Picking the right memory, psu and mobo for a ryzen 2700x + gtx 1070 ti non OC build? [closed]

Question

MOBO

I don't fully understand all the subtle differences between different mobo models. I know 470x supports SLI and think b450 doesn't. I also know some mobo models have wifi, faster Ethernet and/or better sound and some have more USB ports/PCIE slots. Some even boast a better VRM heatsink (?), not sure if I should care? Also, some boards have negative core voltage and precision boost, I am guessing I shouldn't care cause these have to do with OC? Also, some VRMs are 10 phase (?) and some are 6 phase?

Because I don't care about audio and I don't need fast Ethernet or wifi and I don't understand why I should invest in VRM, I am thinking of buying this model: Asrock B450M-HDV. Q: Are there any serious disadvantages to it? I am buying it cause it got nice reviews and it's very cheap.

Is there any other important feature I'm missing that I might want to consider?

MEM

I am planning to purchase Flare X AMD compatible DDR4. I don't understand what this compatibility means? Should I care about it?

[Flare X (for AMD)] Designed for the latest AMD Ryzen™ processor.

I am buying the 2400Mhz model. How much oomph do you get by opting for the 3200Mhz model?

PSU

I am planning to juice this thing with Corsair RM550x. It should be sufficient. Why should I care about PSU rating like platinum/titanium/gold/bronze? Do they matter? Why would anyone buy the expensive ones?

My main question is how do you distinguish between components that you can't benchmark with 3dmark or cinebench? How do you know they are "better" budget options? How is it measured? What is the added value? How significant is it?

Purpose

The computer will be used for occasional Blender rendering, video editing and mild amounts of gaming. I don't have a budget constrain but I want to hit the sweet spot where you get the best value for your money.

Answer 1

Lots of question, lots of answers.

I don't understand the differences between different mother boards' chipsets.

The difference is pretty well explained on the Wikipedia page of AM4 socket. Mostly SLI / CFX support and number of ports / slots.

I also don't understand how to quantify the difference between motherboards with the same chipsets. How do you measure these differences? Which features matter and why (I am not doing SLI)?

Motherboards can include a whole lot of features, like dual bios (two BIOS chips onboard), more slots, better design, software features (OC suites, etc). The quality of components can also vary. The question is: what are you going to need ? And if you don't know, which is probably the case, ask yourself what you're gonna do with the mobo (OC, multi GPU, etc), you'll have the answer.

How do I measure latency? How much does it affect performance? I don't understand if 3200hz matters.

I'll advice watching LTT video on ram speed.

Also, there are a lot of different kinds with 3200Mhz, what are the differences and how do you know? Some brands like and models like FLare X say they are for AMD. What the hell does that mean? How do you make sense of it? Is other memory specifically for Intel?

The chips on the sticks can be different. Please notice that Ryzen are quite more tricky on frequency than Intel CPUs, it's harder to achieve high frequency, or to the cost of a higher latency. That's why there are "Ryzen optimized" rams. This does NOT mean that other rams won't work with Ryzen, it means that other rams COULD possibly not run at their maximum speed / minimum latency on Ryzen.

When I said different chips, I meant different ranges, from different manufacturers. That can be a way of choosing your ram, especially for Ryzen. You can rely on this table for chips ranges. This is an extract of what is written above the table:

In general (on Ryzen) you can expect up to 3466 MHz (without BCLK-OC) with Samsung B-Die (on AGESA 1.0.0.6+ Bios Versions), up to 2933 MHz (without BCLK-OC) with Samsung D/E/S-Die (AGESA 1.0.0.5+). Hynix A/M-Die are mostly working @ 3200 MHz with AGESA 1.0.0.5+. Do note that Dual Rank RAM is faster than Single Rank. E.g. 2933 MHz Dual Rank is faster than 3200 MHz Single Rank.

It was written for 1st gen Ryzen, but is still quite accurate today.

I don't understand what 'SSR' and 'PX' mean? I also don't understand if I should care. How do you tell the difference between these things?

I would say SSR and PX have to do with the platform used, but I wouldn't put money on it. What you should care about is the range, a Focus Plus (e.g. SSR 550 FX) isn't the same range as Prime Platinium Ultra (e.g. SSR 550 PD2) and the quality is not the same. Once again, how much you should care depends on what you want / need. Of course, if you have a low budget, you're not going to head toward the highest end 1KW PSUs.

I would recommend to consider SuperFlower and FSP as well, they're part of the biggest PSU manufacturers with Sea. Evga is also very good, using SP, FSP and Sea parts. If you don't know if your PSU is good, look at that table. It'll probably give you reviews for the model you're looking for, once you found it.