First Hand Experience with Ryzen 3000

Things have been incredibly busy here at Reztek Systems. We’ve constructed a 2019 gaming rig that consumes considerably less power than the outgoing model while bringing the latest and greatest technologies in a mini ITX form factor. Specifics regarding this system and the experience will be documented in the coming weeks. Initial notes and other articles of interest which will come in handy if you’ve got the itch to build around the Ryzen 3000 series and the X570 chipset include:

• Joel Hruska’s analysis of the power draw differential between prior chipsets (X470 in the benchmarks he’s provided) and the X570 chipset highlights the potential for higher than anticipated operational costs. The benchmarked uptick in consumption can add up quickly depending on where you live and your current rates for service.
• The AGESA 1.0.0.3 ABB Combo BIOS is available from the majority of motherboard manufacturers now. This firmware, when combined with the latest chipset driver, provides fixes for unexpected errata which manifested at launch.
• Hardware Unboxed has identified discrepancies between motherboards with respect to enabling Ryzen 3000 to hit advertised boost clocks. They’ve also done some pretty comprehensive testing on VRM temps for the X570 motherboards.
• The chipset fan, while required, can be alarming due to how loud it is. The motherboard we’re using would quickly ramp the speed up to its peak of 5000 rpm using the 1.00 BIOS. With the fan at 100%, the chipset was reporting back a temperature of 72C which raised cause for concern. Engagement with the manufacturer provided a beta BIOS that was supposed to help. The official 1.20 BIOS was released about five days after we received the beta code. The chipset now hovers in the 65-69C range with more variability on the fan. While this is an improvement, it’s still suboptimal.