Ryzen Build-- CPU,MOBO,RAM, Heat Exchanger

Hey all,

I have been lurking around here for a few years and it seems that I post so infrequently that I forget my login information --_--. However, you guys have always been top notch. I have been out of the PC building game for a few years so I figured I would run by this concept build by you guys.

So, I already have a nice running rig with one of the ASUS 1080's, a big fat coolermaster case, a 1.3 KW modular psu and all the fixings. However, I am currently running an AMD 8150 and 4.1 Ghz and I figured now is the time to upgrade. I do gaming at 4k in addition to the occasional monte carlo and other assorted engineering simulations so the thread count with the ryzen should definitely help me out.

So, my old thermaltake frio is not AM4 compatible and nor does it look like an upgrade kit is available so I figured I would go with this guy for my heatsink.

Heat Sink https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9PV3Y62117 89.95 Noctua NH-D15*

This motherboard seemed to have good reviews and overclocking results so I picked this guy out.

MOBO https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157756 249.99 ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming AM4

For the particular CPU I am leaning towards the AMD 1700 since it seems that with a little bit of luck they can overclock pretty darn close to the same level of 1800X.

CPU https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113428 319.99 AMD RYZEN 7 1700


Now here is the part I am not so sure about. I know that I do want 32GB of ram for some of the engineering work that I do. And I know that most CPUs perform and clock best with 2 sticks. Therefore I know that I want 2 sticks at 16GB each. However, the exact flavor and designed memory speed is a little uncertain to me.

Here is what I have picked out, and I am a bit disturbed since it is actually more expensive than the CPU itself... However, I am not sure if I would really do as well with slower memory or not......


RAM https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232379 321.99 G.SKILL TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C14D-32GTZSW

Does anyone have food for thought?

Thanks!

I would stick to the qualified vendors list for memory, AMD has a lot of trouble with compatible memory. Link: http://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming/index.asp#Memory

G.SKILL QVL Link: http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-2400c15d-32gfx

Ryzen is currently running into issues with high capacity & high speed kits. So make sure to do additional research into this before buying. Here is what our resident memory guru Mr. Woomack says about the subject.

Woomack said:

The only issue is that memory controller in Ryzen can't handle higher frequencies when memory capacity is higher or when memory has more ranks than 1. AMD said that clear but users don't read specification and later wonder why their 64GB 3200 kit can't pass 2133.

Single rank 2 modules will make ~3200 ( at auto probably something like 2400-2666 )
Single rank 4 modules will make ~2666 ( at auto probably something like 1866-2133 )
Dual rank 2 modules will make ~2666 ( at auto probably something like 1866 )
Dual rank 4 modules will make ~2133 ( at auto probably something like 1866 )

In my tests on ASUS X370-Pro max was like:
2x8GB single rank = 3200
4x8GB single rank = 2666
2x16GB dual rank = 2666

Click to expand...

There are plenty of Ryzen threads in the AMD CPU section to browse through for additional material. The 1700 is a great choice for your build needs. The Fatal1ty is probably quite a bit of overkill for your needs but a generally considered a quality board. The NH-D15 will certainly allow for maximum XFR usage

Best of luck. Feel free to post up some pics once you get 'er all put together.

Memory is starting to come around, I have seen a poster with a CHVI and that kit of memory running it at rated speed but it took a lot of tweaking to get it there. Apparently May is the big DDR4 AGESA update so things "should" improve a lot at that point.

I wonder why they are improving AGESA so often after release. Couldn't they prepare it for premiere ? I mean we've seen 3 updates in 2 months and next are in plans. If they made it right then they wouldn't lose part of potential clients just after premiere.

Woomack said:

I wonder why they are improving AGESA so often after release. Couldn't they prepare it for premiere ? I mean we've seen 3 updates in 2 months and next are in plans. If they made it right then they wouldn't lose part of potential clients just after premiere.

Click to expand...

Which would have been worse, a working CPU with limited memory or delay the launch 6 months? I think the pressure got to them and didn't want to lose "confidence" with added delays. We have seen AMD with many delays before.

Johan45 said:

Memory is starting to come around, I have seen a poster with a CHVI and that kit of memory running it at rated speed but it took a lot of tweaking to get it there. Apparently May is the big DDR4 AGESA update so things "should" improve a lot at that point.

Click to expand...

Thanks that is good news... I wish some of the 16GB qualified memory chips linked by wingman where faster than 2400.

wingman99 said:

I would stick to the qualified vendors list for memory, AMD has a lot of trouble with compatible memory. Link: http://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming/index.asp#Memory

G.SKILL QVL Link: http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-2400c15d-32gfx

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I will stick to the qualified vendor list for now... Shame some of the 16GB modules are not as fast...

I think this is the guy you were referencing right?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232520

Blaylock said:

Ryzen is currently running into issues with high capacity & high speed kits. So make sure to do additional research into this before buying. Here is what our resident memory guru Mr. Woomack says about the subject.



There are plenty of Ryzen threads in the AMD CPU section to browse through for additional material. The 1700 is a great choice for your build needs. The Fatal1ty is probably quite a bit of overkill for your needs but a generally considered a quality board. The NH-D15 will certainly allow for maximum XFR usage

Best of luck. Feel free to post up some pics once you get 'er all put together.

Click to expand...

Thanks that was very informative. Shame that their were really not any of the single sided memory chips in the 16GB range that were also rated fast. I wonder how far I will be able to push the DDR 2400..... I am a big fan of quality motherboards. I am hoping that I will be able to use this mobo as a platform for whatever comes next from ryzen in the coming years. I will need to do some reading about overclocking these ryzen cores... Seems things have changed a bit from back when the general OC strategy was to remove all boosting and try and maintain a constant high OC.

It looks like this would be a lot easier if I only needed 16GB of total ram.

slangfo1 said:

Thanks for the advice, I will stick to the qualified vendor list for now... Shame some of the 16GB modules are not as fast...

I think this is the guy you were referencing right?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232520

Click to expand...

That is the one. When running 32GB from what I have seen the speed is limited with Ryzen. At the G.SKILL website you can also look at the qualified vendors list. Link: http://www.gskill.com/en/finder?cat=31&series=2954

You could purchase 32GB of the 3200 speed Flare X Series and hope for the best in the future.

AMD's AGESA 1.0.0.4 microcode update.

Is out according to this link

Article is titled: Does AMD's AGESA Update 1.0.0.4 deliver what was promised?

The BIG memory update is supposed to come in May from what I gather.

wingman99 said:

That is the one. When running 32GB from what I have seen the speed is limited with Ryzen. At the G.SKILL website you can also look at the qualified vendors list. Link: http://www.gskill.com/en/finder?cat=31&series=2954

You could purchase 32GB of the 3200 speed Flare X Series and hope for the best in the future.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I was tempted to get that guy, but I felt more comfortable sticking to what is qualified to work at the moment.

Supposedly the order will be in tomorrow. Cant wait to get it all put together.

dudleycpa said:

AMD's AGESA 1.0.0.4 microcode update.

Is out according to this link

The article is titled: Does AMD's AGESA Update 1.0.0.4 deliver what was promised?

Click to expand...

Already incorporated in the $30 ASRock mATX B350 board I'm playing with:

2.00 3/30/2017 BIOS How to Update 5.96MB
1.Update AGESA to 1.0.0.4a
2.Support DDR4 Voltage control in Ryzen Master.
3.Precision Boost - Adjusts clock speeds in 25MHz increments in BIOS setup.

slangfo1 said:

Thanks, I was tempted to get that guy, but I felt more comfortable sticking to what is qualified to work at the moment.

Supposedly the order will be in tomorrow. Cant wait to get it all put together.

Click to expand...

What memory did you purchase?

wingman99 said:

What memory did you purchase?

Click to expand...

I ended up going with this guy.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16820232520


Was a good bit cheaper than the first guy I was looking at and was on the qualified vendor list. Hopefully I will not be missing out on too much speed in the future by getting this kit.

slangfo1 said:

I ended up going with this guy.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16820232520


Was a good bit cheaper than the first guy I was looking at and was on the qualified vendor list. Hopefully I will not be missing out on too much speed in the future by getting this kit.

Click to expand...

The link you posted is not working.

wingman99 said:

The link you posted is not working.

Click to expand...

Hey, sorry I have been trouble replying to this forum.. For some reason I have to click through my registration link in order to be able to actually write stuff in the response boxes on this forum....

Anyways, without further ado



Out the with old!


Some new hardware!


The pesky pesky memory I finally chose ( Thanks guys!)


Pretty motherboard


Almost completely installed and still kinda ugly. I did not get a picture of it after I cleaned it up a bit....

However, you might notice that I am using the stock cooler. I was a bit clumsy and bought the wrong variant of the Noctua NH-D15 and I will either need to get an upgrade kit for it or return it. Fortunately, my case has a removable back panel so I should be able to install the improved heatsink later without too much trouble. Plus, it should make for a fun before and after comparison.

Currently I plan on overclocking my cpu with the stock heatsink and recording temperatures.. Then, once I get unlazy enough I will install the Noctua NH-D15 with the upgrade kit and record how much it lowers the temperatures before trying to push for some more headroom. Should make for a fun experiment.


However, first lets have some stock numbers.

According to HWMonitor my idle CPU temp is 31C and the package temp is 30C with the stock cooler.

After a few minutes of prime95 torture testing the CPU package temp leveled off at 64C and the "CPU" temp leveled off near 55C.

I have read that these guys should be good for around 85C so with the stock cooler we still have some headroom for now....

Based on a lot of the experiences posted at OCF it seems like the Ryzen chips run out of MHz before they run out of temp headroom.

The Rig looks nice. I can't wait to see what you get for overclocking on the stock cooler.

slangfo1 said:

Hey, sorry I have been trouble replying to this forum.. For some reason I have to click through my registration link in order to be able to actually write stuff in the response boxes on this forum....

Anyways, without further ado

Spoiler

Out the with old!


Some new hardware!


The pesky pesky memory I finally chose ( Thanks guys!)


Pretty motherboard

Almost completely installed and still kinda ugly. I did not get a picture of it after I cleaned it up a bit....

However, you might notice that I am using the stock cooler. I was a bit clumsy and bought the wrong variant of the Noctua NH-D15 and I will either need to get an upgrade kit for it or return it. Fortunately, my case has a removable back panel so I should be able to install the improved heatsink later without too much trouble. Plus, it should make for a fun before and after comparison.

Currently I plan on overclocking my cpu with the stock heatsink and recording temperatures.. Then, once I get unlazy enough I will install the Noctua NH-D15 with the upgrade kit and record how much it lowers the temperatures before trying to push for some more headroom. Should make for a fun experiment.


However, first lets have some stock numbers.

According to HWMonitor my idle CPU temp is 31C and the package temp is 30C with the stock cooler.

After a few minutes of prime95 torture testing the CPU package temp leveled off at 64C and the "CPU" temp leveled off near 55C.

I have read that these guys should be good for around 85C so with the stock cooler we still have some headroom for now....

Click to expand...

The updated brackets for the NH-D15 should use the stock backplate for the mobo. Whne you have it just remove one hold down and replace with the noctua bracket before removing the other should be pretty easy.

Hey all, just a minor update on the over clocking using the stock fan and heatsink. At first I was feeling a little brave so I did 1.3V and 3.6GHZ. After running HW monitor with prime95 in heat mode I decided that was not such a good idea after the CPU temp pretty quickly went past 85C.

The next set of settings I tried was 1.2V at 3.6GHZ. I was greeted with a stable run with peak temperature at 82C.

Feeling a bit greedy I tried for 3.8 GHZ at 1.2V. I was greeted with a crash pretty quickly after I started prime 95. No idea what the CPU temp was.

I backed off a bit and went for 3.7 GHZ at 1.2V and I ended up stable with a peak CPU temp of 83C.

81
I did a quick benchmark, CIV6 turn time test, ( I have my reasons.....) got me an average turn time of 18.81 seconds. At stock it was taking 20.52 seconds. Thus, increasing the clock speed by 23% yielded an 8.3% decrease in my CIV6 turn time.

I have not touched my memory yet... Lets try that next.