Build Advice Drop-in Upgrade or AM5 for a 1500X Build?

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Elusive Ruse

Elusive Ruse

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Nov 17, 2022
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I built this PC back in 2017 to jump on the Zen bandwagon, it has served me well but it's showing its age terribly more and more. I wanted to upgrade a year ago but decided to wait the shortage craze out. Although the shortage eased, my financial worries hardened. So for a while I've been wrestling with the question of dropping three hundred or so bucks on a couple of drop-in upgrades or wait even more to let the prices of AM5 to settle down and future proof.
TL;DR:
Should I get a cheap AM4 main and Zen 3 CPU (Asus ROG Strix B550-F at €152 + 5600X) or wait till I can go for a higher end AM5 setup?

My build right now that I use for mostly Davinci Resolve and Ableton Live, I don't game much on it cause right now my PS5 setup is a much better rig.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Y3Fqgb
 
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Elusive Ruse said:
I built this PC back in 2017 to jump on the Zen bandwagon, it has served me well but it's showing its age terribly more and more. I wanted to upgrade a year ago but decided to wait the shortage craze out. Although the shortage eased, my financial worries hardened. So for a while I've been wrestling with the question of dropping three hundred or so bucks on a couple of drop-in upgrades or wait even more to let the prices of AM5 to settle down and future proof.
TL;DR:
Should I get a cheap AM4 main and Zen 3 CPU (Asus ROG Strix B550-F at €152 + 5600X) or wait till I can go for a higher end AM5 setup?

My build right now that I use for mostly Davinci Resolve and Ableton Live, I don't game much on it cause right now my PS5 setup is a much better rig.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Y3Fqgb
Click to expand...
Well,with BIOS version 7.40 yur MB support all 5000 series Ryzen so instead of practically throwing money at new MB use it to get R7 5700x which will all but double CPU performance. I would say 5800x but it requires much better cooling for very little gain. 500 seriesMB only if you plan on serious RAM speed upgrade or need PCIe v4 for a strong GPU.
 
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Unless Im not checking the right mobo, the Asrock AB350 Pro 4 does not support Zen 3 cpus

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350 Pro4/index.asp#CPU

As for OP question, the 5600X will be a huge update vs the Ryzen 5 1500X.

Sadly no one knows what the future will bring with Zen 4, many are hoping prices will eventually go down a bit, or that maybe AMD will launch cheaper Zen 4 parts (without the X).
Thing is unles OP lives in the US (and you can get one of those combos with free DDR5), new mobos and DDR5 are still very, very expensive compared to old gen and DDR4.
 
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RodroX said:
Unless Im not checking the right mobo, the Asrock AB350 Pro 4 does not support Zen 3 cpus

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350 Pro4/index.asp#CPU

As for OP question, the 5600X will be a huge update vs the Ryzen 5 1500X.

Sadly no one knows what the future will bring with Zen 4, many are hoping prices will eventually go down a bit, or that maybe AMD will launch cheaper Zen 4 parts (without the X).
Thing is unles OP lives in the US (and you can get one of those combos with free DDR5), new mobos and DDR5 are still very, very expensive compared to old gen and DDR4.
Click to expand...

That's odd. I went through this way: ASRock > CPU Support List selected the CPU, in this case 5800x3d, and noted the mobo in the list with

[TD]AM4[/TD]
[TD]AMD B350[/TD]
[TD]AB350M Pro4[/TD]
[TD]P7.20[/TD]​


You could be right though. I was sure one of the forum members was running a 5900x on a B350 mobo, but can't remember if it was this one.

Admittedly, I don't see the 5700x there though.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
That's odd. I went through this way: ASRock > CPU Support List selected the CPU, in this case 5800x3d, and noted the mobo in the list with

[TD]AM4[/TD]
[TD]AMD B350[/TD]
[TD]AB350M Pro4[/TD]
[TD]P7.20[/TD]​


You could be right though. I was sure one of the forum members was running a 5900x on a B350 mobo, but can't remember if it was this one.

Admittedly, I don't see the 5700x there though.
Click to expand...

lol don't worry because I just found 2 AB350 mobos, and none of them seems to be the OP one.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350M Pro4-F/index.asp

and

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350M Pro4DASH/index.asp


In fact I can't seem to find any B350 mobo which is full ATX on the global site... thats freaking odd... (for me at least):

https://www.asrock.com/mb/index.asp#AM4

The one OP linked is an ATX board
 
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RodroX said:
Unless Im not checking the right mobo, the Asrock AB350 Pro 4 does not support Zen 3 cpus

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350 Pro4/index.asp#CPU

As for OP question, the 5600X will be a huge update vs the Ryzen 5 1500X.

Sadly no one knows what the future will bring with Zen 4, many are hoping prices will eventually go down a bit, or that maybe AMD will launch cheaper Zen 4 parts (without the X).
Thing is unles OP lives in the US (and you can get one of those combos with free DDR5), new mobos and DDR5 are still very, very expensive compared to old gen and DDR4.
Click to expand...
I was contemplating a single GPU upgrade but figured a proper MOBO and a last gen CPU would offer me a much bigger performance boost.
Roland Of Gilead said:
That's odd. I went through this way: ASRock > CPU Support List selected the CPU, in this case 5800x3d, and noted the mobo in the list with

[TD]AM4[/TD]
[TD]AMD B350[/TD]
[TD]AB350M Pro4[/TD]
[TD]P7.20[/TD]​


You could be right though. I was sure one of the forum members was running a 5900x on a B350 mobo, but can't remember if it was this one.

Admittedly, I don't see the 5700x there though.
Click to expand...
Even if it supported Zen 3 I can't wait to get rid of this MOBO, I think it's my weakest link. Appreciate the advice!
 
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RodroX said:
lol don't worry because I just found 2 AB350 mobos, and none of them seems to be the OP one.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350M Pro4-F/index.asp

and

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350M Pro4DASH/index.asp


In fact I can't seem to find any B350 mobo which is full ATX on the global site... thats freaking odd... (for me at least):

https://www.asrock.com/mb/index.asp#AM4

The one OP linked is an ATX board
Click to expand...
I think it's difficult to find on the global site because it's limited to a few regions only.
 
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Then in that case, I'd prob go for this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($202.45 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $372.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-18 12:19 EST-0500

I do like my Asus Prime B550 Plus. Although not the best or worst, kinda in the middle really, it has my 5600x ticking over at 4.65ghz all core, and 4,85 single core. VRM's holding up well. Low temps all around.

This is a great resource I stumbled across one day for B550 mobo's. Ful list, but also tells you about the VRM for each mobo and the make of each fet. Hope it can help you make a good choice: B550 VRM DB sheet (Ver 1.8) - Google Sheets
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
Then in that case, I'd prob go for this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($202.45 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $372.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-18 12:19 EST-0500

I do like my Asus Prime B550 Plus. Although not the best or worst, kinda in the middle really, it has my 5600x ticking over at 4.65ghz all core, and 4,85 single core. VRM's holding up well. Low temps all around.

This is a great resource I stumbled across one day for B550 mobo's. Ful list, but also tells you about the VRM for each mobo and the make of each fet. Hope it can help you make a good choice: B550 VRM DB sheet (Ver 1.8) - Google Sheets
Click to expand...
Sweet, cheers mate! That spreadsheet is exactly what I was looking for. BTW the Strix B550-F and A are both around the $160 mark while the MAG HAWK is over $200 here, there's also Aorus Pro V2 for around $185.
 
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No probs, you're very welcome :)

They are all 12 +2 phases. Excellent options. They are very robust and can take any 5xxx chip and handle them with ease.

I like the MAGS because they just offer a little more. Although not listed in the SH, they have a min of 12 +2 IIRC, but also might have some extra connectivity, that might be useful.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
No probs, you're very welcome :)

They are all 12 +2 phases. Excellent options. They are very robust and can take any 5xxx chip and handle them with ease.

I like the MAGS because they just offer a little more. Although not listed in the SH, they have a min of 12 +2 IIRC, but also might have some extra connectivity, that might be useful.
Click to expand...
Just realised my case needs to go soon as well, it doesn't have the top mounts for liquid cooling which I'd like to switch to later. Oh, boy! But, being in the market for PC components makes feel like a kid in the candy shop.
 
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Elusive Ruse said:
Just realised my case needs to go soon as well, it doesn't have the top mounts for liquid cooling which I'd like to switch to later. Oh, boy! But, being in the market for PC components makes feel like a kid in the candy shop.
Click to expand...

YES!!! I know. It's so crazy with the amount of really good options for a gaming system. There are some really good cases out there too. I'm with a Lian Li 215. Good value, with really good airflow for the price. The 216 version is a nice upgrade too.

Let us know how you get on with your final choices. Any issues, be sure to get back to us for help.

Happy gaming :)
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
YES!!! I know. It's so crazy with the amount of really good options for a gaming system. There are some really good cases out there too. I'm with a Lian Li 215. Good value, with really good airflow for the price. The 216 version is a nice upgrade too.

Let us know how you get on with your final choices. Any issues, be sure to get back to us for help.

Happy gaming :)
Click to expand...
Appreciate your help greatly. I secured a well-paid project which means I might have some cash to splash at the end of the year or early next year.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
YES!!! I know. It's so crazy with the amount of really good options for a gaming system. There are some really good cases out there too. I'm with a Lian Li 215. Good value, with really good airflow for the price. The 216 version is a nice upgrade too.

Let us know how you get on with your final choices. Any issues, be sure to get back to us for help.

Happy gaming :)
Click to expand...
Everything came together yesterday, took me a couple of hours to put it together. Put it through its paces with Cinebench 23 and 2024 (this one is much more demanding than the previous iteration). Y-cruncher stress test and they all turned out great thankfully.
OCed my DRAM to 6200 and the easy memory timings from Buildzoid, using Asus Enhanced PBO at level 2 (80c thermal limit). I'm wondering if I should keep my Win 10 Pro or get Win 11, any advice on that front?
New PC:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cX7TCd

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B650E-E GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE G500A DRGB ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair HX1000i (2022) 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

PS: I'm holding out on a new GPU for a deal around Black Friday.
 
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Elusive Ruse said:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B650E-E GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE G500A DRGB ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair HX1000i (2022) 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Click to expand...

Now, that is very nice!

On Win 10 or 11, there's hardly any difference. In fact, Win 11 is a slight bit faster than 10 for gaming. The new look and feel of 11 doesn't suit everyone. I actually like it. It feels more refined.

Win 11 might have better thread scheduling.

TBH, Win 11 has the exact same functionality as 10, I have Win 11 Pro running on all my machines at the moment.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
Now, that is very nice! On Win 10 or 11, there's hardly any difference.

In fact, Win 11 is a slight bit faster than 10 for gaming. The new look and feel of 11 doesn't suit everyone. I actually like it. It feels more refined.

Win 11 might have better thread scheduling.

TBH, Win 11 has the exact same functionality as 10, I have Win 11 Pro running on all my machines at the moment.
Click to expand...
I also use windows 11 pro on all of my systems, however I have noticed that my SSD (980 pro 2tb) has been slow when decompressing zip folders over 200MB. I know that other people have reported slow SSD performance on win11 but I thought a windows update fixed it.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
Now, that is very nice!

On Win 10 or 11, there's hardly any difference. In fact, Win 11 is a slight bit faster than 10 for gaming. The new look and feel of 11 doesn't suit everyone. I actually like it. It feels more refined.

Win 11 might have better thread scheduling.

TBH, Win 11 has the exact same functionality as 10, I have Win 11 Pro running on all my machines at the moment.
Click to expand...
Hell yea, patience is a virtue! Bought a part each month as long as I could afford it and now I got a build closer to the high-end without going into the red.
Nice, I'll pull the trigger on Win 11 when I?get home.
 
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