bluesurfer66 said:That board isn't hardware-designed for Intel's K-series. Some B660s have the option—I know the MSI MAG Mortar and some Asus B660s, but specifically the ROG Strix. Otherwise, your CPU will just sit at the base clock, which is 3.5 on a 13600K.
What do you mean "base clock"? You're talking about PL1. Where did you even get that from? 😵 🙂
What does "not hardware-designed" even mean?
Different boards have different PL2 limits. On the Gigabyte ASRock B660M, which is a lower tier than the gaming x, you can hit 160W, according to measurements from Linus Tech Tips
The gaming x actually has heatsinks, unlike the entry-level DS3H which lacks them. That's what really throttles it because the VRM-ov components overheat.
The ASRock B660 Steel Legend pulls a respectable 235W.
TL;DR: The gaming x isn't the top-tier B660, but the chipset itself isn't the bottleneck for a 13600K. Saying the processor is stuck at base clock is just a ridiculous claim.
Finding the actual "best buy" for that CPU is a completely different conversation...
bluesurfer66 said:What’s the point of getting a 13600K if you aren't going to overclock it? You picked a B660 board instead of a Z690.
Exactly. Why bother with a Z690 if there's no intention to overclock? B660 boards vary wildly in quality. That one probably isn't top-tier, but I assume it's better than an ASRock B660M, which hits about 160W on the CPU, so it should be fine. Obviously, you need a decent cooler—get at least a 120mm unit for that chip.
Benjamin Sanders76 said:I'm not sure if there's any cheaper shop in America besides AMD, since I've heard all sorts of things about them.
Never had issues with AMD, especially when you're building the rig yourself...
Best Buy messes around with that "5-year warranty" nonsense of theirs, otherwise they're alright, I guess.
Teraflops don't mean much when you're comparing different architectures, especially between rival brands. But yeah, generally speaking, this card should have been in the GeForce RTX 3070 class—maybe even better if it had a 16GB option—but... it just isn't.
Supposedly it handles encoding and decoding well enough, but otherwise, it’s a total lottery depending on which app or game you're running....
The Radeon RX 6800 was hovering around $600 for the last couple of months, and you could snag a 6800XT for about $700 in the States. Now that Black Friday is over, prices have jumped by maybe $100.
With the 7900XT hitting the market at, say, $1100, I’m expecting the 7800XT to land around $850 and the RX 7800 to sit near $750. That means the previous generation's prices absolutely have to drop...
It’s possible AMD will pull the plug on the old cards relatively quickly if manufacturing the new ones becomes cheaper, but either way, those older prices need to fall. Otherwise, the value proposition is just going to be a disaster.
I'm not sure you'll get $333 for a Radeon RX 580. Honestly, $700-$267 feels more realistic.
Grabbing a 6700XT for $1400 isn't much of a steal when the Radeon RX 6800 is already $1560 and offers better Video RAM and higher bandwidth.
If you hold out for a few months, I bet the Radeon RX 6800 (new or used) will drop down to the $3000-$1167 range. How does it actually stack up performance-wise?
You can't really push a heavy undervolt without dropping the clock speed. But if you dial that clock down below 1200MHz—specifically on a Radeon RX 580—you can shave off a ton of voltage.
It’s probably a similar story with the Radeon RX 6600.
That setup with two cards is way too close... obviously it isn't ideal, and I wouldn't bet money on it holding up well under a full load.
How does the 6650XT actually perform? Maybe it makes sense to just dump the Radeon RX 580 and pick up a 6650XT instead?
Either way, I wouldn't obsess over the stock TDP. It's better to look at what you can actually achieve and the performance gains once you find the right undervolt.
I can't say much about specific workloads, but I can talk power draw.
I'm running a Radeon RX 580; my brother has a 6600XT.
Mine sits at a 185W TDP by default, and overclocking pushes it higher. But, if you undervolt to 925-950mV and underclock to 1150MHz, it pulls about 100W at full load during Ether mining. Left the Video RAM at stock. Obviously, you could go even lower on the underclock/undervolt and sit comfortably around 120W. If your software is more memory-intensive than GPU core-heavy, you shouldn't lose much performance.
As for the 6600XT, it’s a very low consumer—around 150W stock, and the RX 6600 is even less... Basically, you can easily get those two cards to pull a combined 300W, and each uses a single 1x8pin connector.
The PSU shouldn't be an issue. I just don't know if the software is pushing a Ryzen 7 3700X to full load at the same time...
Definitely grab a motherboard with a BIOS flashback button—the kind where you can just hit a button and flash via USB. It’s your only insurance policy against bricking the board if an update goes sideways.
It’s especially important for AMD builds since you can swap in several generations of CPUs on the same board. With Intel, there isn't much of an upgrade path anyway.
On another note, I actually own that Samsung Galaxy Tab 34" ultrawide, and as far as I recall from when I bought it and did my research, G-Sync works fine with Nvidia cards.
All things considered, I’d probably hold off until late January for an upgrade. By then, we might see a new generation of GPUs (either AMD or Nvidia) or maybe some new AMD chips (either those X3D versions or just cheaper versions of what's out now).
Or even something like an Intel non-K, say a 13700.
If you can just hold out until the end of the month, it’d be fucking worth it. We've got Core non-X processors (7600, 7700, 7900) dropping, new 7900(XT) GPUs, maybe even a TRX 4070Ti or an RX7800XT... hell, even some Intel non-K chips are on the horizon too.
Steven Walker72 said:If this motherboard is actually good enough, what should I grab for a power supply so I can just get the PSU and CPU sorted once and for all?
Here, for example.
The EVGA is modular, but the Corsair unit has a longer warranty and a slightly better reputation.
There might be a better deal floating around somewhere right now, but it's a pain to sift through every single model...
Steven Walker72 said:I’ve got a 27" 1440p 144Hz AOC monitor. Honestly, I don't need anything better than that. haha
👍👍
In that case, you might as well go for a beefier GPU. You won't really need anything stronger than an Intel Core i5-12400 since 1440p is mostly GPU-bound at that level compared to 1080p.
Just not so sure about that power supply, though. If I were you, I'd hold off until January or February to upgrade the graphics card, and maybe just deal with the processor for now.
Steven Walker72 said:Let's say I go with one of those two CPUs you suggested. I'd probably have an extra $400-$500 left over for a GPU, so what else could I do with that? Looking for something that'll let me sleep easy for a few years.
The Intel Core i5-12400 is about $150, while the 5800X3D is closer to $400. We aren't even talking about the same tier here—that's a $250 gap.
Pair it with a card like a 6650XT for $400. https://www.amazon.com/search.php?q=6650xt&cod=&cdo= So, total comes to $550.
Maybe an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti, but your power supply isn't exactly top-tier.
What resolution and refresh rate are you running? If you're stuck on 1080p 60Hz, take that extra cash and buy a better monitor instead.
Dropping $500 on a GPU right now isn't the smartest play. New cards in that bracket—or slightly above—are dropping in the next few months, which means current gen prices are just going to tank further.
Linus Tech Tips recommends the one you linked, but that’s a VA panel with heavy curvature. Color accuracy and general productivity might take a hit there.
They also suggest this one if you want a decent balance of color fidelity and motion performance—it's an IPS panel. https://www.amazon.com/monitors/gigabyte...16-9-187167281
And then there's this model mentioned for having a wider color gamut.
Alexander Moore67 said:If the 5500 is $299 and the 5600 is $415, an $150 gap doesn't justify being 7% slower on average in games with a 6600xt, and up to 17% slower in one specific game tested against a 6950xt!
The price is slightly lower at "Logitech," but then again, you can grab the 5500 at the same place for less than $300... which is a killer deal.
The thing is, if someone actually has a budget, they have more options. But yeah, strictly looking at immediate value for money, the 5500 is the better play.
If they’re just itching to spend cash, they could always drop a 5800X3D onto that board. That’s basically the ceiling for that platform, and honestly, still a smarter move than swapping out the motherboard just to pair it with some mid-range chip.
It’s not overkill for the long haul, and don't sweat it if you already have a 620W Corsair
Of course, it all depends on what you're playing. Honestly, if you aren't hitting the latest AAA titles, that card might be way more power than you actually need