Planning a new build, need some help overcoming hesitation

[Demolishdude]

Budget (including currency): ~$1500, preferably less but it is flexible

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Hoi4, Apex, Stellaris, R6S, Arma 3, Forza Horizon 5, occasional blender, occasional Premiere Pro, might dabble more in UE4/5

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): 

 

Current parts list plan for new PC:https://pcpartpicker.com/list/psmd8J (CPU and motherboard are being purchased from microcenter)

 

I don't need any peripherals (running a Razer Blackwidow V2 and Logitech MX Vertical), currently running two monitors (Acer XF270H 1920x1080p 144hz and Acer CB35C1 2560x1080p 60hz).

 

For context, here is my current build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JcVgk6

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core
• Cooler: AMD Wraith Prism
• Motherboard: ASRock AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16
• Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME
• Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM
• Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE
• Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO
• Power Supply: EVGA BQ 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular

Only missing components here other than peripherals are a couple of SSDs and a HDD I have added over the years.

 

I was fairly content with my PC but I was given the chance to purchase a MSI Ventus 3080 10GB with a gen4 nvme ssd. I decided since I need a new PSU as well and that my mobo is too old for a gen4 ssd, I might as well upgrade! Here is what I am stuck on:

1. Currently using a Ryzen 7 2700 for mostly gaming but when a creative itch needs to be scratch I usually go to video editing and occasionally 3D modeling and renders. Part of me realizes a direct upgrade to a 5800X is probably preferable, but the 5900X on microcenter seems like not such a bad deal.
   • Should I stick with a 5800X or is the performance upgrade of the 5900X worth the $170 premium?
   • Or, should I hold onto what I have and wait until the next AMD release to try and snag a deal?
2. I have never dealt with AIO watercooling before, as my previous computers were fairly low end or low enough of a TDP that I could get away with cheap air coolers. The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 seems to tickle my fancy, but
   • I was wondering if it would be good enough to go down to the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280,
   • or if I should even swap over to air cooling with a Dark Rock Pro 4?
     • With the already massive beast of the 3080, I am concerned for the rigidity of the motherboard with both a massive air cooler plus the 3080.
3. I was heavily considering downsizing and going with the Lian Li Q58 or O11 Air Mini, but I was convinced to stick with the ease of a larger case and I am waiting on a restock of the O11D Evo. However, with such a large case, it screams for some kind of lighting.
   • Is it worth buying Corsair QL/LL series ARGB fans?
   • Or are there ARGB strips I can use to line the fan arrays inside the case? (I understand this section is mostly personal preference, but I would be curious for outside experience/opinions on this topic)
4. FINAL QUESTION! I am of the understanding that the MSI Ventus 3080 comes with a GPU anti-sag bracket. GPU sag in the past was handled by fishing line, and eventually an entire case change, but with the return to a mostly normal ATX form factor...
   • Is the anti-sag bracket going to be effective? Or is it mostly just a gimmick, which leads me to...
   • Should I splurge for the vertical GPU adapter as a better anti-sag device? I was going to get it just in case (I have learned with my CM HAF XB EVO that case accessories are not available forever), but I was wondering if it would be effective?

I believe the mobo to be fine, I think I might be able to finesse a trade for the same memory but double the capacity (friend got it for free, might be able to convince a trade). I might upgrade to a 2k 165-240hz monitor down the line, especially something color accurate. However, that could be expensive, so I might wait for sales on those. As for my UPS, I chose the UPS in my list as I need another UPS to dedicate to the PC so I dont auto-shutdown the old 650 watt one with my new 1000w power supply. If anyone has any suggestions for a 900-1000watt or higher UPS, feel free to share!

 

Thank you ahead of time for any assistance! It is greatly appreciated.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Demolishdude
Clarification of current build

[Somerandomtechyboi]

21 minutes ago, Demolishdude said:

Is it worth buying Corsair QL/LL series ARGB fans?

Those are flaming trash, if you are gonna pay 30$ for a fan make sure its got good performance and not just some sad excuse of an overpriced rgb fan, arctic p12/p120 argb are both cheaper and perform like noctua fans

 

Btw why dont you just reuse your old case? If its got bad airflow or you just wanna swap case then have a look at the phanteks p400/p500a cases as they have rgb fans included

 

 

Full specs of your current build would be helpful, most likely you just need to swap cpu and board and then just add the extra peripherals

[Chris Pratt]

3000MHz CL16 is way, way too slow to pair with a 5900X. Get a kit of 3600MHz CL16, and throw away the RGB if you have to for cost. 

 

The 280mm LFII is perfectly sufficient. It's what I'm using to cool my 5900X.

[Jonathan Lee]

25 minutes ago, Demolishdude said:

Currently using a Ryzen 7 2700 for mostly gaming but when a creative itch needs to be scratch I usually go to video editing and occasionally 3D modeling and renders. Part of me realizes a direct upgrade to a 5800X is probably preferable, but the 5900X on microcenter seems like not such a bad deal.

• Should I stick with a 5800X or is the performance upgrade of the 5900X worth the $170 premium?
• Or, should I hold onto what I have and wait until the next AMD release to try and snag a deal?

 

So regardless of what you decide to go with, you will need a new motherboard. While the AB350 board on your old build looks okay, it really wasn't design to handle the power output of the 5000 series. I would suggest going to 12th gen Intel (12700 looks like the best value right now) since you would have to change mobo's anyways. If you want to stick with AMD, it depends on what you do on your computer. If you're a heavy multitasker, I would recommend the 5900X. If you're more light-medium, 5800x should be okay.

 

Should you wait? If you're PC still does what it needs, yes. If it's struggling on something in particular, then go ahead and upgrade now.

31 minutes ago, Demolishdude said:

I have never dealt with AIO watercooling before, as my previous computers were fairly low end or low enough of a TDP that I could get away with cheap air coolers. The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 seems to tickle my fancy, but

• I was wondering if it would be good enough to go down to the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280,
• or if I should even swap over to air cooling with a Dark Rock Pro 4?
  • With the already massive beast of the 3080, I am concerned for the rigidity of the motherboard with both a massive air cooler plus the 3080.

 

In terms of AIO's, there are air coolers that are competitive with them. The Dark rock pro 4 is one of them. 360 AIO's are nice if you want a really cool CPU, but the 280mm will work pretty good too. Should still be enough for 5900x if you go down that route.

 

Other questions I'm not too sure of myself so wait for others.

[Demolishdude]

9 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Those are flaming trash, if you are gonna pay 30$ for a fan make sure its got good performance and not just some sad excuse of an overpriced rgb fan, arctic p12/p120 argb are both cheaper and perform like noctua fans

 

Btw why dont you just reuse your old case? If its got bad airflow or you just wanna swap case then have a look at the phanteks p400/p500a cases as they have rgb fans included

 

 

Full specs of your current build would be helpful, most likely you just need to swap cpu and board and then just add the extra peripherals

Understood! I was hoping to change cases as my current case was a handmedown from a friend and is rather an eye sore at the moment (current fan setup is held in partially with zip ties as the mounts didn't line up on top of being a mishmash of fans collected over the years with varying performance, the cable management is somewhat okay but the only place for stuffing cables is where my storage drives are at, making replacing or adding drives rather difficult when I am snaking around multiple power cables). Airflow admittedly is good though. I should already have a link to the list of my current setup in my post, but I will edit the above to make it clearer, thank you for the heads up

 

12 minutes ago, Jonathan Lee said:

So regardless of what you decide to go with, you will need a new motherboard. While the AB350 board on your old build looks okay, it really wasn't design to handle the power output of the 5000 series. I would suggest going to 12th gen Intel (12700 looks like the best value right now) since you would have to change mobo's anyways. If you want to stick with AMD, it depends on what you do on your computer. If you're a heavy multitasker, I would recommend the 5900X. If you're more light-medium, 5800x should be okay.

 

Should you wait? If you're PC still does what it needs, yes. If it's struggling on something in particular, then go ahead and upgrade now.

In terms of AIO's, there are air coolers that are competitive with them. The Dark rock pro 4 is one of them. 360 AIO's are nice if you want a really cool CPU, but the 280mm will work pretty good too. Should still be enough for 5900x if you go down that route.

 

Other questions I'm not too sure of myself so wait for others.

I was under the impression 12th gen intel requires the currently expensive DDR5 upgrade as well, are there 12th gen boards that support DDR4? If DDR5 is required, I will probably stick with AMD if I buy now. You do make a good point, it doesn't struggle with most loads, though games like Arma run noticeably better on friend's PCs that have stronger CPUs such as Ryzen 3000 and 12th gen intel. Also, there are a number of features that currently do not work or are extremely buggy (memory is stuck at 2133 speed, anything higher makes my computer immensely unstable, I can't enable virtualization without bricking the entire computer, my computer alone is dealing with random crashes when using 3D apps which is likely an AMD issue, but I have had it on my previous RX 580 card and my current RX 5700 XT, but it only started when I moved to this motherboard). Besides that, I am currently somewhat spoiled with my wraith prism keeping my 2700 below 60 degrees C, so I am hoping to achieve something similar with any near-term upgrade. Thank you!

[Jonathan Lee]

6 minutes ago, Demolishdude said:

re there 12th gen boards that support DDR4

Yes they have DDR4 versions of the most boards.

 

Example:

MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard   Make sure there is a DDR4 at the end of the mobo name