Which cpu, mobo & ram?

[neonplanet40]

Hi folks,unfortunately my computer is on the blink. Think it's my ram or perhaps a faulty ram slot.

So using this opportunity to upgrade my pc. I already have a case, 600w PSU, nvidia 1070 etc.

So, I need a cpu, ram, mobo and cpu cooler. What's you recommendations? Budget is £700 tops I would say.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

With that budget its either a Ryzen 7 2700X or a Core i7 8700K.

[neonplanet40]

Your preference?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Your preference?

It depends on the games you play. If you still play games based on older engines like Fallout 4 or certain MMOs,the Core i7 8700K has the edge due to faster cores,and lower latency. However,if you want a longer supported platform in terms of CPUs and motherboards,strong multi-core performance,a very good stock cooler(with RGB) which the Core i7 8700K lacks,lower temperatures and less security issues(and the I/O hit from the fixes),then the AM4 platform and the Ryzen 7 2700X makes sense.

[neonplanet40]

I've been looking close at it alongside the AMD X470 AORUS motherboard. 16GB ram enough?

[DanceswithUnix]

I've been looking close at it alongside the AMD X470 AORUS motherboard. 16GB ram enough?

For most people, yes, specially when like you the graphics card has a decent amount of ram on it so system ram isn't having to take up the slack.

To turn it around, have you been struggling with the 8GB in your existing machine? If not, then 16GB should be plenty and at current RAM prices it is hard to justify getting more.

[neonplanet40]

TO be honest, I like to play games on 1 monitor and watch tv on the other. I have often found that with chrome etc open I have high ram usuage so I think I would want 16GB.

However, like you say, the prices are ridiculous!

Which ram should I get to go along with the 2700x?

[DanceswithUnix]

Which ram should I get to go along with the 2700x?

Thankfully I don't think ram compatibility is the minefield it used to be, but as I always get ECC ram I'm probably not the best to ask for a gaming setup. As a general direction though, the platform does like fast ram if it doesn't add too much extra cost, but if possible try and find something on the motherboard validation list. You should find it in the support section on the motherboard web site.

[neonplanet40]

Is Cas 14 worth the £60 premium over Cas 16 for 3200 memory?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You need to still check the RAM compatibility lists even for the Ryzen 2000 series as people have issues if you want to run higher speeds. Samsung B-die containing RAM is still the best AFAIK.

[neonplanet40]

Currently looking at the following:

AMD Ryzen 2700x
AORUS AMD Ryzen X470 GAMING 7 AC WiFi AM4
Corsair CMR16GX4M2C3200C16 Vengeance RGB 16 GB or Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB or G.Skill Trident Z 16GB (2x 8GB) 3200MHz or Patriot Viper 4 Series DDR4 16GB or Team Group T-Force Nighthawk Red LED DDR4-3200

All are Cas 16 timings and around £180.

However, trying to find compatibility is a nightmare.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Currently looking at the following:

AMD Ryzen 2700x
AORUS AMD Ryzen X470 GAMING 7 AC WiFi AM4
Corsair CMR16GX4M2C3200C16 Vengeance RGB 16 GB or Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB or G.Skill Trident Z 16GB (2x 8GB) 3200MHz or Patriot Viper 4 Series DDR4 16GB

All are Cas 16 timings and around £180.

However, trying to find compatibility is a nightmare.

Since you are going for a top end motherboard it might be worth looking at the Asus Crosshair 7 too. I will ask around and see if there are any cheaper motherboards which will do the job too.

Ebuyer is cheaper for RAM:

https://www.ebuyer.com/store/Compone...rice+ascending
https://www.ebuyer.com/store/Compone...DDR4-3400MHz-+

Samsung B-die containing kits tend to have less issues,but it is also very dependent on the motherboard BIOS too,so why its important to also check the compatability list on the Gigabyte website. Some motherboards have less issues with Micron and Hynix RAM - its also important to get single ranked RAM over dual ranked RAM too.

Here are some lists of RAM kits which use Samsung B-die:

https://translate.google.co.uk/trans...tml&edit-text=
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comment...nfusion_eg_on/
https://community.amd.com/thread/217871

These OcUK RAM kits have B-die:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team-...my-098-tg.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team-...my-08l-tg.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team-...my-08q-tg.html

This Ebuyer RAM kit has B-die:

https://www.ebuyer.com/789634-g-skil...600c17d-16gtzr

Edit!!

Someone maid a searchable finder for what kits have Samsung B-die:

https://benzhaomin.github.io/bdiefinder/

[neonplanet40]

Corsair CMR16GX4M2C3200C16 Vengeance RGB is lsited here: https://www.hardwareluxx.de/communit...a-1161530.html

As having Samsung ships.

It is about £184. It doesn't show as compatible on Gigabyte website. However, loads are missing from it so I imagine they just don't keep it up to date.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Corsair CMR16GX4M2C3200C16 Vengeance RGB is lsited here: https://www.hardwareluxx.de/communit...a-1161530.html

As having Samsung ships.

It is about £184. It doesn't show as compatible on Gigabyte website. However, loads are missing from it so I imagine they just don't keep it up to date.

The only problem with Corsair memory is that at least with their non-RGB Vengeance series they have three versions of each SKU which can either have Samsung,Micron or Hynix chips,so it becomes a lottery. Usually B-die 3200MHZ kits start at C14,but I suspect they do this so it covers worse chips at a later date from Micron and Hynix. An example is this:

https://hexus.net/tech/reviews/ram/1...x4m4c3600c18w/

It also has Samsung B-die too,but the timings look weird. I would make sure I get that RAM from a retailer which does easy returns like Amazon,just in case its something else.

[neonplanet40]

It's the RBG version I am looking at:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D1XCK...aa_scomp_aapi1

I never remember memory being this difficult to buy!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It's the RBG version I am looking at:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D1XCK...aa_scomp_aapi1

I never remember memory being this difficult to buy!!

Ryzen is a newish platform - even the Core i7 920 had lots of issues when launching too. The Intel DDR4 memory controller is older and more mature - most of the issues with Ryzen tend to be more if you want to run past stock speeds it seems. Otherwise you are stuck at 2666MHZ or 2993MHZ.