Evaluating a switch to an AMD setup
Evaluating a switch to an AMD setup
Hey! I wrote this to find a suggested PSU because I thought my current one wasn’t providing enough power. Turns out it might be the motherboard issue. I tried different RAM slots and found it wouldn’t boot at all. When I moved it to slots 2-4 it still didn’t work, but in slots 1-2 it booted but only in single-channel mode. I checked each RAM separately and even tested it on another PC, which worked fine. I looked for any bent pins or residue, updated the BIOS to F9e, and reached out to Gigabyte support. They suggested starting an RMA. I checked my warranty and it expired on March 2nd, 2020. This is the second time this has happened with this model. Before that I had a GA-Z77X-UD5H and its BIOS expired a month after warranty ended. So...I’m moving on from Gigabyte. Maybe it’s my fault, but it’s really annoying when something breaks right after warranty ends. I was planning to upgrade to AMD, so which motherboard would you recommend? Any PSU suggestions would be great too. I’ve heard AMD needs powerful components, so I might need to upgrade that as well. Hah!
They are not actually Intel nor a budget option. What are you matching it with?
Budget looks like around $1200. If I need to buy RAM, CPU, motherboard, monoblock, or PSU, my wallet is already feeling the strain and I’m about to take the big step toward buying a house, haha... ha... *cries* I’ve heard MSI is really great.
It will serve various purposes and support multiple interfaces including external USB, internal SATA, and NVMe drives. The recommended processor should match your needs. I’m skipping the B450 due to existing storage complexity and prefer stability with new NVMe additions. I’m considering a mid-range B550 board based on availability and budget. Currently using an MSI board (Tomahawk Mag X570) has worked well with minimal issues. Upgrades beyond 3700x depend on your goals—if you plan to use larger drives or keep things simple, a B550 should suffice. My personal take is solid after switching from Intel to Team Red, and I’m very satisfied with the performance.
AMD processors are currently more energy-efficient than Intel counterparts. Your EVGA 850W G2 can handle an overclocked 10900K paired with a 250W GPU, such as the 1080Ti, which is the model that consumes the most power without entering HEDT. For reference, the 3700X draws roughly comparable power to the 7700K.
It's not about the brands themselves, but rather which items stand out. The gaming edge wifi is from MSI, yet it doesn't match the performance of things like Tomahawks.
This setup is designed for balanced gaming performance. I've maintained my drives over time, keeping one NVMe unit for the operating system, another SSD for certain titles, and two mechanical drives for general storage. I'm considering swapping one drive since I haven't been filling them as much lately. Right now, I have two radiators—two BlackIce GTX480 units for the GPU and one BlackIce GT360 radiator connected to a Swiftech H360 X2 Prestige for the CPU. It definitely eases the workload—previously I was looking at PSUs in the $400 to $500 range.
PCPartPicker list includes a CPU, motherboard, and memory. The CPU is an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X at 3.6 GHz with 8 cores, priced around $273.47 on Amazon. The motherboard is an MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 model, costing about $139.99 at B&H. Memory is Team T-FORCE VULCAN TUF Gaming 16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16, costing $57.99 on Newegg. The total comes to roughly $471.45, with shipping and taxes included. The recommendation depends on your workload—higher cores suit productivity tasks, while lower models save money. The CPU is a flexible choice; consider alternatives if you need more cores or better performance. Memory quality and compatibility should be verified before purchasing.