Building a mATX/Itx build ryzen 3000 series

[Greenhadouken]

Hi all! I was looking to build a mATX gaming rig. I already have a rtx 2070 and 32 gb of g.skil trident z 3200ghz RAM. I plan on doing light to moderate OC, but that can come later. I'm looking to spend less than 700 over all the rest of rig. Just looking for suggestions, as this will be the first time building a gaming rig in this size.

 

[Zerileous]

If you want to do x570 there are a few ITX boards out now. None are necessarily budget. Are you looking for case, PSU, peripherals? How many slots does the cooler for your GPU require? Can you specify the model of 2070? How do you want cool it?

Here's a micro ATX build I chucked together. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4xkmWb It sits at $600 right now. There are a few things you could do with the remaining $100. You could get a better CPU cooler, move to an x570 motherboard, or get an 8 core CPU.

Here's an ITX version. You'll want to double check all the dimensions of PSU and GPU. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8TqQBZ

 

[Greenhadouken]

I have a EVGA xc ultra. The video card is 2.5 expansion slots.I pretty much need everything else except the RAM. I was thinking about the meshify mini, but I like the ARBG of MasterBox mb311l. I couldn't find out any of the thermals though. The 3600 should keep me pretty future prof?

 

[DaveB]

I have a EVGA xc ultra. The video card is 2.5 expansion slots.I pretty much need everything else except the RAM. I was thinking about the meshify mini, but I like the ARBG of MasterBox mb311l. I couldn't find out any of the thermals though. The 3600 should keep me pretty future prof?

Nothing is future proof, but I'd recommend at minimum an 8C/16T such as the 3700X/3800X. You'll be fine with that Cooler Master MasterBox or the Fractal Design Meshify both plenty of airflow especially with the perforated top panels. Very similar to my ATX Corsair Clear 400C where I mounted my 240mm AIO radiator.

 

[Greenhadouken]

Would a 2700x be a good choice if it's around the same price as the 3600?

 

[trents]

Be careful choosing a case and make sure you pick one that your video card length won't be an issue. This can be a challenge with smaller cases.

The 2700x will give you better multicore performance than the 3600 at stock clocks but will run hotter under load. Personally, I chose the 2700x over the 3600x for that reason. But if you want to overclock for the giggles then there is more head room with the 3600. But beware that because of thermal issues, ITX and mATX boards often don't overclock as well.

 

[Greenhadouken]

Ok. I might go for the 2700x then. My micro center has one for 179 right now. Plus I'm sure my wife will end up talking me into letting her run her bioinformatic experiments in this computer to, so having it be better at multitasking might not be such a bad idea.

 

[DaveB]

Would a 2700x be a good choice if it's around the same price as the 3600?

For gaming you want a Ryzen 3000 due to the improved IPC. I'd save on the motherboard, get a $100 B450M rather than a $200 X570 which have been problematic anyway. Make sure the B450 is out of the box Ryzen 3000 capable though: MSI B450M Max boards, for example, are all Ryzen 3000 ready.

 

[trents]

Ok. I might go for the 2700x then. My micro center has one for 179 right now. Plus I'm sure my wife will end up talking me into letting her run her bioinformatic experiments in this computer to, so having it be better at multitasking might not be such a bad idea.

Multitcore is not the same as multitasking but generally, the more cores you have the more capable the computer will be at multitasking, unless the IPC on the higher core count CPU is greatly less than on the other CPU.

 

[Zerileous]

Don't forget you can actually swing a 3700x with your budget. Also I could only find your case on ebay, but I marked it in the build. The PSU will only fit if the HDD cage is not installed in the rear most position (in other words you can't have HDD and a front rad with this case and PSU).

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8K2GHB

 

[Johan45]

I recently used this box and board in a build for my mother. I really liked working with the CM case use an M.2 drive and a backup 2 TB spinner that mounts behind the MB

$59.99 https://www.newegg.com/black-cooler...ro-atx/p/N82E16811119331?Item=N82E16811119331 CM mATX CASE
$79.99 https://www.newegg.com/msi-b450m-pro-vdh-max/p/N82E16813144265 MSI B450 mobo
$298.00 https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-7-3700x/p/N82E16819113567 R7 3700X
$65 after rebate https://www.newegg.com/evga-650-bq-110-bq-0650-v1-650w/p/N82E16817438084?&quicklink=true EVGA 650W PSU
$115.00 https://www.newegg.com/xpg-sx6000-lite-1tb/p/N82E16820246012 1 TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD

That still leaves $$ for fans if you want to add RGB, secondary storage, if 1 TB isn't enough or backup is wanted. The Prism cooler is decent but you may want to add a 2 x 120 AIO which will fit in the front. Many are sub $100 and come with RGB fans like this one https://www.newegg.com/cooler-master-masterliquid-ml240l-rgb-liquid-cooling-system/p/2YM-0004-00015

 

[Greenhadouken]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm assuming a small 120 aio wont be enough for a 3700x would it?

 

[Johan45]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm assuming a small 120 aio wont be enough for a 3700x would it?

I would go with the 2 x120 or just stay with the Prism cooler. The stock cooler works quite well just can get a bit noisy when under high load. Plus it helps keep the VRM cooler with some air movement. As far as Overclocking I would just set the PBO and leave it, you already have a 4.4 GHz boost

 

[Greenhadouken]

I see most everyone is suggesting a MSI board of some sort. Is the ASUS Tuff b450m gaming pro, or the ASrock b450m steel legend any good?

 

[Zerileous]

I would at least spend the extra $10 for the gaming pro. It's possible that they have the same Vcore VRM but at least the gaming pro has somewhat of a heatsink. The ASUS TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING is probably better than the MSI B450 Pro-M2. This is strictly based on vcore VRM according to this list here, and the data isn't the best for these budget boards: https://i.redd.it/7n48gewun0p21.png. Of course other features could sway your decision. Generally the MSI boards were considered to be way ahead in terms of vcore VRM for b450 chipsets.

 

[Greenhadouken]

Ok. Thanks for clearing that up about the motherboards. I've primarily built standard ATX builds with the better chipset, so I wasnt sure what to go by on the b450m boards.

 

[DaveB]

My MSI B450M motherboard has no issues running a 3900X.

 

[Zerileous]

good to know, and surprising.

 

[DaveB]

good to know, and surprising.

Yes, I had read bad reviews of the VRM setup on my MSI B450M Pro-VDH and was ready to replace it when the 3900X arrived. But it's been 100% stable running under PBO. Running the AIDA64 Extreme stress test, the cores all run at 4.325 to 4.375 GHz, when gaming cores 0 to 5 exceed 4.6 GHz while cores 6 to 11 run from 4.35 to 4.5 GHz. For a $40 open box from Microcenter, its worked out quite well especially given all the issues the pricey X570 motherboards seem to have.

 

[trents]

I was reading New Egg reviews on the MSI B50 Pro-VDH and one of the reviewers said, like you Dave, that he was running a 3900x on this board with no issues. He was quite emphatic about it. What is even more surprising is that there is no heat sink on the VRM section of this motherboard.