Assemble that Passes # 268
Returning from the launch of the RTX 3080, as much desired as they are difficult to find, we are facing another important appointment, the one with the new Ryzen 5000 processors. The CPUs based on Zen 3 architecture won't arrive before November 5th, but AMD has already given us a lot of material to discuss highlighting performance jumps of up to 50% in 1080p gaming, with the Ryzen 9 5900X. All without changing chipsets as revealed by ASUS presenting the ROG Crosshair DARK HERO X570 and the ROG STRIX B550-XE Gaming WiFi.
These are games that were throttled with the previous Ryzen processors, but they are also those that highlight a significant change of pace, in the case of the rest of the gaming capable of guaranteeing increases often higher than 20% compared to the Ryzen 5 3900X. Enough to make clear how much the increase in the frequencies of 200 MHz of the new processors, in front of the same number of cores as the previous models, is probably the most timid step forward of an architecture similar to the previous one but redesigned according to the new cache. L3 and to bundle 8 cores into one CCX. We therefore find only one on the Ryzen 5 5600X, 6 cores and 12 threads, and only one also on the Ryzen 7 5800X, 8 cores and 16 threads, which should enjoy an additional advantage on latencies compared to the Ryzen 9 5900X, 12 cores and 24 threads, and on the monstrous Ryzen 9 5950X which compensates for double CCX by hitting the highest frequency ever.
With the Ryzen 5950X we arrived at 4.9 GHz which for a 16 core CPU are not bad at all, even if a small disappointment is felt for the missing 5 GHz target. , although to be confirmed, leaves quite impressed, with increases of up to 27% in productivity and up to 50% in gaming, with titles like Battlefield that stop at 6%, still leaving an advantage at 10900K and many that run around 20% , leaving the Intel CPU behind by a good margin. In short, a reversal of the front is expected, at least with the games selected by AMD. But even if Intel were to keep the lead, we will be faced with an even smaller gap for a series of processors with which AMD aims to earn a lot. It raised its prices by $ 50, eliminating the included cooler except for the Ryzen 5 5600X, probably also to shake off the image of the pursuer. On the other hand, although it is satisfied with much lower annual revenues of NVIDIA and Intel, this year it has exceeded the 100 billion capitalization, apparently coming to consider the purchase of Xilinx Inc. which would fill the gaps of the company in terms chips for wireless networks, 5G connectivity, datacenter and so on. It would therefore be, provided that the agreement goes through, a direct response to the purchase of ARM by an NVIDIA which, among other things, is far ahead in terms of artificial intelligence. Leaving it too much space could therefore be fatal, as evidenced by Intel's entry into the world of GPUs.
But let's go back to the AMD presentation that was anticipated a few seconds by ASUS eager to announce the update of the BIOS of its X570 and B550 cards while revealing two new Ryzen 5000 ready models that confirmed the use of the same chipset as the previous series. On the other hand, the TDP of the CPUs is unchanged for the high-end models, and went from 95 to 65W for the Ryzen 5 3600X, reflecting the increase in efficiency of the new series of processors. The ASUS ROG Crosshair DARK HERO also does not feature active cooling on the chipset, a sign of further evolutions for an overclocking card that uses 90 Ampere mosfets for a 14 + 2 phase power supply. But precisely for this reason it does not give up the fan on the VRM, incorporated in a massive cooling system that extends over most of the motherboard, characterizing it with oblique lines that we also find on the heatsinks of M.2 units. Among other things, the lighting is typical of the series but is more contained and as the whole card aims for greater elegance.
The ASUS ROG STRIX B550-XE also sports a 14 + 2 power supply phases and mounts a double auxiliary connector for the 8 + 4 pin CPU looking undoubtedly at overclocking, but is satisfied with lower mosfets, presumably 50A or 60A. Cooling, on the other hand, remains important with massive heatsinks on the backpanel and VRM, also actively cooled by a fan. On the other hand, the cooling of the chipset is less impressive, but it is still particular with red flicks that, by connecting to the lighting, clearly compatible with the Aura Sync standard, create a brush of red color that crosses the motherboard obliquely. red, among other things, is about to return to dominate the scene with the new Big Navi cards that have had a small space in the presentation of AMD with some first number linked to the new flagship of the Radeon series. The benchmarks shown are to be contextualized, but we are still talking about numbers rather close to the average of an RTX 3080, with titles such as Borderlands 3 (61fps), Call of Duty Modern Warfare (88fps) and Gears of War 5 (73fps) pushed to the maximum of the graphics. Of course, the ray tracing capabilities of the new Radeons remain to be understood and it remains to be seen whether they are equipped with machine learning hardware comparable to Tensor Cores. It is also unlikely to outperform the 3080 as Lisa Su herself didn't present the card as the fastest consumer GPU around. But the first numbers combined with the rumors about prices, which could range from 550 to 600 dollars, give us hope for the arrival of a particularly affordable extreme-end card.
Budget Configuration
The budget configuration is the one aimed at saving but it is not certain that there is no room for the upgrade where interesting prospects arise. The proposals in this range include solutions designed for games with a low technical profile and 1080p-oriented builds.The Ryzen 3 3100, we know, guarantees excellent in-game performance at an affordable price, while also guaranteeing excellent performance in rendering applications. But the Ryzen 5 2600 still wins for brute power, which is seen in some games, while still guaranteeing excellent game performance, especially with a pinch of thrust, in 1080p.
If from a CPU point of view we have a bit of choice, even at Intel with the Core i3-10100 or the Core i3-9100F, from that of the GPUs the rise in the price of the RX 570 has delivered the throne of queen of the low-end in the hands of the GeForce GTX 1650 Super, an efficient card that can count on a wide range of cool and quiet models.
BUDGET Component Price PROCESSOR AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4-3.9GHz 140,00 € MOTHERBOARD Asus PRIME B450M-A 80,00 € VIDEO CARD Inno3D GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER Compact 4GB 160,00 € RAM HyperX Fury 2x8GB 3200MHz CL16 70,00 € POWER SUPPLY EVGA 450 BR 80+ Bronze 50,00 € HARD DISK Crucial BX500 480GB 50,00 € CASE Kolink Nimbus RGB Mid Tower 50,00 € TOTAL 600,00 €
Gaming configuration
In the gaming range of sol ito there are those components that allow you to face the game on the PC without fear and to hold on for some time. The frame rate showdown is just around the corner but, with a good base, it's always possible to sell the old GPU before it devalues too much so you can buy a new one just in time to take on the next hardware-smashing blockbuster.The absence of a Ryzen 5 5600 among the first announced CPUs of the Ryzen 5000 series and the 50 euro price increase of the models of the new AMD offer reopen a space for the Ryzen 5 3600, inevitably destined to to be exceeded by a fair margin by the new 1080p models, but excellent in view of a mid-range configuration oriented to gaming in 1440p.
The video card market is full of models capable of guaranteeing good performance in 1440p, but with the arrival of the new GPUs we inevitably look at something new which for now can only be the GeForce RTX 3070, unfortunately postponed to October 29th. The delay, however, should ensure a greater number of pieces available at launch, limiting the problems encountered with the RTX 3080.
GAMING Component Price PROCESSOR AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6-4.2GHz 205 , 00 € MOTHERBOARD Gigabyte B450 AORUS M 85.00 € VIDEO CARD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition 8GB 520.00 € RAM Crucial Ballistix 3600MHz CL16 75.00 € POWER SUPPLY FSP Hydro PRO 600W 80+ Bronze 75.00 € HARD DISK Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SATA III 70,00 € CASE Corsair R275 Airflow Mid Tower 80.00 € TOTAL 1110.00 €
Extra configuration
The push configuration makes sense only for those who aim for high resolutions, aware that luxury often does not go hand in hand with rationality. On the other hand, let's face it, who doesn't like having a nice engine under the hood even if you have to respect the speed limit?We have seen how the 10700K frequencies are useful for squeezing the new high-end NVIDIA cards even in 1080p. For this reason, pending the arrival on the market of the new Ryzen 5000 that have presented themselves with considerable numbers, we keep it in the flagship configuration, designed to guarantee the maximum in competitive gaming and a fluid 4K.
To have the complete package without spending an exaggeration the choice of the moment, also here waiting for AMD with Big Navi, is the GeForce RTX 3080 that struggles with the right 4K in the titles with active ray tracing that we lead to deactivate the first version of DLSS. For the rest it goes from over 60 to more than 100fps in Ultra HD, guaranteeing a good 25% more performance than the 2080 Ti and more full-bodied jumps with active RTX technologies. However, it is dramatically difficult to find if not with continuous stalking on Amazon and on the official website, where there have been several sightings on Thursday evening at 20:00.
EXTRA Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i7-10700K 3.8-5.1GHz 380.00 € Heatsink Scythe Mugen 5 RGB 70.00 € MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI MOTHERBOARD 195.00 € NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition 10GB 720.00 € RAM G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 180,00 € ANTEC POWER SUPPLY HCG-850 80+ Gold 140,00 € HARD DISK Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB M.2 180,00 € CASE NZXT H710 Mid Tower 160,00 € TOTAL 2025.00 €
