Upcoming Ryzen BuildH

[LordDarthGreen]

Hello!

I just joined Overclockers because I am looking for some advice. I plan to build a new computer this summer using the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor. For the past two months I have been reviewing the feedback others have posted online about their experiences using Ryzen processors and associated hardware. With respect to overclocking this processor (which I have not attempted before) there seems to be some concern about the type of cooling needed. I plan to use air cooling for two reasons:

1. Personal physical limitations ( I am a recovering stroke victim)
2. I am somewhat fearful of leaks using liquid cooling.

I intend to use a Noctua heatsink instead of the included Wraith Spire.

Aside from using case fans, are there any other factors I should take into consideration regarding this matter?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!!!

 

[Woomack]

I've tested all Noctua coolers on Ryzen and all will let you overclock CPU but if you care about silence then better invest some more and get higher model. It looks like this ( based on my 1700X ):
- NH-D15 SE-AM4 - the best air cooler on the market, silent, well designed, no problems with memory compatibilty etc but is huge and expensive ( still worth it if you wish to keep this pc for couple of years ), my 1700X could OC up to 4.05GHz stable ( not the best chip ) and was really quiet after OC
- NH-U12S SE-AM4 - smaller but still one of the best options for Ryzen, quiet work even after OC but can hear it under full load, 1700X could OC up to 3.95GHz stable
- NH-L9x65 SE-AM4 - compact cooler which is still offering good cooling performance, without issues can keep any ryzen stable at 3.8-3.9GHz but because of small fan it will make some noise under full load ( still not really loud but can hear it ), under medium or low load ( mixed tests like PCMark8 ) can barely hear it

Ryzen is not heating up much. Actually I'm trying to figure out how to make ITX Ryzen build using small coolers or AIO.

 

[LordDarthGreen]

Hello Woomack!

Thank you for your feedback. I will give the NH-D15 SE-AM4 air cooler serious consideration. Over on pcpartspicker.com, I have my parts list saved under the project name: Death Star ( same user name as here... I'm a total Star Wars fan). Feel free to review what I have listed and make any other comments/suggestions that you think might help.

Thank you again!

 

[Johan45]

How about a link?

 

[LordDarthGreen]

Oh yes, sorry.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/LordDarthGreen/saved/

 

[Johan45]

A quick look and I have to ask if you think you'll need 32GB of ram. Ryzen struggles with that much ram at present on top of that I think what you have picked could be Hynix based which is a double kick. The the GFX cards, you'd be better off with one GTX 1080 than 2x480s for about the same cost.

 

[LordDarthGreen]

Thank you for your feedback, Johan45!

I had not heard of Ryzen struggling with high levels of RAM. I am aware of some issues with the RAM speed not being fully utilized in a lot of cases. I will definitely research the RAM further.

With respect to the graphics card, I do like the idea of going with a 1080. I am curious to know how the forthcoming Vega cards will perform.

 

[||Console||]

I would wait for vega it is rumoured to be at least as good as a 1070 might be better. No one really knows but it should only help prices. Then pick the best card for your budget.

 

[Johan45]

Thank you for your feedback, Johan45!

I had not heard of Ryzen struggling with high levels of RAM. I am aware of some issues with the RAM speed not being fully utilized in a lot of cases. I will definitely research the RAM further.

With respect to the graphics card, I do like the idea of going with a 1080. I am curious to know how the forthcoming Vega cards will perform.

At present with a higher amount of ram or ram that's not quite compatible you'll likely be stuck around 2666. There's an update coming in May which hopefully fixes that. I was asking also because 32GB is a lot of ram and totally unnecessary unless you have a specific software that will take advantage of it. If it were me I'd get 2x8 GB of G.Skills TridentZ 3200 CL14. Least likely to have any issues that way. Take the extra $$ and save it for GFX card

 

[Suppressor1137]

For sure.

I'd wait to see what Vega offers, and then get a 1080 ti or vega(Whichever is better/more affordable) over two rx480s in x-fire(a single gpu is much more compatible with games) and drop the ram down to 16 gigs. If gaming is the primary purpose of the machine, 16 is almost never used, and 32+ is a waste unless you use the excess as a Ramdisk.

That said, if you do any sort of video editing/rendering or use adobe photoshop, more ram is a big help.

Also, I'd recommend a Samsung SSD over WD these days. A 960 Pro is a fantastic piece of hardware, but even a 850 evo is lightning fast and ultra reliable. Again, if gaming is the primary purpose, I'd also recommend cutting down to 500 gigs or 512 gigs. Realistically, Do you honestly play more than 10 games at a time? If so, stick with a 1tb ssd. If not, downgrade to a 512 gig.


With the savings on the SSD, RAM, and Crossfire RX 480s(at $262 a piece($524[video cards] + $145[Ram kit] + $24[Samsung 960 pro 500 gig] = $693 budget for gtx 1080 ti.))

As for the stroke part, I feel for you. I had one when I was 18 months old, so I can't say I understand, but I can relate.

My left hand is fairly limited in what it is capable of doing in regards to dexterity and overall strength.

Noctua is Great, and is a somewhat go-to for most people, but let me direct you to the easiest to install heatsink of the same class(performs within 1-3 c of the noctua, beats it in some cases. They are neck and neck)

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...8938&cm_re=cryorig-_-13C-000U-00002-_-Product

Extremely easy to install this heatsink, and imo, looks far better than noctua

If you go with this heatsink, just contact them to get the am4 socket mounting kit, if for some reason its one of their old stock without it.

You may have some issues with ram clearance with the standard fan, they sell a universal kit to ensure 100% ram compatibility

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...8919&cm_re=cryorig-_-13C-000U-00001-_-Product

just a thin 140mm fan. I have the H5a universal, its smaller cousin.