Advice on PC Spec.

[cossinsmatthew]

Hoping to order this specification or similar within the next couple of days.

The aim was that the spec be a significant step up on my existing system (i7-3770, 1050ti 4gb, 32gb ram (4x8gb crucial), 1.5TB HDD). This obviously achieves that - I am purchasing new RAM as that way I can keep the old system operational and because my existing RAM is only DDR3 1600MHz. I'm aware 32GB may be overkill but I'm an Engineer that occasionally does some intensive stuff with MATLAB and the usage can exceed 16GB - plus I figure it provides headroom.

I want the system to be able to run current games at close to highest settings on 1080p, with headroom to upgrade to superior display resolutions in the future. It should also be VR-capable and should ideally last me a decade - obviously hard to predict but hopefully it would just about run a new game in 2034 and should be more than capable of handling games expected to release over the next few years at high settings (GTA6, ES6, etc.). And of course around this time I could switch individual parts as required - something I cannot currently easily do due to be confined by some proprietary connections etc.

Any obvious significant issues with the specification?

Or any minor tweaks people would make?

Current cost is approx £1350. If it can be made cheaper without significant performance reduction then that is great. Vice versa if it can have a significant performance increase at a similar price then also great. Absolute hard budget of £1500 but hoping for <£1400.

Case
PCS PULSE MID TOWER CASE (PWM)
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600KF (Up to 4.9GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B760M-K D4 (mATX, LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm PCS Black Case Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
ASUS PCE-AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 (1201Mbps/5GHz, 574Mbps/2.4GHz + Bluetooth 5.2)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days

 

[Ekans2011]

Hoping to order this specification or similar within the next couple of days.

The aim was that the spec be a significant step up on my existing system (i7-3770, 1050ti 4gb, 32gb ram (4x8gb crucial), 1.5TB HDD). This obviously achieves that - I am purchasing new RAM as that way I can keep the old system operational and because my existing RAM is only DDR3 1600MHz. I'm aware 32GB may be overkill but I'm an Engineer that occasionally does some intensive stuff with MATLAB and the usage can exceed 16GB - plus I figure it provides headroom.

I want the system to be able to run current games at close to highest settings on 1080p, with headroom to upgrade to superior display resolutions in the future. It should also be VR-capable and should ideally last me a decade - obviously hard to predict but hopefully it would just about run a new game in 2034 and should be more than capable of handling games expected to release over the next few years at high settings (GTA6, ES6, etc.). And of course around this time I could switch individual parts as required - something I cannot currently easily do due to be confined by some proprietary connections etc.

Any obvious significant issues with the specification?

Or any minor tweaks people would make?

Current cost is approx £1350. If it can be made cheaper without significant performance reduction then that is great. Vice versa if it can have a significant performance increase at a similar price then also great. Absolute hard budget of £1500 but hoping for <£1400.

Case
PCS PULSE MID TOWER CASE (PWM)
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600KF (Up to 4.9GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B760M-K D4 (mATX, LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm PCS Black Case Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
ASUS PCE-AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 (1201Mbps/5GHz, 574Mbps/2.4GHz + Bluetooth 5.2)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days

Hi, that build is a big no for me: case (unknown brand), motherboard is very cheap, RAM DDR4, OS drive is missing, PSU 650W is insufficient for a decent gaming PC, CPU cooler is not enough, Norton, etc.

Furthermore, no one would suggest Intel today. It's a dead platform that costs more and performs worse than AMD.

What monitor will you be using with it? Make & model, resolution/refresh rate.

 

[cossinsmatthew]

Hi, that build is a big no for me: case (unknown brand), motherboard is very cheap, RAM DDR4, OS drive is missing, PSU 650W is insufficient for a decent gaming PC, CPU cooler is not enough, Norton, etc.

Furthermore, no one would suggest Intel today. It's a dead platform that costs more and performs worse than AMD.

What monitor will you be using with it? Make & model, resolution/refresh rate.

Hi, cheers for your response.

Monitor is Samsung LC24RG50 1080p/144Hz (https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/LC24RG50FQUXEN/)

In terms of the case and the motherboard, yes they are cheaper as I am trying to prevent costs from ballooning - what would be the reason to opt for something more expensive?

As for DDR4 rather than DDR5 - I don't actually see the option for DDR5 on PCS? Similarly, I only see the option for Intel processors?

I intended to put the OS and my games on the same 2TB SSD.

The 650W PSU was selected since PCS said that would be sufficient - the build was estimated at <400W.

Norton is included by default - I will likely use my own anti-virus.

How do you know that the CPU cooler is insufficient - this was something I was unsure about but I am not sure of a good resource to check. Would rather avoid liquid cooling as I'm aware leaks can be an issue so there's more risk to the PC if something goes wrong.

Cheers again for your help.

 

[Ekans2011]

In terms of the case and the motherboard, yes they are cheaper as I am trying to prevent costs from ballooning - what would be the reason to opt for something more expensive?

The reason is that Motherboard, Case, and PSU are the three most crucial components of a PC.
If you go cheap, you will not be able to build a balanced, durable, and upgradeable system, which are the fundamentals of the PC Custom.

As for DDR4 rather than DDR5 - I don't actually see the option for DDR5 on PCS? Similarly, I only see the option for Intel processors?

Where are you looking to say something like that?

I intended to put the OS and my games on the same 2TB SSD.

Bad choice. Have a look on this.

Why more than one storage drive?

I've been meaning to put something like this together for a while. In recent weeks I've found myself writing this more and more so thought I would just post my thoughts in a thread that I could link to. So the reason for this thread is to try and give insight as to the reasoning behind having...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

The 650W PSU was selected since PCS said that would be sufficient - the build was estimated at <400W.

The automatic configurator just adds up the TDPs, ignoring transient spikes and inevitable future GPU upgrades.
650W are enough for an office PC. Nowadays GPUs require much more power.

Norton is included by default - I will likely use my own anti-virus.

You can easily remove it.
Actually, you don't need any AV since Windows Defender is more than enough for 99% of the users.

How do you know that the CPU cooler is insufficient - this was something I was unsure about but I am not sure of a good resource to check. Would rather avoid liquid cooling as I'm aware leaks can be an issue so there's more risk to the PC if something goes wrong.

Sorry, for some reason, I saw 14600KF rather than 12600KF...
Yes, it could be cooled by an AK400, but it is about three generations old CPU; while it was a decent mid-range in 2021, I would not buy it in 2024.

FYI, AIOs have sealed radiator of non-conductive liquid. It doesn't leak and doesn't need any maintenance.

This is really the minimum I'd recommend for an entry-level 1080p/VR gaming PC in 2024.
It would be preferable to choose a Ryzen 7 7700 and a 1000W PSU, but the price will rise to £1600.

Feel free to wait for other opinions; this is simply my point of view.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.2GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,523.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/5d!A4SHeEC/

 

[cossinsmatthew]

The reason is that Motherboard, Case, and PSU are the three most crucial components of a PC.
If you go cheap, you will not be able to build a balanced, durable, and upgradeable system, which are the fundamentals of the PC Custom.


Where are you looking to say something like that?


Bad choice. Have a look on this.

Why more than one storage drive?

I've been meaning to put something like this together for a while. In recent weeks I've found myself writing this more and more so thought I would just post my thoughts in a thread that I could link to. So the reason for this thread is to try and give insight as to the reasoning behind having...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

The automatic configurator just adds up the TDPs, ignoring transient spikes and inevitable future GPU upgrades.
650W are enough for an office PC. Nowadays GPUs require much more power.


You can easily remove it.
Actually, you don't need any AV since Windows Defender is more than enough for 99% of the users.


Sorry, for some reason, I saw 14600KF rather than 12600KF...
Yes, it could be cooled by an AK400, but it is about three generations old CPU; while it was a decent mid-range in 2021, I would not buy it in 2024.

FYI, AIOs have sealed radiator of non-conductive liquid. It doesn't leak and doesn't need any maintenance.

This is really the minimum I'd recommend for an entry-level 1080p/VR gaming PC in 2024.
It would be preferable to choose a Ryzen 7 7700 and a 1000W PSU, but the price will rise to £1600.

Feel free to wait for other opinions; this is simply my point of view.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.2GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,523.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/5d!A4SHeEC/

Cheers again - I must have selected DDR4 and Intel a while ago when I first started trying out different combinations so was locked in on that quote - starting again I can see the option to opt for AMD and DDR5.

Your point on an OS drive seems reasonable. I see you have selected the pro (faster) version for the OS - that also seems reasonable.

Also yes probably is worth opting for the DDR5 - not sure 6000MHz is necessary. Since the CPU you suggest is 5.2GHz then 5200MHz should be sufficient to get full benefit and the extra would be wasted. This reduces the build cost by around 23 quid.

Looks like you don't think the support bracket for graphics card is necessary - I was unsure on that so will leave it off the order.

The case you have suggested does look quite good - more than I would have wanted to pay but I take your point that it is worth having a good foundation and the two large 200mm fans should keep cooling effective and, as I understand it, reasonably quiet.

Your processor choice does confuse me a little. The Ryzen 5 7600 is worse than the i5-12600kf on userbenchmark.com but costs more money so why would I choose it, even if it is newer? If I get the 7600X, the performance is about the same as the i5 but again for more money so why bother?

As for the PSU, I don't intend on upgrading the GPU for a long time - e.g. a decade so I don't need to build in excessive headroom. I think 750W is reasonable as every calculator online tells me around 430W. This is less than 60% load on the PSU.

 

[TonyCarter]

The CPU speed and RAM speed aren't related, and the optimum (and best performance per £) for AM5 CPUs is the 6000Mhz.

Much lower and you can lose 10-20% of your peak performance, but much faster only gains you 2-3% extra.

As for the PSU, have you accounted for the 2-3x transient spikes that 40-series GPUs have been producing? In most cases they won't damage anything - due to protections built in to decent PSUs - but may cause random/unexplainable BSODs or restarts.

IGNORE ANYTHING YOU SEE ON USERBENCHMARK, as it's nothing but an Intel shill, using artificially-manipulated tests to give Intel the win.

Userbenchmark is rated "Bad" with 1.5 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with Userbenchmark's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 247 customers have already said.

uk.trustpilot.com

 

[Ekans2011]

Cheers again - I must have selected DDR4 and Intel a while ago when I first started trying out different combinations so was locked in on that quote - starting again I can see the option to opt for AMD and DDR5.

Your point on an OS drive seems reasonable. I see you have selected the pro (faster) version for the OS - that also seems reasonable.

Also yes probably is worth opting for the DDR5 - not sure 6000MHz is necessary. Since the CPU you suggest is 5.2GHz then 5200MHz should be sufficient to get full benefit and the extra would be wasted. This reduces the build cost by around 23 quid.

Looks like you don't think the support bracket for graphics card is necessary - I was unsure on that so will leave it off the order.

The case you have suggested does look quite good - more than I would have wanted to pay but I take your point that it is worth having a good foundation and the two large 200mm fans should keep cooling effective and, as I understand it, reasonably quiet.

Your processor choice does confuse me a little. The Ryzen 5 7600 is worse than the i5-12600kf on userbenchmark.com but costs more money so why would I choose it, even if it is newer? If I get the 7600X, the performance is about the same as the i5 but again for more money so why bother?

As for the PSU, I don't intend on upgrading the GPU for a long time - e.g. a decade so I don't need to build in excessive headroom. I think 750W is reasonable as every calculator online tells me around 430W. This is less than 60% load on the PSU.

@TonyCarter has already addressed your issues and concerns.

The Ryzen 5 7600 was chosen only because of your low budget, as I stated above; the 7800X3D or, at the very least, the Ryzen 7 7700 was my ideal choice for your needs with at least a 1000W PSU (even better the 1200W ATX 3.0).

Your initial request was for a long-lasting system (7-10 years), capable of handling 1080p resolution modern and future games at high detail, VR-ready, with room to upgrade to higher display resolutions in the future, and then you state that you don't plan to upgrade the GPU (which is unavoidable regardless of today's choice) for long time and you choose an already dead platform with no future with PSU that is barely sufficient for the current system. I'm curious about the logic behind these conflicting informations.

 

[cossinsmatthew]

The CPU speed and RAM speed aren't related, and the optimum (and best performance per £) for AM5 CPUs is the 6000Mhz.

Much lower and you can lose 10-20% of your peak performance, but much faster only gains you 2-3% extra.

As for the PSU, have you accounted for the 2-3x transient spikes that 40-series GPUs have been producing? In most cases they won't damage anything - due to protections built in to decent PSUs - but may cause random/unexplainable BSODs or restarts.

IGNORE ANYTHING YOU SEE ON USERBENCHMARK, as it's nothing but an Intel shill, using artificially-manipulated tests to give Intel the win.

Userbenchmark is rated "Bad" with 1.5 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with Userbenchmark's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 247 customers have already said.

uk.trustpilot.com

Cheers for your response.

Whilst the 6000MHz option may generally work best, ultimately the Ryzen 5 7600X isn't officially rated for anything higher than 5200MHz. I think best to err on the side of caution as there are numerous accounts of people finding 6000MHz unstable when used with these CPUs that are not actually rated for 6000MHz. I'm not really interested in overclocking.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Whilst the 6000MHz option may generally work best, ultimately the Ryzen 5 7600X isn't officially rated for anything higher than 5200MHz.

No RAM is used on baseline speeds supported by the CPU (or motherboard in the old days), for decades, all RAM has run overclocked.

On DDR4, the baseline was 2400MHz, but 3200MHz was the standard for any system, on DDR3 baseline was 1600MHz, but everyone ran 2400MHz.

Seriously NO system runs non-overclocked RAM, and hasn't for almost as long as DDR2 was around.

 

[cossinsmatthew]

@TonyCarter has already addressed your issues and concerns.

The Ryzen 5 7600 was chosen only because of your low budget, as I stated above; the 7800X3D or, at the very least, the Ryzen 7 7700 was my ideal choice for your needs with at least a 1000W PSU (even better the 1200W ATX 3.0).

Your initial request was for a long-lasting system (7-10 years), capable of handling 1080p resolution modern and future games at high detail, VR-ready, with room to upgrade to higher display resolutions in the future, and then you state that you don't plan to upgrade the GPU (which is unavoidable regardless of today's choice) for long time and you choose an already dead platform with no future with PSU that is barely sufficient for the current system. I'm curious about the logic behind these conflicting informations.

No problem. I think I will go for the Ryzen 5 7600X (the X adds little additional cost but ensures a much higher base clock rate).

Ignoring future upgrade potential, do you think 750W is sufficient for the current system?

Previously you selected the P44 Pro for the OS drive, instead of the P41+. Bearing in mind that if the benefit can be summed up as shaving a few seconds off boot I wouldn't consider it worth it, what is the reason to go for this more expensive option? I have seen some stuff about longer lifespan - was that your reasoning?

Any opinions on going for a non-wifi motherboard and then adding a wifi card? Cheaper overall and provides bluetooth so seems a good idea?

No RAM is used on baseline speeds supported by the CPU (or motherboard in the old days), for decades, all RAM has run overclocked.

On DDR4, the baseline was 2400MHz, but 3200MHz was the standard for any system, on DDR3 baseline was 1600MHz, but everyone ran 2400MHz.

Seriously NO system runs non-overclocked RAM, and hasn't for almost as long as DDR2 was around.

Okay but this CPU supports 5200MHz DDR5, not 6000MHz. I know people at AMD have said 6000MHz but at the end of the day its officially 5200MHz. I have to cut costs somewhere so considering I am not interested in using EXPO etc., this seems a logical place to do it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Okay but this CPU supports 5200MHz DDR5, not 6000MHz. I know people at AMD have said 6000MHz but at the end of the day its officially 5200MHz. I have to cut costs somewhere so considering I am not interested in using EXPO etc., this seems a logical place to do it.

That's what I'm saying though, no system for the last 20 years has run RAM at the "supported" speed, it's always been under an XMP or DOCP (and now EXPO) overclock. Anyone running a system on the baseline speeds is missing out on significant performance, no one would do that, the price difference is negligible and often more expensive for lower speeds because so few people buy them.

On your last system what RAM speeds were you running?

What's making you hesitant about overclocking RAM?

And it's not AMD saying 6000Mhz is optimal, it's 3rd party reviewers, and now most people with current systems. I'm running 6000MHz on EXPO and it's totally stable.

You may be getting freaked out by early issues that were ironed out by a BIOS update a long time ago, seriously everyone has those issues on a new DDR revision, Intel had exactly the same thing moving up to DDR5, it's completely normal. But those issues don't exist anymore, and haven't for a while.

If you can say what's causing your fears, that may help us to clear them up

 

[TonyCarter]

You'll lose more FPS in the 6000MHz to 5200MHz downgrade (about 10%) than you will gain in the 7600 to 7600X upgrade (<3%).

The 7600X is also the older CPU, and the 7600 was brought out to offer very similar performance at half the power/heat.

BTW that screenshot says "Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequency may be supported.".

 

[cossinsmatthew]

That's what I'm saying though, no system for the last 20 years has run RAM at the "supported" speed, it's always been under an XMP or DOCP (and now EXPO) overclock. Anyone running a system on the baseline speeds is missing out on significant performance, no one would do that, the price difference is negligible and often more expensive for lower speeds because so few people buy them.

On your last system what RAM speeds were you running?

The RAM was 1600MHz (speed on task manager and labelled speed of sticks)

What's making you hesitant about overclocking RAM?

Not done any overclocking before and have heard that running at higher than the official supported speed can void warranty etc.

And it's not AMD saying 6000Mhz is optimal, it's 3rd party reviewers, and now most people with current systems. I'm running 6000MHz on EXPO and it's totally stable.

You may be getting freaked out by early issues that were ironed out by a BIOS update a long time ago, seriously everyone has those issues on a new DDR revision, Intel had exactly the same thing moving up to DDR5, it's completely normal. But those issues don't exist anymore, and haven't for a while.

If you can say what's causing your fears, that may help us to clear them up

 

[SpyderTracks]

Not done any overclocking before and have heard that running at higher than the official supported speed can void warranty etc.

I think you're getting confused.

While it is technically an "overclock", it's a RAM overclock. The speed of the RAM is rated to match a particular overclock. So you buy 6000mhz RAM, that is confirmed to be high enough silicon quality to support that overclock without instability.

You don't need to do anything, the system comes fully build and configured. And with how memory overclocks work, they have a chip on the memory stick that simply holds the related EXPO settings for up to that chips speed, and PCS set that corresponding speed in a drop down in the BIOS. That's it, there's no manual overclocking, the RAM is warrantied to work like that. The only reason it wouldn't is if it were faulty in which case PCS would swap it out for you.

But every system on the planet runs overclocked RAM, it's 100% normal, even on servers, literally everywhere. It's totally normal

Once again, you don't need to do anything, the system is built fully by PCS, you just sit back and laugh at having gained over 10% performance from simply selecting the correct speed

 

[cossinsmatthew]

I think you're getting confused.

While it is technically an "overclock", it's a RAM overclock. The speed of the RAM is rated to match a particular overclock. So you buy 6000mhz RAM, that is confirmed to be high enough silicon quality to support that overclock without instability.

You don't need to do anything, the system comes fully build and configured. And with how memory overclocks work, they have a chip on the memory stick that simply holds the related EXPO settings for up to that chips speed, and PCS set that corresponding speed in a drop down in the BIOS. That's it, there's no manual overclocking, the RAM is warrantied to work like that. The only reason it wouldn't is if it were faulty in which case PCS would swap it out for you.

But every system on the planet runs overclocked RAM, it's 100% normal, even on servers, literally everywhere. It's totally normal

Once again, you don't need to do anything, the system is built fully by PCS, you just sit back and laugh at having gained over 10% performance from simply selecting the correct speed

Okay if you are correct, then I am getting confused. I have read on other forums of people tinkering with Bios settings etc. and I interpreted EXPO to be some sort of software you had to run and then configure settings to overclock the RAM?

I have seen people say they have had it be unstable at 6000MHz with this CPU but they also said they had non-expo versions. Is the PCS version definitely expo as I cannot find info on that?

 

[cossinsmatthew]

Really appreciate all the replies and the help. Last PC I built was years and a years ago and is a very outdated system that I kept just about above water with a few upgrades here and there that meant I just about managed to play RDR2. Am a bit out of the loop on recent advances and best practice.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Okay if you are correct, then I am getting confused. I have read on other forums of people tinkering with Bios settings etc. and I interpreted EXPO to be some sort of software you had to run and then configure settings to overclock the RAM?

EXPO is exactly the same as Intels RAM overclock which is called XMP or AMDs older version called DOCP

It's exactly the same, it's been this way for decades, there is literally nothing unusual about it.

The RAM will be EXPO RAM, although I think more and more modern chips now have both EXPO and XMP profiles embedded. But yes, it will be fully enabled and tested working before it's despatched to you, there's nothing you need to do

 

[cossinsmatthew]

You'll lose more FPS in the 6000MHz to 5200MHz downgrade (about 10%) than you will gain in the 7600 to 7600X upgrade (<3%).

The 7600X is also the older CPU, and the 7600 was brought out to offer very similar performance at half the power/heat.

BTW that screenshot says "Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequency may be supported.".

If I opt for the 7600, I have seen that it comes with an AMD Stealth Wraith cooler (I assume that is still the case with PCS). In that case can I drop the AK400, or still best to stick with it?

 

[SpyderTracks]

If I opt for the 7600, I have seen that it comes with an AMD Stealth Wraith cooler (I assume that is still the case with PCS). In that case can I drop the AK400, or still best to stick with it?

the included cooler is only on retail units.

PCS are an OEM, they don’t receive the same as you would get on retail parts.

But the stock coolers would never be recommended anyway as they run hot and loud.

 

[cossinsmatthew]

the included cooler is only on retail units.

PCS are an OEM, they don’t receive the same as you would get on retail parts.

But the stock coolers would never be recommended anyway as they run hot and loud.

Okay, for the sake of 8 quid difference I might as well get the 7600x for the higher base clock rate