Tomasu

I had seen some scaling benchmarks but I think I got blinders on at the 3600 speed being "the best" and forgot that it was only by a very small margin. So 3000-3200 looks to be fine.
 
I have tended to prefer air coolers as well. Esp given I had a couple failed AIOs from the same bad batch a while back. But the reviews I've seen on zen2 boosting says that a really good 360 AIO or a custom loop will be a fairly good boost over even the Noctua D15 (which I have in my current box, works great. really great. but its not quite enough to keep up with my OC at points, which is sad).
 
Of course I can always just go air to start and see if I even care afterwards.

I have thought about it, but I'm not sure my main use case scales much beyond 16 cores, and so far 32GB ram is "enough" but I do find I run out sometimes. So 64GB (like 640k) should be enough. Also I don't just need lots of ram, I need /good/ IPC+Ghz on top of ram and cores. Not to mention the price premium of TR systems over Ryzen is a bit much. The premium of the 3950x over the 3900x is a bit of a stretch.
 
This machine is something I'm going to need by early/mid october for sure, so waiting too long for TR may not be an option.
 
But I will look into it a bit harder, just to see what I can wrangle. Hopefully theres enough information out about the TR 3 platform that i can make a semi informed decision. Eg. Motherboard pricing and features etc.

Hi,
I'm stuck with my older FX-8320 for a while, can't afford a real upgrade since it'd mean a full platform switch and a bunch of new parts. Due to my work and some occasional streaming and games I'd like to squeeze every last bit i can out of this system without risking killing the cpu or motherboard (an Asus 970 Pro gaming Aura, /I think/ I have an older 990 based board but I recall its audio being dead and other potential issues).
 
So far I have it OC'd up to 4.4Ghz on Air with a Noctua nh-d15s, with the motherboard reporting ~55c for the cpu, and the cpu itself reporting 45~. Full load it'll spike up to 65-70c or so. It's been rock solid. I have been able to get it "stable" up to 4.6-4.8Ghz, but the motherboard appears to be throttling once it's temp sensor hits 75c while the cpu's own sensor would only be at 65-70c.
 
Any tips and/or suggestions would be awesome. Yes, I know 4.4 is actually "ok" and that the "best" thing to do is just upgrade. but i can't any time soon. So I'd like to get as much out of this old workhorse as I can get.
 
I was thinking about a 240 aio, but so far it seems the Noctua D15S is as good or better than most affordable 240 aios. The noise level from all the fans at full load is a bit gnarly though. No OC this system is whisper quiet even at load. And I'd like to reduce noise if I can.
 
Components:
Motherboard: Asus 970 Pro Gaming Aura
CPU: AMD FX-8320 @ 4.4Ghz 
HSF: Noctua NH-D15S (dual fan)
GPU: MSI R390 Gaming Something
Case: Corsair 550d
PSU: Seasonic X-850 (SS-850KM)
Storage: 4x various ssds + 1x 2-3TB hdd
 
Fans:
Top: 2x 140mm Phantex of some kind, intake
Rear: 1x 140mm NF-A14-FLX, intake
Bottom: 1x 140mm phantex of some kind, exhaust
Front: 2x Noctua NF-F12-PWM, exhaust
 
BIOS Settings:
 
CPU:
CnQ: Disabled by cpu
C1E: disabled
SVM: Enabled
C6: Disabled
HPC: Disabled
APM: Disabled
 
Mem:
Bank Interleave: Auto
Channel Interleave: Auto
Warm Boot Ram: Enabled
Mem Clear: Disabled
ECC: Disabled
Power Down Enable: Disabled
Mem Hole Remaping: Enabled
DCT Unganged Mode: Enabled
 
Freqs & Voltages:
Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio: 22
Turbo Core: Disabled
CPU Bus Freq: 200
PCIE Freq: 100
Memory Freq: DDR3-1866
CPU/NB Freq: 2400Mhz
HT Link Speed: 2400Mhz
CPU Spread Spectrum: disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: disabled
EPU Power Saving: Disabled
CPU Voltage: set=1.5 displayed=1.452
CPU/NB Voltage: set=1.25 displayed=1.25
CPU VDDA Voltage: set=2.5 displayed=2.516
DRAM Voltage: set=1.5 disp=1.51
NB Voltage: set=1.1 disp=1.11
NB HT Voltage: set=1.2 disp=1.214
NB 1.8v: set=1.80180 disp=1.801
 
DRAM Settings:
Timing: (All set to auto)
CAS#: 10/10
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 11/11
RAS# Pre: 10/10
RAS#ACT: 30/30
READ to Pre: 7/7
RAS# to RAS# Delay:  5/5
Write to Read Delay: 7/7
CAS# write latency: 8/8
Write recovery time: 14/14
Ref cycle time: 300ns
Row cycle time:  42/42
Read to Write Delay: 8/8
Write to Read Delay(dd): 3/3
Write to Write Timing: 4/4
Read to Read Timing: 4/4
Refresh Rate: 7.8ms
Command Rate: 2T
DCT0/DCT1:
CKE: 1.5x
CS/ODT: 1.5x
ADDR/CMD: 2x
MEMCLK: 1.5x
Data: 1.5x
DDS: 1.25x
Processor ODT: 60ohms +- 20%
 
Power:
CPU Load Line: Regular
CPU/NB Load Line: Regular
CPU Current Cap: 130%
CPU/NB Current Cap: 110%
CPU Power Phase control: Extreme
CPU Voltage Freq: Auto
CPU Power Duty Control: Extreme
CPU Power Response Control: Ultra Fast
CPU/NB Power Resp Control: Ultra Fast
CPU Power Thermal Control: 151
 
Bios Monitoring page:
CPU Temp: 52c
MB Temp: 39c
Vcore Voltage: 1.452v
3.3v: 3.312v
5v: 5.014v
12v: 11.943v
VDDA2.5v: 2.520v
CPU Fan speed: 351rpm
Opt: 530rpm
Cha1: 967rpm
Cha2: 1110rpm
Cha3: 1090rpm
Pump: 505rpm
 
QFan:
CPU Control: PWM Mode
Low limit: 300rpm
Upper Temp: 75
Lower Temp: 55
Max %: 98
Min %: 20
Chassis Control: Enabled
Low limit: 300rpm
Upper temp: 75c
Lower Temp: 40c
Max %: 98
Min %: 60
Water Pump Control: PWM
Fan low limit: 300rpm
Upper temp: 75c
Lower temp 60c
Max %: 98
Min %: 20

I am incredibly interested in threadripper or Epyc. But I know a system that even matches the capabilities of the current box would be a couple thousand CAD at least. I just can't justify that kind of purchase in the near future. 
 
All I really want to do is take what I have and compress it.

My budget is incredibly limited. Buying new-used servers is out of the question for the time being (need to pay to finish renovating that room! and a baby coming!)
 
My current Opteron Server has dual socket 16 core cpus, 120GB ram, and several TB of storage backed by a NVME cache drive, and two massive G34 Noctua heatsink towers. Currently it's running 15 virtual machines without a single hiccup, and I'll probably add more. It's not something I could cheaply replace. I've been looking to find a 4u server case for "cheap" that would be able to house that hardware and stay as quiet as possible. I doubt I'd be able to match the sound levels of the current setup, but I'd like to come close. Later on I can wrap the server rack in a ventilated "sound proofed" cabinet to reduce sound further.

Yeah, there are driver issues too. AMDs driver team has historically been pretty awful. Nvidia not too much better in some cases. Specially on mobile. fffff.

I think it entirely depends on the user and their choice of games... But yeah, It may just be in a few years the raw performance won't be there for even 1080p 60fps gaming (on low/med even). I sure hope not. But I like to dream ;D

I shal (mis?)quote a classic:
 
If you build it, they will come.

Right now, for sure its a non issue. In the future, we'll see. People said 4GB was pointless a few years ago.

I win my imaginary arguments while /trying/ to fall asleep at night. It's rather annoying actually.

Comeon mah peeps, lets get dis partay started!

Comeon mah peeps, lets get dis partay started!

Horsepower vs Ram is completely up to the application. Many games want to stuff a crap load of draw calls and geometry data down the pipe, rather than try to optimize, they hope and pray you have enough power. (*cough*bethesda*cough*)
 
The 390 almost certainly has more raw horsepower, but its limited by it's own drivers, the DX/GL apis, and the applications running on it. Hopefully that'll improve. We'll see.

Both have pros and cons, they trade blows from game to game...they perform similar at the end of the day, the 970 is cooler and overclock a ton and support a shit load of amazing features where as the AMD will have no problem running higher quality textures in games for ages due to a better memory configuration but will lack the GPU horsepower to fully run the settings that would REQUIRE anything more than 4GB of video memory texture quality aside anyways(AKA not ''i will fill it if it's there kinda deal...more like now i hitch and pause all over the place kinda deal - NOT THE SAME THING BTW) none are perfect but the 970 is closer to it IMHO. The 390 will have a few more frames per second in well optimized titles but the 970 will have better frame timing, most likely better minimums and better day 1 compatibility with games...and better driver support overall.

Luckily I am not that fat. Nor was I ever that fat. still gotta lose more weight though.

Try also seeing if you can update the "drivers" for your monitor. The settings will only show you resolutions that the Monitor and GPU /both/ report they support. Sometimes the EDID information coming back from monitors is just wrong, and it can depend on the silly little .inf driver info that windows picks for your monitor.

Don't you people fucking sleep ._.

I first looked at buying used from kijiji (its like craigs list), but I really didn't feel like taking the risk. They are almost certainly heavily OCed, and/or been mined on.

This is why the TL;DR
 
Normally I don't type so much. dunno why I felt like venting.

Good decision I was considering finding a 290 instead of buying a new 390... In the end the 390 was less hassle and I'm guaranteed a normal waranty, but it was tempting to try and find a 290.

This is why the TL;DR
 
Normally I don't type so much. dunno why I felt like venting.

I think the only reason they managed 4GB was because they already have stacking. What they need is more layers, and longer vias, and potentially a smaller gpu/ram dies, and/or larger base sub-straight.

Don't forget about the speed holes.

Don't forget about the speed holes.

C and/or C++ coupled with QT (preferably) or GTK. Linux doesn't have an official user-interface library that's as first class as you're going to get. Java works but it's incredibly annoying to use a Java program.