PC Dilemma - Computer Health and Performance

[An0maly_76]

So, I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I'll try to keep it short, but it's a bit difficult. You'll see why shortly.

My PC setup could use some expansion and upgrading. The pretty basic gaming rig (Ryzen 7 1700 (3.0 Ghz, 8-Core, 16 Threads) I got in 2018 is pretty well maxed out now. 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 2 TB HDD and an Asus TUF Gaming GTX1650 Super 4GB OC (no flaming from the parts snobs out there, it is plenty capable and I wasn't about to upgrade my power supply). Seriously, to me, before and after was like trading the family Bonneville for a '69 GTO Judge.

This summer, I bought a Ryzen 9 5900X with plans to upgrade further. I was just about to pull the trigger a couple weeks ago when MSI, the motherboard manufacturer, informs me that:

A) My motherboard (MSI B450M Bazooka Gaming) does not support it as-is.
B) The BIOS update necessary for the 5900X may fry the board.
C) My motherboard is out of warranty, so even if it fails from a factory MSI update, I'm stuck with it.

Well, then... F*ck you very much, MSI. The kicker is that other mobo manufacturers say anything but the latest versions of their motherboards may suffer the same fate. And suppliers, of course, can't guarantee manufacture dates of anything I order. So why buy a new board to risk the same result? Maybe I'll do it in a year when it's more likely I'll get a compatible board.

The 1700X is plenty fast since it didn't have to wait for my RAM and storage to catch up -- boot time alone dropped 57% with the RAM, GPUm, and storage upgrades. So the CPU upgrade can wait, as speed isn't really a dire issue at the moment. Why risk blowing up a perfectly good motherboard and CPU on a maybe?

Most of my current problem is storage. I relegated the original HDD to auxiliary storage, mostly music and movies for on-demand use so I don't risk scratching up my DVDs and wearing out my DVD drive. Unfortunately, 159 movies and a ton of music have my 2 TB HDD flipping me the bird and saying "No more! No More!".

The 43" smart TV I use has also recently begun having issues. Audio and video completely cut out when adjusting the volume at times. A real pisser doing 85 mph in American Truck Simulator (I used to be a long-haul trucker).

I may have room for a 58". Found a nice one for $338 with built-in Roku, but I'd rather get a plug-in device for that. Not so impressed with Amazon since I figured out I'm paying $13-$18 to "buy" streamed movies. Not such a great deal when I can buy $3-$5 DVDs and rip to my computer at higher quality to watch whether I have InterNet or not.

For storage, I'd like to go with SSD, but I'd like at least 8-10 TB and most top out at about 4 TB. Amazon has Western Digital Blue 4 TB SSDs for $408 right now, and while two of these would have me set for a good while, I just found a deal on two WD Gold 16TB HDDs for $200 less. But perhaps my eyes are bigger than my stomach here. Should I sacrifice long-term capacity for speed?

While 32TB would be the final word, I'm not sure I need to spend that on storage, but I'm practically getting the second drive at half price. I probably wouldn't fill that up for another five years, easily. But is an SSD even necessary for storing movies and music? Of course, I have to consider the occasional glitches I have in ripping movies for my own use, maybe the SSD would eliminate that.

But is it really necessary? Besides, my TV is starting to act stupid as well, and while I could afford to do all this, I'd like to keep the whole thing around $1000.

Thoughts?

 

[fcleff69]

Burn it all.

 

[An0maly_76]

Burn it all.

Certainly, if you'll foot the bill to replace it all.

 

[fcleff69]

Boney will cover it.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

Sure thing, as soon as I'm done covering your mom.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

I haven't built a PC since the early '00s, so I'm no help there, unfortunately.

 

[An0maly_76]

Nor have I.

So... What I know right now... fcleff69 is right, in part.

1) Current machine was built Q4 2018 with a Ryzen 7 1700, B450M Bazooka Gaming board, GT1030 video, 8GB RAM.
2) Apart from the processor, this combo was a joke for gaming even when it was new. Will it game? Yes. Will it game well? F*** no.
3) Only decent part is the 1700 processor. 8 core, 16 thread, 3.0 Ghz. Recommended video for these, RTX2080ti / RTX3060ti or better.
4) Factory 500W power supply can't supply these video cards. (ie., the 1700 processor was lipstick on a pig)
5) Original video and system board by MSI. Support says their own BIOS update for this board might fry it. Seriously?
6) System board shut down after a GPU upgrade. It's been neurotic at best since MSI 'fixed' it under warranty.
7) System board was released same quarter machine was built, but apparently c*ck-blocks upgrades and has been said to be problematic.

I can actually feel it dying... The keyboard and mouse have been acting stupid for weeks. A couple nights before gout took me down, I simply disconnected the power supply for partial removal to confirm its specs and design. All cables were reconnected properly, I double-triple checked before buttoning it back up, and now my games won't load correctly, if at all. That proves this thing is junk. I can't look at it without it acting stupid.

Based on all this, at the very least, I should upgrade system board, power supply, and GPU. An RTX3060-ti (best bang for the buck), B550-Plus system board, and a 750W power supply are going to run $1250 with extended warranties (a smart buy in this day and age, it seems). And that's reusing what I can, avoiding MSI components, of course.

But I know another prebuilt will probably leave me in the same boat again later. I can say without equivocation that they are junk components to start with, completely mismatched (factory configuration had a 34% bottleneck) and seem engineered to prohibit upgrades in favor of machine replacement. Whether I rebuild this dumpster fire or start from scratch, MSI components are on my s**t list and I will never deal with them again.

 

[armyadarkness]

I have built several and I maintain three fairly large networks currently. This is a long read so I will look at it when I get to my office and see if I can offer any advice

 

[armyadarkness]

So, I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I'll try to keep it short, but it's a bit difficult. You'll see why shortly.

My PC setup could use some expansion and upgrading. The pretty basic gaming rig (Ryzen 7 1700 (3.0 Ghz, 8-Core, 16 Threads) I got in 2018 is pretty well maxed out now. 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 2 TB HDD and an Asus TUF Gaming GTX1650 Super 4GB OC (no flaming from the parts snobs out there, it is plenty capable and I wasn't about to upgrade my power supply). Seriously, to me, before and after was like trading the family Bonneville for a '69 GTO Judge.

This summer, I bought a Ryzen 9 5900X with plans to upgrade further. I was just about to pull the trigger a couple weeks ago when MSI, the motherboard manufacturer, informs me that:

A) My motherboard (MSI B450M Bazooka Gaming) does not support it as-is.
B) The BIOS update necessary for the 5900X may fry the board.
C) My motherboard is out of warranty, so even if it fails from a factory MSI update, I'm stuck with it.

Well, then... F*ck you very much, MSI. The kicker is that other mobo manufacturers say anything but the latest versions of their motherboards may suffer the same fate. And suppliers, of course, can't guarantee manufacture dates of anything I order. So why buy a new board to risk the same result? Maybe I'll do it in a year when it's more likely I'll get a compatible board.

The 1700X is plenty fast since it didn't have to wait for my RAM and storage to catch up -- boot time alone dropped 57% with the RAM, GPUm, and storage upgrades. So the CPU upgrade can wait, as speed isn't really a dire issue at the moment. Why risk blowing up a perfectly good motherboard and CPU on a maybe?

Most of my current problem is storage. I relegated the original HDD to auxiliary storage, mostly music and movies for on-demand use so I don't risk scratching up my DVDs and wearing out my DVD drive. Unfortunately, 159 movies and a ton of music have my 2 TB HDD flipping me the bird and saying "No more! No More!".

The 43" smart TV I use has also recently begun having issues. Audio and video completely cut out when adjusting the volume at times. A real pisser doing 85 mph in American Truck Simulator (I used to be a long-haul trucker).

I may have room for a 58". Found a nice one for $338 with built-in Roku, but I'd rather get a plug-in device for that. Not so impressed with Amazon since I figured out I'm paying $13-$18 to "buy" streamed movies. Not such a great deal when I can buy $3-$5 DVDs and rip to my computer at higher quality to watch whether I have InterNet or not.

For storage, I'd like to go with SSD, but I'd like at least 8-10 TB and most top out at about 4 TB. Amazon has Western Digital Blue 4 TB SSDs for $408 right now, and while two of these would have me set for a good while, I just found a deal on two WD Gold 16TB HDDs for $200 less. But perhaps my eyes are bigger than my stomach here. Should I sacrifice long-term capacity for speed?

While 32TB would be the final word, I'm not sure I need to spend that on storage, but I'm practically getting the second drive at half price. I probably wouldn't fill that up for another five years, easily. But is an SSD even necessary for storing movies and music? Of course, I have to consider the occasional glitches I have in ripping movies for my own use, maybe the SSD would eliminate that.

But is it really necessary? Besides, my TV is starting to act stupid as well, and while I could afford to do all this, I'd like to keep the whole thing around $1000.

Thoughts?

So.... Buying ANYTHING during this pandemic, is a gamble. manufacturers everywhere are cutting corners, in order to stay in business. Quality is far down, prices are way up. Perhaps this is no more evident than in chip manufacturing. I see it all day, every day, at work, at home, and on the net.

Im a fan of using older PC's and keeping them running... That being said, manufacturers dont want you doing that, so even Microsoft is designing software which will no longer work on two-year-old models.

Anytime anyone is interested in improving their PC experience, I give this advice:

• Make sure your power supply is up to task. Especially when adding hardware. PC manufacturers use the bare minimum and just because there are available ports and slots in the PC, it doesnt mean that the PS can support hardware in them. Ive seen PS's run hard drives, but at reduced RPM's, and when that happens, expect a big slow down, and then a failure.
• Use your DVD drive! Cripes man... a high end DVD drive is $25, beat it into the ground and then replace it if it wears out.
• External hard drives. If you insist on putting movies and audio on a drive, it should be an external hard drive. You can get a 4TB, lightening fast, name brand drive for under $100.
• Most importantly, ALWAYS add a smaller, reputable Solid State Drive to your PC. Make it the primary drive and put the operating system on it, and NOTHING BUT the OS. Now your PC will boot like a scorched rabbit, and never get bogged down hunting for data.

 

[armyadarkness]

Nor have I.

So... What I know right now... fcleff69 is right, in part.

1) Current machine was built Q4 2018 with a Ryzen 7 1700, B450M Bazooka Gaming board, GT1030 video, 8GB RAM.
2) Apart from the processor, this combo was a joke for gaming even when it was new. Will it game? Yes. Will it game well? F*** no.
3) Only decent part is the 1700 processor. 8 core, 16 thread, 3.0 Ghz. Recommended video for these, RTX2080ti / RTX3060ti or better.
4) Factory 500W power supply can't supply these video cards. (ie., the 1700 processor was lipstick on a pig)
5) Original video and system board by MSI. Support says their own BIOS update for this board might fry it. Seriously?
6) System board shut down after a GPU upgrade. It's been neurotic at best since MSI 'fixed' it under warranty.
7) System board was released same quarter machine was built, but apparently c*ck-blocks upgrades and has been said to be problematic.

I can actually feel it dying... The keyboard and mouse have been acting stupid for weeks. A couple nights before gout took me down, I simply disconnected the power supply for partial removal to confirm its specs and design. All cables were reconnected properly, I double-triple checked before buttoning it back up, and now my games won't load correctly, if at all. That proves this thing is junk. I can't look at it without it acting stupid.

Based on all this, at the very least, I should upgrade system board, power supply, and GPU. An RTX3060-ti (best bang for the buck), B550-Plus system board, and a 750W power supply are going to run $1250 with extended warranties (a smart buy in this day and age, it seems). And that's reusing what I can, avoiding MSI components, of course.

But I know another prebuilt will probably leave me in the same boat again later. I can say without equivocation that they are junk components to start with, completely mismatched (factory configuration had a 34% bottleneck) and seem engineered to prohibit upgrades in favor of machine replacement. Whether I rebuild this dumpster fire or start from scratch, MSI components are on my s**t list and I will never deal with them again.

"Building your own PC" was a right of passage... So was being blood brothers and wearing pants that the Hells Angels peed on.

Yes, you can build better, but you cannot build cheaper... and if you really dont need all the "better", then why bother?

ALL of my PC's have come from Staples, for the last 15 years. They're the best and they have some exclusives. You can get a loaded, high end PC for a few hundred bucks, and then add a video card, ram, an external drive, and PS, all for another $200.

I just spent some time on Staples website, and you can get an HP, with a warranty, Intel i5, 12gb ram, 256 SSD, for around $600. Wait a week an it'll be on sale for $500. Add a video card and external hard drive for another $200, and you'll have a wicked fast, state of the art machine, with a warranty, for half of what you could build one for.

This is what I use for audio mixing, ass well.

 

[armyadarkness]

BTW, I changed the name of your thread so that it'll be easier to find for others, whom may advice for you, or need tips and help from you, with their own builds.

 

[An0maly_76]

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a prebuilt from Staples or whatever for just everyday stuff like spreadsheets and low-res/frame-rate games. But they just aren't going to cut it running games with demanding color range / resolution output. While quite a bit can still be done with these machines, allow me to simplify the many issues of my current dumpster fire configuration.

The 1700 Ryzen is actually a honey of a processor. 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.0 Ghz, with a low 65W TDP. The monster 12-core, 24-thread 5900X I planned to upgrade it with is rated 105W TDP and is only effectively 46% faster by comparison. Not to say the 5900X isn't worth it, but more a nod to the rather genius engineering of the 1700's design.

Unfortunately, nothing else used to build this system can keep up with the 1700, let alone the 5900X.

The component analysis site http://userbenchmark.com actually called the original configuration a 'tree trunk' LOL. Original configuration on left, planned configuration on right. 1700 with 1650 Super ranked about 70% less with the same other components. Funny thing is, the 5900X only marginally improved the 1700's rating with these same components.




Think of it as putting a 428 Pontiac into a '55 Super Chief with its original transmission, rear axle and suspension. And yes, you read that right, it did not come with an SSD, I found out it had an M.2 slot and installed the WD Blue listed in the right side. Still, I can almost hear the processor doing Ludacris' "Move B*tch" karaoke-style when my frame rates kick up.

It becomes much more obvious with the driving games I play, such as American Truck Simulator and BeamNG.drive, the former capable of a lot of detail that the game just isn't as realistic without, and BeamNG.drive has a lot of complex crash physics (fenders folding up, etc.), as well as advanced paint details (you can even chrome the vehicle's body if you want).

Neither were all that great even with low detail on my original GT1030, and I still can't do high detail 4K even on the GTX1650 Super that replaced it. I recently tried ATS in 4K with high detail and the game froze. It can do 4K at low detail, or high detail at 720p or 1080p, but it's struggling to keep up, especially when running OBS, as I have plans to upload gameplay videos, which could make me money from home.

Also noteworthy is the previous mention that the motherboard shut down when trying to install the GTX1650S. I found recently that the system board did not support it! Board mfr Q3 2018, GTX1650S release Q3 2019. I bought mine Q3 2020. I could see if they were ten years apart, but that's nothing short of ridiculous.

I now know that the MSI board used to tie everything together is pure junk. By their own admission, their own BIOS update for this board can fry it. As to the GPU making the motherboard shut down, ANY peripheral card should be plug and play. This one recognizes NOTHING without drivers. And I mean NOTHING. Armyadarkness might remember the little fiasco I had trying to get my RP-250 pedal to connect. Was plug and play on anything else, THIS turd of a board required a driver.

Knowing I needed a better GPU and with decent ones that can make the 1700 or 5900X shine in short supply, I unfortunately had to make a move on a 3060ti, which was the best I could find and the best bang for the buck. I hope to have it in a few days. I would welcome opinions before going further.

Basically, my current arsenal of decent parts should include two decent Ryzen processors ( a three-year-old 7, and a brand-new 9), 32GB of 3200Hz Crucial Ballistix RAM, a 1TB M.2 SSD, 2 TB WD Blue HDD, 6TB WD Black HDD, but need a new board. Existing case already has a decent cooling set up with three 4" fans, but the 500W PSU can't support a better GPU, so it, too, has to go. Basically, at this point, I need a board, PSU, and possibly some accessory parts to put it all together.

 

[Rawnchy R&R]

Basically, my current arsenal of decent parts should include two decent Ryzen processors ( a three-year-old 7, and a brand-new 9), 32GB of 3200Hz Crucial Ballistix RAM, a 1TB M.2 SSD, 2 TB WD Blue HDD, 6TB WD Black HDD, but need a new board. Existing case already has a decent cooling set up with three 4" fans, but the 500W PSU can't support a better GPU, so it, too, has to go. Basically, at this point, I need a board, PSU, and possibly some accessory parts to put it all together.

I was going to recommend utilizing the M.2 slot on this board but, it looks like you already got it taken care of. Another storage trick you can use is going with a router that features storage backup. You can get a small external 1TB SSD and set up the router to back up specific files.

Another cheap trick is to build a cheap shuttle server that handles all of your streaming media.

 

[An0maly_76]

I was going to recommend utilizing the M.2 slot on this board but, it looks like you already got it taken care of. Another storage trick you can use is going with a router that features storage backup. You can get a small external 1TB SSD and set up the router to back up specific files.

Another cheap trick is to build a cheap shuttle server that handles all of your streaming media.

I don't control my wifi to that degree, unfortunately. Seeing as I'll have one processor or the other as a spare, as well as some other spare parts, I'd considered building a minimal box for streaming/recording through ODS using NDI through the Ethernet connections on each machine. Neat little trick to keep the FPS high on a gaming rig. Remains to be seen -- Fixing this dumpster fire is already looking to top $1200.

One question I had thought of but hadn't actually asked -- I see B450, B550 and X570 chipsets in motherboards available. My 1700 came with a B450, which I'm already leery of, given the deadly BIOS update. My case looks to be able to just barely fit a full ATX, and I had picked out a nice Asus B550 PLUS but I think I should stick with the factory micro ATX form factor, but I want to retain at least one on-board M.2. While it's not crucial, internal wifi could be a nice-to-have, though I found the antennae to be a huge PITA on my factory setup (which conveniently did not work after MSI called themselves 'fixing' my board). Thoughts?

 

[armyadarkness]

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a prebuilt from Staples or whatever for just everyday stuff like spreadsheets and low-res/frame-rate games. But they just aren't going to cut it running games with demanding color range / resolution output. While quite a bit can still be done with these machines, allow me to simplify the many issues of my current dumpster fire configuration.

The 1700 Ryzen is actually a honey of a processor. 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.0 Ghz, with a low 65W TDP. The monster 12-core, 24-thread 5900X I planned to upgrade it with is rated 105W TDP and is only effectively 46% faster by comparison. Not to say the 5900X isn't worth it, but more a nod to the rather genius engineering of the 1700's design.

Unfortunately, nothing else used to build this system can keep up with the 1700, let alone the 5900X.

The component analysis site http://userbenchmark.com actually called the original configuration a 'tree trunk' LOL. Original configuration on left, planned configuration on right. 1700 with 1650 Super ranked about 70% less with the same other components. Funny thing is, the 5900X only marginally improved the 1700's rating with these same components.

View attachment 2768


Think of it as putting a 428 Pontiac into a '55 Super Chief with its original transmission, rear axle and suspension. And yes, you read that right, it did not come with an SSD, I found out it had an M.2 slot and installed the WD Blue listed in the right side. Still, I can almost hear the processor doing Ludacris' "Move B*tch" karaoke-style when my frame rates kick up.

It becomes much more obvious with the driving games I play, such as American Truck Simulator and BeamNG.drive, the former capable of a lot of detail that the game just isn't as realistic without, and BeamNG.drive has a lot of complex crash physics (fenders folding up, etc.), as well as advanced paint details (you can even chrome the vehicle's body if you want).

Neither were all that great even with low detail on my original GT1030, and I still can't do high detail 4K even on the GTX1650 Super that replaced it. I recently tried ATS in 4K with high detail and the game froze. It can do 4K at low detail, or high detail at 720p or 1080p, but it's struggling to keep up, especially when running OBS, as I have plans to upload gameplay videos, which could make me money from home.

Also noteworthy is the previous mention that the motherboard shut down when trying to install the GTX1650S. I found recently that the system board did not support it! Board mfr Q3 2018, GTX1650S release Q3 2019. I bought mine Q3 2020. I could see if they were ten years apart, but that's nothing short of ridiculous.

I now know that the MSI board used to tie everything together is pure junk. By their own admission, their own BIOS update for this board can fry it. As to the GPU making the motherboard shut down, ANY peripheral card should be plug and play. This one recognizes NOTHING without drivers. And I mean NOTHING. Armyadarkness might remember the little fiasco I had trying to get my RP-250 pedal to connect. Was plug and play on anything else, THIS turd of a board required a driver.

Knowing I needed a better GPU and with decent ones that can make the 1700 or 5900X shine in short supply, I unfortunately had to make a move on a 3060ti, which was the best I could find and the best bang for the buck. I hope to have it in a few days. I would welcome opinions before going further.

Basically, my current arsenal of decent parts should include two decent Ryzen processors ( a three-year-old 7, and a brand-new 9), 32GB of 3200Hz Crucial Ballistix RAM, a 1TB M.2 SSD, 2 TB WD Blue HDD, 6TB WD Black HDD, but need a new board. Existing case already has a decent cooling set up with three 4" fans, but the 500W PSU can't support a better GPU, so it, too, has to go. Basically, at this point, I need a board, PSU, and possibly some accessory parts to put it all together.

Im trying to come up with viable real world alternatives to your situation, which sounded to be on the bleak side, especially in this market.

I'm Cheif Technical Officer of one of the worlds most famous luxury yacht manufacturers, and I run the imaging department. I spend ten hours a day designing the $3,000,000 boats that you see in the James bond movies. Everything I do is 3D CAD design and rendering, and converting analog patterns into digital files.

Then I go home an do pro audio/ video production for my band and car stuff... and Im a gamer, too! In fact, I use gaming PC's to do most of my work... but there have been many times that I needed to cheat and get around problems.

I'm sure that a store bought PC isnt what you had in mind, but the specs are what counts, and many people didn't realize that Staples caters to the business pro's, and has some high end stuff, cheap!

All that being said, my alternative advice would be that you're screwed!

 

[Rawnchy R&R]

Seeing as I'll have one processor or the other as a spare, as well as some other spare parts, I'd considered building a minimal box for streaming/recording through ODS using NDI through the Ethernet connections on each machine. Neat little trick to keep the FPS high on a gaming rig.

I still have a server case I bought at the start of the pandemic with no parts to put in it. My computer was built in 2016 and is keeping up with most games. It has an old Geforce 1070 that's getting the job done. Most upgrades went to memory and solid-state storage.

I was lucky enough to get an Xbox Series X and a PS5 and simply don't have the energy to fight bots for a graphics card.

 

[armyadarkness]

I still have a server case I bought at the start of the pandemic with no parts to put in it. My computer was built in 2016 and is keeping up with most games. It has an old Geforce 1070 that's getting the job done. Most upgrades went to memory and solid-state storage.

I was lucky enough to get an Xbox Series X and a PS5 and simply don't have the energy to fight bots for a graphics card.

Im running through Borderlands 2, again. Might fire up the gaming laptop for a new game, though.

 

[An0maly_76]

UPDATE: EDITED FOR MORE INFO

I hear ya loud and clear, army. Don't take my words as throwing shade. I think it's just that now I've seen what 4K can be like on ATS, I'm kinda spoiled for it, I guess, as well as the Asperger's in me is quite irritated that the processor is slowed down by other mismatched components. To clarify, the original configuration would run games, but not that well, even at low detail. This is compounded by the fact that I could have gotten this right in 2020 and not only cheaped out, but didn't know what I was getting was not that much of an improvement, nor did the motherboard really support it. Of course, MSI neglected to mention THAT little detail, and while the graphics were better, the system has been neurotic ever since.

To me, that's as much of a pisser as a fire-breathing '69 Judge with a carb issue that won't let it run right. Bug up the a**, whatever you might call it. I guess I'm just leary of prebuilts these days because it seems like they have one really good component, and the rest is crap, which is why they're so cheap. Kinda like getting a 455 with 10.25:1 flat-top forged pistons, Ram Air V heads, and a camshaft meant for a Catalina 400. Usually you get what you pay for.

I still have a server case I bought at the start of the pandemic with no parts to put in it. My computer was built in 2016 and is keeping up with most games. It has an old Geforce 1070 that's getting the job done. Most upgrades went to memory and solid-state storage.

I was lucky enough to get an Xbox Series X and a PS5 and simply don't have the energy to fight bots for a graphics card.

On that, I feel you. Crypto-mining j*rkoffs royally p*ss me off hogging all the good hardware -- though Nvidia is fighting back with LHR technology that cuts the hash rate when mining code is detected. The miners are having a tough time fully defeating it. Anyway, so I was forced to do a little more research than those who think the answer to everything is 3090, but it worked out nicely, I think. While the 3090 is indeed a nice GPU, it is often overkill in many gaming builds, just as my R9 5900X is. But I already have the 5900X, and I don't want to have to go through this again.

I was actually floored to see that the 1650 Super I have was still bottlenecking with the 1700. PC Builds, the site that calculated this (CPUAgent also has one that is a bit more detailed) gives recommendations for upgrading the component that can't keep up, or downgrading the component that runs over the others. That being said, data flow in a computer should be regarded as equally important as airflow in an engine. If the data gets bogged down anywhere (bottleneck), the system won't run any better than a Boss 429 with a two-barrel.

For my 1700, it actually recommended the likes of the RTX2080ti, RTX3070, and RTX3080. Those are pretty hard to find and expensive when you do, so when I found a brand-new ASUS RTX3060ti OC last night -- I jumped on it, it's cheaper with comparable performance and lower power draw to boot. I may have to give up slight detail over what I could do with a 3080 or 3090, but that 3060-ti cost under $850 as opposed to $1500-$2500 or more for its higher-end siblings. All told...

$600 - AMD 5900X (was harder to find months ago)
$848 - RTX3060-ti
$142 - ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-PLUS
$ 95 - ASUS TUF Gaming 750W PSU

$1685 Total investment before supplies and accessories. $1085, actually, as I already have the processor. A bit more than I wanted to spend, but can anyone buy a 3070, 3080, or 3090 for that before someone beats them to it?

Already have 32GB of 3200hz RAM, case with decent cooling, 2TB WD Blue and 6TB WD Black HDDs, and a 1TB M.2 SSD, though it is a WD Blue series. Nothing wrong with it, but I would like a Black series as they are supposedly faster. I'm not sure it will matter with this setup though. userbenchmark shows a negligible difference -- 1-2% maybe? Perhaps what I see may be different, but not sure it's worth spending more to replace something I already have with no evidence of real performance increase. Again, bang for the buck. I also believe the cooler for the 1700 should fit the 5900X nicely, and I may even be able to sell the 1700 to someone who could use it, it's a racehorse with an a**hat jockey for a motherboard. Maybe keep it for a spare if the 5900X fails, who knows?

What people (and 99.99% of prebuilders) just don't get, is that building a PC is a lot like building an engine. Higher airflow = more power. So if the valvetrain, cylinder heads and camshaft don't compliment each other by being within 1-2% of each other on rated airflow, performance suffers. If compression ratio isn't in a suitable range, performance suffers there, too. If the exhaust is too restrictive, that, too, can hinder performance. Granted, transmission choice / gearing and axle gearing can cripple performance, too, but these are a bit more easily changed than engine internals.

The problem is that many "builders" of prebuilts today simply throw whatever is available together with no regard for whether the components actually work well together or work against each other. This is approach is why my factory configuration had a 34% bottleneck. A bit too much like working fast food -- and reminds me of Beavis and Butt-Head just throwing some food in a bag, handing it to someone and saying "Thank you, drive through, come again, sir." And it takes quite a bit longer for a PC buyer to realize they've been had than someone who figures out their drive-through order is wrong. And you've spent a lot more money than you would on fast food.

This is why I don't like or recommend prebuilts -- you really don't know what you're getting.

Again, I know I jumped the gun on the GPU, but I feel I made a good common-sense choice given availability and pricing. If anyone has any thoughts about any of this, feel free to share. If you know of something you think might help performance further or be just as fast and cost less, feel free to chime in.

 

[armyadarkness]

It's all good... Im by no means "up to date" on my PC or gaming stuff, but I do excel at innovation.

All I know is that my IT guys can get me a $5000 pc for 3d cad work, and I can go home and run the same programs on my home desktop.

 

[armyadarkness]

Here's my laptop... horribly outdated, and still light years ahead.

Dell Inspiron 15 7577 - Specs

• CPU. Intel Core i7-7700HQ 78.
• GPU. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q (6GB GDDR5) 71.
• Display. 15.6”, 4K UHD (3840 x 2160), IPS.
• HDD/SSD. 512GB SSD.
• M.2 Slot. 1x 2280 PCIe NVMe See photo.
• RAM. 16GB DDR4.
• OS.
• Battery. 56Wh, 4-cell.

750-AAYE : Fingerprint Reader Included



583-BDJY : English Backlit Keyboard with Red Print

555-BDTV : Intel 8265 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi a nd Bluetooth Driver

555-BDDB : 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 2x2

490-BEDW : NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 graphics memory



450-AGCM : 180 Watt AC Adapter

450-AAHV : US Power Cord

400-AVGV : 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid Stat e Drive (Boot) + 1TB 5400RPM H ard Drive (Storage)