Assemble that Passes # 294
The lack of chips, at least in relation to the demand, has not slowed the evolution of a PC market that still grinds numbers higher than in previous years. The reason, we know, is partly linked to the pandemic, a global phenomenon that forced us to spend much more time at home, but the growing trend of the gaming PC sector precedes the crisis and also resulted from the arrival of portable processors and unable to combine a greater number of cores with low consumption.
We will see the real leap forward with the next generations, but the steps taken by Ryzen have already earned the company an exponential increase in terms of adoption by notebook and pre-assembled manufacturers, to which it has recently been even added an Intel herald like Alienware. It is no coincidence that in lean times AMD has decided to privilege the segment of laptops and PCs already complete with the new Zen 3 processors, always at 7 nanometers, which are coming with 2 non-X Ryzen 5000 models and with three Ryzen 5000G models equipped with integrated graphics.
Although the new AMD CPUs will not be available, at least at first, in retail, it should be noted that in the case of the non-X Ryzen 5000 models there is no trace of the Ryzen 5 5600, among the most expected by those who aim to assemble a powerful but as economical mid-range configuration as possible. We therefore trust that it will arrive at a later time, when it will also be possible to sell it in retail. For now, however, we must be satisfied with the Ryen 7 5800 and Ryzen 9 5900, identical in terms of equipment to the higher models, but designed to consume less and therefore slowed down from the point of view of frequencies. In the case of the Ryzen 9 5900 we are talking about 3.0 GHz of base frequency and 4.7 GHz of boost frequency, with a drop of 700 MHz in the first case and 100 Mhz in the second. For the Ryzen 7 5800 instead the base frequency reaches 3.4 GHz, decreasing by only 400 MHz, while the boost frequency always drops by 100 MHz, reaching 4.6 GHz. The TDP instead stops in both cases at 65W against 105W of the more sophisticated models. There is also talk of lower prices, even if not yet official.
We have instead some figures for the Ryzen 5000G which have three models, all 65W of TDP, starting with the Ryzen 3 5300G which has 4 cores and 8 threads with a 4.2 GHz boost, equipped with a Vega Integrated GPU 6 and should cost $ 150, although obviously we are talking about prices for the OEM market. Similar speech then for the $ 250 of the Ryzen 5600G which has 6 cores and 12 threads, 4.4 GHz boost and integrated Vega 7 GPU. The throne, on the other hand, belongs to the Ryzen 5700G with 8 cores and 16 threads starting from 3.8 GHz. base frequency and reaches 4.2 GHz in boost, equipping an integrated 2.0 GHz Vega 8 that promises another jump of 12/15% in terms of performance compared to the flagship variant of the previous series. It is certainly not a revolution, but on the other hand we did not expect it. In fact, we have known for some time that for the next net power leap, expected with the arrival of Navi mobile, we will have to wait for the next generation of processors and therefore of APUs. First, however, a second incarnation of the Zen 3 CPUs in the form of the Ryzen 6000 family seems almost certain.
Although Intel aims to launch Alder Lake within the year, apparently revamping the structure of its CPUs to ensure a large leap forward combined with a net increase in efficiency, AMD could still linger on Zen 3 with a Zen 3+ series based on the optimization of the current one. Let me be clear, however, we expect a significant increase in performance with the transition to transistors with a 6-nanometer production process placed at the service of an architecture that certainly has significant margins for improvement. But we must take into account a delay in the transition to DDR5 and, presumably, also to the standard PCIe 5.0. But with the possibility of the AM4 socket being used once again, the advantages could be backwards compatibility and therefore the possibility of an easy upgrade of current systems.
Whatever the path chosen by AMD, the arrival of the Zen 4 architecture in the course of 2022 now seems certain. For the production process we always talk about 6 nanometer transistors, but also DDR5 memories, PCIe 5.0, USB 4.0 and, above all, a new input and output system, again at 6 nanometers, designed to also equip non-G processors with integrated graphics. Among other things, there are rumors of RDNA 3 GPUs, also for mobile processors that could also arrive in desktop format for ultra-compact, which promise an efficiency increase of 50% compared to RDNA 2 GPUs and, in the mobile field, a huge leap compared to current Vega solutions. But that doesn't surprise us that much. On the other hand, the PC market points to APUs capable of combining gaming and professional sphere even on ultra-compact, such as Chromebooks, which already enjoy very high sales. In this case, however, there is also talk of an overall expansion of the offer, with an adjustment in terms of integrated graphics compared to the competitor's catalog. This, however, could lead to an increase in prices although they are certainly not to be excluded, just like Intel does, variants with GPUs and variants without integrated graphics.
In the meantime, NVIDIA continues its path in the field of CPUs. Although the acquisition of ARM is still in the making and is opposed by the market, the arrival of the Grace processor has made it clear that NVIDIA is still working hard. Hence the birth of an ARM-based CPU, the first of the company dedicated to supercomputers, which promises a 1000% increase in the case of large artificial intelligence models and important workloads. All obviously based on CUDA technology and made more efficient also by the use of LPDDR5x memories, inevitable given that we are talking about an arrival at the beginning of 2023. But this is not the wait that worries us the most. The problem of the moment concerns the availability of GPUs, crushed by production problems and by a very high demand, further inflated by speculators and cryptocurrencies. For the latter, NVIDIA had thought of a software block for the GeForce RTX 3060, unfortunately quickly bypassed so as to lead to the official removal of the hash rate limiter.
But behind the scenes the company has been working on a new variant of the RTX 3060, apparently designed precisely to limit mining capabilities. However, it will not be enough to solve the problem. As admitted by NVIDIA itself, the shortage of GPUs will be a constant throughout 2021 although the entire sector aims to increase production, at least partially decreasing the enormous pressure that has led to stellar prices. In the meantime, we expect the announcement of Ti models and perhaps even Super models, pending the arrival of a new 5-nanometer architecture that, according to what emerged from the GTX, NVIDIA aims to launch in 2022, presumably at the end of the year.
Budget configuration
The budget configuration is oriented to 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 low-tech games and 1080p-oriented builds.With the Core i3-11100F still hard to find and the Core i5-11400F too close to 200 euros, we are left with the Core i5-10400F which, while slipping towards 140 euros, repays the expense with 6 cores and 12 threads, guaranteeing more than good gaming performance for the budget segment.
The GeForce RT 1030 is once again one of the few affordable choices, despite a premium of a good 30% which is still much lower than the price increases of the higher models, now sold at crazy prices despite from time to time come up with some more sensible offers.
BUDGET Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-10400F 2.9-4.3GHz 140,00 € ASRock H410M-HDV MOTHERBOARD 80,00 € GIGABYTE GeForce GT VIDEO CARD 1030 2 GB € 130.00 RAM Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB 2666MHz CL16 € 80.00 POWER SUPPLY EVGA 450 BR 80+ Bronze € 45.00 HARD DISK Kingston A400 480GB SATA III € 50.00 CASE Kolink Nimbus RGB Mid Tower € 50.00 TOTAL € 575.00
Gaming Configuration
In the gaming segment there are usually 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.Despite being cheaper than the Ryzen 5 5600X, the Core i5-11600K is much more expensive than the Core i5-10600K and does not guarantee such advantages as to justify a much higher expense, unless you expect PCIe 4.0. The Intel processor of the previous generation is in fact available for just over 200 euros in the version with integrated graphics and less than 195 in the version before the GPU that ends up in the configuration.
Even in the mid-range we have reached double prices, when it's okay, for cards that can be found at more reasonable, albeit bloated, amounts just by spending a great deal of time on assorted bots, searches, and tricks. Someone managed to grab one of the RX 6800 XT Midnight Black released a few days ago, but it is the only positive news in the GPU field in a situation that is becoming increasingly obscure for those who want to renew their gaming configuration.
GAMING Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-10600KF 4.1-4.5GHz 195,00 € MOTHERBOARD MSI MAG B460 Torpedo 130,00 € VIDEO CARD Inno3D GeForce RTX 3060 Twin X2 OC 12 GB 690,00 € RAM Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 2x8GB 3200MHz CL16 115,00 € POWER SUPPLY FSP Hydro PRO 600W 80+ Bronze 60,00 € HARD DISK SanDisk Plus 1 TB SATA III 95,00 € CASE Corsair Carbide SPEC-DELTA Mid Tower 75.00 € TOTAL 1360.00 €
Extra Configuration
The pushed 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?The still very high price of the Core i9-11900K, probably the least convincing upgrade from the 10 series to the 11 series, still leaves us in the hands of the Ryzen 7 5800X which in addition to guaranteeing more PCIe 4.0 lanes, thanks to chipset X570, it is the high-end processor with the least inflated price at the moment.
When we arrive at high-end and extreme GPUs, prices reach thresholds that are difficult to digest even for those who are used to spending very generous amounts to have a well-equipped PC. Hence the need to rely on trackers, bots and new waves of cards even just to avoid feeding what, regardless of specific responsibilities, is a massacre game.
EXTRA Component Price Ryzen R9 5800X 3.8-4.7GHz PROCESSOR € 440.00 ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 Heatsink 90.00 € ASUS TUF X570-PLUS Wi-Fi MOTHERBOARD 225.00 € ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 Dual 8 GB VIDEO CARD 1050.00 € RAM G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 250,00 € ANTEC POWER SUPPLY HCG-850 80+ Gold 130,00 € HARD DISK Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 200,00 € CASE Phanteks Eclipse P500A Mid Tower 170 , 00 € TOTAL 2555.00 €
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