Christmas '19 New PC Build

Hi All-

Building a new PC this year, was wondering if I could get some questions answered. I'd appreciate it a lot :D

• Was planning on upgrading to 32 GB of memory for future-proofing; is 4 x 8 GB better than 2 x 16 GB?
• In terms of memory, what is the sort of "Standard" speed/hz/timing I want to look for? I was thinking of grabbing some of this
• I'm going to go a little crazy in terms of processor this time, as in the past I've always gone for a combination of performance-per-dollar. I was going to set my budget for something like a Ryzen 3950X ($750 or so); is this a complete waste of money?
  • All I do with my PC is game, browse, and maybe a bit of work with Excel and so forth.
• I currently own a RTX 2080, is there a bare-minimum combo of processor and memory I want to pair with it, and what is it?

Thank you very much! It's been about five years since I've upgraded my cpu/mobo/memory, so I am looking forward to it :) Getting a new case and it has a clear side panel, so I was thinking of making it try to look good as well. Any tips on where to get tight-looking cables and cable-management stuff?

Any other information appreciated.

Oh yeah and a couple other questions:

AMD has the 3950X coming out (socket AM4), what does Intel have on the horizon and would it be worth waiting for?

I've been Intel for quite some time now (probably my last two builds), but I don't have anything against AMD either so I am OK to go with either brand.

What is a good chipset for socket AM4? X570 seems like the latest, but is it the best? What would be the equivelent best for Intel (plus socket type....my god Intel has SO MANY SOCKET TYPES!)

Intel has no response to AMD's Zen 2 and from the looks of it won't have a answer for another year or so to answer your questions though I'll do it in points:

1. 32GB is not over kill and a smart choice for future proofing in my opinion as 16GB will become the standard very soon for gaming.
2. You don't want 4 channels of ram on mainstream chipsets as they are optimised for dual channel so getting 2x 16GB sticks is your best move.
3. 3200 MHz DDR4 with CL14 timing's is the holy grail of DDR4 RAM right now so if you can afford that go for it BUT the sweet spot is 3200 MHz with CL16 timing's for gaming and costs a LOT less in most countries so its up to you.
4. 3950x is overkill and a complete waste for gaming even a 3900x is... 6c/12t is the sweet spot such as a 8700K or a 3600x but a 3700x or 9900K is all the future proofing you will need for gaming.
5. X570 is what you will need for a 3950x or 3900x and ones with heat pipe's on the VRM's would be my recommendation such as a Phanom Gaming From ASRock or a MEG Ace from MSI.
6. Cable management M.2 drives will help if you build your new system with a fast GEN4 NVMe for the OS and then a slower M.2 for games at 1-2TB would be a huge future proofing step not just for cable management but with next generation console having SSD's, I think we as PC gamers running of HDD's will run into stuttering issues with future games.

I would go with...

• 3900x
• 240mm AIO for CPU cooling
• X570 with a heatpipe
• 2x 16GB 3200MHz CL14 RAM
• 500GB Gen4 NVMe
• 2TB M.2 SSD like a intel 660p or WD Blue
• 750w Gold PSU

$1650

Or you can save $400 and get the same gaming performance and future proofing with the following.

• 3700x
• 240mm AIO for CPU cooling
• X570 with a heatpipe
• 2x 16GB 3200MHz CL16 RAM
• 500GB Gen4 NVMe
• 2TB M.2 SSD like a intel 660p or WD Blue
• 750w Gold PSU

$1215

That said you can always just swap out the 3700x for a 3900x on the second build.

I plan on getting a 2TB SSD for gaming soon as I fear that its going to be game over for standard HDD for gaming once the new consoles arrive.

Hope that helps and to recap 3900x is overkill but future proof and don't bother with a 3950x at all for gaming, get 2x 16GB RAM 3200MHz CL14 or CL16 for half the price and 97% of the performance and get M.2 for game Storage don't even look at standard HDD for anything but general storage.

Here's a article of Zen 2 and RAM testing: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-zen-2-memory-performance-scaling-benchmark/5.html

Its clear that 3000/CL16 is all you need for Zen 2... But 3200/CL16 is the same price roughly.

@Grey_Eyed_Elf: Cheers! That was very helpful, thank you very much.

Personally I'd get a high end Noctua air cooler over an AIO. They're easy to mount, and if you get something like the NH-D15, will actually cool better than an AIO.

@topgunmv: Fortunately I already own an AIO cooler. Works great, I think I will just use it on the new build.

Assuming of course I have the socket AM4 mounting hardware (currently sitting on an Intel 1151 socket).

*I heard the stock AMD coolers are not so great, this true?

Stock AMD coolers are leagues better than what intel offers. The Wraith Spire's are good. But the Wraith Max and Prism's are the best form of stock coolers.

Be sure to prop it full of RGB lights.

Christmas is coming. You need to light up your room with RGB from your computer. :P

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hyperdrive-9-port-usb-c-hub-space-gray/6349958.p?skuId=6349958

I hope this helps.

Of course. I mean, I'm not going to not put a bunch of RGB stuff in there. Maybe I'll make them respond to music so when I listen to my EDM my rainbow RBG lights flash.

@mrbojangles25: Excellent idea...

Wait I think I can do that now with software from Gigabyte

@horgen: Better than MSI..

They are that bad?

I just don't use bloated jokeware. msi afterburner the only thing im running.