Advice sought on my first build in 7 years...

maxinflixion

maxinflixion

Gawd
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
625
I am sure my story is not uncommon. I used to build a new system every year. Seven years ago, I built this i7-2600k machine and haven't had a reason to upgrade. Yet...

Now I have the itch to go the M.2 route and take advantage of other current gen tech.

Looking at AMD's new offerings, I think I am going to go 2700x for two reasons. 1) 2600k-2600x just feels weird in the naming convention 2) (the real reason) It has been 7 years. That $100 price delta doesn't seem that big if I even kept this rig half that time. I am going to go X470 for the same reason (or is this not the way to go since I am not an overclocker or major gamer?).

The advice I am looking for is memory. I don't know why but memory speed/timing has always befuddled me. I never took the time or energy to learn about it. What memory should I use in this build? I am thinking 16gb, but want to ensure I grab the right sticks the first time.

Other advice is on PSU and might be a dumb question. I am running a Corsait TX750 currently. Do the new motherboards require any different connectors now?

My use case:
- Gaming- I randomly decide to game out of the blue and go hard for a weekend, then lose interest
- I am keeping my8gb RX480 for now (until I wake up one Saturday and need to upgrade)
- I do a lot of writing. This requires no special system needs
- I work remotely on a Virtual desktop pretty much all day in one monitor and second monitor is personal use while working
- I have a podcast that I edit on this machine and we record over videoconference mainly
- I will be doing some more video editing for the podcast in the future

Any guidance is appreciated. Micro Center is a schlep, and I have been burned by employee"advice" there before, so I want to ensure I grab the right stuff up front.
 
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Buy memory with Samsung B-die. Doesn't matter so much the brand. B-die first, then pick the specific kit. Something marketed as 3200 Cas 14 will be B-die normally. There are some lists compiled if you want part numbers, just google.
 
To ensure memory compatibility and 99% chance of running at rated speed, I'd eye for 3000MHz+ RAM kits with a cas latency of 14. That said, I feel like Zen+ and X470 may have better memory compatibility so you might be able to just go off the manufacturer Qualified Vendor List (QVL) for whichever motherboard you select. I honestly have run a lot of DDR4 3000/3200 MHz CL15-16 kits at 2933-3200 with relaxed timings so it's not terrible.

No new connectors from your power supply, but it might be a good time to consider an upgrade anyways - to a newer, more efficient, modern designed PSU with modular cables and 7-12 year warranty (Seasonic Gold/Focus or EVGA G2/G3, Corsair TXM/RMX/RMI, etc).

Can't go wrong with an M.2 NVME SSD like the new 970 Evo or 970 Pro SSDs for your use case - they are priced the same as 960 EVO/970 Pro but faster and better warranty. It's overkill but you sound like you want to go all out and modernize your setup.
 
HiryuuX said:
It's overkill but you sound like you want to go all out and modernize your setup.
Click to expand...

Thank you both for the prompt input/advice.

As far as memory, am I better w/ one 16gb stick or 2x8gb?

The quote above is so true. Then you fill the cart and see the bottom line... :) Then you negotiate with yourself...
 
2x8GB would be ideal - get a motherboard with 4x DIMM slots so you have the option for future expandability.

Heh, I know that feel I've gone a loooooooong way from my old i5 3570k setup.
 
Thanks for the input folks. I have gone back and forth on my build quite a bit. It wont be until I physically fill a cart that I decide whether to go balls out X470/2700X or bang for buck B350/2600X.

It will be an interesting trip to MC later today.
 
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Thus far the advice has been sound. Not sure if you are already the proud parent of a new Ryzen rig, or are just window shopping still, but either way, for what it's worth I would go with a X470 board that has two m.2 slots, the 2700X, a new Seasonic PSU (as mentioned, their warranty is (y)), at the very least a kit of DDR4-3200 2x8GB 14-14-14-34 RAM, and then if MC has the Samsung 970 EVO in m.2 for $110 or less (for the 256GB version), grab one as well. If the m.2 is more, then you likely can get it cheaper online.

Logic is this:
#1 You were happy with what you had and it lasted you a looong time, which is good! With that in mind, though, you may want to over-spec now to save yourself having to buy something new later. For example, if you get a motherboard with just a single m.2 slot and you want to get a larger one, you'll be stuck with replacing what you have, and now it sits unused (or you'd have to get an adapter card to put it in PCIe slot, or connect via SATA). With two slots, you can upgrade with no concern, or create a RAID config later on if you'd rather have eye popping speed heh
#2 Same same, basically. You stuck it out with the same chip, and may as well hop on the 8 core bandwagon now. While 6 would be fine I'm sure, this will only make multitasking that much better. It's nice being able to assign one of the CCX's (each is 4C/4T, Ryzen has 2 per die) to work on something while you go and play a game or what have you :)
#3 Your PSU, while sufficient in terms of wattage, has no doubt seen many many hours of usage. While it no doubt will continue to serve power just fine, my experience as well as Kyle's with that recent "10 years later" PSU re-review (I think it was his Thermaltake 1200W?) is enough to make me say not to risk it. I lost my beloved S939 AMD system to a PSU that was quite old, too, and while that computer was seriously old by 2009's standards, it would suck to have it take out NEW hardware! Plus, as mentioned, their efficiency will be much better, and not just because your current one has aged, but just because technology has progressed heh
#4 While you'd probably be able to accomplish 3466 with your new chip, finding 3466 RAM that's lower than CL16 for a non-absurd price is going to be tough, and I can't even say with any confidence if the kits on NewEgg are even Samsung B-die as they ALL are 16-18-18-38.
#5 Lastly, you'll want a fast drive, and you can't get any faster than a good m.2 (within reason lol), and you can't get any better than Samsung in terms of price, performance and reliability. As for online vs MC, that's just a money thing, nothing more. >3000mb/s Read and >1300mb/s Write when not in RAID, what's not to love?! :cool::cool::cool:

Oh, I'd also suggest something like the Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240mm AIO water cooler, too. While the stock Ryzen cooler is clearly up to the task, why bother? For $60 (50 after $10 MIR, at NewEgg at least), you get a mighty cooler that'll make that Ryzen quite happy. I have a 120MM, but double-thickess (basically same surface area as a 240mm) and my first gen 1700X stays soooo cool.

Happy shopping!
 
All good advice. Heeded a good portion of it. Thank you everyone.

Just returned from the store (was there while Formula.350 was posting. After a lot of vacillating, I tried to remain sane. Here is where I landed:
- Ryzen 2700X
- Asus ROG Strix B350F Gaming (at $40 after instant savings and rebate), when I decide to upgrade later, I'll get my $$ back. I also don't plan on overclocking... yet.
- 2x8 GB RipJaws DDR4 3200
- 500GB Samsung 970 EVO NVME for OS Drive
- 500GB Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD to migrate my music to
- Corsair Crystal 460X RB Case

Reusing:
- 500GB Samsung 850 SSD (current OS drive, will now be games)
- Corsair TX 750 - For now. I spent enough money today. Figured I didn't need a PSU today
- RX480 8GB
- I have a few 1 or 2TB hard drives in my current machine. I will use the fastest two of tehbunch and eventually consolidate down to mainly SSD. I just have too many old backups of backups and old movies to weed through all at once, so this will be a process.

I'm stuck doing continuing education for work until tomorrow afternoon, so I have delayed gratification on the build. Will be up and running by tomorrow night though.
 
Yea I was going to originally suggest a B350, but just wasn't sure how I totally felt about it. Definitely have seen them be well worth the money, that's for sure.

I would definitely keep an eye on PSU's and nab one when possible. I was once very "meh" on reusing PSUs, but after seeing even a mighty unit like Kyle had fall during re-testing, I just don't want to see anyone's system fall victim to a PSU croaking.

That being said, your build gets (y)(y) from me! (I'd give more, but alas, being human, I only have 2 thumbs!)

Though I do kinda find your use for the SSDs odd :shame: If it were me, this would be how I'd lay it out...
OPTION 1:
Return the 860 EVO, get a PSU.
970 EVO for OS.... maybe even partitioned in half, though realistically I suppose that's not really needed as you could just as easily make a virtual drive with Windows.
850 EVO for your Games.
Spinny HDD for Music.

OPTION 2:
970 EVO for OS
860 EVO for Games (it is faster, and merits the speed advantage, unless that 850 is a Pro, may be a wash then)
850 for ???
Spinny for Music


My big question is: Why music on the SSD? That sounds like such a waste of a SSD for something like that... Honestly, you could buy an SD card and even THAT would be plenty fast to serve up tunes from... After all, it does us just fine in our phones, doesn't it? Does for mine at east, and it's an old-as-hell Galaxy S1 that I use as a music player. That's why I am pushing for storing it on whatever spinner driver you decide to use. Because given even 5.1 DVD-Audio can transfer fast enough off of a disc, a HDD will be fine since they are way faster than DVD Read speeds.

Alternatively, and I don't know how much music you even have, but you could split your 970 in half (either partitioned or the virtual drive container method) and store your music there. If not, then I'd take whichever game(s) you have that are really big and open-world, where you have loading times, and toss those on the 970 since 500GB for an OS is a lot of space :p Which is why I even tossed up the idea of returning the 860 EVO, given you already have a 500GB 850 Pro/EVO, and using that money to get a new PSU, and even a AIO water cooler, as I presume the 860 runs ~$200 for 500GB.

No matter which way you go though, you're going to love it, and that's all that matters!
 
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Thumbs up feel good!

I like the 860 EVO for games idea. I probably hadn't thought that part through fully.

As far as music, my iTunes drive is about 400GB (I also use this for the raw recordsings and final mixes of my podcast). So... based on the size of this drive, it is just an easy and lazy migration to that SSD.

I see myself eventually consolidating all files to SSD and just backing up to spinning hard drives. As a digital packrat, I bet I can probably toss a lot of redundant stuff and get by w/ an add'l 1TB SSD.

PSU will be on my radar for sure. Luckily, they are the essential but non-sexy item that will hit the sales quite often. It didn't feel "essential" as I was going over this build and tallying my bill. I'll have time to shop from home for one this week from my new working rig.
 
Oh oh oh! Just dawned on me that Ryzen+ has the fancy SSD+HDD+RAM "super-drive" feature. :D Sorry, I don't remember the name haha But yea, it kinda leverages everything to make for a really fast drive configuration, functioning like an SSD Cache drive for a HDD, but it throws in 2GB of system RAM for an extra kick.

I'm not sure how much RAM you'll require for editing your audio, but considering 16GB is plenty these days (I still think 8GB is fine, and 12GB if it weren't such a weird number, would be 'ideal'), so for most people I'd say they could easily spare 2GB. I know I'd be giving it a try if the feature was backported to Ryzen..... at... least I think it's specific to Ryzen+ :S Crap I better dig into it and make sure it isn't X470 specific. I'll edit back in a moment.

EDIT: Fudge, yea, StoreMI is only for the 400-series boards :\
https://www.eteknix.com/amd-storemi-best-feature-ryzen-gen-2/

There is this as an alternative, but it's not free:
FuzeDrive and FuzeRAM
http://www.enmotus.com/amd
 
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Yep... I had done some looking into StoreMI. Felt like something I'd never get around to using. I guess I'm kind if stuck in the past with some of my thinking.

Audio editing is all in Audacity. 16gb has always been plenty. New processor will speed up the mixing and rendering for sure.
 
maxinflixion said:
Thanks for the input folks. I have gone back and forth on my build quite a bit. It wont be until I physically fill a cart that I decide whether to go balls out X470/2700X or bang for buck B350/2600X.

It will be an interesting trip to MC later today.
Click to expand...

I really do not see a need for an x470 over a b350 for your purposes. Just make sure it had a newer bios.
 
Successfully built last night. As is usual, a couple of stupid case issues slowed me down and caused me to chase screws :) .

It was too late to do any gaming or benchmarking last night, but it "feels" fast. I'll put it through the paces while working today and fiddle with it more tonight.

And... one of those niggling build issues was dealing with the extra power cords. I am going to order up a new PSU today. Next weekend, I will button it all up cable management wise and get her all looking pretty.
 
Primocache works well as a cheaper and more functional storemi alternative. I have it running on my (Ryzen) system using an intel optane 32 gig to cache everything
 
What benchmark program is best these days? I ran a Unigine Heaven session just prior to dismantling my old PC, and the scores seemed way better than my new build. I did notice I was running an older version on my old system though (v 2.1 vs v4), so I am sure it's not apples to apples.

This will bug me all day while I work. I knew I should have waited.

*edit* Search helps... Downloaded 3DMark to run tonight.
 
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There are a ton of variables to nail down in terms of your Ryzen system.

First thing I'd do is post us a picture of RyzenTimingChecker and CPU-Z's SPD tab.
That'll let us determine what your system is configured at on the memory side and how optimal it's running.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($324.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: *MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($152.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($53.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: Corsair - Enthusiast 750W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $661.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-14 16:37 EDT-0400
 
_mockingbird said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($324.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: *MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($152.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($53.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: Corsair - Enthusiast 750W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $661.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-14 16:37 EDT-0400
Click to expand...
That ADATA drive's price is wrong once you click-through to NewEgg. It's $59.99 then. Personally, I avoid the NewEgg Marketplace like the plague :p Their results are always so damn sketchy looking and I just don't have the confidence that I'll for sure end up with the product I want :p

Either way, I'll assume you're looking for feedback on that?
If so, I'd personally not get that kit of RAM, only because it's not very likely to have Samsung memory due to the timings of 16-18-18. In addition to that, those timings are kinda high for DDR4-3000 memory. While these are unfortunately $20-something more expensive, they'd be a better choice. Not only do I feel more confident in what chips they'd have, but there are a number of reviews from Ryzen owners saying they've had good luck with it. Plus, the timings are sightly better as well. They may even be able to hit 3200 with some work :)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231911&ignorebbr=1
 
Initial Fire Strike run right after installing it. Will play around more tonight after the gym. Does it seem normal? I know my GPU is no powerhouse.


FSscore.PNG FSscore2.PNG
 
I just ran it and got this:
Untitled.png

It looks like your graphics score is a bit low for some reason.
 
Ebernanut said:
I just ran it and got this:
View attachment 74001

It looks like your graphics score is a bit low for some reason.
Click to expand...

Thank you. It was telling me to turn VSync off. Is that a general warning that is always shown, or do I actually have to disable it? I couldn't find it in Radeon's settings.

Nice system setup by the way.

**edit** Did a little troubleshoot on my end. I double checked that my GPU was seated properly, tried a different PCI-E power cable to it from the PSU, unplugged my 2nd monitor, and messed w/ Radeon settings. Got similar results still.

I will check all of my BIOS settings are correct later today as well.
 
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VSync is in Games, then click Global (or click the profile for 3DMark, if it has one, or add it's exe to create a profile).
In there it's called "Wait for Vertical Refresh" and gives you the choices of: Always off, Off unless application specifies, On unless application specifies, Always on, and Enhanced Sync. (You'll have to Google for a definition of specifically what Enhanced Sync is and does)
 
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