Please help improve this build.

[SMezz]

PC is for 3D rendering mostly. Not much game play. Also possible future work in AI. All is hobby not professional.

Budget £5k. Prepared to wait for 3900 delivery.

Do not require RGB effects. Would thread ripper give me much extra?

Intend to add 3 or 4 4TB drives from my old PC so PS is over specced.

Would like Windows installing on smaller slightly slower M.2 drive. Will it run Win 11?

Cooling is a concern so help with extra fans appreciated. Prefer to avoid liquid cooling unless very much better.

Thanks.

PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK SPECIFICATION

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Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £3,744.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/TDVCxDgtZ0/

 

[Steveyg]

I'm not 100% on the AI side of things but would moving into Threadripper territory be something to consider?

I mean the build above is insane no doubt, could probably go for a larger case like the 500d to accommodate more space.

 

[Scott]

As much as you have stated you are doing this as a hobby, £5k is a professional grade system. I would definitely treat it as such.

The Threadripper is a no-brainer for rendering if you aren't gaming. The major issue, for me, is that there is a refresh due in the coming months with the new 5000 series expected.

If you absolutely cannot hold off then this is what I would aim for. It's a little over budget but it's all fine margins. The power difference between this and a 5950X when it comes to rendering is comical.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 XL BLACK QUIET TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X 32 Core CPU (3.7GHz - 4.5GHz, 147MB CACHE)
Motherboard
Gigabyte TRX40 AORUS PRO Wi-Fi 6: ATX, USB 3.2 - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360 RGB TR4 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £5,210.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-trx40-pc/skmPBmspz7/

 

[DarTon]

I know nothing about rendering but I do about machine learning. I wouldn't recommend current Threadrippers. Even a 64-core Threadripper has only about 2.5x the multi-core processing capability of the 5900X and it's single core capability is only two thirds as good. You do lose stuff like ECC etc but that's actually isn't such a big deal. At least until the 5000 series Threadrippers appear, the 5900X and 5950X are the best base CPUs in price/performance terms.

Really though it's about the GPU array. For our staff we are currently providing local 5900X/5950X combined with a 3090/3080Ti (in some cases RTX5000/6000 but the consumer cards are cheaper) to complement the bigger GPU arrays which they tap into via Citrix/VDI.

So I'd say that a 5900X with a 3090 is a very decent "prosumer" starting point.

 

[Scott]

I know nothing about rendering but I do about machine learning. I wouldn't recommend current Threadrippers. Even a 64-core Threadripper has only about 2.5x the multi-core processing capability of the 5900X and it's single core capability is only two thirds as good. You do lose stuff like ECC etc but that's actually isn't such a big deal. At least until the 5000 series Threadrippers appear, the 5900X and 5950X are the best base CPUs in price/performance terms.

Really though it's about the GPU array. For our staff we are currently providing local 5900X/5950X combined with a 3090/3080Ti (in some cases RTX5000/6000 but the consumer cards are cheaper) to complement the bigger arrays which they tap into Citrix/VDI.

So I'd say that a 5900X with a 3090 is a very decent "prosumer" starting point.

I'm not sure I follow your logic here. 2.5x faster at doing anything is a HUGE performance gain. The single core speed is only 0.5ghz of a difference, best case scenario for both, which is only a tenth slower.

I do agree that the 5000 series would be the ideal solution but only where time is a commodity.

Any AM4 chip is going to pale in comparison to a TR4 for just about any performance based workload. The PCIe lane availability, EEC checking and 4 channel RAM are some very worthwhile considerations for unleashing performance.

What's more, even if time is against you.... the chip can be upgraded to the 5000 series with a drop-in upgrade should the want be there.

 

[DarTon]

@Scott. If you are doing machine learning, you don't do that by taxing the CPU. You pipe everything into the GPU array. You should't need a big CPU. So something like a 5900X is just fine. Spend the extra money on another GPU and then another GPU etc. The other issue is what little is done on the CPU suffers from precedence issues, so you don't get 2.5x the performance in real world tasks. You need a balance between good single core and multi-core performance.

I just think that for an "amateur" a 5900X and 3090 is plenty to be going on with for machine learning. If you want to spend extra, spend it on another (or better) GPU. Right now though, a 3090 is good value compared to a RTX6000.

Rendering might be different and if a 5000 series was available it might be different. Right now though we're at an odd point that we seem to see once a decade, where it seems that price favours large numbers of lower end "consumer" machines/GPUs, rather than smaller numbers of professional machines. Everyone is complaining how expensive GPUs are and how it's down to cryptocrap etc but actually it's also people like me signing cheques for 2000 3090s rather than buying Quadro/Tesla cards.

 

[SMezz]

Thanks for the quick replies. Much appreciated. I'll have a think about your suggestions.

Any ideas on more/better cooling? Guess the bigger case as suggested would help.

thanks again.

 

[Steveyg]

Thanks for the quick replies. Much appreciated. I'll have a think about your suggestions.

Any ideas on more/better cooling? Guess the bigger case as suggested would help.

thanks again.

Cooling shouldn't be much of an issue with the builds above. The airflow case comes with 2x 120mm fans and then the Corsair H150i comes with 3x 120mm fans and a 360mm Radiator I believe. So that should cover, you can always add more though if you feel you would need it

 

[Scott]

@Scott. If you are doing machine learning, you don't do that by taxing the CPU. You pipe everything into the GPU array. You should't need a big CPU. So something like a 5900X is just fine. Spend the extra money on another GPU and then another GPU etc. The other issue is what little is done on the CPU suffers from precedence issues, so you don't get 2.5x the performance in real world tasks. You need a balance between good single core and multi-core performance.

I just think that for an "amateur" a 5900X and 3090 is plenty to be going on with for machine learning. If you want to spend extra, spend it on another (or better) GPU. Right now though, a 3090 is good value compared to a RTX6000.

Rendering might be different and if a 5000 series was available it might be different. Right now though we're at an odd point that we seem to see once a decade, where it seems that price favours large numbers of lower end "consumer" machines/GPUs, rather than smaller numbers of professional machines. Everyone is complaining how expensive GPUs are and how it's down to cryptocrap etc but actually it's also people like me signing cheques for 2000 3090s rather than buying Quadro/Tesla cards.

I understand your point in AI, but the ops use is mostly 3D rendering as per the first post. The machine learning is a secondary consideration. Overall the TR build with a 3090 (or 2) would cover both bases far more effectively than the AM4 option.

Consider the point with regards to multiple GPUs as well, the additional PCIe lane availability from the TR4 architecture offers far more bandwidth for multi-GPU setups when throughput is king.

 

[SMezz]

It's all moved on a bit since my Commodore 64!