It's two standout features are its lower than average price for an X370 board and it's M.2 wireless/bluetooth socket with chip. With the socket you wont need to use a PCI slot or USB stick for wireless. It comes with a $15 Intel AC chips which is working great so far. I think other boards might be able to use M.2 wifi as well but they wont have the built in antenna connectors or the chip. The BIOS interface is the best I've ever used but that's not saying much because the old boards had crappy interfaces. BIOS updates only take a couple of mouse clicks which is super nice but that's probably normal for all boards these day. The ASRock X370 Fatal1ty is very similar but trades the wifi for a better audio codex and a special USB gaming mouse port. It's also red. The Fatal1ty brand is named after one of the most successful professional gamers of all time. I think these days he's just an entrepreneur cashing in on his name so people like to complain about the brand. Personally I don't care. Aside form those details I can't compare it to any other Ryzen board because I've never used anything else. IMO the B350s are the best value, top of the line X370s are a waste, and these two ASRock X370 boards are a good deal if you need SLi or more SATA and USB 3.0 ports than a B350 offers. They were about $115 when I was buying. MSI has one for a similar prices but some of the features are a little cheaper so I didn't consider it. It's probably a fine board though.
AMD was the top performer on the S&P 500 yesterday because Ethereum is up 2900% for the year. I think I might try trading my 1070 with my nephews 480.
1600x and x370 mobo for $300. Not too bad. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb...ables-_-na-_-na&ItemList=Combo.3523163&cm_sp=
I absolutely do not understand AMD's strategy between the X and non-X models. Take the 1600 and 1600X for example. The 1600X boosts single core speeds when left at stock, but doesn't come with a stock cooler. The 1600 comes with a stock cooler, but attracts overclockers because of price. Once you overclock, the 1600 and 1600X are basically identical. Why didn't they put a cooler with the 1600X to encourage non-overclockers to buy, and not include a cooler with the 1600 because most people are going to go aftermarket anyways? I bring this up because I see absolutely zero reason to buy a 1600X. If I have to buy a cooler, I am going to overclock it.
You've come to the same conclusion that everyone else does. The first step in understanding AMD's naming strategy is to understand that it doesn't make any sense. The X was supposed to indicate that the chip could possibly turbo past its top turbo speed by 100MHz. As it turns out even the non-X seem to do this. The second difference is the clock speeds. Again the naming convention isn't useful. Why not name the chips 1650X and 1690X? Maybe it goes back to the ATI roots of using XT and XTX in the names of cards to indicated slightly faster version of the same chip. The 3rd difference between X and non-X is binning and power usage. The X version will sometimes, but not always, OC just a little higher than the non-X. At stock speeds, the non-X version uses considerably less power but in a counter-intuitive twist, they will use more power than the X when OCed to the same speed. Super clear? I can't really help much with the memory as it's a total crap shoot. Anything with Samsung B-Die is a winner. The problem is that it's really hard to know if memory is using Samsung B-Die. G.Skill Flare is really good but expensive. This site list a few more confirmed B-die chips. If you don't get Samsung B-Die you might not get the full speed of your chips. I got 3200 non-B-Die and can only run them at 2933. It's not too big a deal and I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money for the good chips. The performance difference is almost unmeasurable. https://www.toptengamer.com/best-ram-amd-ryzen-5-7-cpu/
Parts ordered! Ryzen R5 1600 Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 I went with that board instead of a lower end x370 board because it has a better sound chip, it has RGB controllers in case I ever feel like adding pretty lights, and there is a $20 rebate on it, so it is potentially cheaper than B350 boards with less features. I don't really need the extras X370 offers. I'm a single GPU person and I run three storage drives at most. If I ever get to the point where I outgrow the board, it will be incentive to upgrade anyways, instead of waiting 8 years like last time. I "chose" those RAM modules because they were on sale and part of a combo deal with the board. The modules were $20 off and the combo took off another $25. They don't have LEDs like I wanted, but I figure I can always add different memory later when they iron out the compatibility issues and when 32GB is cheaper. I also ordered a Cooler Master Hyper 212X. I decided I'd rather be prepared for overclocking. I'm just not enthusiastic about it because my Phenom II would never clock over 3.5 GHz and remain stable. It was my first real overclocking attempt and I got unlucky in the lottery. The 212X was on sale for the same price as the Evo, plus a $15 rebate. I also tracked down the square AM4 bracket rather than the X shaped bracket Cooler Master is giving out. First, they are out of stock on the X bracket anyways, but I wanted the other bracket for two reasons: some people have said the X bracket doesn't keep the coolers straight, they can twist a little. I paid $0.99 for the better bracket elsewhere. Anyways, when all is said and done, this will give me a pretty good cooling solution for only $21. I ordered a Cooler Master Masterbox Lite 5 case for $50. Its nice and cheap, but has everything I want. I like the cheap price because if I end up not liking the case, I don't feel as bad replacing it as if I spent $100. I'm going to order intake fans soon, but I'm not sure if I want red or white LEDs. I'm leaning towards white. The case supports three 120mm fans in the front and you can see them through the tinted front plate. I did not order a PSU. I'm at my $500 budget limit. I figure my 700W PSU is old, but still working just fine, so I might as well use it for now, save some money and wait for a good deal on a new one. I'm fairly certain my new build requires less power than my old tower anyways. I have never migrated a copy of Windows 10 before. Is it true I don't need my registration key? I know how to extract it, but I read now that Microsoft authenticates the fresh install automatically based on my Microsoft account.
I'd suggest getting a fan controller. They're not too expensive and pretty worthwhile IMO. 3 120mm on the front of that case could be loud unless you get low RPM fans or slow them down with a controller. OCing your processor to 3.7 will be fast and easy. 3.8 will take just a bit longer. One of the first things you'll want to do is update your motherboard BIOS. After that, you can load the memory XMP profile in the BIOS to unlock the memory speed from 2133 to 2933.
Even if I hook the fans up through the mobo? There are five fan headers on the motherboard so I figured I could control them through the board. Plus, the tower has no external bays on the front. It is all fans. Is there another way to install a fan controller if I need to?
That will work too. Just make sure the fans you get are 4 pin PWM fans. If they are 3 pin the motherboard will always run them at full speed. EDIT: Scratch that. Looks like your motherboard supports voltage mode fans which means it should support variable speed on 3 pin non-PWM fans. You should double check to make sure.
I'll play around with it once I have the system built. I will have everything by Wednesday, except the AM4 bracket for the CPU cooler, which shipped from Micro Center through USPS without a tracking number, so I don't know when it is coming. I'm hoping sooner than later because I ordered it two days before I settled on the rest of the system parts. The fans I ordered are three pin. It shouldn't be an issue. The fans are only 25 dBA, which is pretty quiet and should be an upgrade from the noisy 80mm fan running in the front of my current case. If I'm not satisfied, I'll replace them over time. I ordered two packs of these: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835181055 That will give me three in the front and one in the back. Honestly, I'm not too concerned about noise. I have two young kids, its never quiet enough in my house to appreciate silence haha.
Your fans will be near silent. I just ordered the SP120 High Performance static pressure version yesterday. The AF120 are best as case fans and the SP120 are best for heat-sinks and radiators. Your AF120 at 1100 RPM Here is the equivalent and more expensive Noctua NF-S12A at 1200 RPM. Here is my High-Performance SP120. Top speed is 2350RPM. You can see why I want to keep these at 5volts for everyday use. My nicest fan is the Noiseblocker NB-eLoop. Most static pressure fans have messy air patterns. This one uses a one piece fan blade to create more of an air vortex. It also has magnetic bearings which means less friction and noise.
I saw this Fractal Design Define S case and really liked the way 5 drives can go behind the back plate. It's a mid-tower with the free space of a full tower.
I purposefully avoided cases that lacked a PSU cover. My intention was to reuse my power supply from my current computer until is died. It would save me some money inn the short term. However, I changed my mind, and decided to go over budget and get a new PSU so I don't have to rewire everything later. I still got an advantage though. I was able to save money getting a non-modular PSU, because I had ordered a case with a cover.
Corsair CX650 I went with this one because it was on sale, has good reviews and was the cheapest I could find with black wiring and staying above 600W. There were cheaper options by $5-10 dollars, but they had a mess of colored wiring and I'm trying to build something that looks clean this time.
I'm looking over my motherboard manual ahead of time, because I haven't done this in a while. I've got a couple questions: This is my first time building on a platform early in its life cycle with possible compatibility issues. Do I update the BIOS before or after I get the OS installed? Previously, I would get the OS running fully before looking at BIOS updates and deciding if they are necessary, but I've only ever built on more mature platforms where compatibility out of box wasn't an issue. My other question is about fan headers. I thought the board had 5 system fan headers, but its doesn't. It has two CPU fan headers and 3 system fan headers. I ordered a splitter because I have four total case fans I want to run. One of the two CPU headers is called CPU_OPT. Is this a slave header to the primary CPU fan header, or can it be adjusted separately? My CPU heatsink only has a single fan, so I won't need the CPU_OPT header. I was wondering if I can use it for a system fan, or if it is locked to the CPU temperature. I know that might be a question I won't be able to answer until I'm in the BIOS.
Your bios should allow the aux cpu fan to use a preset speed or make a fan speed curve based off CPU, motherboard, or some other temperature. Not sure if fan curve will work with your fans. Get OS then update bios. Additionally, I'm not sure what will happen with the spliter. It might divide the power in half which would make each fan slower. I'm not sure.
Prices on nVidia cards are also now skyrocketing due to cryptocurrency mining. GTX 1070s are sold out or going for like $700+ now. The cheapest ones even when they do come in stock are selling for like $100 over MSRP. It's a bad time to buy a video card. http://www.pcworld.com/article/3202...-as-cryptocurrency-miners-snap-up-supply.html Articles like this suggest the 1070 has a great hashrate (27 stock, 32 OC) with low energy usage, which I'm sure is why miners are now flocking to it. Its hashrate is actually higher than the GTX 1080 due to using GDDR5 instead of GDDR5X (why 1080 prices have stayed the same) and it also beats the 480 and 580. With some tweaks it actually beats the 480 and 580 by quite a bit, and performs about the same as a 1080Ti. http://www.legitreviews.com/geforce...-small-tweaks-great-hashrate-low-power_195451 http://www.legitreviews.com/best-gpu-ethereum-mining-nvidia-amd-tested_195229 Maybe I need to figure out how to mine ethereum with my 1070. Or sell it for twice what I paid originally.
The price of Ethereum now makes the 1070 and 1080ti feasible for mining. Back when the margins were small the 470 and 480 had the best return on investment. Looking at eBay my cards worth about $550 now. I'm not sure if it's worth selling.
I've finally received all the parts! I'll start putting it together tonight after work. I'm excited. This is long long overdue. My lady is also taking the kids out for the night so I can work on the build. I had my old tower open last night removing pieces that I'm transferring, and the kids made it difficult. My 4 year old son wanted to "help" and I tried to guide him but he half listens to directions and doesn't have near enough dexterity yet. So I tried to distract him with something else, and when I turn back, my 2 year old daughter was up on the table with a toy hammer banging on my CPU cooler! It was funny on the old computer, but I'll be a little less patient tonight. Speaking of the old PC, I had two thoughts: 1) I should run a benchmark on the old and new system just for laughs to compare my personal increase in performance from my 2009 PC to now. 2) I loaded Windows 10 without activation in my old tower on an old HDD (I took out my SSD because that is going in the new build), with intent of throwing it up on Facebook Marketplace and trying to sell it. I figure I could maybe get $40 for it if I advertise it as a dirt cheap Windows 10 machine. But then I thought maybe the whole isn't worth as much as the parts. I'm wondering if I could scrap it for parts and sell them individually for next to nothing and actually recoup more value. I've got 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2-800 memory in it. If I got lucky and found a buyer, DDR2 is not cheap. You just can't find it anymore. I could maybe get $30-40 for the memory alone. I'm not sure what kind of market there is for any of these parts because everything is outdated except the PSU, which is just old but works fine. I might give it a try to sell the parts for dirt cheap. Or be lazy and try to sell the whole thing. Not sure yet.