There’s plenty to be excited about for the fall of 2022 as AMD has announced today the upcoming Ryzen 7000 Series desktop processors with the new “Zen 4” architecture which will rightly bring significant performance increases over both the existing Ryzen 5000 series and the recently released Intel 12th Gen. The new processors are based on the extremely efficient 5nm “Zen 4” architecture and will have double the amount of L2 cache per core, feature higher clock speeds, and are projected to provide greater than 15% uplift in single-thread performance versus the prior generation, for an unmatched desktop PC experience.

The new processors will have exclusive support for DD5 memory, PCIe 5.0 and feature a 1718-pin LGGA design used in the all new AMD Socket AM5. The good news for those who are upgrading from their AM4 is that they can continue using their AM4 CPU coolers with Socket AM5 processors. Cool. At least that should ease some pain in having to pay the DD5 premium.

The announcements at COMPUTEX 2022 earlier today do bring about a headache. I’ve a brand new mini-ITX casing in the form of teenage engineering computer-1, which is literally screaming to be a part of a brand-new build. Should I go with a new Intel 12th gen processor, which is available now? Or wait for the new Ryzen 7000 processors? OR wait until the new Ryzen processors are out and buy a 12th gen Intel processor then with (hopefully) a healthy discount? Decision… decisions … decisions.

To be honest, a major blocker to kickstarting a 12th gen Intel mini-ITX is simply the lack of decently specced and affordably priced mini-ITX motherboards! Yes, I’m pretty aware of the weird pricing that goes about with mini-ITX parts, but I didn’t expect the prices to be THAT exorbitant (here’s looking at you ASUS ROG STRIX B660-I) or the sum of the parts being so mediocre (yup, I’m talking about you ASRock B660M-ITX/AC).

On one hand, there’s no particular reason to get a new build at the moment, considering my Ryzen 5800X is still a very solid processor, and I just upgraded my current rig with a new power supply from Corsair over the weekend. Back in 2020, my PC was basically powered by a 3300X and a very poorly LitePower PSU due to budget concerns. Having upgraded to the 5800X, additional RAM and storage, the PSU was a known bottleneck before I can replace my GTX 1070 GPU with a 30-series card. With the new PSU unit in place, I guess a 3060TI or a 3070 would be a decent upgrade to my rig.

Do note that if you own a be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler, in a mid-ATX Q500L case like mine, and you’re trying to replace your PSU, you’ll be greatly inconvenience as you’ll have a very difficult time reaching the EPS power connector on the top left of the motherboard. Likely you’ll need to remove your GPU, followed by your PSU, then move the internal fan in the middle of the Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler, before unscrewing the cooler completely and then only accessing the EPS connector. It’s crazy.

I really do like the fully modular Corsair RM750. It’s rated as a Gold power supply, and in my case, it comes in white, which is a nice contrast to the rest of the rig.

For the rest of my rig, check out the list below for the specs, which are available here as well – PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/K6DHW4

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.90 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1 g Thermal Paste ($6.92 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M AORUS ELITE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($184.88 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($67.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($67.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX6000 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5″ Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Video Card ($4146.10 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q500L
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM 64-bit ($159.97 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer TX50E 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax PCIe x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($49.50 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech G610 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($73.19 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech G Pro Wireless Wireless Optical Mouse ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Logitech G PRO Headset ($79.98 @ Amazon)