ryzen 1700 or ryzen 1600x or ryzen 1600 or (i7 7700k) for overclocking+rendering+gaming

[TMCLUBS]

I am interested in overclocking but don't know which cpu should I choose. I know 1700 can run to 4.0GHz while 7700k can run to 5.1Ghz. I want to overclock my ram and bclk too. Also, I need the cpu for both gaming in 1080p (4k in the future) and rendering for school work.

I thought of getting a ryzen 1700/1600 but I am worried about the optimization of ryzen cpu in softwares, as well as the lowered gaming performance and the overclocking performance and experience), with ram compatibility and overclocking issue. However, intel cpu is not as good as 1700/1600 in rendering, and the price is higher then ryzen. It is because I need to get z270 motherboard.

Which cpu choose I choose instead for the best value? ryzen 1600 or 1700 or i7 7700k. If I choose intel the total cost with motherboard will be $466 USD ( I have aftermarket cooler) , while for ryzen 1600/1700 it will be $320 and $415 respectively.

<Updated 15/4>

My initiative of getting a Ryzen has increased as the z170 oc formula is not on sale and back to its original price.
As the ryzen 5 series has release, I am still frustrated whether I should get a 1600 or 1600x or 1700.

Thanks for asrock and msi. For asrock, I can get a ab350 gaming k4 for $54 (special discount). And for MSI, huge thanks to the newly released MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon with Intel Lan (finally), usb 3.1 Gen 2 and Great RGB colour lighting!

I know how to overclock but now which ryzen cpu choose I choose? 1700 8C16T has my favourite RGB Case Fan but will it be expensive compare to the price-performance value?

The pricing of 1600x is bad but can overclock to 4.1-2Ghz. People complain that cpu because they need to buy an aftermarket cooler, but I have an aftermarket cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212x. The only thing I need to buy is AM4 Adaptor which cost $9, so does the money worth it?

For 1600, it has the good value with $219, but a loss of RGB Fan but a normal one. I hear the overclocking can hit 3.9Ghz, and the ram speed can't get over 2933??? I plan to buy a 3200 mhz ram so will it under clock? so it is worth buying compare with other two?

I have struggles between the three cpus and can anyone suggest which is the best for me and worth the money? I want to build a RGB build with ryzen and do some overclocking as well.

Other components of the PC:
Asrock AB350 Gaming K4 / MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon
Corsair Vengeance LED 3200MHz 16GB (8GB*2)


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<Update 9/4>
The highest possible ram speed for ryzen is limited 3200 Mhz currently. It seems that the chipset of ryzen limits the overclocking ability of ryzen cpu, so it is impossible to overclock much further 4.1Ghz. The PCie x1 lane is just 2.0 and the pricing of x370 is high, while b350 has low end I/O component. Lack of ability for further overclocking as it max out quickly.

I am sure in near future software optimization will be done for amd, but what about hardware optimization, sure as overclocking features? The pricing for a x370 is much higher then z270 here ($192 vs $141) with the high end stuff, rather than b350 ($99).

And for B350, although the cpu can be overclock to 3.9 Ghz, has low end components such as lack of rgb lighting, no intel lan, bclk, pcie 3.0x1, power phase, etc. The feature of the b350 unfavors me.

If I just need to consider rendering and gaming, amd will be my choice, but I am really interested to fully overclock my cpu to it maximum potential, so which cpu and motherboard combination is better buy?

1. ryzen 1700/1600 with x370 MSI Gaming Pro Carbon($506 and $411)
2. Intel i7 7700k with Asrock OC Formula z170 ($466)
3. ryzen 1700/1600 with b350. (Modest) ( $415 and $320)

Also, any suggestion of good overclocking ram in 3200mhz if I choose ryzen cpu ? Thanks a lot.

 

[Seanie280672]

just so you know and despite what anyone else tells you, the gaming problems on RyZen and nearly a thing of the past, patches are sorting the problems out, and very fast too.

the reason Ryzen only overclocks to 4ghz is because it has twice the amount of cores as the i7, so you need to ask yourself, 8 cores 16 threads at 4ghz, or half the cores and threads at 5ghz (if your lucky).

 

[atomicWAR]

Ryzen is being patched fairly quickly so I would not stress the gaming performance. Plus the additional cores will future proof you in that department as well. New games are easily using 8+ threads now and that will only grow as time passes. Not to mention if this is doubling as a render rig for work/school then you'll get far better performance going with AMD for a cheaper cost.

 

[TMCLUBS]

just so you know and despite what anyone else tells you, the gaming problems on RyZen and nearly a thing of the past, patches are sorting the problems out, and very fast too.

the reason Ryzen only overclocks to 4ghz is because it has twice the amount of cores as the i7, so you need to ask yourself, 8 cores 16 threads at 4ghz, or half the cores and threads at 5ghz (if your lucky).

Thanks for your advice. I do not have a preference for amd or intel but I would like to overclock in my system for both my ram and cpu. For both gaming and rendering both cpu performs excellently, but what I concern is the motherboard optimization as well.

I really like the ryzen cpu as it has a lot core then intel one. But what I worry is the motherboard and ram issue. I like to overclock and plan to overclock the cpu with water cooling or even LN2 cooling if I have the money.

The highest possible ram speed for ryzen is limited 3200 Mhz currently. It seems that the chipset of ryzen limits the overclocking ability of ryzen cpu, so it is impossible to overclock much further 4.1Ghz. The PCie x1 lane is just 2.0 and the pricing of x370 is high, while b350 has low end I/O component. Lack of ability for further overclocking as it max out quickly.

I am sure in near future software optimization will be done for amd, but what about hardware optimization, sure as overclocking features? The pricing for a x370 is much higher then z270 here ($192 vs $141) with the high end stuff, rather than b350 ($99).

And for B350, although the cpu can be overclock to 3.9 Ghz, has low end components such as lack of rgb lighting, no intel lan, bclk, pcie 3.0x1, power phase, etc. The feature of the b350 unfavors me.

If I just need to consider rendering and gaming, amd will be my choice, but I am really interested to fully overclock my cpu to it maximum potential, so which cpu and motherboard combination is better buy?
1. ryzen 1700/1600 with x370 MSI Gaming Pro Carbon($506 and $411)
2. Intel i7 7700k with Asrock OC Formula z170 ($466)
3. ryzen 1700/1600 with b350. (Modest) ( $415 and $320)

 

[TMCLUBS]

Ryzen is being patched fairly quickly so I would not stress the gaming performance. Plus the additional cores will future proof you in that department as well. New games are easily using 8+ threads now and that will only grow as time passes. Not to mention if this is doubling as a render rig for work/school then you'll get far better performance going with AMD for a cheaper cost.

Thanks for your reply. Ryzen and Intel cpu are both great if we just compare them with rendering and gaming, but I want to focus more on the motherboard hardware optimization and the overclocking ability of the motherboard they are using (x370 vs z270)

 

[atomicWAR]

just FYI the ryzen boards are not limited to PCIe 2.0. x370 boards have 16x pcie 3.0 (16x or 8x 8x). they do however have PCIe 2.0 on 16x at 4x speeds and the PCIe 1x slots are also 2.0.

As far as Ram speeds and oveclocks you are correct. Some boards are better then others but 4.1ghz for CPU and 3200mhz (and then only one slot can be used I believe) for ram seems to be the max OC's for now.

If your going for max OC then Intel is you best bet.

 

[TMCLUBS]

just FYI the ryzen boards are not limited to PCIe 2.0. x370 boards have 16x pcie 3.0 (16x or 8x 8x). they do however have PCIe 2.0 on 16x at 4x speeds and the PCIe 1x slots are also 2.0.

As far as Ram speeds and oveclocks you are correct. Some boards are better then others but 4.1ghz for CPU and 3200mhz (and then only one slot can be used I believe) for ram seems to be the max OC's for now.

If your going for max OC then Intel is you best bet.

Thanks for notifying me my mistake of the pcie. I have corrected it. Ryzen support Pcie 3.0 x16 and pcie 3.0x4 for m.2 expansion, and others pcie 2.0.

I am thinking should I sacrifice overclocking performance for a much cheaper cpu (ie. ryzen 1600) and a cheaper board (B350), since I need to use the computer for rendering and gaming as well, not just overclocking.

 

[Dhananjay_007]

just FYI the ryzen boards are not limited to PCIe 2.0. x370 boards have 16x pcie 3.0 (16x or 8x 8x). they do however have PCIe 2.0 on 16x at 4x speeds and the PCIe 1x slots are also 2.0.

As far as Ram speeds and oveclocks you are correct. Some boards are better then others but 4.1ghz for CPU and 3200mhz (and then only one slot can be used I believe) for ram seems to be the max OC's for now.

If your going for max OC then Intel is you best bet.

Thanks for notifying me my mistake of the pcie. I have corrected it. Ryzen support Pcie 3.0 x16 and pcie 3.0x4 for m.2 expansion, and others pcie 2.0.

I am thinking should I sacrifice overclocking performance for a much cheaper cpu (ie. ryzen 1600) and a cheaper board (B350), since I need to use the computer for rendering and gaming as well, not just overclocking.

I am also facing this situation - whether to go with ryzen or i7 7700k. But what i have found is that in major games i7 7700k cores being used at 90% while ryzen 1700/1600 cores aren't being used even properly and still its managing to get remarkable performance and as optimisation for ryzen cpus improves , i believe they will surpass i7 in gaming. So what I'll suggest you is to go for ryzen as they performing very well in rendering and other related stuff and in gaming department they will improve in near future.