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New build after 15 year hiatus

kloon

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Long story short, after 15 years I am wanting to do a new PC build again. I have been using Mac for the past decade but wanting to get a decentish gaming rig going as the kids are now getting to an age where they are getting into games and I also recently started playing games again, mostly CS:GO atm but would like to get into more titles.

I have a Macbook pro for my daily work so this PC will solely be for leisure, gaming, and the odd school project :D. I chose the components with the intension of still being relevant for around 3 years and also be upgradeable. My budget is around 40k (including monitor), would love some feedback on my choices, and if everything will work well together. I was going for something that can handle 1440p.

CPURyzen 7 3700XCould probably go for a 3600, but I like the idea of having that bit of extra cores and thread to future proof and the RGB prism cooler
MBMSI x570 Tomahawk Wifi
RAMRipjaws G-Skill F4-3600MHz 2 x 8GB kit
GPUXFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC III UltraChose this mainly because it is decently priced and 1440p g-sync monitors are hellishly expensive and difficult to come by
HDDSabrent SB-RKTQ 1TB M.2 NvmeCould potentially go for a 512GB NVME and then a 1TB SSD as secondary
PSUSuper Flower 650W SF-650F14MTI assume this comes with the cables
CasePhanteks PH-EC600PSTGHoping to get the white one in stock
MonitorAOC CQ27G2 27" WQHDThere's a 32" one for couple hundred more, must investigate the drawback.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations would be welcomed. Thanks!
 
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Long story short, after 15 years I am wanting to do a new PC build again. I have been using Mac for the past decade but wanting to get a decentish gaming rig going as the kids are now getting to an age where they are getting into games and I also recently started playing games again, mostly CS:GO atm but would like to get into more titles.

I have a Macbook pro for my daily work so this PC will solely be for leisure, gaming, and the odd school project :D. I chose the components with the intension of still being relevant for around 3 years and also be upgradeable. My budget is around 40k (including monitor), would love some feedback on my choices, and if everything will work well together. I was going for something that can handle 1440p.

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X (Could probably go for a 3600, but I like the idea of having that bit of extra cores and thread to future proof and the RGB prism cooler)
MB: MSI x570 Tomahawk Wifi
RAM: Ripjaws G-Skill F4-3600MHz 2 x 8GB kit
GPU: XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC III Ultra (Chose this mainly because it is decently priced and 1440p g-sync monitors are hellishly expensive and difficult to come by)
HDD: Sabrent SB-RKTQ 1TB M.2 Nvme
PSU: Super Flower 650W SF-650F14MT (I assume this comes with the cables)
Case: Phanteks PH-EC600PSTG (Hoping to get the white one)
Monitor: AOC CQ27G2 27" WQHD (I see there's a 32" one for a couple hundred more)
Keyboard: I recently purchased a Logitech G513
Mouse: Also recently purchased a Logitech G502

Any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations would be welcomed. Thanks!
Only issue with your build is the psu. Maybe push the budget a bit and get a 80 plus gold psu otherwise everything looks decent.
 
I don't know how bad AMD drivers for their GPU's are now but a few months back was a nightmare, id definitely swap that RX 5700 XT for a 2060 or a 2nd hand 1080ti and save yourself a lot of headaches
 
1. Nvidia also works with Freesync now so you don't need to by AMD GPU. There is nothing wrong with AMD but don't discount NV because of that.

2. I'd stick to 27 inch. At normal desk distances, 32 inch was too big (need to move eyes a lot or even your head..)
 
GPUXFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC III UltraChose this mainly because it is decently priced and 1440p g-sync monitors are hellishly expensive and difficult to come by

A Nvidia 10 series and 20 series work with a few supported freesync panels these days, and even officially unsupported ones. I would get Nvidia, just now you find yourself with a G-sync panel sometime in the future.

I prefer Nvidia for their generally lower power consumption, heat and thereby fan noise. But I see the 2070 S is only about 10W less than the 5700 XT. So go with whichever is cheaper.

I saw a terrible review of this particular card when Gamers Nexus was tearing it down, I hope it's a decent card.[/QUOTE]
 
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I don't know how bad AMD drivers for their GPU's are now but a few months back was a nightmare, id definitely swap that RX 5700 XT for a 2060 or a 2nd hand 1080ti and save yourself a lot of headaches

AMD did an overhaul of the drivers and it’s much better now.

I had the same reservations but Hardware unboxed did a poll before and after the driver updates and it was much better.
 
CPURyzen 7 3700XCould probably go for a 3600, but I like the idea of having that bit of extra cores and thread to future proof and the RGB prism cooler
MBMSI x570 Tomahawk Wifi
RAMRipjaws G-Skill F4-3600MHz 2 x 8GB kit
GPUXFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC III UltraChose this mainly because it is decently priced and 1440p g-sync monitors are hellishly expensive and difficult to come by
HDDSabrent SB-RKTQ 1TB M.2 NvmeCould potentially go for a 512GB NVME and then a 1TB SSD as secondary
PSUSuper Flower 650W SF-650F14MTI assume this comes with the cables
CasePhanteks PH-EC600PSTGHoping to get the white one in stock


Any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations would be welcomed. Thanks!


I think this entire build is great.

Nothing wrong with a silver rated SuperFlower.

You’ve picked performance over looks which is great.

You could also consider the Nvidia 2060 as an option but I like the bang for buck of the 5700XT and their drivers are better now.
 
What are you talking about? SuperFlower is the OEM manufacturer for many brands. Look at any PSU tier list and you'll see that brands use SuperFlower.

I've owned the Leadex silver 650 watt before and it's good.
My bad🤦‍♂️ is there a review for the unit on JonnyGuru?
My experience with SuperFlower wasn't very good - I owned a Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W and it fried my system a few years ago🤷‍♂️
 
Dont waste cash on X570 you can get a really good B550 with really good vrms that can even use a 3950X and the new XT processors.

ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi)


These 2 board are insanely good.with plenty rear i/o and 16 phase vrms on the gigabyte and 12+2 on the Asus.

Stay from the XFX 5700 even with the new redesign it does not have great thermals rather go with Sapphire Nitro or Gigabyte.
The Asus Strix cards have a heat issue due to a screw up on mounting pressure on the die.

Yeah a Bump to Gold psu would be good and even to a 750W the price diff is marginal.

512GB nvme for Primary.have a look at the gigabyte nvme or m2 drives the are priced well for secondary storage.even 2TB Seagate Firecuda drive are perfect for games maybe get 2 or those and put in raid 0 which will be the cost of 1tb nvme but now you have 4x the space for games.
 
My bad🤦‍♂️ is there a review for the unit on JonnyGuru?
My experience with SuperFlower wasn't very good - I owned a Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W and it fried my system a few years ago🤷‍♂️
The green isn't very good but I'd still take any SuperFlower over a Raidmax.

I've owned an RM750i and the silver rated SuperFlower and both were good. That's a sample of 1 so it's not an accurate reflection of how reliable the units are as a whole.

YOu may have had a bad apple. It happens. Even the best PSUs can give you issuebecausese an hoooman didn't weld a connector properly.

What issues did you have?
 
The green isn't very good but I'd still take any SuperFlower over a Raidmax.

I've owned an RM750i and the silver rated SuperFlower and both were good. That's a sample of 1 so it's not an accurate reflection of how reliable the units are as a whole.

YOu may have had a bad apple. It happens. Even the best PSUs can give you issuebecausese an hoooman didn't weld a connector properly.

What issues did you have?
Yeah, 100%

Very possible - left a bad experience for me with the brand so I kinda stereotyped and stayed away.

I had the PSU for around two year when it started giving me problems. Would not boot sometimes, other times would boot and then die midway and sometimes boot just fine. Tried to push on as I had no budget to replace andone day I tried to boot up andit refused. Popped in my bud's PSU and still dead - got a tech to check it for me and capacitors and board were gone:confused:
 
Dont waste cash on X570 you can get a really good B550 with really good vrms that can even use a 3950X and the new XT processors.

ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi)


These 2 board are insanely good.with plenty rear i/o and 16 phase vrms on the gigabyte and 12+2 on the Asus.

Stay from the XFX 5700 even with the new redesign it does not have great thermals rather go with Sapphire Nitro or Gigabyte.
The Asus Strix cards have a heat issue due to a screw up on mounting pressure on the die.

Yeah a Bump to Gold psu would be good and even to a 750W the price diff is marginal.

512GB nvme for Primary.have a look at the gigabyte nvme or m2 drives the are priced well for secondary storage.even 2TB Seagate Firecuda drive are perfect for games maybe get 2 or those and put in raid 0 which will be the cost of 1tb nvme but now you have 4x the space for games.
There was a review done on Youtube for X570 vs B550 with a 3950x.
While both can run it, the x570 gives better performance due to more power for the cpu.
The X570 will also allow you to run 3000 Series CPU's with integrated graphics where the b550 doesn't.

Also with X570 boards going as cheap as R4k there really is no reason to sacrifice performance for a similar priced board...
 
Yeah, 100%

Very possible - left a bad experience for me with the brand so I kinda stereotyped and stayed away.

I had the PSU for around two year when it started giving me problems. Would not boot sometimes, other times would boot and then die midway and sometimes boot just fine. Tried to push on as I had no budget to replace andone day I tried to boot up andit refused. Popped in my bud's PSU and still dead - got a tech to check it for me and capacitors and board were gone:confused:
Could have been a bad PSU, could have been a bad motherboard.

I've had popped capacitors before and it's hard to tell if it's the fault of the PSU (it often is). It's best to have a decent PSU whatever the cost of the build.


I'm with Thanatos_ZA. The B550 motherboards are often so close to the price of the X570 that it makes no sense. If you can get a good board at a good price, so be it.
 
There was a review done on Youtube for X570 vs B550 with a 3950x.
While both can run it, the x570 gives better performance due to more power for the cpu.
The X570 will also allow you to run 3000 Series CPU's with integrated graphics where the b550 doesn't.

Also with X570 boards going as cheap as R4k there really is no reason to sacrifice performance for a similar priced board...
I have this motherboard and it works a treat.

Only thing I would point out is the fan headers are all at the bottom of the board - makes fan routing a little tricky.
 
A Nvidia 10 series and 20 series work with a few supported freesync panels these days, and even officially unsupported ones. I would get Nvidia, just now you find yourself with a G-sync panel sometime in the future.

I prefer Nvidia for their generally lower power consumption, heat and thereby fan noise. But I see the 2070 S is only about 10W less than the 5700 XT. So go with whichever is cheaper.

I saw a terrible review of this particular card when Gamers Nexus was tearing it down, I hope it's a decent card.
[/QUOTE]

I run my 5700xt about 50-60watt lower than a 2070 super, at 40% fan speed, at thermals which are well within acceptable range and a 20% lower cost than a 2070 super. I looked at the 2070 super previously, but couldn't justify the cost of it. I would however not go with XFX or asus, due to the issues identified with cooling on those units.

@ kloon - That x570 tomahawk is horribly priced locally, yes, you can get the B450 tomahawk at a hefty price decrease and also the b450 gaming pro carbon. I hardly doubt you would benefit from any of the benefits from the x570 chipset and in 3 or 4 years, you would more likely than not in anyways upgrade the mobo again as well.

Also if the justification for the 3700x is the prism cooler, it remains stock cooling and only goes so far. So again, R2k+ saving for the 3600 and the benefit in gaming is marginal, the 2 extra cores might give you some extended lifetime, but in 3 to 4 years, it's debatable. Thus I reckon you can save R4k in going B450 and 3600, which would give you relative same performance and would probably last as well over a 3 to 4 year term. For both, I would like at a decent aftermarket cooler, maybe the cooler master hyper 212 series, going for less than R800 which will have some good thermal performance.

Also, agreed with senshi on the PSU, relative same price and more than sufficient for the build.

Rest looks goods.
 
A Nvidia 10 series and 20 series work with a few supported freesync panels these days, and even officially unsupported ones. I would get Nvidia, just now you find yourself with a G-sync panel sometime in the future.

G--sync panels cost more than freesync (on average R2000-R3000) and all Freesync 2.0 monitors are compatible with Nvidia G-sync.

I prefer Nvidia for their generally lower power consumption, heat and thereby fan noise. But I see the 2070 S is only about 10W less than the 5700 XT. So go with whichever is cheaper.
Right now, the 5700XT cannot be beat on a value for money price point. If you take the 1080Ti into consideration it offers a good alternative but that means the OP has to go 2nd hand which he/she may not want to.

I saw a terrible review of this particular card when Gamers Nexus was tearing it down, I hope it's a decent card.

The review you are referring to was the THICC II (2) not the revised THICC III, please don't spread misinformation.

Get a more reliable PSU bud, preferably an Antec. This is on special atm:


Hogwash, Superflower happens to be one of the best psu manufacturers around, I wouldn't recommend a VP series antec over ANY of Superflowers models.

Dont waste cash on X570 you can get a really good B550 with really good vrms that can even use a 3950X and the new XT processors.

ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi)


These 2 board are insanely good.with plenty rear i/o and 16 phase vrms on the gigabyte and 12+2 on the Asus.

Stay from the XFX 5700 even with the new redesign it does not have great thermals rather go with Sapphire Nitro or Gigabyte.
The Asus Strix cards have a heat issue due to a screw up on mounting pressure on the die.

Yeah a Bump to Gold psu would be good and even to a 750W the price diff is marginal.

512GB nvme for Primary.have a look at the gigabyte nvme or m2 drives the are priced well for secondary storage.even 2TB Seagate Firecuda drive are perfect for games maybe get 2 or those and put in raid 0 which will be the cost of 1tb nvme but now you have 4x the space for games.

More bad advice.

Right, let's do some price comparison.

Gigabyte Aorus B550 Master = Approx retail R7500'ish
MSI X570 Tomahawk = Retail R5199
Asus B550's are not available locally yet, as such no pricing to do a comparison.
 
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Also with X570 boards going as cheap as R4k there really is no reason to sacrifice performance for a similar priced board...


That board has the worst VRMs out of all X570 boards though.

I'd much rather go with the MSI X570 Tomahawk that Senshi mentioned.
I see its at Wootware for R5.5k : MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI AMD X570 Ryzen Socket AM4 ATX Desktop Motherboard - Wootware
 
The review you are referring to was the THICC II (2) not the revised THICC III, please don't spread misinformation.

Oh sorry I didn't realise they may a follow up. Thiccer plastic on this one then? :p Looks like it's about all that's available anyways
 
Oh sorry I didn't realise they may a follow up. Thiccer plastic on this one then? :p Looks like it's about all that's available anyways

Tripple fan setup, much better VRM and mosfet cooling, better bios and pretty good price point.

I actually own one and was skeptical at first but after using it can honestly say, the performance, acoustics and driver updates have definitely turned it into a quality product.

XFX did indeed listen to the feedback given by the tech crowd.
 
Also if the justification for the 3700x is the prism cooler, it remains stock cooling and only goes so far. ...
For both, I would like at a decent aftermarket cooler, maybe the cooler master hyper 212 series, going for less than R800 which will have some good thermal performance.

Also, agreed with senshi on the PSU, relative same price and more than sufficient for the build.

Rest looks goods.
I'm running the 3700X on stock cooling (Wraith Prism). Did a CPU stress test with all fans on auto. The CPU never got beyond 73'C.


That board has the worst VRMs out of all X570 boards though.

I'd much rather go with the MSI X570 Tomahawk that Senshi mentioned.
I see its at Wootware for R5.5k : MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI AMD X570 Ryzen Socket AM4 ATX Desktop Motherboard - Wootware
Which is definitely an issue if you plan serious overclocking. Using one on the daily though, I've had exactly zero (i counted them) issues with the VRMs. in normal use cases, the VRMs are just fine. They're fine. They work. The system performs stably and within all limits without any issue. That video has been used to create an image of a product which isn't reflected in it's actual use.
 
I'm running the 3700X on stock cooling (Wraith Prism). Did a CPU stress test with all fans on auto. The CPU never got beyond 73'C.

Obviously it would work, but I doubt anyone wants to live with the noise on a continuous basis. Also ambient temps are very low now, wait for summer months.

Again, it would work, but not ideal.
 
Obviously it would work, but I doubt anyone wants to live with the noise on a continuous basis. Also ambient temps are very low now, wait for summer months.

Again, it would work, but not ideal.
This is in my office with 3 air conditioners set to 30'C. Bear in mind, thats a CPU stress test, meaning full usage. A circumstance which is rare for the average person. I'm not saying he shouldn't upgrade,m just pointing out that the stock cooling is just fine if he's not OCing.
 
I'm running the 3700X on stock cooling (Wraith Prism). Did a CPU stress test with all fans on auto. The CPU never got beyond 73'C.



Which is definitely an issue if you plan serious overclocking. Using one on the daily though, I've had exactly zero (i counted them) issues with the VRMs. in normal use cases, the VRMs are just fine. They're fine. They work. The system performs stably and within all limits without any issue. That video has been used to create an image of a product which isn't reflected in it's actual use.
But yea, anyone who is planning on doing any kind of OC'ing won't go for a 'budget' option anyway, or atleast I wouldn't.
This is in part why I went for the Aorus Xtreme for my 3950x rather than something like a Aorus Ultra again.
Well that and aesthetics :love:
 
I'm running the 3700X on stock cooling (Wraith Prism). Did a CPU stress test with all fans on auto. The CPU never got beyond 73'C.

Which is definitely an issue if you plan serious overclocking. Using one on the daily though, I've had exactly zero (i counted them) issues with the VRMs. in normal use cases, the VRMs are just fine. They're fine. They work. The system performs stably and within all limits without any issue. That video has been used to create an image of a product which isn't reflected in it's actual use.

I agree it's fine for you and your stock 3700x with an Wraith Prism.

But the OP says "I chose the components with the intention of it still being relevant for around 3 years and also be upgradeable".

After 3 years you'll likely want to upgrade to a 12 core 3900x/4900x or even 16 core 4950x, which will benefit from the better VRMs and better VRM cooling. To cool those cores, you'll likely go with an AIO water cooler and that would mean you lose the direct airflow onto the socket area from the Prism Wraith which means the VRM temps will go higher.

I mean, the 3900X at PBO+AutoOC and auto voltage in that HW Unboxed test reaches 101c Mosfet and 115c PCB backside.
When they tested the Tomahawk, it only hit 53C mosfet and 58C PCB backside.
Even the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite for R699 more than the X570A is 57C mosfet and 63C pcb backside.

The MSI X570A is like the Datsun Go of X570 motherboards. Cheapest of the lot and it works but there are really better options for a bit more.
 
I agree it's fine for you and your stock 3700x with an Wraith Prism.

But the OP says "I chose the components with the intention of it still being relevant for around 3 years and also be upgradeable".

After 3 years you'll likely want to upgrade to a 12 core 3900x/4900x or even 16 core 4950x, which will benefit from the better VRMs and better VRM cooling. To cool those cores, you'll likely go with an AIO water cooler and that would mean you lose the direct airflow onto the socket area from the Prism Wraith which means the VRM temps will go higher.

I mean, the 3900X at PBO+AutoOC and auto voltage in that HW Unboxed test reaches 101c Mosfet and 115c PCB backside.
When they tested the Tomahawk, it only hit 53C mosfet and 58C PCB backside.
Even the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite for R699 more than the X570A is 57C mosfet and 63C pcb backside.

The MSI X570A is like the Datsun Go of X570 motherboards. Cheapest of the lot and it works but there are really better options for a bit more.
Show me where the X570A-Pro hurt you :(
 
Thanks for all the recommendations, everyone.

Only issue with your build is the psu.
Noted and will update it with the gold model.

I don't know how bad AMD drivers for their GPU's are now but a few months back was a nightmare, id definitely swap that RX 5700 XT for a 2060 or a 2nd hand 1080ti and save yourself a lot of headaches
I did some reading around this and it seems the issues have been sorted out.

1. Nvidia also works with Freesync now so you don't need to by AMD GPU. There is nothing wrong with AMD but don't discount NV because of that.
My research around this led me to believe that yes it works but there are all sorts of quirks if there's no official NVidia G-Sync approved stamp on these monitors. People are reporting screen flickering, tearing, etc. Unfortunately, it seems SA does not have a large variety of screens available, and pretty much all the freesync monitors sold locally do not have the g-sync compatible label.

I saw a terrible review of this particular card when Gamers Nexus was tearing it down, I hope it's a decent card.
I believe this was the THICC II, the THICC III solved this, it also has 3 fans now.

Dont waste cash on X570 you can get a really good B550 with really good vrms that can even use a 3950X and the new XT processors.
Someone posted the video above but it seems the B550 boards are not well priced if compared to the X570's. Also not seeing any local stock, probably since it just launched so will keep an eye out for pricing.

I think I should definitely hang on a month more to see if the market changes a bit, especially for things like the MB and monitor.
 
I have to agree with @Nyt Ryda here. For longevity and peace of mind you want decently-cooled VRMs. I had a B350M Mortar, VRMs were fine at idle but even when gaming they went up to 80deg or more. I'm not saying it will break in 3 years but it's the sort of thing that isn't worth cheaping out on when the better boards aren't that much more expensive.

The Tomahawk, Aorus Elite and TUF Gaming are the X570 price-performance sweet spots.
 

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