What is next for my PC

Skid_Marc_

Staff member
Admin
As much as I would have liked to be patient, hold out for availability, and build up my savings so I can continue my trend of going all out on parts... I've hit my limits with my i9-7700x. I initially planned on going with a mid-range $449 8-core Ryzen7-5800x, but found I could work a $549 12-core Ryzen9-5900x into my "now" budget. However, with the lack of "now" availability, I went ahead a grabbed a $515 10-core i9-10900k. I know, I know; TWICE I've said my next PC would be AMD, and twice now I've gone Intel again... but it's the same core-count I am currently using, and it steps my core-clock speed by a full 1.0 GHz! Either way, I would have needed to buy a new MoBo (x299 was all the disaster it promised to be), so I hope the $25 savings I'll get sticking with Intel (now THAT'S an ironic statement), and the immediate performance gain, will out-weigh the little performance benefits of waiting.

For the MoBo, I'd like to be simple and stick with what I already have, a $299 Asus ROG STRIX Z490 E - Gaming, but there seems to be a vague Asus Network hardware/firmware issue going around the Asus reviews and forums. I only see it cropping up specifically in A-Gaming and F-Gaming models. I haven't been able to find any posts with the E-Gaming board, or any other model of ASUS MoBo, but are they really using different chips on those two boards? I've had so many random network issues that I kind of want to try something different. My first MoBo was an Asus MAXIMUS HERO VII, but the Z490 version of that board (MAXIMUS XII Hero), is over $400, and a lot of the "recommended" Z490 boards are $700+. I 'm not really sure I'd get the benefit out of spending more money on my MoBo than CPU? ~$300 is pretty much all the budget I have left right now, anyways.

Finally, I've ordered a $115 Noctua NH-D15 and a $35 Kraken G12 GPU Bracket. It'll take about a month for it to arrive, but it's not a need right now and Newegg is price-gouging the hell out of them ($190 for the NH-D15 and $77 for the G12). Pretty nervous about touching my precious Titan, but it's so loud, I run it at full speed so much, it's so tough to clean out, and I already have the X63 AIO, so I think it will be a fun project.... assuming it still works when I'm done...
 

Brainling

Hardcore
Don't feel bad, I just grabbed a 10900K for my sim rig as well because Ryzen 5000 availability just isn't there. I went with the Asus Maximus 12 Hero. My Ryzen 3000 systems have both been the AMD version of that board, the Crosshair 8 Hero, and I've loved them both. So far so good with the Maximus as well. Aside from me trying the beta bios and that not working with my RAM, forcing me to use the BIOS Flashback feature.

Going from a 3900X to a 10900K I'm not going to see the kind of uplift you will, but so far it''s been about 15-20% more frames. For 99% of people the 3900X would be more than enough CPU but with my heavy high FPS VR usage, having the extra raw single threaded oomph of the 10900K has made a difference.

Wish I could have gotten a 5900X, it would've saved me from needing a different motherboard, but it was likely going to be months before I could get one without jumping through hoops. I'll recoup the cost of the motherboard by selling my 3900X combo to a friend for whom it will be a massive upgrade. My workstation is still a 3950X and I have no plans to change that as it needs cores. One of these days when they are more available I may put a 5950X in that machine.
 
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