AMD builds

[testcy]

Any comments and suggestions for the following builds?

 

AM4

Buy new:

AMD RYZEN 7 5700X

ARCTIC FREEZER 36

KINGSTON FURY BEAST KF432C16BBK2/16

GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE V2

Use existing dGPU and PSU.

 

AM5

Buy new:

AMD RYZEN 9 7900

KINGSTON FURY BEAST KF560C30BBK2-16

Gigabyte X870E A ELITE WIFI7

Corsair RM850x

Use iGPU or buy dGPU later

 

Use existing SATA SDD or buy M.2 later.

 

Cost for AM5 is more than twice than cost for AM4.

[Dr. Will0hlep]

4 minutes ago, testcy said:

KINGSTON FURY BEAST KF560C30BBK2-16

16GB kits of DDR5 should be avoided as they come with a 40% performance penalty. What you want is a DDR5 6000Mhz CL30 2x16GB kit.

 

5 minutes ago, testcy said:

Gigabyte X870E A ELITE WIFI7

Do you really need an X870E motherboard? Is there some feature on this board that you need that isn't on cheaper boards? More expensive boards only offer more features, not more performance.

 

7 minutes ago, testcy said:

AMD RYZEN 7 5700X

GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE V2

 

AMD RYZEN 9 7900

Gigabyte X870E A ELITE WIFI7

This confuses me as there seems to be no direct reason to compare these kinds of parts. Can you explain what you want to do with the computer and what your budget is?

[testcy]

45 minutes ago, Dr. Will0hlep said:

16GB kits of DDR5 should be avoided as they come with a 40% performance penalty. What you want is a DDR5 6000Mhz CL30 2x16GB kit.

 

Do you really need an X870E motherboard? Is there some feature on this board that you need that isn't on cheaper boards? More expensive boards only offer more features, not more performance.

 

This confuses me as there seems to be no direct reason to compare these kinds of parts. Can you explain what you want to do with the computer and what your budget is?

Availability, USB4 ports and better audio for not a lot more than cheaper motherboards. I need to replace an existing dying build with a new one that will be as powerful and last as long as possible. This is to be used at home, not intended for gaming, just for tasks such as internet browsing, streaming media, video and photo editing.

[Dr. Will0hlep]

21 minutes ago, testcy said:

Availability, USB4 ports and better audio for not a lot more than cheaper motherboards.

If audio matters to you (say you are doing production level video editing) get an external sound card. There really isn't much of a quality difference between motherboards any more. All motherboards are good enough for normal use.

 

As for USB 4, that is only worth it if you have devices that support USB 4. But assuming you do: this would be a decent amount cheaper and would also gets you USB 4 ports.

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/n3cgXL/gigabyte-x870-gaming-wifi6-atx-am5-motherboard-x870-gaming-wifi6

[Doobeedoo]

Going AM5 is not even that expensive now. No point comparing much older platform vs new and way more expensive board. There are some cheaper boards evwn with USB4 if you need. 

Also if not for gaming but basic tasks probably no point then. That said may as well use a mini PC then.

[testcy]

22 minutes ago, Dr. Will0hlep said:

If audio matters to you (say you are doing production level video editing) get an external sound card. There really isn't much of a quality difference between motherboards any more. All motherboards are good enough for normal use.

 

As for USB 4, that is only worth it if you have devices that support USB 4. But assuming you do: this would be a decent amount cheaper and would also gets you USB 4 ports.

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/n3cgXL/gigabyte-x870-gaming-wifi6-atx-am5-motherboard-x870-gaming-wifi6

I find it unacceptable in 2025 motherboards at such prices to still use ALC897.

 

16 minutes ago, Doobeedoo said:

Going AM5 is not even that expensive now. No point comparing much older platform vs new and way more expensive board. There are some cheaper boards evwn with USB4 if you need. 

Also if not for gaming but basic tasks probably no point then. That said may as well use a mini PC then.

Not interested in using a mini PC. Do you have in mind cheaper motherboards with USB4 and better audio than ALC897?

[Dr. Will0hlep]

26 minutes ago, testcy said:

I find it unacceptable in 2025 motherboards at such prices to still use ALC897.

As I said, if that really matters to you, get an external sound card.

It will be cheaper than paying for a more expensive board, and it will be give far better sound quality.

[testcy]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Will0hlep said:

As I said, if that really matters to you, get an external sound card.

It will be cheaper than paying for a more expensive board, and it will be give far better sound quality.

An example of an external sound card that will be cheaper and give better sound quality?

[Doobeedoo]

1 hour ago, testcy said:

Not interested in using a mini PC. Do you have in mind cheaper motherboards with USB4 and better audio than ALC897?

Can check table here with this chipset https://www.techspot.com/review/2907-amd-x870-motherboards/

Not sure about audio.

[testcy]

6 minutes ago, Doobeedoo said:

Can check table here with this chipset https://www.techspot.com/review/2907-amd-x870-motherboards/

Not sure about audio.

Already did.

[Kobathor]

For general use, not gaming? AM5 is fine, since the integrated GPU on those can do all the things you list. The sticking point for price is your preference of using on-board audio and USB4. USB4 is basically only on X870E so you're gonna be spending a ton on that motherboard. I'd really consider whether you actually need USB4 or not, since you can get the ALC1220 on cheaper motherboards that eschew USB4. 

 

In my list below, I kept the motherboard you specified but selected a lower-end CPU and power supply (you really don't need anything over 500W if you're not gonna add a huge graphics card later). 

 

Finally, if you don't hate Apple, have you looked at the Mac Mini M4? It's got Thunderbolt 4, and you can get really nice USB-C DACs for not a ton of money. A base-model Mac Mini M4 would be cheaper than just these components below, though that's mostly due to the motherboard cost.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fK6fXR

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($198.49 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 EVO DARK 70.4 CFM CPU Cooler  ($25.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($289.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Elite 5 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($43.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: ASRock Steel Legend SL-650G 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $638.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-20 10:42 EDT-0400

 

EDIT: I added a basic CPU cooler assuming you don't already have one. If you have one, just make sure it's AM5 compatible. The 9600X does not come with a cooler.

[testcy]

2 hours ago, Kobathor said:

For general use, not gaming? AM5 is fine, since the integrated GPU on those can do all the things you list. The sticking point for price is your preference of using on-board audio and USB4. USB4 is basically only on X870E so you're gonna be spending a ton on that motherboard. I'd really consider whether you actually need USB4 or not, since you can get the ALC1220 on cheaper motherboards that eschew USB4. 

 

In my list below, I kept the motherboard you specified but selected a lower-end CPU and power supply (you really don't need anything over 500W if you're not gonna add a huge graphics card later). 

 

Finally, if you don't hate Apple, have you looked at the Mac Mini M4? It's got Thunderbolt 4, and you can get really nice USB-C DACs for not a ton of money. A base-model Mac Mini M4 would be cheaper than just these components below, though that's mostly due to the motherboard cost.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fK6fXR

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($198.49 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 EVO DARK 70.4 CFM CPU Cooler  ($25.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($289.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Elite 5 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($43.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: ASRock Steel Legend SL-650G 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $638.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-20 10:42 EDT-0400

 

EDIT: I added a basic CPU cooler assuming you don't already have one. If you have one, just make sure it's AM5 compatible. The 9600X does not come with a cooler.

Thanks for the list, but I don't buy from either Amazon or Newegg and I can't find most parts (cpu cooler, memory, power supply). But why one module and not two?

[Kobathor]

28 minutes ago, testcy said:

Thanks for the list, but I don't buy from either Amazon or Newegg and I can't find most parts (cpu cooler, memory, power supply). But why one module and not two?

Where do you find PC parts, then? If you are in the U.S. and near a Micro Center, you should be able to find similar or same parts. If you are outside the U.S., you can also change the PCPartPicker country and it should list retailers that are local.

 

One vs. two modules, outside of super memory-heavy tasks like 3D gaming, 4K video editing, etc., doesn't really matter. It matters more for DDR4 and older but less so for DDR5.

[testcy]

11 minutes ago, Kobathor said:

Where do you find PC parts, then? If you are in the U.S. and near a Micro Center, you should be able to find similar or same parts. If you are outside the U.S., you can also change the PCPartPicker country and it should list retailers that are local.

 

One vs. two modules, outside of super memory-heavy tasks like 3D gaming, 4K video editing, etc., doesn't really matter. It matters more for DDR4 and older but less so for DDR5.

PCPartPicker does not list all countries and I buy from a few local retailers.

[Kobathor]

It's difficult to recommend computer parts for an unknown region. Prices and availability are hyper-specific per country. Here is my general advice: Stick with 6-core Ryzen 9000, use 6000MT/s CL30 RAM, 550W power supply is fine. If you can drop USB4, then switch to a B850 board or even B650 and get an external DAC.