PC Building Guide and Discussion #14

[aleshemsky83]

Limited-time deal: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core, 24-thread unlocked desktop processor without cooler Amazon.ca

349 CAD for a ryzen 5900X

I feel like I would be crazy not to buy at this price, anybody know if this is an all time low or a regular deal?

 

[Osprey]

According to the camel, that's the lowest price ever.

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core, 24-thread unlocked desktop processor without cooler

Amazon price tracking & price history for AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core, 24-thread unlocked desktop processor without cooler

ca.camelcamelcamel.com

If you're heavy into non-gaming workloads (ex. encoding, rendering, data crunching), you might jump on it. If you're into gaming, however, you might care to wait for a deal on the 5800X3D, which has gotten down to the same price, most recently during Black Friday, but also for several weeks in the Summer.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 8-core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology

Amazon price tracking & price history for AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 8-core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology

ca.camelcamelcamel.com

(FYI to others, for the version of the site that tracks US Amazon, remove "ca." from the start of the URL)

 

[The Head Crusher]

Ok Folks,

It has been so long since I paid any attention to any of the advancements in computer processing and I feel like I have been left in the dust when it comes to replacing my current desktop so I would like to get some advice/suggestions on possible towers.

What we are looking for is a computer that can handle programs like Photoshop/Illustrator/Light Room, 3d print slicing programs like Cura and Laser engraving programs like Lightburn not only now, but hopefully years into the future. AS well if it could handle some of my steam games (nothing to the level of 4k 60fps etc.) that would be great as well. Looking over the system specs for these programs, I will need something that can at least do the following:

Processing: Multicore with at least 2 GHz and SSE 4.2 (whatever that is)
RAM: 16GB
Graphics Card: at least 8gb of VRAM to run previews on Lightroom?
Be able to support at least 2 monitors

I have looked at a few systems on newegg/memory express, but I would love some feed back,

https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16883370384?Item=N82E16883370384

Lenovo ThinkCentre M70s Gen 3 SFF w/ Core™ i5-12400, 16GB, 256GB M.2 SSD, Intel UHD, DVD±RW, Windows 10 Pro - Desktop Computers - Memory Express Inc.

www.memoryexpress.com

Thanks!

 

[Osprey]

Both of those are not what you want. They have integrated graphics (which is enough for watching video, but not for graphic work or gaming) and puny storage space, for starters.

If you're going to do graphic work, you should get something with a discrete Nvidia Geforce graphics card. Most graphic apps work better on Nvidia cards, and a discrete (non-integrated) card will give you the 8GB of VRAM that you need.

Also, I would get at least 32GB of RAM. You need lots of RAM to do graphic work. You also need disk space for graphic work and games, and I would not want to have only 256GB. Games these days can take up 100GB each. I recommend 1TB (1000GB).

Here's a much better option if you really want something in a small form factor like that: https://www.newegg.ca/p/2SW-0094-00078
It's more expensive, but should safely do everything that you want. You might find a cheaper system and get away with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, but I would pay the extra $200-300, especially if you don't want to replace it for a long time.

If you're not bullish about having a small form factor, you can get something a bit more powerful for less by going with a traditional mid-sized tower, like this one: https://www.newegg.ca/hajaan-cyclonia/p/3D5-001V-00190?Item=9SIARZCK5R5664

 

[klmdg]

Ok Folks,

It has been so long since I paid any attention to any of the advancements in computer processing and I feel like I have been left in the dust when it comes to replacing my current desktop so I would like to get some advice/suggestions on possible towers.

What we are looking for is a computer that can handle programs like Photoshop/Illustrator/Light Room, 3d print slicing programs like Cura and Laser engraving programs like Lightburn not only now, but hopefully years into the future. AS well if it could handle some of my steam games (nothing to the level of 4k 60fps etc.) that would be great as well. Looking over the system specs for these programs, I will need something that can at least do the following:

Processing: Multicore with at least 2 GHz and SSE 4.2 (whatever that is)
RAM: 16GB
Graphics Card: at least 8gb of VRAM to run previews on Lightroom?
Be able to support at least 2 monitors

I have looked at a few systems on newegg/memory express, but I would love some feed back,

https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16883370384?Item=N82E16883370384

Lenovo ThinkCentre M70s Gen 3 SFF w/ Core™ i5-12400, 16GB, 256GB M.2 SSD, Intel UHD, DVD±RW, Windows 10 Pro - Desktop Computers - Memory Express Inc.

www.memoryexpress.com

Thanks!

I learned the hard way that most name manufacturers these days build comps that are non-expandable, contain proprietary components, and limit performance with TDP limits well below the chip's rated capacity

I can guarantee you those two will come with stock coolers, have no fans, and be set up to throttle just on the form factor alone

And based on the integrated graphics, you will struggle to game, even in 1080p

If you don't want to build your own, I recommend looking at a gaming pre-built made by Canada Computers or Memory Express

 

[Osprey]

AMD FSR 3 Frame Generation Can Be Enabled In Any Game Supporting NVIDIA DLSS 3 With a New Free Mod

A new mod that is now available online allows users to enable AMD FSR 3 frame generation in any game that supports NVIDIA DLSS 3

wccftech.com

As long as you have an Nvidia RTX card and a game supports DLSS 3, you can enable FSR 3 with frame generation in it (i.e. get FG on RTX 20X0 and 30X0 cards that don't support DLSS 3 FG). I'm interested to try it after I return from the holidays. Edit: Daniel Owen tested it in Cyberpunk 2077 and found that it worked well:

Spoiler

In similar news, there are other mods specifically for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us Part I that may work better for those two games, but they're available only to Patreon subscribers. The above mod is free to download at the link in the article.

It's cool to see what the community has already come up with. AMD released the FSR 3 source code only last week and it took just a few days for the community to release mods based on it.

 

[Yatzhee]

Hyte Y60 Tower
MSI Z790 Edge WiFi Motherboard
Intel I-9 13900KS cpu chip
Asus 4090 with OC Video Card
Cablemod Cable package
EKWB Quantum Velocity 2 nickel-plexi cpu and gbu water blocks with ABP on gbu, 240mm top radiator, 180mm side mount radiator
Acrylic clear hard tubing for visual coolant flow
4 corsair 16 sticks ram
4 corsair LL120 rgb fans 2 corsair LL140 rgb fans, all exhaust.
3 hyte stock 120 fans non rgb on bottom panel for air intake.

My first attempt at a build. Water cooled top of the line PC. The journey was just awesome. Really a lot of fun. Here's the finished product.

 

[93LEAFS]

Hyte Y60 Tower
MSI Z790 Edge WiFi Motherboard
Intel I-9 13900KS cpu chip
Asus 4090 with OC Video Card
Cablemod Cable package
EKWB Quantum Velocity 2 nickel-plexi cpu and gbu water blocks with ABP on gbu, 240mm top radiator, 180mm side mount radiator
Acrylic clear hard tubing for visual coolant flow
4 corsair 16 sticks ram
4 corsair LL120 rgb fans 2 corsair LL140 rgb fans, all exhaust.
3 hyte stock 120 fans non rgb on bottom panel for air intake.

My first attempt at a build. Water cooled top of the line PC. The journey was just awesome. Really a lot of fun. Here's the finished product.

Wait, is this your first attempt at a build or your first time building a custom loop. If it's the former, you jumped right into the deep end. Impressive PC.

 

[Yatzhee]

Wait, is this your first attempt at a build or your first time building a custom loop. If it's the former, you jumped right into the deep end. Impressive PC.

Ya, it is, on both accounts, first build ever, first custom loop lol. As I was speaking with a few people. a member on the Sabres board turned me on to this....



I just spoke with the wife, after I finish the 2nd HYTE Y60 I have for my nephew, and the roof on the house gets done, I'm building that Lian Li dual table one

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I've been making my own computers for almost 20 years (20 years next month) and I don't trust myself to do a custom loop.

Also, since my computer is under my desk, I'm kind of meh on RGB at this point.

 

[93LEAFS]

I've been making my own computers for almost 20 years (20 years next month) and I don't trust myself to do a custom loop.

Also, since my computer is under my desk, I'm kind of meh on RGB at this point.

I only see the front fans when it comes to RGB as my current PC's glass panel faces a wall. But, I would say, it's actually harder to avoid RGB at this point than just getting whatever outside of maybe RAM. Outside Founder Edition cards, finding non-RGB GPU's at this point is more of a hassle, then just getting one with it.

 

[Yatzhee]

I've been making my own computers for almost 20 years (20 years next month) and I don't trust myself to do a custom loop.

Also, since my computer is under my desk, I'm kind of meh on RGB at this point.

I just dove right in. I actually looked at delidding early on, but once I researched enough on it, I didn't deem the temperature adjustment worth the risk. Interesting though.

 

[The Nuge]

Hyte Y60 Tower
MSI Z790 Edge WiFi Motherboard
Intel I-9 13900KS cpu chip
Asus 4090 with OC Video Card
Cablemod Cable package
EKWB Quantum Velocity 2 nickel-plexi cpu and gbu water blocks with ABP on gbu, 240mm top radiator, 180mm side mount radiator
Acrylic clear hard tubing for visual coolant flow
4 corsair 16 sticks ram
4 corsair LL120 rgb fans 2 corsair LL140 rgb fans, all exhaust.
3 hyte stock 120 fans non rgb on bottom panel for air intake.

My first attempt at a build. Water cooled top of the line PC. The journey was just awesome. Really a lot of fun. Here's the finished product.

Sick build. Mine’s not too different (MSI Z690, 13700k, MSI 4090 Suprim X, etc), but I really didn’t have the guts to go custom water cooling for my first build, so I ended up with a AIO. Kind of regretting it seeing how nice yours turned out

 

[Yatzhee]

Sick build. Mine’s not too different (MSI Z690, 13700k, MSI 4090 Suprim X, etc), but I really didn’t have the guts to go custom water cooling for my first build, so I ended up with a AIO. Kind of regretting it seeing how nice yours turned out

My very first build, not just custom loop, but my first computer build, ever.
It was a great journey learning all that I did, and I'm not done. I have another HYTE Y60 Tower to build, for my nephew, and I am going to buy that Lian Li DK-05f dual system desk one posted above. I'm going to fully load it out, top of the line everything, and I'm going to build it

 

[JaegerDice]

Is this thread also for NAS builds, or should I make a new thread for that?

 

[Osprey]

My very first build, not just custom loop, but my first computer build, ever.
It was a great journey learning all that I did, and I'm not done. I have another HYTE Y60 Tower to build, for my nephew, and I am going to buy that Lian Li DK-05f dual system desk one posted above. I'm going to fully load it out, top of the line everything, and I'm going to build it

Just a suggestion: if you build it with him (and maybe even get his input on some of the parts), it might be a great bonding experience, he might take even more pride in it (because he helped build it) and he might develop an interest in how computers are built and confidence to upgrade it down the road, all of which could eventually inspire him to pursue a tech career. I'd love to have the opportunity to do that with my own nephew and would really envy you getting to do it, so I'd hate for you to miss out on such a great opportunity. Again, just a suggestion, though.

 

[Yatzhee]

Just a suggestion: if you build it with him (and maybe even get his input on some of the parts), it might be a great bonding experience, he might take even more pride in it (because he helped build it) and he might develop an interest in how computers are built and confidence to upgrade it down the road, all of which could eventually inspire him to pursue a tech career. I'd love to have the opportunity to do that with my own nephew and would really envy you getting to do it, so I'd hate for you to miss out on such a great opportunity. Again, just a suggestion, though.

Yep, that was the idea Osprey. Here is a link to a comment I put up on a Sabres forum I'm a mber of. The entire Thread is a record of my journey in to the computer build arena.

"That and the 4090 gbu cooling. I haven't started yet. My sister wants my 13 yr old nephew over tomorrow to learn how to do it. He's a big time gamer as most kids are. He just happens to have a "super-cool" uncle who also enjoys gaming
I already posted about this, but I ended up with 2 HYTE Y60 cases, I have 4 extra 16G ram Stix, I wanted the white ones, they sent me black, I kept them. 2 full wire harness kits.
So basically, of his grades stay at 90 or above, my sis thanked me and wanted to surprise him tomorrow with not just a computer, but learning how to build it, Watchung videos on it, helping me and.....surprising him with the components here that would be his, if he maintains the pursuit of education. He's already an avid fisherman and he's bow hunting already. So the outdoorsman in him exists. A well rounded individual she feels will embrace technology beyond just using it, but understanding how it works. Hard to say she's wrong. And after all, he's a good kid, favorite sports team....the Buffalo Sabres.....courtesy of Uncle ScottySabres "

OT: Attempting my first water cooled HYTE Y60 Mid Tower desktop build, any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Osprey]

Yep, that was the idea Osprey. Here is a link to a comment I put up on a Sabres forum I'm a mber of. The entire Thread is a record of my journey in to the computer build arena.

"That and the 4090 gbu cooling. I haven't started yet. My sister wants my 13 yr old nephew over tomorrow to learn how to do it. He's a big time gamer as most kids are. He just happens to have a "super-cool" uncle who also enjoys gaming
I already posted about this, but I ended up with 2 HYTE Y60 cases, I have 4 extra 16G ram Stix, I wanted the white ones, they sent me black, I kept them. 2 full wire harness kits.
So basically, of his grades stay at 90 or above, my sis thanked me and wanted to surprise him tomorrow with not just a computer, but learning how to build it, Watchung videos on it, helping me and.....surprising him with the components here that would be his, if he maintains the pursuit of education. He's already an avid fisherman and he's bow hunting already. So the outdoorsman in him exists. A well rounded individual she feels will embrace technology beyond just using it, but understanding how it works. Hard to say she's wrong. And after all, he's a good kid, favorite sports team....the Buffalo Sabres.....courtesy of Uncle ScottySabres "

OT: Attempting my first water cooled HYTE Y60 Mid Tower desktop build, any advice greatly appreciated.

Very cool. You might want to save a little room in your budget to get him a few outdoorsman games, if he's into that. Steam is having its Winter sale right now, so it's perfect timing. I'm not familiar with the fishing simulators, but I know that they exist. I also know that theHunter: Call of the Wild is a pretty good hunting sim and is on sale for only $3.99 right now (link).

My nephew is 12 and is into PC gaming, but does it on a laptop and I think that it'd be more educational and rewarding for him to build and maintain a desktop, so I'd like to eventually steer him in that direction.

 

[93LEAFS]

Yep, that was the idea Osprey. Here is a link to a comment I put up on a Sabres forum I'm a mber of. The entire Thread is a record of my journey in to the computer build arena.

"That and the 4090 gbu cooling. I haven't started yet. My sister wants my 13 yr old nephew over tomorrow to learn how to do it. He's a big time gamer as most kids are. He just happens to have a "super-cool" uncle who also enjoys gaming
I already posted about this, but I ended up with 2 HYTE Y60 cases, I have 4 extra 16G ram Stix, I wanted the white ones, they sent me black, I kept them. 2 full wire harness kits.
So basically, of his grades stay at 90 or above, my sis thanked me and wanted to surprise him tomorrow with not just a computer, but learning how to build it, Watchung videos on it, helping me and.....surprising him with the components here that would be his, if he maintains the pursuit of education. He's already an avid fisherman and he's bow hunting already. So the outdoorsman in him exists. A well rounded individual she feels will embrace technology beyond just using it, but understanding how it works. Hard to say she's wrong. And after all, he's a good kid, favorite sports team....the Buffalo Sabres.....courtesy of Uncle ScottySabres "

OT: Attempting my first water cooled HYTE Y60 Mid Tower desktop build, any advice greatly appreciated.

Dude, can you become my uncle jks.

 

[mouser]

For those who haven't followed the Nvidia rumors, they're expected to announce a new line of 4070, 4070Ti and 4080 Super cards in two weeks, with availability expected by the end of January. They've been very hush hush on the new cards because they don't want to cannibalize sales of the existing cards before inventory is mostly exhausted. Prices on the new cards are expected to be similar or less than the existing cards. The existing non-Super 4080 and 4070Ti are likely to be discontinued, while the current 4070 might continue to surive with a price drop.

For some of the cards they're expected to use Ada chips from higher version cards where not all of the CUDA cores passed QA. So they'll be using this stock of GPUs with a lesser number of CUDA cores enabled. For example the 4070Ti Super is expected to use either the 4080 AD103 or 4090 AD102 chips.

The keys rumored spec changes:
4070 Super - 22% more CUDA cores (7168 vs 5888), better AD104 chip or AD103 chip, same 192bit memory bandwith, same 12GB GDDR6X
4070Ti Super - 10% more CUDA cores (8448 vs 7680), 16GB GDDRX6 and 7% memory speed vs 12GB, 256bit memory bandwidth vs 192bit, better AD103 or AD102 chip vs current AD104
4080 Super - 5% more CUDA cores (10240 vs 9728), same 16GB with 7% memory speed boost, same 256bit memory bandwidth. Expected $100-$200 MSRP price decrease.

Have my eye on a 4070Ti Super. Addresses the two major concerns I have with current 4070 and 4070ti by increasing memory to 16GB from 12GB and memory bandwidth to 256 bits from 192 bits. The 4070 and 4070Ti look like clear significant performance jumps. While the 4080 specs aren't that big of an increase the price drop if true would be a welcome relief. Rumors are Nvidia is trying to juggle their performance/pricing with these new three cards to more directly compete with some of AMD's GPUs.

Alleged Nvidia RTX 40-series Super GPU specs and launch dates leaked

Nvidia to launch GeForce RTX 40-Series Super graphics cards in January.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[Osprey]

The 4070 Ti Super is the only one that I'm at all interested in, for the reasons that you noted (mainly the increase to 16GB, a requirement for me to spent over $500 on a card). On the other hand, it may force price drops on the 7900 XT and XTX and I may go with one of those, since I've been leaning heavily towards going AMD again, anyways. So, I'm looking forward to the Supers, but more so because it should bring better value for both company's cards.

 

[Yatzhee]

Dude, can you become my uncle jks.

This is what happens when your nhl team goes on a dozen+ yrs of suckitude. The first half dozen you break stuff, the 2nd half dozen you get past denial and start the healing process via hockey fan therapy, in my case, building stuff.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

If the 4080 Super completely takes over the 4080, I seriously hope Nvidia gets ballsy and makes it $1000 USD. The fact that it's still $1200 for the 4080 after all this time is shit. GPU prices f***ing suck man.

 

[mouser]

The 4070 Ti Super is the only one that I'm at all interested in, for the reasons that you noted (mainly the increase to 16GB, a requirement for me to spent over $500 on a card). On the other hand, it may force price drops on the 7900 XT and XTX and I may go with one of those, since I've been leaning heavily towards going AMD again, anyways. So, I'm looking forward to the Supers, but more so because it should bring better value for both company's cards.

Agreed. I‘ve been price watching the 40-Series for a while, but the 12GB on the founders 4070 and 4070Ti has been a dealbreaker for me at the current prices. Some of the newest AAA games are already pushing 12GB to run on high settings. That trend will only continue going forward. Looking to upgrade my EVGA FTW3 1070Ti 8GB.

Spent some time bidding on used EVGA 3080Ti Ultra FTW 12GB cards as a stopgap till the 50 Series, but was rare to see a reputable card go for under $550, and often $600+. At that price point I’d rather just buy a new 40-Series with warranty. (Yes, I know EVGA ceased making NVidia cards)

If i‘m going to spend $800-$1000 on a NVidia 40-Series I want to feel comfortable I can skip one, or preferably two NVidia generations until my next upgrade to a 60 or 70 Series. Only having 12GB isn’t giving me those comfortable feelings for extending the GPU lifecycle—I’m guessing 16GB minimum will be standard on the next gen 5070 and higher cards, and game developers will naturally adjust.

 

[Osprey]

Agreed. I‘ve been price watching the 40-Series for a while, but the 12GB on the founders 4070 and 4070Ti has been a dealbreaker for me at the current prices. Some of the newest AAA games are already pushing 12GB to run on high settings. That trend will only continue going forward. Looking to upgrade my EVGA FTW3 1070Ti 8GB.

Spent some time bidding on used EVGA 3080Ti Ultra FTW 12GB cards as a stopgap till the 50 Series, but was rare to see a reputable card go for under $550, and often $600+. At that price point I’d rather just buy a new 40-Series with warranty. (Yes, I know EVGA ceased making NVidia cards)

If i‘m going to spend $800-$1000 on a NVidia 40-Series I want to feel comfortable I can skip one, or preferably two NVidia generations until my next upgrade to a 60 or 70 Series. Only having 12GB isn’t giving me those comfortable feelings for extending the GPU lifecycle—I’m guessing 16GB minimum will be standard on the next gen 5070 and higher cards, and game developers will naturally adjust.

I upgraded to a 3070 only two years ago and am already feeling pressure to upgrade again because it's starting to be handicapped by its 8GB. I don't want to buy a 12GB card and then go through this again in a few years, so 16GB is the minimum for me. Also, being a little annoyed at Nvidia's stinginess with VRAM in order to coax people like me into upgrading every generation is largely why I'm leaning towards going back to AMD. We'll see, though. I'm open to reconsidering if the 4070 Ti Super has 16GB and is priced competitively (though, even if it is, AMD will likely respond with price cuts, which would suit me, as well).