Considering a new build

[Tempus]

Currently running an i7-4790k with an RTX 2060 and looking to upgrade. Current uses are mainly gaming (and most titles are bit older), a bit of development and other production oriented tasks. Basically its a jack of all trades type of system. Thing is I like to buy for the longer term. Not future proofing, just a setup that will run well for 5 or 6 years. Looking to definitely upgrade to the new NVIDIA 3070 sometime later this year so its down to CPU/MB. Important note is that I do not overclock and will be sticking with mATX.

Option A is an i7 10700k in a Z490 (likely the ASUS Z490 PRIME Plus ) . I know, I can get by with a non-K variant but the clocks are lower so there is no point . The Z490 is simply because I'm a bit skeptical of the VRMs in the H470 boards. I also realize the i5 10600k is a worthy contender but for the longer term, the 8/16 core/thread count of the i7 seems a better bet.

Option B is a Ryzen 3900x in a B550 (likely the MSI B550M MAG Mortar).

Either will be configured with 32gb of DDR4 3200 ram and a Sabrent 1TB Rocket (that only the AMD system can use to it's full potential). Case is a recycle of my current Case Labs S5. Cooling would be a Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black (Intel) or the stock Wraith Prism (AMD).

These two systems will end up being very close in price so that makes it more difficult.

Any thoughts from the group here?

 

[Kshipper]

Everything looks good. I would go AMD but dump the Wraith Cooler. Noctua is great of course. I use the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock 3 a lot, on my builds. Good price, good cooling. easy install and quiet. You might want to take a peek at MSI B550M PRO-VDH WiFi. Insure the RAM you are getting is on the QVL for the motherboard you do choose. Recycling the RTX 2060 then? I found the Be Quiet reading this review on coolers:

be quiet! Pure Rock 2 review (Page 7)

We review another be quiet! Shadow Rock cooler, this round the Pure Rock 2. With more simplified looks and available in silver and black this cooler comes with a single radiator, one fan and is offe...

www.guru3d.com

Kshipper

 

[Tempus]

Thanks, I've checked the RAM for both motherboards against the QVL to ensure compatibility (I've been burned by that in the past). The new Noctua cromax scores bests the the other top of the air coolers by just a hair (but the margin if error is too small to consider) and is pretty much a toss up with the be quiet Dark Rock 4. I see the be quiet is a few bucks cheaper so that may be the cooler in the end.

As for the video card, I'd run the RTX 2060 until the 3070 is released then upgrade.

As for the MSI B550M PRO-VDH WiFi. First, wifi is pointless for me so I'd be paying for a feature I'll not use. My entire house is CAT 6 wired. Second is the reviews. In mATX, reviews gives a clear edge to the MORTAR for midrange priced B550 mATX boards. It tends to have noticeably better VRMs quality and it has two full length PCIE slots, 1 PCIE 4 x16 and 1 PCIE 3x16. Only downside is the limited number of USB ports on the back panel. What about the MSI B550M PRO-VDH WiFi do you like? I'm open however to your insight into this as this MB is $50 cheaper and that may come into play after the next paragraph!

Curious why you suggest AMD however. Being honest, I'd normally just go Intel and call it a day. This time around, I'm looking to give team red a good look but honestly my only real justification for considering them is that I may benefit from their core/multithreading performance at some point in the next 5 years. In your opinion, what makes the 3900x a better case? Truth be told, the 3900x is $20 more then the i7 but the i7 requires a cooler so from a CPU cost, the AMD is the better deal. The Mortar however is more expensive than the Z490 so things start to even out. Reviewers indicate for stock performance, the Wraith is adequate so not needing an aftermarket cooler is what keeps the systems competitive in pricing. If the wraith isn't really usable at stock that puts the AMD system in jeopardy as it is no longer as price competitive.

That said, I'm still open to your reasoning to go AMD. I'm really trying to keep an open mind this time around.

 

[Kshipper]

I'm so glad you are doing your own research (so many don't). I think the first review on the board I mentioned was here (Link below) and the reasoning was availability and pricing here in Canada:

The same people did a larger round up of B550M boards with the Mortar in there too here:

Techspot does a round up with the Mortar too, right here:

AMD B550 Motherboard First Look & VRM Temperature Test

At long last AMD more budget-oriented B550 motherboards will finally go on sale. There's been plenty of talk about the B550 chipset and all the supporting boards...

www.techspot.com

It is all about price and if you can get more for less, that is the way to go =)

AMD multi core and multi thread performance has been really doing well everywhere you look. Only the gamers can justify the Intel choice. This sites recommended buy list is all AMD:

Hardware Leaderboard - PC Perspective

PC Perspective Hardware Leaderboard. We detail builds with components across price and capabilities. Find a build to fit your budget and performance level!

pcper.com

The PCIe Gen 4.0 support might come in handy with the new Nvidia Ampere cards which we should know more about at the end of Aug (just a few days). Cooler-wise the Wraith cooler looks pretty and it works I just found it a bit too loud but it does the job.

Kshipper

 

[Tempus]

Got to be honest, the PCIE 4 is what started me looking at AMD to start with. Ampere and the Sabrent SSD are both PCIE 4 and while real world usage won't be noticeably different, I may as well at least have the slots for them.

Watched Steve's review of the MSI B550 PRO-VDH WiFi and was pleasantly surprised at his findings. As stated, I really have no need for built in WiFi but I also technically have no need for a second full length PCIE slot that the MORTAR brings to the table so I'll certainly put that one to the top of the list (and save a few bucks in the process).

As can be inferred, I'm strongly swaying toward the AMD option. I'll give the wraith a try. Can't say I like flashy colors so hopefully the RGB is optional. If not, I'm not likely to see it too often with the current location of the case. If its too loud, I can swap it out later. The case does have a pair of front 120's and a pair of 140's on the top all as intakes and a single 140 out. Between those and the Scythe on the Megahalems that's cooling my 4790k and the fans on the 2060, that wraith will have to be pretty loud to be very noticeable.

For comparison, the 4790 has a very mild overclock and I've never seen it get above about 70 degrees (aside from the burn-ins I ran to test the overclock) so airflow is good.

I'd actually like to pull the trigger on the 3070 in the same order if possible so I still have a few days to figure this out (assuming anyone actually will have stock - hopefully all the die-hards will buy out the 3080's and leave the 3070s for the rest of us)

 

[Kshipper]

You can leave the RGB header unplugged on the Wraith Cooler, so you are good there. Let's see what happens this Mon. when Nvidia releases info on the new cards. =)

 

[Rudyduu]

Currently running an i7-4790k with an RTX 2060 and looking to upgrade. Current uses are mainly gaming (and most titles are bit older), a bit of development and other production oriented tasks. Basically its a jack of all trades type of system. Thing is I like to buy for the longer term. Not future proofing, just a setup that will run well for 5 or 6 years. Looking to definitely upgrade to the new NVIDIA 3070 sometime later this year so its down to CPU/MB. Important note is that I do not overclock and will be sticking with mATX.

Option A is an i7 10700k in a Z490 (likely the ASUS Z490 PRIME Plus ) . I know, I can get by with a non-K variant but the clocks are lower so there is no point . The Z490 is simply because I'm a bit skeptical of the VRMs in the H470 boards. I also realize the i5 10600k is a worthy contender but for the longer term, the 8/16 core/thread count of the i7 seems a better bet.

Option B is a Ryzen 3900x in a B550 (likely the MSI B550M MAG Mortar).

Either will be configured with 32gb of DDR4 3200 ram and a Sabrent 1TB Rocket (that only the AMD system can use to it's full potential). Case is a recycle of my current Case Labs S5. Cooling would be a Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black (Intel) or the stock Wraith Prism (AMD).

These two systems will end up being very close in price so that makes it more difficult.

Any thoughts from the group here?

If your system is good enough right now I suggest waiting until AMD and Intel updates their platforms. There are rumors DDR5 is coming to motherboards and intel will finally be on 10nm for desktop components and with their 10nm server parts being announced there is a chance it could happen this time.

Competition would be good for us consumers.