z390-p not defined in info for PC configuration

[Unwina]

I've been creating a build for a new Pc and using
* Configure a new PC (Build a Custom PC)
* INTEL Based Custom PC | Configure
* Configure (My budget is £440-£3000

The motherboard options has the defaulted item as Asus Prime Z390-P whcih is fine but the "?" help options do not have this board, however, it does have the first option as "ASUS® PRIME Z370-P" and I think the initial picture is for the 370 but the chipset is displayed as Intel 390. Selecting this option also seems to select the Z390-P in the build. The thing is it's not defined the same as on the Asus site for Z390.

Not sure who to direct this at and hoping the PCS people frequent this forum as well and can confirm what the base option really is A370 or a 390 just with incorrect info.

 

[Oussebon]

I suspect it's a Z390-P https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/PRIME-Z390-P/ because that's the component you're listed as buying.

And the info/pics are just copy-pasta from the old Z370 entry.

PCS seem to be a bit hit and miss updating the detailed info in the configurators, and prone to this sort of thing. The X570 mobos mostly had the wrong pics and descs, left over from the older series. Maybe they still do. The X570 Gaming X was also listed as having USB 3.2 Gen 2 despite manifestly not having it according to Gigabyte.

But if you select a Z390-P in the configurator, place the order, and that's what it says in the order summary, that's what you're buying.

If you need official confirmation, contact PCS directly... although then you face the issue of sales staff sometimes just reading what the configurators say and not necessarily having any better information than you do... which is an issue sometimes reported on the forums.

Perhaps the even bigger question is, how much better is the Z390-P than the older 'budget' Z370 boards, other than finally offering USB 3.1 Gen 2? If buying an i7 or i9, how comfortable should one be using this board.

 

[Unwina]

Thanks I wondered if that was the case.

I'm intrigued by your last question regarding the Z370 as they were not on offer on the list of items. In reality I am trying to replace my current system with something that will last as long as this one has in terms of lifetime capability. I created my current system on PCS back in 2011 - I think!. Its lasted really well as its been used to create ienumerable family videos, some seriously large excel 2007 spreadsheets etc. I'm not a gamer so I need relatively simple gpu stuff.

Why would I have issues with I7 and I9 on this board - I know its starter end of the range but I am interested why as I have specced in the top of the range I9 as I want the threads if I can get them as it definitely helps on the excel stuff. At the moment my current system has early I7 4core 8 threads and I set some of my huge spreadsheets with 7 threads for speed of processing leaving one spare allowing me to work on other things while my spreads are processing in background.

The Z370 is not available on the list of items perhaps I need to try another avenue for my new system.

I'm also going for cooling on the system as well - Again my excel use really hammers processors quite a bit and the cooling does reduce the heat considerably - have had some older PC's blown by overheating more than one occasion.

Anyway I'm open to any ideas.

edit: I've not been here for quite a while and noticed my current system is detailed below. Its not quite correct in that I have an SSD in the mani drive now which clearly gave the system a new lease of life some 18 months ago.

 

[Oussebon]

I'm intrigued by your last question regarding the Z370 as they were not on offer on the list of items.

They used to be, hence the apparent copy-pasta situation.

I wasn't saying you should get a Z370-P over a Z390-P, as I'd rarely recommend a Z370-P anyway. Rather, is the Z390 any better?

Why would I have issues with I7 and I9 on this board

Potentially lower quality VRMs.

If it's for Excel, an AMD Ryzen 3000 series system may be better suited anyway? An R9 3900x has 12 cores/24 threads versus the i9's 8/16 and outperforms it in Excel benchmarks I've seen. Also the extra threads/cores may be useful if you then also want to do other things, while hammering the CPU.

What's the budget for the system, what's the full use case, and any specific requirements for it?

 

[Unwina]

Ok I've been checking out the Ryzen thingy to see if it makes any difference. So that may be an option ...

I'm a peer to peer lender and I've been in Zopa for the best part of 10+ years so got lots of statement data to work with over the years and the sheets and their capabilities have got quite large. I'm using Excel 2007 and am happier with a standalone versions and we have it on my main system using 7/8 threads - the max on an I7 2600 from 2011 and our i5 laptop there are only 4 threads so I've coded in the use of 3/4 threads but I try not to use that for the real heavy duty work.

As I said above I'm trying to spec up a system that gives me a lot of headroom to make it last longer - the current system is still serviceable but windows 7 and excel 2007 are soon to be vulnerable. So I am trying to get the best bang per buck so to speak with future proofing. I currently have approx £1500 to work with I'll stretch to £1800 max. What I'd like is basically what I have already but with more modern parts. Sadly I cannot get a box like the CM690 MKII Advanced with the ability to plug in disks so I was looking to keep it and put it in the spare cupboard as a backup system. So where I am at the moment is.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window) (Not sure this is right)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z390-P: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA (Not that important as no gaming or hires needs)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 760p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 3230MB/sR | 1625MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on DVD
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® K120 USB KEYBOARD
Mouse
LOGITECH® OPTICAL USB MOUSE
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £1,630.00 including VAT and Delivery

I'm not sure about the fractal box as I have 4 disks to add in as well although I could leave them in my old system and connect to them over my internal network (TPLink disks). But thats a bit sloooooow compared to direct connection.

I need to have DVD connection and am not that keen on external DVD when we do the DVD creations - its family trait. I do a lot more than this with the machine but they are the main criteria.

Let me know if I need to be more explicit. Thanks in advance.

Edit: I went for the processor for max threads and the unclocked version wasn't an option at the moment. Not sure the VRM's are an issue outside of overclocks are they?

 

[Oussebon]

I'm not sure about the fractal box as I have 4 disks to add in as well although I could leave them in my old system and connect to them over my internal network (TPLink disks). But thats a bit sloooooow compared to direct connection.

Disks as in HDDs rather than SSDs? As long as you have gigabit ethernet it shouldn't be too bad.

That said, the Fractal Define R6 has space for many drives:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® K120 USB KEYBOARD
Mouse
LOGITECH® OPTICAL USB MOUSE
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £1,746.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/vagRtptEth/

- Better case with more drive bays
- faster SSD
- better CPU (for your uses, as far as I can tell)
- better motherboard
- probably futureproof thanks to PCIe 4.0 and better chance at future gen CPU support
- larger HDD

Though arguably for futureproofing and if you are already festooned with HDDs, buying a single, very large HDD would make a lot of sense.

 

[Unwina]

Thanks for that I was in the process of looking at the Ryzen and I like the idea of 24 threads. That reconfigure url is useful is that an option I can use or is it only moderators can use it. I find it can take me longer than PCS saves my ideas for.

I meant TPlink decos wifi- there are disks at the end of it on wifes laptop and on our backup NAS etc and I use Deco to get from my office to router etc.

 

[Oussebon]

Configure your spec
Click proceed, as if to order the PC
On the next page is a summary of the spec
Scroll down. Click the Post to Forum button.
The page that comes up gives the spec as you see it above, including the link.

Note that component choice can change. e.g. they might stop selling the 970 Evo. In which case the link still works, but you'll have bits missing from the spec.

And of course the prices of components can change, so you may find it's suddenly more expensive, or cheaper.

 

[Unwina]

thanks for the steer on the changes I like your ideas and thanks for the help on the save link. I've noticed that setting some options are a little odd in that they are apt to reset to default of their own accord but I've now taken to copying the items I want into a spreadsheet for investigations. It can be a little frustrating that the print options in the PCS configurator do not allow one to control things like print options - I guess they have their own view of printing their site data but coming from the old days when the user was more in control of layouts and sizing etc it's quite frustrating. I've got quite a few extensions to overide most of this stuff though so.

Again thanks for your very kind assistance.