WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:08.080 So 13 years ago, I ditched the AMD processor in my personal gaming rig and 00:00:04.880 --> 00:00:10.559 switched to an Intel Core2 Duo E6600. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:16.160 And since then, I have never looked back. Because quite frankly, while AMD 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:18.880 has had some reasonably compelling 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:23.600 values on offer, typically my personal rig upgrades were dictated more by who 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:27.599 had the top performance versus who had some good bang for the buck stuff in the 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:34.079 low end. Well, today is an interesting day 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:37.280 because while AMD's Ryzen third gen 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:40.719 processor, so I'm holding a 3900X here, 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:44.800 aren't exactly brand spanking new, what 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:46.960 is is a feature that I sorely need for 00:00:44.800 --> 00:00:54.079 my setup. For those of you who aren't familiar, this is my gaming desktop, but 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:57.840 the key component that's missing is the 00:00:54.079 --> 00:01:01.680 desktop. It's not here. I run a single 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:04.159 Thunderbolt cable through the wall into 00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:09.760 this server closet where my personal rig, my wife's rig, and my home server 00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:14.400 all reside. This allows me to isolate not just the noise, but also the 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:23.119 thermals so that this room doesn't heat up. I don't have central AC in my house. 00:01:18.880 --> 00:01:27.920 Check this out. The ASRock X570 00:01:23.119 --> 00:01:30.960 Aqua is one of the first AMD Ryzen third 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:34.479 gen supporting motherboards with not one 00:01:30.960 --> 00:01:37.360 but two Thunderbolt 3 ports. And we're 00:01:34.479 --> 00:01:43.439 going to take it for a test drive after this message from our sponsor. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:45.360 Vertigar's PL4500 RGB LED upgrade kit 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:49.680 wirelessly connects to your PC and features tons of color customization 00:01:47.119 --> 00:01:53.500 options, including audio and visual sync and more. Check them out at the link in 00:01:51.439 --> 00:02:01.759 the video description. 00:02:01.759 --> 00:02:04.840 All right, 00:02:04.960 --> 00:02:12.310 so why don't we start with taking a look at the board. 00:02:09.440 --> 00:02:14.000 Oh crap. Where'd I put the CPU? 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:19.800 Left that in the pocket of my ass. What? Uh, ltstore.com. 00:02:20.160 --> 00:02:27.120 First, I should probably acknowledge the elephant in the room. Uh, the keenite 00:02:24.160 --> 00:02:31.280 among you probably noticed that this is not in fact the motherboard that I 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:36.080 claimed to have upgraded to a couple of months ago. Uh, this is the new Titan 00:02:33.760 --> 00:02:41.360 RTX graphics card, but I had to go back to my old motherboard and Extreme 00:02:38.239 --> 00:02:43.440 Edition 5960X 8 core because I didn't 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:49.280 realize when I put the new board in that there were no Thunderbolt 3 cables long 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:52.080 enough to go from my desktop through the 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:55.440 wall and then into my server closet. Fortunately, we have a solution for that 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:59.040 today, and we will get to that later. First, we got to swap out this board. 00:02:57.440 --> 00:03:03.920 Now, those of you who are new to the channel might not know this, but we 00:03:00.720 --> 00:03:07.280 actually used to do a ton of videos just 00:03:03.920 --> 00:03:09.519 about motherboards, but the truth is I 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:14.239 just got kind of bored of them. I just felt like I didn't really have anything 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:18.080 to say. This one I have a fair bit to 00:03:14.239 --> 00:03:22.319 say about. The X570 Aqua ticks a lot of 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:25.760 boxes for me. It's limited to just 999 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:28.000 units presumably because they figure not 00:03:25.760 --> 00:03:34.640 too many people are going to be able to afford this monstrosity. It is one of 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:39.599 the heaviest boards that I have ever encountered and I don't want to show it 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:46.480 to you guys like this. Let's get this horrible peel off it. Wow. That ASRock 00:03:43.440 --> 00:03:49.440 has some work to do on their peel game. 00:03:46.480 --> 00:03:55.040 that. But that's fine because everything else about this thing, at least on 00:03:51.519 --> 00:03:57.840 paper, is basically flawless. It uses a 00:03:55.040 --> 00:04:02.319 reinforced PCB and reinforced PCI Express slots for reduced flexibility. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:06.640 It features an all copper cooling solution. So, this is one of the few 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:10.000 X570 motherboards that has no cooling fan for the chipset on it because it's 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:17.040 going to be taken care of by your water cooler. They boast support for up to 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:18.880 5,000 MHz DDR4 memory. And the I/IO is 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:23.440 absolutely incredible. So, you've got support for SLI and Crossfire, as though 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:29.040 that mattered in 2019, with six PCI Express slots, including three of them 00:04:26.080 --> 00:04:35.759 that are rated for Gen 4 operation. Around back, you've got, wait, what? 00:04:32.880 --> 00:04:41.120 Check this out. Yes, my friends, that is a DisplayPort input. So, in ASRock's 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:44.639 own lineup of graphics cards, they actually have cards that have an 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:48.160 internal DisplayPort connection so you that you can plug it right into there, 00:04:46.320 --> 00:04:52.560 and that'll inject the DisplayPort signal that Thunderbolt 3 requires. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:56.400 Pretty freaking cool. I won't be using that feature, but that's okay cuz 00:04:54.240 --> 00:05:00.960 they've got me covered, too. Around the back is where things get really 00:04:58.080 --> 00:05:06.880 interesting to me. So, we've got AX Wi-Fi. That's Wi-Fi 6. PS2 in case you 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:12.160 like really need something to work on an interrupt basis or whatever, there's a 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:17.919 second DisplayPort in. So, we've got two DPNs built in for the Thunderbolt 3 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:23.840 ports that are right on the motherboard. And aside from USB 3.1 gen, whatever 00:05:21.520 --> 00:05:29.600 they call, whatever USB 310 gig, check this out. We've also got 10 gig 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:32.320 networking. So, the irony is that this 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:37.600 board is loaded up for Mondo expansion. Oh yeah, did I even mention the dual M.2 00:05:35.280 --> 00:05:41.919 expansion slots, but it already has everything that most people could ever 00:05:39.039 --> 00:05:46.720 need built onto it. So, ah, now that gives us a better look at 00:05:43.840 --> 00:05:52.080 the board. So, there's our X570 chipset. Here's our dual M.2 slots, both of which 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:57.360 are Gen 4. Very nice. Our front USB 3 Type-C, our 00:05:55.440 --> 00:06:02.400 regular front USB 3, our other regular front USB 3, our front USB 2 HD audio. 00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:08.720 Uh, what else we got here that's exciting? Oh, yes, that Aqua 10 gig 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:14.479 networking. Oh, and of course, aside from the CPU and the chipset, the VRM 00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:16.560 are also cooled by our water block. 00:06:14.479 --> 00:06:19.919 Pretty sweet. Oh, now that's interesting. If I was going to install a 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.960 single M.2 to in this board, I would probably go with the top one because it 00:06:21.440 --> 00:06:26.720 seems to have much better thermal contact with our water block solution 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:31.520 compared to the bottom one, which does have a metal spreader on it, but only 00:06:28.880 --> 00:06:35.919 makes contact with the uh the metal of our mono block right here. So, it's 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:40.240 probably not going to do a ton of cooling. I mean, to be clear, even that 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:45.919 is going to be better than nothing, but um I I'd use this one if you can. All 00:06:43.280 --> 00:06:50.160 right, let's get this puppy installed. Sorry, I mean kitty. I mean, kitty. So, 00:06:48.479 --> 00:06:54.800 I usually find the best way to line up a mono block rather than laying the board 00:06:52.720 --> 00:07:00.800 down and then putting the block on top of it is to go the other way around. So, 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:06.560 lay the block down, plug in all your front leads so that you don't forget, 00:07:03.280 --> 00:07:09.599 and then line it up from above so you 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:11.440 can kind of guide the holes down onto 00:07:09.599 --> 00:07:16.319 their corresponding uh threaded inserts there. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:21.520 Okay. Whoa. Do you hear that? 00:07:19.520 --> 00:07:28.680 This loop is not particularly well sealed at the moment. Okay, so we're 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:28.680 going to open her up right here. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.759 Okay, there we go. 00:07:35.039 --> 00:07:38.440 There we go. 00:07:40.479 --> 00:07:46.880 Water cooling maintenance is so much fun. All right, let's drain this. Not 00:07:45.280 --> 00:07:50.960 too much, though. I don't think it's going to be necessary to completely 00:07:48.400 --> 00:07:55.120 drain the loop. Why? 00:07:53.199 --> 00:08:00.000 You're literally standing on a Titan. You move. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:05.440 So, here's the plan. We're going to strip 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:10.319 out the expansion cards and kind of hang them over here. 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:15.360 Then swap in the motherboard and then put them all back in. Should be no 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:21.520 problem. Well, I can't believe it. Assuming that 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:24.080 the Thunderbolt upgrade works, 00:08:21.520 --> 00:08:28.080 I am removing my painted motherboard for the final time. 00:08:26.479 --> 00:08:34.240 Okay. So, Andy, the key here is that these tubes have to 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:36.880 stay above the water level. Sure. 00:08:35.599 --> 00:08:44.360 You got that? No problem. Right. No problem. Easy at all. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:44.360 Piece of cake. Piece of crumb cake. 00:08:44.959 --> 00:08:50.880 No shadow. No. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:54.640 So, what's really cool is that even on the Intel side of things, generally 00:08:52.800 --> 00:08:58.399 speaking, Thunderbolt is added to motherboards with these expansion cards 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:02.959 that have a header that plugs into the board and then require the DisplayPort 00:09:00.640 --> 00:09:07.120 signal to be injected from the graphics card outside. So, it takes up one of 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:14.160 your PCI Express slots, in this case, a 4X slot, and you know, ugly and often 00:09:11.920 --> 00:09:20.399 quite cludgy because the BIOS support for these things, particularly this one, 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:22.399 does not have a great reputation. Um, 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:29.320 so having it built right into the board this time around, is something that I am 00:09:24.560 --> 00:09:29.320 definitely looking forward to. 00:09:30.800 --> 00:09:37.120 Okay. and 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:41.519 out it comes again. Now, these are not spectacular 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:47.279 memory modules for the chip that I'm putting in. These are pretty old. Uh 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:51.120 they're 2666 C16 Dominator Platinums, 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:54.399 but um realistically, I don't need the 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:57.200 extra 5 10% performance that badly 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:03.360 anyway. So, I'm going to stick with them because they look really good. Also, I 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:06.600 don't feel like any other memory. It's here already. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:16.000 So, this is funny. One of the features for this board, apparently, is the 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:18.959 slight leeway in the positioning of this 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.959 integrated IO shield because sometimes the tolerances on the cases aren't 00:10:20.560 --> 00:10:27.040 perfect. Um, you know, that's actually pretty smart cuz sometimes you do have 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:33.519 trouble with those integrated IO shields and actually getting them into the case. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:37.040 Cute idea, ASRock. I like it. Look at 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:39.200 that. Perfect fit. Love it. All right. 00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:45.040 Well, that's a little awkward. I've only got one USB 2 header um because there's 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:51.120 a whole whack of USB3 ones and this case only has front USB 2, but um I guess two 00:10:48.640 --> 00:10:57.480 of those ports are going to be dead now. All right. 00:10:53.920 --> 00:10:57.480 Eight pin connector. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:04.720 24 pin connector. Look at this. Barely even have to move anything. It's great. 00:11:02.640 --> 00:11:09.920 The real test is going to be seeing whether it just boots up. That would be 00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:16.160 amazing. Okay, so 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:22.480 one challenge here is that our graphics card is going in one slot lower. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:27.600 Is that going to make it? That looks really tight. Um, 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:32.640 hold on. Let's get this screwed in as high up as possible. 00:11:30.880 --> 00:11:38.240 So, you can see this tube doesn't quite make it to the socket, but we've got 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:48.600 about that much room off the fitting. So, maybe it'll be good enough. 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.600 What the heck is this leaking? 00:11:48.640 --> 00:11:54.640 It is. Why is this leaking? Okay, we will deal 00:11:53.279 --> 00:12:01.040 with that in a moment. First, let's find out if we even have a build here. 00:11:57.839 --> 00:12:02.959 All right, we're going to make it. 00:12:01.040 --> 00:12:07.920 Oh, shoot. I don't think so. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:14.079 And every time I pull this up, this drips. 00:12:10.880 --> 00:12:16.000 Crap. This is bad. For those wondering 00:12:14.079 --> 00:12:19.760 what a tech YouTuber's attic looks like, basically the same as anyone else's 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:27.360 attic, but with more YouTube branded magic eightballs and signed Derbower uh 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:36.399 CPUHs. All right, but the most important thing 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:40.800 up here for our purposes today is this. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:44.959 This is my old personal rig chassis that 00:12:40.800 --> 00:12:47.600 was a gift from my wife that I have been 00:12:44.959 --> 00:12:54.800 through much with and I just didn't have the heart to get rid of it. 00:12:51.839 --> 00:13:01.600 And it's possible that buried within it is actually some 00:12:58.560 --> 00:13:07.800 of the same tubing that I'm still using. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:07.800 this blue UV primo chill stuff. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:15.680 I wanted to hold on to this thing in case I ever decided to go back to the 00:13:12.880 --> 00:13:20.560 tower case. Frankly, they just don't make cases like they used to. And I 00:13:18.959 --> 00:13:26.600 doubt I would find something on the market that I would like better than 00:13:22.800 --> 00:13:26.600 this one. So, 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:34.480 now I don't see anything up here, which 00:13:30.160 --> 00:13:36.160 is actually a pretty bad sign right now. 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:43.600 Were you just going to instruct me? Oh, buddy. Oh, jackpot. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:49.720 No wonder I didn't take this out. It's 3/8 inch tubing stretched over a 1/2 in 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:49.720 fitting. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:59.680 That's how stretched that was. Look at the difference in diameter. 00:13:56.800 --> 00:14:04.240 We got it though. That should be a long enough piece of tubing. So, I don't know 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:08.880 why. I mean, maybe it was just my block wasn't tight enough from the factory. I 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:15.440 mean, could it be that simple? That had a good quarter turn left in it. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:17.760 That one had a eighth plus. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:24.720 So, let's have a look here and see if we're still leaking. 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:27.920 No drops. Now, after journeying to Mount 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:31.560 Doom and back, we can finally put on 00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:31.560 this piece of tubing. 00:14:35.680 --> 00:14:42.959 Blue cable. This triggered so many people when I put it in, and I don't 00:14:40.880 --> 00:14:48.640 even blame you. Okay. Cleanest build you ever saw? Ah, 00:14:46.800 --> 00:14:50.079 maybe not. 00:14:50.079 --> 00:14:56.160 Good enough. Yes. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:01.279 Now, rather than load it back into the server 00:14:58.560 --> 00:15:06.440 cabinet, I'm just going to test it right here. All right, that's a good sign. 00:15:06.959 --> 00:15:14.560 Okay, all 64 gigs of RAM detected. Ryzen 9 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:18.480 3900X 12 core processor. 00:15:14.560 --> 00:15:21.199 X570 Alpha. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:24.560 Excellent. Oh, I guess we should connect the Wi-Fi, so at least have a network 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:29.600 connection. The phone's Bluetooth doesn't say. I wasn't going to bother to 00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:36.480 hook up Bluetooth, but whatever. So, this is weird. Um, what I was expecting 00:15:32.800 --> 00:15:39.519 was some kind of USB 4 implementation 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:41.519 here, but on ASRock's website, it 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:46.320 straight up has an Intel Thunderbolt driver download. I mean, 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:52.399 maybe this is just something that I haven't encountered yet, where the specs 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:54.639 are so similar that you just literally 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:58.959 use Intel's own software on an AMD board. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:03.839 Guess we'll find out. All right, speaking of sick, I have updated my 00:16:00.880 --> 00:16:10.920 BIOS. I have applied my XMPP profile, so my memory is now at least running at 00:16:05.199 --> 00:16:10.920 2666 instead of uh 2133. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:18.880 And I am ready to install my Intel 00:16:15.920 --> 00:16:23.440 Thunderbolt driver. So, I told you guys before I had a solution to the problem 00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:28.800 of getting my Thunderbolt signal from the other side of this wall to my 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:31.199 desktop setup here. And I do. The 00:16:28.800 --> 00:16:37.440 problem is that I'm not allowed to tell you what it is and I'm not allowed to 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:40.000 show it to you. So, 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:45.440 it's a little awkward. So, we're just going to use uh a PCI slot as a pass 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:48.720 through. Plug that in and then plug this 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:50.560 into the back of the graphics card. Just 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:56.240 like that. Not exactly elegant. But hey, if you 00:16:53.040 --> 00:16:57.759 want elegant, buy a Mac. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:03.199 Hey, G-Sync display connected. Everything is 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:05.679 working just effortlessly. It looks like 00:17:03.199 --> 00:17:10.480 uh that one was the right one. Uh, 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:15.400 wow. My doc's even working and everything. So, it's official. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:19.400 I've gone AMD. 00:17:19.760 --> 00:17:26.199 Now, we've just got to run the uh the secret sauce here. 00:17:35.120 --> 00:17:44.960 Hey, that was it. We good. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:52.720 Oh, fantastic. Everything working exactly as intended. 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:57.679 So, thanks for watching, guys. I am personally really looking forward to 00:17:54.880 --> 00:18:01.200 this adventure, at least until I get hit with the buyer's remorse that always 00:17:59.280 --> 00:18:06.000 comes when something newer and better happens as we know is happening with the 00:18:03.520 --> 00:18:09.440 16 core and then the upcoming nextG Threadripper and all that good stuff. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:15.919 So, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss any of our videos on that stuff. First, it'll be the review, then 00:18:13.679 --> 00:18:18.240 like me upgrading my stuff. That'll be good.