Check out the related YouTube video:
There are a few things I want to talk about, some adjustments I made, and some challenges I faced along the way.
Heatsink Decisions and Thermal Mass
I was initially planning to do some testing with a smaller Thermalright heatsink. But, in the end, I prioritized finishing the build. The reality is, when you're comparing a 90mm heatsink to a 120mm one, the larger one simply has more thermal mass.
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| The larger heatsink installed. I was only able to attach one of the 120mm fans. |
For a CPU like the AMD Ryzen 9900x, that extra thermal mass should help avoid throttling as much. I wasn't able to fit two fans on the larger heatsink due to placement issues. I might try to attach another fan eventually, but for now, the single 120mm fan seems to be doing a decent job.
Fan Frustrations and a "Caveman Style" Mod
The Thermalright fans I bought for the case haven't completely thrilled me. They have a slight clicking noise sometimes, which is more noticeable at certain voltages. I've tuned them to not hear it most of the time.
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| One of the Thermalright case fans. |
The other issue was with my PCIe NVMe SSD card that I added. It was pressing down on some fan and USB headers on the motherboard.
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| A PCIe card with multiple NVMe SSD slots. This is after I "modified" the heatsink. |
I also suspect, though I haven't confirmed it with the spec sheet, that the bottom PCIe slot is only 8x even though the physical size is 16x. The one above it is even worse and probably 4x. I wanted to keep the card in that bottom slot, so I ended up doing a... modification... to the card's heatsink.
It wasn't pretty. I basically hammered down some of the heatsink fins to make it fit. It was more "caveman-style modding" than "smart PC dude modding," but it worked.
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| Fitting the NVMe card back into its slot. |
Storage Galore
This build is focused on creative work – video, photos, and programming. I've got a lot of drives in this case:
- The PCIe card with multiple NVMe SSDs. This is what I edit off of.
- Two 2TB NVMe SSDs on the motherboard. One is my old computer's OS drive. I'm using that one for project backup. The newest one I'm using for the OS and installed programs.
- A 2.5-inch 2TB SSD with a SATA interface. This is also for project backup.
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| Removing the 2TB SATA drive from the old computer. |
The 2.5-inch SSD was a bit of a challenge. There's a spot for it on the back of the motherboard, but it didn't seem like a great location for airflow. So, I reinstalled the Fractal case's drive cage, which limited fan placement on the bottom slightly.
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| The drive cage with a fan next to it. Which itself is also very close to the PSU. |
Case Orientation and Cooling Tweaks
I actually run my cases on their side, which I know is a little unusual.
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| The orientation of the computer case on the side. |
I also noticed the chipset (or "South Bridge," if that's still what it's called) was getting pretty warm. To address that, I added that fan between the drive cage and the PSU as an air intake. That is one that came with the CPU heatsink.
TDP, PBO, and Overclocking Potential
I'm currently experimenting with running the CPU at a lower TDP to see how it performs. I've also tried automatic PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive), and it's pretty neat. I did see the CPU temperature spike to 95°C briefly with PBO.
I'm still learning about all the overclocking and underclocking options. I really appreciate that AMD's X-Type CPUs and the right motherboard give you so much flexibility and options.
Initially before experiencing this system myself, I had considered making a build when the 7000 series was the latest. With that there is the 7900x and regular 7900.
The funny thing is that the regular one tended to be the same price as the X variant if not sometimes more expensive. I assume it was because it came with a heatsink, but with the downsize of a locked processor. Also with a TDP significantly less than the X type.
To me something more efficient is ideal, but at least with the motherboard I have, I can easily set the X type CPU to a lower TDP if I want. There really are not downsides and I'm going to assume binning for the X type CPU is better too.
Future Plans and Benchmarks
This computer is primarily for work, so I won't be able to do tons of tweaking. However, I'd love to eventually set up a proper test bench with current-generation hardware.
I'd also like to do some benchmarks, especially comparing the RTX 4060 in this new build to my old computer. I could do the same thing with the GTX 1060.
It would be a lot of work to swap everything back and forth between the two systems. It is difficult because it's going to put my work system out of commission while I do it.
I'll try to make videos covering each component. Then we'll see if I make some type of compilation or how to video.