Time to upgrade the old girl...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

These pics don't really do it justice due to the flash highlighting every grain of dust, the cables are pretty tidy and it looks decent. I'll get some better pics this afternoon when the sun is on the right side of the house

Unfortunately, I couldnt get it stress-test stable last night. Everything is stock except for the RAM which is rated at 3733MHz-17-19-19-39@1.35 but I was running at 3466MHz-16-18-18-36@1.4. Kinda disappointing that I have to run it with such loose timings.

Think this stuff might be going back.

Edit: so it just made it through 17 minutes of RealBench at 16-18-18-36

Im gunna run the Ryzen ram calculator, put in all the values and see what happens. If I post an 1840+ cinebench then I guess I should be happy with that.

Dude - this is Ryzen. Getting 3733MHZ would be an achievement - even 3466MHZ is good going.

Its not down to the RAM - the Ryzen memory controller is much weaker than Intel when overclocking it,which is what you are doing. The record is like 3600MHZ on overclock.net:

https://www.overclock.net/forum/10-a...ty-thread.html

Anything over 3200MHZ is really good going with Ryzen.

I would even go further and drop the speed and go for lower timings.

To put it in context my mate did a Ryzen build soon after launch and my mate could only get 2666MHZ stable on 3000MHZ RAM and that was the default normal speed on Ryzen MK1. Ryzen MK2 is 2933MHZ!!

[Biscuit]

The cable management looks good to me. Was just thinking to myself you made good use of the Seasonic tie-wraps

For your memory you might need an updated AMD AGESA version for your BIOS. That's why I raised it before. I have 1.0.0.2 but it seems people have much better luck on the newer versions for stabilizing their memory on 2nd gen Ryzen.

I actually used tie wraps I already had (other than the velcro one ), also sticky tie-wrap bases as this case has zero built in cable tie spots. My AGESA version is the same as yours, I don't think that's the issue and there isn't currently any alternative BIOS anyway

Dude - this is Ryzen. Getting 3733MHZ would be an achievement - even 3466MHZ is good going.

Its not down to the RAM - the Ryzen memory controller is much weaker than Intel when overclocking it,which is what you are doing. The record is like 3600MHZ on overclock.net:

https://www.overclock.net/forum/10-a...ty-thread.html

Anything over 3200MHZ is really good going with Ryzen.

I would even go further and drop the speed and go for lower timings.

To put it in context my mate did a Ryzen build soon after launch and my mate could only get 2666MHZ stable on 3000MHZ RAM and that was the default normal speed on Ryzen MK1. Ryzen MK2 is 2933MHZ!!

I think I'm just annoyed; after all my research that I didnt get B-Die and I want B-Die *throws toys out of the pram*

In fairness, I chucked the A-XMP profile on and it posted a pretty decent 1861 on Cinebench with the CPU at stock.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I actually used tie wraps I already had (other than the velcro one ), also sticky tie-wrap bases as this case has zero built in cable tie spots. My AGESA version is the same as yours, I don't think that's the issue and there isn't currently any alternative BIOS anyway



I think I'm just annoyed; after all my research that I didnt get B-Die and I want B-Die *throws toys out of the pram*

In fairness, I chucked the A-XMP profile on and it posted a pretty decent 1861 on Cinebench with the CPU at stock.

Wow,you got 3466MHZ on Hynix RAM?? That is like the hardest stuff to get decent speeds on - good going!!

[Biscuit]

Wow,you got 3466MHZ on Hynix RAM?? That is like the hardest stuff to get decent speeds on - good going!!

Good call on reducing to 3200. I used the Ryzen calculator and got 3200 "fast settings" to get a little more out of the result... still annoyed mind

[Firejack]

......In fairness, I chucked the A-XMP profile on and it posted a pretty decent 1861 on Cinebench with the CPU at stock.

That is far far above most peoples results!!! Congrats! I get 1803 which seems to right on average for a 2700X on the stock cooler with 3200Mhz memory.

[Biscuit]

I've actually not been able to replicate it since...

Stuck between 1830-1855 at the moment, but I dont know if thats as a result of the motherboard, the RAM or the CPU... Ryzen is weird to tune, so unpredictable.

[Biscuit]

Build basically done now. I settled on the RAM at one of the 3466 settings. Best Cinebench I have managed to pull is 1903 with PBO... But since then they have varied from 1750-1860.
Not really getting my head around PBO, might throw all the fans at max and see what happens for testing purposes...

I was loving the be quiet fans, and the overall cooling set up in general. It all seems much quieter and the VRM/CPU temps are kept in check pretty well as far as I can see. I think the removal of the sound card, the more directional through flow, and the CFM improvement has helped my GPU remain in silent mode when idle. Yesterday though, I took the filters off the intakes as they were occasionally rubbing against the blades, it seems now they're making a grinding noise at certain RPM, so I need to figure out what's going on there. Could be some sort of resonant frequency...

So far battlefield 1 and COH2 feel loads smoother, I guess my GPU was being held back a little bit with the 3570 at stock. Going to test Cities Skylines soon as that used to grind to a halt in some of my more advanced cities.

Ordered a mini display port to full display port adapter to try my old apple active DL-DVI adapter. If that works I might plunge for a Vega if they drop to around £380... Might also look at Alphacool watercooler for it.

[Firejack]

Cities Skylines was one of the games that forced me to upgrade too. The game does run a lot better. I can hit the speed up button again without the game turning into a slide show. At 1x speed my frame rate is the same as it was previously. Bit unsure why. My GPU isn't at max load. I thought before my frame rate was limited by my CPU. That bottleneck has gone now. My theory is its a memory issue. Really need to get my memory boot issue fixed so I can lock in the higher speed and faster memory timings.

PBO is just an extension of Precision Boost 2. Not supported in AMD's CPU warranty. All it does is increase/ remove the limits for the Precision Boost algorithm. Assuming your temps, CPU power draw are OK and VRMs are able to feed more power. PBO will boost out of spec above PB2 to give extra performance on all cores. For me I see next to no improvements but I'm probably hitting the thermal limits of the stock cooler.

I should note XFR2 is similar. It will boost performance assuming temps, CPU power draw are OK and boosting won't go over the max speed of the CPU. So 4.35GHz for the 2700X.
I also see no improvement from XFR2 and its actually a bit annoying as my CPU temps keep jumping up and down as XFR2 tries and fails to boost. Again because of the stock cooler. Had to use a fan smoothing curve to stop my CPU fan being noisy.

[Biscuit]

PBO is just an extension of Precision Boost 2. Not supported in AMD's CPU warranty. All it does is increase/ remove the limits for the Precision Boost algorithm. Assuming your temps, CPU power draw are OK and VRMs are able to feed more power. PBO will boost out of spec above PB2 to give extra performance on all cores. For me I see next to no improvements but I'm probably hitting the thermal limits of the stock cooler.

I should note XFR2 is similar. It will boost performance assuming temps, CPU power draw are OK and boosting won't go over the max speed of the CPU. So 4.35GHz for the 2700X.
I also see no improvement from XFR2 and its actually a bit annoying as my CPU temps keep jumping up and down as XFR2 tries and fails to boost. Again because of the stock cooler. Had to use a fan smoothing curve to stop my CPU fan being noisy.

Yeah I'll probably just switch everything back on to stock as TBH, I dont really need any more performance. Extra cores and clock speed are proving more than enough.

It seems the issue I'm having with fan noise is about the fans being pressed to the side of the metal. Could be turbulant air or something I guess, but putting the filter back in immedietely gets rid of the noise.

Do I take a dremel to the aluminium and cut the metal into a single big hole? Seems Unlikely I would do a perfect job of it.

I also just ran P95 whilst testing the fans and it had a failure on one of the workers... guess these memory timing arent stable

[Gerrard]

So, I have been watching this thread with interest as I am thinking of getting something very similar.

I currently have a SilverStone SG10 case and so am limited to uATX as well. The dual M2 slot on that board could be useful in the future, mainly for ease of installation/space rather than speed.

I am looking at the Samsung 970 EVO 500Gb for that. If I have to reinstall Windows, might as get a new HDD whilst I am at it (Win7, so a bit work required to to do that).

My current CPU is a 3350P (3.1GHz/3.3GHz), so a 2700X will be a nice boost, and will be looking at using the cooler that comes with it for now.

The last thing is some RAM. I am not looking at overclocking or anything, so just need 16Gb of something. Not sure what speed to go for. Seems a bit of a jump from 3000 to 3200, so I guess 3000 will suffice? And just get some non-fancy Corsair.

My 1070GTX and current PSU (600W SilverStone I think) can carry over.

[Biscuit]

So, I have been watching this thread with interest as I am thinking of getting something very similar.

I currently have a SilverStone SG10 case and so am limited to uATX as well. The dual M2 slot on that board could be useful in the future, mainly for ease of installation/space rather than speed.

I am looking at the Samsung 970 EVO 500Gb for that. If I have to reinstall Windows, might as get a new HDD whilst I am at it (Win7, so a bit work required to to do that).

My current CPU is a 3350P (3.1GHz/3.3GHz), so a 2700X will be a nice boost, and will be looking at using the cooler that comes with it for now.

The last thing is some RAM. I am not looking at overclocking or anything, so just need 16Gb of something. Not sure what speed to go for. Seems a bit of a jump from 3000 to 3200, so I guess 3000 will suffice? And just get some non-fancy Corsair.

My 1070GTX and current PSU (600W SilverStone I think) can carry over.

The WD Black was cheaper for me at the time of purchase. No other reason I bought it over the Evo.
You definitely can feel the difference between using that and a traditional SSD IMO.

So you're looking at this motherboard?

I'd be happy to answer/test any specifics for you, although I will be using the second PCI-E Slot for an NBASE-T Ethernet card and housing any less critical storage externally, so I don't plan on using the other M.2 anymore.

As far as RAM, I got mine stable for extended stress tests using slightly modified timings, but regardless of my experience and you're requirement, It seems that it RAM simply requires effort on Ryzen. No dodging this unfortunately. Not sure I would go with corsair though; their range is uninspiring and expensive.

As far as XFR and PBO, I think I've come to a couple of conclusions based on reading others experiences.
If you want to get the CPU to all core boost and hold a high boost, you have to have a cooler that will keep the Tdie temp (actual temp without offsets) below 60c. Mine simply does not do this, but it will keep it under 80c at a respectable noise level and an all core above 4GHz. I'm considering going custom loop already...
For some reason, the power management setting installed with the AMD drivers seemed to be the cause of my lower Cinebench results as time went on, as I initially didn't have an up to date package installed... the XFR/PB didn't lock the boost clocks as high anymore with the Ryzen balanced plan enabled.
But installing the driver seemed to help smooth the otherwise erratic clock speed changes.

[Gerrard]

So, I got the bits Thursday but it has taken until now to get Windows 7 installed on it! As it is most of the time, in retrospect it wasn't as difficult as I made it. However, it did require me digging out my old SATA DVD drive and a PS2 keyboard to get it installed.

Went with this RAM in the end https://www.scan.co.uk/products/16gb...15-17-17-35-xm. It's SK Hynix, but as long as it works, I am not too bothered.

Haven't put it through its paces yet; I am just glad after three days of just getting it to bloody work! Of course, something I forgot was that I now no longer get any Window updates (after the 121 it downloaded anyway) because MS don't support this processor any more on Win7.

[Biscuit]

I wouldnt go back to Win 7 now. As much as I dislike some of the things in W10, you can deal with a lot of them using 3rd party apps and a bit of port blocking on a decent router (Edgerouter Lite).

I still havent managed to get my RAM totally stable, I thought I had but I was still getting stress test crashes and locks, more stringent testing and bam... memory error. Even with A-XMP Profile I get an error

I dropped down to 3200 for the time being and running through the paces again. I have a feeling that mine might not be SK Hynix AFR, but MFR... so I'm trying the settings Safe Ryzen DRAM calculator gives me for that instead.

In other news, my display port adapter arrived and the: Full size DP -> Mini DP -> Dual Link DVI monstrosity DOES work... so I can buy a graphics card without DLDVI if a good deal pops up. Lowest Vega prices seem to have stabilised at £400/450 56/64. I would ideally go for a Sapphire rather than PowerColor though.

[MrJim]

I don't know if you're subscribed to Buildzoid's Youtube channel, but he did a motherboard review of the MSI B450 Mortar Titanium...and he likes it