Building a gaming PC

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Just want to avoid extra clutter, if that connector isn't really necessary. I'm going to use Ryzen 9 3900X with 3600MHz RAM, no extra overclocking to the CPU besides that XMP profile. So probably that extra connector won't be needed?
 
Just want to avoid extra clutter, if that connector isn't really necessary. I'm going to use Ryzen 9 3900X with 3600MHz RAM, no extra overclocking to the CPU besides that XMP profile. So probably that extra connector won't be needed?

I'd look at it the same way because I'm OCD about unnecessary stuff in my case too.

I'd try it with the single 8 pin connector. If problems ensue maybe it does need both connected. Again, I wouldn't think so. It feels like it would be strange given how boards with multiple CPU power connectors have behaved in the past.

By the way, just to add a source for the above....


Buildzoid touches on the topic a bit in that board analysis.
 
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That would be my guess. Power for additional fans / custom cooling solutions.

It's more because upping the frequency increases the power draw of the CPU. The standard 8 pin CPU power connector is only rated to provide so much. Push frequency up enough and you could theoretically exceed it. The thing is... I wouldn't think most CPU's under "normal" circumstances would exceed the rating of the standard 8 pin connection. If you do extreme OCing with exotic cooling solutions it could happen. Even then it may not. And if you're doing that you're probably running a higher end board. Not a $200-300 board (not knocking the x570 Taichi... it looks like a good board for it's intended use... just saying).

I think it's more likely these boards come with these extra CPU power connections because... they can. It's another thing to add to the spec sheet. It wouldn't be the first time. It certainly won't be the last.
 
If i recall some mainboards for some CPUs power draw had to be split up for wattage per core block hence the 6+4/8+4/8+8 CPU power for efficiency though that was back in the day of 486x/586x dual cpu in U4/U5 rack servers. Yeah I'm that old 🤓.
 
Here is my Laptop specs:
Asus GL552VX-DM070D (from 3 years ago)
👉🏼 CPU: Intel Core i7 6700HQ 2.60GHz
👉🏼 RAM: 8GB DDR4
👉🏼 HDD: 1TB
👉🏼 VGA: NVIDIA GeForce GTX950M v2 (4GB VRAM)
👉🏼 Screen: 15.6 inch LED-backlit FULL HD 1920x1080

I don't know can i play Cyberpunk 2077 in lowest settings graphics mode or not 😂
 
Here is my Laptop specs:
Asus GL552VX-DM070D (from 3 years ago)
👉🏼 CPU: Intel Core i7 6700HQ 2.60GHz
👉🏼 RAM: 8GB DDR4
👉🏼 HDD: 1TB
👉🏼 VGA: NVIDIA GeForce GTX950M v2 (4GB VRAM)
👉🏼 Screen: 15.6 inch LED-backlit FULL HD 1920x1080

I don't know can i play Cyberpunk 2077 in lowest settings graphics mode or not 😂

They haven't released official specs yet, but I'm betting that a computer that could run TW3 on High-Ultra should be just fine for CP2077. The game is being built to run on present-gen consoles (XB1 and PS4). That should leave plenty of wiggle-room on PC.
 
Does anyone have any good recommendations for a (fairly cheap) laptop? I am going to be using it for uni classes but I still have my desktop so I don't need to be able to play games on the laptop. I just want it to be able to run basic word processing tools/scrivener etc and be able to browse the internet/have decent battery life.

And maybe run Minecraft if I was desperate. :D
 
This is the thread I’ve been looking for in a long-ish time :) I’ve been meaning to post my hardware info on the right thread but, I have to admit, never did the effort to look for it until now.
So, I’m currently saving some money for basically a full upgrade to my PC. I’m aiming to do it around the release date of Cyberpunk 2077, depending of the circumstances.

Here’s what my current rig has:
  • Processor: Intel i5-4570
  • Processor cooler: Zalman CNPS9500AT
  • Motherboard: Intel DH87RL
  • RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3-1600 8GB × 2
  • Graphics card: Asus ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070
  • SATA SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 512GB
  • HDD: Seagate Barracuda 4TB
  • Power supply: Corsair TX650
  • Case: Cooler Master HAF 912

Yep, some of these components are a bit obsolete :LOL: I’m OK with the graphics card and both storage drives but, since I’m doing an almost complete overhaul and I want to check the ray-tracing tech in Cyberpunk 2077, I feel like upgrading those as well.

Therefore, this is the current-but-subject-to-change list of components I want to acquire:
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
  • Processor cooler: NZXT Kraken X62
  • Motherboard: Asus TUF X570 Plus Wi-Fi
  • RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4-3200 8 GB × 2
  • Graphics card: Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Super
  • M.2 SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB
  • HDD: Seagate Barracuda 4TB (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it)
  • Power supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus 650 Gold
  • Case: be quiet! Dark Base 700
Any feedback is welcome, of course.
 
@MauricioMM: For Zen 2, the optimial RAM configuration that AMD recommends is 3600 MHz / CL16. So if you can get that - you'll gain better IPC. But it's more expensive. Also, I'd recommend G.Skill - they have good quality RAM (especially if you get Samsung B-die chips). I got G.Skill Trident-Z (3600 MHz / CL16) and it works very well with Ryzen 9 3900X.

For motherboards - Asus isn't the best option I think. Especially since they were often using super I/O chips from ITE that don't publish any documentation. Others like Asrock use Nuvoton, which publish the technical docs. At least on Linux it means much better drivers support.

2080 Super sounds like a major overkill especially in price (it's one of those super high end cards). I.e. for something like 2560x1440 / 144 Hz, you can probably get something cheaper. I'm personally upgrading from Vega 56 to 5700 XT (Navi) for such setup (though I'm still waiting to get 2.5K monitor).

For PSUs I stick to 750 W ones (also Seasonic), they give enough room for heavy GPU usage. 650 W could be slightly tight depending on your future upgrades.
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Also, not sure about Kraken, since I've never used liquid cooling. But when researching it last time, my understanding is that closed loop liquid coolers where you can't replace the coolant, wear out after a year or so, and cooling starts degrading. In the end you need to replace the whole unit.

So better option is to use air cooling (something like Noctua), or use liquid coolers where you can replace the coolant periodically. The extreme option is fully modular (hard to set up), but there are more plug-n-play options, like EK-MLC Phoenix:

* https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-mlc-phoenix-cpu-module-intel-am4
* https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-mlc-phoenix-280-radiator-core-module
* https://www.ekwb.com/solutions/all-in-one/#phoenix-liquid-cooling

I was looking into getting one, but decided to simply go with air cooling in the end - a lot easier maintenance. Something like Noctua NH-D15 is very quiet and cools the CPU really well:

* https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15

Though it's huge, and requires a spacious case.
 
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I’m OK with the graphics card and both storage drives but, since I’m doing an almost complete overhaul and I want to check the ray-tracing tech in Cyberpunk 2077, I feel like upgrading those as well.

I'd recommend against making a video card purchasing decision because of ray tracing. It's overrated and over-hyped.

I'd also recommend looking into any potential bios issues you could run into with the board selection. I've seen some mention of problems on that front with the newer Ryzen chips, depending on board manufacturer.

Also, not sure about Kraken, since I've never used liquid cooling. But when researching it last time, my understanding is that closed loop liquid coolers where you can't replace the coolant, wear out after a year or so, and cooling starts degrading. In the end you need to replace the whole unit.

So better option is to use air cooling (something like Noctua), or use liquid coolers where you can replace the coolant periodically. The extreme option is fully modular (hard to set up), but there are more plug-n-play options, like EK-MLC Phoenix:

I have an X62 and would say it's a pretty good cooler as AIO's go. Replacing the unit isn't a large concern because the one I have has a 6 yr warranty (bought direct from NZXT). In fact, the only real complaint I have with it is the pump RPM doesn't appear to run at full speed without use of the CAM software (bios only sees it as ~2k RPM max, CAM unlocks the full ~2.7k RPM). I do not believe there is actually a workaround for that either. Although, I haven't actually tried to work around it yet.

With that said, the air vs AIO advice is sound. I find the main consideration is part dimensions. As an example, my particular board is a tiny little guy (itx board) so all of the beefier air coolers present issues with mounting. If this were not true a beefy air cooler would probably be a better choice.
 
Does anyone have any good recommendations for a (fairly cheap) laptop? I am going to be using it for uni classes but I still have my desktop so I don't need to be able to play games on the laptop. I just want it to be able to run basic word processing tools/scrivener etc and be able to browse the internet/have decent battery life.

And maybe run Minecraft if I was desperate. :D

Anything ASUS, Dell, or MSI should be just fine and available pretty much everywhere. Although, I'd recommend spending at least $300 on it, as a guideline. When one starts getting into $100-$200 laptops, the corners they cut are probably going to equate an additional $100 worth of frustrations before too long.


I'd recommend against making a video card purchasing decision because of ray tracing. It's overrated and over-hyped.

I'd also recommend looking into any potential bios issues you could run into with the board selection. I've seen some mention of problems on that front with the newer Ryzen chips, depending on board manufacturer.

Agreed with both of these. I really like the concept of ray tracing, but I personally feel that its effects are going to be extremely subtle. Nothing that would impact gameplay in any major way. For me, if I'm diving for cover while trying to avoid enemy fire, or focused on timing a reversal during a swordfight...I'm most likely not even going to notice how lovely the reflections in the puddles are, or that the light from the neon sign outside the window is correctly mapped to the far wall of the room. It's a lovely addition for quiet moments here and there, but I feel like it will only make a huge difference for games that focus on lighting as a gameplay mechanic (like survival horrors and such). For most things, I think it will mostly be an oooh-cool-what's-next? sort of effect. It's also likely to be a while before the kinks are ironed out and there are any games that really start taking advantage of it.

And the suggestion for the mobo is spot-on. If you're thinking of doing Ryzen, I'd check builds from places like Falcon-Northwest, Alienware, or iBuyPower and see what boards they've selected and/or recommend.
 
For the reference, many issues reported with Zen 2 and motherboards were related to bugged rdrand that always returned -1 after waking up from suspend. That prevented systemd from loading, and affected some Destiny 2 game (no idea about the game itself). AMD fixed that with recent AGESA update, so for example most recent UEFI for X570 Taichi doesn't have that problem anymore.

Also note, that X570 chipset comes with active cooling usually, so chipset fan noise can be a problem (since the fan is very small), unless firmware has silent setting. In Taichi they were missing it first, but their recent UEFI update added that option, so running it on silent makes that noise a non issue.
 
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@MauricioMM I’m not sure myself but folks on buildapc subreddit seem to think that a gold 650W PSU would be needed to power something like i9-9900K. To be on the safe side I too would choose a 750w but 650w would probably more than enough for 3700X and RTX2070 Super. Also that 2080 Super is overkill and what’s more important severely overpriced. I think you’d be better off with RTX2070 Super.

As to motherboards having issues with the BIOS and new Zen 2 (3000 series) CPUs, correct me if I’m wrong but it was happening to previous gen motherboards (X470 and B450), not the new X570.

According to Hardware Unboxed YouTube channel Asus TUF X570 is one of the best among the $200 boards in regards to VRM cooling.
 

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Thank you all for your feedback! Really appreciate it :cool: Long post incoming, sorry.

@MauricioMM: For Zen 2, the optimial RAM configuration that AMD recommends is 3600 MHz / CL16. So if you can get that - you'll gain better IPC. But it's more expensive. Also, I'd recommend G.Skill - they have good quality RAM (especially if you get Samsung B-die chips). I got G.Skill Trident-Z (3600 MHz / CL16) and it works very well with Ryzen 9 3900X.

I’ll keep that in mind. I’m not planning on overcloaking any components beyond their out-of-box speeds but, in the case of the RAM, I’ll take a look at 3600 MHz ones and I’d certainly love anything with low enough latencies, like CL16 or even CL15.

For motherboards - Asus isn't the best option I think. Especially since they were often using super I/O chips from ITE that don't publish any documentation. Others like Asrock use Nuvoton, which publish the technical docs.
If you're thinking of doing Ryzen, I'd check builds from places like Falcon-Northwest, Alienware, or iBuyPower and see what boards they've selected and/or recommend.
For the reference, many issues reported with Zen 2 and motherboards were related to bugged rdrand that always returned -1 after waking up from suspend. That prevented systemd from loading [...] AMD fixed that with recent AGESA update, so for example most recent UEFI for X570 Taichi doesn't have that problem anymore.

Also note, that X570 chipset comes with active cooling usually, so chipset fan noise can be a problem (since the fan is very small), unless firmware has silent setting.

AMD had bugs in earlier AGESA for Zen 2, so basically all motherboards were affected. You'd need to make sure you have most recent UEFI updates to avoid those.

Good to know, I’ll do more research about that.

According to Hardware Unboxed YouTube channel Asus TUF X570 is one of the best among the $200 boards in regards to VRM cooling.

I just saw that video. Based on what I saw there, I believe I wouldn’t regret getting the TUF X570, it seems like a pretty excellent mobo at first glance (I dig its audio shielding, its PCIe slot reinforcement and its good temperatures, among many things) but, if I manage by then to have the money for a ROG Crosshair VIII Hero, I might consider getting that one instead.

2080 Super sounds like a major overkill especially in price (it's one of those super high end cards). I.e. for something like 2560x1440 / 144 Hz, you can probably get something cheaper. I'm personally upgrading from Vega 56 to 5700 XT (Navi) for such setup (though I'm still waiting to get 2.5K monitor).

For PSUs I stick to 750 W ones (also Seasonic), they give enough room for heavy GPU usage. 650 W could be slightly tight depending on your future upgrades.

I have to agree with you there, honestly a 2070 Super sounds like the superior investment. I currently own a 1080p 144Hz monitor (AOC G2460P) and I’m not interested in doing a SLI build so I’m not planning on putting a too extreme pressure on the card (apart from ray tracing). However, I do want one that remains pretty useful for at least 3 years.

I’ll consider taking a look at 750W PSUs as well.

Also, not sure about Kraken, since I've never used liquid cooling. But when researching it last time, my understanding is that closed loop liquid coolers where you can't replace the coolant, wear out after a year or so, and cooling starts degrading. In the end you need to replace the whole unit.

So better option is to use air cooling (something like Noctua), or use liquid coolers where you can replace the coolant periodically. The extreme option is fully modular (hard to set up), but there are more plug-n-play options [...] I was looking into getting one, but decided to simply go with air cooling in the end - a lot easier maintenance. Something like Noctua NH-D15 is very quiet and cools the CPU really well
I have an X62 and would say it's a pretty good cooler as AIO's go. Replacing the unit isn't a large concern because the one I have has a 6 yr warranty (bought direct from NZXT) [...] With that said, the air vs AIO advice is sound. I find the main consideration is part dimensions. As an example, my particular board is a tiny little guy (itx board) so all of the beefier air coolers present issues with mounting. If this were not true a beefy air cooler would probably be a better choice.

I’ll consider air cooling as well but I’ll steer away from massive units. Noctua has some smaller but still well-performant units I’d be interested in checking out. Something I’m definitely clear about is that I don’t want to deal with open/custom loop liquid cooling units, they’re too much of a hassle for my liking.

I'd recommend against making a video card purchasing decision because of ray tracing. It's overrated and over-hyped.
Agreed with both of these. I really like the concept of ray tracing, but I personally feel that its effects are going to be extremely subtle. Nothing that would impact gameplay in any major way. For me, if I'm diving for cover while trying to avoid enemy fire, or focused on timing a reversal during a swordfight...I'm most likely not even going to notice how lovely the reflections in the puddles are, or that the light from the neon sign outside the window is correctly mapped to the far wall of the room. It's a lovely addition for quiet moments here and there, but I feel like it will only make a huge difference for games that focus on lighting as a gameplay mechanic (like survival horrors and such). For most things, I think it will mostly be an oooh-cool-what's-next? sort of effect. It's also likely to be a while before the kinks are ironed out and there are any games that really start taking advantage of it.

I respect your opinions but I’m still interested in getting a RTX card, assuming benchmarks show that the RT implementation in Cyberpunk 2077 (and other future games with RT) will be worth it. I’m quite an "atmosphere" guy, that is, I care more about lighting, colors, particles and shadows than texture quality and poly count, to mention some. You could say I’m one of those who do stop to check the neon lights and puddles :LOL: So RT looks very appealing to me despite its current shortcomings. Shortcomings that hopefully, by the time I do the purchase, stop being too much of an issue. A man can dream :sleep:
 
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