First Build, Want to try out AMD

KidCookie

Hello Micro Center community! I've been doing COUNTLESS research for my first build and have come to some conclusions but also curious to see if i really need this stuff or if i could throw the money somewhere else. So lets get started.

First, i want to do an AMD build. I have been on Intel my whole life but after the research stats and "bang for your buck" phrase spewed every YouTube video, i want to give it a try. I understand that the frames for gaming are less compared to Intel but i also wanted to start Live Streaming so figured it would help out in the long run. I understand that the 3000 series GPU's and 4000 series CPU's will be dropping soon as well so i was contemplating  on waiting for that as well. Also, the Lian Li Galahad 360 AIO (drops end of July) may be my AIO to lean towards once the it gets tested and reviewed but currently, until more information is out, here is my current parts list to date 7-17-2020:

CPU:  AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Cooling: Corsair H150i PRO, Deepcool CASTLE 360EX or be quiet! Silent Loop 360
Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 GAMING PRO CARBON WIFI or MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Memory:  G.Skill Trident Z Royal 32 GB or G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (Both DDR4-3600 4x8GB)
Storage: 2 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2 & 1 WD BLACK SERIES 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X TRIO or EVGA FTW3 ULTRA GAMING
Case:  Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic (Normal or XL)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I want all types of advice considering this is my first build but i also want it to last a long time hence why i want roughly the top of the line equipment. I know i can go for a higher cpu but then im concerned about bottlenecking so some advice about that as well and overclocking would truly help. Thanks again for any help and cant wait to get started.

TSTonyV

So, if it were me, I would definitely wait for the next series of GPUs and CPUs to drop and see what kind of performance they have. If it's a big boost, then great, you can buy the best right then and there. If not, the older hardware should see some discounts so you can save some money. That said, I personally have a system with a Ryzen 7 3700x and an EVGA 2080 Super Black edition so I can speak pretty confidently and say even if you don't wait, you'll probably be happy with a system like that.

In terms of pure performance, Intel is the way to go and the 10600k will beat any current Ryzen offering in gaming scenarios. The superior clock speeds give it an advantage in any situation that can't make full use of the 8 cores/16 threads the 3700X offers, and most games are still not optimized for mult-thread performance like that yet. This is changing over time, but it remains to be seen how much of a different 8 cores vs 6 cores will make in the future. The 10600k costs the same as the 3700X so if you're mostly/only gaming, I'd say it's the better option in that sense. Honestly, the 10600k is just the best overall gaming CPU right now. It's the same or nearly as good in performance as the 10700k/9900k and 10900k in gaming, but costs much less than those CPUs. 

When it comes to streaming, the discussion gets a little bit more complicated. I've tested both hardware encoding with my 2080 Super and software encoding with my 3700X, and which one is "better" really depends on the games you're playing. If you play a lot of games that are lighter on GPU requirements then hardware encoding will work perfectly. As long as your GPU isn't hitting 95%+ utilization, hardware encoding is probably your best option in terms of overall system performance and the 10600k is going to be your better option since it'll still have that in-game advantage. 

If you're playing games that will max out your GPU, then software encoding with your CPU will probably be better and this is an area that the Ryzen CPUs were generally ahead of Intel, but to be honest I'm not sure the 3700X beats the 10600k outright in streaming either. I think they should perform pretty closely when gaming and streaming at the same time, and can trade the lead depending on if the particular game you're playing favors AMD or Intel. Of course, the 3700X does have two more cores than the 10600k, so if you do OTHER things that are multi-core intensive like video editing and rendering, the 3700X is just straight up better. 

Of course, all this is less important if you plan on gaming at 1440p or higher resolutions, because as resolution goes up you become more GPU bound in your performance differences between processors will be minimized. 

KidCookie

Wow! Now that’s what I call advice. I was considering the chance of settling for a 10900K too but didn’t know if it could handle streaming but then again it was the top of the line gaming performance cpu. So far my build would be the exact same whether I went AMD or Intel since I’d only be switching a cpu/gpu while everything else stayed the same. 

By any chance do you dabble in over clocking? And if so, is MSI Afterburner still the go to application?

TSTonyV

MSI Afterburner is still the go-to for GPU overclocking. I've never done GPU overclocking myself, never felt any need to, but I know Afterburner is still the best tool for that.  

If you are into CPU overclocking general, then I'll mention that the Ryzen CPUs aren't that great for overclocking unless you get one of the XT processors, but the XT processors don't have enough performance uplift, even with an overclock, to justify the price premium. Especially when Intel still has better overclocking capabilities on their chips. This is another point for the 10600k which from what I've heard, is actually pretty easy to overclock in general. 

There are some cool things you can do with AMD overclocking in regards to memory timings and the infinity fabric, but I don't really know memory overclocking and can't really say if AMD or Intel is "better" or "more fun" in that respect. Memory overclocking is a whole different beast. 

KidCookie

So now another question, say i went with the 10900k or 9900k, i would be ok to stream and game correct? or would it still be better to go AMD for multi tasking?

PowerSpec_MichaelB

KidCookie said:

Wow! Now that’s what I call advice. I was considering the chance of settling for a 10900K too but didn’t know if it could handle streaming but then again it was the top of the line gaming performance cpu. So far my build would be the exact same whether I went AMD or Intel since I’d only be switching a cpu/gpu while everything else stayed the same. 

By any chance do you dabble in over clocking? And if so, is MSI Afterburner still the go to application?

I agree with @TSTonyV in that MSI Afterburner is still the go-to GPU overclocking tool. I use it on a daily basis on both my desktop and laptop. With that said, overclocking has changed a little after Nvidia's Pascal architecture. It's no longer a game of throwing as much voltage at the core and pushing the clock speeds as high as you can get it. The best methodology at the moment involves utilizing the voltage frequency curve (CTRL + F from within Afterburner) to increase your GPU clock speeds at different voltage steppings to maintain a high core clock at lower voltage values. This helps keeps temperatures in-check, which in return help stabilize your clock speeds despite having lower voltage values. It's tedious, but by far the most efficient method to overclock these days.

KidCookie said:

So now another question, say i went with the 10900k or 9900k, i would be ok to stream and game correct? or would it still be better to go AMD for multi tasking?

Honestly either of those options will do fine. As far as current programming is concerned, applications are still bound by Amdahl's Law (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law) in that no matter how many cores you have, no matter how well you try to parallelize your code, you'll be bottlenecked by how fast your individual cores can process a single thread, as not everything can be parallelized. This is why Intel has an advantage in gaming, as they currently offer higher clock speeds than AMD.

Having more cores can help when multi-tasking, but even that has diminishing returns depending on exactly what you are doing. For streaming and gaming, I'd say a 10900K can handle both with ease. Even a 9900K would be fine based on some benchmarks: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3378-intel-9900k-cpu-review-solder-vs-paste-delid-gaming-benchmarks-vs-2700x/page-3. Note: The 2700X is much slower than the 3rd gen Ryzen processors, so I wouldn't put much weight into AMD's performance in that benchmark, they've made huge improvements in such a short amount of time. I would consider their CPU's completely on-par for this task.

I wouldn't overthink the raw core counts or clock speeds too much as both AMD and Intel are offering extremely competitive products at the moment. I would instead focus on the platforms that give you the best features for your buck. Do you need WiFi? Thunderbolt support? Higher memory capacity/clock speeds? SLI/Crossfire support? Future upgrade/expandability options? Factor those questions into your overall decision and lean towards the option that best suits your needs. I can say with absolute confidence that if your options are between 10th gen Intel and 3rd gen AMD Ryzen, you'll be satisfied no matter what.

KidCookie

I really appreciate the responses. Definitely just earned my business for community support alone! I keep going back and forth as far AMD and Intel but since i will only be gaming I may end up going with Intel. The Z490 is the latest motherboard that supports LGA1200 chipset?

KidCookie

Also, if i bought the parts at MicroCenter, can they put it together or even assist me building it there? The closest store to me is in Tustin, CA.

PowerSpec_MichaelB

KidCookie said:

I really appreciate the responses. Definitely just earned my business for community support alone! I keep going back and forth as far AMD and Intel but since i will only be gaming I may end up going with Intel. The Z490 is the latest motherboard that supports LGA1200 chipset?

Z490 is Intel's latest performance-grade consumer chipset. It's the chipset I would recommend if you intend to do any overclocking whatsoever as the non-Z chipsets have locked memory overclocking for this generation, even with XMP profiles. You also get additional PCIe lanes from the chipset compared to the lower-end chipsets and additional creature comforts that some cheaper boards skip out on.

KidCookie said:

Also, if i bought the parts at MicroCenter, can they put it together or even assist me building it there? The closest store to me is in Tustin, CA.

We do offer an assembly service, however we do not have a service to perform the build alongside you. There was a time where we had in-store clinics involving BYO PC's, but with this pandemic we had to put a hold on those clinics as a safety precaution. Here is a list of our different build tier services: https://www.microcenter.com/site/service/instore-service-complete-build.aspx. You can click each one for detailed information on what each tier covers.

Should you decide to perform the build yourself, keep in mind that we are always here on the forum to lend a hand. It can be a bit nerve racking if this is your first attempt at performing a PC build, but things have gotten much easier these days and I am confident you'll do fine with just a bit of preperation.