It's about time to build an X370 + Summit Ridge/Ryzen machine (hopefully in January, cmon AMD) with as much hardware ready and waiting for the new parts as possible.
The parts available thus far:
Case (Rosewill Thor v2)
PSU (EVGA P2 750W)
SSD (Crucial MX200 512GB, might get an m.2 SSD for the new system though)
GPUs (any number of R9-290s and 390s currently doing mining duty, might get a Vega)
mouse, keyboard, crappy old 1600x1200 monitor because . . . whatever, man.
Obviously the boards and CPUs aren't available yet.
The plan is to use an NH-D15S with two NF-A14 industrialPC 3000 rpm fans (3 fan config using the enclosed fan; yes, Noctua does have clips for the NF-A14!) and some as-of-yet unchosen DDR4. Two roadblocks exist:
DDR4There's no telling what will be on the QVL list for Asus X370 boards.
One hint is that the A0 ES chip used in the recent CanardPC leaks on Ryzen/Summit Ridge performance apparently supports speeds up to DDR4-2666, but . . . that's an ES. With an early board. Hopefully we'll see support for DDR4-4000 or so from X370. If not, then sad faces all around. There's also the Asus A320M-C motherboard in a Bristol Ridge bundle on the market right now; sadly, it's impossible to find a QVL list for that board.
So what do you folks think will be good RAM to get for an Asus X370 build? This kit seems like it might be worth a look:
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/2phj4D/corsair-vengeance-lpx-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3733-memory-cmk16gx4m...Even if the IMC won't go past DDR4-2666, it SHOULD downclock to DDR4-2666 CL/CAS13 or possibly better with extra vDIMM. 1.4v is not too much to ask from DDR4 after all.
HSFAfter briefly considering custom water or AiO/CLC solutions, it looks like it would be preferable (given the case) just to go back to good ol' Noctua. The NH-D14 on-hand has had a good run, but it's time for something bigger, and the NH-D15S is actually pretty cheap for what you get, thanks to it only having one fan. Two NF-A14 fans will give it a lot of oomph, and the above-linked Corsair RAM is low enough in profile that it won't interfere with the NH-D15S or its included round fan. Clips are available for the square fans, too. The only problem is that right now, any HSF that requires a custom backplate will not work with AM4. Noctua has said in support emails that they will release an AM4 backplate kit for the NH-D15/D15S, but that it won't be available until AM4 is on the market. Never mind that it is already on the market in the form of the A320M-C (and has been since November at least).
So anyone buying the NH-D15S today CAN get fan clips for NF-A14 fans but can not get the AM4 adapter kit.
Makes you wonder if it wouldn't just be better to wait until the official launch date for X370 to buy the NH-D15S? Maybe then retailers will have a version of the NH-D15S on-hand that supports AM4 out-of-the-box? Who knows how long it takes for Noctua to ship an adapter kit to someone that shows them a receipt? Wouldn't it be just great to get board + CPU shipped in two days after release only to be waiting a week or two for an HSF adapter kit? No, no it wouldn't.
AMD was *supposed* to release B350-based Bristol Ridge in October to the DiY market to get everyone on the AM4 bandwagon. Had they done so, we wouldn't be having these problems. As it stands, the only coolers that will be AM4-ready on day 1 will be the stock cooler that comes with the CPU or any AM2 -> FM2+ HSF that relies on the stock backplate (there's an adapter for those, just not anything big like the NH-D15S that requires a new backplate).
So blah on all that.
