# [OCN LABS]Ryzen 2700X Build & Overclocking Guide



## Jedson3614

*[OCN LABS] Ryzen 2700X Build & Overclocking Guid*










In 2017 Ryzen took over the industry with competing products versus Intel's CPU lineup. Everyone has been eager to see what's next from AMD and they've taken an aggressive approach to winning back the enthusiast market from Intel. AMD has special plans for the upcoming microarchitecture based on the 7nm process called Zen 2 but Ryzen has come out with a refresh of their Ryzen CPUs we will call Zen +. They are to compete directly with Intel's offerings like the 8700K. AMD has included 4 new chips in this lineup based on a 12nm process including the Ryzen 7 2700X / Ryzen 7 2700 / Ryzen 5 2600X / and Ryzen 5 2600.

Today I will be building a high-end PC for gaming and editing using the 2700X CPU & X470 chipset. We will look at what's new with the Ryzen 2000 series and what the new X470 chipset even offers for Ryzen CPUs. This guide will focus primarily on overclocking and what XFR2 & Precision Boost 2 means for Ryzen +. Overclocking should be easier than ever with the new boosting technology offering much better scalability depending on thermals. 

With a complete system build, you have to keep in mind everything you need on top of your new shiny rig. You have to consider an OS (Operating System), and peripherals. You can always recycle your old parts, but check out guides on the best gaming mice, monitors, and keyboards as well.

*Why Consider 2700X & Zen+?*










The Ryzen 2700X takes the top throne from the 1800X but does offer an additional 10W of power. The CPU has a base frequency of 3.7GHz and can turbo up to 4.3GHz. This offers faster speeds over the 1800X, especially when overclocked. One of the key factors to the 2700X's new popularity is its drop in price over the 1800X and is only $329 currently. 

The CPU also comes bundled with the best stock air cooler I have ever seen! AMD's Wraith Prism cooler offers RGB and its thermals are impressive too. We will not be using that in this build guide because we opted to use a more expensive AIO cooler but If you're looking to save money, then the Wraith Prism is definitely worth using. With the inclusion of the Wraith Prism cooler and price reduction, the 2700X is one of the best value CPUs I've seen for a top-tier product.

Focusing on the GlobalFoundries 12nm process, it offers several additional benefits to the new 2000 series of CPUs. AMD has improved upon firmware adjustments and Precision Boost and XFR (Extended Frequency Range) technologies. There is also a new X470 chipset and StoreMI. AMD would like you to think of the 2700X as a direct competitor to the 8700K. Intel still has an IPC advantage but AMD has come much closer to frequency and offers more cores for a lower price.










The biggest new addition to the Ryzen 2000 series of CPUs is the new turbo technology. The new process is more dynamic, it essentially looks over total chip peak power and overall thermal potential. It can automatically adjust your CPU speed dynamically if you have sufficient cooling. We will look further into this under the overclocking section but XFR2 is by far the easiest way to overclock I've seen. 

Using the new Ryzen Master software 1.3 can also ensure that your Ryzen 2000 series CPU is performing the way you'de like. It offers better transparency to the end user and what may be your limiting factor when trying to boost your CPU. 

You need to be very aware of your temperatures and your environment if you expect the highest possible boost frequencies. The largest difference here for XFR2 is the thermals per core and its reference to being under 60ºC and can boost above its PB2 (Precision Boost 2) frequencies. Side note here, PB2 may be called something different in your UEFI BIOS. You may see a setting called "Core Performance Boost" as this is not to be confused with "Multi-Core enhancement".










Before I do the break down of the X470 chipset, remember I mentioned StoreMI? It's a software solution that is included with every 400-series chipset. It essentially works like Intels Optane storage or any other caching style technology. It takes a mechanical hard drive and caches it to an SSD. StoreMI will automatically pair your most used files to your faster storage solution for peak results. It also adds an additional buffer of up to 2GB of RAM as fast level cache for ultra-fast data transfers.

*X470 & ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero Breakdown*










The new X470 chipset was designed to replace X370 but you'de be forgiven for not seeing any differences. The most notable thing to remember with the Ryzen + series of CPUs is you don't have to upgrade your motherboard if you're already running an X370 chipset. They are almost identical in specifications but the largest difference is going to be in power consumption on the X470 chipset. The X470 chipset will have a lower peak wattage than compared to X370 due to the improvements in the power infrastructure, offer slightly better memory overclocking, and firmware stability. Needless to say, it's not necessary to upgrade to X470 if you're already using an X370 motherboard. 

If you want support for StoreMI using X370 you will have to fork over $20 dollars but is included with X470 support for free. I would suggest updating to your latest BIOS if you're looking to upgrade to a 2000 series CPU on an X370 chipset. 










Let's break down X470! AMD used to incorporate an older technology called HyperTransport but has since been improved with Ryzen's "Infinity Fabric". You can think of the Infinity Fabric as HyperTransport on steroids. You might ask why is this important for the chipset? 

Chipsets, in general, had a separate north and south bridge but current technology has unified those circuits together. You will find most of your functions including iGPUs, PCIe lanes, and Voltage Regulators, are all part of the CPU infrastructure. For modern times you will also find the memory controller (IMC) is now integrated on the CPU. AMD calls their technology SoC (System-on-a-Chip) and it's responsible for memory operations. 

SoC can control memory clocks, dual or quad channel support and latency. This is why you have heard the term "Ryzen ticks with memory speed". That is because the infinity fabric is tied to memory latency and can increase performance by just tuning memory alone. We won't get into the details about this here, but if you're interested look over this thread and compare your results.

A modern X470 chipset looks like the above picture and usually offers more PCIe lanes than Intel. Intel uses DMI (Direct Media Interface) and Ryzen locks down 4 of the total PCIe 3.0 lanes for communication between the chipset and the CPU. Most of the major differences between chipsets or even platforms will be how many HSIO lanes that can be addressed by the manufacturer.










Here are my initial interactions with the X470 Hero by ASUS. Please look at the list below to see what I liked and didn't like about the board. 



Love that BIOS Flash Back is included
8+4 pin ESP (4 pin is optional and in some cases unnecessary)
No dual BIOS

*Power Delivery:*

The X470 Hero has no display output so putting a Ryzen CPU with integrated graphics offers no value. By excluding the APU, ASUS was able to adjust the VRM for better thermals. The SoC will have less work to do and ASUS has positioned the SoC VRM between Vcore and separated it into two sections. If you're looking at the VRM from left / bottom up, the bottom 4 are Vcore and then the top two are SoC and then followed by 6 more Vcore to the right. This separation creates the better thermals because of the less stressed SoC. 

The Hero has a 10 phase design and SoC is 2 phases. This is not a true 10 phase design but has a 5+2 doubler scheme on the back.

The voltage controller on the back is a rebranded IR35201. Each phase has IR3555 PowerStage MOSFETs that are rated for 60A. 

The SoC should produce basically nothing and with 1.2V (Standard voltage on X470) will produce minimal heat. The memory is less critical as the DDR4 voltage doesn't take a lot to power. The memory phase is a 2 phase design with Niko MOSFETs. The capacitors on this board are all FP 10K Nichicon and rated for 105°C.

*Parts*

I will do my best to keep current links for these parts and prices. This build is designed for fun and by no means requires every single part listed. There will be a section for peripherals as an addition to the system. The extra accessories provide additional features like RGB lighting and cleaner aesthetics overall.

Also, please keep in mind that these parts were provided by each manufacturer for this build. I didn't get to choose each part individually, and what was provided was in focus during the Ryzen + launch cycle. I want to say "Thank You" to all the sponsors for this build, without your support I wouldn't have opportunities like this. 

The company iFixit offers free repair manuals and an awesome tool selection. They supplied all the toolkits necessary for building and completing this build and future projects. If you're interested in what they have to offer to check out this link here.












CPU:AMD 2700X $329.99 @NewEgg
Motherboard:ASUS X470 Hero WiFi $276.92 @NewEgg
Memory:TEAMGROUP Xtreem 16GB @ 3600MHz $212.99 @NewEgg
Video Card:ZOTAC GTX 1070 AMP Extreme Wish I could give you accurate pricing / Just buy the AMP Extreme Ti variant for less $489.99 @NewEgg
Storage:Plextor M9Pe(G) 512GB x2 NVMe SSD (RAID 0) $214.99(Each) @NewEgg
Case:Xigmatek ASTRO Xigmatek Suggests Pricing to be around $50-$60
Cooler:Xigmatek Glace 240 AIO  Xigmatek Suggests Pricing to be around $60-$70
Fans:Galaxy Elite 3 RGB fan pack x2 (3 fans in each pack) Model on site CY120 (3 Fan Pack) Xigmatek Suggests Pricing to be around $25
PSU:Seasonic Focus Gold 850W $119.99 @NewEgg
Total: $2015.00> May be a little less depending on sales or pricing / Also keep in mind I did NOT include all accessories, peripherals or tools but we will get into that later

Items, as you know, can be found on sale or parts can be swapped out for different needs. I wasn't focusing on a budget here since the 2700X is a high-end part. The other important thing to keep in mind when considering performance is the ability to overclock your CPU. While today, 5GHz isn’t unheard of, you will want to consider the amount of heat the CPU will add to your overall system temperatures. This is where your cooling choices will matter and the amount of airflow your case fans can provide.

I did not include any of the accessories or extras in the above pricing because those are all subject to budget and some are just for aesthetics. You can easily use any peripherals you'de like and "gaming" specific products are not a requirement for any build. Most gaming products can be gimmicky but you won't find me using a basic mouse or monitor because those "gaming" products do offer advantages to gamers and eSports professionals. 


Overclocking your CPU is a great way to get more for free out of your system. The 2700X can boost easily out of the box with XFR2 and Precision Boost2 on a single thread but it's known for reaching higher than 4.0GHz with proper cooling. 










*The 2700X offers:*



8 cores/ 16 threads
16 free PCIe lanes + 4 for NVMe allocation
512 KB/core of L2 cache
16MB L3 Cache
105W TDP
XFR2 & Precision Boost2

The 2700X is specifically designed for the highest possible multiprocessing performance on a mainstream desktop. It features the new Wraith Prism cooler, support for the new X470 chipset, StoreMI, and SenseMI technology. AMD SenseMI is designed to increase performance while using machine intelligence. It uses Neural Net Prediction, Pure Power, and Smart Prefetch to dynamically adjust XFR2 and Precision Boost 2.0.

Neural Net Prediction offers true artificial intelligence inside every Ryzen CPU. It uses a neural network to understand your applications and anticipate how to boost your CPUs performance levels. The Pure Power technology has sensors that monitor your CPUs temperature and power draw which bring a cool and quiet operation to your Ryzen CPU. The Smart Prefetch uses algorithms to understand and anticipate how to prefetch your applications. By prefetching your applications this creates a responsive computing environment. 

If you're interested in saving money you could consider the R7 2700, R5 2600X, or even R5 2600. I would highly recommend though considering the price that you try and get the 2700X. As you will see later, this CPU overclocks extremely well with minimal effort. 

If you're into manually tuning your CPU overclock then the 2700 or 2600 may be your best option. Don't be confused with XFR and PB, XFR2 & XFR are technologies used on X series CPUs and the PB & PB2 is available as a boost frequency on non-X binned parts too. This means the 2700 has a boost frequency of 4.1 instead of 4.3 for the 2700X.

You're also going to find most of your integrated functions are built into your CPU now. A good example of this is your IMC (Integrated Memory Controller). Ryzen uses the Infinity Fabric to connect each CCX and is tied directly to your memory speed. This is why when running faster memory on Ryzen shows huge improvements.










When considering a Ryzen 2000 build from scratch you will want to go X470. If you already own an X370 then you can just upgrade your CPU. If you really want the improved power delivery and slightly better memory clocks then you may want to consider upgrading from X370 to X470. The differences are very minor though so consider yourself warned. 

I recently fell in love with ASUS products as I became more of a professional system builder, overclocker, and reviewer. I could never afford these boards and thought to myself why would someone even spend that much when a regular B350 board could cut it? I'm here to seriously tell you that these boards are well worth your investment. Had I understood better about what features were on a motherboard way back as my 15-year-old self; I would have invested a lot more into my computers.

Let's cut right to the chase, this board is overkill for a 2700X but that isn't a horrible thing. I found over time comparing boards from other vendors, ASUS offers the best BIOS Updates and features but you will pay more. I did find a few flaws with the board where it will for no reason lose connection to the onboard WiFi adapter and usually, a few reboots or even bios reset will fix this problem. It always goes away but is annoying that it even happens. I found this thread and I also find it suspicious on the Newegg  that someone else complained of the same exact problem. 

*The X470 Hero offers:*



Powered by AMD® Ryzen™ 2 AM4 and 7th generation Athlon™ processors to maximize connectivity and speed with dual NVMe M.2, front panel USB 3.1 Gen2 and gigabit LAN
5-Way Optimization featuring Auto-Tuning and FanXpert 4 provides automatic overclocking profiles for maximum OC performance with an external clock generator
Aura Sync RGB lighting with two addressable headers features a nearly endless spectrum of colors with the ability to synchronize effects across an ever-expanding ecosystem of Aura Sync enabled products
Pre-mounted I/O shield ensures streamlined installation and represents ROG’s attention to detail and quality
Industry-leading 8-channel HD audio with the ROG exclusive SupremeFX S1220 driven by Japanese capacitors

Another big feature of motherboards now is this adaptive RGB sync technology. Its called other things depending on your manufacturer but ASUS calls it "Aura Sync". You will notice this just correlates to software that can communicate with your RGB header on the motherboard. Most RGB fans and devices that use RGB headers should work fine but some are certified to work too. That's why you will see "ASUS Aura" compatible when looking for RGB compatible devices. Here is what ASUS states, "ASUS Aura offers full RGB lighting control with a variety of functional presets for built-in RGB LEDs and for lighting strips connected to the onboard RGB headers".

The Hero also supports "Pro Clock Technology". By default, Ryzen uses the same reference bus frequencies from the same reference clock generator. This can limit the flexibility and control needed for extreme overclocking. ASUS uses their own clock generator that can dynamically supply reference clocks to each of the CPU cores. This can essentially allow extra overclocking potential and maybe get a few more MHz out of your overclock.

*X470 Hero specifications:*



*CPU*>AMD AM4 Socket AMD Ryzen™ 2nd Generation/Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/Ryzen™ 1st Generation/7th Generation A-series/Athlon X4 Processors 
*Chipset*>AMD X470
*Memory*>AMD Ryzen™ 2nd Generation Processors 4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3466(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666/2400/2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory | AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/ Ryzen™ 1st Generation Processors / 4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666/2400/2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory | AMD 7th Generation A-Series/Athlon X4 Processors / 4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 2400/2133 MHz Un-buffered Memory / Dual Channel Memory Architecture
*Multi-GPU Support*>AMD Ryzen™ 2nd Generation/Ryzen™ 1st Generation Processors Supports NVIDIA® 2-Way SLI™ Technology *1Supports AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology | AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/AMD 7th Generation A-Series/Athlon X4 Processors
Supports AMD CrossFireX™ Technology
*Expansion Slots*>AMD Ryzen™ 2nd Generation/ Ryzen™ 1st Generation Processors 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) *2 | AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics /7th Generation A-Series/Athlon X4 Processors 1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x8 mode) | AMD X470 chipset1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (max at x4 mode) 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1
*Storage Support*>AMD Ryzen™ 2nd Generation/ Ryzen™ 1st Generation Processors : 1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode) 1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode) | AMD 7th Generation A-Series/Athlon X4 Processors : *3 1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (SATA mode) | AMD X470 chipset : 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), Support Raid 0, 1, 10
*LAN*>Intel® I211-AT, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s) | Anti-surge LANGuard | ROG GameFirst IV
*Audio*>ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC S1220: Gold-plated jacks | Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel | Sonic Radar III | Sonic Studio III
*USB*>AMD Ryzen™ 2nd Generation/ Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/ Ryzen™ 1st Generation/7th Generation A-Series/Athlon X4 Processors : 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue) | AMD X470 chipset : 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 front panel connector port(s) | AMD X470 chipset : 6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue) | AMD X470 chipset : 5 x USB 2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, , 3 at mid-board) | ASMedia® USB 3.1 Gen 2 controller : 2 x USB 3.1 port(s) (2 at back panel, black+red, Type-A + USB Type-CTM)
*ROG Features*> Clear CMOS button | ROG RAMCache II | ROG CPU-Z | MemOK! Button | Slow Mode | Overwolf | ReTry Button | Safe Boot Button | Start Button | Reset Button | LN2 Mode | GameFirst IV | Extreme Engine Digi+
*Special Features*> Auroa RGB lighting control and adressable headers
*Back I/O*> 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) | 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) | 2 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to USB BIOS Flashback) | 1 x Optical S/PDIF out | 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) | 1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button(s) | 5 x Gold-plated audio jacks | 8 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (blue) | 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 (red)Type-A | 1 x USB 3.1 (black)USB Type-CTM
*Internal I/O Ports*>2 x Aura Addressable Strip Header(s) | 2 x RGB Header(s) | 1 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 2.0 port(s) | 1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode) | 1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode) | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) | 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) | 1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) | 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) | 1 x AIO_PUMP connector | 1 x H_AMP fan connector | 1 x W_PUMP+ connector | 1 x 8-pin | EATX 12 V Power connector | 1 x 4-pin EATX 12 V_1 Power connector(s) | 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) | 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) | 1 x 5-pin EXT_FAN(Extension Fan) connector | 1 x Slow Mode switch(es) | 1 x Thermal sensor connector(s) | 1 x Reset button(s) | 1 x LN2 Mode switch(es) | 1 x ROG extension (ROG_EXT) header(s) | 1 x Safe Boot button | 1 x ReTry button | 1 x Slow Mode jumper(s) | 1 x System panel connector | 1 x W_IN header | 1 x W_OUT header | 1 x W_FLOW header | 1 x Start button |1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 front panel connector | 1 x Speaker connector | 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 port(s) | 1 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 2.0 port(s)










I'm using the TEAMGROUP TFORCE Xtreem 16GB (8x2) (Latency 18-20-20-39 1T) @ 3600MHz kit for this system build. The X470 chipset and 2700X do offer a bit better memory firmware support for better speed and stability. 

Spoiler alert, I was able to get this kit to run easily at 3466MHz. This is outstanding because I remember my first Ryzen system could barely do 2933Mhz. It's important to take into consideration that Ryzen does scale well with better memory due to the infinity fabric. This has been tested time and time again so we won't get into details but 3466Mhz was achievable on my system even when overclocking to higher clock speeds. 

I will say the XFR2 and Precision Boost 2 do a well enough job that manual overclocking isn't as important this time around. The memory scales perfectly with these conditions. I could probably squeeze out 3600Mhz with fine-tuning specific settings/voltages but 3466Mhz worked with just entering in the correct timings for my RAM at 3600MHz. My DOCP settings at 3600MHz would not work out of the box and caused stability issues. I didn't want to mess with DRAM voltage or SoC at this point. 

The reason these Xtreem series kits are good overclocking chips is that TEAMGROUP insists on using high-quality SAMSUNG ICs and offers a 10 layer PCB (Printed Circuit Board) which offers 25% more efficiency. With more layers to the PCB, you get less interference and potentially better overclocking results. Using the SAMSUNG B-Dies offers Ryzen better scalability too. This is most likely why I could achieve higher than 3200Mhz stability on my system. The heat spreader is supposed to offer a maximum radiating area for better heat dissipation.

*The specifications are as follows:*



The finest crafted heat spreader with unique trench design
High-efficiency aluminum heat spreader
10 layers of circuit board
Selected high-quality SAMSUNG original IC chips
1.2V~1.4V ultra low working voltage
Support Intel XMP 2.0 smart overclocking technology
QVL approved by motherboard manufactures in the market
Latency of 18-20-20-39 1T










My absolute favorite GPU company is ZOTAC. As a company, they believed in me when I first started reviewing products and gave me a chance when others wouldn't. Beyond that, they offer excellent customer service and their product design and cooling is phenomenal. They really listen to customer feedback and the GTX 1070 above is a good example.

First thing is I wouldn't suggest the regular GTX 1070 for purchase but rather get the Ti variant. If you can find the 1070 for a cheaper price, you should get it, but good luck with that.

ZOTAC sent over the GTX 1070 AMP Extreme. If you are not familiar with the performance, we will cover that later. The big thing about this card is the inclusion of the ICESTORM cooling and carbon EXOARMOR. 

ICESTORM enhances thermal regulation with 6 individual heat pipes and uses triple 90mm EKO fans. Each EKO fan is designed to offer up to 30% better airflow and heat dissipation. The fan blades are curved in a way that enhances cooling while maintaining quiet operation. 

EXOARMOR is supposed to provide durability by locking in the cooling system which wraps around to the backplate. 

ZOTAC also offers SPECTRA which is an advanced RGB lighting solution to suit your style. To control the functions of the card, you will want to download their utility called FIRESTORM here.

*FIRESTORM utility offers:*



Overclocking
GPU tweaking
Fan control
Monitoring
RGB Lighting control> Offers different lighting modes

*ZOTAC GTX 1070 AMP Extreme specifications are as follows:*

GPU GeForce> GTX 1070
CUDA cores> 1920
Video Memory> 8GB GDDR5
Memory Bus> 256-bit
Engine Clock Base> 1632 MHz | Boost:1835 MHz
Memory Clock> 8208 MHz
PCI Express> 3.0
Display Outputs> 3 x DisplayPort 1.4 | HDMI 2.0b | DL-DVI
HDCP Support> Yes
Multi Display Capability> Quad Display
Recommended Power Supply> 500W
Power Consumption> 250W
Power Input> Dual 8-pin
DirectX> 12 API feature level 12_1
OpenGL> 4.5
Cooling> Triple Fan IceStorm
Slot Size> 2.5 slots
SLI> Yes, SLI HB Bridge Supported
Supported OS> Windows 10 / 8 / 7
Card Length> 325mm x 148mm










Storage should be one of those things you don't overlook or undervalue. Consider at least getting an SSD in your system, the performance is night/day when compared to a traditional spinning disk. If you haven't check out Plextor drives before you should see what they have to offer here. 

I decided to take the performance up a notch and put 2x Plextor 512GB M9Pe NVMe drives in RAID 0. This is going to offer an insane level of performance that goes beyond gaming. If you're doing basic gaming then a regular NVMe drive and even SSD should be fine but I am managing a heavier workload. 

RAID 0 is going to be more beneficial to someone who does heavy video editing, photo editing, and is even looking for reduced latency in the Windows environment. Not to mention, boot times are much lower. We won't get into too much detail here but NVMe is significantly faster because it uses PCIe bandwidth instead of the AHCI SATA protocol. 

The M9Pe drives are equipped with 64-layer TOSHIBA NAND and Marvell 88ss1093 controller. This series of drives offer an HHHL card, heatsink, or no heatsink design. 

*The M9Pe specifications are as follows:*



Performance> Read: Up to 3,000 MB/s | Write: Up to 1,000 MB/s
Warranty> 5 years
MTBF> Up to 1,500,000 Hours
Form Factor> M.2 2280
Capacities> 256GB / 512GB / 1TB SSD










Annnnnnd..... The humble PC case. The item we all look at every day when it comes to viewing our PCs. When it comes to PC cases I would suggest choosing a budget and then spend slightly above that. You have an opportunity to display your hardware like a work of art depending on your selection. 

The Xigmatek Astro was chosen for a few reasons. The first was because it offers three sides of tempered glass, secondly, because it has clearance for all my components, and thirdly because it is compatible with the Glace AIO cooler they wanted me to use for this build.

The Astro offers radiator compatibility on the front up to 360mm and 120mm rear. This didn't stop me from mounting the Glace 240 on the top though. I found this location less cumbersome and more ideal for airflow. One thing to point out, unlike other cases, I do appreciate the open design of the front tempered glass allowing more airflow to enter.

*Best features of the Xigmatek Astro:*



Three sides of tempered glass
Great airflow and ventilation | Up to 8 120mm fan mounts
PSU shroud can be used to hid cable management but also has a window for displaying your PSU logo
Radiator compatibility: 360mm Front | 120mm rear
Detachable dust magnetic dust filters

*Full Specifications are as follows:*


Product name> ASTRO
Material>SECC
Dimensions>420mm(L) x 200mm (W) x 480mm (H)
Drive bays> 2.5" SSD: 2 | 3.5" HDD: 3
Expansion slots> 7 slots
Motherboard support> ATX | Micro-ATX | Mini-ITX
Power supply> ATX or EPS
Fan support> Front: 3x 120mm | Rear: 1x 120mm | Bottom:2x 120mm
Radiator support> Front: 360mm | Rear: 120mm
I/O> 1x USB 3.0 | 2x USB 2.0 | HDA jacks
Clearence for CPU> 158mm
Clearence for GPU> 158mm | 360mm (L)

I did enjoy building in this case but the one thing I can really ding Xigmatek for is using "NON" toolless PCI slot covers. You pop them out and that's it, there is no putting them back. They do offer one toolless cover on the top slot but what is the point of that? It doesn't even line up with the GPU, which is what most people usually swap out. If they had to do it this way, why not just make the two GPU slot covers toolless? 

I ended up swapping out all the case fans with the Galaxy Elite 3 ones. These fans come with a larger control box for controller RGB lighting and fan speeds. 










When it comes to a cooling choice for any build you have to consider what will work for you and what type of performance you want. Typically, if you're inexperienced, then I would stick with something easy like an AIO or even air cooling. Personally, I prefer custom exotic cooling, but Xigmatek wanted to include coverage of their upcoming Glace cooler. This improves upon the Scylla and adds in RGB lighting. A 240mm AIO should be good enough to overclock a 2700X decently. 

The biggest trend right now is RGB but Xigmatek uses it's own controller for both lighting and fan control. The fans are 6-pin and the pump is 3-pin to the proper motherboard header. Most of the time you will plug that 3-pin pump into your CPU fan header but my motherboard has a header dedicated for AIOs. The fans plug into the control box and lighting can be controlled via the included remote. 

I would prefer to have more control over my fans by plugging them into motherboard headers. Xigmatek controls fan speeds automatically and they can go up to 1200 + or - 10%. The control box is powered by a single Molex connector and is pretty easy to set up. 

The water block actually offers a copper plate for good thermal conductivity and the radiator is designed for low resistance allowing for better airflow. I actually swapped out the glace fans and controller for the ones that come with the Galaxy Elite 3 fan packs to match the case.

*The Glace 240 specifications are as follows:*



Product> EN41039 Glace 240
CPU> Intel: LGA 2066 / 2011 / 1366 / 1156 / 1155 / 1151 / 1150 / 775 | AMD: FM2 / FM1 / AM4 / AM3+ / AM3 /Am2+ / AM2
Fan dimensions> 120mm x 120mm x 25mm
Fan speed> 1200+ or - 10% RPM
Fan airflow> 55.9 CFM
Air pressure> 3.56mm H2O
Fan noise> 25 dBA
Fan connector>6-pin
Fan bearing type> Long life bearing
Radiator dimensions> 274mm x 122mm x 27mm
Radiator material> Aluminum
Flow rate> 800 L/h
Pump dimensions> 58mm x58mm x 35mm
Pump bearing type> Ceramic
pump connector>3-pin
Pump speed> 2600 RPm @ 12V DC










Power supplies provide critical power to your PC, and it's important to find one with a good rating. The included Seasonic PSU is 80 Plus Gold certified, and that means the PSU is 87% efficient at 100% load. Typically using lower rated PSUs are fine for gaming and can also save you some money. 

I generally look for Gold certified but Bronze is an option if you want to save even more money. The lower the standard, the less efficient the PSU is at 100%. You can find more about PSU ratings here.

This Seasonic Focus Gold PSU will be way more than enough to power this PC at 850W. Gold just means it's not as efficient as a Platinum rating and should have no impact on overclocking. The only other thing that would be nice is the ability to switch between "Multi" or "Single" rail distribution, this PSU offers single rail, which I believe is better for overclocking. This PSU offers the important over protections for the single 12V rail.

This is a no-fuss PSU with no RGB but it does offer hybrid fan control with an easy to access button on the back. Most important, no ketchup & mustard cables!

*The Seasonic 850W Focus Gold specifications are as follows:*



80PLUS> Gold
Efficency level> TBA
Form factor> ATX 12V
Dimensions> 140mm (W) x 150mm (L) x 86mm (H)
Fan info> Size: 120mm | Control: Hybrid fan control | Bearing: Fluid dynamic | Life expectancy: 50,000 hours
Cable info> Modular: Yes | Type: Flat black
Protections> OPP / OVP / UVP / OCP / OTP / SCP
Warranty> 10 Years

*Build Log*










Every build has to start somewhere! I started with planning out my wire management because I knew I would be replacing the stock fans on the case with the Galaxy elite 3 fans. I ended up taking out all the stock fans and finding the optimal placement of the large fan hub that's included with the fan pack. Each pack comes with 3 fans and I used two. I was also able to cut down on wire management by using this same fan hub for the AIO cooler. The RGB for both is controlled via the included remote with the fans. The Galaxy Elite fans are $25 and if you're interested look here.










The next step is to get m.2 drives installed, motherboard mounted, and then AIO installed. I ended up putting the AIO on the top as exhaust even though it says it wasn't supported. I found this to have the best balance of airflow for my setup. 

Side note, you will probably get better thermal performance if you do mount a radiator to the front as an intake but for my setup, it worked out better on the top because of how massive my GPU is. I found out later this was causing issues because the GPU was blocking some of the intake air to the rest of the system.

I also needed to connect my Sleeved extensions from ModMyMods and the iBuy Power RGB cable combs. The RGB cable combs are a bit tricky because they require tiny connectors from one comb to another and several daisy chains. The other thing that is problematic is how long the RGB connector leads are that go to the motherboard RGB header. They go on but are extremely loose, I was fortunate enough they didn't come loose during the build process. I'm sure with more time I could come up with a better solution and possibly shaving them down but I needed to get this build complete. We will go over the RAID 0 setup of the Plextor m.2 drives in the UEFI and overclocking section. 










The last step is to install the GPU and make sure all wiring is secure, neat, and tidy. At this point, we have had a successful boot, so I am ready to configure the UEFI BIOS and setup Windows. We carefully got our tempered glass side panels on securely and cleaned each surface for any fingerprints or smudges for some final touches. I will say this to anyone working with ASUS boards, ASUS takes a long time to boot on first boot. Don't freak out because this is normal.

*UEFI / Overclocking / Setup / Benchmarks*










To start our overclocking adventure, I want to make a few things clear that I found out. For starters, AIDA64 Extreme is not working properly at least for me on Windows 1803, but from what I can tell they are still figuring out what the issue is. I like to use ASUS Realbench because it puts more of a realistic load for stress testing but I had horrible issues with trying to run it. I could be stable sometimes but another test might crash/hang a few seconds into the testing phase, I truly believe that my overclock was stable because I ran several instances of Prime 95 small FTT's without any issues over 24 hours. 

My gut tells me that Realbench is not optimized well for how the 2700X is handling its XFR2 and Precision Boost 2 voltages and algorithm. I have had zero stability issues and no "BlueScreens" during gaming or normal use. 

XFR2 & PB2 is your best overclocking option because it works so well automatically. I would suggest leaving these alone and let them do their magic and if you have sufficient cooling should see exceptional results. 

You can then focus on higher memory frequencies and better timings, which in return should yield better performance for your Ryzen system. I will go over what options you can adjust if you prefer manually overclocking too but XFR2 and PB2 work damn near perfect with very little tuning. Also, keep in mind that there is a big difference between XFR2 and PB2 applying a higher speed on a few cores than when they apply a frequency across all cores. 

Side note: I believe these technologies were causing issues with RealBench because of how "AUTO" LLC and "AUTO" voltage were handling loads. I was able to test manual settings using stock frequencies and that even caused instability issues when you raised the RAM speed above 2400MHz. I then verified by manual tuning the LLC (Level 5), SoC Voltage, VCORE, multiplier, and RAM speed that we could handle the test. This would force the voltage to be static though and not beneficial to me. XFR2 and PB2 just dynamically change it so fast that I think it was causing some stability issues with RealBench.


To configure any setting in your UEFI hit the "Del" key to enter the environment. Also, ASUS boards take significantly longer to boot, so be patient as it may take a few minutes to register your settings. 










Before you overclock your system, I can take no responsibility for any damaged hardware that may result from overclocking. There are risks involved with pushing your system further than its intended and also causes more system heat as a result. You will need adequate cooling for overclocking, and decent hardware to achieve anything good.










Also, keep in mind that overclocking your system will vary across different types of hardware, and even using the same hardware I used may not provide the same results. 

Before you start overclocking the first step is DON'T! You need to make sure that your system is running well before you do any overclocking. Once you're in Windows make sure you either run a few quick stress tests or play a few games to make sure your system is running well. This can really help eliminate or reduce any problems that might occur after overclocking your hardware.

First get all your appropriate drivers installed and make sure your system is running the way it's intended to.










To set up RAID 0 using our Plextor NVMe drives we need to make sure we have the proper settings on and off and run the "RAIDXpert2 Configuration utility". You can find this setting under the "Advanced" tab of your BIOS. 

Under "SATA Configuration" you need to make sure "NVMe RAID mode" is enabled and that under the "Boot" section "CSM (Compatability Support Module)" is set to disabled.










Once you have those settings in place you can configure your RAID ARRAY. It's pretty simple, you really just add each disk to the ARRAY and initialize those drives. 

The part to remember is making sure you have the RAID drivers loaded onto a USB stick for installing Windows. You can get these from either AMD's site or ASUS's. They may be labeled RAID drivers or SATA drivers. 










Before I overclock, I also like to adjust my fan curves and profiles. The Hero has great fan control from the UEFI BIOS under "Monitor". You can manually adjust your fan curves or just use the automatic tuning. This will automatically adjust your fan curve based on the PWM fans and CPU cooler your using. This is great for 4 pin PWM fans, for your CPU air cooler, or AIO pump. 

In my case, this wasn't relevant because the Xigmatek fans were controlled automatically from the included HUB. The pump uses a 3-pin DC header and this cable went to my AIO header on my motherboard.

Once you determine everything works at stock and is safe you can head over the "Extreme Tweaker" page.










WOW, where to start! There are a few ways of thinking this through. You can do the easy way or the manual way. What I would like to point out is manually overclocking the 2700X isn't going to yield you that much more performance than what XFR2 and PB2 are going to get you and In fact, XFR2 & PB2 may be better. These technologies are more like GPU Boost for modern Graphics cards. 

You have to take into consideration when manually tuning the 2700X most people will be applying the given multiplier across all cores. In these circumstances, you will want to enable and disable certain settings. In each section, we cover we will go over possible manual options or what I refer to as the "Automatic" (XFR2 & PB2) method. The third option is to let the ASUS utilities do it for you but I am old school and prefer UEFI tweaking. If you are interested in the software doing it for you, check AI Suite out here. 

The first thing we will do is make sure everything is set correctly for XFR2 and PB2. I like to put the tuner in "Manual" mode because it offers more control over what we can choose for memory frequencies. You can choose "DOCP" but it didn't seem to work for my memory kit because I had to lower the memory frequency. 

We won't get into eCLK Mode here but you can manually tune this if you're looking to really push further on your overclocking. I would suggest leaving this on "Synchronous mode". 

Set BCLK to 100.00 but this is where you can also up the BCLK to affect your overclocks too. Be warned, this can affect your memory frequency and NB frequency. Some people swear by this style of overclocking but I am not getting into that today. 

You can leave the other items on Auto but may want to pay attention to "performance Enhancer". This will allow you to sustain your higher frequencies longer if needed. This is useful for extra performance but you may want to consider setting this to "Default". You can also adjust the "Performance Bias" but I usually leave those at "Auto". 

The "Memory Frequency" setting is where you will choose what frequency you want your RAM to be. I chose 3466MHz because I know this is stable from testing before writing this but this setting may not be the same for you. You could get lower or even high depending on how good your IMC is. Ryzen + has improved this so you should hopefully see something over 3200MHz. 

The only manual difference here is if you're manually overclocking then you will want to set "CPU Core Ratio" to your desired multiplier. This will manually set your CPU speed x BCLK resulting in your frequency. 

If you're also looking for a quick and dirty way to manually clock the chip, try going to "Extreme Tweaker\Overclocking Presets" and try loading one of their preset profiles. For example, you can just choose the "4GHz OC Profile" and be on your merry way. This does NOT guarantee stability, it's just a preset profile that may work given the specific tweaked settings. 

Side Note: Different from Intel you can adjust the "Clock Ratio" in increments of 0.25 instead of 1.0x.










I want to make sure you don't confuse "Core Performance Boost (CPB)" with another intel setting called "Multi-core Enhancement". The technologies are different and CPB is the setting for enabling XFR2 & PB2. The "SMT" setting is for enabling all your cores on your CPU and you can leave TPU to "keep Current Settings". If you decided to manually overclock you will want to disable CPB so it doesn't interfere with your manual frequency. 

The "CPU Core Voltage" is going to be key to making sure everything is stable. If you're using XFR2 and PB2 then I would leave it to "Auto" as well as LLC because it should work great under these conditions. Don't worry about it showing 1.429V as this is normal with the current BIOS. 

Once in Windows, it will not be anywhere near this level. If you're manually overclocking then you're going to need to play around with finding what voltage works for you. Manual small adjustments are best in increments. I know for instance most will suggest a 1.35V range for trying to get your 2700X stable. This may be a good starting point for you but you may require a lot less or maybe even more to get your CPU stable. 

For a possible performance boost for your IMC, you could try adding to the SoC voltage but this should be a last resort and done with caution. This may help with added stability if you're trying to get to that targeted memory frequency.

Helpful Hint: I suggest you keep your Vcore between 1.25V-1.35Vwhen overclocking around 4.2GHz. This is just a baseline reference and not guaranteed to work! You can try also setting SoC to 1.2V-1.25V for standard air or liquid cooling. 










For "DRAM Timing Control", this is the area where you can manually select your latency and timings. If you're using DOCP, the values will be automatically set depending on your kit. This is similar to what Intel calls XMP. 

If you don't use the DOCP values then you have to enter the values manually for optimal performance. For me, I had to set mine to 18-20-20-39 1T @ 1.35V for DRAM voltage. 1T timing performs better due to how the Infinity Fabric works but you may try changing this to 2T if you find stability issues when testing.










Under the "Digi+ Power Control" section is where a lot of your current settings and LLC tweaking happens. This entire section could have its own article, so for the interest of time, we will focus on what is important. 

For starters, if you're doing the "Automatic" way of overclocking with XFR2 and PB2, then just leave these at "AUTO" unless you find instability and need a little more voltage. If you need more voltage, you can try setting LLC to a higher level but be warned, this will add a lot more voltage than needed depending on your level. 

If you offset the lower voltage, you also affect the higher voltage load. Level 1 is the lowest up to Level 5 being the highest. Level 5 will hold your voltage at your given manual voltage or if left to "Auto", will raise the dropped voltage higher. The entire point of LLC is to counter effect the drop in voltage when you put a load on your CPU. I found "Auto" worked well for me when using AMD's boosting technology. 

If you're manually overclocking, This is where you may want to think about an "Offset Voltage". A static set voltage (manually set voltage) will be at that given voltage 24/7. You may get drops in core speed depending on your power plan with "C-States" enabled but an "Offset Voltage" can help reduce or increase your voltage when needed. 

Helpful Hint: If you decide to try manually configuring an "Offset Voltage" try starting at 0.02500mV. You will have to play around with this to get your desired Vcore but this may be a good starting point. Also if you are manually overclocking you may want to change the settings below.



CPU Load-line Calibration - [Auto] 1(Lowest)-5(Highest) You will have to see what works best for your overclock
CPU Current Capability - [Auto] for XFR2 & PB2 / Manual overclocking may benefit from a higher number, you can set to 140% to eliminate power as your limiting factor 
VRM Spread Spectrum - Disable if manually overclocking
CPU Power Phase Control - You can choose from [Auto] - Extreme / Extreme may be needed to hold much higher overclocking. I would recommend "Standard" or "Optimized" for basic overclocking
DRAM Current Capability- If you need more current for your DRAM to get to that frequency that just can't get stable, you can try going beyond 100% here. I wouldn't recommend tweaking this unless you really need to. 










If you're looking to disable "Global C-state Control" the setting is found under "Advanced\AMD CBS\Zen Common Options". I would recommend leaving this to auto so you get dynamically adjust frequencies to lower when not under heavy use. It may be beneficial to change if manually overclocking and you don't care about saving power. 

Also, this is where you can do manual Custom Pstate tweaking. We are not going to get into this here because we already covered this for first gen Ryzen but if your interested look here. XFR2 and PB2 do a great job and switching your Pstates.










With the Xigmatek AIO, I ended up seeing a maximum single-core boost of 4121.1MHz (4.1GHz) @ 1.33V and a 4GHz @1.28V (LLC Drop) boost across all cores. You will see the 4GHz boost when you run something like Cinebench or Prime95 that uses all your CPU cores. 

The memory is running and stable at 3466Mhz (Latency 18-20-20-39 1T) @ 1.35V. I tried for 3600Mhz but I couldn't even boot at that frequency. These values were 24/7 Prime95 stable using small FTT's.










Disclaimer: Results may vary based on computer configuration, environment, and testing methods.

Traditional SATA has been limited to MB/s and NVMe allows you to reach in the range of GB/s! NVMe takes advantage of your PCIe lanes instead of the SATA interface which can be a bottleneck compared to PCIe and the advantages NVMe brings to the table. 

Modern motherboards and Intel CPUs take advantage of having the PCIe lanes tied directly to the CPU. The typical style of NVME drives you will see are in the m.2 variant or a PCIe card similar to a GPU. NVMe doesn't require a full x16 slot or the bandwidth from it and is closer to the bandwidth of an x4 slot. Please keep in mind on some older motherboards to make sure you check your manual because certain slots can disable other ones due to bandwidth limitations.

RAID 0 with NVMe, what else can I say! Its extremely fast and definitely offers the lowest latency you will see to date.

















Before we get into gaming benchmarks, let's look at a few games that sponsored this guide.

Hunt: Showdown is a competitive first-person PvP bounty hunting game with heavy PvE elements. 

I was extremely excited about this game since its announcement. If you love FPS games and PVE, its a must $buy$. 

Since its early access phase, the game has really developed into a much smoother experience and I can definitely recommend it. The game is developed by Crytek and uses CryEngine V. If you love horror style games, then you will also find this game aesthetically pleasing with its dynamic lighting and harsh swampy environments. Being a CryEngine game, it has lots of options available to PC gamers for tweaking performance.

The other sponsored title is Fade to Silence. This is a Survival-RPG set in a cold post-apocalyptic winter. This game has some of the best snow I've seen in a game. The game is developed by Black Forest Games, which is a subsidiary of THQ Nordic. It uses Unreal Engine 4 and should be available in 2018. 

From early testing, I can tell you that I've found minimal bugs and if you love survival games this is definitely worth your time. It offers 8 different styles of monsters and an easy to learn combat system. It feels a lot like dark souls but much faster. If you're interested in checking out the early access of this game look $here$. It's in alpha early stages so please keep that in mind when checking it out.










Gaming on the 2700X kind of feels like cheating. I put little effort into achieving those boost speeds and the chip maintains excellent performance anytime it's boosted. I tested 1080P for several reasons. I wanted to make sure more stress was on the CPU than GPU and really see what the 2700X is capable of. 

All the above titles maintained respectable FPS (Frames Per Second) and should have little issues even handling 2K (1440P) or 4K (2160P) resolutions. If you plan to upgrade monitors I would suggest going to a 1080 and even 1080Ti for 4K.










3D Mark sets the bar for performance testing. The higher the score the better and the TimeSpy benchmark is DX12 capable. This benchmark can really push systems to their limits evaluating how well it compares to others.










The 2700X runs at about 60°C if properly cooled! My comfort level is below 80°C and at 4.1 Boost with 1.33V is well below that. There is more than likely lots of headroom to push further if manually overclocked. 

The 240mm Glace does a decent job keeping the CPU cool considering its an AIO. The CPU was stress tested using the listed games in the previous FPS benchmarks and max load (100%) was stressed using Prime95. The max load consists of 100% utilization of the CPU with AVX instructions to help maximize the temperature for benchmarking purposes. Normal gaming loads seem to be consistent with previous generation Ryzen.

*Extra Accessories*

When it comes to PC gaming, peripherals are often overlooked for several reasons. Some things I can't suggest enough is a good mechanical keyboard, headphones, and mouse. There are way too many individual products in these categories to go through but I will go over a few new products that are noteworthy.










I want to give a special thanks to iFixit. They sent over their Pro Tech toolkit $59.99 / Manta Driver Kit $59.99 / Mahi Driver Kit $29.99

These tools came in very handy while assembling the PC and will be used quite often in the future on all of our projects. After using iFixit, I can't imagine using any other tools on any of my projects. The thing that I like most of all is how organized the kits are and how easy it is to swap the different bits. 










*Meet the Logitech PRO line of products:*










*PRO Mechanical keyboard*

This is the first Logitech keyboard to carry the PRO name. It's designed for eSports professionals/Gamers with Romer-G switches. You can expect a 25% faster actuation speed and offers a compact (Tenkeyless) durable design. I think Logitech RGB also has some of the best lightings on any peripherals. If you're interested in buying the PRO RGB keyboard it's $129.99 here.

*PART NUMBER*



Black: 920-008290

*WARRANTY INFORMATION*



2-Year Limited Hardware Warranty

*SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS*



Windows® 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7
USB port
Internet access for Logitech Gaming Software

*PACKAGE CONTENTS*



Pro gaming keyboard
Keyboard data cable
User documentation

*PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS*



Height: 6.02 in. (153 mm)
Width: 14.19 in (360 mm)
Depth: 1.35 in (34.3 mm) 
Weight: (w/o cable): 2.2 lbs (980g) 
Cable: 6 ft (1.8 m)

*ROMER-G KEY SWITCHES:*



Durability: 70 million keypresses
Actuation distance: 0.06 in (1.5 mm)
Actuation force: 1.6 oz (45 g)
Total travel distance: .13 in (3.2 mm)

*KEYBOARD SPECIFICATIONS:*



Connection Type: USB 2.0
USB Protocol: USB 2.0
Indicator LIghts (LED): Yes
LCD Display: No
USB Ports (Built-in): No
Backlighting: RGB
Special Keys: Programmable FN keys










*PRO Gaming Mouse*

I know it sounds like a marketing pitch from hell: "Play like the PROs" but this really isn't a gimmick. The difference to winning a match or losing comes down to time. The PRO mouse was designed to be lightweight, offer speed, and uses an optical sensor. Logitech did several test phases with eSports players to design the perfect mouse, and the PRO mouse is the result. 

*Best Features of the PRO Mouse:*



Advanced Optical Grade Sensor: PMW3366 sensor & zero smoothing / Filter Acceleration / Ranges 200-12,000 DPI
RGB: Customize 16.8 million colors with the Logitech G software
6 Programmable Buttons: Customize with Logitech G software
Onboard Memory: Great for saving game profiles
Lightweight & Durable: Engineered to last through 20 million clicks

*Specifications for PRO Mouse are as follows:*

*PART NUMBER*



Black: 910-004855


*WARRANTY INFORMATION*



2-Year Limited Hardware Warranty
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows® 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7
Powered USB port
Internet connection for optional software download
*PACKAGE CONTENTS*



Mouse
User documentation

*TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION*



Tracking Resolution: 200 – 12,000 dpi
Max. acceleration: >40G*
Max. speed: >300 ips*

*Tested on Logitech G240 Gaming Mouse Pad:*



Responsiveness
USB data format: 16 bits/axis
USB report rate: 1000 Hz (1ms)
Microprocessor: 32-bit ARM
Glide
Dynamic coefficient of friction:* 0.11 μ (k)
Static coefficient of friction:* 0.16 μ (s)


*Durability*



Buttons (Left / Right): 20 million clicks
PTFE Feet: 250 kilometers

*MOUSE SPECIFICATIONS*



Connection Type: USB
USB Protocol: USB 2.0
USB Speed: Full speed
DPI (Min/Max): 200-12,000
USB Report Rate: 1ms
Sensor: PMW3366
Indicator Lights (LED): Yes, RGB
Buttons: 6
Other Features: onboard memory
Physical specifications
Height: 4.6 in (116.6 mm)
Width: 2.5 in (62.15 mm)
Depth: 1.5 in (38.2 mm)
Weight: 5.0 oz (129.5 g) mouse with cable 
Weight: 3.0 oz (83 g) mouse only









*G840 XL Mouse Pad*

You may not think of a mousepad having any effect on your performance but you would be wrong. This surface is tuned perfectly to work with the Logitech's line of mice and optimized for speed. 

If that doesn't catch your attention then the massive size will. At 900x400mm, the G840 provides enough surface area to unify your devices. The mousepad is extremely durable and even provides a tube for transport when necessary. 

*The G840 specifications are as follows:*



Part Number: Black 943-000117
Waranty: 1-Year
Package: Mouse Pad / Documentation
Dimensions: Height 15.75 in (400mm) / Width 33.43 in (900mm) / Depth 0.10 in (3mm)










*Logitech PRO Gaming Headset*

The Logitech PRO headset is no exception when it comes to quality. Just like the other peripherals, it was designed from the ground up to be the best headset for gamers & eSports players.

*Best Features of the PRO Headset:*

*PRO-G Drivers* 

Th PRO-G drivers offer great precision. You can hear quiet footsteps to the highest quality gunshot. The technology is patent pending but does solve common distortion problems for better bass and clarity. 

*Surround Sound*

The PRO gaming headset is compatible with Windows 10 surround sound features like Dolby Atmos or Windows Sonic. This technology provides positional audio for precise awareness. 

*Noise Isolation*

You can expect incredible comfort with the included earpads. The leather pads provide excellent noise isolation but they also give you the option to use suede leatherette earpads. Both earpads will provide what Logitech calls passive noise isolation. 

*PRO-Grade Condenser Microphone:*

The included mic performs with a wider frequency response, lower signal to noise ratio, and higher sensitivity. The mic was designed for improved clarity with a full-size pop filter. Needless to say, this mic performs extremely well when communication is key for gamers & eSports professionals. 

*Durability*

The PRO headset uses TR90 nylon in the headband with stainless steel and reinforced glass nylon fibers at the joints. These materials are what makes the PRO headset extremely durable and lightweight. You can expect a comfortable experience and longer lasting games/matches. 

*The PRO Headset specifications:*

*PART NUMBER*



Black: 981-000719

*WARRANTY INFORMATION*



2-Year Limited Hardware Warranty

*SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS*



Works With PC, PS4™, Nintendo Switch™, Xbox One™, VR

*PACKAGE CONTENTS*



PRO gaming headset
Noise isolating leatherette ear pads
Microsuede ear pads
Detachable mic with full pop-filter
Console/PC cable with inline volume and mute
PC splitter for separate mic and headphone jacks
User documentation

*PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS:*



Height: 6.77 in (172 mm)
Width: 3.22 in (81.7 mm)
Depth: 7.17 in (182 mm) 
Weight: (w/o cable): 9.14 oz (259 g) 
PC Cable Length: 6.56 ft (2 m)

*TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:*


Headphone: 



Driver: Hybrid mesh PRO-G
Magnet: Neodymium
Frequency response: 20Hz-20KHz
Impedance: 32 Ohms
Sensitivity: [email protected] SPL 30mW/1cm
Noise Isolation: up to 16dB
Cable length: 2m
Surround: Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos for headphones Compatible

Materials:



Headband: TR90 nylon
Joint: Glass fiber reinforced nylon 
Slider: Stainless steel
Ear and head pads: Leatherette
Additional ear pads: Microsuede
Earcups: Soft-touch

Pro Microphone:



Microphone Pickup Pattern: Cardioid (Unidirectional)
Type: Back Electret Condenser
Size: 4mm
Frequency response: 100Hz-10KHz
Arm: Full-range flex










*ModMyMods*

ModMyMods is an excellent site to get the highest quality, enthusiast modification and liquid-cooling parts for computers. They provided the Darkside sleeved cables $Price ranges depending on cable size & length / Alphacool Eisplateau work-mat $52 / EVGA PowerLink $19.99

I did not end up using the PowerLink due to the RGB cable combs but we will be using that on another project.










*iBuy Power RGB Cable Combs*

RGB everything seems to be the trend. I wanted a chance to test out the growing popularity of RGB cable combs. The company iBuy power offers a unique solution that I found really affordable. Check out their new RGB combs here. 

The entire thing about these combs is how easy they are to set up and manage. They take advantage of your RGB headers on your motherboard instead of using some proprietary control box or software. The only thing I found difficult was the length of the headers off of the combs. They are too long to properly sit on my RGB header on my X470 Hero. They slide on and can sit there but are really loose, so pay attention to that if you order these. 

The other thing to understand is they work with 5V RGB headers, not 12V. There is a difference and if you don't use the correct header could fry your RGB connection. If you're interested in picking these up they are $29 here.










*ViewSonic Gaming*

Having a computer like this and not getting a good monitor is a lot like ordering a brand new car but it comes with crappy tires. If you're not up with all the new monitor technologies then I got you covered. You might ask, What is this FreeSync and G-SYNC dilemma I keep hearing about? Its pretty simple, if you use an AMD GPU get a FreeSync monitor and if you use Nvidia get a G-SYNC panel. 

The two technologies are what we call variable refresh rate technology. Older monitors had synchronization issues that can be referred to as screen tearing or ghosting but that's when V-sync was introduced. However, V-sync turned on causes its own set of problems. This can easily cause stuttering while the monitor has to wait to update every time a new frame is introduced. 

FreeSync & G-Sync eliminate those problems by synchronizing the refresh rate between the GPU and your monitor but each technology does it differently. We won't get into those details here but just keep in mind what GPU you're using. You can use either monitor on a different GPU but you won't be able to take advantage of the specific variable refresh rate without the correct one. 

Besides variable refresh rates, you should look for a high refresh rate panel. This will reduce monitor latency and the difference is night and day when you compare a 60Hz panel to a 120Hz or even 240hz and up. 

Like I said before in the article, I chose to stick with a 1080P panel for various reasons. The ViewSonic XG2560 is the perfect G-SYNC panel for $500. It offers G-SYNC technology with a refresh rate up to 240Hz. With a 1ms response time, this monitor delivers smooth images without ghosting or blurring. There is also a "Black Stabilization" mode for featuring heightened visibility in dark gaming scenes. I definitely think a monitor like this is worth an investment especially when you start using the newer GPU technologies. 










The other unique thing about this monitor is its integrated LightBar. it essentially changes color based on what you're viewing on the screen. It can easily be turned off if you want to but I found it to work really well and adds an overall ambiance while gaming. 

*The best features of the XG2560:*



240Hz refresh rate
NVIDIA G-Sync™ Technology
Rapid Response Time
Black Stabilization for Ultimate Visibility
Game Mode Hotkey
NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blur Technology

*Full Specifications:*



Display> Size: 25 in / Resolution: 1920 x 1080 / Light Source: WLED / Color Space: 8-bit / Viewing Angles: 170 horizontal, 160 vertical / Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 / Brightness: 400 cd/m2 / Aspect Ratio: 16:9 / Backlite Life: 30,000 hours / Panel: TN / Colors: 16.7M / Response Time: 1ms
Connector> USB 3.0: 4 / HDMI 1.4: 1 / DisplayPort: 1 / 3.5mm Audio Out: 1
Audio> Internal Speakers: 3W (x2)
Power> ECo Mode: 22W / Max Consumption: 45W / Power Supply: External
Mount> VESA: 100 x 100 mm
Video Signal> Frequency Horizontal: HDMI (v1.4): 30~90KHz, DisplayPort (v1.2): 15~255KHz / Frequency Vertical: HDMI (v1.4): 24~60KHz, DisplayPort (v1.2): 24~240Hz
Ergonomics> Height Adjust: 100 / Tilt: 5° / 15° / Swivel: 45º / Pivot: 90º / 0º










*Lenovo Mixed Reality Headset*

Last but not least a VR headset recommendation. I wanted to try windows Mixed Reality and see how it compares to the other solutions on the market.

One of the things that attracted me to windows mixed reality is its free from external sensors. I chose to review Lenovo's Mixed Reality headset and it's truly impressive. The headset takes less than 10 minutes to setup and support is built directly into Windows Falls Creators Update and above. Steam even has a beta channel for allowing their VR games to work with windows Mixed Reality headsets. If you're curious if your PC meets the minimum requirements check out here.

The Lenono WMR headset is a great way to enjoy games like Doom VFR but there are also some games that are not optimized for it on Steam. Most games I found work really well and are constantly updated to support WMR headsets. The thing that often causes the issue is not the headset but the controllers and their control schemes. 

If you're interested in getting into VR then this headset is a perfect choice. If you check their site link above it shows a price tag of $449 but you can often find this headset on sale for much less. Walmart has it on sale for $200 here.










*Conclusion*

This has by far been one of the longest articles I have ever written. There is a ton of testing that goes into each product and the overclocking portion is the most difficult to document. Building a PC like this has its ups and downs. You have to consider each part carefully and plan out budgets, part selection, and time. You may ask yourself, why not just buy a pre-built system? That may be a good option for you considering how hard it was to get a GPU not too long ago. 

There is also the amount of time it takes to assemble a system like this to your expectations and keep track of your warranties. I believe that a custom built system is more rewarding in the end and you can tailor every part to your needs. When it comes to gaming it’s important to put your money into your GPU and if you simply want the best then make sure you understand what that means for you. Having the opportunity to build a system like this is a lot of fun. It takes some patience but is totally worth the time and money. I hope this guide at least helps some people and even encourages some new PC builds.

If you're interested in pre-built systems check out iBuypower because they have a lot of options available. You can try out their "Easy Builder" service here.


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## Moparman

Great write up until it got to the ASUS mobo. Dump it for a good Taichi and you have a very nice build. Also 3200mhz Bdie is your best friend for Ryzen+. So far it seems like [email protected] is really nice. Overall nice build and review.


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## bluedevil

Great Write-Up! It seems like you put a lot of time and effort into this! Great info!


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## JedixJarf

Holy moly you wrote up an overclockers bible here! Nice work, slick looking rig.


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## Piim

Great job!


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## ENTERPRISE

Indeed a fantastic insight into Ryzen+


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## Blitzdog

That's a hella read, wow!


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