Not waiting on TR, Going with Rysen 7 instead. Need advise on 2 major decisions...

[10thDmenxn]

Hello board, I was waiting on TR, but between it being pushed to August, the expense being more than first thought and it not being much of a difference in gaming anyway, I decided to go with Rysen 7 instead. After watching several videos of bench marking, I was all set to just get the 1700, as it was very close to the two X's with higher end vid cards. But now I am thinking the 1700x might be a better buy for the money. What do you guys think, and please support your opinion with logical reasoning.
Next, my real dilemma is actually not the cpu as much as the mobo. I am ed off that some of the best mobo's don't offer two m.2 slots at full power. Almost all of the intel 270 mobo's have at least two m.2 slots, so why are most of the Rysen boards lacking them??? I always favor the ASUS mobo's with the Gigabyte boards a close second. So both the Crosshair XI and Aorus boards are what I wanted, but I want to run two 960's in raid, and neither mobo has two full m.2 slots. So my next questions are, first, which mobo has the better performance with the most options in the bios? And, how much speed and versatility will I lose by using a m.2 pcie card???
I welcome responses from anyone with great knowledge of these products, but hope to hear from those who have actually own one or more of them. Thanks for all your help in advance. I need to get on with this build, but can't until I sort this out.

 

[AlienALX]

1700 all the way. The prices are dropping, my pal paid $260 for one in the USA the other day.

Don't forget, you can RAID regular SSDs (SATA III) and circumvent the limit. However, I must ask why you think you *need* two M.2 NVME in RAID?

I think AMD have just been sensible, that's all. You need to be too. Ask yourself, do you need the Crosshair? or would the B350 Strix (which overclocks just as well) suffice?

 

[WYP]

TBH in terms of SSD performance, even a single Samsung 960 Pro or Evo is stupid fast, RAID isn't really necessary with a fast M.2 SSD. Samsung's 960 Pro and Evo are both many times faster than even the fastest SATA SSDs, I doubt many programs would benefit from a RAID setup.

Ryzen does not offer enough PCIe lanes for dual M.2 slots at full speeds, so M.2 Raid will not really be an option on the platform anyway. My advice is to get a single big Samsung 960 M.2 drive.

As far as the 1700 vs 1700X choice goes, both CPUs will typically overclock the same. Some say that the 1700X is more likely to clock higher but it is always luck of the draw (#SiliconLottery). Both are good options, but the 1700 is the best in terms of value as the 1700X may not yield any more performance when overclocked and at max it will be a 100MHz difference.

I currently use a 1700X in one of my systems and I would advise getting a motherboard that already has an AGESA 1.0.0.6 BIOS update and investing in some fast Ryzen compatible memory kits (3200MHz if possible).

 

[10thDmenxn]

1700 all the way. The prices are dropping, my pal paid $260 for one in the USA the other day.

Don't forget, you can RAID regular SSDs (SATA III) and circumvent the limit. However, I must ask why you think you *need* two M.2 NVME in RAID?

I think AMD have just been sensible, that's all. You need to be too. Ask yourself, do you need the Crosshair? or would the B350 Strix (which overclocks just as well) suffice?

The reason I want the crosshair over the b350 is because a lot more I/O(I use a lot), better placement of the m.2 and better control on the board with troubleshooting readout. I can't understand on the b350, why they put the m.2 right above the gpu???
But your advise is excellent and logical. I was leaning towards the 1700 the whole time, but was a bit swayed with a few vids I recently saw on the 1700x. I do agree with you however, and will stick with the 1700. I would be interested to know which ram you use and how well it has performed. Right now I am leaning towards the FlareX by g skill. Thanks.

TBH in terms of SSD performance, even a single Samsung 960 Pro or Evo is stupid fast, RAID isn't really necessary with a fast M.2 SSD. Samsung's 960 Pro and Evo are both many times faster than even the fastest SATA SSDs, I doubt many programs would benefit from a RAID setup.

Ryzen does not offer enough PCIe lanes for dual M.2 slots at full speeds, so M.2 Raid will not really be an option on the platform anyway. My advice is to get a single big Samsung 960 M.2 drive.

As far as the 1700 vs 1700X choice goes, both CPUs will typically overclock the same. Some say that the 1700X is more likely to clock higher but it is always luck of the draw (#SiliconLottery). Both are good options, but the 1700 is the best in terms of value as the 1700X may not yield any more performance when overclocked and at max it will be a 100MHz difference.

I currently use a 1700X in one of my systems and I would advise getting a motherboard that already has an AGESA 1.0.0.6 BIOS update and investing in some fast Ryzen compatible memory kits (3200MHz if possible).

Yes, I am probably going to stick with the Crosshair. But I would be interested to know which ram you went with and how well it has performed. Right now I am leaning towards the FlareX by g skill, just to be safe. I've read too many horror stories with other ram. The FlareX seems to hit 3200mhz easily, and is very stable.

 

[WYP]

Yes, I am probably going to stick with the Crosshair. But I would be interested to know which ram you went with and how well it has performed. Right now I am leaning towards the FlareX by g skill, just to be safe. I've read too many horror stories with other ram. The FlareX seems to hit 3200mhz easily, and is very stable.

I am using G.Skill Trident Z 3200MHz. G.Skill is one of the better brands in terms of Ryzen support ATM.

I have worked with TTL on most of his Ryzen reviews and G.Skill is one of the few brands that have worked flawlessly for us since launch. A lot more kits work today with mature BIOS' but G.Skill has been great from the start.

 

[10thDmenxn]

Are you using two sticks or four? I would rather have the trident Z rgb, but was worried they wouldn't work with the processor. If you have 4x8, then I might switch. I see 32gb of the trident Z rgb 3200mhz @cas14. That's screaming fast. But I've heard that the Ryzen chips hate four sticks, and work better with two sticks. But I can't find two 16gb's sticks.
Also, is the Artic Silver 5 still the best compound to use on the cpu/cooler????

 

[NeverBackDown]

It never was the best tbh. Or at least not long....
I use MX-4. Many people use this. Cheap, non conductive, and simply works great. There are better ones, but you'll end you spending 5x the amount for it.

 

[Dawelio]

I am using G.Skill Trident Z 3200MHz. G.Skill is one of the better brands in terms of Ryzen support ATM.

I have worked with TTL on most of his Ryzen reviews and G.Skill is one of the few brands that have worked flawlessly for us since launch. A lot more kits work today with mature BIOS' but G.Skill has been great from the start.

I've heard that Corsair Vengeance LPX also works well with Ryzen.

It never was the best tbh. Or at least not long....
I use MX-4. Many people use this. Cheap, non conductive, and simply works great. There are better ones, but you'll end you spending 5x the amount for it.

Yep, I second this. Ever since I got MX-4, I haven't used any other. Even though I've gotten Noctua's thermal compound as well.

 

[AlienALX]

Ceramique. Been using it for years.

 

[10thDmenxn]

Ceramique. Been using it for years.

So you believe Ceramique is better than MX-4?

Thanks to all of you for the information. I have been overseas the last 16 years, so I'm scrambling to catch back up. I appreciate the responses.

 

[10thDmenxn]

I am using G.Skill Trident Z 3200MHz. G.Skill is one of the better brands in terms of Ryzen support ATM.

I have worked with TTL on most of his Ryzen reviews and G.Skill is one of the few brands that have worked flawlessly for us since launch. A lot more kits work today with mature BIOS' but G.Skill has been great from the start.

I have heard that the FlareX is better than the Trident Z. Do you know if this is true, or do you think it's bs?

 

[AlienALX]

So you believe Ceramique is better than MX-4?

Thanks to all of you for the information. I have been overseas the last 16 years, so I'm scrambling to catch back up. I appreciate the responses.

From what I read about Ceramique it is a couple of C warmer than MX-4. However, having used it for the last six years or so I have noticed that it does not dry out or become crusty like some other pastes I have used so I have just stuck with it. What's not broken, and all that.

I bought an enormous tube three years back and still have a bit left

 

[10thDmenxn]

From what I read about Ceramique it is a couple of C warmer than MX-4. However, having used it for the last six years or so I have noticed that it does not dry out or become crusty like some other pastes I have used so I have just stuck with it. What's not broken, and all that.

I bought an enormous tube three years back and still have a bit left

But the consensus is that the Artic Silver is not nearly as good as the MX-4 or Ceramique?

 

[AlienALX]

But the consensus is that the Artic Silver is not nearly as good as the MX-4 or Ceramique?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-Ceramique-Thermal-Compound/dp/B006K4VT3W

No idea, but the day I spend more than £10 on a tube of that stuff will be the day I show my arse in Tesco's window.

 

[Dawelio]

So you believe Ceramique is better than MX-4?

To be honest with you, it's most likely very to no difference at all really when it comes to thermal compound. Maybe a degree here or there... I've used MX-4 for all of my builds, rebuilds etc and it's spot on. Cheap as well, so nothing to loose really

 

[AlienALX]

To be honest with you, it's most likely very to no difference at all really when it comes to thermal compound. Maybe a degree here or there... I've used MX-4 for all of my builds, rebuilds etc and it's spot on. Cheap as well, so nothing to loose really

Indeed. I really wouldn't get suckered in by expensive stuff like that. Cheap doesn't mean crap when it comes to TIM. You don't need to buy a tube of 20p grease but yeah, a sub £5 compound will do the job well enough

 

[10thDmenxn]

Yeah, I got some mx-4. I have completed 90% of the build, and am just waiting on the 1080ti to arrive, and the 960 EVO. Then it will be up and running. I really can't wait. While my laptop is a beast for laptops, this is the first full system I have built in almost 20 years because I've been living overseas in the islands. So it will be nice to have a really fast and powerful computer again. thanks for the answers.

 

[AlienALX]

Well good luck mate and I hope she all works as she should

If my CPU turns up today it will be a very big day for me too