Question AMD CPU's and Motherboards - future proofing

[pt195]

Hi

I'm new to the forum. Hope you are all well. I wasn't sure which forum was most applicable to post this in, so mods, feel free to move it if necessary!

I am on the verge of buying a set of new components for my new build. They are:-

AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor
ASRock - X470 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard
Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
be quiet! - SILENT BASE 601 | ORANGE ATX Mid Tower Case (purchased)
be quiet! - Pure Wings 2 140 61.2 CFM 140mm Fan
EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (purchased)
Memory - still to determine
GPU - waiting for the GTX 2060

I'm going to be using this PC as a multi use PC including non professional audio workstation, non professional video rendering (Vegas and maybe premiere), competent but not too serious gaming, and everyday desktop use. I have a max budget of £2000 but would like to spend less.

Before I pull the trigger on my shortlisted parts, I wanted to ask you guys some advice about AMD and future proofing with regards to CPU and motherboard.

How many more AMD CPU's are likely to be released for the AM4 socket?
How many more AMD CPU's are likely to be released for the TR4 socket?

At the moment, I'm torn between opting for a B450 with R7 1800X or 2700X / X470 with 2700X / X399 with TR.
I don't really need the performance of the AMD TR, at least not presently. But I'm wondering about if it would be worth spending a bit more now and go for the threadripper (although it might be overkill at the moment) because it will allow more options for upgrade say in 3 or 4 years time ?
Alternatively I could go for something more budget orientated now like B450 with 1st gen Ryzen 7 and then think about new motherboard and CPU in 3 or 4 years time, when (and if) the need arises.

So... Stick with my current selection
or.....go cheaper with the B450 and 1800X
or.....invest now with X399 and TR1950X

In addition I would be grateful for recommendations for best top end B450 MB, best mid-range X470, best top end X470, best budget X399, best mid-range X399.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Paul

 

[1LiquidPC]

I can vouch for 2700X/X470 being a great setup for most users, other that those going true professional and needed even more cores. Using one myself and very happy with it. I did have a 1700/X370 setup that I sold to a family member. It worked fine after some UEFI updates, but overall stability and performance was greatly improved for 2000 series and 400 series boards added some nice features for those interested. The AM4 socket is going to be around at least until sometime in 2020 from my understand. I use my 2700X/X470 as daily driver and occasional 1080P gaming and some light encoding(DVDs, ect.).

This all said, with AMDs socket longevity, I plan on purchasing a 3000 series that were shown at CES just to add even more performance and there is the possibility of 16 cores in AM4 socket, though speculation at this point. These are said to launch mid-year. Should only require a UEFI update. No reason for me to change out the board, ASUS X470-I. Running 16GB 3200 C16 memory without issue in this build as well.

Again, I can't comment on TR4 socket lifespan, only what AMD mentioned for AM4. Still, unless you need tons of PCI-E lanes and believe you would need more than 8 cores down the road, I don't feel the TR4 would really be needed in your case. It's hard to really predict what the PC landscape will look like in 3-4 years time. Other thoughts would be to avoid 1st Gen at this point, unless at a very low price, if you go with AM4. The core frequency boost, better IMC, and improvements to precision boost and XFR I feel make the 2000 series worth the extra cost.

 

[pt195]

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. It all makes sense and I agree with what you have said. I just wondered what the scope of upgrade potential was before I shell out. Only thing I'm not 100% sure about is the motherboard. I know that the taichi is a good board, but wondering if it might be overkill for the 2700X because of the quality VDM, but with that said if there is 3000 series coming later then that might come in handy then .... alternatively I was considering a MSI B450 Carbon AC with the latest bios version to save some £ which are also apparently very good.

 

[1LiquidPC]

I can offer up some ideas there, but only have limited experience with a few Ryzen setups. Brand wise for boards for myself, I generally always use ASUS, and and a few Gigabyte boards. I recently built a 2200G based setup for a family member with an ASrock B-350 based board from a good sale. No real complaints there. MSI is quite popular as well. If you aren't overclocking, which makes little sense from reviews for the 2700X due to XFR/PB2, a solid B450 would be a great choice. Something with decent VRMS with moderate size heatsinks on them will be plenty sufficient. I would advise against budget models for this reason alone for considering the 8-Core.

 

[pt195]

Many thanks for your help. I have opted for the 2700X and X470 Taichi.

Paul

 

[sizzling]

My only concern is AMD have been very careful with their marketing. All they say is they will continue to support AM4, they have not said (not that I have seen) that older chipsets will always support the next AM4 CPU’s. They have left the door open to do what Intel has done with socket 1151 and the 100, 200 & 300 series chipsets.

 

[CountMike]

Chipsets are not of greatest importance except maybe for some new features like PCIe 4, AMD did say that all older chipsets will be compatible.