CPU
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
£599 i n c VAT
overclockers.co.uk
There’s a huge amount of choice out there
right now when it comes to CPUs, for the
simple reason that AMD has a full stack of
winning models from the Ryzen 5 5600X
all the way up to the Ryzen 9 5950X. In a
reversal of roles, Intel is now dropping prices
to remain competitive and the likes of the
Core i5-10600K, Core i9 10850K and Core
i9-10900K are suddenly a whole lot more
competitive than they were a few months ago.
They’re available too, which can’t be said for
many of AMD’s CPUs, including the Ryzen 9
5900X that we’re using in this build. However,
we’ve been reassured by retailers that it
should be available soon – hopefully by the
time you read this magazine.
The Ryzen 9 5900X strikes a great balance
of excellent multi-threaded performance
paired with superb lightly threaded grunt
that propels it to the top of graphs in games
compared with nearly every other CPU except
AMD’s own Ryzen 9 5950X. It’s a great choice
if you plan on doing a range of tasks with
your PC such as streaming and video editing,
as well as gaming, as it has 12 cores and 24
threads too.
Alternatives
Things get a tad complicated when you
consider other CPUs for a build of this calibre,
as there are several from both AMD and
Intel. To start with, if you need more multi-
threaded grunt, the logical
choice is the Ryzen 9 5950X. With its 16 cores
and 32 threads, it’s a CPU that will demolish
just about any multi-threaded tasks that
you’ll likely encounter on a desktop PC, and
it’s a dab hand at gaming too. However, it
will cost you another £250, so you’ll need to
carefully consider if it’s worth it.
At the time of writing, the 5950X was
also out of stock, but not our next choice,
the Ryzen 7 5800X. With eight cores and
16 threads, you certainly won’t see any
performance drop in games compared with
its more expensive siblings and it costs £440
too, saving you over £150.
However, it was also our least favourite
of AMD’s Ryzen 5000-series CPUs. The
cheaper Ryzen 5 5600X was just as quick in
games and the Ryzen 9 5900X offers a huge
amount more multi-threaded performance
leaving the 8-core 5800X in a tricky spot.
However, if you’re dead set on having more
than six cores and don’t need the added grunt
or cost of the 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X, then
the Ryzen 7 5800X might be a good option,
especially if the others are still out of stock.
While we’d have advised against it a few
months ago, the fact that Intel’s 10-core
10th-gen CPUs can be had for far less now
and are actually available, makes them
viable alternatives to AMD’s Zen 3 CPUs.
The Core i9-10850K costs just £380, which
is £60 less than the Ryzen 9 5800X, but
has an additional two cores and four more
threads and isn’t far behind in lightly threaded
applications either.
With Z490 motherboards available
for less than £160, an overclocked Core
i9-10850K could be a cheaper option than
AMD equivalents and it’s still a great CPU for
games and content creation, albeit without
the finesse of AMD’s 7nm Zen 3 architecture.MOTHERBOARD
MSI MEG X570 Unify
£265 i n c VAT
scan.co.uk
As we’re opting for a Zen 3 Ryzen CPU, it
makes sense to go for either an X570 orB550 chipset motherboard. Both should
now support Zen 3 Ryzen CPUs out of the
box, but in the rare event they don’t, our
chosen motherboard also supports USB BIOS
Flashback, allowing you to update the BIOS to
a newer version without turning on the PC.
We’ve picked the MSI MEG X570 Unify, as
it has an impressive specification including a
USB 3.1 Type-C header to match our chosen
case, power, reset and clear-CMOS buttons
to aid with testing and overclocking – plus
802.11ax Wi-Fi and 2.5 Gigabit LAN. MSI
has also teamed up with Corsair to offer an
RGB lighting connector to control Corsair’s
components, some of which we’ll be using
in this build, giving us the option of using
Corsair’s iCUE software or MSI’s alternative.
For a premium X570 motherboard, the MSI
MEG X570 Unify is also reasonably priced at
£265, plus it’s one of the more colour-neutral
motherboards out there too.Alternatives
We’re avoiding RGB lighting on our
motherboard with this build, as plenty of
other components have it. However, if you
fancy some additional eye candy, the Asus
ROG Strix X570-E Gaming is a great choice,
sporting similar features except with a
generous helping of RGB. It will set you back
an extra £50 or so.OUR TOP
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