Standard Ryzen CPU Cooling

[NoddyPirate]

I'd like to get a final view on my build please if yis can handle me waffling at ye again! Light gaming - lots of photo editing - general use outside of that...

This has already broken my budget completely - the bank even rang when I clicked on Amend for the thrid time threatening to turn off my internet connection if I added anything else - so any changes can't add to the cost. Part of my problem is that I need to buy a new desk for the new rig as my current PC is a mini tower that fits into a neat spot in a little press type thing I have with doors and a pull out keyboard and a spot for my printer and all that. Everything will have to go with this new machine - so the budget screamed and shouted even more as I logged into IKEA.ie.

It is all quite close to the suggestion that @Resistance100 gave me on Page 1 - I have gone for the 3600XT because of it's higher multi core frequency which will help with the photo suite stuff. I gave in on the B550 mobo as I can get two quick M.2 drives in there too and better RAM choices down the road.

My main question is with the PSU - I just can't afford a bigger one without giving up something else that I feel I just can't live without - the build max power is circa 300W - the 550W PSU will give me 80% to spare - perhaps not heaps for major upgrades down the road but plenty for a couple of SSD's should I go for that option - PSU's are so cheap that changing it out later if required shouldn't kill me really.

So - thoughts on a postcard please!

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT Six Core CPU (4.5GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Cable Management
PCS 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 20 to 22 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: €0.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/hCmB80UxnF/

 

[NoddyPirate]

@AgentCooper You might notice that I added an RGB cooler to the pack too - so much for me not being into the 'whole RGB thing'!

 

[Scott]

You would want the 5600X for photoshop etc

 

[Scott]

Just to add on the PSU et all. I would save and do it once, swapping things out down the line isn't the best plan.... unless we are talking CPU/GPU for more grunt

Do it once and do it right, even if you need to save for another month or 2. Hopefully prices will come down throughout the month of March anyway.

 

[NoddyPirate]

You would want the 5600X for photoshop etc

Don't make me cry Scott! I do want it! I just can't afford the 5600X - it'll have to be in a future upgrade perhaps!

The 3600XT still seems to do fairly well for me - I don't do video editing - so I should be able to happily live with the 3600 for photos - I hope!

 

[Scott]

Seems wasteful to me, to buy something twice, but entirely up to yourself

 

[NoddyPirate]

Seems wasteful to me, to buy something twice, but entirely up to yourself

I totally get where you're coming from - and I agree with you ultimately, yet the budget must stop somewhere really. My target was sub €1,000 and I am already over 15% beyond that....

I guess I'm trying to be honest with myself - I might add some SSD's to the mix down the road - but if my current 10 year old setup is anything to go by - this will be such an upgrade from my existing rig that it should do me fine for quite a while.

However, I think maybe where I am confused a bit is why I need to have 100's and 100's of Watts to spare - I understand about quality of supply and so on - but every recommendation I've read suggest 20-30% to spare - and if I did change to something like the 5600X I would actually be saving 35W over the 3600XT in the process as the 3600XT is pretty hungry as it is.

Is there any other reason to go with a bigger PSU than 550W other than for upgradability down the road? And if it is primarily for upgradability - then how much is enough? Given you can't yet tell what AMD Zen 5 CPU's and Nvidia 30808080Ti GPU's will need power wise!

 

[Scott]

Prices are up over 15% higher just now so it goes hand in hand with demand unfortunately. That's why I was saying if you hold off, the component prices should come down leading to a more affordable system. Being in a hurry is never good for your pocket.

With the PSU, it's more the quality than the quantity. The higher the PSU, the less stress it's under when running the system. I wouldn't have a TXm PSU in my system, never mind a CV (Bottom shelf, but still well branded, PSU).

Any of the RM psu's will only use the fan over 33% utilisation, up until that point they are silent. The components in the RMx series are a real cut above those below it, and the warranty goes in hand with it (far longer warranty periods for the better PSUs).

If there was a 650w RMx PSU available as an option it is what I would recommend. The lowest option is the 750w RMx and the difference in price between that and the 850w makes it a bit of a no brainer to opt for it.... hence the recommendation.

3060 will be 650w
3070 will be 750w
3080 will be 850w
3090 will be 850w minimum with a 1000w recommended.

If you spend on the foundation just now, you will be able to build on top of it down the line instead of having to rip it all out and start again.

Case, PSU, Motherboard are all key items in a build and should never be scrimped on.

 

[NoddyPirate]

Prices are up over 15% higher just now so it goes hand in hand with demand unfortunately. That's why I was saying if you hold off, the component prices should come down leading to a more affordable system. Being in a hurry is never good for your pocket.

With the PSU, it's more the quality than the quantity. The higher the PSU, the less stress it's under when running the system. I wouldn't have a TXm PSU in my system, never mind a CV (Bottom shelf, but still well branded, PSU).

Any of the RM psu's will only use the fan over 33% utilisation, up until that point they are silent. The components in the RMx series are a real cut above those below it, and the warranty goes in hand with it (far longer warranty periods for the better PSUs).

If there was a 650w RMx PSU available as an option it is what I would recommend. The lowest option is the 750w RMx and the difference in price between that and the 850w makes it a bit of a no brainer to opt for it.... hence the recommendation.

3060 will be 650w
3070 will be 750w
3080 will be 850w
3090 will be 850w minimum with a 1000w recommended.

If you spend on the foundation just now, you will be able to build on top of it down the line instead of having to rip it all out and start again.

Case, PSU, Motherboard are all key items in a build and should never be scrimped on.

Brilliant Scott - thanks so much - lots to think about there. Much appreciated!

I am really worried about coming across as a bit of an annoying bowel evacuation here - so please don't feel I am questioning your advice....

Every build has a budget limit - €500, €1,000, €1,500, €2,000 - whatever - and every one of those builds could be a little better if the budget was pushed a little more. And after it's pushed a little bit, then it could be a little better again if it was pushed just a little extra. There just has to be a limit set at some point. I have already done the first extra push and have reached my red line.

Yes I could wait and save some more or wait and hope the prices for some components move in a better direction - or I could wait even longer and get a better system - I guess if I waited long enough I could buy the best possible CPU, GPU, RAM, MOBO, CASE and PSU combination available. But the balance every single one of us strike at some point is the benefit of having a good system now weighted against having a better one later. Anyone who orders a build has - by definition - already made that assessment.

So while I wish I could take your advice - I need a more usable system rather than a better one later and will suffer the mental anguish of watching it age poorly with time if that happens!

However! I am intrigued by your thoughts on the PSU. What makes the CV series so dodgy for a build such as mine? I of course understand that highly fluctuating loads and intense demands from components need a high quality supply with ample protection to keep everything safe - is it that CV can't do that in your view?

FYI - I felt happy with the CV after reading through a few reviews including this one:

CV550 Review

I don't know a whole lot about PC's but I know enough to be aware that burning up a grands worth of bits because of a 50 quid PSU would be a risk to avoid! Additional thoughts would be welcome!!

 

[Scott]

Indeed, budgets need set...... but they need set realistically. Advice however, from me at least, comes from the benefit of hindsight and experience....... mostly from being burned and making mistakes rather than lucking out and getting it right.

You are asking for a focused system, one with a decent amount of power, that has some nice areas of use. These all come at a cost. The cost should be budget.... rather than compromising other areas, again IMO.

There are members with systems on here who didn't heed the advice who are back for a new system (or near enough).

At this current moment, your build is very much middling between 2 budget levels. You are spending more than the minimum that you need to, while not spending enough to get to that competent level that we would recommend. I would ALWAYS put my hat into either one or the other, as going in between just doesn't sit right with me. I don't like to cut corners and I never advise that it's done.

With regards to the PSU.... ALL Corsair units are excellent PSUs, they don't make poor ones. Within their ranks there are varying degrees of components used. Spending wisely right now, an extra £40 or so, can save you from buying another PSU for the next 15 years. That's a serious return of investment. Most people would gladly pay the £40 not to have to re-wire an entire PC by replacing the PSU down the line so it's worth having that warranty and confidence all in.

So TLDR;

I would recommend you choose a side. If it's a throwaway system that you are happy to have then save some cash and get closer to what you had initially. It'll do exactly what you need it to right now very well, it's just when you get a year or 2 down the line it'll be wanting. At this point it will be a replacement as you would be switching out the core of the PC anyway, and selling it in bits wouldn't be worth anything..... it would do someone a good turn as an office PC down the line so you could get some cash for it.

The 2nd option is to get the foundations right, considering that in the future you may want more power (CPU) or may want to game/vr/render (GPU). Doing it right just now means you change those bits only, everything is in place for the rest of the system to last 10 years with minimal future investment.

 

[NoddyPirate]

Indeed, budgets need set...... but they need set realistically. Advice however, from me at least, comes from the benefit of hindsight and experience....... mostly from being burned and making mistakes rather than lucking out and getting it right.

You are asking for a focused system, one with a decent amount of power, that has some nice areas of use. These all come at a cost. The cost should be budget.... rather than compromising other areas, again IMO.

There are members with systems on here who didn't heed the advice who are back for a new system (or near enough).

At this current moment, your build is very much middling between 2 budget levels. You are spending more than the minimum that you need to, while not spending enough to get to that competent level that we would recommend. I would ALWAYS put my hat into either one or the other, as going in between just doesn't sit right with me. I don't like to cut corners and I never advise that it's done.

With regards to the PSU.... ALL Corsair units are excellent PSUs, they don't make poor ones. Within their ranks there are varying degrees of components used. Spending wisely right now, an extra £40 or so, can save you from buying another PSU for the next 15 years. That's a serious return of investment. Most people would gladly pay the £40 not to have to re-wire an entire PC by replacing the PSU down the line so it's worth having that warranty and confidence all in.

So TLDR;

I would recommend you choose a side. If it's a throwaway system that you are happy to have then save some cash and get closer to what you had initially. It'll do exactly what you need it to right now very well, it's just when you get a year or 2 down the line it'll be wanting. At this point it will be a replacement as you would be switching out the core of the PC anyway, and selling it in bits wouldn't be worth anything..... it would do someone a good turn as an office PC down the line so you could get some cash for it.

The 2nd option is to get the foundations right, considering that in the future you may want more power (CPU) or may want to game/vr/render (GPU). Doing it right just now means you change those bits only, everything is in place for the rest of the system to last 10 years with minimal future investment.

Brilliant Scott - thank you - very well laid out and written.

I will have a good rethink on the basis of all you say. I particularly like your 2 budget level idea - I guess my issue is that I could sit in the first camp and just get the basics, or, instead spend more on core components that can look forward to building a long term relationship with me (Why does that sound so bloody weird? 🤔 ) but would then have to reduce the spec of other components to make the budget still work. Both of those options would give me a less capable system right now.

Perhaps what you see as cutting corners I saw as buying what I can afford to do decent work for me now. But you have me rethinking whether my assessment is a valid one......

Anyway, lots of words about this topic and equally lots to think about. Thanks again for taking the time to explain it all. Very much appreciated sir!

 

[NoddyPirate]

You can fit in the 5600x for only 15 Euros more:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Cable Management
PCS 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 20 to 22 working days
Price: €1,179.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Ryt80f6q2T/

Is the standard CPU cooler enough? Not sure which one comes with the 5600 - I also find the selection process a bit confusing as the standard option only ever shows the basic Wraith cooler I think?

Other advice says not scrimp on cooling - am I robbing Billy to pay Jack if I upgrade the CPU but downgrade the cooler in the process?

Arrgghhhh!!

 

[NoddyPirate]

I would agree with what has been said about the PSU.....however, I would mention that I ran a VS series PSU (about the same level) for 8 years in my old system and it never had an issue

I upgraded my existing system when I installed the HD7750 super duper GPU 8 years ago. 😀 I installed the highest wattage PSU that could fit which was actually a second hand unit from a higher spec version of my PC. A horrid, ugly, noisy 250W thing.

Right now it has about 13 years on the clock and hasn’t missed a beat!

 

[NoddyPirate]

Just reading up there - the 5600X is bundled with the Wraith Stealth cooler which all reviews I have seen thus far say isn’t good enough for it.... 😢😢

 

[NoddyPirate]

I can't believe you won't go trawling over every word of this thread - it's only 5 pages! Put some effort in! Jeez!

I don't do intense gaming - hence my low end GPU - but will use a decent bit of CPU power with photo editing - stitching panaoramas and merging layers in photoshop will keep the temps up nicely I expect....

There are no reviews for PCS coolers obviously - but as far as I can tell the PCS Forstflow 100 appears to be a straight copy of the Coolermaster 212 Black Edition which is considered one of the best air coolers and beats many AIO and liquid coolers in multiple reviews I've seen. The caveat of course with air coolers being that you need good airflow in the first place. So it out performed AIO's only where case airflow was very good - otherwise the liquid cooling option will win every time.

No guarantee in any of that that the PCS cooler will perform anything like the 212, but still, I thought it was interesting to see fairly cheap air coolers beat AIO's on occasion under the right circumstances......

Anyhoo, thanks again for all you input gang!

 

[SpyderTracks]

I can't believe you won't go trawling over every word of this thread - it's only 5 pages! Put some effort in! Jeez!

I don't do intense gaming - hence my low end GPU - but will use a decent bit of CPU power with photo editing - stitching panaoramas and merging layers in photoshop will keep the temps up nicely I expect....

There are no reviews for PCS coolers obviously - but as far as I can tell the PCS Forstflow 100 appears to be a straight copy of the Coolermaster 212 Black Edition which is considered one of the best air coolers and beats many AIO and liquid coolers in multiple reviews I've seen. The caveat of course with air coolers being that you need good airflow in the first place. So it out performed AIO's only where case airflow was very good - otherwise the liquid cooling option will win every time.

No guarantee in any of that that the PCS cooler will perform anything like the 212, but still, I thought it was interesting to see fairly cheap air coolers beat AIO's on occasion under the right circumstances......

Anyhoo, thanks again for all you input gang!

The frostflows perform worse than the standard coolers and would not be recommended at all on any build.

We would always recommend the coolermaster for anything under a 5900x / 3900x

 

[Scott]

As above, there is no real sensible middle ground. The stock cooler will run fine, if you wanted a bit of extra margin then the 240 Coolermaster would be the go-to, it's actually cheap for what it does.

 

[NoddyPirate]

The frostflows perform worse than the standard coolers and would not be recommended at all on any build.

We would always recommend the coolermaster for anything under a 5900x / 3900x

Jeez my head hurts! Tis so difficult to figure this all out!

So any ‘upgrade’ from standard cooling that isn’t AIO isn’t worth bothering with.

Right so, back to the drawing board!

I must say I am very nervous about stock cooling on a 5600x given the reviews I’ve seen. If I need an AIO with it then it’s an utter non runner in the first place anyway.

Sigh. I wonder how my existing thing will behave if I dump some more RAM in it? 🤦‍♂️

 

[NoddyPirate]

Just for reference - these are the sort of reviews that I have been devouring recently. This one is interesting as it shows the limitations of the stock cooler and used basically the cheapest tower cooler they could find which outperformed the Wraith Stealth almost to the same degree as the AIO.

Interesting read....

I just can’t understand how the Frostflow could be worse than everything shown here? Any other info or explanations would be appreciated!

 

[Scott]

The BeQuiet Shadow Rock isn't a cheap tower cooler though. By the time you purchase that at £35, you're as well spending the other £14 and getting a proper decent cooler.

I think you would probably be better to upgrade your current system for now