Advice on ~€2250 PC build for development/programming and gaming

aosaigh

I'm putting together a part list for a work-related (programming & development) PC build that will be also used for gaming and general photo/video editing.

I already have a second monitor as well as keyboard/mouse.

I'm more interested in the system being silent and powerful rather than filled with RGBs.

• I'm not sure what's the best 1080 around at the moment
• I haven't put much thought into the motherboard
• I've heard good things about the Ryzen 1700 and that the 1700x isn't worth the extra cash

Here's the part list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£251.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£50.38 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI - X370 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard (£135.10 @ Alza)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£309.95 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£212.40 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card (£522.90 @ Alza)
Case: Corsair - Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case (£72.49 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£82.04 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Monitor: LG - 27UD68-P 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor (£393.97 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £2143.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-29 18:46 GMT+0000

Matt Simis

Get this memory instead, its on the ASrock approved list at 3600MHz which is gets the Infinity Fabric on the Ryzen upto speed (its more important than raw CPU speed): https://www.memoryc.ie/19466-16gb-g-skill-ddr4-trident-z-3600mhz-pc4-28800-cl16-16-16-16-36-1-35v-dual-channel-kit-2x8gb.html*

Id get an Asrock or Asus board over the MSI based on feedback. For your build which sounds more serious (ie work) Id go Asus.

The 1700x I got on eBay for £240, the 1700 is basically the same price and doesnt clock as well.

* Just noticed you wanted 32GB. Currently thats slim pickings, refer to this list for some options, note only the GSkill's are getting decent (near 3000mhz) speeds.
https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20X370%20Professional%20Gaming/index.asp#Memory

K.O.Kiki

Best GPUs for noise+thermals: Palit GameRock/Jetstream series
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/palit-geforce-gtx-1080-gamerock-8192mb-gddr5x-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-03b-pl.html
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/palit-geforce-gtx-1080-jetstream-8gb-gddr5x-vr-ready-graphics-card-2560-core-1607mhz-gpu-1733mhz-boo

Best PSUs for noise: Corsair RM / RMx (EVGA G2 & most other quality Gold+ are good too).

Best mid-range CPU cooler for noise+thermals: Thermalright True Spirit 140

@Matt Simis:
Pretty much every review has the 1700, 1700X and 1800 topping out at the same frequencies.

the_syco

If concerned about for quietness, get some rubber screws, such as these to get rid of vibration noise. Have used this type of rubber screws, and find them handy to install the case fans, and you can then snip the excess after the install.

Not a big fan of 5400RPM drives, but WD Blue is meant to be better than WD Green. Will they be only used for storage?

Dislike the M2 drives, because since Dell started using them in their laptops, I've noticed more Windows corruptions after maybe 6-9 months of use, but mainly only with the shorter M2's, if that makes any difference.

aosaigh

Matt Simis wrote: »

* Just noticed you wanted 32GB. Currently thats slim pickings, refer to this list for some options, note only the GSkill's are getting decent (near 3000mhz) speeds.
https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20X370%20Professional%20Gaming/index.asp#Memory

Cheers for that list, I'm going to check out that list and try pair the memory better and look for an ASUS board. I'd like 32gb as I'll need it for virtual machines.

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Best PSUs for noise: Corsair RM / RMx (EVGA G2 & most other quality Gold+ are good too).

Thanks, the RMx550 looks good. I'll have a look at that cooler and the GPUs

the_syco wrote: »

If concerned about for quietness, get some rubber screws, such as these to get rid of vibration noise. Have used this type of rubber screws, and find them handy to install the case fans, and you can then snip the excess after the install.

Not a big fan of 5400RPM drives, but WD Blue is meant to be better than WD Green. Will they be only used for storage?

Dislike the M2 drives, because since Dell started using them in their laptops, I've noticed more Windows corruptions after maybe 6-9 months of use, but mainly only with the shorter M2's, if that makes any difference.

Great idea with the screws. The blue 5400 drives will only be for storage, probably in RAID and backed up to a NAS. Strange about the M2s. Have one in my MBP and so far so good.

Matt Simis

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

@Matt Simis:
Pretty much every review has the 1700, 1700X and 1800 topping out at the same frequencies.

Yes.. pretty much but if they are the same price (well mine was) and the 1700x is slightly better binned, then why wouldnt you get it??

http://www.ocdrift.com/amd-ryzen-binned-processors-by-silicon-lottery/
Note the voltages required too between the x and non-x:

Ryzen 7 1700
93% reach 3.8 GHz @ 1.376V
70% reach 3.9 GHz @ 1.408V
23% reach 4.0 GHz @ 1.440V

Ryzen 7 1700X
100% reach 3.8 GHz @ 1.360V
77% reach 3.9 GHz @ 1.392V
33% reach 4.0 GHz @ 1.424V

Ryzen 7 1800X
97% reach 3.9 GHz @ 1.376V
67% reach 4.0 GHz @ 1.408V
20% reach 4.1 GHz @ 1.440V