Upgrade to a better option for your R9 5900X.
Upgrade to a better option for your R9 5900X.
I recently acquired a Ryzen 9 5900X for $50 (assuming it was faulty). It performs excellently after pairing it with Crucial Ballistix MAX DDR4 4000 (set to 3600 MHz) and Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120. The B550M DS3H is also included. My setup uses a 700W power supply paired with an 1660ti, so power constraints aren’t a problem. Under heavy load, CPU temps stay below 68°C. I’m aiming to overclock but face limitations due to the board’s power restrictions. My Cinebench R23 score is around 18261 points. Operating on a tight budget, I’m open to used components. Anyone has recommendations for a more flexible power solution? Would this project be worthwhile?
Your friend's B450 DS3H is performing well without any overclocking, delivering smooth results from 2600 to 3600 FPS. It handles demanding games like Baldur's Gate 3 nicely. You seem to enjoy the performance, but if you're looking for even more power, consider upgrading to a better graphics card.
Typically, upgrading a motherboard isn't recommended. Overclocking is usually not worthwhile unless you enjoy the challenge. For serious performance gains, check out Hardware Unboxed's B550 VRM thermal testing. It shows which boards can handle a boosted 3950X, which might draw more power than your 5900X. Also, the DS3H reached a high temperature of 118°C but didn't slow down the CPU after an hour of intensive Blender use. If you plan to run long Blender renders or similar tasks, you risk damaging the board eventually. However, if you're mainly gaming or doing occasional benchmarks, your current setup should still function without issues.
I didn't note that the primary reason for getting the CPU was for CPU rendering, as my old unit was an R5 3600X. I used a tool that doesn't support GPU rendering for personal projects.
Today's gaming offers minimal boost in performance. The DS3H setup works just fine for you. You're free to cap the CPU at 4.3GHz and stop there.
You want more power then. Which one is a 700W power supply? It might be the PSU that's not working, not just the VRM on the mainboard...
It's not very impressive, but I didn't notice anything unusual while the CPU was running heavily.
Completed Ryzen Master auto-OC, skipped it since it failed earlier due to higher memory speed, upgraded to version 20279, but never reached over 68°C.