AMD Processors (planning to switch from Intel)

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I’m planning on doing my next desktop build next month (maybe I’ll get a newegg gift card for Father’s Day to help with part of it). My current machine is over five years old and getting a little long in the tooth, but mainly I’m getting twitchy fingers and it’s something I can do while locked down at home.

I’ve always used Intel processors and I wonder if there’s anything I need to know before I make the switch to AMD. I’m looking at a Ryzen 5 3600x chip and an Asus Tuf B450-Pro mobo. I’ve heard the AMD heat sinks are better than Intel’s so maybe I won’t need to upgrade that. I’m not a gamer. This mobo will accommodate 64GB of main memory; is there any practical advantage to 64GB over 32?

I’ll keep my current case which I like better than any of the new ones I’ve seen on newegg. It’s roomy and has lots of fans. I’m not a gamer and do not plan to overclock.

I’ll also keep my hard drives, but what about the graphics card? From the little I’ve looked into it I don’t see a mobo that would accommodate my two Asus VS238H-P monitors with two DVI or HDMI connections. This mobo has one DVI and one HDMI connection. Could I plug one monitor into each port or would it be better to keep the graphics card with the two HDMI connections?

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

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A B450 board will probably require a BIOS update before it can boot with a 3rd gen Ryzen. Many manufacturers do not appear to promise a board with a previous generation chipset will already have a recent enough BIOS, and that appears to be true of the one you’ve named. This means you might need to get your hands on a previous generation compatible CPU to boot with, just so you can update the BIOS to prepare for installing the 3600X. This problem is avoided by choosing a B550 or X570, although those may cost a bit more.

It also seems like that particular board may be discontinued. Newegg’s own listing for it says out of stock, and marketplace sellers on Amazon and Newegg are charging something like $300 for it.

Some people need 64GB or more because they are doing 3D modeling or professionally editing 8K video or other tasks working with huge amounts of data. If that’s not you, 64GB or even 32GB might be overkill. That said, I’d recommend that you don’t skimp on the memory speed, and get what AMD recommends (3200MHz for the 3600X).

Finally, the 3600X (like most Ryzens) do not have integrated graphics, so you’ll need a video card. If you don’t want to install a GPU, the CPU would need to be one that includes Vega graphics, such as the not-as-powerful 3400G.

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Erik_S47

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Great information! Just so I understand, the ASUS Prime X570-P mobo with a Ryzen 5 3600X CPU, 3200 memory and my old NVidia GeForce GT740 graphics card would be compatible?

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Erik_S47 wrote:

my old NVidia GeForce GT740 graphics card would be compatible?

It’s a PCIe3 card so no issues with a modern mobo. Drivers are no problem.

I wouldn’t put more that 16GB in and buy an M2 SSD for the boot/main drive.

cheers, Paul

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Erik_S47

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The boot drive on my current machine is a 2TB SSD drive. It will be going into the new build. It’s good to know that you’re  here.

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You told us you are not a gamer and don’t plan to overclock. But you didn’t tell us what you will be using this computer for.

And since you don’t game, I am curious why you want an expensive gaming motherboard? You could easily get a great performing and reliable board for less, then put that $$ towards something else.

It is very unlikely you would never need more than 32GB of RAM. In fact, unless you do some serious CAD/CAE, or serious graphics editing work, it is unlikely you would “see” any performance gains with anything more than 16GB of RAM. 16GB is a lot of RAM – especially when coupled with a SSD.

If your current case is also 5 years old, I would replace it too. It is unlikely your current case supports the latest USB 3.1 ports in the front panel. Plus, the case fans would be 5 years old too. A nice new case, say one from Fractal Design, would have nice, new, efficient (and quiet!) case fans too.

I recommend a new PSU too. And get a good one. I like SeasonSonic, EVGA, and SuperFlower. You don’t buy a new Porsche then fill it up at the corner Tobacco and Bait Shop. Get at least 80-Plus Bronze, but I recommend “Gold” certified. And to that, note that graphics cards are often the most power hungry devices in our computers. For this reason, many require additional power connections directly from the power supply. Your old supply may not provide it.

You just posted you have a SSD for your boot drive that is great! But this brings up another point. A new motherboard constitutes a new computer and new computers require their own OS license. OEM Windows licenses are NOT “legally” transferable to new computers under any circumstances. Only full “retail” licenses are legally transferable. So if your current OS license is OEM, you will need to budget for a new Windows license too.

Bill (AFE7Ret)
Freedom isn't free!

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Erik_S47

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My Windows 10 Pro license is one of the free upgrades from a purchased copy of earlier Windows versions, and Windows has always upgraded itself with each new build. Recently I got a Windows message that it was unlicensed after I tried out a new ethernet card. I’ll be sure to visit the Msoft site to get a snapshot taken of my current config in hopes that won’t happen again with the new build. We’ll see.

I do have a good PS on the list too, which I didn’t mention. I’ve replaced my old PS within the past 5 years and have found over time that the PS has been the shortest-lived component I’ve had. I’m sure the new one will be able to connect with the GPU just as the current one does.

From the old days of 16K main memory on, I’ve always found it prudent to stay ahead and install more memory than “normal.” Are there still machines sold with 4GB? Sheesh.

Good point about the case. I haven’t seen one I like but I have some time I can use to look further. Any brand recommendations in addition to Fractal Design?

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Erik, I have 8 Intel desktop computers, 1 Intel laptop, and 2 Intel servers sitting in front of me at the moment. However, my latest build (December) is an AMD 3800x CPU, X570 mobo, 32gb RAM. I don’t regret it one bit.

The AMD 3600x is a well regarded CPU and as Paul stated, you should be fine with the ASUS X570. Your GeForce GT740 is a bit long in the tooth, but I wouldn’t buy a new video card until the fall anyway when AMD and nVidia release their new product lines. The X570 supports PCIe4, something you’ll appreciate if you buy a video card later this year or next.

Do note that the AMD CPU series you’re looking at does NOT have an integrated GPU (unlike Intel), so any HDMI/DVI ports on the mobo will not be usable. I’m not sure if you were clear on that.

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My Windows 10 Pro license is one of the free upgrades from a purchased copy of earlier Windows versions, and Windows has always upgraded itself with each new build.

In the case where W10 was upgraded from a previous version of Windows (as in your case here), then the license agreement is determined by the previous version. That is, if you upgraded, for example, from an OEM Windows 7 version (and the vast majority are OEM), then you will need to purchase a new W10 license to be 100% legal. If your original W7 license was a full retail license, then you can legally use that W10 on this new computer/motherboard. Note it is not a matter of the transfer being technically possible, it is a matter of you, the user complying with the contract (EULA – end user license agreement) you agreed to abide by when you first started using the program. That is, you can physically move the drive with an OEM license to the new motherboard and it will probably work. But it is not a legal transfer and MS can, if they choose, balk and invalidate the installation.

As far as the new PSU supporting the new graphics card, that should be easy to verify before you purchase the new card. The power requirements for the card will be listed on its specs page. You will just have to verify the correct connector(s) and that it has enough wattage.

Sadly, there are still systems being sold with only 4GB. For many users however, 8GB is still considered the “sweet spot” where less than 8GB and performance is noticeably degraded, but more than 8GB and performance gains is negligible at best. So for sure, I would get 16GB for future proofing. But 32GB likely will just get you bragging rights.

All our builds here in the last few years have been with various Fractal Design cases. They have outstanding build quality and cooling options, including excellent (and very quiet) included fans. Besides that, I really like their conservative and reserved designs. I am not into fancy lighting because it does nothing for performance, consumes some power, generates some heat and does nothing for performance (worth repeating). And fancy facades tend to collect dust and even go out of style. Besides, I tend to pay attention to what’s on my monitors, expecting my cases to sit quietly and discreetly off to the side and NOT draw attention to themselves. So while other makers may make quality cases, I have not used any lately to offer good suggestions.

I will say this, however. Like Corsair power supplies, there are good Corsair cases and some not so good. My experience has not been so good. Problems included bends in the sheet metal that were not “true”. That is, they were not exactly 90° bends. This resulted in the case wobbling on 3 feet instead of all 4. This also resulted in the side panel being very difficult to align properly. But my greater concern with them not being true was my worry there might be undue stress on the motherboard mounts. Another Corsair case had unfinished edges on the sheet metal. This resulted in bleeding knuckles during assembly. Not cool and an indication of some inconsistent quality assurance at the factory as another case of the same model was fine. Now granted, these events were 3+ years ago but… .

I do also like windowed cases. Again, not to gaze in wonder at the interior, but a windowed case makes it extremely easy to perform regular visual inspections for dust build up and spinning fans – without having to remove any side panels.

Bill (AFE7Ret)
Freedom isn't free!

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Elly

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Another thing to keep in mind, AMD is expected to release a “refresh” of their existing 3000 series CPU lineup this month or next. You might want to wait a few weeks to see what shakes. This may drive prices of existing inventory downward at that time.

Bill makes a point above. I use software (sim and DB) that regularly eats 24GB RAM hence my need for 32GB RAM. However, 32GB is overkill and a waste of money for most people. A couple of matched 8GB sticks (16GB kit) should be adequate. You’ll still have 2 memory slots available in the unlikely event that you ever need to upgrade in the future.

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DriftyDonN

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I appreciate all the input. I’ve built my own machines for years, so I’ve always had purchased copies of Windows. There isn’t an OEM anywhere in the chain. Good point about the memory, with 16GB I’ll still have two slots free to upgrade later if I want. I might also upgrade the video card (Carl, good information about PCIe4) at some point, possibly for touch screen monitors. Currently I have two 24″ ASUS monitors I’ve always been happy with, and I’ve noticed that touch screen monitors of this size have been out of stock. I don’t know what that means for the supply chain, but the touch screens are not a priority.

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Erik_S47 wrote:

current machine is a 2TB SSD

With a SATA interface at 6Gb/s.
M2 NVMe interface runs > 30Gb/s.
Even the slowest M2 disk can write at over 8Gb/s (15Gb/s is common) so M2 is the disk of choice.

cheers, Paul

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Erik_S47

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Huh. I had no idea. It looks like my current mobo doesn’t even have an M.2 socket. My next one will though, so this goes on the wishlist!

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