Any Motherboard Experts Out There?

JazzzJon · May 13, 2020

Budget (including currency): ~<$3500

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: MHW, Blender, AOEII Definitive Edition, looking to get into heavier games and software programs but current machine can't handle the workload.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I have been researching for the last three weeks now and have determined that I would like to combine the Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti and the Ryzen 9 3950X in one machine. The problem is that I keep getting mixed feedback about what motherboard will work with these. That said, I am not sure where to get started in looking for a case because it will have to fit the motherboard. That also applies for the cooling, which is dependent on the size of the case. I watched a video with the 6 builds at 6 different price points and thought that I would like something within the Gentleman to Glowup range with just a touch of Overkill. That stated, I think I would rather have a primary storage of SSD 2Tb to get started with room to add an addition SSD rather than get a small primary storage and add tons of additional HDDs. Has anyone paired these GPU and CPUs? I'd really appreciate any advice or feedback.

ShinRamen · May 13, 2020

Here is a somewhat reasonable build. I did not include the requested 2080 Ti, but you can fit it in this build with your budget - no problem. I would highly advise against getting the Ti though, as it always has been horrible value. With more and more leaks about the upcoming Nvidia RTX 3000 (Ampere) cards coming out it seems to make matters even worse - you'll most likely be able to get similar performance for much less at the end of the year. No one knows yet, but I'd say we have enough reason to not buy a 2080 Ti now.

I did go for a 2080 Super here, but personally I'd actually go with a mid-range card like a 2070 Super or 5700XT, sell it once RTX 3000 hits the market and get a 3080 (Ti) then. With the money left over from your budget and what you get for selling the card, you should easily be able to afford a top end model.

Slightly overkill? The RGB ram and the capacity of 32GB are; for gaming at least. You could save ~ $30 with a G.Skill kit with same speeds, latency and capacity or even go with 16GB and save ~ $90. Same goes for the 2TB SSD. However you asked for it, so that's what you get Those are components you'll be able to reuse though, so I don't think it's too much of a waste.

The Ryzen 9 3950X is overkill for gaming as well, you'd be fine with a 3700X or, if you have to go balls to the wall, a 3900X. Since the motherboard is X570 and will support the upcoming Ryzen 4000 CPUs, it's not the worst idea to get a 3700X now and do the same thing as I suggested above with the GPU - sell and upgrade to Ryzen 4000 once they are out.

If you need/want to buy and build now I'd go with a 3700X + 2070 Super and upgrade later as I described above. If you want the top of the line now, you can do that too with the build below and maybe just upgrade the GPU at the end of the year. I assume the 3950X will hold up very well for years to come anyways. If you can wait: wait and save yourself the trouble of having to resell stuff, wait for money to come in and order the new parts. This is a decision only you can make.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor	$719.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler	$71.04 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard	$189.99 @ Best Buy
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory	$178.99 @ Newegg
Storage	ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$259.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	Asus GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB STRIX GAMING Advanced Video Card	$784.99 @ Best Buy
Case	Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.99 @ Best Buy
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$114.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2419.96
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-13 17:11 EDT-0400

If that's still not baller enough, you can just get a 2080 Ti with the budget and not listen to a stranger on the internet

Also: IIRC Corsair iCue should be compatible with Aura Sync by now, so all the RGB components in this build should be controllable with only one piece of software (motherboard, memory, GPU, case).

Edited May 13, 2020 by ShinRamen
Sorry for wall of text

JazzzJon · May 13, 2020

@ShinRamen,

hey, sweet insight. Thank you for taking the time to put this list together so quickly.

A few thoughts and questions if you don't mind. The reason I was thinking about the RTX 2080 Ti and Ryzen 9 3950X is because I was trying to avoid having to make huge upgrades for as long as possible. After reading your reply, now I am considering whether starting small with a new build may be better? Because new tech is going to be released soon... I suppose what I am afraid of is investing in something that doesn't work simply because I haven't built a PC from scratch before. I'm going to do a little more research. Not only do I need a replacement to my current machine, an ASUS Desktop PC CM1855 Series w/ AMD FX 4300 Quad-Core Processor & AMD Radeon HD 7600 series graphics, because it cannot even supply my new monitor, LG 32 in. QHD 1440p Gaming Monitor with FreeSync, with a 1440p picture, but it fails to achieve a working ranked benchmark rating in AOEII and honestly, I don't even know how I have been able to play MHW at all because the machine utilizes ~99% of its VRAM.

The monitor states that the input signal is not recommended at the current settings for long term use. Understandable, but CRAZY! That is why/how I am discovering how far behind the curve I am. And tbh, I had no clue 7 years ago what I was buying when I was buying it, I just knew that a desktop PC with 8Gb Ram for $600 seemed ok to me at that time. Watching some of these YouTube videos of guys playing at 1440p or 4k 60-120FPS is like a whole new world to me. A world I would like to experience, lol.

Maybe another good question might be: is it possible to buy a PC like the one you mentioned that still leaves plenty of room for upgrades? Also, you mentioned selling components... that sounds easier said then done because my feeling is that most people always want to buy electronics new, right?

ShinRamen · May 13, 2020

21 minutes ago, JazzzJon said:

@ShinRamen,

hey, sweet insight. Thank you for taking the time to put this list together so quickly.

A few thoughts and questions if you don't mind. [...] After reading your reply, now I am considering whether starting small with a new build may be better? [...]

Maybe another good question might be: is it possible to buy a PC like the one you mentioned that still leaves plenty of room for upgrades? Also, you mentioned selling components... that sounds easier said then done because my feeling is that most people always want to buy electronics new, right?

My pleasure. Your initial post was pretty detailed (great!), which is why I decided to reply accordingly.

Well, a 2080Ti + 3950X build is basically the top of the line you can buy as of right now - you will definitely be able to push enough frames @ 1440p. Although the 3950X does not provide any substantial advantages over a 3700X or 3900X when we are talking about gaming performance (same goes for 32GB vs. 16GB of memory). If that's all you are interested in and don't use the machine for extensive productivity tasks or even make money with it: the 3950X is beyond overkill. However, having the best of the best is a great feeling, so I'm not judging You wouldn't have to upgrade anything anytime soon.

Generally speaking it's a difficult time for upgrading or building new right now at this price point as new hardware will outperform your top-of-the-line system in a couple of months - most likely for less $$$. You could easily push enough frames for a sweet gaming experience at 1440p with a 3700X + 2080 Super (even 2070 Super is decent at this resolution) as well, though.

Maybe you are satisfied with the 3700X/2080Super combination and won't even have to upgrade at the end of the year (pretty likely tbh, unless you want the best of the best, just for the sake of it). Alternatively you could upgrade which comes with the hassle of selling your parts. They will be fairly new and still have warranty so I assume there will be a bunch of people out there trying to make a sweet deal on the used market once new hardware is out. I have never sold my old tech, so I have no experience in that regard.

Or you don't build at all right now and wait till end of the year. But time spent waiting for new hardware is time spent not gaming with your monitor.

I'm not sure I understand the last question correctly. The build I suggested above (with a 2080 Super or 2070 Super) does provide the maximum upgradibility you can buy right now. You can upgrade to a new Ryzen 4000 CPU, a new RTX 3000 card, throw another SSD or HDD in there or upgrade to 64GB of ram. What you can decide on is the starting point of your journey: mid-range and save a lot of $$$ to have readily available for an upgrade immediately once new hardware is out (3700X + 2070 Super), or going with a high-end build but having to rely more on the money coming back in from reselling your components (3950X + 2080 Super/Ti).

Upgradability is there: which doesn't mean that you have to make use of it just because new hardware is out. If you are happy with the performance, just run with it. Not need to burn money just because others might have a new shiny RTX 3080, when your 2080 Super still holds up very well.

With all of this being said, I want to remind you: It's an awesome problem to have

JazzzJon · May 13, 2020

@ShinRamen,

alright, very interesting points made here. Thank you once again. I think I am starting to understand that ultimately, I may be reaching unnecessarily for top shelf quality when what is currently available is plenty good for what I want to do and will still leave room for upgrading should I still desire to. I watched a video about motherboards and the AMD4 chipset size. Do you think that the new Ryzen 4000 CPUs are still going to fit?

Also, part of the reason I think I feel the need to go for "the best of the best" quality is because I enjoy running other apps while gaming. For example, Discord to chat with friends, web browser, Spotify, etc... It is very complicated to determine how/what CPU is going to be able to run all that without lag at the same time.

ShinRamen · May 13, 2020

14 minutes ago, JazzzJon said:

I watched a video about motherboards and the AMD4 chipset size. Do you think that the new Ryzen 4000 CPUs are still going to fit?

X570 and B550 motherboards are confirmed to support Ryzen 4000. There's a whole controversy going on right now, as AMD initially stated that B450 boards would also support Ryzen 4000, but apparently they backtracked on that. With an X570 board you are definitely good, though.

14 minutes ago, JazzzJon said:

Also, part of the reason I think I feel the need to go for "the best of the best" quality is because I enjoy running other apps while gaming. For example, Discord to chat with friends, web browser, Spotify, etc...

An 8-core/16-thread 3700X can easily handle discord calls or spotify while gaming. Also no problem to stream your gameplay to twitch/mixer/whatever and chat with people in a discord call simultaneously. I'd say by now that kind of multi-tasking is standard and no problem for a mid-range CPU like the 3700X (mid-range does not imply that a 'high-end' 3950X is vastly superior when it comes to games - just to be clear). When you are running (multiple) VMs, getting into serious productivity tasks etc. we are talking about 3900X/3950X workloads.

I'm not located in the US, but this forum is always getting a bit quieter around these times and I'm sure someone else will add their two cents eventually and might provide an additional angle on this.