PC Building Guide and Discussion #14

[PeteWorrell]

The first true 4K GPU.

 

[Osprey]

I came to post the same video. You beat me by 7 minutes, PeteWorrell.

 

[Commander Clueless]

The 4090 is absolutely insane.

If you're a gamer, that's overkill unless you were really jonesin' for that true 4K 120Hz experience. If you're a creator though....totally get it.

Really curious to see what Team Red can do to answer the bell with RDNA3.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Doing everything in my power to restrain myself lol

 

[Osprey]

Nvidia has "unlaunched" the 12GB version of the "4080":

Unlaunching The 12GB 4080

16GB GeForce RTX 4080 on track to delight gamers everywhere November 16th.

www.nvidia.com

Watch them re-launch it as the "4070" with the same $900 price tag, though.

 

[PeteWorrell]

EVGA must be pointing at this news as to explain once again why they parted ways with Nvidia. Just terrible.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Nvidia has "unlaunched" the 12GB version of the "4080":

Unlaunching The 12GB 4080

16GB GeForce RTX 4080 on track to delight gamers everywhere November 16th.

www.nvidia.com

Watch them re-launch it as the "4070" with the same $900 price tag, though.

Probably.

Then we can be mad at the pricing rather than the naming.


Maybe 4070 Ti

 

[Osprey]

EVGA must be pointing at this news as to explain once again why they parted ways with Nvidia. Just terrible.

It's even worse because the 4080 12GB was the only one that the AIB partners had to themselves, with no Founder's Edition to compete with. They were preparing to launch them next month and likely have warehouses full of them already, but now can't sell them because of this decision by Nvidia. They may have to wait until Nvidia announces the 4070 and all of that stock can be updated (the packaging and the cards, themselves) with the new name, and, then, they may even have to sell them for less than they planned.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Hey man, thanks for the advice. As someone who is looking to build his first PC what are peoples cooling recommendations? Watercooling scares/intimidates me, but it sounds like the best option. Any recommendations on that front?

Did you still need help with this? Water cooling doesn’t have to be complicated. You can buy pre-made closed loop systems that are excellent. You can also buy expensive but mediocre ones that are flat out worse than a good air cooler. You can spend $200+ and get the same shitty Asetek pump that’s in a cooler half the price because it’s a marketed brand name.

My wife and I have high-end gaming rigs and I have multiple expensive workstations with a mix of custom water blocks/tubing and high quality CLCs. I have zero hesitation using the good CLCs in rigs with thousands of dollars of hardware. Same goes for good air coolers. It all depends on your use case.

*Edit* I saw your audiophile comment. Water cooling are headphones with planar dynamic drivers and air coolers are dynamics. Nothing wrong with either. The price floor for the former is higher. The latter is old faithful. Some of both are great and some are shit.

 

[93LEAFS]

Did you still need help with this? Water cooling doesn’t have to be complicated. You can buy pre-made closed loop systems that are excellent. You can also buy expensive but mediocre ones that are flat out worse than a good air cooler. You can spend $200+ and get the same shitty Asetek pump that’s in a cooler half the price because it’s a marketed brand name.

My wife and I have high-end gaming rigs and I have multiple expensive workstations with a mix of custom water blocks/tubing and high quality CLCs. I have zero hesitation using the good CLCs in rigs with thousands of dollars of hardware. Same goes for good air coolers. It all depends on your use case.

*Edit* I saw your audiophile comment. Water cooling are headphones with planar dynamic drivers and air coolers are dynamics. Nothing wrong with either. The price floor for the former is higher. The latter is old faithful. Some of both are great and some are shit.

Yeah, I should have been more clear. I'm going AIO, no chance I'm touching custom water cooling. I'm likely going Corsair ICUE on my first build ever. Just seems the simplest option with my plan of going with the 4000D case, and going with an i5-13600k and a 3080ti even if I'm paying a premium for it. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew this go around.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Yeah, I should have been more clear. I'm going AIO, no chance I'm touching custom water cooling. I'm likely going Corsair ICUE on my first build ever. Just seems the simplest option with my plan of going with the 4000D case, and going with an i5-13600k and a 3080ti even if I'm paying a premium for it. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew this go around.

If you're going for simplicity I would recommend just getting an NH-D15 and calling it a day. The real world difference between water cooling and a good air cooler is negligible unless you're an overclocker trying to get every bit of performance out of your CPU.

 

[mouser]

AIOs are so reliable, easy to install, and reasonably priced (imo) I just automatically do them on any new build, even if I could get by with air cooling.

Though I do tend to use cases with glass sides, so the aesthetics angle factors in.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

AIOs are so reliable, easy to install, and reasonably priced (imo) I just automatically do them on any new build, even if I could get by with air cooling.

Though I do tend to use cases with glass sides, so the aesthetics angle factors in.

I love my EK 280 Elite. Fantastic AIO.

 

[mouser]

Corsair iCue AIO in my Lian Li Lancool II Mesh case

 

[Seedtype]

Hey guys. I'm looking to building a new computer soon, as my current setup with VR in sim-racing is at it's limit and really struggling(I race in iRacing, which is CPU-bound game). I'm okay though, my computer has served me well these 7 years and I recognize it's time.

I was kinda waiting and seeing what was happening with the new CPU generation... but I've decided it's not really necessary for my gaming needs, especially all these power-consumption stuff and all the buggyness that will need to be worked out in software.

My budget is $2000ish, but I'm not really worried about every part choice, I'm just looking at the core of the computer right now.

-CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

(I hear a lot of good things when it comes to this CPU, especially since I'm not really into overclocking and I'm not looking into productivity)

-Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero
(okay, the only thing I'm really looking for here is a lot of USB ports to handle all my sim equipment, I'm not really concerned about anything else, but tell me if this is overkill since I'm not looking to overclock...)

-GPU: I'm thinking of a Nvidia 3070 TI. But I could use some advice here. My primary monitor is a 1440p ultra-widescreen. Considering I'm already pretty happy on my 1660 Super I think I'll be okay, right? (Edit: Also I'm running this monitor until it dies, I have no inclination for 4K anytime soon)

As for my VR, I just need it to be at it's max FPS while racing. Currently I do have the resolution at like 46% of what the headset can do... but as long as I can crank it up to say... 75% at max FPS I'll be happy for the foreseeable future. (My headset is HP Reverb G2)


Really is there anything real strange about these choices? Am I just being nostalgic because '3D' is in the CPU name? Is the 3070 TI not good enough?

 

[Osprey]

The 5800X3D is what I would've recommended.

The 3070 Ti should be fine for 1440p, but I don't know how much more taxing ultra widescreen is. If you're going to be doing mainly racing and don't care about ray tracing (which Nvidia cards are better at), you might appreciate the extra raw performance of the AMD cards, like the 6800 XT.

 

[Seedtype]

The 5800X3D is what I would've recommended.

The 3070 Ti should be fine for 1440p, but I don't know how much more taxing ultra widescreen is. If you're going to be doing mainly racing and don't care about ray tracing (which Nvidia cards are better at), you might appreciate the extra raw performance of the AMD cards, like the 6800 XT.

For now I was intending to go Nvidia because awhile back there was issues with AMD cards and VR.
But I'll admit that was awhile ago. But a quick glance in the iRacing forums is that Nvidia is still king overall(though it sounds like the 4090 is having issues, heh)

As for other gaming I'm usually don't buy new games right away. The only new games I might consider buying right away in the near future is... Persona 5(a PS4 game) and Street Fighter 6(a game that will be on PS4 also).

But I appreciate the suggestion, I don't like Nvidia's attitude lately and I hope AMD will knock them down a peg. I'll look at what AMD is offering.

 

[mouser]

Hey guys. I'm looking to building a new computer soon, as my current setup with VR in sim-racing is at it's limit and really struggling(I race in iRacing, which is CPU-bound game). I'm okay though, my computer has served me well these 7 years and I recognize it's time.

I was kinda waiting and seeing what was happening with the new CPU generation... but I've decided it's not really necessary for my gaming needs, especially all these power-consumption stuff and all the buggyness that will need to be worked out in software.

My budget is $2000ish, but I'm not really worried about every part choice, I'm just looking at the core of the computer right now.

-CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

(I hear a lot of good things when it comes to this CPU, especially since I'm not really into overclocking and I'm not looking into productivity)

-Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero
(okay, the only thing I'm really looking for here is a lot of USB ports to handle all my sim equipment, I'm not really concerned about anything else, but tell me if this is overkill since I'm not looking to overclock...)

-GPU: I'm thinking of a Nvidia 3070 TI. But I could use some advice here. My primary monitor is a 1440p ultra-widescreen. Considering I'm already pretty happy on my 1660 Super I think I'll be okay, right? (Edit: Also I'm running this monitor until it dies, I have no inclination for 4K anytime soon)

As for my VR, I just need it to be at it's max FPS while racing. Currently I do have the resolution at like 46% of what the headset can do... but as long as I can crank it up to say... 75% at max FPS I'll be happy for the foreseeable future. (My headset is HP Reverb G2)


Really is there anything real strange about these choices? Am I just being nostalgic because '3D' is in the CPU name? Is the 3070 TI not good enough?

CPU is solid value for a primarily gaming rig.

The motherboard is probably overkill. I suspect you’ll be perfectly fine with a B550 chipset instead of the X570 on the Crosshair. I went through the same process 18 months ago of deciding between a X570 and B550. Ended up with a B550.

The biggest difference is the X570 has more PCIe 4.0 lanes, but doesn’t sound like you need that from your description? While It’s natural to think X570 might be a better “future proof“ investment over B550 the motherboard doesn’t support the next gen AMD chips so it’s gonna be obsolete whenever you do your next upgrade. Also a smaller concern that the X570’s frequently have active cooling fans on the chipset, while the B550’s don’t—one more possible thing to break down on the X570 motherboards.

I’d save the $150-$200 and find a B550 motherboard that best fits your needs for USB ports.

 

[Osprey]

Yeah, I chose B550 largely because I don't want a chipset cooling fan. I have too many bad memories of those eventually making noise and needing kicks to the case to make it stop.

A downside of B550 is that one of the m.2 slots is only PCIe Gen 3. 3,000MB/s is still very fast, but you won't get the most out of a Gen 4 drive if it's installed in that slot. Also, if you use that 2nd slot, 2 of your 6 SATA ports become disabled, but you'd kind of need more than 6 hard drives installed to run into that issue.

Instead of paying $200 more just for a few extra USB ports, you could spend just $30 more and simply get a USB add-in card. I got one for my system.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Something crazy, the new B650 ITX board by ASRock has a fan on it... like... why...

 

[mouser]

Yeah, I chose B550 largely because I don't want a chipset cooling fan. I have too many bad memories of those eventually making noise and needing me to kick the case to make it stop.

A downside of B550 is that one of the m.2 slots is only PCIe Gen 3. 3,000MB/s is still very fast, but you won't get the most out of a Gen 4 drive if it's installed in that slot. Also, if you use that 2nd slot, 2 of your 6 SATA ports become disabled, but you'd kind of need more than 6 hard drives installed to run into that issue.

Instead of paying $200 more for just a few extra USB slots, you could spend just $30 more and get a USB add-in card. I have one in my system, since I didn't want to be limited by what's available on the motherboard.

Yeah, I have two M.2 drives installed, OS drive on 4.0 and a game drive on 3.0.

I don't think having 4.0 hard drives over 3.0 will make a noticeable difference for typical PC usage or gaming. To really see a difference in performance with the 4.0 drives you need to be doing large sequential reads such as video editing/conversion to take advantage of the higher bandwidth. Random access usage patterns like you'd get on the OS or when gaming is going to see a minimal performance bump from 3.0 to 4.0.

 

[Osprey]

Yeah, I have two M.2 drives installed, OS drive on 4.0 and a game drive on 3.0.

I don't think having 4.0 hard drives over 3.0 will make a noticeable difference for typical PC usage or gaming. To really see a difference in performance with the 4.0 drives you need to be doing large sequential reads such as video editing/conversion to take advantage of the higher bandwidth. Random access usage patterns like you'd get on the OS or when gaming is going to see a minimal performance bump from 3.0 to 4.0.

Yeah, there's almost no difference in game loading times between 3.0 and 4.0. That might change once games utilize DirectStorage, but it might not. I just mentioned it so that he's aware of the differences between the chipsets and can decide if they matter to him. If he happens to have two 4.0 drives or plans to add a second, he might want to know that before buying a B550 motherboard, regardless of whether it really makes a difference.

 

[Seedtype]

Thanks for the discussion on motherboard selection guys... something was nagging me at the back of my mind but I'll admit I hadn't really paid attention to the different chipsets of the AM4 socket. I know motherboards are important, but my eyes kinda glazed over at all the selections and features.

I'll go ahead and do some better looking at the other motherboards. Thanks guys.

 

[mouser]

Thanks for the discussion on motherboard selection guys... something was nagging me at the back of my mind but I'll admit I hadn't really paid attention to the different chipsets of the AM4 socket. I know motherboards are important, but my eyes kinda glazed over at all the selections and features.

I'll go ahead and do some better looking at the other motherboards. Thanks guys.

This is the B550 motherboard I eventually picked, same manufacturer as the Crosshair, ASUS.

ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) | Motherboards | ROG United States

rog.asus.com

Looks like there’s a mark II version of that motherboard out now. The ASUS ROG Strix B550 line of motherboards have a lot of good options.

Mark II version:

ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING WIFI II | Motherboards | ROG United States

ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING WIFI II AMD Ryzen AM4 ATX motherboard (PCIe® 4.0, 14 power stages, WiFi 6E, Intel® 2.5 Gb Ethernet, dual M.2, ASUS OptiMem II, Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation, USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Aura Sync)

rog.asus.com

Amusingly i keep the motherboard WiFi turned off now, but it was very helpful when I was first building the PC in a location a good distance from my wired Ethernet ports. They have non WiFi versions but only saves a few $’s. Having the flexibility was nice.

 

[Osprey]

I have the ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi, as well. It's a pretty good balance between features and price and has a lot of USB ports.

It looks like the II version upgrades the Bluetooth from 5.1 to 5.2 and WiFi 6 to WiFi 6E, which are nice improvements. There doesn't appear to be a II version of the non-WiFi model, which makes sense.

I keep the WiFi turned off, as well, but I like having it as a backup and do use the Bluetooth. I'd recommend the "WiFi" version of the board if only to have Bluetooth built in and not have to use up a USB port with an adapter.