Assemble that Passes you # 269
The presentation of the Ryzen 5000 has added something else to wait along with the availability of the GeForce RTX 3080 are available, to the reviews of the RTX 3070 and the announcement of the RTX 3060, much awaited by those hoping for an affordable solution capable of guaranteeing 1440p without compromise, ray tracing included. Furthermore, at the end of the month there will be the highly anticipated Radeon RX 6000, a possible redemption by AMD also in the context of high-end GPUs and like all graphics technologies capable of monopolizing the attention of gamers.
But AMD's promise of a CPU capable of freeing the GPU from the CPU, even in 1080p where the processor still has a significant weight in performance, has undoubtedly caught our attention even if the increases, albeit contained , partially dampened our enthusiasm. As expected, however, there is already talk of the Ryzen 5 5600 which should arrive for around $ 220 at the beginning of 2021, confirming AMD's decision to split the first series of Zen 3 processors in two starting with more pushed models designed to deal directly with the highlights of the Intel stable. A frontal attack that calls for a direct response given the real risk of an all-round overtaking by an AMD very different from that of a few years ago.
We will have to wait, however, to see the Rocket Lake-S series at work, presumably the last one with 14 nanometer lithography, even if the first rumors have already begun to outline the alleged 11th generation lineup, also mentioning some possible architectural changes despite the now obsolete production process. In fact, it seems that Intel has revised the cache, as AMD did with the Ryzen 5000, bringing the level one to 48KB and doubling that of level 2 which would reach 512KB. There is no talk of any change, however, with the 16MB of L3 cache, but of AVX512 instructions introduced by Intel with the Xeon Phi x200 series and also used in Core X processors which should guarantee, together with higher frequencies, a good performance increase. . However, we expect significant temperatures and consumption, which also leads us to believe the part of the rumor published by ITCooker that mentions a maximum of 8 cores and 16 threads, even for the flagship Core i9. In doing so, Intel would focus on giving battle to the Ryzen 7 5800X and lower models, leaving the field free to the 5900X and 5950X, but it could be a necessary choice to be able to keep AMD at bay where the 14 nanometer is felt less, allowing CPUs of the company to gain more ground in anticipation of the 10 nanometer desktop and a completely new architecture. It is no coincidence that we are talking about 5 GHz on all cores and a peak of 5.5 GHz for the alleged Core i9-11900K, with 200 MHz of gain on the peak of the Comet Lake-S series. Obviously we are referring to Thermal Velocity Boost and in particular conditions, difficult to maintain stably, but the goal is remarkable and is paired with news that are already official such as Intel's transition to PCIe 4.0, which is fundamental given the new decompression technologies. data that with a Gen 4 SSD promises instant loads in games, similar to what will happen on new generation consoles.
Unfortunately it will take some time for the new solid state drives to become a standard in gaming configurations, postponing to the indefinite future the moment when the PC can take advantage of lightning-fast loading times not only to instantly generate the streaming textures but also for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart-style game mechanics. In the meantime, however, PC users enjoy various advantages including screens that reach 360Hz and a much wider scene in terms of virtual reality.
Until now, viewers have struggled to spread, thanks to not very affordable prices and a certain difficulty in benefiting from the ecosystem of the various companies, but game libraries are increasingly rich, watching 3D movies has made much more interesting with the social sharing of the excellent Bigscreen program and the Oculus Quest 2, while saving on some materials, guarantees a high resolution virtual reality, and with the prospect of the future support of 90Hz, for 350 euros. Of course, 99 euros must be added to the price for the official cable, or about 30 for a similar cable and which always has both USB Type-C connectors in order to guarantee an adequate charging speed, but otherwise everything works properly. thanks to the excellent tracking of hands and movements. However, the problems of those who prefer to avoid helmets between nausea and headache remain to be solved. But he does not necessarily have to give up seeing three-dimensional images.
Holograms have in fact reappeared, a topic we have talked about at length for a technology that has unfortunately stopped at tiny screens and very expensive technologies. This was until Sony created the Spatial Reality Display which renders three-dimensional objects, creates two images in 1440p resolution and orients them following the movement of the viewer's eyes. Obviously this is a device designed for one person only, but the result seems truly magical and allows you to move your head while looking at a scene from different perspectives despite being in front of a seemingly classic screen. All for $ 5,000, which is a lot, but not so much considering that it is a new and niche product. The problem is that they are enough only for the 15.6-inch diagonal screen which by the way requires at least a Core i7 and a GeForce RTX 2070 Super to work properly.
Budget configuration
The budget configuration is the one 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 games with a low technical profile and 1080p-oriented builds.This week we return to the old Intel Core i3-9100F which remains in the field as an economic option not having to fear the competition from the nonexistent Core i3-10100F. In some it is clearly at a disadvantage compared to the Ryzen 3 3100, but the margin only becomes large with a high-end card. With a low-end card, the differences are reduced by enhancing the savings.
Once the CPU has been changed we do not change the GPU, forced by the fact that the prices of low-end models have risen significantly while that of some GeForce GTX 1650 Super has not changed, making this card a preferable choice also in terms of consumption and technologies such as Variable Rate Shading.
BUDGET Component Price PROCESSOR Core i3-9100F 3.6-4.2 GHz 85, 00 € MSI H310M PRO-VDH PLUS MOTHERBOARD 65,00 € VIDEO CARD Inno3D GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER Compact 4GB 160,00 € RAM G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB 3000MHz CL16 60,00 € 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 520,00 €
Gaming configuration
In the gaming range there are usually those components that allow to face the PC game without fear and to hold on for some time. The frame rate showdown is just around the corner but, with a good foundation, 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 first really affordable Ryzen 5000 processor, impressive on paper but destined to arrive with decidedly high launch prices, will probably not arrive before 2021. But the Ryzen 5 3600 remains a good investment, perhaps from pair with a mid-range card and with a motherboard of the 400 series compatible with the new generation processors.
Thinking about longevity, however, let's move on to a B550 motherboard that has the PCIe 4.0 interface, essential to take advantage of the RTX IO technology of the new NVIDIA cards. On the other hand we remain bound to the GeForce RTX 3070, not yet available and more expensive than mid-range products, but still cheaper than solutions destined to be replaced both in terms of power and technologies in the coming weeks.
GAMING Component Price PROCESSOR AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6-4.2GHz 210,00 € MSI B550-A PRO MOTHERBOARD 125,00 € VIDEO CARD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition 8GB 520,00 € RAM Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB 3600MHz CL16 75,00 € POWER SUPPLY FSP Hydro PRO 600W 80+ Bronze 75,00 € HARD DISK Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SATA III 60,00 € CASE MSI MAG Vampiric 010 Mid Tower 80.00 € TOTAL 1145.00 €
Configuration Extra
The pushed configuration makes sense only for those aiming 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 star of the new Ryzen has appeared high in the sky, promising to reduce if not eliminate the CPU weight in high-end and extreme configurations geared towards 1080p at extreme framerate. In the meantime, however, the preferable solution in this sense is the Core i7-10700K which with its 5.1 GHz, guarantees advantages in some video games in 1080p, however behaving perfectly in 1440p and 4K where the processor has a relative weight.
Even for the high-end GPU we are blocked by the generational change that for now has put us in front of only two RTX 3000, one of which with a professional look. Our advice, especially with a configuration with a very high price, is to wait for all the news to be in the field, in order to have a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of each product, but in focusing on the GeForce RTX 3080 we feel like going safe enough for a versatile and powerful setup. The problem is to find it and find it at a fair price considering that the Founders Edition has disappeared from the site and will probably follow the custom process, ending up in the large distribution chains.
EXTRA Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i7-10700K 3.8-5.1GHz 390.00 € NZXT Kraken X63 Heatsink 140.00 € MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI MOTHERBOARD 195.00 € NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition 10GB 720.00 € G.Skill RAM Trident Z RGB 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 190,00 € ANTEC POWER SUPPLY HCG-850 80+ Gold 125,00 € HARD DISK Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB M.2 175,00 € CASE Cooler Master MasterCase H500 ARGB Mid Tower 120,00 € TOTAL 2055.00 €
