Kalareor

@-rascal- and @Shrekpad Thank you very much guys for all the explanations and insights. I very much apreciate it as it allows me to have a clear(er) picture. Overall my activity on my PC is roughly the following one: 40% Gaming (all kinds of games, from indie pixel art games to Doom Eternal lately) 40% Internet browsing (youtube, Netflix, facebook, news, twitter, etc...) 15% 3D Modeling using Autodesk Fusion 360 so far... Because I am more and more disapointed in this software, so I am looking into alternatives that hopefully will be "less" single cored/threaded 5% Work activity with 3D image reconstruction and analysis software. This is part of my ongoing PhD that "should" be finished within half a year or so. Stop if I am wrong but what Iam getting from your discussion is mainly "more" (AMD) Vs. "less" (Intel) cores for roughly the same frequency (3.6 - 3.8 GHz) depending if my usage is more multi or single-core/thread oriented. If I understand correctly the frequency of a CPU is the sum of frequencies of all cores, so let's take a 3.6 GHz CPU for example, an 8 cores CPU will have 0.45 GHz per fore while a 12 cores will have 0.3 GHz per core, right ? So if you mainly use single-core oriented software you better go with the 8 cores CPU as each single core will be beefier, while is you use multi-cores oriented software you better go with the 12 cores CPU as it will be more efficient ? From what I understand (I could be wrong here) the trend in software development (vey generaly speaking) is towards multi/hyper-threading as it provides overall better efficieny. So concidering the near to medium future, isn't going for a higer number of cores sounds like a "safer" bet ? Don't want to create any fights here, just asking... What about gaming in paricular ? I heard everything and it's contrary about CPUs for gaming. Some say go for less cores, other for more cores... Concidering the actual global trend and the future, what is your opinion on the subject ? Thanks again Kala

@Shrekpad Awsome! Thanks a lot! Now I have a good starting point I will wait for -rascal- to come back with an enventual Intel build out of interest and comparison but this gives me already a lot of guidance. Out of pure interest I was wondering, how does Swiss prices compare to the Northen American ones? Switzerland is usually insanely expensive but I hear a lot of people being rather satisfied with prices for electronics. This web-site I gave you is not the cheapest but one of the biggest ones in Switzerland and still on the cheap side with very good after-sales service. I was just wondering how does the prices compare to what you can get un the USA/Canada? Cheers!

@Shrekpad Wow ! That was awsomely quick O_O Thanks a lot ! Asuming I have pretty much no idea what I am talking about here (and most likely the my question will sound stupid): Concidering that there is still a bit of budget left (compared to the configuration you proposed), does it make any sence to go for the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (AM4, 3.80GHz, 12-Core) (504 CHF) instead of the Ryzen 7 3700X you mentioned ? Also heat managment wise, what would you recommend to go with that configuration ? Stay with the Ryzen native fan or opt for a better one ? Air or water cooling ? Thanks

@-rascal- Thank you very much ! Indeed, I went all over Fusion 360 forums to try to find the begining of an answer but apart the vague conclusion that is somehow linked to the CPU I was not really able to get any solution. Fusion 360 is the entry-level 3D CAD software from Autodesk. It is basically free for Students and almost free for makers and rather cheap for other users. This is why I guess Autodesk is not really motivated to optimize it compared to their high-end software that cost a bunch. If you'd like a point of comparison prices wise here is the web-site I am usually ordering my stuff from (english version) : https://www.digitec.ch/en/. My budget (1-1.2 kCHF) is in Swiss Francs as is this web-site. It out of interest you are interested by the prices, 1 CHF = 1.46 CAD = 1.03 USD. No stress at all, take your time. Anyway everyone is confined at home in Europe curently (including Switzerland) due to the Covid-19 situation and it's not a mega urgent matter to me, so I am not in a hurry. Thanks a lot again for your expertise and time

@Shrekpad Budget wise, as I mentioned in my original post, 1'000-1'200 Swiss Francs (that's pretty much the same in USD as 1 CHF = 1.03 USD). I guess I could strech to 1'500 but only if it's really worthy. I live in Switzerland and I will be buying locally as if you oder from any other country you have to pay Swiss VAT and import taxes on top of the price of the country you order it from. Switzerland is (very) expensive in general, but suprinsigly we have rather decent prices for electronics. Here is the web-site I usually order from (english version) if you need a point of comparison : https://www.digitec.ch/en/ Thanks in advance

@-rascal- Thanks a lot for your input. Yes, my original choice of the Cooler Master Silcencio 352 was pretty much my biggest mistake I guess. I was at the time of this build living in a very small student room and I went for the space-optimization option that at that ime made sense. However I very quickly ran into heat problems and I kinda regret I didn't go for a a Mid-Tower or full-sized ATX form factor. So to answer your first question I am totally opened to any size now as I moved to a bigger place, space is not really an issue anymore and I clearly seek for a better heat management. Also I understand and totally agree that I need to change the CPU, motherboard and RAM. It's just that there is so many options and different advices out there on the internet that I am totally lost which way should I go (Intel, AMD, which one, which motherboard, RAM, etc...). I am mainly using my computer for personal usage like gaming, 3D modeling using Autodesk Fusion 360 (that actually struggles a lot once the models I design become complex), 3D printing and currently folding for the folding@home project. I only use my PC for work very occasionally (less that 5% of the time, so it's not really a priority that the new build can handle the "work" part). When I do, it usually implies large data computing using either custom-written C++ or Python code or 3D Visualization & Analysis Software like Avizo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avizo_(software)) or ImageJ which is used to make 3D reconstructions and analysis from images obtained by tomography. The CPU cores (all four of them) are very often hovering in the 70-100% load indeed as soon as I do gaming or any other a bit demanding task. RAM is kinda struggling when I work with very large chunks of image data (even small tomographies weight a few GB) but apart from that specific moment, it usually stays in the 5 to 10 GB usage (out of the 16 available). But again, the rare moments I use my PC for work should not dictate the build too much... I hope I answered your questions and sorry again for maybe a bit simplistic answers as (as I mentioned) PC building is not really my primarily thing and this is why I am humbly seeking guidance from pros like you guys. Thanks a lot again for your help. Cheers! Kala

Hi there ! I am looking into re-build/upgrade my PC. It was my very first and so far only custom build 5 years ago and I a few under-estimations were made then. I use it mainly for gaming but also from time to time for my where I use softwares such as Avizo for analysing stacks of images for tomography 3D reconstructions and simulations. Since the original build I upgraded my GPU and RAM but I feel like my CPU is really reaching it's limit when I load the GPU and I experience more and more often overheating issues due to the compact original built. To be honest I am curently running with the side pannel removed pretty much all the time in order to keep the temperature decent... Yhea.. I know... Shame on me I am looking into basically upgrading prety much anything and everything (case, CPU, cooling, Motherboard, RAM, power suply, etc... maybe apart from the GPU as it is already pretty decent I guess...) but as PC building is not really my primary thing I am completely lost right now especially with the explosion of the PC components market these last couple of years and I would be really thankfull for any kind of advice or recomandations of a new build. I really don't care about aestetics and such, but just a nicelly powerfull and efficient re-build/upgrade. Case size don't really matter. A silent re-build would be preferable. Budget about 1'000 - 1'200 CHF (pretty much same amount in USD). My curent buid: Item Name Motherborad ASROCK H97M CPU INTEL I5-4690 3.50GHZ 6M LGA1150 CPU Cooler COOLER MASTER HYPER TX3 EVO GPU Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming OC 11G RAM Corsair ValueSelect 16 GB (2x, 8GB, DDR3-1600, DIMM 240) Power Supply SEASONIC G-SERIES G-650 80+GOLD HDD 1 (System) CRUCIAL SSD BX100 250GB SATA2.5” 7MM HDD 2 (Programs + Data) Intenso SSD Top 512GB (512Go, 2.5") WiFi ASUS PCE-AC56 (PCI-E x1) Case COOLER MASTER SILENCIO 352 MATTE - SIL-352M-KKN1 Additional Case Fans 2 x BE QUIET! PURE WINGS 2, 120MM Spare parts: Item Name GPU GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD RAM KINGSTON DDR3 8G(2X4) HYPERX FURY HX316C10FK2/8 Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 10 (600W) Thank you very much in advance Cheers! Kala Edit: Display: Single Monitor: Dell U2715H (27", 2560 x 1440 Pixels) System: Windows 10 Location: Switzerland Intend to buy locally. 1 CHF = 1.03 USD. Here is a link for prices comparison in Switzerland (english version): https://www.digitec.ch/en/