Part Recommendations

[Stainless82]

Hi im a hardcore n00b when it comes to hardware .

And i hope u can help to enlighten me !

I have buied a  ryzen 7950x and i want to build a nice gaming PC with it .

I thought of a MSI MAG B650M Mortar Motherboard (medium/small tower) , 32 GB Kingston Fury Renegade RAM , 2TB M.2 MSI Spadmium M480 and on release a 6 or 7 series GPU from AMD (depending on how much the prices increase)

I want of course make the 7950x run smoth and save, i dont care much about overclocking or any kind of optical effects!

So i want a raw ,clean, stable runnig mashine that lets all its componends run to their normal maximum level performance in a medium/small tower!

What do u think ,what would you recomment ? Are there compatibility issues on the horizon ?

[Vynski]

If price of motherboard is a concern I can understand the MAG B650M @ $240.  I would prefer the MEG X670E ACE, however the $700 price is a little hard to swallow.  But, the X670 has 3 Gen 4 and 1 Gen 5 NVMe slots where the B650 only has 2 Gen 4 NVMe slots.  So if you want the most from this CPU, the Gen 5 is your best method.  So you may want to shop around for a motherboard that has the Gen 5 NVMe slot at a lower price.  Don't misunderstand my intentions, I have a MEG X570 ACE board and love it.

The next issue is that no one has any Gen 5 NVMe drives at this time.  I don't know what the delay is, they were supposed to be available by mid 2022.  

[Stainless82]

700 is a real tough nut to bite , it would mean that i have to choose a 1or even 2 generations older GPU (radeon of course) to even the 400$ more vs the MAG B650M.

And with focus on Gaming maybe the GPU will help me more than the Gen5 Board, well i obviusly dont know how good or bad each part of it will synergize ... So what would be the smarter move ?

And thank you for your reply ! So i check for (medium size) boards with Gen 5 NVMe slot then to reach more of the potential performance.

[Vynski · Accepted solution]

I have 4 desktops and 3 have MSI boards and my laptop is an MSI Bravo 15.  I have been building computers since the mid 1980's and put my experience in either MSI or ASUS boards for desktops, and Supermicro in servers.  The B650 will be a solid board and Gen4 NVMe is fast enough for a home desktop for business or gaming.  The best thing I like about MSI is service.  They are top notch!

RYZEN 9 3900+, MSI MEG X570 ACE Gaming, 32GB GSKIL 3200, MSI Radeon 5700XT, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus NVMe 1TB, Sound Blaster Z SE 

RYZEN 7 2700, MSI MPG X570 Gaming, 16GB GSKIL 3200, XPG GAMIX S70 NVMe, Asus Radeon RX 480, Sound Blaster Audigy 5/Rx

AMD 9590 Black Edition, MSI 990FXA Gaming, 16GB Corsair Vengeance, Kingston Fury 240GB SSD, MSI Radeon R7 370, Sound Blaster XFI 

[MADZyren]

MSI and Asus for motherboard are what I use and recommend solely too. I almost got an Asrock this time, but black friday saved me and got an Asus B650E-E.

I'm not so sure about memory, but if I would have to mention one brand, it would be G.Skill, though over time I have had more Kingstons than G.Skills.

With PSU's it depends more on which model you get, but Seasonic is traditionally a good choice, though I would not recommend cheapest as they are not made by Seasonic, which is surprising. But if you avoid cheapest models, Seasonic, EVGA, Corsair, Superflower, Fractal Design, Asus... Of course very few actually produce PSU's themselves. Seasonic does.

[Vynski]

By far, put the money toward the GPU.  The Gen 4 is plenty fast for gaming.  Top notch would probably run in the neighborhood of $1500 to $2000 for the MEG Gen 5 and Gen 5 GPU.  I haven't checked because I can't afford those luxuries either.

[goodplay]

For the PC case, one with or can add 2 top exhaust fans.

[Stainless82]

I would choose a AIO with 2 Fan´s and no "bling bling"  like the Arctic liquid freezer 2 280  , all the bigger ones are too big for a medium tower  ... the one i had seen (forgot the name) had a hight of 38cm and a length of 38cm... a 3 fan AIO has a radiator length of 40cm so it wouldnt fit .

I guess the case should have this 2 top mount option so i can place my AIO radiator there ?

OK Thank you for your reply , i will check that !

[joebangles]

@goodplay -- @Stainless82 makes a really good point here  about using an AIO cooler...
here's AMD's recommended cooling solutions for ryzen 7 series:

https://www.amd.com/en/processors/ryzen-thermal-solutions
note that most of the top-end ryzens are 170W, so an AIO liquid system is about the best thing to fill the bill (probably late to the party here, but couldn't help making that note to second this idea (if you haven't already bought a cooler!)

[Vynski]

I did some shopping for you.  ASUS has a PRIME X670E-PRO Wi-Fi board that has what you need for $350.  I assume that you have checked out the MSI MPG X670 for $480.  The MSI board has a few more features of the PCIe 5 than the ASUS and if price is of concern the $130 difference, I would go with the ASUS board. 

I was also looking at the MSI Spatium NVMe for $280.  I think your fine on that.  You have to be careful on some even name brands that will tend to over heat without the heat sync.  They have the lower price but if you have to buy an additional heat sync it usually adds up higher. 

Just do your homework prior to purchasing and please stick with name brands.

[Vynski]

I didn't see any specs on your case.  with everything you are installing in the case, especially the CPU cooler, you might want to consider a LIAN LI PC-O11 DYNAMIC for $150, that is if you have the room.  It is really not a desktop case.  Check out the specs on it for fans and radiator.  The Corsair Crystal Series is a cube case but also carries a $200+ price tag.  I have the prior 540 Air series and it is an extremely nice case.  I also ran across this HYTE Y60 and it appears to be a pretty nice case, but it is also $200+.  The main thing is size of radiator (all of these will accept up to 360mm) and adequate air flow.  I have built a few with Phanteks cases and they are really nice cases.  Their 500 and 600 series will handle up to a 420mm radiator, but they also have that $200+ price.

Os what you have planned with the cooler you mentioned and for the price I honestly believe the LIAN-LI is your best alternative.

Have fun building and good luck with all of your components.  You have started with a good plan with your AMD-MSI combination. 

[Stainless82]

Thank you for your help , i really appreciate it !

I havn´t buyed a Case yet , but i was considering the "be quiet pure base 500 mid tower"

..simply because of no window , no rgb, no fancy stuff..no nothing just a box , and thats what i would like to have .

But i will check the lian li and the corsair you mentioned!

[Vynski]

There is another case that you might like on those same basics as the LIAN-LI.  I was considering the LIAN-LI case very much about a year ago and came across the Metallic Gear Neo Cube.  Gave them rave reviews and now I can't find any.  Anyway, when you purchase the case you don't pay for fans that you may not need.  It is bare, and I thought that was a great idea for someone planning on a liquid cooled system.  I only gave $109 for it and I only ask that you research the Metallic Gear Neo Cube and if you could find one I'm sure you would love it.  Here are a couple of photos.  It houses that RYZEN 9 3900X system I posted in the first post.

FrontSide

[Vynski]

Newegg has a Fractal Design Pop Air for $80.  Sounds like what your looking for and it has a really nice appearance.  Just take a look at it and see what you think.

[BigAl01]

What ever case you buy, you should primarily be concerned with good cooling.  That means lots of air flow through the case.  Having support for an AIO with a 3-fan radiator will keep your CPU nice and cool too.

[Vynski]

Just out of curiosity, are you aware of anyone trying freon in a radiator cooler.  I guess you would have to have a compressor also though, wouldn't you. Then I imagine condensation would be even a bigger issue.  Never mind, I guess I just answered my own question.

[BigAl01]

I would stay away from anything that would create moisture.  Liquid Nitrogen would be the way to go if you were an extreme overclocker, but that would likely destroy the CPU at some point.  

I find the AIO coolers the best bang for the buck.  They really don't cost that much and they work very well.  One thing I don't know is how many years they will last before there is a lack of sufficient coolant in the radiator or pump.  

I have not yet seen one of these AIO units fail.  Has anybody else seen one fail?

[Vynski]

I've read a couple of articles that they have a 5 to 7 year life expectancy.  One of the articles commented that performance also deteriorated over time.  I'm just not in to overclocking anymore and air is fine for what I am doing.

I recall reading back in the mid to late 1990's about someone using liquid nitrogen as a cooling agent.  There was not much of a limit to overclocking, but condensation was the big issue.  I also read about someone that submersed the entire system in a light cooking oil to achieve maximum cooling.  It was efficient but very messy.