PC Hardware and building thread

[prjkt]

Thanks for the advice. I have looked into the Ryzen series, the only thing holding me back is poor compatibility if I want to run OS X on the system, something I'm still not 100% sure about, but if I ever want to be able to access my old music projects will be a must. So far hackintoshes using Ryzen aren't the most stable, using modified kernels (as Appl have written for the Intel architecture.) Still open to the idea though, as I've still got an old MacBook Air I can boot up if needed...

What are the noticeable differences between the B350/X350 platforms?

Thanks for the info on Optane, it wasn't part of my initial look, just "would be cool if it works" type of thing, but considering I'm upgrading from 7.2k rpm HDDs any SSD will be a huge performance boost, I just like the M.2 option as there's no cabling to worry about, but I can deal with it if SATA is the way to go

[DELTAprime]

Thanks for the advice. I have looked into the Ryzen series, the only thing holding me back is poor compatibility if I want to run OS X on the system, something I'm still not 100% sure about, but if I ever want to be able to access my old music projects will be a must. So far hackintoshes using Ryzen aren't the most stable, using modified kernels (as Appl have written for the Intel architecture.) Still open to the idea though, as I've still got an old MacBook Air I can boot up if needed...

What are the noticeable differences between the B350/X350 platforms?

Thanks for the info on Optane, it wasn't part of my initial look, just "would be cool if it works" type of thing, but considering I'm upgrading from 7.2k rpm HDDs any SSD will be a huge performance boost, I just like the M.2 option as there's no cabling to worry about, but I can deal with it if SATA is the way to go

Yeah I don't know anything about hackintoshes and we probably shouldn't discuss them here so as not to get Griff in trouble with Apple's attack lawyers. So Ryzen's B350 and X370 boards are very similar in features except B350 can't do SLI and Crossfire. The current state of SLI and Crossfire is that most game devs don't care about users with more than one GPU in a system.

Right now is actually a really bad time to buy SSDs or RAM. The chips inside them come off the exact same production lines and there are not enough lines to keep up with global demand for SSDs and RAM, plus a factory that makes them got flooded with Nitrogen gas the other day shutting it down for who knows how long. You will pay a premium for any SSD's and RAM.

The best performing SSDs are made by Samsung, the 850 EVO is the best one to get in SATA format and 960 EVO in M.2, don't buy a 850 PRO or 960 PRO as you are paying extra for the extended guaranteed life of the drive and getting slightly lower performance. Intel also make great SSDs but they cost more per GB normally, there are some models of Intel SSD that review very badly but they are fine for day to day use, just not a review torture test. Overall Samsung and Intel have an extremely low failure rate compared to the smaller SSD brands like Corsair, Patriot, Kingston, etc.

Also really good idea to not buy a graphics card now. There is a global shortage of them because Bitcoin miners are buying dozens of them at a time right now so unless you are buying a GTX 1080 or GTX 1080 Ti you can't get one for a good price. (1080 and 1080 Ti don't work well for mining)

Just to follow up on Optane. The modules on the market right now are made to only accelerate the HDD that your OS is installed on. If you OS is installed on a SSD instead of a HDD you will find things go slower because the Optane that is out right now is slower than a good SSD.

Goto PC Part Picker, make a i7 build and then make a Ryzen build and post the permalink for each, they don't have to be complete. That's the best way to scope out your build and then I can really find any issues with the build.

EDIT: Here's my systems permalink https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/BYLfBP

[prjkt]

Thanks again for the advice.

Here's my Intel build

and here's the AMD build

If I go the AMD build I'd definitely have to forego using OS X, as the nV card isn't supported until drivers are installed, meaning I'd have to use a second GPU (as I currently do on my Mac Pro) to boot, install drivers, reboot each time I run a version updated. Don't really want to do that. The integrated GPU in the Intel build would be able to handle that, but as you can see, the price is quite different...

EDIT:hmmm, after checking this review for Lightroom performance, looks like saving for the 7700K might still be the way to go.

[DELTAprime]

All looks good as far as your selection of new parts, looks like 7700k is the way to go for you. Just remember it is a very hot CPU so don't get freaked out about it. It seems like every day on the dedicated PC building forums there is a post every single day with someone worrying that their new 7700k is too hot.

You hopefully won't need the Arctic Silver as there is pre applied thermal compound on the Corsair AIO, but it's good to have a tube of thermal compound anyway because if you don't get the placement right the first time or need to reseat the CPU or something you need to remove the pre applied thermal compound and replace it.

[DELTAprime]

As bad as video card prices are at the moment they are probably going to get worse in a couple of months unless the mining market crashes.

GDDR prices have risen 31% this month at every GDDR manufacture which makes me think Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron and the other company I can't think of are conspiring. This might increase video game console prices also as the PS4, PS4 Pro and Xbox One X all use GDDR5.

Good thing I got all my consoles, but it's going to be rough when I buy Nvidia's next xx80 video card next year.

[prjkt]

Moving house has drained my pc funds for now, so that's on hold.
I do however have a much bigger TV, steamlink, Ethernet over power and three wireless access points in the house (thick brick walls destroy any chance of transmission)

[prjkt]

Well I've started the process. Scored a good deal on an Intel 512Gb 600p SSD, and just ordered a Fractal Design Meshify C case along with a Corsair 650W PSU.

I've decided to pass on a second SSD for games for now, save for a 1-2 TB one down the track (that Crucial MX300 2tb looks nice and affordable) and just use one of my 1Tb HDDs for games storage. Any brand new must play asap games I can install on the SSD and then move the files over later (Steam's good for this, as are some of the other launcher platforms.)

Still haven't 100% decided which way to go, but I'm edging towards a Ryzen 1700/X370 combo, as I've decided to keep my old Mac Pro and roll it back to a fresh OS X 10.6.8 install, so I've got no compatibility issues with any of my music software, powercore card, audio interface(s) etc, and have it as a dedicated music box, and a backup system if the new comp goes down.
Won't even need a KVM switch as the monitor has multiple inputs, and my Apple keyboard is on an extension cable, all I have to do is just unplug it from one extension, and plug it into the next (I already have a spare.) Will probably plug the mouse into the keyboard and cable tie part of the cable to the keyboard so it's less messy on the desk.