AM5 build

[Selhar]

Hey, I’m building a pc in march and i’d like some feedback on it. Mostly around the power supply since i plan to re-use it for the new PC but i’m not 100% sure it’s good enough.
Location is Brazil, i prefer gigabyte, lian li and MSI for brands since they have great RMA support here.

Budget is not an issue, this is my balls to the walls childhood dream PC, so i really want it to be insanely high end, not particularly because it’s the best cost x benefit. Currently I’m on a 1800x, first gen ryzen and everything will be a massive improvement.

Here is the spec:

• GPU: 7900XTX
  Likely from gigabyte since it has good RMA support in Brazil, but i’ll wait on reviews first.
• CPU: 7800X3D
  Will depend on whether it has been released and available in Brazil by march. Otherwise i’ll get the 7600X and then sell it once the 7800X3D releases.
• MOBO: Asrock X670E steel legend
  I checked BIOS support for the first gen asrocks and it seems far better than on MSI. I have a x370 MSI board and had issues booting newer RAM and M.2 drives for months before they released an update.
  Would like to stick to MSI due to their RMA but considering i want to keep this mobo throughout the AM5 lifecycle, i’d rather get better BIOS support than good RMA. Would welcome advice here too though.
• RAM: ??
  I would like to get a g.skill tridentZ 2x16gb 6000mhz, but currently in Brazil i can only get the XPG lancer or the kingstone fury beast. So it will come down to availability.
• Cooler: Lian li Galahad 360mm
  Lian li has a good track of RMA support track in Brazil and i’d hate be left with a faulty AIO cooler. Also it’s pretty with RGB turned off.
• Case: H7 flow
  Looks cool and supports 360mm
• Power supply: XPG Core 850w
  Here is where i’m not so sure. I already have this power supply and would like to reuse it if possible, but i’m not sure if 850W is enough for this build. What do you think?

Thanks for your time!

[wertigon]

While sure, the build looks compatible enough, I think you have not been keeping up with latest gaming developments either. Over the last five years, gaming went from a high performance computing hobby to a mid performance computing hobby.

To answer your main concerns about the PSU, it will be fine. AM5 sockets have a theoretical max of 170W and XTX draws 350W. As for the rest, I got three main critiques:

First off, what is your screen target resolution and refresh rate? If it is anything less than 4k, the 7900 XTX is massive overkill. Some examples and the minimum viable GPU for High/Ultra on that target, and their current market prices (do note that these tiers degrade over time due to technology creep):

Resolution	Refresh Rate	AMD Min	Price	Nvidia Min	Price
4k (3840x2160)	240 Hz	—	—	RTX 4090	$1799
4k (3840x2160)	120 Hz	RX 7900 XTX	$999	RTX 4080	$1199
4k (3840x2160)	60 Hz	RX 6700 XT	$349	RTX 3070	$499
1440p (2560x1440)	240 Hz	RX 7900 XTX	$999	RTX 4080	$1199
1440p (2560x1440)	120 Hz	RX 6700 XT	$359	RTX 3070	$499
1440p (2560x1440)	60 Hz	RX 6600	$229	RTX 3060	$359
1080p (1920x1080)	240 Hz	RX 6700 XT	$359	RTX 3070	$499
1080p (1920x1080)	120 Hz	RX 6600 XT	$289	RTX 3060 Ti	$399
1080p (1920x1080)	60 Hz	RX 6500 XT (PCIe 4.0)	$159	GTX 1650 Super	$209

So, as you can see it makes little sense to go for a 4080 or 7900 XTX unless you are aiming at high performance 1440p gaming or above. If you are still rocking a 1080p, a 6700 XT should be more than enough for your needs right now. You might even want to consider a 6900 XT and a 1440p@120 Hz screen for the same amount of money.

Second thing to consider, AIOs / Custom Loops are pretty much only worth it for aesthetics or if you are in need of dead silent PCs - at which point, the less fans the better. A tower cooler such as the Arctic Freezer A35 should be more than capable for $100 less.

Third, you will probably never have a usecase for the X670E as a gaming rig. With that in mind I recommend to either go for something higher end for future proofing, like a B650E Aorus Master, or a cheaper board meant to last you until the X770 or X870 come out.

Here is a balanced build over on PC Part Picker, this is US centric though, YMMV:

Part List - AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, Radeon RX 6750 XT, NZXT H7 Flow ATX Mid Tower...

[Selhar]

@wertigon

Over the last five years, gaming went from a high performance computing hobby to a mid performance computing hobby.

Oh i’m totally aware, don’t worry.

@wertigon

First off, what is your screen target resolution and refresh rate? If it is anything less than 4k, the 7900 XTX is massive overkill.

3440 x 1440, 165hz. Besides gaming and working with software development i have a hobby in rendering, so the GPU will definitely not go to waste.

As i mentioned this is mostly a childhood dream than a practical solution. I currently have a 6800XT and a 1440p monitor, which in practical terms would be far more than enough. I’ve built AM4 PCs for my friends and i’m completely aware that this is a very long term build and overkill for current games. Specially the ones i play.

I guarantee terraria and factorio will not make use of a 7900XTX.

@wertigon

Second thing to consider, AIOs / Custom Loops are pretty much only worth it for aesthetics or if you are in need of dead silent PCs - at which point, the less fans the better.

This is exactly what i’m going for. Currently with the scythe fuma and a 1800x makes my room heat up like a sauna. Plus i’ve never done AIO and i’d like to give it a shot. Dream build and all.

The alternative would also be far more expensive, a good fan here in Brazil costs around R$300, for the H7 flow i would need at a minimum 4 high quality fans, 3 on the front and 1 on the back. That would cost me R$1200 + shipping. The Galahad costs R$999, free shipping.

@wertigon

With that in mind I recommend to either go for something higher end for future proofing, like a B650E Aorus Master

Yeah, i can see that. The reason i went for x670E is mostly for long term bios support and that prices and availability are currently not great here in Brazil. The cheapest M5 ATX motherboard i’d be able to buy right now is a B650 Tomahawk for R$2500. Meanwhile the Aorus costs R$3000, and the X670E costs R$2900.

I’ll look into bios support for gigabyte, as i’ve never used one. Thanks for the input!

[wertigon]

Ok, then I understand better. Sorry if my response sounded harsh, just want you to avoid the main traps.

In the end you do as you feel best, I’m just here to provide any advice I can to the best of my ability - and for me costs are a factor that should be calculated into everything.

Water cooling won’t make your room any less hot - it will just move the heat from your CPU more efficiently. But if that’s fine by you then go ahead

[Selhar]

@wertigon

Ok, then I understand better. Sorry if my response sounded harsh, just want you to avoid the main traps.

Don’t worry, i give support to people at my company all the time and the first thing i do is to cover the basics as well!

@wertigon

for me costs are a factor that should be calculated into everything.

Yep! Totally get it, normally i plan around spending as little as possible for the best possible performance.

But it’s like, if i liked cars and dreamed of a mercedes, it wouldn’t be practical, it’s just something i’d like to have and tinker around with. Same thing here, I’m just lucky to have cheaper hobbies.

@wertigon

Water cooling won’t make your room any less hot - it will just move the heat from your CPU more efficiently.

Oh i meant that the general temperature of the CPU would be lower, thus making the room less hot. Today my case is not the best so the CPU and GPU get to insanely high temperatures. So the lower i can get it, the better, specially since ambient temperature here can reach 35° celsius depending on time of the year. But yeah, I’m aware that if the CPU and GPU still reach higher degrees (specially with this new architecture where 95° is ok), the room will still heat up. And at that point i would probably consider buying an AC for my office.

Do you think the power supply can handle it though? This is the one i’m most worried about and would not like to go ham on it if possible. Since i recently bought the XPG core 850w and all.

[wertigon]

@Selhar

Do you think the power supply can handle it though? This is the one i’m most worried about and would not like to go ham on it if possible. Since i recently bought the XPG core 850w and all.

The 7900 XTX draws around 400W peak and the AM5 peaks at perhaps 225W - that leaves over 200W headroom, so it is very unlikely that you need a PSU upgrade.

[GoldenAngel1997]

Should have a bit of headroom, against your existing 850W*
[*worst case wattage draw I’d anticipate, closer to 600W, between those two (2) parts]
Thermally, the CPU do be running a bit hotter [~95C], thanks to the [THICC] IHS design
…But that is, running to spec

Thermals [CPU-wise] can be better controlled, if has you feeling more comfortable
between running 105W Eco-Mode, or performing some voltage regulating [RyzenMaster]

OR, by some hardware modification [Delidding / Direct-Die cooling]

Ryzen 7000 Delidding - Unreal Temperature improvement with Direct-Die Cooling

[AliasInWendellLand]

I’m about to put together a 7950X system - waiting on one last part arriving. I decided this time to go with a Noctua NH-D15 tower cooler - I used a 280mm AIO on a previous Intel 12900/Z690 build. The machine will have a 850W power supply and the graphics card is an MSI 6800 non-XT; MSI PRO X670-P mobo.

I read various articles (TechPowerup e.g. - AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Cooling Requirements & Thermal Throttling | TechPowerUp ) and watched videos that led me to believe that the Noctua would be within say 2 or 3% of an AIO in cooling performance and given the design of the 7000-series processors which are intended to run around 95C, throttling wouldn’t be an issue, although I might not hit maximum core frequency on the hottest days. Caveat: I’m in the northern hemisphere where the mean temperature across the whole year is about 12C! (It gets above 20C, even into the 30s in the summer but it’s manageable.)

Good luck with your build!

[Chazn2]

Noctua also have impeccable customer service, you will be able to use the NH-D15 in a future build with ease as they make upgrades to future sockets free.

I’m making a similar build to the OP, my only advice is to check to see how the graphics card benchmarks on whatever rendering program they use.

[Selhar]

Hey, as the build gets closer to reality i’m getting worried about my PSU. I have a XPG core 850W, but the GPU i’m planning to buy (7900XTX phantom gaming) recommends 1000W.

I’m thinking of going with my current PSU and if i come across any problems i’ll buy a new one. Are there any concerns i should have if the psu is lower than ideal?

[wertigon]

850W should be fine, even for an XTX. We are talking an estimated peak wattage of ~700W, with a sustained wattage of maybe 500W when gaming.

If you had an Intel i9 13900KS or a 4090, then I would be worried.

[Selhar]

BABY IS GETTING BORN, on track to buy it once 7900X3D releases here in Brazil(unless it’s bad, then i’ll get a 7900). Buying whatever parts i can find a good discount in the meantime. So far i got case, AIO and memory, only missing cpu and mobo.

[Selhar]

As the new PC starts to be born, i’m taking a few benchmarks of the old one so i can compare afterwards. All games are on the highest possible settings, ray tracing turned off, 1440p 144hz. All running on linux. The general vibe of my current pc is things run well but not smoothly, likely due to my memory sticks being different and running on a relatively low frequency (because i was a dummy back in 2017 and bought the wrong ones)

I won’t buy the GPU right away, so the next benchmark comparison will likely be the same 6800XT gpu but everything else (except the m.2) is new.

Geekbench5: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-7A33 - Geekbench Browser
Geekbench6: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/152088

CP77:

Deus ex mankind divided (jesus christ):

Civ 6 - AI:

Civ 6 - Graphics:

Total war - Warhammer - Skaven benchmark:

Campaign map benchmark:

Default battle benchmark:

Final fantasy xiv - endwalker:

[Selhar]

The prices just came out here in Brazil and i’m really on the fence regarding the 7900x3d. I’ll wait for reviews but it’s not looking good.

Considering the resolution i’ll play at(3440 x 1440), i can’t easily justify spending R$2000 more just for the cache. My initial idea was longevity, but the price difference is just too large for a benefit that doesn’t seem to exist at higher resolutions, even with the 7900 XTX. For reference, the base ryzen 7900 costs R$2899, while the 7900X3D costs R$5,199 and the 7950X3D costs R$5,999. At that price point i’d rather bite the bullet and get the 7950X3D.

My feeling right now is that the base 7900 will last pretty much as long as the 7950X3D for higher resolutions but cost half the price. I’ll do some more research and decide later this week.

[GigaBusterEXE]

are they at similar resolution and settings? Deus ex should be way higher

[MisteryAngel]

For mainly gaming?

Just wait for the 7800X3D then.
i kinda expect it be priced similar to the current 7900X,
maybe slightly higher around the $500 ish mark.
But it is likely going to be the best performing Ryzen cpu for gaming.
The 7800X3D has only one CCD with the additional cache.
So you are not gonna need the additional software or anything,
to get it to work properly in windows.

[Selhar]

@GigaBusterEXE

are they at similar resolution and settings? Deus ex should be way higher

Yeah. Same resolution, all at max settings. I’m not sure why the performance is so bad. I’m running them on linux so that might be it.

@MisteryAngel

For mainly gaming?

Not quite, it’s also my software development and sometimes rendering computer and although i would happily go for the 7800X3D, the april release is a problem for me since it would only come out here in Brazil by may, and i’d rather not wait that long to have my new PC.

I’m just waiting on the 7900X3D reviews to decide, but i’m between 7900 non X and 7900X3D at this point. Worst case scenario i can buy a 7600, wait for the 7800X3D and then sell the 7600 when it comes out. But i really would like to avoid that bureaucracy.

[wertigon]

@Selhar

I’m just waiting on the 7900X3D reviews to decide, but i’m between 7900 non X and 7900X3D at this point. Worst case scenario i can buy a 7600, wait for the 7800X3D and then sell the 7600 when it comes out. But i really would like to avoid that bureaucracy.

I would say either way is fine, though I would personally wait 6 more weeks for the 7800 X3D embargo to lift first - unless you are really itching and losing money by staying on your current system.

Perhaps order the 7900 and build the rest of the system, wait for embargos to lift. Once the embargo lifts you can make the final decision I guess.

Or just dip into the 7950X and be done with it, peace of mind has a value too.

[Selhar]

I went for the 7900, i got lucky and found a steel legend, they arrive in a few days, not sure how work is gonna be by then so i might only build the pc by the weekend. But i’ll make sure to bring back VFIO info and benchmarks.

[Selhar]

Hey, the parts arrived, worth every single penny. Couldn’t wait until the weekend so i spent last night setting it up. Everything went well aside from the goddamn kingstone fury kit with RGB (it was on sale) that i can’t turn the goddamn RGB off and it’s brighter than a lamp, some folks are trying to reverse engineer the windows tool on the openrgb repo, but it’s been tricky.

Performance is out of this world, this is the first time i had a PC like this where games feel pre-rendered by how smooth they run. Everything here ran smooth like butter without any meaningful stutters.

Here are some benchmarks, the VFIO will have to wait until the weekend though:

Prev build:
Ryzen 1800X
6800XT
32GB DDR4 2400Mhz
Msi sli plus x370

Current build:
Ryzen 7900
6800XT
32GB DDR5 6000Mhz
Asrock x670 steel legend

FFXIV endwalker:

Total war: Warhammer II (battle benchmark):

Weird dips on this one, wasn’t noticeable during the benchmark itself though.

Total war: Warhammer II (Campaign benchmark):

Total war: Warhammer II (Skaven battle):

The dips in total war are a bit worrying though. But since i did not notice them without looking at the graph, i assume it’s just optimization issues or a proton issue.

Deus ex: Human revolution

This is the first time i’ve seen this game run smoothly since it released. I remember trying to play on release and even at 1080p low was a powerpoint presentation.

Cyberpunk 2077 with fidelityFX:

Cyberpunk 2077 without fidelityFX:

On cyberpunk the bottleneck really is the GPU, but the stuttering has been entirely removed. I imagine because of the better RAM.

Civ VI (graphics benchmark):

Civ VI(AI):

Now while the GPU prices go down i’ll finish my setup (likely standing desk and monitor, and then the GPU). I’m already amazed by how well this is running, even my M.2 is basically working at double the performance, probably because the m.2 lanes on the x370 aren’t that great for today’s standards. I’ll come back by sunday with VFIO results.