Workstation/Gaming build

[Xplo1t]

I'm looking to replace my previous HEDT setup with something that will be relevant until the 10/7nm parts hit the market.  The biggest question is which Threadripper variant would handling gaming as well as productivity equally as well.  So far the 2950X seems to have decent clock speeds.   Also figured that with two 2080 Ti, I could actually push well over 60fps at 4k for games that support SLI.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 2950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($865.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X399 AORUS XTREME EATX TR4 Motherboard  ($427.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance RGB Pro 64 GB (8 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($619.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($297.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($297.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 2 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($539.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda Pro 8 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($272.57 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda Pro 8 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($272.57 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Asus - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card (2-Way SLI) 
Video Card: Asus - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card (2-Way SLI) 
Case: be quiet! - DARK BASE PRO 900 | BLACK rev. 2 ATX Full Tower Case  ($269.00 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - PRIME Platinum 1300 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($229.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($124.79 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: Acer - Predator X27 bmiiphzx 27.0" 3840x2160 144 Hz Monitor  ($1799.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $6138.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-16 21:56 EST-0500

 

 

[RAM555789]

Expect to run into issues in some games if you do run SLI. Some games that don't support SLI will flat out crash when you are running SLI, and could be a pain for you at times.

[Cereal5]

If all you want is a CPU to hold you over until Zen 2 comes to market, I would recommend just getting a 1900X. They're the cheapest CPU on that platform, especially if you only need it for 4-5 months until you upgrade. Even a 1950X is like $300 cheaper than a 2950X. Also, a 2080 Ti will do 4k60fps ultra settings in most games (but I guess if you have the money...).

[Xplo1t]

18 minutes ago, Cereal5 said:

If all you want is a CPU to hold you over until Zen 2 comes to market, I would recommend just getting a 1900X. They're the cheapest CPU on that platform, especially if you only need it for 4-5 months until you upgrade. Even a 1950X is like $300 cheaper than a 2950X. Also, a 2080 Ti will do 4k60fps ultra settings in most games (but I guess if you have the money...).

I would want more cores than my other machines which all currently have 8 each so the 1900X is out.  Also, isn't the 1950X last years TR?  

 

And I already have a 2080 Ti in my 9900K build and it doesn't do anywhere close to 144fps at 4k so unless RTX Titan can do that, the only solution is SLI in supported games.

 

[Cereal5]

7 minutes ago, Xplo1t said:

I would want more cores than my other machines which all currently have 8 each so the 1900X is out.  Also, isn't the 1950X last years TR?  

 

And I already have a 2080 Ti in my 9900K build and it doesn't do anywhere close to 144fps at 4k so unless RTX Titan can do that, the only solution is SLI in supported games.

 

Well don't expect to get higher frame rates just cause you have more cores. The 9900K is currently basically as good as it gets when it comes to gaming performance. And yes, 1000 series threadripper uses Zen architecture, and 2000 series uses Zen+, just like the mainstream CPUs, but the difference is small, and you said you're only looking for something "that will be relevant" until Zen 2 comes to market, which, like I said, is probably around 4-6 months away. I wouldn't bother spending more money for that short of CPU usage, but you can. In that case, a 2950X is probably your best bet, remembering to switch to gaming mode when playing games. I can also explain that the difference between high and ultra settings (in most cases) are minimal visual gains at the cost of high performance hits, but that's another story.

[Xplo1t]

3 minutes ago, Cereal5 said:

Well don't expect to get higher frame rates just cause you have more cores. The 9900K is currently basically as good as it gets when it comes to gaming performance. And yes, 1000 series threadripper uses Zen architecture, and 2000 series uses Zen+, just like the mainstream CPUs, but the difference is small, and you said you're only looking for something "that will be relevant" until Zen 2 comes to market, which, like I said, is probably around 4-6 months away. I wouldn't bother spending more money for that short of CPU usage, but you can. In that case, a 2950X is probably your best bet, remembering to switch to gaming mode when playing games. I can also explain that the difference between high and ultra settings (in most cases) are minimal visual gains at the cost of high performance hits, but that's another story.

The cores are more to fill the need when running virtual machines while gaming.   The three current machines only have 8 cores/16 threads which is becoming difficult to split between the two tasks.  I'm hoping that jumping to 16 now and get a similar experience as I do on the other systems.  Money is not really a factor unless this goes over $10k.

[brob]

17 minutes ago, Xplo1t said:

The cores are more to fill the need when running virtual machines while gaming.   The three current machines only have 8 cores/16 threads which is becoming difficult to split between the two tasks.  I'm hoping that jumping to 16 now and get a similar experience as I do on the other systems.  Money is not really a factor unless this goes over $10k.

 

Do you dedicate cores to the VM or let the hypervisor provide virtual cores?

[Xplo1t]

7 hours ago, brob said:

 

Do you dedicate cores to the VM or let the hypervisor provide virtual cores?

I dedicate cores to the hypervisor and let it handle them as virtual cores to the VM's.  So, if I went with a 2950X, it would get 8 cores.  From there, it would become enough cores to cover whatever I'm testing.  I would not be using this to validate performance, but more for a PoC.  From there, it goes to Azure or AWS.

[brob]

The cpu cooler in the OP requires an optional bracket for use with TR4, Corsair part #CW-8960054. But I would suggest using a cpu cooler with a TR4 size thermal transfer plate. Enermax, Cooler Master, Noctua, and beQuiet have suitable models.

[Xplo1t]

3 hours ago, brob said:

The cpu cooler in the OP requires an optional bracket for use with TR4, Corsair part #CW-8960054. But I would suggest using a cpu cooler with a TR4 size thermal transfer plate. Enermax, Cooler Master, Noctua, and beQuiet have suitable models.

I will look at those instead of Corsair.