Help with Picking Ryzen CPU for PC Build

sujongwah on 26/07/2019 - 17:40
Last edited 28/07/2019 - 12:57 by 1 other user

Hi all, so I am looking to build my first PC at the end of this year and need some suggestions as to which cpu I should buy. I will be mainly doing 3d animation/video editing and am looking at the following CPU's:

Ryzen 7 3700x - Looks great but users have reported issues with bios flashback and as a beginner I am unsure how to troubleshoot
Ryzen 3600 - same bios issue ^, may not be great for rendering due to 6 cores but will enable speedy viewport performance thanks to speedy single core
Ryzen 7 2700x - most appealing option as it has fast single core and multicore speed, is about $130 cheaper than 3700x and has 2 more cores than 3600.
Ryzen 7 2700 - can be found ridiculously cheap however requires overclocking to achieve fast sc speeds, something I am unsure of how to do as a beginner.

My following questions are:

which one best suits my needs?
which is the most beginner friendly and easy to set up CPU?
any issues or problems with 3rd gen Ryzen?
large difference between 6 vs 8 cores for multitasking? (I plan to use other programs while rendering)
does ram speed matter more for Ryzen 3rd or 2nd gen?

Please feel share any experiences you guys have had with the following chips. Cheers!

Poll Options

• 1
  Ryzen 5 3600
• 1
  Ryzen 7 2700x
• 1
  Ryzen 7 2700
• 11
  Ryzen 7 3700x

• 

  HighAndDry on 26/07/2019 - 18:06

  +1

  which one best suits my needs?

  May well depend on what specific programs you use, but generally the more cores the better for productivity workloads.

  which is the most beginner friendly and easy to set up cpu?

  Negligible differences.

  any issues or problems with 3rd gen ryzen?

  It'll have the usual teething issues (compatibility with older mobos mostly) but nothing special.

  large difference between 6 vs 8 cores for multitasking? (I plan to use other programs while rendering)

  8 > 6.

  does ram speed matter more for ryzen 3rd or 2nd gen?

  Matters more for 2nd gen.

• 

  Dominus on 26/07/2019 - 18:31

  +1

  I just switched to a Ryzen build, first time with AMD since the old AMD64 era. I picked the 3700x, seemed like the sweet spot to me for price-to-performance. I bought an older x470 motherboard because they were half the price of the x570 for negligible difference (until PCIx4 picks up anyway!).

  I did my homework in advance and the tip was to ensure the motherboard had q-flash support to be able to update without the CPU, and I had loaded up the BIOS version on a USB in advance. Luckily for me though, the mobo I bought, a Gigabyte x470 Gaming Ultra, was already at the F40 BIOS to support the 2nd gen Zen CPUs, so I had zero issues at all.

  My advice is go read some of the reviews floating around which have a TON of benchmarks that will show you the differences in a range of applications and games. But if you're pairing it with decent speed (3200MHz or higher) RAM, the new Ryzens are going toe-to-toe with the Intel 9700 and 9900's in the application space. They've closed the gap heaps for gaming too, albeit the early indication is there's not a heap of overclocking headroom (on the 3700x at least which is what I got).

  • 

    sujongwah on 26/07/2019 - 18:49

    How much did you get your x470 for? I'm currently looking at a b450m motherboard as it should be sufficient for running the chips at stock speeds. I've had a look at reviews comparing the 2700x vs 3700x and for an extra $130 I'm honestly not sure whether to save the cash and invest in other components instead. The 2700x seems quite powerful for the price point.

    • 

      AdosHouse on 26/07/2019 - 22:25

      I got the same motherboard as Dominus, the Aorus X470 Gaming Ultra, but I managed to pick it up for ~$150, but mine did not come with the F40 BIOS needed for Gen 3 Ryzen. Didn't bother me, I'm still running a Gen 1 Ryzen CPU.

      For your productivity purposes, the 3700X would be ideal, but it's about 15% faster, it's up to you whether that is worth it. But if this is purely for productivity, I'd consider Threadripper if you can afford it.

• 

  p1 ama on 26/07/2019 - 19:50

  Hi all, so I am looking to build my first pc at the end of this year

  Then don't make a decision until the end of the year, nobody knows what products will be available at the end of the year, even less so about what prices will be like then. Lots can change in 6 months, so I'd hesitate making a decision until you build.

  which one best suits my needs?

  I would say overall, I'd hesitate recommending the Ryzen 2000 series unless you're getting them at very good prices. I recently picked up a Ryzen 7 2700 for $240 and I'm trying to find some use for it (it'd be my 4th computer though, so I'm really running out of ideas). The biggest issue is that the Ryzen 3000 series have much improved IPC and are overall a pretty big bump from 2nd generation.

  which is the most beginner friendly and easy to set up cpu?

  All about the same, you need to learn or pay someone to build your computer and set it up for you.

  any issues or problems with 3rd gen ryzen?

  Nope.

  large difference between 6 vs 8 cores for multitasking? (I plan to use other programs while rendering)

  Define large. Using other programs whilst rendering is never a good idea. You're better off building a specialised rendering box.

  does ram speed matter more for ryzen 3rd or 2nd gen?

  2nd gen, doesn't matter too much for 3rd gen.

  • 

    sujongwah on 26/07/2019 - 20:28

    +1

    thanks for the response, I will probably wait out until black friday/christmas sales in the hopes of better pricing. Yes I'd prefer not to use programs whilst rendering but my workflow requires heavy multitasking and I only have the budget to build an all round machine, so I think I might lean towards the 8 core chips. Also what is Instructions Per Cycle important for?? In terms of buying ram I've seen the recent 3200mhz deals from newegg and am tossing up whether to purchase now and risk doa or wait as some have said ram prices may rise again.

• 

  AlienC on 27/07/2019 - 06:07

  Higher is Better

  • Gill Bates