My New Ryzen Work/Gaming Build

[Lumpus]

Replacing an old PC that's about 8 years old!
Combination Work/Gaming PC with lots of multi-thread multitasking.

Time to give Team Red a try - competition is good and I think Zen+ on a X470 board is about as future-proof as things go right now. I thought about the ASRock Tachi MB, but IMHO ASUS has the better BIOS and configuration software. All the X470 boards seem 'good' so I probably can't go wrong even if I downgrade to 2600X/ASUS Pro combo (which might be slightly better price vs performance atm. I'm vaguely tempted to up the memory to -3400 or even -3600, but again -3200 might be the sweet spot for price/performance. There were rumors of some new G-Skill Sniper memory optimized for Ryzen/X470 coming out, but I can't find it... would buy/if available.

Price isn't really an object - eBay's been good to me this spring and PayPal is all allocated this summer for upgrades... buying it a piece at a time as NewEgg puts them on sale or waiting for a good Combo buy.

Does anyone other than NewEgg accept PayPal? Amazon/Fry's/MicroCenter don't 🙁

Old PC -
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz - Socket 1155 LGA (Sandy Bridge)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO Z68 PCI-Express
Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express
Memory: 2x4gb DDR3 Corsair PC3-10700H (667mhz @ (9-9-9)
Graphics: nVidea GeForce GTX 960 2GB
SSD Boot: OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device 111.79 GB
SATA Data: WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 ATA Device 1.82 TB
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold SLI Ready CrossFire Ready

For 1080p (1920x1080) gaming... it actually wasn't too bad. I could play Fallout 4 in high settings alright, but Banished and Stellaris would quickly choke and slow to a crawl. Frostpunk and Witcher 3 I could run in Medium. Dying Light... nope 🙁 As-Is, this would still be a decent work/study PC for some teen.

Prefered Build -
[PCPartPicker part list](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BJ8Fgw) / [Price breakdown by merchant](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BJ8Fgw/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
**CPU** | [AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bddxFT/amd-ryzen-7-2700x-37ghz-8-core-processor-yd270xbgafbox) | $319.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [Asus - ROG STRIX X470-F Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jX...aming-atx-am4-motherboard-strix-x470-f-gaming) | $202.94 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gT...b-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3200-memory-f4-3200c14d-16gtzr) | $251.98 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/M9rmP6/samsung-860-evo-500gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-n6e500bw) | $133.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung - 860 Evo 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wd97YJ/samsung-860-evo-1tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-n6e1t0bw) | $269.98 @ Newegg
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$1178.88**

Will downgrade to 2600X with the ASUS X470 Prime MB if there is another price drop or Combo sale (but 2700X price remains unchanged). So far, NewEgg hasn't posted a decent Combo sale with ASUS X470 boards.

New M.2 drive will become Boot. Old SSD boot will become Swap File/Photoshop Work/Temp Downloads Disk
New SSD will become Steam Games Drive. I'd go 2GB there, if they were affordable.
Samsung M.2/SSD's listed because Partpicker didn't show any WD or Crucial offerings. If I have to pinch pennies later, it will be here. Hoping to wait for sales :/


Keeping (for now) -
Corsair Air 540 Case (best case I've ever owned)
Graphics: nVidea GeForce GTX 960 2GB (replace later at Black Friday - leaning towards an RX 580. My existing Samsung monitor is maxed out at 1080p, so if/when I move to 1440p gaming I'd need a new monitor as well)
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold SLI Ready CrossFire Ready (dithering... might replace it now anyway since it is @ 8 years old - probably with this:
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 750W Smart Zero Fan SLI/CrossFire Ready https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153309 (or maybe the 650W)

Replacing (later) Data WD HDD's into a 3 Hitachi 3GB Raid5 array. Hitachi seems to have the lowest failure rate of HDD's, according to the stats I've read. I already use one of these 3GB's as my external BU drive.


Feel free to offer advice or suggestions....

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Not a bad build, but your GPU will definitely hold you back in gaming. Loading your games on a SSD is not that impactful for gaming performance. In some cases, it can prevent hitching, but it is rare and is only an issue on limited titles. To save some money you may just want to go with a 2tb HDD for your games and run the OS on the SSD. The $269 in savings will allow you to go get a 580. That will make a massive impact in your performance.

 

[Lumpus]

Nope. Replacing the GPU later... hopefully this fall/xmas. Waiting for the nVidea 11xx series to launch in 3Q and AMD is supposed to do the same with their 7n cards as well. Hoping that brings GPU prices down unless the miners start buying again. Sorry... I'm NOT going to pay more than MSRP for ANY video card that's already over two years old! Paying 30% over MSRP (as of this week) is still insanity. No... no... no!

Besides, this is a work first PC... then gaming (at least that's what I tell the wife).

Running Steam off of a SSD makes a huge difference, at least on my PC... both Fallout r, Skyrim & Stellaris would each have crazy long load times on HDD and I couldn't run Europa Universalis 4 at all that way... stuttered too much and froze until moved to SSD.

 

[ohenryy]

Will downgrade to 2600X with the ASUS X470 Prime MB if there is another price drop or Combo sale (but 2700X price remains unchanged). So far, NewEgg hasn't posted a decent Combo sale with ASUS X470 boards.

...

Try to see if you find any deals on Taichi model, is better than that asus.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Nope. Replacing the GPU later... hopefully this fall/xmas. Waiting for the nVidea 11xx series to launch in 3Q and AMD is supposed to do the same with their 7n cards as well. Hoping that brings GPU prices down unless the miners start buying again. Sorry... I'm NOT going to pay more than MSRP for ANY video card that's already over two years old! Paying 30% over MSRP (as of this week) is still insanity. No... no... no!

Besides, this is a work first PC... then gaming (at least that's what I tell the wife).

Running Steam off of a SSD makes a huge difference, at least on my PC... both Fallout r, Skyrim & Stellaris would each have crazy long load times on HDD and I couldn't run Europa Universalis 4 at all that way... stuttered too much and froze until moved to SSD.

Last week Microcenter had a 580 8gb for $269. That is below MSRP. I understand waiting too as a new GPU release should drop prices, but the slightest uptick in the crazy crypto market and prices could go to the moon again. It is a gamble either way.

You can still run steam on your SSD. You will just save the games on your HDD. With a 500gb SSD you will have room for plenty of programs and for a few games that run better on the SSD.

But either way, it is up to you. I was just giving my input.

 

[Lumpus]

I like the Tachi and I think the Hardware Guys named it their best X470 board over $200. It's flagged on my NewEgg wish list so I can check it for a sale or combo. Since I don't need the Wi-Fi, it's just a little overkill for me. Also there are some complaints about ASRock's BIOS and config/setup tools and problems with higher memory speeds in various reviews I've read. ASUS (at the price) gets the edge there... but it's a razor margin. Unfortunately, ASUS did support the appalling NVIDIA GeForce Partner Program - and ASRock did not (another point for them).

Yeah, I saw the MicroCenter sale. I have one 15 min from my house, but it sort of sucks. They only carry about one of most things and anything that is a sale item is guaranteed to be sold out by store opening. My store does 'Bait and Switch' like professionals and are great at scamming the non-techies, so I try and avoid them... not that my Fry's is much better.
Also MC doesn't take PayPal - so I'm pretty much harnessed to NewEgg.

 

[stdragon]

The MicroCenter priced match everything on my NewEgg wish list. They had everything I wanted. I spoke with floor sales rep, showed him the list on my phone, and he matched.

MicroCenter rules!

 

[Lumpus]

The MicroCenter priced match everything on my NewEgg wish list. They had everything I wanted. I spoke with floor sales rep, showed him the list on my phone, and he matched.

MicroCenter rules!

It used to... up until about two years go. Now, mine is a den of thieves. I think I've complained to corporate about the manager and sales policies at least three times with zero feedback. Besides, even if they took PayPal, it would cost me 8.25% extra in sales tax,

 

[stdragon]

That's sad to hear. I wonder if it's corporate policy that's changed, or local management. The one I go to is in Houston, TX. Just FYI.

As for sales tax, it's getting harder to avoid that and possible shipping costs. If the cost savings isn't much, I prefer local so returns aren't such as PITA. Besides, I prefer supporting local businesses, but not if it's a major deal-breaker.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

That's sad to hear. I wonder if it's corporate policy that's changed, or local management. The one I go to is in Houston, TX. Just FYI.

As for sales tax, it's getting harder to avoid that and possible shipping costs. If the cost savings isn't much, I prefer local so returns aren't such as PITA. Besides, I prefer supporting local businesses, but not if it's a major deal-breaker.

Small world, I go to the Houston, TX Microcenter as well and it is a great place. I have never had an issue there.