New AMD Mini-ITX build

[decrease_hankie914]

Hey!

 

Since my current build is around 4 years old now and with the new Ryzen CPUs coming out, I decided to build a completely new rig. First, here is my current build:

 

Case: Corsair 270R (I think^^)

CPU: Intel i7 6700k

Cooler: Corsair H100i v2

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Ranger

GPU: EVGA GTX 970

RAM: 16GB Corsair LPX DDR4 RAM

PSU: Corsair RM750i

SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB + 1TB

Monitor: 2x 24" Asus VN247H

 

For my new build, as stated in the title, I choose an ITX build, since I dont really see the point in getting a mid tower case when I can get the same performance in a smaller form factor. Here are the parts I have in mind for now, with alternatives. Could you please give me some feedback and suggestions if there are better and/or other options? My main use for the build

 

Case: Lian Li TU150

Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming / Asrock X570 phantom Gaming-ITX / Gigabyte X570 I Aorus Pro WIFI

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3700X / 3600X

Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A

GPU: GTX 2060 Super / GTX 2070(S)

RAM: Corsair 32GB LPX 3200-C16

PSU: Corsair SF750

Storage: Corsair Force Gen4 MP600 1TB / MP510 960GB

Monitor: 2x 27" Dell UltraSharp U2719DC / Samsung C27JG50

 

Some questions regarding my build:

 

1. Motherboard: I don't know much about motherboards, but I like the Asus board the most so far. How is it compared to the other two options?

 

2. GPU: Which one is best when it comes to price to performance? Also, since my monitors are 1440p, is a 2060S enough, and could I also go for a GTX 1660 TI for example?

 

3. RAM: I am also not really familiar with RAM frequencies and timings, but the 3200-C16 RAM was the most popular one when I checked the list. Is there a reason or a real benefit to be had when buying faster memory, since it expensive really quickly.

 

4. Storage: One of the new featues of the X570 boards is PCIe 4.0 and I feel rather bad about not using a feature I paid money for. The SSD does cost around 200€ though which definitely hurts. Does PCIe really give one a noticable performance boost, considering you can get the MP150 version for just half the price?

 

5. I also want to upgrade my screen size and the two monitors from Dell and Samsung are the two options I found so far. I really love the design of the one from Dell, with its ultra slim bezel which would benefit me a lot with my dual monitor setup. They do cost 150€ more than the Samsung ones, but that is not really a problem here for me, since I find a good monitor is 100% worth paying for. A major difference between the two screens, is the curvature of the Samsung, as well as the thickness along with the price.What does a curved monitor do anyway in your experience? Better or worse than a flat one?

 

6. Fans and cooling: I plan on installing 5 Noctua NF-F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM fans in the case. One in the front, two on the bottom and two for the CPU cooler. Have any of you guys done a build in the TU150? What's the best fan configuration in your opinion?

 

7. CPU: Should I get the 3700X or the 3600X? I use my PC mainly for coding / gaming and browsing. 

 

 

So that was basically it. I would appreciate it a lot if you give your thoughts or suggestions 

[Zando_]

1. IIRC the ASRock board has Thunderbolt 3? That may tip the scales in favor of it. Then I think the Gigabyte is the cheapest, and the ASUS is likely to have the best BIOS (ASUS usually does a damn good BIOS, both on their old boards and the new UEFI ones). 
2. I'll link a review by HardwareUnboxed (they usually do a massive amount of games and provide damn good comparisions and reviews) at the end. 
3. 3600MHz CL16 is the sweet spot for Zen 2. Then 3200MHz CL14, and lastly 3200Mhz CL16. All will be fine, it's just incremental improvements. The 3600Mhz stuff is usually only a slight increase in price though, so unless you're on a shoestring budget, just get that. 
4. AFAIK PCIe 4.0 will be noticeable for SSDs if you're doing anything that requires a lot of reads and writes, especially with big files. In games I doubt it'll be noticeable other than maybe shaving a couple seconds off load times. If you don't want to go for a PCIe 4.0 SSD, the next best thing would be the ADATA SX8200 Pro. Sliiightly faster than the 970 Evo in the majority of tests, and much cheaper. 
5. Not really a pro on monitors and I've never used a curved one, I think they're more immersive and help alleviate some color shift depending on the panel type?
6. I'd go with NF-A12s if the colors aren't offensive to you. NF-F12s are built for static pressure in tight spaces or especially on radiators for watercooling. They move a crap ton of air and are incredibly well built (I run 4 iPPC NF-F12 2000rpms on the radiators in my PC), but come with a noise penalty (though if you're running them at about 60% speed or lower they're not too noticeable). NF-S12As look to be good too: https://noctua.at/en/nf-s12a-pwm-chromax-black-swap. Spec-wise they push less CFM (according to PCPP, 63.27CFM vs 71.69CFM) , but also at a much lower max rpm (1200rpm vs 2000rpm), and are built to be quiet.

Review for the GPUs:

 

[Jurrunio]

7 minutes ago, cs1912 said:

How is it compared to the other two options?

Different ways to do the same thing. Apart from stuff they willingly list on their websites, Asus  > Asrock > Gigabyte in current handling capability, but you're not seeing any difference without a Ryzen 9 3950X overclocked. 

 

14 minutes ago, cs1912 said:

2. GPU: I will not be gaming too heavy on this machine, since I mainly spend my time browsing/studying/coding. However I still play CS:GO, LoL or Monster Hunter World and want to ensure performance for current games, while also not needing to upgrade again after for at least 3 or 4 years. How much performance increase do I get on the 2070 or the S model for the price when compared to the 2060S. Is it worth the money?

Tbh if you dont need NVENC for recording you could just get a Navi card. The 5700, 5700XT and 2060S are currently the best value cards available, while 2070S is also nice but sits at a higher price and performance level than the other 3 cards.

 

15 minutes ago, cs1912 said:

3. RAM: I am also not really familiar with RAM frequencies and timings, but the 3200-C16 RAM was the most popular one when I checked the list. Is there a reason or a real benefit to be had when buying faster memory, since it expensive really quickly.

I dont know your region but 3600MHz CL16 kits should also be somewhat affordable

 

Faster memory can help with CPU performance (slightly) and frame rate stability

 

16 minutes ago, cs1912 said:

4. Storage: One of the new featues of the X570 boards is PCIe 4.0 and I feel rather bad about not using a feature I paid money for. The SSD does cost around 200€ though which definitely hurts. Does PCIe really give one a noticable performance boost, considering you can get the MP150 version for just half the price?

PCIe 4 SSD imo dont help much since I didnt get meaningful gains in reality from SATA SSD to PCIe 3 x4 SSD. the MP510 is not a bad choice, but there are competitors like the Adata SX8200 Pro, HP EX920/EX950 and WD SN750/Black.

 

25 minutes ago, cs1912 said:

One in the front, two on the bottom and two for the CPU cooler.

The main point of buying the U12A is for its NF-A12x25 fan, the fan that combines the advantages of both the older F12 and A12 into one. I dont see the point of buying F12 industrial (which is just the old F12 with new colour scheme tbh) and replacing the cooler's stock fan. As for case fans, there are better value options compared to the premium Noctuas, the front and bottom fans seem more restricted so I'll use the Phanteks F120MP or Fractal HP12, rear fan less restricted so I'll use Phanteks F120SP or Fractal HF12. Cooler Master's SF120 is supposedly a cheaper alternative of the NF-A12x25 so that's also a good option if available (as an all-rounder). Of course if you're swimming in money and dont mind the colour you could just slap the brown NF-A12x25 everywhere

[decrease_hankie914]

Ok thanks a lot for the feedback guys. I think I've decided on the components now. Here's my part list:

 

https://geizhals.de/?cat=WL-1334295

 

Hopefully I can post my new rig here soon