[SOLVED] Motherboard (No WiFi) and RAM for AMD Ryzen 9 3900X AM4 for CAD and video editing

[Star2222]

Hi,
I am new here, I hope this is the right thread?

It has been few years since I built a PC and am now doing so and need some help choosing the right parts.

So far I've only "chosen" this CPU: https://www.ebuyer.com/883787-amd-r...with-wraith-prism-rgb-cooler-100-100000023box
The reason I've chosen that one is that it seems a good compromise between price and performance. but I am open to other suggestions if they make sense.

I already have monitors, OS, keyboard and mouse and an old large ATX enclosure.

Most important: I want a motherboard withOUT WiFi (i.e. only wired Ethernet)

Approximate Purchase Date: as soon as all the parts are defined, this week!

Budget Range: Components: GBP 1,000 to 1,500 (USD 1,400-2,000)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: CAD and engineering work: Altium Designer, Solidworks, sometimes video editing. NO videogames.

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Ebuyer

Location: London

Parts Preferences: Ryzen 9 CPU (but open to alternatives if major improvement)

Overclocking: Maybe, if safe

SLI or Crossfire: No idea what this is

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 but ideally higher one for the future

Additional Comments: (VERY quiet PC - Using CAD software: Altium Designer, Solidworks and video editing. NO videogames.

Thank you
John

 

[Hellfire13]

Something like this should be good in terms of price to performance for your use case...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor | £396.00 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler | Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM 97 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | £121.98 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | £139.10 @ Amazon UK
Memory | Team Elite 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory | £256.79 @ Newegg UK
Storage | Western Digital SN750 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | £106.99 @ Amazon UK
Video Card | Asus GeForce GTX 1650 G6 4 GB Phoenix OC Video Card | £289.00 @ Amazon UK
Case | be quiet! Silent Base 601 ATX Mid Tower Case | £92.60 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £67.98 @ Currys PC World Business
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £1470.44
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-05 09:34 BST+0100 |

 

[avg9956]

SLI or Crossfire is pretty much dead. People usually go for one single powerful GPU nowadays
Since you won't be gaming at all, then I would second the above post's recommendation

It is worth noting that the GTX 1650 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI and 1x Display Port
Since you mentioned monitors (plural), I'm assuming you must be on a Dual screen setup
As long as your monitors occupy at least one slot of each port, then you would be able to use both monitors without any need for an adapter.

Getting on deeper into monitors (which is more of a matter of preference).

There are 4K monitors in the market (Around 27-32 inches long), however they're definitely larger than your standard 1080p monitor (1920x1080).
I'm personally using dual monitor setup and find that its better than 4k (just my preference), simply because my desktop becomes extended (more files that can be placed).
So assuming you're on dual monitor setup already, I would just save the money.
The real hard limit however is the length of your table, which will dictate the size and how many monitors you can fit (unless you wall mount monitors too, but that's another story).

 

[Star2222]

Thank you both!
With ref to the monitors, I am currently using 3 and possibly increasing to 4. And as mentioned, all for CAD.

At the moment I am using a AMD FirePro W600.

Few questions:
1) is the GTX 1650 better/faster for CAD work than my current AMD FirePro W600

2) If I stick to 3 monitors, can I use them all on that GTX 1650? One on DVI, 1 on the HDMI and 1 on the Display Port? Or are they going to behave noticeably differently?

3) If I go to 4 monitors, what card would be better than my current AMD FirePro W600?

4) the processor seems to come with a cooler already but a separate one is suggested in the first reply. May I ask what the advantages are to buy that separate one?

thank you!

 

[avg9956]

Let's start with the CPU Cooler
4.) Generally, if the CPU itself comes with a cooler that is from the manufacturer (i.e. you buy an AMD CPU and it comes with an AMD CPU Cooler), it means you don't necessarily need to buy another CPU cooler. It typically means that the stock cooler will suffice for all of your workload needs. As long as you aren't aiming to overclock (which by then you would want to experiment with the best cooler to drop your temps as low as possible), then you should be good.


For monitors/If your GPU can handle it
2.) Generally your GPU should suffice/there should be no difference - You can plug all 3 of those monitors and generally they should work. Its when you start increasing the refresh rate of each monitor (Hz), set them each at a higher resolution, and then use a program in full screen that can utilize the said higher refresh rate is when you would want a more powerful GPU, but otherwise for productivity or office use you shouldn't go that route.

Going from 60 Hz to 144 Hz is a matter of preference. People will really notice the quality between the two refresh rates (i.e. how smooth your mouse cursor moves over a 144 hz monitor than a 60 hz one), however that comes at a cost and right now, its not really a good time to cross the paywall because GPUs are as high as 3x the MSRP. Also not a lot of applications can utilize 144 Hz (you can only utilize 144 Hz if your application runs in full screen mode, your monitor supports it and you have a powerful GPU enough to run it).

Here is the spec sheet of the GTX 1650: https://www.nvidia.com/en-ph/geforce/graphics-cards/gtx-1650/
You may also want to see this video for what a triple monitor setup would warrant:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te5NPbrD_nI


Suffice it to say, running at 60 Hz is sufficient enough. Your system will default to 60 Hz too if there is no application or program that is to be run in full screen in order to utilize 144 Hz. I don't think you're going to use 144 Hz on AutoCad.

Moving on to 1.) and 3.)
1.) According to CAD system requirements (I am not sure if you're referring to AutoCad), but assuming you are then here it is
System Requirements for AutoCad 2022

It is recommended to have a 4GB GPU.
The one that Hellfire linked is 4GB, so it is sufficient enough.
The AMD FirePro w600 (which is the one you currently have) only has 2GB of memory, so yes it will work better/faster.

Edit: Also checked your other software
Altium System Requirements - GeForce 200 series, you should be good.
Solidworks - Certified cards and drivers. Quite a vague description, but I assume it will work. It generally means just don't buy a fake GPU (which is prevalent with scammers).

3.) I wouldn't give a thought about this (as of the moment), because that would mean buying a very high end GPU (one that has 4 ports) and it will cost a lot of money. It will surely go out of your budget (unless someone else has bright ideas!).

 

[Star2222]

Thank you very much avg9956 for the detailed reply, very useful and much appreciated!!

 

[helper800]

Same base build as @Hellfire13 but slightly different.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor (£396.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£95.09 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE V2 ATX AM4 Motherboard (£130.00 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£264.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital SN750 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£106.99 @ Box Limited)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1650 G6 4 GB Phoenix OC Video Card (£289.00 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P600S ATX Mid Tower Case (£125.64 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: EVGA G3 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£65.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £1473.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-05 16:37 BST+0100

 

[avg9956]

Just a little tidbit about the "Liquid CPU Coolers" and for a refresher
Both of them linked what is known as an AIO (All In One) Cooler, which requires no maintenance on your part (which is a good thing).

However there is always a leaking risk involved - be it AIO or a custom water loop cooling. When that leak happens, if the fluid comes into contact with any electrical component = say hi to magic smoke! (Even if the liquid is claimed to be "Non conductive", over time it will become ionized as it travels through the loop and possibly gets contaminated).

Which is why I still personally stick to air cooling. Complete peace of mind (no need to worry about leaking at all), and I don't even hear too much noise with my custom CPU air cooler. Since as you said the cpu came already with a cooler, well at least you already have a choice to go for standard air cooling and save cost.

 

[helper800]

Just a little tidbit about the "Liquid CPU Coolers" and for a refresher
Both of them linked what is known as an AIO (All In One) Cooler, which requires no maintenance on your part (which is a good thing).

However there is always a leaking risk involved - be it AIO or a custom water loop cooling. When that leak happens, if the fluid comes into contact with any electrical component = say hi to magic smoke! (Even if the liquid is claimed to be "Non conductive", over time it will become ionized as it travels through the loop and possibly gets contaminated).

Which is why I still personally stick to air cooling. Complete peace of mind (no need to worry about leaking at all), and I don't even hear too much noise with my custom CPU air cooler. Since as you said the cpu came already with a cooler, well at least you already have a choice to go for standard air cooling and save cost.

Agreed that AIOs come with a small risk of a leak, however, the odds are very low and even if they do leak the odds of damage are not very high if you catch it within a day or two. PCBs or the printed circuit boards that the motherboards and graphics cards and other PC components are made out of have many protections for shorts. A large tech youtuber, to make a point, put a graphics card on a riser cable (so he could position it on the outside of the case) and while the PC was on he actively sprayed it many, many times. After drenching the graphics card in water it was still running perfectly fine until he pushed it further and further until he finally killed an HDMI port on the graphics card.

View: https://youtu.be/iJUl_IqDbNA?t=263

 

[avg9956]

Yes that's from JayZ.
Fittings is where the leak(s) will most likely happen.
Having more fitting(s) is basically more failure points.
And the problem lies if what if its a very small leak that you weren't able to spot or failed to do so diligently.
I just personally find it something that's more of an additional burden where you gotta check for leaks at an interval, rather than fire & forget with air cooling.

Here's a video of Louis Rossmann on demonstration of how distilled water (which is a common liquid used in water cooling) can ruin a motherboard in seconds, even faster than mineral water.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGbQ2FPDqkw


I err on the side of caution, not tempting fate if it is unnecessary, but really to each his own

 

[helper800]

I err on the side of caution, not tempting fate if it is unnecessary, but really to each his own

I have fired and forgot with namebrand AIOs for about a decade now and have had only a single issue in over 20 builds, but that issue was an easily spotted crack in the side of the radiator. I would be willing to bet that if an AIO does not go bad in the first 2-3 months then it will go the distance until the pump dies or it loses too much water due to permeation 90% of the time.

 

[Hellfire13]

Just a little tidbit about the "Liquid CPU Coolers" and for a refresher
Both of them linked what is known as an AIO (All In One) Cooler, which requires no maintenance on your part (which is a good thing).

However there is always a leaking risk involved - be it AIO or a custom water loop cooling. When that leak happens, if the fluid comes into contact with any electrical component = say hi to magic smoke! (Even if the liquid is claimed to be "Non conductive", over time it will become ionized as it travels through the loop and possibly gets contaminated).

Which is why I still personally stick to air cooling. Complete peace of mind (no need to worry about leaking at all), and I don't even hear too much noise with my custom CPU air cooler. Since as you said the cpu came already with a cooler, well at least you already have a choice to go for standard air cooling and save cost.

I am strictly anti-AIO unless absolutely necessary. I was linking the D15 first but thought it will be loud compared to a quality AIO. After checking the conversation I was forced to look into the charts again and meh..., there isnt really much between them...
https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/noctua-nh-d15-review,9.html

Thank you both!
With ref to the monitors, I am currently using 3 and possibly increasing to 4. And as mentioned, all for CAD.

At the moment I am using a AMD FirePro W600.

Few questions:
1) is the GTX 1650 better/faster for CAD work than my current AMD FirePro W600

2) If I stick to 3 monitors, can I use them all on that GTX 1650? One on DVI, 1 on the HDMI and 1 on the Display Port? Or are they going to behave noticeably differently?

3) If I go to 4 monitors, what card would be better than my current AMD FirePro W600?

4) the processor seems to come with a cooler already but a separate one is suggested in the first reply. May I ask what the advantages are to buy that separate one?

thank you!

In the given order...

1. "Yes and no. You can use a gaming graphics card for CAD work, but be warned that not all gaming graphics cards will be suitable. Software such as SolidWorks, for example, will typically only work well with an Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro card. "

Compared: The Best Graphics Cards for CAD in 2023

Buying a graphics card for CAD? We compare the best CAD graphics cards available and look at the top factors to consider when purchasing a GPU.

www.scan2cad.com

Its better than the Firepro you have but not the best for CAD. However that's the best you can do in the current GPU scenario.

2. Should work fine.

3. Any top tier card would be better, but they are literally selling at gold prices now.

4. You wanted quieter operations. The case and cooler are precisely picked for that. Check out some reviews.

Made a few adjustments for a better card. You can start with 32gb RAM for now. Usually it is plenty, but not sure whether it will suffice for you. Depends on your project sizes though. Ram is cheaper though and you can always add more down the line...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor | £399.00 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 CHROMAX.BLACK 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler | £110.39 @ Overclockers.co.uk
Motherboard | MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | £149.98 @ AWD-IT
Memory | PNY XLR8 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | £125.00 @ Currys PC World
Storage | Western Digital SN750 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | £106.99 @ Box Limited
Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB OC Video Card | £489.99 @ CCL Computers
Case | be quiet! Silent Base 601 ATX Mid Tower Case | £92.60 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £67.98 @ Currys PC World Business
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £1541.93
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-05 19:25 BST+0100 |

 

[helper800]

I am strictly anti-AIO unless absolutely necessary. I was linking the D15 first but thought it will be loud compared to a quality AIO. After checking the conversation I was forced to look into the charts and meh..., there isnt really much between them...
https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/noctua-nh-d15-review,9.html

The major difference between the venerable D15 and most 280mm+ AIOs is the heat soak time being considerably longer (better) on the AIOs. They keep the CPUs within a few degrees of each other and are both going to use 140mm fans so are about as quiet as each other. The D15 is usually about as expensive as the arctic 280mm AIO so its definitely a choice. I prefer the AIO because the D15 is really heavy, voluminous, and not the greatest to look at while being similar to slightly worse performance wise. The trade-offs are certainly there. Air does not leak.

 

[Hellfire13]

The major difference between the venerable D15 and most 280mm+ AIOs is the heat soak time being considerable longer (better) on the AIOs. They keep the CPUs within a few degrees of each other and are both going to use 140mm fans so are about as quiet as each other. The D15 is usually about as expensive as the arctic 280mm AIO so its definitely a choice. I prefer the AIO because the D15 is really heavy, voluminous, and not the greatest to look at while being similar to slightly worse performance wise. The trade-offs are certainly there. Air does not leak.

I am lazy and the amount of maintenance an AIO demands is ridiculous for me. I prefer "fire and forget", specially when the performance is near similar.

 

[helper800]

I am lazy and the amount of maintenance an AIO demands is ridiculous for me. I prefer "fire and forget", specially when the performance is near similar.

What do you mean by maintenance? AIOs have zero maintenance required, custom liquid loops definitely have bimonthly maintenance if that is what you are referring to

 

[Hellfire13]

What do you mean by maintenance? AIOs have zero maintenance required, custom liquid loops definitely have bimonthly maintenance if that is what you are referring to

Some do need because water can evaporate through the tubing, some AIO coolers are built to be user-refillable. Also sometimes air bubbles get formed and what not.

 

[helper800]

Some do need because water can evaporate through the tubing, some AIO coolers are built to be user-refillable. Also sometimes air bubbles get formed and what not.

All AIOs have air in them, its impossible to get all the air out. And yes while there are AIOs that are refillable the pumps usually fail before that would need to be addressed. Permeation of enough of the water in an AIO takes many years before its an issue. It is an option though if you are hearing lots of bubbles.

 

[Star2222]

Thank you very much again to all of you for the additional feedback. Much appreciated and is helping a lot!

Following all your feedback above these are the components I am pretty much sure about, and also have some questions about the remaining ones:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor
• CPU Cooler: The one that comes with the CPU for now then pending performance then switch to liquid cooled on (see question at the bottom)
• Storage: Western Digital SN750 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

- Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1650 G6 4 GB Phoenix OC
- Case: be quiet! Silent Base 601 ATX Mid Tower Case
- PSU: Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (the alternative EGA one seems small for possible future upgrades at only half the power - 350W)

Few questions about the remaining parts:

1) With ref to the memory, what is the difference between the three suggested? Does any type/brand have better quality record and/or performance/speed for the similar price?
Team Elite 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22
Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16
PNY XLR8 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16

2) How can I overclock safely the CPU by and how much performance increase (in percentage?) can you expect by overclocking it?

Thank you again!!

 

[Hellfire13]

Thank you very much again to all of you for the additional feedback. Much appreciated and is helping a lot!

Following all your feedback above these are the components I am pretty much sure about, and also have some questions about the remaining ones:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor
• CPU Cooler: The one that comes with the CPU for now then pending performance then switch to liquid cooled on (see question at the bottom)
• Storage: Western Digital SN750 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

- Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1650 G6 4 GB Phoenix OC
- Case: be quiet! Silent Base 601 ATX Mid Tower Case
- PSU: Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (the alternative EGA one seems small for possible future upgrades at only half the power - 350W)

Few questions about the remaining parts:

1) With ref to the memory, what is the difference between the three suggested? Does any type/brand have better quality record and/or performance/speed for the similar price?
Team Elite 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22
Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16
PNY XLR8 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16

2) How can I overclock safely the CPU by and how much performance increase (in percentage?) can you expect by overclocking it?

Thank you again!!

1. Oops, I overlooked the latency with the Team Elite kit. My bad, so definitely bunk that. You can go with either of the 3200mhz CL16 kit, they will perform the same. Lower the latency, better the performance.

2. Ryzen does not have too much overclocking headroom. The effort you have to put is not really worth the performance increase. Not to factor in, that you need even higher end boards and coolers for better thermals. Heres a good guide...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssuqhyqah2k&t=957s

 

[Star2222]

Thank you!

 

[avg9956]

I am lazy and the amount of maintenance an AIO demands is ridiculous for me. I prefer "fire and forget", specially when the performance is near similar.

Same! High-five

 

[helper800]

Thank you very much again to all of you for the additional feedback. Much appreciated and is helping a lot!

- PSU: Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (the alternative EGA one seems small for possible future upgrades at only half the power - 350W)

2) How can I overclock safely the CPU by and how much performance increase (in percentage?) can you expect by overclocking it?

Thank you again!!

The EVGA PSU I linked is a 550 watt PSU that comes with a 10 year warranty and is a bit cheaper then the corsair one recommended above.

Overclocking AMD CPUs is as hellfire said. Manually overclocking them is generally not worth the work and effort put in because they, for lack of a better term, auto-overclock themselves with boosting frequency based on the available cooling capacity of the CPU cooler you get. This is the reason why me and @Hellfire13 suggested getting some of the best coolers on the market for air and liquid respectively. This extra cooling capacity for the CPU will allow it to reach higher clock rates automatically just because it is cooled efficiently.

 

[Star2222]

The EVGA PSU I linked is a 550 watt PSU that comes with a 10 year warranty and is a bit cheaper then the corsair one recommended above.

Overclocking AMD CPUs is as hellfire said. Manually overclocking them is generally not worth the work and effort put in because they, for lack of a better term, auto-overclock themselves with boosting frequency based on the available cooling capacity of the CPU cooler you get. This is the reason why me and @Hellfire13 suggested getting some of the best coolers on the market for air and liquid respectively. This extra cooling capacity for the CPU will allow it to reach higher clock rates automatically just because it is cooled efficiently.

Thank you Helper800 for that, somehow when I copied the data on my notes I wrote 350 in the power. No idea how.

Thank you again!

 

[Star2222]

I am thinking of using a second drive for data so I have one drive for OS and one for data, 1 x M.2 and 1 x SATA SSD. Which one of the two would you set as the OS and which one for the data?
Thank you as always!

 

[Hellfire13]

I am thinking of using a second drive for data so I have one drive for OS and one for data, 1 x M.2 and 1 x SATA SSD. Which one of the two would you set as the OS and which one for the data?
Thank you as always!

A bigger drive will always have faster read write speeds than a smaller drive. It is better to get one big drive and create a 100gb-150gb partition for the OS, rather than getting a separate smaller drive for it. Nevertheless, if you want to get two separate drives, get a faster NVME M2 drive for your OS. Remember, even SATA drive can be M2, its just a form factor.