Not Another AMD AM5 Build!

Tomioka

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It's a gift for my brother that is going to replace a frankenstien'd HP computer (20 year old HP case with an AMD AM4 CPU and MoBo hand-me-down parts) so I'd figured I give him current-gen parts.

LGA 1718 socket. That's 943 more pins to bend from my last Intel LGA 775 build.
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Dropping the CPU and RAM onto the motherboard before installing it into the case.
MSI PRO B650M-A WiFi ProSeries Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6-Core CPU
G.Skill Flare X5 32GB 6000MT/s CL30 2x16GB sticks (Recommended RAM spec for an AM5 build for EXPO and PBO requirements.)
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Needed a lot of force to lock that lever in. See picture above that I lined the CPU in the socket correctly.
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Tools used for the assembly. Made in USA #2 Phillips Stanley screwdriver & Milwaukee work light for lighting up those dark crevasses. For an old Phillips head I'd never had it cam out, especially when tightening motherboard screws.
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The next week & couple hours later...

Put together the components and perform cable management. The cable mgmt is a PITA because I have my own order of operations when routing the wires from the large gauge power wires to the tiny i/o panel wires. Start with front i/o wires, CPU power 8+8 cables, 24pin ATX fat power cable, USB 3.0 cables, then fan power wires.
This mATX case is also a challenge to cable manage in also.
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Then go nuts with the zip ties making it look less of a rat's nest. It does not matter since the rear cover goes back on anyways. Like to give myself a bit of a challenge, I'd like to build in those full glass panel cases so I'm trying to practice decent cable mgmt if I ever tackle a specialty build one day.
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To be continued since CPU cooler is now delayed. Wanna see how that huge ThermalRight 2x120mm cooler looks in the case and that it fits when the side panel goes back on.
 
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I always want to do good cable management but once I start assembling I say fvck it cuz I want to use the pc.

Its too bad the new Ryzen 9000 are kinda a flop. The new Intel chips are starting to look pretty interesting from the newest leaks. If they come up aces then I think a new intel unraid or proxmox box before xmas will be in order.
 
Found my 2 y/o post on my first AM5 build. Living Room Gaming PC built when gaming consoles where unobtainable and scalped to high hell.

Specced an RTX 3080 Ti for that build, wanted a console killer to feed an LG OLED TV and that can run games in its full native 4K resolution @ 120Hz for awesome eye-candyness.


edit - wow discovered a new forum feature, copy and paste the link of the post # on the right and it expands the linked post in this current post - cool!
 
I recently helped my dad select components for a "basic" PC to upgrade his aging Haswell system I bought for him almost a decade ago since it won't support Windows 11, I went with the 12700K\Z790-P Pro Wifi DDR4\16GB Ripjaws CAS16 3200 $300 bundle from Microcenter, added an extra 16gb kit of that RAM for around $30 off Amazon, went with the semi modular 650W MSI MAG Bronze unit they had on sale for $60 at Micro Center, went with a 2TB Seagate FireCuda 530R because at that moment at $130 it was the cheapest dram caching gen.4 drive at that moment, $20 on an LG DVD Burner, $50 on a Fractal Pop Air from Amazon, and $35 on a Thermalright Phantom Spirit. It ended up being like $650 after tax, most of the lower end i5 and i3 prebuilts were like $500 and we wanted 2TB of storage and at least 32GB of RAM, and most OEM systems only have 2 RAM slots so you have to completely replace the RAM, and they have terrible aluminum heatsinks which are wildly insufficient for Intels 13/14th gen and terrible VRM cooling, so I was going to spend that much to upgrade a junk OEM system so I built him something that'll last him probably another 10 years for the same price. In general I prefer intel for integrated graphics for most users just because their media encoder/decoders are better than AMDs which I think is more important
 
CPU hold down bracket removed.
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To install this Thermalright Secure Frame bracket. It's not needed but it helps to keep thermal grease out of the ridges for easier cleaning.
The heatsink brackets say AM4 but nice thing about the AM5 socket that it still works with AM4 coolers.
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Application guide for Noctua's NT-H2 thermal grease.
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Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE heatsink installed. Along with fans 5 and 6 which clip onto the heatsink.
Also dropped in the Samsung 990PRO 1TB SSD which goes under a heatsink above the graphics card.
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So huge in this case. But it fits and the side panel closes with no issues.
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nVidia GTX 1660 SUPER installed also. So much fans.
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after installing heatsinks i learned that the best way to defrost food was on an aluminum pan that has an offset under it so that there's an air gap between the pan and the top of the counter
 
Nice heatsink, for under $50 that's a killer heatsink and not too massive like the NDH-15.
 
Nice heatsink, for under $50 that's a killer heatsink and not too massive like the NDH-15.
If I were to recommend one I'd spend the extra $2-3 on the non-SE Phantom Spirit, has one extra heatpipe, and I like how the backplate is metal on the non-SE model, although less important on AM5 vs LGA1700\1851, although the spacer hardware is plastic for AMD on both the SE and regular model, while for intel the spacers are metal on the regular and plastic on the SE.
 
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If I were to recommend one I'd spend the extra $2-3 on the non-SE Phantom Spirit, has one extra heatpipe, and I like how the backplate is metal on the non-SE model, although less important on AM5 vs LGA1700\1851, although the spacer hardware is plastic for AMD on both the SE and regular model, while for intel the spacers are metal on the regular and plastic on the SE.

I just noticed they look like they'll block taller ram modules. Probably not an issue for the non-LED lights cried though. Looks like the next best budget heatsink kinda like how the CM 212 was.
 
I just noticed they look like they'll block taller ram modules. Probably not an issue for the non-LED lights cried though. Looks like the next best budget heatsink kinda like how the CM 212 was.
Also if you don't need the massive dual tower, they have a number of single tower coolers, I love seeing the Burst Assassin, has 6 heatpipes, a lot like the old Ultra 120, but unlike the Ultra 120 it comes with a fan and is only around $20-25 while the Ultra 120 was $70 in 2007 dollars.
 
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