Build Advice New Build Review / Opinions Please

[psychedelic_Ed]

Hi All,

I posted in a previous directory, but I think my thread should go here. My plans have changed a little bit and I have managed to secure a Ryzen 5 5600x. Still hoping to luck out on a Ryzen 9 though!
This would be my first ground up build, so any advice would be appreciated.

My Uses:

• Autocad / Revit for 2D and 3D drafting for work.
• Rhino + Vray for 3D Modeling and Rendering.
• Sketchup + Vray / Encscape
• Photoshop / Indesign / Illustrator
• Various Astrophotography programs: Pix Insight, DSS, APP, etc. - Hence desire for more cores.
• Casual Gaming, but maybe with a new computer I will finally get to play these better games for once.
• Lookin gto get into future Twitch streaming (pinball).

I have done a lot of research into motherboards and I think I'm finally able to sort my way though the mud a bit better now. Well, at least the budget 550s. I have narrowed it down to the Aorus Elite AX V2 and the Asus ROG E-Gaming. Mainly because I wanted to have an internal USB C header for the front of the case and enough USBs on the back for various peripherals. Wifi + BT is a nice to have.

Opinions wanted:

1. Aorus vs Asus motheboard. I believe the Asus provides more PCI x 16 slots. Well, it seems like it would be split into two x8 lanes if I were to use them both. Not necessarily 2 video cards, but for some kind of future expansion. Am I reading that correctly? Would I be losing a lot if were to go with the Elite? Price difference is about $80.
2. I will upgrade to the Ryzen 9 when I can. Would it be wise to go with the Asus instead of the elite? Or do you think the elite AX V2 would be able to handle the Ryzen 9 just fine? OR, should I be looking at at x570? I'd like to avoid the onboard chipset fan (less things to go wrong down the line).
3. Graphics card is what I currently have and will eventually upgrade that to the latest down the line when available.
4. 750 watts, is that overkill?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9HMPcT

Thanks!

 

[NiaNia]

I promote buying only what you actually plan to use. "Leaving room for expansion" is a solid idea, but there isn't an incredible amount you can do with PCIE slots. More IO? sure, PCIE storage? fine, fast networking card? go for it. But none of those make sense in your circumstance. modern MOBO ethernet is pretty good, so unless you are uploading and downloading lots of data, you don't need a networking card. PCIE storage isn't realistic, especially if you already have storage expandability (2 M.2 SLOTS?!) More IO is cool but most boards will have a pcie x1 slot for you anyways.

Your ram is the same deal, do you NEED a x4 memory slots if you are only doing 2x16? 32gb is a upper end amount anyways, and it's not like you can't do 2x32 in the future for upgrading that.

all in all, it's your pc and it's whatever you want it to be. I would save on MOBO though, no need to shell out more for features you won't use.

edit: I would go with more wattage, you are undoubtedly going to consume more power on a ryzen 9 and you'll need more for a gpu upgrade regardless.

 

[g-unit1111]

I have done a lot of research into motherboards and I think I'm finally able to sort my way though the mud a bit better now. Well, at least the budget 550s. I have narrowed it down to the Aorus Elite AX V2 and the Asus ROG E-Gaming. Mainly because I wanted to have an internal USB C header for the front of the case and enough USBs on the back for various peripherals. Wifi + BT is a nice to have.

I'd personally go for the Gigabyte - they have a better BIOS and stronger VRMs than the Asus boards do, but you can't go wrong either way. USB-C headers on cases are rare right now, though that could change in the next year or so.

Aorus vs Asus motheboard. I believe the Asus provides more PCI x 16 slots. Well, it seems like it would be split into two x8 lanes if I were to use them both. Not necessarily 2 video cards, but for some kind of future expansion. Am I reading that correctly? Would I be losing a lot if were to go with the Elite? Price difference is about $80.

Actually the CPU is what determines how many lanes you can use, not your motherboard. The higher end CPUs are the ones that will enable you to use more PCI lanes. So a 5900X will have more lanes than a 3600 will, and so on.

I will upgrade to the Ryzen 9 when I can. Would it be wise to go with the Asus instead of the elite? Or do you think the elite AX V2 would be able to handle the Ryzen 9 just fine? OR, should I be looking at at x570? I'd like to avoid the onboard chipset fan (less things to go wrong down the line).

I'd personally go with X570 if PCI lanes are the priority, but as long as you get a relatively high end B550 board you should be fine.

Graphics card is what I currently have and will eventually upgrade that to the latest down the line when available.

Yeah getting a graphics card is practically impossible right now. I'm trying to get a 3080 and have struck out every time I've attempted.

750 watts, is that overkill?

Depends on what GPU you decide to use as that's what draws the most power. The Ryzen 3rd and 4th gen CPUs are some of the most energy efficient around, even with some decent overclocking. The 3080 is pretty energy efficient and a Ryzen 5000 and 3080 shouldn't draw more than 550W. But if you decide to go 3090, then I would recommend getting a much higher wattage PSU like 850W or even 1KW.

 

[psychedelic_Ed]

Thanks for insights.

There is a ton of SATAs and yes, 2 M.2's so I'm probably covered there. Great point!

Didn't think about the RAM like that. Those motherboards with 2 dimm slots are usually the smaller ones correct? ITX is it?

The built in network card will be fine, even though I do do a lot uploading for work. However, the bottle neck is the internet company it self. Speeds are horrid in the UK. I miss the USA speeds. Heh.

Noted on the power, it seems like graphics cards are getting more and more demanding with each year that passes.

Cheers!

I promote buying only what you actually plan to use. "Leaving room for expansion" is a solid idea, but there isn't an incredible amount you can do with PCIE slots. More IO? sure, PCIE storage? fine, fast networking card? go for it. But none of those make sense in your circumstance. modern MOBO ethernet is pretty good, so unless you are uploading and downloading lots of data, you don't need a networking card. PCIE storage isn't realistic, especially if you already have storage expandability (2 M.2 SLOTS?!) More IO is cool but most boards will have a pcie x1 slot for you anyways.

Your ram is the same deal, do you NEED a x4 memory slots if you are only doing 2x16? 32gb is a upper end amount anyways, and it's not like you can't do 2x32 in the future for upgrading that.

all in all, it's your pc and it's whatever you want it to be. I would save on MOBO though, no need to shell out more for features you won't use.

edit: I would go with more wattage, you are undoubtedly going to consume more power on a ryzen 9 and you'll need more for a gpu upgrade regardless.

 

[psychedelic_Ed]

Thanks for tips!

PCI lanes aren't exactly a priority. I suppose I wouldn't even know the difference. My previous desktop was a i7-920, then to a 980x so this will feel awesome I bet. I see my self sticking with this computer for a while. Which is why I'm finding my self thinking about how I can upgrade this in the future. Just the way I am I suppose. Heh.

Noted on the CPU efficiencies and power supply. Great to know.

Question. What about coolers? I hear mixed reviews on AIOs and air coolers. What's your experience been like? Do you prefer one over the other? The AIO's do look cool. Looks do count for something for me for sure. I suppose this can be an upgrade later down the line as well.

Dumb question: Sometimes I don't want all the LEDs on, I should be able to turn them off when needed right? I know I could do it on my video card, but what about the LEDs on the RAM sticks? Does anyone have any experience with that?

Cheers!

I'd personally go for the Gigabyte - they have a better BIOS and stronger VRMs than the Asus boards do, but you can't go wrong either way. USB-C headers on cases are rare right now, though that could change in the next year or so.



Actually the CPU is what determines how many lanes you can use, not your motherboard. The higher end CPUs are the ones that will enable you to use more PCI lanes. So a 5900X will have more lanes than a 3600 will, and so on.



I'd personally go with X570 if PCI lanes are the priority, but as long as you get a relatively high end B550 board you should be fine.



Yeah getting a graphics card is practically impossible right now. I'm trying to get a 3080 and have struck out every time I've attempted.



Depends on what GPU you decide to use as that's what draws the most power. The Ryzen 3rd and 4th gen CPUs are some of the most energy efficient around, even with some decent overclocking. The 3080 is pretty energy efficient and a Ryzen 5000 and 3080 shouldn't draw more than 550W. But if you decide to go 3090, then I would recommend getting a much higher wattage PSU like 850W or even 1KW.

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for insights.

There is a ton of SATAs and yes, 2 M.2's so I'm probably covered there. Great point!

Didn't think about the RAM like that. Those motherboards with 2 dimm slots are usually the smaller ones correct? ITX is it?

The built in network card will be fine, even though I do do a lot uploading for work. However, the bottle neck is the internet company it self. Speeds are horrid in the UK. I miss the USA speeds. Heh.

Noted on the power, it seems like graphics cards are getting more and more demanding with each year that passes.

Cheers!

1. Yeah you got to make sure that your motherboard has enough SATA ports to cover it. M2 drives perform better on AMD platforms and most X570 motherboards have fewer SATA ports for other drives.

2. Yes. But if you get an ATX case, get an ATX motherboard.

3. I've heard that about UK ISPs, one of the podcasts I listen to is based out of London and they usually talk about how bad Virgin Internet is. Though I have Spectrum and I can't say mine is necessarily better. Most of the time you use the built-in network functions on your motherboard since they usually are better than any external cards or USB adapters you can add in.

4. Yeah the GPUs are getting more power hungry, but CPUs are more energy efficient than ever (save for the Intel i9-10900K) and the GPUs are what consume the most power. For the most part, most systems won't draw more than 600W on a single card configuration, though depending on how far you overclock and what kind of cooling solution you use, that can always change the power draw.

 

[psychedelic_Ed]

Hey guys, following up on this... I just scored a 5950x (yeee haww!) and while at the store, I bought an Asus B550 XE ROG Strix Mobo. Any thoughts? Did I pay too much ($300) I asked the sales man what he recommended and that was it (from his current stock). He said it could handle more power for the 5950x , especially if overclocking. Which I probably won't do much of but may be fun to explore in the future. He said the PCB is better. It was like a little brother version of the crosshair hero.

So, I have that mobo now, but haven't opened it yet. Do you think I could just stick with the Aorus Elite V2 or is that just silly + a disservice to the 5950x? 😂 I'm hoping to use this machine for at least 4-5 years before doing a major upgrade.

Thoughts?

Edit: After much research, I believe the only difference is that the VRM is slightly better as it has a heat pipe (L Shape) and it comes with a NVME expansion card for when I get my 4 extra drives (many years from now) 🤔 😂.