Newbie Who Suddenly has a Overclockable Motherboard

[s10e]

Hi all,

I am new here, but long time LTT Youtube follower. 

 

The thread title may not be totally accurate, but anyway. It has been a terrible week for me on the computer front. I will see if a bit of typing calms the soul like it used to in my vBulletin days!

I am an audio engineer who now has to do a fair chunk of video editing and exporting. By that I mean, there could be 6 to 10 major video based events at my place of work each year and I am the only one who "knows how" to edit video; and by that, I am the only one who is up for having a go and learning Premiere Pro purely from having a go.

 

Anyway, my old studio computer was a HP Omen 870-214na. This was originally purchased to quickly replace a studio machine that died a number of years back in the middle of a project. It was a fine machine, but limited. I converted it to passive cooling, but couldn't get the BIOS to stop throwing up no CPU fan errors. I put up with it for a few years anyway; I record and mix music, rather than use software instruments so my CPU and RAM needs are fairly modest. Once I started doing video editing, the CPU was hitting 85 degrees with the Nofan CR-80EH passive cooler, so I got a BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4 and then it was max 44 degrees during the same 4k renders. It also idles at around 12 degrees C.

So, to the terrible week. I noticed that my 16GB of memory was being maxed out by Premiere. Given the interesting times we live in now, I took a boredom based risk and got 32GB of Crucial Ballistix RAM, I only went for that due to a good deal they had compared to "stock" RAM. I took the RAM out of the Omen, and one of the slots broke and the Omen motherboard died a short while later. The machine was bought used originally, so perhaps this was damage from that user.

 

I have loads of work to do from home and I could not afford to have much downtime; my poor Surface Laptop 2 cant be kept in the fridge during video exports!!! So I had to cram how to build a PC from scratch. I know enough to put a computer together, but I am not saying I made great choices as I only learned what ATX is because of this, but I am typing this on the "new" machine and getting project work done with no issues so I am fairly happy, if not over stressed!!!

 

I went for a Corsair 275 quiet model and an ASUS z270p motherboard. My lack of research resulted in me having to get bluetooth and wifi USB adapters separate, which arrive next week (whoops) but the thing works!! Though, I didn't get a chance to switch BitLocker off on the OS drive before the Omen died, and I only just found the recovery key. It really piled on this week!

 

Here are my specs:

 

i7-7700

Palit KalmX GTX1050 TI

16GB of RAM

ASUS z270p motherboard

BeQuiet Pure Power 10 400watt PSU

 

Since I now have a motherboard that can accomodate overclocking, would I be wasting my time to get a used 7700k and see how I get on? It would seem I have the cooling capacity to push the CPU.

I find myself almost frustrated that I didn't have more time to figure this out; since I had to get a new motherboard, and if I do end up getting a 7700k, would I have been better off getting that 5th gen i7 unlocked six core that apparently runs rings around 7th gens in Premiere. Or even the newer AMD options with loads more cores.

 

The amount of video projects I do probably would negate the need for having a super speced machine for rendertimes, but I do not do enough of it either to have potential system stability issues be a big deal. It could be a case of boredom vs what is worthwhile. 

 

Lets say a new 7700k is around 500 euro in Europe, would jumping ship to used AMD parts be a better bet? Would even a used 7700k be dead money if that could pay for, lets say, an AMD motherboard and then see what they have to offer. 

 

Anyway, at least I have a computer, and it was kind of fun to build. Downside, both Crucial RAM sticks are duds.

 

By the way, that Nofan CR-80EH was really fantastic for years before I had to do the video editing. The lighting in the studio bothered me more than the computer, the only fan was the PSU.

 

Thanks for the read, I am almost relaxed now!!!

[Fasauceome]

8 minutes ago, s10e said:

would I be wasting my time to get a used 7700k and see how I get on

Yes, because they cost like $300 used which is an absurd price for only 4 cores and HT.

[Guest]

I think a new AMD machine would be the way to go. All new. Then you'll have way less worries and a more efficient machine. 

Quad core processors are a thing of the past. Even 8 threads, it's ok, but you're working. A 3700X would be perfect for you. 

With the right motherboard, you'd have an option to upgrade to 3900X, and continue with upgrades before the platform is dead. 

 

If this was just a gaming machine and budget was tight, I'd say keep the 7700 and go about your business. But 7700K is kinda weak for todays standards. (Not saying obsolete, it's definately a useable chip, I just don't think for your purpose it suits your needs) 

[s10e]

Thanks for the replies and greater context. The 7700 is doing fine, the new cooling has it running at 4 to 4.1ghz during Premiere 4k rendering. 

 

Now that I have a decent case I can start thinking about the next step, budgets are tight but I at least got a replacement machine going for 120 euro with the new motherboard and case. It's not like I was shelling out major money on it, into a dying CPU option. 

 

Saving money and not getting the 7700k and looking at AMD seems the way to go. 

[s10e]

Bloody hell, AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is not too far ahead a new 7700k. 475 vs 369euro.

 

Would a Asus PRIME X570-P be a good base for a 3700x? It states a Ryzen 9 3900X is its max. Given I'm not exactly a heavy user, the Asus and 3700x combo could give me some significant future proofing once those 3900s get cheaper in a few years time. 

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, s10e said:

 

Saving money and not getting the 7700k and looking at AMD seems the way to go. 

After you build, sell the 7700 and board, get some money back in the pocket. 

[s10e]

Totally, its worth further research anyway. Right now, I'm just happy to be able to control the fans!! 

[s10e]

Hmm, well. That further research has resulted in some eBay finds.

I managed to score a used 470 motherboard with the BIOS update and used once 3700x for around 350 euro all in.

 

The internet is dangerous; thanks for the pointers.