AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Processor with Wraith Spire LED Cooler - YD2700BBAFBOX

I have always considered myself a hardcore gamer, but not like in the first person shooter sense, though I do play them...I am more into the RTS, simulator and turn based games. Which has meant not needing the best graphics cards but a decent one and good supporting hardware but not needing the top shelf stuff. So I design my systems in a mid-range sense and usually one generation behind when I upgrade my systems. Not being cheap or getting cheap things, but making sure I am getting the best bang for my buck. When I first started building my own PCs, that meant several rigs made with AMD CPUs. They were on par with or even better than the Intels and you could get them for a lot less. Then Intel leapfrogged AMD with the Core 2 Duos and even tho they were more expensive than the AMDs of the time, they were hands down offering you raw power and performance for those extra dollars that it was impossible to say no to them. AMD struggled to keep up and just when they had something that would compete, intel introduced the i-series and left AMD in dust again. Fast forward to today and my i-5 43xx is dropping framerates on some of the newer AAA FPS games I am getting into. These newer FPS games are just to good not to play and I am at a point in my life where I have some extra cash to splurge on a better rig than I have typically built in the past. Usually when I am upgrading my rig it is with a 500-800 dollar budget in mind. This time it was more like 1400-1500. Still not tippity top shelf for that you are spending 2000 to the skys the limit, but a lot of it came off of the middle and top shelves and all of it is current generation. This processor AMD Ryzen 7 2700, Asus Prime x370-pro, 16gb(2x8) Corsair vengeance ddr4 3200mhz, EVGA RTX 2070 ultra gaming, crucial M.2 1TB SSD and a new license for Window 10(as I was on 7 and support for it ends later this year nor would the old license play nice with the new mobo). I recycled my case and its fans, the 2.5" Samsung evo SATA 1TB SSD for storage which had been my boot drive for about 3 months, the 700watt power supply and dvd drive for legacy purposes. This CPU does come with a better than the average intel stock cooler, but not by much and will get me by while I determine which air tower cooler I want to use, but for now I am digging the RGB lighting it came with. By my standards its not near good as the tower cooler I was running before which would keep my cpu at 28-30C idle and maybe 50 or 60C under load. This thing is more like 40-50 idle and 70-80 under load probably higher if I forget to open the door to the computer cubby to let the cold air in and the hot air out. So I will be doing some research to upgrade that before too long. I want to drop those temps about 10 across the board. But for free it saved me some upfront money and gives me time to make an informed decision on my upgrade path. This CPU is truly a great bang for you buck, if you are into overclocking you may want to spend the extra 50 or so bucks get the R7 2700X and you still will be getting a great processor for less than the gen9 i5, i7 and i9. From what I gather, there is only one thing the intel CPUs are truly better at right now and that is playing what ever game you are playing and only that. Essentially single applications. If you are like me and have a browser open on a secondary monitor so you can check forums, guides and map while you play or have show on from Amazon this is you baby. Basically the more programs and apps you have open, the more this thing shines over the intel. Its nice that I can choose the AMD lineup again without feeling like I am giving up something significant and in the process save hundreds. Its good when there is competition in a market, these new offerings from AMD should force Intel into lowering their prices to remain both competitive and relevant, because I think its only a matter of time before AMD releases some real intel killers. The consensus from all the pro reviewers on youtube and across the internet is that this is not an Intel killer, but it is a strong competitor the likes of which we have not seen from AMD in over a decade. And I am for one super happy with my purchase and have no regrets. I don't like to rave or review my electronics until I have been using them daily for a month because we all know that they are either going to be DOA or start glitching out and failing in the 1st month or some. Everything I purchased and put together has been rock steady and awesome.

Pros:If you're in need of a CPU with great multi-threading performance, then go no further than a Ryzen 7. Great bang for the buck.Included CPU cooler is sufficient (10x better than Intel's) for a non-overclocked 2700.Sips power at stock settings. My PC with 2x 980ti's and a full custom water loop pulls only around 50W at idle. That includes the monitor, keyboard, accessories, etc.At full load, it doesn't go much above 120W at stock settings (complete system with CPU load that is).I get much less stuttering game play than with my i5 4670K @ 4.5Ghz. That would peg to near 90-100% at that speed in GTA V and Assassins Creed Origins. Now I'm at roughly 40-50% with the 2700, with better frame times, and smoother game play.Cons:Must have gotten a dud with the overclocking performance on this guy. I can't go above 4.050Ghz on this processor at 1.3875V. I don't want to go much higher than 1.4V, but putting this up to that doesn't' get me even 4.075Ghz, so it isn't worth it for me. You won't be able to get up to that voltage on the stock cooler, as it just doesn't have the capacity for that. It just goes right to 95C at those settings with the stock cooler. Isn't a problem for me, but still something to note for someone else hoping to get good overclocks with this CPU's box cooler.Other thoughts:I picked this up for $225 on Prime Day this year, and couldn't be happier with the performance for that price. For a full price of $290, its a harder sell because the 2700X is only $30 more, includes a CPU cooler that can handle a good overclock, and does overclock a bit better than the 2700. With the above mentioned settings and a full custom loop, the CPU doesn't go above 75C under full CPU load after about 2 hours.My best Cinebench R15 score was 1818 @ 4.050Ghz with a set of 16GB 3200Mhz RAM. I was hoping to see if I could get up to 1850-1900, but I couldn't get there without extreme voltages. Pretty satisfied with the upgrade over my i5 with its best score 636 though. Almost tripled performance in this regard.I was a little skeptical about getting my memory that wasn't tuned for AMD systems up to the advertised speed of 3200Mhz, but it took with no problems! AMD has really upped their compatibility and stability with memory over the last gen Ryzen, which is good because it really helps with latency times in the infinity fabric using higher speed memory.This CPU should last me a good 5+ years, assuming AMD doesn't come out with something that's a lot better that will go into my motherboard with Zen2 or Zen2+.My recommendation is that if you're looking to overclock, and don't already have a CPU cooler capable of doing this, then I would save another $30 and get a 2700X instead. However, if this goes on sale for anything less than $280, then it becomes a much better buy. Performance is within 5-10% when overclocked. If you're not overclocking, and looking for a workhorse that sips power, then this is it.My system:Ryzen 7 2700 @ 4.050Ghz 1.3875VGigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 WiFi16GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V @ 3200Mhz, 1.35V2x Asus 980ti's in SLICorsair HX850 PSU500GB SanDisk SSD2TB WD Green HDDFull Custom Water Loop