Question New build advice

Sep 2, 2022
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I'm looking into building a new gaming PC. I used to build a lot back in the early 2000s (when were were playing Quake and Unreal on 3dfx Voodoo cards). It's been a while. Last few builds have been been homelab stuff: Plex, Unifi, Pinhole, etc.

Anyway, my son is into gaming and I'd like to build a new gaming PC for him and I to use. I currently have a Dell laptop with an i9 and GTX 1550 mobile. It does ok for games but it's a work computer so I don't want my kid on it too much and have limited HD space for games.

I'm researching all this and kind of looking for advice on direction to go and how much to put into it. Games I currently play are Assassins Creed Valhalla and Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, Flight Simulator, Madden. Son likes Fortnite, Dauntless, and pretty much anything that is popular that I'll let him play. I put together these to builds and would like any feedback. I know the GTX 1660 is a little older, but I already it sitting in a draw, so I'd like to use that to keep cost down and upgrade GPU later. Also, should I take advantage of deals out now or do you think the Zen 4/13 Gen CPUs released later in the month will cause prices of the older CPUs to drop?

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/pharpe/saved/#view=2NsrMp

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/pharpe/saved/#view=2WhLcf
 
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Sep 2, 2022
7
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But the 5800X is only $55 more than the 5600X. The RX 6600 would add $250-$290 to the build. Not exactly an even trade off. I was thinking I would get the foundation in place and then upgrade the GPU in 6 months or so. Hopefully prices will continue to fall and I can pick something like a RX 6800 for what the 6600 is at now.

I guess my question is more around the CPU/mobo options. Are they too old and not worth the investment? Perfect performance to value for my needs? Overkill?
 
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Zerk2012

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But the 5800X is only $55 more than the 5600X. The RX 6600 would add $250-$290 to the build. Not exactly an even trade off. I was thinking I would get the foundation in place and then upgrade the GPU in 6 months or so. Hopefully prices will continue to fall and I can pick something like a RX 6800 for what the 6600 is at now.

I guess my question is more around the CPU/mobo options. Are they too old and not worth the investment? Perfect performance to value for my needs? Overkill?
I would drop down on the CPU and buy a better video card also using the memory because it's so low cost..

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wNcLbK
 
You can definitely go that route too. Another cpu option might be the 5700x. That still is an 8 core, I think it's only 65 watts though and should run a bit cooler, but isn't a whole lot slower.

This is from March of 2021, but have a look at this video about the 5600x vs the 5800x. You can see that depending on the game, if all you do is game, it seems to actually be pretty similar. Plus, keep in mind, the current xbox systems and ps5 are based on zen 2 cpus, which are slower than zen 3. You can read into the fact that those are 8 cores, but from what I saw someone say, it may take them about 2 cores to run the OS on those consoles. Plus, by the time the developers start to develop fully for 8 cores, you'll probably be ready to upgrade anyway. The nice thing on my system, I'm running a 5600x, but if I came across a deal on a 5900x for example, I can drop that into my current board.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXnXNvJto8


I'm not as much on Intel, but the 12600k is supposed to be pretty good. On either of the current platforms the issue you have is that in about a month, I think the end of September, AMD drops AM5. We need to see more benchmarks, but it's claimed that the new 7000 series cpus will be faster than the Intel 12th gen.

So if you are building today, current stuff is still decent, but you may not want to put as much into the cpu/board etc and just get enough to get running, as the 5600/5700x can handle higher end graphics cards. So I think I'd be tempted to either wait, or go less on the current platform, and get a better gpu for example then you can rebuild later and sell the old parts. But it might be worth waiting until the end of the month, however ddr5 is already high now so.....

But myself, I'm actually running a 5600x in an old Asrock AB350 pro 4 board from about 2017 or 2018. I'm running a 144hz monitor 1080p monitor and so far it does well. I actually just installed it last night, but I was running a Ryzen 5 3600 in there, and even that was pretty good playing the remastered spider man game(hint for your games, get an xbox controller and a cheap bluetooth adapter). I would have preferred the 5700x or 5800x but I didn't want to drop more money at the moment. Who knows though if I feel like I need more power maybe I'll drop a 5900x in later on if they come down in price and hold out until AM6 comes out lol.

The guy above has you a good build put together. However I'd consider swapping out the graphics card. I'm a bit biased, but I've got this card. Paired pretty well with my 3600 and seems to be happy with the 5600x also. But you could later grab a 5900x or the 5800x 3d as well if you catch a deal.

MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB MECH 2X Video Card (Radeon RX 6700 XT MECH 2X 12G) - PCPartPicker
 
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You play various types of games and have a budget.
In the past, the general advice is to budget 2x the cost of the cpu for the graphics card.
But, since you have a decent graphics card that you can start with, that advice is moot.
As listed, either build would be good.
On either, I would start with a 2tb ssd.
650w will be ok for now, but you may well want more if you make a big jump in graphics capability.
Here is a handy chart to size what you might need:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
I would think 750/850w.
There may not be a big jump in cost from 650/750/850w.
For example, there is only a $10 difference between the Seasonic GM-650,750, and 850w units:
https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-focus-650-gold-ssr-650fm-650w/p/N82E16817151202
https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-focus-gm-series-focus-gm-850-750w/p/N82E16817151231
A psu will only use the power demanded of it, regardless of the max capability.
On the cpu side, I like the current intel processors for gaming where the single thread performance is very important.
AMD does better for multithreaded batch apps.
The 12600K is, I think a very good choice.
It is smart to pick the non-F version.
It is good insurance in case of a gpu failure.
Here is a list of CPU-Z bench single thread ratings:
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/bhgfiz/1
And a review of the 12600K:
https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/core_i5_12600k_processor_review,21.html

New processors are due to be launched in a month or so.
Watching many launches over the years, you can expect about a 15% price/performance boost over existing products.
The very high end will be expensive and in short supply initially.
Lower end products may not be initially offered.
Amd will require new motherboards and chipsets along with requiring DDR5 ram.
In the past, 16gb of ram was the norm.
But, today, I think a 2 x 16gb kit up front would be better.
Do not plan on adding 16gb later, it may not work properly.
Ram must be factory matched to the capacity.
Intel will offer, but not require new chipsets to run the 13th gen processors.
It will continue to support DDR4 ram.
Today, there is little difference in performance between DDR4 and DDR5.
But, today,DDR4 is less expensive.
Intel will not lower old product prices, but vendors might.
The lga1700 chipsets include wifi.
If you can use wifi, pick a motherboard with included wifi.
The wifi version of the motherboard you picked is only $12 more:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162029
 
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https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-sf-550f14hg-550w/p/1HU-024C-00008
Super Flower Leadex III 550W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply $69.99

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1693456-REG/msi_mag_b660m_bazooka_ddr4.html
MSI MAG B660M BAZOOKA DDR4 $129.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NPJRDGD
Intel Core i5-12400F $174.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PCWK7SP
DeepCool AK400 CPU Cooler $34.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MF31FSZ
TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 3600MHz 16GB (2x8GB) CL18 $54.99

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-CS1030-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B08M49JGKB/
PNY CS1030 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 Internal SSD $65.99

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-rtx-3060-gv-n3060eagle-oc-12gd/p/N82E16814932434
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Eagle OC Rev2 12GB Graphics Cards $379.99

Total: $910.93

i5 12400 / 12400F gaming benchmarks.

i512400.jpg
 

Vic 40

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From a performance point of view for gaming, not much.
The single thread performance of each is comparable.
What you get with a 5800x is 16 threads vs. 12
Most games can not effectively use more than 6-8 threads.
Multiplayer with many participants may be an exception.

What you do lose is the ability for any future meaningful cpu update without a motherboard and ram change.

You would find a I5-12400 to be a comparable processor with the ability to do a future cpu 12th gen upgrade, and with a bios update upgrade to 13th gen.
Here is a 12400 gaming review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-core-i5-12400-review

Ryzen depends on fast ram for performance.
Plan on 3600 speed.
Intel will run on anything.
 
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Ryzen is good I think with 3200 though a lot of guys like 3600. As far as things go, I’m running my 5600x on a b350 board from 2017-2018 and it runs just fine. I’m happy with it. You could go Intel also but if it means you have to take a step down on graphics then I’d stick to the amd.

From your screenshot, I’m guessing you have Microcenter nearby? They typically have better prices on cpus and boards than online sellers so I’d go that route.

https://www.microcenter.com/product...oxed-processor-wraith-stealth-cooler-included

I know you are looking at b550, but at my local Microcenter it looks like the cheapest b550 is over 100 bucks. If they can guarantee this has the bios to run it, or if they can update it for you, I’d just roll with this.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/510208/gigabyte-b450m-ds3h-amd-am4-microatx-motherboard

You wouldn’t have pcie 4 I don’t think, but from what I’ve seen there’s not much difference at all.

https://www.techspot.com/review/2104-pcie4-vs-pcie3-gpu-performance/

However if you have the cash get the b550. But for a system where you are on a budget I’d go that route and then you can get a better gpu which will make more difference for gaming than your motherboard will imo.
 
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Karadjgne

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X570 has pcie4.0 capability on everything, cpu and chipset. B550 has pcie4.0 on cpu and 1x chipset storage only, all other chipset is pcie 3.0.

Means the gpu in primary slot can be pcie4.0 as that's cpu, and 1x nvme can be pcie4.0, but Sata and any other gpu slots will be pcie 3.0.

No big deal unless you plan on uber performance parts throughout the build which are realistically unnecessary if on any kind of budget.

A 5700x and decent B550 will have more options than the same cpu on a equitably priced x570, such as a USB type C header for front i/o type C ports.

The Hyper212 is a slightly better cooler, it'll be quieter than what should be considered Stock for the 5700x, both rated at @ 140w. That can be helped with software tweaks, bios tweaks, curve optimizer etc.
 
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Sep 2, 2022
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So as I mentioned above I bought the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X / MSI X570-A Pro Combo.

https://www.microcenter.com/product...-x570-a-pro-am4-atx-amd-cpu-motherboard-combo

However, the more I've been reading it sounds like the MSI X570-A Pro is not a very good board. Also there are really good deals on the 5800X and I have an addition $25 off coupon. I haven't opened the combo yet and I'm approaching the return window. Wanted thoughts on spending about $80 more and going with something like:

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X249.99
MSI B550 MAG Tomahawk Max WiFi 179.99
coupon-25
combo-20
384.98

Or

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X249.99
ASRock X570 Steel Legend WiFi ax156.99
coupon-25
381.98
 
Sep 2, 2022
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Spending $80 more for essentially the same performance, higher heat output, the only bonus to the X570 being full pcie4.0 in cpu and chipset vs B550 cpu/x16 slot. If you don't have pcie4.0 storage, it's of little use. Choices

It's also going from the 5700X to the 5800X and getting built in wifi
 
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Karadjgne

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Essentially no difference from 5700x to 5800x. The 5800x averages 2-3 fps higher, which nobody could see on their best day.

Haven't used wifi for anything other than my phone and android TV, otherwise it's Ethernet connected. Even my wife's laptop is hardwired.