New 2600X - I have returned to AMD land

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Somnambulator

Gawd
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Apr 13, 2008
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Hello- just bought a 2600X + Asus Strix x470-f and have 2 questions.
  1. Is it worth upgrading the cooler to an AiO?
  2. what's a good 16GB memory kit for the price? (preferably without RGB)
Will a better cooler noticeably improve gaming performance (via XFR)?

I've been worried about underperforming ram based on how finicky/responsive Zen seems to be. I've never heard of CPUs responding so well/poorly to memory speeds and timings... Do AMD chips/chipsets run XMP?

Thanks.

Last AMD setup was a 939 or 940 Opteron dual core...
 
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Not gonna lie, fella... your thread title made it sound like you had to RMA a brand new CPU. :)

In answer to your questions - the stock cooler is better-than-merely adequate, but better cooling will definitely let it sit near all-core turbo clock speeds almost all the time (depending on your ambient temp, of course. If you live in Canada, the stock cooler will probably get you there just fine :))

As far as RAM is concerned - for best results, stick with 2x8G kits at no slower than 3200 - 4 sticks can be a pain to get going at full speed and stability. On NewEgg at least, they have a special category of "Ryzen Compatible" RAM (likely Samsung B-Die) and pretty much anything from that should work fine. On the other hand, memory compatibility for Ryzen has improved dramatically since launch last year, so if you see a really good deal I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand if it isn't on the list.

Finally: Yes, Ryzen boards support XMP Profiles but they may be called something else on some boards. For example, ASUS calls them DOCP for some reason.
 
As mentioned above, 3200mhz ideally C14 would be your go-to for 16GB RAM kit (2x8GB). Ryzen 2xxx series and their respective boards are much better than first gen Ryzen with RAM/XMP etc.

Cooler wise, if you've got a good case to work with that's easy reach the backplate etc to change coolers, just trial the stock cooler and only spend if you think it's worth it/you're not getting the boost clocks you're after.
 
If you can afford it, try to get 3600 RAM. I have 3600 on my 2700X and it made a huge difference in performance.

Get an AIO and overclock it to 4.2Ghz. Should be good to go for several years.
 
Somnambulator said:
Hello- just bought a 2600X + Asus Strix x470-f and have 2 questions.
  1. Is it worth upgrading the cooler to an AiO?
  2. what's a good 16GB memory kit for the price? (preferably without RGB)
Will a better cooler noticeably improve gaming performance (via XFR)?

I've been worried about underperforming ram based on how finicky/responsive Zen seems to be. I've never heard of CPUs responding so well/poorly to memory speeds and timings... Do AMD chips/chipsets run XMP?

Thanks.

Last AMD setup was a 939 or 940 Opteron dual core...
Click to expand...
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/04/30/amd_precision_boost_2_wraith_prism_deep_dive/
 
Memory compatibility has improved greatly. Pretty much any 3000mhz RAM you can get running at 2933mhz worst case scenario. Lately it has been as easy as enabling the XMP profile (DOCP on the Asus boards) and away you go.
 
I'm using a Corsair H100i on the build I completed two weeks ago (back to AMD after Intel for 15ish years) and it keeps the CPU cool and clocked up around it's max boost of 4.2GHz most of the time. The fans are also quiet up until they really start moving air over the radiator and then it's less fan noise and more air whoosh.

I had to manually up the voltage on my RAM and set the speed in BIOS to get it to run at 3200MHz correctly was the big annoyance from the build. Asus X470 Strix-F was the board and it had the latest BIOS version on it.
 
Single rank dimms are gonna perform better on Ryzen.

Aio coolers carry too much failure in my opinion. 2600x WILL not run hot. The stock cooler is actually very well matched. I ow ed one and returned it and got a 2950x. It was my holdover till I got this 16 core.
 
I've used quite a few AIO liquid coolers. Never really had a quality issue with any of them - including the Enermax Liqtech 360 that I am currently using (it hasn't started going south on me but if it does I'm ready!).
 
Might as well post the whole build:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Somnambulator/saved/ZjvdXL

upload_2018-10-12_0-50-47.png


Sound card depends on the onboard sound. Giving the "premium" onboard a shot, first. Haven't used onboard in 15 years.
GFX card depends on RTX 2070 performance and pricing and BFV. Hoping ray tracing in BFV is legit and that 2070 can run max quality at 1080p/60 with it enabled. if not I might go all in with a 2080 or cheap out with 1080 or 1080ti and upgrade to RTRT with the next generation.
 
G skill probably make the best RAM nowadays. I used to be a big Kingston fanboy, but honestly G Skill has had nothing but winners recently.
 
Looks good, though I personally would've tried for 3200C14, but the difference should generally be minimal.
 
Honestly I wouldn't recommend Gigabyte anything. That's professional experience.
 
You should generally find the onboard to be suitable enough re audio for 95% of cases, depending on your existing gear. Personally, however, if you were to upgrade from the onboard audio, consider an external DAC/AMP instead of an internal sound card IMO.
 
Looks like a solid rig, close to identical to what I just put together. Hope you enjoy it!
 
Welcome back, you will find it most enjoyable again. :) I have a 2600 non X and can only get 4.175 GHz out of it, at least with stability.
 
Looks good. I am building something similar except 2600 non X and B450 mobo and 480 gb NVME M2. Same ram.
 
KazeoHin said:
Honestly I wouldn't recommend Gigabyte anything. That's professional experience.
Click to expand...
the 2080 is a parametric filter place holder. Waiting for 2070 and BFV ray tracing reviews before making a decision between 2070 and 1080 or holding out for future 2060. I game at 1080p because low dpi = EZMOAD first person shooters. Currently using a low latency Vizio TV because my ideal monitor does not (and probably will never) exist- 40" 16:9/16:10 1080p GSync 120+hz.
 
ReaperX22 said:
You should generally find the onboard to be suitable enough re audio for 95% of cases, depending on your existing gear. Personally, however, if you were to upgrade from the onboard audio, consider an external DAC/AMP instead of an internal sound card IMO.
Click to expand...
My headphones are just a $100 or $150 polk gaming headset so AMP not needed, but I do have a z5500 5.1 system. Can external DACs do 5.1? If i plug my headset in will most driver software automatically switch the speaker output to headphones, then switch back to 5.1 when I unplug them? i really enjoy plugging in my headset and not having to change the output in drivers.

I havent used onboard audio in close to 15 years. Every time I upgrade I test it out and every time I end up re-installing my old Sound Blaster or ordering a new one. My last 3 cards were all Sound BLasters with the front I/O panel. I love how it automatically switches Window's speaker output when plugging the headset in. Some games base in-game audio output on the Window's speaker config and the old onboard solutions didn't adjust that automatically- I'd usually have to quit the game, change the speaker output, then relaunch the game for it to recognize the new output.
 
Somnambulator said:
My headphones are just a $100 or $150 polk gaming headset so AMP not needed, but I do have a z5500 5.1 system. Can external DACs do 5.1? If i plug my headset in will most driver software automatically switch the speaker output to headphones, then switch back to 5.1 when I unplug them? i really enjoy plugging in my headset and not having to change the output in drivers.

I havent used onboard audio in close to 15 years. Every time I upgrade I test it out and every time I end up re-installing my old Sound Blaster or ordering a new one. My last 3 cards were all Sound BLasters with the front I/O panel. I love how it automatically switches Window's speaker output when plugging the headset in. Some games base in-game audio output on the Window's speaker config and the old onboard solutions didn't adjust that automatically- I'd usually have to quit the game, change the speaker output, then relaunch the game for it to recognize the new output.
Click to expand...

None of your gear particularly benefits from an expensive sound card/USB Dac+Amp. Z5500 is a good system for its age but it was never considered a 'high-end' system.

I personally think you'll be fine with the onboard. That said, if you still have a good/trusty soundblaster around, you may as well use it!? If you believe it's more convenient even if minimal difference in sound quality.

Kitgurus review of the board you're picking states:
"Audio performance is up there with the best motherboards KitGuru has tested due to the use of high quality components across the audio pipeline" - https://www.kitguru.net/components/...og-strix-x470-f-gaming-motherboard-review/12/
 
ReaperX22 said:
None of your gear particularly benefits from an expensive sound card/USB Dac+Amp. Z5500 is a good system for its age but it was never considered a 'high-end' system.

I personally think you'll be fine with the onboard. That said, if you still have a good/trusty soundblaster around, you may as well use it!? If you believe it's more convenient even if minimal difference in sound quality.

Kitgurus review of the board you're picking states:
"Audio performance is up there with the best motherboards KitGuru has tested due to the use of high quality components across the audio pipeline" - https://www.kitguru.net/components/...og-strix-x470-f-gaming-motherboard-review/12/
Click to expand...
Thanks, that's great news. THe upgraded audio is the main reason I went with this model/tier board, hoping i wouldn't need a pcie sound card anymore. The Sound Blaster software/EQ and I/O panel were most of the reason I kept buying them, but my case intentionally doesn't have an external bay for the I/O panel and Creative's drivers are known as some of the worst of all mainstream PC companies.
 
Somnambulator said:
Thanks, that's great news. THe upgraded audio is the main reason I went with this model/tier board, hoping i wouldn't need a pcie sound card anymore. The Sound Blaster software/EQ and I/O panel were most of the reason I kept buying them, but my case intentionally doesn't have an external bay for the I/O panel and Creative's drivers are known as some of the worst of all mainstream PC companies.
Click to expand...

Gsx1000 or CLabs G5X

External DAC ftw
 
What's a normal idle temp for 2600X on stock cooler? Room temp is probably high 60s F. It's idling around 40 C at stock settings + 3200mhz XMP.
 
Somnambulator said:
What's a normal idle temp for 2600X on stock cooler? Room temp is probably high 60s F. It's idling around 40 C at stock settings + 3200mhz XMP.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right, I have idle temp of 40C with stock cooler before I change it to Noctua NH-D9L since I didn't like how fast temperature was rising with the stock cooler and just loud it gets.
 
evilpaul said:
How are POST and boot times with current Ryzen 2000 series chips/boards?
Click to expand...
Is that a known problem? Mine takes a long time to POST, maybe 10 seconds before the display shows any signs of life. I thought it was a quirk of this board.
 
Geforcepat said:
not sure I approve of this build. especially for 1080P.
Click to expand...

At 1080p60, he would almost always be above 60fps minimum. Also, he can use DSR or purchase a 144hz monitor at 1080p, which would work great as well. I have a 4k Samsung 43 inch tv that I use as a monitor since last December. Now, I have a Acer 1080p 144 hz Freesync monitor and I have already gamed on it in 6 days more that I did the other in 10 months.
 
Somnambulator said:
Is that a known problem? Mine takes a long time to POST, maybe 10 seconds before the display shows any signs of life. I thought it was a quirk of this board.
Click to expand...
It was a thing around launch time thought to do with memory timings/memory training?
 
POST/Boot times are a LOT better than they were at launch, but a first-time cold boot (or first boot after upgrading firmware) can still take several seconds (4-5) before anything happens on the screen. I have a PC speaker and the LED display on my mainboard, though (Asus CH6H) so it never bothered me because I know "stuff is happening."


Why did PC speakers stop being standard anyway? POST beep is so freaking usefule and reassuring.
 
I tracked one down when I bought my last case because I was wondering the same thing.
 
If you need a cheap air cooker, one of the best in the business at it's price range the Hyper 212 EVO is ~$25 right now.


Alternatively, if you're less price conscious and can spare an extra ~$5 the Hyper 212 Turbo is ~$30.
 
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I'm using stock cooler with my 2600X and it holds 4.0-4.1 on all 6 cores at 62C in pubg/overwatch.
No overclocking performed, this is all defualt.
I don't think it's worth spending on an upgraded cooler and you can use the cash saved to buy the 7nm ryzen in 2019 (uses same AM4 motherboard).
 
ManofGod said:
At 1080p60, he would almost always be above 60fps minimum. Also, he can use DSR or purchase a 144hz monitor at 1080p, which would work great as well. I have a 4k Samsung 43 inch tv that I use as a monitor since last December. Now, I have a Acer 1080p 144 hz Freesync monitor and I have already gamed on it in 6 days more that I did the other in 10 months.
Click to expand...

That's my point. if he's using a high refresh(which should be the standard in my opinion) 1080p then the last thing he needs is a ryzen proc. i'm liking the ryzen but not for 1080p. and a 2080 ? only if it's for a really high refresh ie 240hz. but he say' he's getting a 2070 now.
 
Geforcepat said:
That's my point. if he's using a high refresh(which should be the standard in my opinion) 1080p then the last thing he needs is a ryzen proc. i'm liking the ryzen but not for 1080p. and a 2080 ? only if it's for a really high refresh ie 240hz. but he say' he's getting a 2070 now.
Click to expand...

You are sort of beating a dead horse here..He has a 2080...Even with a 7 year old stock clocked i7-2600K, he would be able to hold more then 60FPS (in 90%+ games that would be the MIN frame rate) with excellent frame times since the card can render so many frames..
 
Somnambulator said:
rest of the parts arrive next week. Will use stock cooler and evaluate. went this this ram: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232182
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GVS

  • DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600)
  • Timing 16-16-16-36
  • CAS Latency 16
  • Voltage 1.35V


How's that look?
Click to expand...
That's hynix RAM. If you don't have RAM/memory yet, try to get Samsung b-die RAM. It's only a bit more expensive than the other. It should be a decent price in the USA, too, in which you have more choices of vendor and prices.
 
ccityinstaller said:
You are sort of beating a dead horse here..He has a 2080...Even with a 7 year old stock clocked i7-2600K, he would be able to hold more then 60FPS (in 90%+ games that would be the MIN frame rate) with excellent frame times since the card can render so many frames..
Click to expand...

How am i "beating a dead horse"? yes, i know anything sandy bridge + will hit 60 @ 1080 with a 970+. but with say skylake+ with said 2080 instead of sandy/ryzen he could get 100fps instead of 75-80. i've seen the coffelake reviews and @ 1080p it's no contest intel wins pretty big. so that 's what I'm saying yes he can hit 60 with ryzen but to get the most out of his high refresh(120hz-144hz) monitor he needs intel. especially if he's running "rtx"
 
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