Build Advice Pete J's massive system overhaul discussion

I assume that you're aiming to buy most of this stuff in the New Year, just beware that you can't buy the 9800X3D at most places, as stock is low - you'll need to pay scalper prices on eBay, or wait for stock to return (which it should do from mid-January onwards).

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/amd-...ocket-am5-processor-retail-pro-amd-03517.html
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd...7ghz-52ghz-turbo-104mb-cache-pcie-50-120w-cpu

You certainly can't get the 5090 yet (you'll need to wait for CES 2025 for it to be announced), but be prepared to take out a mortgage to pay for it!

 

https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/AMD-Ryzen-7-9800X3D-1842

https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/GD09/ (138mm max)

https://noctua.at/en/nh-d9l/specification (110mm)
https://noctua.at/en/nh-l12sx77/specification (77mm with 1 fan, 102mm with 2 fans)
https://noctua.at/en/nh-u9s/specification (125mm)

When we were using 4U chassis at work with 12900k's we used Be Quiet Dark Rock TF 2 (134mm), basically the most powerful cooler you can put in a 4U format. We moved to 7900's as they're only 65W!!!! Means we can use the teeny tiny noctua coolers, and I crammed it all in a 2U chassis! As soon as it's public, I'll do a post on here about it Wouldn't fit a 5090 though

I've not been keeping up with the thread, is there any reason you're not fitting a 240mm AIO?

 

I've started looking into how the M.2 drives fit on the motherboard, and it turns out I need to buy them without heat sinks. Will update later.

Yeah, I expect the 5090 to be at least £1,800, and won't be surprised if it hits £2K+. Will look into a backup option for the 9800.

I prefer the reliability of air coolers, and also it won't fit in the chassis.

 

I use Kinguin for my license keys. My affiliate link - https://kinguin.net/?r=SkiffLink

Win 11 Pro OEM license £18.

 

That's a good price. Also $20 for a Windows 11 Pro licence via Techspot.com.

 

I have to ask: how the hell do they make it that cheap? That's literally decimating the price. Because if it results in me funding terrorism somehow...I'm still gonna buy it through them.

 

@The_Crapman @oasked @Bloody_Pete

Gents, for the CPU, is there any reason I shouldn't go for a Ryzen 9 9900X? Scan have it for £420 at the moment, and on paper, it looks like a no-brainer.

Seems way too good to be true and I'm worried I'm missing something extremely obvious. Or is it just because it's the new kid on the block?

 

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-9-9900X-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-9800X3D/4171vsm2356328 The 9800X3D basically outperforms it in a lot of tasks, so it depends on if you have something that needs more cores. Games won't.

 

I have no idea. I also don't know what Office Pro is worth but I urgently needed Excel and picked up a license for about £20-odd. Installed and validated fine.

Like you say, less you know the better.

 

I have the same case but with a far less fancy system inside. I have said noctua cooler with 2 fans and it does a very good job with the 7700 CPU inside. I'm sure it would handle the 9800X3d but you wouldn't get quite as much performance as you would with a beefier cooler.

 

I run a Noctua U9S with two fans on my 6700K (in an NCase M1, so a really small case) and it's been great. Both fans are running with low noise adaptors and they've been more than sufficient at reduced RPM (and they're very, very quiet).

 

Hmm...

Been looking further into the GPU physical size, using the 4090 as a reference...

Problematic.

The length isn't the issue, it's the width (insert crude coitus related joke here). The 5090 is probably going to be ~137mm wide, which will leave somewhere in the region of ~3mm to install the 12 pin connector. And that's assuming that only one 12 pin socket is still enough, because there are rumours that the damn thing may even have two.

I've looked a bit more into alternative cases, and unfortunately the GD09 is the only one which is still viable, short of going "open bench" and having to deal with dust ingress and having irritating lights visible. I toyed with the idea of putting a tower case on its side, but all the ones that would be suitable have all the USB connectors and buttons on the top, meaning I wouldn't be able to turn them on.

The next step is to look into right angle connectors. Here's an option I've found:



However, I think any right angle connector is still going to result in me either forcing the case closed to magic up some clearance, or getting out a Dremel and making some room.

 

3mm isn't going to be enough for one of those connectors, imho. And I'd also be quite careful about using them full stop, as there have been reports of fires.

 

Going off on a bit of a tangent, all the latest graphics cards have 1 HDMI and 3 DP usually, so you will need to account for a pair of DVI-D to DisplayPort cables as part of the buy. Buying a name brand doesn't matter here, nor does fancy gold plating: it's digital, so just make sure you buy cables that are DP 1.4 or higher so they have enough bandwidth to drive your 3007s or they won't push the right resolution/refresh rate even after the conversion.

 

Quick update:

• Switched the PSU to a very new Enermax model. Has good reviews, and also is £20 cheaper. And is actually available instead of being up for pre-order.
• Switched the RAM for some lower profile, slightly cheaper stuff. Still has annoying RGB bollox on it though.
• Switched SSDs for ones without heatsinks, as well as slight changes.
• Got rid of the 80mm fans as one of them will interfere with a 120mm fan, and to be honest they'll do next to sweet FA anyway. Still gonna put dust covers over them though, to keep spiders out if anything.

Things left to do:

• Worry more about how to get the RTX 5090 power cables connected:
  • Might even have to change cases, but so far no suitable replacements have leapt out at me.
• Think about whether or not to go ahead with this:
  • Maybe I'll just do the PC itself and leave the TV and sound system for another time.

Your attention to detail is noted, good sir! Fortunately, I have a couple of spare Displayport to DVI-D converters, so I just need to buy another long Displayport cable, as well as a USB cable to power the additional converter.

 

Cool, assumed you had it handled. I have a DP to DVI cable running to my third screen, no need for power, it's powered by the signal/line. Bit less cable faff involved and they don't cost much more than just buying the DP cable so food for thought!

 

As others have said, the 9800X3D will be much faster in gaming. TBH, I'd just get a pre-order in with Scan / Overclockers and wait in line for the CPU to turn up. You should have it by the time the 5090 launches (fingers crossed).

 

Update:

• CPU research:
  • After going a bit crazy looking at numbers, it seems that (as I already knew) modern CPUs are so powerful, you can't really go wrong with the mid to high end choices, especially when considering that at 4K gaming, there's arguably no difference.
  • Having said that, the 9800X3D is the marginal winner, so that will be my first choice, as supported by the other forum folk.
  • If 9800X3Ds are basically impossible to get hold of if/when I take the plunge, I'll probably consider the 9900X as it performs nearly as well, with a similar TDP, but offers more general purpose ability should I decide to get into other stuff. The 9950X runs rather warm (170W TDP basically demands water cooling!) and to be honest, is definitely more for those who do video conversion or image rendering as a day job.
• Alternative cases:
  • There is basically no way I'm getting the RTX 5090 into the GD09, which makes me sad.
  • However, I've been focussed on fitting the new PC into exactly the same location...
  • If I plan to put the PC where the PS3 currently resides (and has been unused for probably 9 years, but it makes things look nice), I gain some vertical space, which means I can look into a more "boxy" case (Lian Li seem to have good options here), which will completely eliminate any concerns about component size, and may even allow me to consider Noctua's biggest currently available cooler...