[SOLVED] Which drivers to upgrade first? Should I overclock this system?

eatchocolate

Reputable
Jan 6, 2016
4
1
4,515
Hi all!

I am finally upgrading my 4 year old PC and have just placed the order through this morning! Excited to receive it this week and spend all weekend getting it up and running!! Gonna be in dept for a few years now haha!

I've got a couple of questions for those of you who are more active on the scene than I am!

First, do you agree with my built in the sense that I have not made a mistake by choosing something incompatible or creating a bootleneck somewhere?

MOTHERBOARD= MSI MPG X570 GAMING EDGE WIFI
CPU = AMD RYZEN 9 3900X TWELVE CORE 4.6GHZ
THERMAL PASTE = GENERIC CHOICE
GPU = EVGA GEFORCE RTX 2080 TI FTW3 ULTRA GAMING 11264MB GDDR6
MEMORY = CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX 32GB (2X16GB) DDR4 PC4-29200C16 3600MHZ DUAL CHANNEL KIT
PSU = CORSAIR TX850M 850W 80 PLUS GOLD SEMI MODULAR POWER SUPPLY
COOLING = CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H115I PRO RGB PERFORMANCE LIQUID COOLER - 280MM
SSD #1 = SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-E 3.0 X4 NVME
SSD #2 = SAMSUNG 1TB 860 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6GBPS 64 LAYER 3D V-NAND
CASE = CORSAIR CARBIDE 110Q SILENT MIDI TOWER ATX CASE
OS = MICROSOFT 10 PRO (I need remote desktop)
MONITOR = SAMSUNG 27GL850-B 144Hz 1440p IPS
KEYBOARD = CORSAIR K70 RGB MK2, CHERRY MX RED LOW PROFILE
MOUSE = LOGTIECH G502 LIGHTSPEED WIRELESS

Should I have gone with 4x 8GB memory even though AMD doesn't support quad channel memory (if I understood that well) instead of 2x 16GB?

Second, when I receive all this, I will be comfortable assembling it all - no problem there. What I'm really curious to know though is in which order should I install the drivers for all the components once I've installed Windows? Would it make any difference in the order I choose to proceed in?

Lastly, overclocking. I understand I've got a good system already. I don't know crap about overclocking. Is it worth me diving into it and studying how to overclock systems and giving it a go on mine? Would I get a lot more performance out of it if I adventure down this path? I will be using it mainly for gaming and office work to start with. But I've built it this way to encourage me to get back into editing and start playing around with colour grading big 8K RAW video files (hence the 32GB RAM).

Thank you so much for your time reading this!
 
Solution
AM4 is dual channel RAM access(assuming 2 or 4 sticks installed), and dual vs. quad channel is not related to number of RAM slots (the Threadrippers are quad channel), so, if anything, two sticks of RAM are normally better than four for speed and stability anyway (normally, having all four slots populated results in slightly lower RAM clock speeds)...

If you've not already order this mainboard (Gaming Edge Wifi...DON"T! HOt VRM circuitry....
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD65w5RVmtY


You'll want the best BIOS available, which is sometimes not always the latest), according to other users of your mainboard (consult with other users of your mainboard to determine which offers best clock...
Thoughts on your configuration:

The difference between 4x8gb and 2x16gb is not something I would worry about.
I would not have chosen that motherboard since there is a well known VRM overheating issue with that motherboard, especially with a Ryzen 9. It should be "ok" however it would not have been my choice, even for the price.

Driver installation thoughts:

The order of installation of drivers doesn't really matter. I usually prefer to install the graphics driver first so I don't have to deal with 800x600 screen resolution stretched to a 16x9 monitor, but it is a personal preference thing.

Thoughts about overclocking:

Ryzen 3000 has limited overclocking headroom, so it's not really worth it to try overclocking unless you do it for the fun. I would not with your motherboard anyhow.

Ryzen 3000 does like fast memory, so you could overclock your ram or even your infinity fabric clock separately if you wanted. This can be tedious, so it may not be something you want to do before seeing some guides on the matter.

Your GPU can overclock for better performance. MSI afterburner can even do a pretty decent auto overclock from what I hear.

An interesting and relevant read:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-3000-best-memory-timings,6310.html
 
AM4 is dual channel RAM access(assuming 2 or 4 sticks installed), and dual vs. quad channel is not related to number of RAM slots (the Threadrippers are quad channel), so, if anything, two sticks of RAM are normally better than four for speed and stability anyway (normally, having all four slots populated results in slightly lower RAM clock speeds)...

If you've not already order this mainboard (Gaming Edge Wifi...DON"T! HOt VRM circuitry....
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD65w5RVmtY


You'll want the best BIOS available, which is sometimes not always the latest), according to other users of your mainboard (consult with other users of your mainboard to determine which offers best clock speeds/power curve...

Latest AMD chipset drivers (research to make sure those are accepted/acknowledged as being the best for frequency/power curve on your particular mainboard, as well...)

Let's see what clock speeds it hits across all 12 cores before deciding it is not enough and deciding we need more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eatchocolate
Solution

Phaaze88

Titan
Ambassador
Yeah, you've already made some mistakes... did you go over your build with anyone before placing the order?

3900X on pretty much all of Msi's cheaper X570 mobos experience VRM thermal throttling.
You've made this much worse with your choice of case, which only has one exhaust, as well as the liquid cooler; one of the cons of liquid is that the user sacrifices the direct cooling over the mobo VRMs that's usually provided by air.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eatchocolate

eatchocolate

Reputable
Jan 6, 2016
4
1
4,515
Ah man, thank you all for your input! I was so excited like a kid in a candy shop that I pulled the trigger and made the mistake of just purchasing it all instead of consulting people like you with more knowledge before making a final decision on the built!

The difference between 4x8gb and 2x16gb is not something I would worry about.
I would not have chosen that motherboard since there is a well known VRM overheating issue with that motherboard, especially with a Ryzen 9. It should be "ok" however it would not have been my choice, even for the price.

Yeah, literally just realised the huge mistake I've done here. I will return it and get the ASUS X570 PLUS instead.

The order of installation of drivers doesn't really matter. I usually prefer to install the graphics driver first so I don't have to deal with 800x600 screen resolution stretched to a 16x9 monitor, but it is a personal preference thing.

Actually yeah good shout! Will do GPU first.

Ryzen 3000 has limited overclocking headroom, so it's not really worth it to try overclocking unless you do it for the fun. I would not with your motherboard anyhow.

Ryzen 3000 does like fast memory, so you could overclock your ram or even your infinity fabric clock separately if you wanted. This can be tedious, so it may not be something you want to do before seeing some guides on the matter.

Your GPU can overclock for better performance. MSI afterburner can even do a pretty decent auto overclock from what I hear.

Yeah ok I'm not gonna overclock anything as you've proven me I need a LOT more knowledge/research before I even start thinking about it! Will see what's what down the line and keep an eye on reviews about overclocking a system like mine ;)

You'll want the best BIOS available, which is sometimes not always the latest), according to other users of your mainboard (consult with other users of your mainboard to determine which offers best clock speeds/power curve...

Latest AMD chipset drivers (research to make sure those are accepted/acknowledged as being the best for frequency/power curve on your particular mainboard, as well...)

Let's see what clock speeds it hits across all 12 cores before deciding it is not enough and deciding we need more.

Perfect! Will look into all this!

Yeah, you've already made some mistakes... did you go over your build with anyone before placing the order?

3900X on pretty much all of Msi's cheaper X570 mobos experience VRM thermal throttling.
You've made this much worse with your choice of case, which only has one exhaust, as well as the liquid cooler; one of the cons of liquid is that the user sacrifices the direct cooling over the mobo VRMs that's usually provided by air.

Haha no mate! And I deeply regret it!!!
Yeah just seen earlier the big mistake I made with the motherboard. Will get that returned and use the ASUS X570 PLUS instead
I hate RGB etc. and literally went for the cheapest case as all that mattered to me was what's inside the case! Did not realise the importance of airflow in there as I thought the H115i cooler would do the job! Do you have a case you would recommend? I've just been recommended this one : Phanteks Eclipse P400A ATX Mid Tower Case. Good choice? Should I add any extra fans?

Again, thank you @NightHawkRMX , @mdd1963 and @Phaaze88 for your comments! Greatly appreciated!
 

Phaaze88

Titan
Ambassador
one : Phanteks Eclipse P400A ATX Mid Tower Case. Good choice? Should I add any extra fans?
The P400A is a fine case. The only complaint I'd have with it is there's no top radiator support, AT ALL.
The case is preinstalled with 3 fans, so with the AIO mounted in the front, you can take those 3 stock fans and run them as rear and top exhaust.
 

eatchocolate

Reputable
Jan 6, 2016
4
1
4,515
The P400A is a fine case. The only complaint I'd have with it is there's no top radiator support, AT ALL.
The case is preinstalled with 3 fans, so with the AIO mounted in the front, you can take those 3 stock fans and run them as rear and top exhaust.

Oh I didn't realise you could put them elsewhere! Will do that then!

For the price, do you have one you would personally recommend? Max £100