Multi-tasking College Computer

[Spellsan]

Budget (including currency): 

CAD ($3000ish)

Country: 

Canada

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

I'm going to college for my Commercial Pilot License and Building System Engineering, so like Flight Sim 2020 and Solidworks etc. Also other games in my down time.

Other details: 

I already have one 1080P 25" monitor that I want to use as a secondary (want to upgrade to a 4K 27" and something able to drive it), as well as I have a decent keyboard and mouse. Also I am keeping my storage from my old build (3TB hdd, 1TB Samsung 860 Evo). Other than that I have nothing else I am carrying over from my previous build. I really don't care for looks, expect if the case has a TG side panel then I do. Also noise is my #1 factor (silence, current build under load is loud).

Questions: 

1900X or 3700X?

Should I invest in a raid (5 or 10 or another config) nvme storage array for quick loading of projects and flight sim? (like a hyper x16 card from ASUS with 4x 512gb NVME drives. 1900X only I believe??)

Any other ideas?

Build Idea:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/YYP7Dx

CPU: AMD Threadripper 1900X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($390.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4 59.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($129.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X399-E Gaming EATX sTR4 Motherboard  ($438.52 @ Amazon Canada) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($299.00 @ Canada Computers) 
Storage: Corsair MP510 960 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card  ($949.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass ATX Full Tower Case  ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($179.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Monitor: Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q 28.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  ($429.99 @ Best Buy Canada) 
Custom: ORICO USB 3.0 PCI-Express Host Controller Card with 4 Port, PCI-Express  ($20.00 @ Canada Computers) 
Total: $3168.45

[AndreiArgeanu]

I wouldn't suggest going with first gen threadripper. Ryzen perfectly meets your needs and the 3700X is far better than the 1900X when it comes to performance, not to mention that going ryzen instead of threadripper, in the future, should you want to, you can get up to a ryzen 9 3950X or even next gen ryzen, which helps a lot in gaming and single threaded tasks. Not to mention the cheaper motherboards and PCIE 4.0 support if you get a B550 or X570 board. It might also be worth getting 3600mhz memory instead of the 3200mhz, the performance difference isn't huge but if you can fit in the budget you should get it. The only reason to get threadripper is if you need the extra workstation features, and want to upgrade in the future to a cpu above 16 cores. The rest of the build is great.

 

[Spellsan]

4 minutes ago, AndreiArgeanu said:

I wouldn't suggest going with first gen threadripper. Ryzen perfectly meets your needs and the 3700X is far better than the 1900X when it comes to performance, not to mention that going ryzen instead of threadripper, in the future, should you want to, you can get up to a ryzen 9 3950X or even next gen ryzen, which helps a lot in gaming and single threaded tasks. Not to mention the cheaper motherboards and PCIE 4.0 support if you get a B550 or X570 board. It might also be worth getting 3600mhz memory instead of the 3200mhz, the performance difference isn't huge but if you can fit in the budget you should get it. The only reason to get threadripper is if you need the extra workstation features, and want to upgrade in the future to a cpu above 16 cores. The rest of the build is great.

 

Okay, do you think I need anything faster than a NVME (3.0) drive for a projects and games?

[AndreiArgeanu]

Just now, Spellsan said:

Okay, do you think I need anything faster than a NVME (3.0) drive for a projects and games?

Generally speaking, no. PCIE 4.0 with a pcie 4.0 nvme ssd only really improves transfer times.

Also I made a slightly cheaper build using AMD parts, should you choose to go this route. The only thing that I changed was the motherboard and CPU. The cooler is the same one, except it's compatible with AM4.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor	$459.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler	$99.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop
Motherboard	MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard	$309.99 @ Best Buy Canada
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$299.00 @ Canada Computers
Storage	Corsair MP510 960 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$179.99 @ Newegg Canada
Video Card	Asus GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card	$949.99
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass ATX Full Tower Case	$149.99 @ Newegg Canada
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$179.99 @ Amazon Canada
Monitor	Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q 28.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor	$429.99 @ Best Buy Canada
Custom	ORICO USB 3.0 PCI-Express Host Controller Card with 4 Port,PCI-Express	$20.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$3078.92
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-23 22:01 EDT-0400

 

[GhostRoadieBL]

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/SOLIDWORKS-2020-SP1-CPU-Performance-1681/

CPU core count is part of the equation but IPC is much more important with Solidworks 2020 now. 

 

that being said, you won't find a 1900X for 309$ anywhere. minimum is 390-500$ (PC part picker doesn't check stock)

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor	$459.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler	$79.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop
Motherboard	Asus TUF GAMING B550-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard	$199.00 @ Canada Computers
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$299.00 @ Canada Computers
Storage	Samsung 860 Pro 256 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$119.99 @ Amazon Canada
Storage	Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$139.99 @ Amazon Canada
Storage	Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$139.99 @ Amazon Canada
Video Card	Asus GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card	$949.99
Case	be quiet! Pure Base 600 ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Canada Computers
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$179.99 @ Amazon Canada
Monitor	Samsung U28E590D 28.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor	$349.98 @ Amazon Canada
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$3007.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-23 22:24 EDT-0400

tweaked a few things 

- CPU 3800X will get you better performance across the board, massively threaded operations are still completed extremely quickly with the higher IPC than threadripper gen1

- couldn't find an x570 board with all the features at a decent price so B550 will work great (specifically 2x gen4 M.2 slots with direct CPU lanes)

- SSDs is a tough one, so here's 860 pro for OS and general stuff, then a pair of 500GB gen4's for Solidworks and models to be run in raid0 basically the fastest you can go with the lanes available, short of an add on card and lane splitting. onboard will be easier for sure. *** I missed that you are swapping in a 1TB SATA SSD so you can save 120$ off the list. 

- same 3080, you can get away with a 2080 super but 3080 will be that next step up. if you can get one of course

- case was swapped out for a beQuiet one with noise dampening. assuming this system will probably be running overnight renders RGB and crazy noise is out of the question (wish I could have stretched the budget for a pair of 120mm fans to round out the airflow but it should be fine)

- monitor claims a faster response time while keeping everything else the same so it might be better bang for the buck. 

 

overall a hell of a system, if you can get a UPS or already have one I would highly highly recommend it, even reducing the RAM to 32GB and getting a UPS would be my recommendation. 

 

[GhostRoadieBL]

34 minutes ago, AndreiArgeanu said:

Generally speaking, no.

for solidworks it makes a big difference for the swap drive and caching. in day to day it makes no difference but specifically rendering and flow modelling needs as much speed as you can give it on the drive as the RAM will be overwritten a ton.