Threadripper vs GPU

Kekavus · February 12, 2019

Hi! This is my first post.

i use my computer primarily for 3d animation (c4d) and video editing. I was going to build a Threadripper 2950x systerm...but then I started thinking: if gpu’s are so much faster what is the point of all those cores?

What are the advantages of multicore cpu combined with a powerful gpu for my usage???

Origami Cactus · February 12, 2019

Programs use different methods.

Some use GPU's for rendering, some use CPU's.

So pick depending on the program.

GPUS have thousands of tiny weaker cores, while cpus have a few very fast big cores.

Brooksie359 · February 12, 2019

There are things that can't be gpu accelerated and those things benifit from having more cpu cores.

mariushm · February 12, 2019

In addition to what was said above, some people buy Threadripper not because of the number of cpu cores, but for the flexibility it offers.

All Threadripper processors even the ones with just eight cores, come with 64 pci-e lanes, out of which 60 are available and 4 are used to connect chipset to CPU.

So you can basically connect 6 video cards in 6 pci-e slots, each running at pci-e 3.0 x8 - so 48 pci-e lanes are used by video cards or other devices like 10gbps ethernet cards, capture cards etc, and you still have 12 pci-e lanes available for m.2 drives or u.2 or other things.

Or, you could use almost all lanes for m.2 drives or pci-e SSD drives, as each x16 can be further split into up to 7 devices, but most commonly it is split into 4x4 (see pci-e adapter cards which allow you to connect 4 m.2 drives into a x16 slot)

Intel processors in general have fewer lanes coming directly from CPU, I may be wrong but I think the highest end tops at 44 pci-e lanes or maybe 52... also, the lanes coming from chipset have all kinds of quirks, like sata ports or usb 3 ports being disabled if certain pci-e slots are used and so on...

GeoSquigg · February 12, 2019

TL;DR

If you had to ask, you don't need.

Kekavus · February 12, 2019

4 hours ago, mariushm said:

In addition to what was said above, some people buy Threadripper not because of the number of cpu cores, but for the flexibility it offers.

All Threadripper processors even the ones with just eight cores, come with 64 pci-e lanes, out of which 60 are available and 4 are used to connect chipset to CPU.

So you can basically connect 6 video cards in 6 pci-e slots, each running at pci-e 3.0 x8 - so 48 pci-e lanes are used by video cards or other devices like 10gbps ethernet cards, capture cards etc, and you still have 12 pci-e lanes available for m.2 drives or u.2 or other things.

Or, you could use almost all lanes for m.2 drives or pci-e SSD drives, as each x16 can be further split into up to 7 devices, but most commonly it is split into 4x4 (see pci-e adapter cards which allow you to connect 4 m.2 drives into a x16 slot)

Intel processors in general have fewer lanes coming directly from CPU, I may be wrong but I think the highest end tops at 44 pci-e lanes or maybe 52... also, the lanes coming from chipset have all kinds of quirks, like sata ports or usb 3 ports being disabled if certain pci-e slots are used and so on...