Seeking Upgrade Advice

[Pilch Dragon]

Hi all,

 

I was hoping to ask for some advice with upgrading my system, as I'm not too good when it comes to hardware. My motherboard and CPU are getting pretty old (Intel i7-3770k and an Asus P8 Z77-V Deluxe), so I figured it was about time to start looking at an upgrade. At the moment, I plan to recycle the GPU (This will be upgraded later), PSU and storage from my current system. I'll also be buying a new case but I haven't picked one yet. I figure that I can do this to cut down on cost and allow me to go for more higher end parts (At the moment I don't have a set budget, as long as its not absurdly high). This is primarily meant to be used as a gaming PC, but also for more mundane tasks like basic development work.

 

These are the parts I was planning to purchase:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor  (£381.93 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (£79.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£412.74 @ Box Limited) 
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  (£198.63 @ Newegg UK) 
Total: £993.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-28 15:20 BST+0100

 

This means that when combined with recycled parts from my current rig, I would have a system with these specs:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor  (£381.93 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  (£79.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£412.74 @ Box Limited) 
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  (£198.63 @ Newegg UK) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4 GB Video Card

PSU (Not listed on PCPartPicker): Corsair CX750M

 

Does anyone have any suggestions, such as additional new parts to buy, or any substitutions to make? Also, with regards to the prices of these parts being above normal because of the coof, would it be worth purchasing now, or waiting until things get back to normal?

 

Thanks in advance!

[boggy77]

i would go with this instead. i see no reason to spend so much on the motherboard.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor	£381.93 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard	£274.99 @ AWD-IT
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory	£182.98 @ Newegg UK
Video Card	MSI GeForce GTX 980 4 GB Video Card
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£839.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-28 15:35 BST+0100

 

 

[kyn1972]

If you have a little wiggle room you can fit a Geforce 1660 super into that now.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/CnpmP6/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1660-super-6-gb-oc-video-card-gv-n166soc-6gd

[Pilch Dragon]

25 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

i would go with this instead. i see no reason to spend so much on the motherboard.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor	£381.93 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard	£274.99 @ AWD-IT
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory	£182.98 @ Newegg UK
Video Card	MSI GeForce GTX 980 4 GB Video Card
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£839.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-28 15:35 BST+0100

 

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll go with the suggestions you've made and change my plans accordingly.

14 minutes ago, kyn1972 said:

If you have a little wiggle room you can fit a Geforce 1660 super into that now.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/CnpmP6/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1660-super-6-gb-oc-video-card-gv-n166soc-6gd

Thanks for the heads up, I'll make a note and when I get to the GPU, I'll check this one out

[dizmo]

Hmmm. I see a lot of possibly wasted money.

You didn't tell us what you use your PC for, so really none of the advice you've been given can be that helpful; we need to know how you use your system.

 

Just based off of your list without knowing what you use it for, I'd say the motherboard is probably a bit overkill (very few people actually need a motherboard that costs that much), and I'd take a look at your PSU as well. If it's close to the end of it's warranty, I'd replace it.

[Pilch Dragon]

Just giving a quick follow up on this thread, I've taken on board the advice that was given by boggy77, and all of the parts have arrived and are now inside a Phanteks Eclipse P400A. The build went very well, but during the build, like an idiot, I managed to drop my 3TB HDD onto the floor and that is no longer reading. Fortunately, that only had my games on it, so it could have been much worse.

 

I had a few follow up questions now that the current step has been completed:

• I'm looking to replace my now dead hard drive. I was thinking about using the 2TB SSD that I currently use for my OS for games and picking up an M.2 SSD for the OS (Was thinking about getting an 970 EVO Plus). Does this sound like a solid plan or does anyone have any better recommendations?
• With regards to graphics cards, I know kyn1972 recommended a 1660 Super, though I was thinking about going for something with a little more oomph. Originally I heard about the GTX 2080 as the new top of the range card, but it looks like that was discontinued and replaced with the 2080 Super (at least according to Wikipedia). Is there one of these that would be worth getting over the other, or even a card not listed there?
• Part of the case that I got came with a bunch of RGB fans, and it'd be nice to be able to control them properly (I'm currently using the motherboard's addressable RGB headers, but it doesn't seem to be having much effect). Does anyone have any potential software or hardware solutions for controlling the RGB on the fans properly? I also have an RGB corsair mouse, so bonus points if that can also be controlled through it.

[SavageNeo]

2 hours ago, Pilch Dragon said:

I'm looking to replace my now dead hard drive. I was thinking about using the 2TB SSD that I currently use for my OS for games and picking up an M.2 SSD for the OS (Was thinking about getting an 970 EVO Plus). Does this sound like a solid plan or does anyone have any better recommendations?

very overpriced get these instead: (they are as fast as the 970 evo)

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/2sdxFT/silicon-power-1-tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-sp001tbp34a80m28

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/zR3H99/adata-sx8200-1-tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-asx8200pnp-1tt-c

 

 

2 hours ago, Pilch Dragon said:

With regards to graphics cards, I know kyn1972 recommended a 1660 Super, though I was thinking about going for something with a little more oomph. Originally I heard about the GTX 2080 as the new top of the range card, but it looks like that was discontinued and replaced with the 2080 Super (at least according to Wikipedia). Is there one of these that would be worth getting over the other, or even a card not listed there?

gtx 980 is decent but rx 5600XT/5700/5700Xt are the bets price to performance gpus. rx 5700 XT is 1-5% worse than rtx 2070 super but 20% cheaper.

for high end gpu get rtx 2080 super

for higher mid range get rx 5700 XT

for mid range get rx 5700

for lower mid range get rx 5600XT

 

 

 

[Pilch Dragon]

1 hour ago, SavageNeo said:

very overpriced get these instead: (they are as fast as the 970 evo)

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/2sdxFT/silicon-power-1-tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-sp001tbp34a80m28

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/zR3H99/adata-sx8200-1-tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-asx8200pnp-1tt-c

 

 

gtx 980 is decent but rx 5600XT/5700/5700Xt are the bets price to performance gpus. rx 5700 XT is 1-5% worse than rtx 2070 super but 20% cheaper.

for high end gpu get rtx 2080 super

for higher mid range get rx 5700 XT

for mid range get rx 5700

for lower mid range get rx 5600XT

 

 

 

Thanks for the information, based on your response and the information I'm seeing, I'm inclined to change my decision on the SSD and go for the ADATA one as you've recommended. Regarding the graphics card, I'm still mulling over whether to go for the 2080 Super or the 5700 XT. Part of me wants to go for the higher end card for better future proofing, but I'm having a really hard time justifying the almost double price tag for the 2080S.

 

Edit: As a brief follow up, I'm likely going to settle on the RX 5700 XT. Is there any practical difference between them? I was planning on going for the Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB NITRO+ SE, but I get the feeling that there may well be a better option before I commit to it

Edited May 5, 2020 by Pilch Dragon
Added decision regarding GPU

[Pilch Dragon]

I've just been made aware of the concept of GPU sag (I've been out of the hardware loop for ages now TBH). Is this something anyone has had experience with regarding the RX 5700 XT type cards? If so, does anyone have any decent solutions? I was going to pick up a cheap brace support, but as usual, I'm open to better solutions.

[Pilch Dragon]

 

Thought I'd drop by one last time, and thank everyone who has taken the time to give advice in this thread and offer better alternatives to some of my original plans. After taking on board all of the suggestions for the PC, it has all come together, and I thought I'd share a picture!

Spoiler

There are still some things I still need to do to it, but at this point it's mostly just tidying up or some nice to have things:

 

- The cables are a mess. I'm planning to get a controller and will eventually thread the fan cables through to the back of the case instead

- For the top and back fans, I recycled them from my old cooler master case. As such they're pretty old, and they're not great but they work. I'll likely get some newer ones later on

- The GPU isn't currently hooked up to any sort of RGB controller, as I still need to buy one of these. This will hopefully fix the RGB on the fans as well, which currently aren't in sync with the CPU fan or Strix logo

 

 

Also, since 3DMark was on sale, I picked up that and gave Time Spy a try, and it came out at just over 9500. Could likely get it higher if I overclocked but I'm not massively concerned with that.

 

For now though, I'm extremely happy with this, its honestly the sort of PC I've always wanted; Powerful, good for programming work and gaming, and lots and lots of RGB.

 

Thanks again! :)

[SavageNeo]

4 minutes ago, Pilch Dragon said:

The cables are a mess. I'm planning to get a controller and will eventually thread the fan cables through to the back of the case instead

Also you can tighten the mobo, cpu and gpu cables.

5 minutes ago, Pilch Dragon said:

For the top and back fans, I recycled them from my old cooler master case. As such they're pretty old, and they're not great but they work. I'll likely get some newer ones later on

Yeah they ugly af

5 minutes ago, Pilch Dragon said:

The GPU isn't currently hooked up to any sort of RGB controller, as I still need to buy one of these. This will hopefully fix the RGB on the fans as well, which currently aren't in sync with the CPU fan or Strix logo

??. Gpus do not need rgb controllers. you can control the rgb from Sapphire's rgb control. download it form Sapphire)

[Pilch Dragon]

6 minutes ago, SavageNeo said:

Yeah they ugly af

Yep, they kinda bring down the look of the rest of it a bit, but its temporary. Definitely need a break from working on things for the last week and a half or so.

8 minutes ago, SavageNeo said:

Gpus do not need rgb controllers. you can control the rgb from Sapphire's rgb control. download it form Sapphire)

Will do. I admittedly didn't look too much into this, I just saw in the instructions that there's somewhere to plug an ARGB cable into on the card and assumed that it was mandatory

[SavageNeo]

1 minute ago, Pilch Dragon said:

Will do. I admittedly didn't look too much into this, I just saw in the instructions that there's somewhere to plug an ARGB cable into on the card and assumed that it was mandatory

it probably meant the case fans.

 

do you need an aftermarket cooler? what are your temps with that cpu? if you want to get 4+ghz on all cores boost aftermarket cooler will be needed. But for stock clocks that cooler should handle that cpu pretty well.

[Pilch Dragon]

7 minutes ago, SavageNeo said:

do you need an aftermarket cooler? what are your temps with that cpu? if you want to get 4+ghz on all cores boost aftermarket cooler will be needed. But for stock clocks that cooler should handle that cpu pretty well

I was debating whether or not to get one, though I eventually decided against for now. I'm not too concerned with overclocking ATM (I've honestly always been a little nervous with it, since I don't know what I'm doing and don't want to damage things).

 

At the moment temps seem to be all over the place for the CPU, at least according to CoreTemp. I've seen it go as low as 45 and as high as 72 when idle, but then it never went much higher when I was doing the Time Spy benchmark.

[SavageNeo]

Its normal for idle. sometimes your cpu only uses 1% soemtimes the system runs something and it uses 5%, and since the cpu fan is probably running very low speed (because temps are so low) the cpu cooler cannot react to usage change in time, so the temps go up before the cpu fan starts to run at higher speed.

[Pilch Dragon]

4 minutes ago, SavageNeo said:

Its normal for idle. sometimes your cpu only uses 1% soemtimes the system runs something and it uses 5%, and since the cpu fan is probably running very low speed (because temps are so low) the cpu cooler cannot react to usage change in time, so the temps go up before the cpu fan starts to run at higher speed.

Thats a relief. I thought for some reason that it was meant to not go that high when idle

[SavageNeo]

Just now, Pilch Dragon said:

Thats a relief. I thought for some reason that it was meant to not go that high when idle

pretty much what every user is conserned about. Haha!