Changing out old Motherboard & Processor for use in HTPC, does this look good?
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Yes, hopefully I got the formatting right!
What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.
Other than surfing the net and watching youtube, I would like the PC to continue to be able to play games like Siege and maybe more taxing games like Rising Storm 2: Vietnam and Warframe (Used to work for me but now Vietnam crashes for me at times, Warframe crashes when I'm in the open world areas like Eidolon.) Currently I'm looking at changing out my current motherboard/processor to be used on my father's PC, and using his MATX Motherboard for my dead htpc, so that at least that machine can be used to watch videos on my TV. You can view my current PC parts here, and my Father's motherboard that I'm using for the HTPC here. I do not foresee myself doing any overclocking other than the DRAM Calculator thing, and probably AMD's overclocking thing, Precision Overboost etc was it? I will have to look into those at a later time, or I will just do the RAM timings, who knows.
If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)
2660 x 1140, 144hz would be nice, but I'm also used to playing at lower settings to at least maintain above 60fps/ playability levels (Looking at you, COH2 Spearhead mod, quit crashing as the match drags on man)
What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?
Below 700SGD would be good, but eh I'm currently more concerned on budget long term usability. (Can the processor be swapped out? Enough USB ports/ M2 slots? Are the board's VRMs/ capacitors good? Is it easy to change its BIOs? etc) Still slowly scouring my country's marketplaces for prices when I have time...
In what country are you purchasing your parts?
Singapore!
Post a draft of your potential build here (specific parts please). Consider formatting your parts list. Don't ask to be spoonfed a build (read the rules!).
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor | $477.73 |
| Motherboard | MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard | $205.70 |
| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory | $289.00 |
| Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | - |
| Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Storage | Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 970 4 GB Twin Frozr V Video Card | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Case | Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case | - |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Monitor | Acer XG270HU 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $972.43 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-08 11:08 EST-0500 |
Provide any additional details you wish below.
Prices listed above are Amazon.sg's price at the moment or the local e-commerce listing (For RAM) so subject to changes. Port-wise this board seems to have what I need, other better options are still welcomed! Now I do have several questions that I'm unsure of.
- How would I know if my PSU can be reused? Right now I'm using a GTX 970 but if I were to eventually get my hands on a 5700 XT or 2070 S would it still be enough?
- How's DRAM overclocking on the ryzen 3000 series? Last I heard it is no longer necessary to get Samsung B-die RAMs, so any guides/ sites showing how/ what to do/ buy for RAM these days?
- I've chosen the MSI Gaming Pro Carbon because it provides a PCIe M2 slot, and seems cheap enough with additional external clear CMOs function. But would you guys say it is difficult to update its BIOs for Ryzen 3000 usage, or do I have to go cheaper and consider the MAX series? (How good are the MAXes for Ryzen 3000/ 4000 for minor overclocking, that is another question...)
- Any recommendations for a PCIe NVMe adaptor allowing me to use my 970 EVO Plus SSD as a boot device on my old motherboard? Recommendations for those PC vacuums would be nice too, what was it, a Data-Vac?
Will be nice to hear any feedbacks, thank you!
Posted Nov 8, 2019, 4:43 PM UTC
It depends on the quality of the PSU, but in terms of wattage, its fine. I personally have overclocked 9700k and 2070S with SF600.
In case of 3rd gen ryzen, the memory controller got a lot better, and usually can just enable XMP. ymmv tho.
The MAX variant is guaranteed to work out of the box with 3rd gen ryzen, whereas the non-max aren't. Thats the only difference. Some boards allow usb flashing, which means you dont need a ryzen processor. Your local computer shop should be able to update it for you in most of the cases.
Also, Id check pricing on Ripjaws V 3600mhz cl16. Same timing, but usually can be bought for cheaper price. Cannot go wrong with NEO tho
Thanks for the tips, i have taken my time to reconsider and I think I agree with what you said. So I'm changing to a b450 Tomahawk Max and see if I can find this Ripjaws in my market.
Initially I was looking at x470 boards but considering the fact that it's already the end of 2019, I don't foresee myself getting the last of those AM4 Ryzens, probably by then it's better to get their new chipset chips.
Now to decide when to go shopping, Black Friday and my local 11.11 nonsense shouldn't give me much in discounts hmm...