Ryzen 5 Build

Hi Everyone -

I haven't built a desktop in a few years now been using laptops because I needed to move it around, that's no longer a factor so back to desktops woot. I'd like to have some jazy lights and look a bit "pretty" haha doesn't need to be anything extreme though/costly, more about function since it will be under a desk anyway.

I'm trying to spec a mid range Ryzen PC coming in around £1000 -

Right now I'm looking at something like -

MSI X570 Carbon Pro
Ryzen 5 3600
AMD 5700XT or RX Vega 56 - very different prices, seems like vega 56 should be fine for 1080p now, wonder though if the extra cost of the 5700XT is worth it for "future proofing".
HyperX Predator 16GB 3200Mhz CL16 - Literally no idea what to get when it comes to RAM, this just looked affordable?
RM550X PSU
970 Evo Plus 500Gb
CoolerMaster Masterbox Q500L

The RAM is whats throwing me the most at the moment it seems when I read online the recommended stuff is GSkill Trident Z RGB but it's very expensive lol, lots of people talking about compatiblity issues with ryzen cpu's and different types of ram.

For at least the immediate term I'll be playing at 1080p Ultra I haven't got a 1440p screen at the moment perhaps in the future could be a while before I bother investing in one (only recently bought my current one).

Any glaring issues with it?

 

RAM compatibility vastly improved with Zen+ CPUs (Ryzen 2XXX) so that's not so much a concern now. You'll want to get memory with the tightest timings you can afford. It seems DDR4-3200 CL14 is the sweet spot for Zen 2, but if such a kit is not within your budget, what you have spec'ed right now should be fine.

If you're dead set on an AMD GPU, the non-XT 5700 might be a better option. It's more than adequate for both 1080p and 1440p. Regardless, I would wait until AIB partner cards are released next month as they should offer quieter, more effective cooling solutions than the reference design. If you're open to second-hand goods, a GTX 1070Ti or 1080 would work.

One thing I would definitely change is your PSU. Despite its 80 Plus Gold rating, RM550X won't give you much headroom, especially if you're considering an AMD GPU. Take the money you'd save on going with a vanilla RX 5700 and invest in something rated for at least 600-700 watts.

 

You're on the right track. The Ryzen 5 3600 is a fine general-purpose chip. Its bundled air cooler should keep its temperatures under control.

The SSD you picked out is an excellent choice. For the power supply, I agree with @saturnotaku, get something with more wattage. Power supplies can last a decade or more, so consider it an investment for your next build or two. Corsair's RM750X is a good choice. I also share an opinion on the blower-style coolers in the newer AMD graphics cards; they are inefficient (the cards run pretty hot) and loud. They work well in small-form-factor desktops where there's no room to put the heat in the case, but that's not a concern with a well-cooled mid- or full-tower. So wait for AMD's board partners to equip the cards with alternative cooling solutions.

I'd recommend you spend a lot of time researching cases. Cooler Master is a good brand in my opinion, but there are so many vendors out there - Thermaltake, Corsair, Lian Li, Antec, Silverstone ...and others. Find one that speaks to you. You might consider getting your own fans for it. Even in higher-end cases, the included fans tend to be crap, so I try to buy the case without fans and then install my own.

Think

 

This isn't actually true, at least not any more. Here's a screenshot showing a temperature comparison using a reference GTX 1080 Founder's Edition, which had a blower cooler, and an AIB model. I don't have a link to the specific review, but I pulled it from this YouTube video of an in-depth discussion of AMD Navi GPUs:

 

Right now I'm quite torn between the 5700XT and RTX 2070 Super, I also have a 144Hz monitor so want to get as high FPS as possible. However it's like a £100 premium for the 2070 super while only having less than 10% performance boost.

Swapping out the PSU for a Seasonic 650w Focus Plus Gold 80.

I think I'm going with the CoolerMaster MasterBox LiteBox 3.1 for a case, I like the ThermalTake Lvl 20VT but again it's like £100 vs £40 so don't know if I want to throw the cash at it haha

Also going to swap the motherboard for an MSI B450M Mortar, smaller form factor, cheaper, seems to do everything I need and gives me more wiggle room on everything else. Has a BIOS update feature that doesn't require a CPU so shouldn't very difficult to get it updated for Ryzen 3000.

Going to hold off buying an SSD for the time being as well, I'll pull the 1tb 860 EVO out of my laptop and use that as the primary drive, from everything I've read for gaming the real world performance bonus of an M2 is very negligble, I can upgrade it later down the line if necessary but more likely I'd grab a second 1TB 860 EVO if anything.

 

I would avoid any 4-series chipset unless you're intending to get one of the recently announced MSI Max motherboards that features a 32 MB BIOS. All 3-series and most other 4-series boards have a 16 MB BIOS that's run out of space to accommodate the necessary microcode to support Zen 2 processors. In fact, companies are stripping features, like fancy graphics and mouse navigation within the UEFI. All X570 and the MSI Max lineup do not have these limitations.

 

Ah was hoping to avoid an X570, to give me a little extra cash for other bits, see if I can find a cheaper matx X570.

I need to keep everything relatively small due to my desk only having a 47cm top to bottom gap, so can't accomodate many regular size ATX cases.

 

Understood. The system in my signature is a mini ITX build so I know all about case limitations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Agreed. On top of form factor and looks, you will want to look at thermals and noise levels.

Looking at your case choice, definitely get a modular power supply, given its small size, wiring that thing will be a real pain and a non-modular PSU is not something I would want to use with a case like that. The Seasonic Focus Plus line has fully modular units.

If you want to save some money, avoid anything with RGB, the non RGB versions of things like coolers, fans, etc. are usually much cheaper.

 

I have the 80 Plus Platinum version of the Corsair SF600 in my ITX desktop, and it's outstanding. It's tiny, yet fully modular and whisper quiet, all while delivering enough juice to power all but the most hungry components.

 

I ended up going with

NZXT H400 Case
Ryzen 5 3600X
X62 Kraken NZXT 280MM CPU Cooler
16GB Team Vulcan 3200MHz RAM
Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse
B450M Mortar Mobo
Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 650W
1TB 860 EVO SSD

Total came to £950 so right around the original budget.

Once I found the H400 was totally sold, love how it looks the tempered glass panel is great it looks very clean and modern and it's reviewed to have great air flow.

I switched to the 3600X because the price of the 3600 went up to £200 and the 3600X has come down to £218 from £240 so seemed like a worthy £18 upgrade.

Ended up sticking with the B450M mobo for the time being, couldn't find a better mATX alternative right now it's pretty cheap so it's something I can look to upgrade in the next couple years if it becomes a problem. It looks like the only things removed from the ROM for Ryzen 3000 support was support for older CPUs and the graphic UI in the BIOS.

The Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse was a bit of a Uturn but after bouncing around the RTX 2070 Super and 5700XT I had trouble getting on board with the reference 5700XT it seems to get very hot and be very loud. The 2070 Super I just struggle with the performance bonus more than anything, it's drastically inflated price isn't reflected in the performance it delivers compared to the other 2. The Vega 56 looks very capable at 1080p and at £260 vs £379 for the 5700XT and £475 for the RTX 2070 Super, looks to be by far the better price/performance card.

I also came across some information where Vega 56's (particularly Vega 56 Pulse) are often undervolted and overclocked and get a further 10%+ performance increase matching\getting very close to even the 5700(non XT) and GTX 1080 (I realise there is a bit of silicon lottery in there) while maintaining very nice temperatures.

I'll see how it goes though, if the Vega 56 doesn't perform how I hope it will I'll return it and wait for custom coolers on the 5700 and 5700XT and see what happens from there as far as new prices with the custom coolers.

 

The Asus Prime X470-Pro has a 32MB BIOS, and it's not a high end board.

 

Very good system, it should last for years.