction (personally would error on the older guestimate and have never been a social media person like FB, so we are pushing being out of the computer scene since about 2012, so the questions you may ask, "WTF, Had this guy been living under a rock for the last decade?", the answer is sadly "Yes", so what you think may be a crazy "everybody should know this answer", to me they are legitimate questions and I am not just asking to waste anybody's time and I appreciate you taking the time getting me up to speed.

Again, thanks for taking the time answering the questions I ask, they are legitimate.

Bob 👍

There is a 64 bit OS for the 8GB Pi from Ubuntu and Gentoo and a Beta version of Raspberry Pi OS.

8GB Raspberry Pi 4 on sale now at $75 - Raspberry Pi

A new 8GB RAM variant of Raspberry Pi 4 is available today, priced at just $75. Visit your favourite Raspberry Pi Approved Reseller to get yours.

www.raspberrypi.org

 

[B-Riz]

Common misconception. Many CoffeeLake/Comet Lake users have reported significant gains from fast memory. Truth is that everyone should want fast RAM given an unlimited budget. AMD CPUs are now quite comfortable running DDR4-3600, and DIMMs can be had for that speed with decent timings for not much money, so that's currently the sweet spot. Used to be DDR4-3200.

What is significant though? 10%, 20%?

At some point, chasing perf on memory is a waste of time and money and diminishing returns. It may be fun to tweak, and the numbers look good on the tech sites, but, I would rather keep my 3200 memory and sell a Zen2 chip and get a Zen3 that boosts perf and FPS across the board than keep Zen2 spend more money on fancy 3600 memory and min max it.

In this use case, I don't think OP needs to buy 3600 memory. They could, however, bump what have to 3200 easy using Zen2.

 

[IEC]

Not a problem. If you're looking at 10400 and 11400, you will find that the prices are similar. You may find some cheap H510 boards that will meet your needs. Just be aware that if you want PCIe 4.0, you need either Z490 or Z590 which is not cheap.

There is also B560 which supports PCI-e 4.0 with a Rocket Lake CPU.

Given that the i5-11400 basically doesn't exist at MSRP and has the nerfed iGPU I opted to spend about $10 more and step up one level.

I purchased a i5-11500 and ASUS TUF Gaming B560M Wifi Plus mATX motherboard combination. And will run it with 4x8GB Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-4000 memory. For science. And because GPUs are unobtanium and I want to build something new and shiny, dang it!

Should have bought more ex miner cards when there were fire-sales on 4GB video cards. I've run out of stock for friends' builds. Soon...™

 

[bob4432]

Thanks for the input. After looking up prices on PC-3600 RAM, I appreciate the suggestion but I am going to have to pass due to the price.

Anybody have any input on using the old miner rig (i5-2500K), put in a RX570 4GB and use that as a HTPC/Home Server? Good idea? Bad idea? Again HTPC will not see any gaming at all.

 

[DrMrLordX]

What is significant though? 10%, 20%?

About the same as what you see from Matisse, and presumably Vermeer.

At some point, chasing perf on memory is a waste of time and money and diminishing returns.

I know. The sweet spot is around DDR4-3600, or was last time I checked. I'll have to look into that right now, in fact . . .

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#Z=16384002&S=3600&sort=price&page=1

My pick would be the Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB for $93.90.

In this use case, I don't think OP needs to buy 3600 memory. They could, however, bump what have to 3200 easy using Zen2.

Why? Cheap DDR4-3200 is like $75. Why would you not spend the $18-$19 for the extra clocks/performance? It's a no-brainer.

There is also B560 which supports PCI-e 4.0 with a Rocket Lake CPU.

It does?

Intel® B560 Chipset Product Specifications

Intel® B560 Chipset quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Intel is only listing PCIe 3.0x on their own website. And if that's inaccurate then Intel is doing a really poor job of advertising their own product's feature set.

Given that the i5-11400 basically doesn't exist at MSRP and has the nerfed iGPU I opted to spend about $10 more and step up one level.

That ain't a bad choice. I only mentioned the 11400 because its street price is almost identical to the 10400. Or it's very close anyway.

Thanks for the input. After looking up prices on PC-3600 RAM, I appreciate the suggestion but I am going to have to pass due to the price.

Why? It's cheap. I mean, seriously, it's hard not to get a good deal on serviceable Crucial DDR4-3600 right now, and that Micron e-die actually overclocks pretty well (you don't have to increase speed; you can tweak timings too!). I think it's in all of Crucial's DDR4-3600 kits now.

 

[B-Riz]

Thanks for the input. After looking up prices on PC-3600 RAM, I appreciate the suggestion but I am going to have to pass due to the price.

Anybody have any input on using the old miner rig (i5-2500K), put in a RX570 4GB and use that as a HTPC/Home Server? Good idea? Bad idea? Again HTPC will not see any gaming at all.

I'm guessing it would be plenty powerful, and you could tweak it with under-volting for lower CPU power usage, heck, lock it at a lower max clock since it is a K CPU.

I don't have that exact Sand Bridge to test though, I think I have an i5 2400 and RX 480 4GB.

 

[bob4432]

@DrMrLordX - PM