Computer Shopper - UK (2020-05)

ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 51

COMPONENTS

AMD Ryzen93 9 00X

★★★★★

£450•www.ebuyer.com

AMD Ryzen73 7 00X

★★★★★

£266•www.amzn.to/2nFtHMC

Forget the Intel Core

i9-9900K –this 12-core

monster ofaCPU performs far better

forsimilar money.There is adrawback, in that it’s not very

overclocking-friendly,but that’s partly because it’s so fast to begin

with. Pair it with some good RAM, and you’re already most of the

waytoacapable home workstation.

This octa-core chip has all

the single-core strength of the

Ryzen 93900X,with mutlitasking

power that still puts it well beyond its Intel rivals. Lowpricing and

power efficiency areadditional highlights: the Ryzen 73700X only

draws up to 65W,atiny amount forthis many cores.

SOCKETAM4•CORES (^12) • FREQUENCY 3 .8GHz•INTEGRATEDGRAPHICSNone•WARRANTYTwo
yearsRTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODE 100 -1 00000023 BOX•FULLREVIEWNov 2019
SOCKETAM4•CORES (^8) • FREQUENCY3.6GHz•INTEGRATEDGRAPHICSNone•
WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODE100-100000071BOX•
FULLREVIEWDec 2019
THERMALTAKEView37
★★★★★
£120•www.scan.co.uk
Aspacious, feature-rich chassis
forbothATX-and EATX-based
builds, the View 37 comes with a
gull-wing side window that’s perfect forshowing
off your handiwork.
CASETYPEMid-tower•MOTHERBOARDTYPEATX, EATX,microATX, Mini-ITX•SUPPLIED
FANS2x 140mm•MAXDRIVEBAYS7x 3.5in, 11x2.5in•DIMENSIONS525x261x538mm•
WEIGHT11.8kg•WARRANTYThreeyears RTB•DETAILSwww.thermaltake.com•
PARTCODECA-1J7-00M1WN-00•FULLREVIEWDec2018
ASUS ROGStrixFlare
★★★★★
£97•www.game.co.uk
Besides being a
comfortable and
responsive gaming keyboard,
thanks to its reliable Cherry MX Redswitches, the ROG Strix Flare
is loaded with useful features and extras: there’s aset of dedicated
media controls and aUSB2 pass-through port, among others.
KEYBOARDSHAPEFull size•NUMBERPADYes•CONNECTION1x USB2•MEDIAKEYSPause/
play,mute, skip,volume•USBPORTS2x USB2•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.
asus.com/uk•PARTCODE90MP000MO-BOEA00•FULLREVIEWOct2019
AMD RadeonRX 5700
★★★★★
£290•shop.amd.com
MSIMPGZ390GamingEdgeAC
★★★★★
£140•www.scan.co.uk
AMD’s 7nm GPU is cheaper
than the GeForce RTX 2060
and the RTX 2060 Super,yet is
just as comfortable with gaming at 1080p and 1440p.This price only
seems toapply for the reference design rather than partner versions,
but the blower-style cooler is the only real downside.
From built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth to high-end audio
connectivity,the MPG Z370 Gaming Edge
AC is stuffed with features. Addinagood price,easy overclocking and
awell-designed BIOS, and it’s perfect forpremium Intel-based builds.
GPUAMDRadeon RX 5700•MEMORY8GBGDDR6•GRAPHICSCARDLENGTH268mm•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODERadeon RX 5700•
FULLREVIEWOct2019
PROCESSORSOCKETLGA1151•DIMENSIONS305x244mm•CHIPSETIntelZ390•MEMORY
SLOTS (^4) • PCI-Ex16SLOTS (^3) • PCI-Ex1SLOTS (^3) • PCISLOTS (^0) • USBPORTS2x USB2, 2x USB3,
1x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C•VIDEOOUTPUTS1x HDMI,1xDisplayPort•WARRANTYOneyearRTB

• DETAILSwww.msi.com•PARTCODEMPGZ390GamingEdgeAC•FULLREVIEWApr2019

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01

AswithIntelmotherboards,you’ll

needtomakesureyoumatchanAMD

processorwithacompatiblemotherboard.

ThisisrelativelysimpleforAMDhardware,

asmostofitsrecentchipsusethesame

AM4socket,andthemostrecentsecond-

generation Ryzen processors are backwards-

compatible with first-generation chipsets,

such as the X370 and B350.

02

Budget APU and aminority of Ryzen

processors have integrated graphics,

so to make use of this, ensure that your

motherboard comes with video outputs such

as DVI, HDMI andDisplayPort. ForRyzen

chips that lack integrated graphics, or if

you want more graphics power,install a

dedicatedgraphics card intoone of your

Choosingan... AMDmotherboard

motherboard’s PCI-E x16 slots. This also has

the benefit of providing agreater range of

video outputs to choose from.

03

Normal tower cases can accommodate

ATXmotherboards, which provide the

most expansion slots. AmicroATX

motherboard will let you build your PC in a

smaller case,but if you opt foramicroATX

board, make sure it has all the features you

need built in, as there won’t be much room

forexpansion cards.

04

If you want to install lots of

expansion cards, look fora

motherboard that offers plenty of PCI and

PCI-E x1 slots. Some motherboards also

have PCI-E x4 slots and extra PCI-E x16

slots. PCI-E x1 and x4 cards also work in

PCI-E x16 slots. If you need alot of storage,a

motherboard with plenty of SATA2and

SATA3ports is essential. SATA2isfine for

optical drives and hard disks, but to make

the most of an SSD,you need SATA3.

05

All motherboards have built-in audio

chipsets, but some support only 5.1

surround sound rather than 7.1. If you’re

connecting to older surround-sound

amplifiers that don’t have HDMI, look for

an optical or coaxial S/PDIF output.

All motherboards have Ethernet ports and

most have the faster Gigabit version. You

mayalso find it useful to buy aboard with

built-in Wi-Fi so you don’t have to useupa

USB port or PCI slot with an adaptor.