New build with ASUS ROG Strix B650-A

[EarthDog]

Yeah, I wouldn't shy away from asus either. Everyone has skeletons in the closet.

 

[infinitevalence]

Every brand and company will have people with poor experiences, and it seems like Asus has been actively working to address their shortfalls. That said, the recommendation has always been to go for products that have the largest install base over the more bespoke products. Reason is that issues and errata are addressed on mass market parts because of the number of tickets/support requests that come in.

Buying high end bespoke motherboards often have quirks that are never addressed because the install base is in the 100's-1000's world wide.

The same is true of GPUs, and PSU's but to a lesser extent because often they have a single generic base design and then each revision is just a variant off that base design.

 

[EarthDog]

Buying high end bespoke motherboards often have quirks that are never addressed because the install base is in the 100's-1000's world wide.

Generally this is true. However there are plenty of exceptions from the high-end (that gets the bugs worked out) and budget boards (that don't). I don't buy it as a blanket statement.

That said, knowing that doesn't dissuade me from buying high-end or budget-class boards. It is what it is. The chances of running into something that can't be fixed on one board but can on another with updates are slim.

 

[infinitevalence]

Generally this is true. However there are plenty of exceptions from the high-end (that gets the bugs worked out) and budget boards (that don't). I don't buy it as a blanket statement.

That said, knowing that doesn't dissuade me from buying high-end or budget-class boards. It is what it is. The chances of running into something that can't be fixed on one board but can on another with updates are slim.

Im not saying budget boards are better, im saying middle market mass volume tends to be the sweet spot, but yes agree its not a blanket statement just a guideline.

 

[EarthDog]

I'm not either... that's the other end of the spectrum is all.

While generally that's correct, it wouldn't scare me away from any board... sweet spot, $$$$ or $ or not...is all I'm trying to say. It's really a crapshoot as to what board has the longest 'support' in the BIOS respet. Some people worry about too many things regarding picking and choosing (name part here). BIOS support (how they fix non-physical errata) has never been a consideration in my world.

 

[dja2k]

Thanks for baring with me and all the info and responses.

Crazy idea.... PC black inside instead of white. What if i change from the Asus Strix B650 board to the Asus Tuf B650. I am not gonna overclock, just maybe use PBO limits to undervolt. That way I can get the Asus Tuf 4070 Super and still be on budget.

 

[EarthDog]

Strix to TUF is a downgrade, but it will handle what you want to throw at it. So long as the TUF has the features you need, it's a good choice, especially if you upgrade your GPU and game/utilize it.

 

[dja2k]

Oh yes I definitely know Strix is better than Tuf. But now my vision is an all black PC theme inside.

I hate noisy PC's so and if the Asus 4070 Dual is crappy, I don't wanna hear those fans ramp up. I now saw that the Tuf 4070 Super is superior to those small cards.

The Tuf MB with the Tuf GPU would pair well from what I see and for what I will need. And it fits my budget for now.

 

[infinitevalence]

Counter idea, get the color parts that really need to be color and then do CableMod (or wrap your own) and vinyl/stickers on parts that dont match the color theme?

I prefer to buy the best performance and quality parts, regardless of how they look, and I tend not to buy anything with RGB because it wont make it go faster. But since you are clearly looking for an ascetic you might as well prioritize that where it counts like the mobo/ram/possibly GPU.

 

[dja2k]

I wish I had a unlimited budget to get the best board, a 4090, and 128GB of memeory, but that ain't happening.

From what I know the Tuf board is just a stripped down Strix without all the bells and whistles. The Tuf gaming card has good reviews and is in the A tier in cooling charts. The G.Skill and/or Kingston memory recommendation came from here.

 

[infinitevalence]

Amazon.com : vinyl wrap

Stuff like this can be used to wrap things like a PSU or inside of a case and you can trim it with just a box knife, razor, or exacto knife. You could even apply a vinyl wrap to the plastic shroud of a GPU.

 

[dja2k]

OK went with you'll various suggestions and met my color theme, PSU is gonna be hidden and the black cables won't disturb much. I went over my budget by a little, but I'll work it out.

ASUS STRIX B650-A (White)
AMD RYZEN 7900X
THERMALRIGHT PA 120 (White)
KINGSTON 6000 C30 2x32GB (White)
GIGABYTE 4070 Super AERO OC (White)
SAMSUNG 990 PRO 4TB NVME
FSP HYDRO G PRO 850 WATT (Black)
MONTECH AIR 903 MAX CASE (White)

 

[Nebulous]

Looks great. Can't wait to see the finished build.
Lots o pics are required!

 

[dja2k]

Still trying to save a buck before ordering. I had some discounts from Samsung and got the 990 PRO 4TB for $260 total. I hope ordering direct from them means the drive firmware is up-to-date.

 

[infinitevalence]

That sounds like a great build make sure to post pictures.

 

[dja2k]

So final piece, the GPU. I am still debating $680 for the 4070 Super or just get 7900 GRE for $550.

*12GB vs 16GB (A little more future proof)
*Nvidia better for Adobe Stuff
*AMD slightly or equal on Gaming

 

[dja2k]

Here is the empty case with fans installed so far...

 

[Woomack]

So final piece, the GPU. I am still debating $680 for the 4070 Super or just get 7900 GRE for $550.

*12GB vs 16GB (A little more future proof)
*Nvidia better for Adobe Stuff
*AMD slightly or equal on Gaming

I can only tell you I sold 7900GRE and bought RTX4070 Super, and I'm happy I did that. As long as the 7900GRE performance isn't bad for the price, it's large, hot, noisy, and uses over 120W more. It's also much slower than the RTX4070 Super when you enable RT. Regarding memory, Nvidia has better compression, so it doesn't matter much. At the given performance, you still can't run the most demanding games at 4K and max details to use more than ~12GB. Some games show false VRAM usage, reserving additional memory, but it's not helping in performance. In reality, both options are as good for VRAM requirements. You can find some comparisons in some reviews like on TPU. I'm not a fan of their reviews, but at least W1zzard does it well, and his reviews are typically detailed.

 

[dja2k]

Yeah everywhere I read, they tend to say Nvidia is better for most gaming titles and also #1 choice for using Adobe Suite due to the CUDA Cores. Also read about the higher wattage as well.

I had to cut some corners to save money. Got the Corsair RM750x Shift instead that went on sale recently . Also had to get some budget Thermalright 140mm fans that i already tested and the full mesh help give good air flow. Of course I'm gonna play with Fan Curves

I suppose for now that will have to do with my budget. Thanks for bearing with me

 

[EarthDog]

You can also wait a couple of months for a new gpu as new ones will be out towards the end of 2024/beginning of 2025. Worst case it makes 4000/7000 series cheaper new or used.

... if you can wait.

You dont seem to keep rigs forever, so I'd also not worry about vram unless you're playing at 4k. If so, you may want to jump up a class of cards anyway. But for 2560x1440 or less, 12gb is fine for the next couple of years.