Poorly balanced built upgrade

[Kalareor]

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/

Edited April 2, 2020 by Kalareor

[SirWendall]

If you want to change platforms, the R5 3600 is a really good choice!

[-rascal-]

@Kalareor

 

The CPU, motherboard, and RAM will have to go.

The power supply is still a good unit, that can EITHER say or go -- depending on the age of the unit.

The computer case will have to go too.

 

Do you want to retain the more compact mATX form factor, or are you willing to go up to a Mid-Tower or full-sized ATX form factor?

The Cooler Master Silcencio 352 is...pretty poor in the airflow / cooling department, so I am not surprised your system is overheating.

Like I said before, the case will have to go.

You just need a new case -- can retain the mATX size if you want, but may limit your motherboard and CPU cooler selections.

 

I see that your computer is used for both work and play.

What software do you use for your image reconstruction?

So you usually see all your CPU cores / threads a full usage?

How is your RAM usage, are you filling up most of your 16 GB?

 

This will kind of help us better steer you into what platform to use.

(E.g Intel LGA 1151 platform, or jump up to their high-end Intel LGA 2066 socket platform, AMD AM4 Ryzen, or AMD ThreadRipper, etc).

 

[Kalareor]

@-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

 

[Shrekpad]

16 minutes ago, Kalareor said:

@-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

 

How much are you willing to spend? Which country will you be buying in?

[Kalareor]

@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-]

@Shrekpad

 

Yes, that answers some of the questions.

 

I am not too familiar with Autodesk Fusion 360, but looking into it briefly, only CERTAIN tasks have multi-core support.

Otherwise, it appears to be fairly single-core reliant.

Someone mentioned Fusion 360 forums mentioned "Fusion 360 current version not optimized for hyperthreaded CPU".

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/fusion-only-using-1-core/td-p/8729832

 

For that reason, I am leaning towards Intel's LGA 1151 (e.g. Z390) platform over anything else because of the higher CPU frequency.

That said, AMD's socket AM4 Ryzen is also not out of the question.

6 or 8 cores, along with hyper-threading should be good -- even for that 5% work part.

Intel LGA 2066/X299, and AMD ThreadRipper/X399 doesn't seem to be worth the extra cost in your situation.

 

As for RAM, 16 GB (2 X 8 GB) configuration, seems to be the best.

This typically gives you the option to double that up when you need it, bringing up to 32 GB when all 4 RAM slots are used up.

 

I'm doing some work-related stuff at the moment.

I can run through PCPartPicker later to give you an idea of what parts you are looking for.

I'm 1100% sure the rest of the giant LTT community can also help you with this, too!!

 

1000 ~ 1200 budget should be PLENTY for CPU + RAM + Motherboard + Case ( + PSU if needed).

[Shrekpad]

24 minutes ago, Kalareor said:

@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

I used the website you gave.

 

[Kalareor]

8 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

@Shrekpad

 

Yes, that answers some of the questions.

 

I am not too familiar with Autodesk Fusion 360, but looking into it briefly, only CERTAIN tasks have multi-core support.

Otherwise, it appears to be fairly single-core reliant.

Someone mentioned Fusion 360 forums mentioned "Fusion 360 current version not optimized for hyperthreaded CPU".

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/fusion-only-using-1-core/td-p/8729832

 

For that reason, I am leaning towards Intel's LGA 1151 (e.g. Z390) platform over anything else because of the higher CPU frequency.

That said, AMD's socket AM4 Ryzen is also not out of the question.

6 or 8 cores, along with hyper-threading should be good -- even for that 5% work part.

Intel LGA 2066/X299, and AMD ThreadRipper/X399 doesn't seem to be worth the extra cost in your situation.

 

As for RAM, 16 GB (2 X 8 GB) configuration, seems to be the best.

This typically gives you the option to double that up when you need it, bringing up to 32 GB when all 4 RAM slots are used up.

 

I'm doing some work-related stuff at the moment.

I can run through PCPartPicker later to give you an idea of what parts you are looking for.

I'm 1100% sure the rest of the giant LTT community can also help you with this, too!!

 

1000 ~ 1200 budget should be PLENTY for CPU + RAM + Motherboard + Case ( + PSU if needed).

@-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]

11 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

@Shrekpad

 

Yes, that answers some of the questions.

 

I am not too familiar with Autodesk Fusion 360, but looking into it briefly, only CERTAIN tasks have multi-core support.

Otherwise, it appears to be fairly single-core reliant.

Someone mentioned Fusion 360 forums mentioned "Fusion 360 current version not optimized for hyperthreaded CPU".

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/fusion-only-using-1-core/td-p/8729832

 

For that reason, I am leaning towards Intel's LGA 1151 (e.g. Z390) platform over anything else because of the higher CPU frequency.

That said, AMD's socket AM4 Ryzen is also not out of the question.

6 or 8 cores, along with hyper-threading should be good -- even for that 5% work part.

Intel LGA 2066/X299, and AMD ThreadRipper/X399 doesn't seem to be worth the extra cost in your situation.

 

As for RAM, 16 GB (2 X 8 GB) configuration, seems to be the best.

This typically gives you the option to double that up when you need it, bringing up to 32 GB when all 4 RAM slots are used up.

 

I'm doing some work-related stuff at the moment.

I can run through PCPartPicker later to give you an idea of what parts you are looking for.

I'm 1100% sure the rest of the giant LTT community can also help you with this, too!!

I added the Ryzen 7 3700X instead of the i7, while you do have a good point, they r7 is only slightly worse in single threaded performance. But since the r7 has twice the threads and SMT while the i7 doesn’t have hyper-threading, also considering the price difference is 100 francs the Ryzen 7 seemed like it was better. And the Ryzen 9 3900X is only 80 francs more than the i7. I also added 32gb ram to start with because it sounded like OP will mainly be using this for productivity.

[Kalareor]

1 minute ago, Shrekpad said:

I added the Ryzen 7 3700X instead of the i7, while you do have a good point, they r7 is only slightly worse in single threaded performance. But since the r7 has twice the threads and SMT while the i7 doesn’t have hyper-threading, also considering the price difference is 100 francs the Ryzen 7 seemed like it was better. And the Ryzen 9 3900X is only 80 francs more than the i7. I also added 32gb ram to start with because it sounded like OP will mainly be using this for productivity.

@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

[Shrekpad]

49 minutes ago, Kalareor said:

@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

Sorry I forgot to add a cooler, since you have the money it might be worth it, especially in the future. As for heat management the case comes with good fans that won’t need replacing. If you go with the 3700X I would go with a Noctua or stock (if you won’t be over clocking). For the 3900X, it does come with a stock cooler but I would buy an air cooler or AIO for that expensive as a cpu. It doesn’t make sense getting a b450 motherboard with a Ryzen 9 either so I put a X570

 

 

 

[Shrekpad]

Oh sorry about the power supply getting cut of, it’s the same one as the last build. Adding the Ryzen 9 does make it more expensive but should last longer, it’s really your choice. 

[Kalareor]

6 minutes ago, Shrekpad said:

Sorry I forgot to add a cooler, since you have the money it might be worth it, especially in the future. As for heat management the case comes with good fans that won’t need replacing. If you go with the 3700X I would go with a Noctua or stock (if you won’t be over clocking). For the 3900X, it does come with a stock cooler but I would buy an air cooler or AIO for that expensive as a cpu. It doesn’t make sense getting a b450 motherboard with a Ryzen 9 either so I put a X570

 

 

@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]

22 minutes ago, Kalareor said:

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?

All of the parts are within 20-30 francs of US prices. I also changed the memory to 2x16 tridentz neo AMD optimized to save 20 francs.

[-rascal-]

@Kalareor Swiss vs US prices should be similar?

Because of the weak Canadian Dollar Pesos right now, costs us in Canada another +35%.

 

@Shrekpad suggested some decent Ryzen builds.

You can cut the cost down a little bit on RAM if you drop down to 16 GB, it's totally up to you.

 

This is one of the set-ups I came up with.

Reason for the price difference:

• 16GB of RAM instead of 32GB
• Phanteks P400A Case (There is a P400A Digital has RGB fans included for 108.- )
• Dropped the PSU down to a RM650 instead of the 750W version

 

If I bump the RAM up to 32GB, and the case to the more expensive P400A Digital.

 

 

I went with the i7-9700KF instead of the i7-9700K -- difference is KF has no iGPU, i7-9700K is 424.-

If you have a GTX 1080Ti, you probably don't need to use the iGPU.

Keep in mind the i7-9700KF is a 8-core / 8-thread.

If you want 8-core / 16-threads, the i9-9900KF is 532.- and i9-9900K is 556.-

Unless you NEED the hyper-threading, extra 100...at 500+? I don't know.

Not with what AMD has to offer.

 

Air cooling, water cooling, it is up to you.

 

AMD Ryzen CPUs tends to perform better with higher RAM frequency, it's just how the Ryzen CCX technology works.

The communication bus between the cores / core modules run on the same speed as your RAM frequency.

On Intel, the performance with higher frequency is not as jump, so DDR4-3000 / 3200 / 3400 MHz is fine.

 

ASUS dropped the ball on the motherboard department a little with the Z390 motherboards.

Especially on the motherboard's VRM design, while Gigabyte did the opposite, and upped their game. 

Reason for the Gigabyte motherboard instead.

You would need to go up to 230+ price for an equivalent ASUS motherboard...

 

Why I went with the Phanteks P400A...

Newer case design (came out in CES 2020), with REALLY good open mesh front for airflow.

 

Still gets you within the 1,000 ~ 1,200 price range, even if you go water cooling + 750W version PSU.
 

 

[Shrekpad]

14 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

@Kalareor Swiss vs US prices should be similar?

Because of the weak Canadian Dollar Pesos right now, costs us in Canada another +35%.

 

@Shrekpad suggested some decent Ryzen builds.

You can cut the cost down a little bit on RAM if you drop down to 16 GB, it's totally up to you.

 

This is one of the set-ups I came up with.

Reason for the price difference:

• 16GB of RAM instead of 32GB
• Phanteks P400A Case (There is a P400A Digital has RGB fans included for 108.- )
• Dropped the PSU down to a RM650 instead of the 750W version

 

If I bump the RAM up to 32GB, and the case to the more expensive P400A Digital.

 

 

I went with the i7-9700KF instead of the i7-9700K -- difference is KF has no iGPU, i7-9700K is 424.-

If you have a GTX 1080Ti, you probably don't need to use the iGPU.

Keep in mind the i7-9700KF is a 8-core / 8-thread.

If you want 8-core / 16-threads, the i9-9900KF is 532.- and i9-9900K is 556.-

Unless you NEED the hyper-threading, extra 100...at 500+? I don't know.

Not with what AMD has to offer.

 

Air cooling, water cooling, it is up to you.

 

AMD Ryzen CPUs tends to perform better with higher RAM frequency, it's just how the Ryzen CCX technology works.

The communication bus between the cores / core modules run on the same speed as your RAM frequency.

On Intel, the performance with higher frequency is not as jump, so DDR4-3000 / 3200 / 3400 MHz is fine.

 

ASUS dropped the ball on the motherboard department a little with the Z390 motherboards.

Especially on the motherboard's VRM design, while Gigabyte did the opposite, and upped their game. 

Reason for the Gigabyte motherboard instead.

You would need to go up to 230+ price for an equivalent ASUS motherboard...

 

Why I went with the Phanteks P400A...

Newer case design (came out in CES 2020), with REALLY good open mesh front for airflow.

 

Still gets you within the 1,000 ~ 1,200 price range, even if you go water cooling + 750W version PSU.
 

 

16gb ram isn’t enough for 3D modeling. For en extra 100 the Ryzen 9 is better than the i7. Although the i9 would be most ideal for OP’s use case. But a 750w power supply for an I9 or Ryzen 9 with an 1080ti is more reasonable than 650w just for future upgradability. I get an AIO because they cool better and these expensive CPUs can get hot.

[-rascal-]

21 minutes ago, Shrekpad said:

16gb ram isn’t enough for 3D modeling. For en extra 100 the Ryzen 9 is better than the i7. Although the i9 would be most ideal for OP’s use case. But a 750w power supply for an I9 or Ryzen 9 with an 1080ti is more reasonable than 650w just for future upgradability. I get an AIO because they cool better and these expensive CPUs can get hot.

 

It doesn't look like @Kalareor is struggling with RAM in the 3D modelling task...at least from his description.

And from the looks of it his 3D modelling software, Autodesk 360, doesn't properly make use of many cores or threads -- at least, that why other users are saying.

It appears to be mostly single-cored / single-threaded.

Which is the reason with the i7 route -- raw higher frequency, and single-core performance.

 

His image reconstruction work seems to top out at ~10GB, so that was the reason for the 16GB of RAM instead of 32GB.

That said, the 32GB for 244.- or 225.- is a REALLY good price.

 

True, the 750W would all room for future upgrades, but I am not sure if he would add a second GPU.

If he is sticking with a single GPU configuration, even 550W or would be enough.

 

Assuming overclocking the Ryzen 5/7 or Intel i7, and GTX 1080Ti (or RTX 2080Ti or whatever), system would still be under ~400W from the PSU side.

At stock, the system would be ~300W.

 

water cooling or air cooling will depend on the OP's preference.

The Dark Rock Pro 4, Nocuta NH-D14 / D15 are up there in performance vs most 240mm AIO's.

[Shrekpad]

5 minutes ago, -rascal- said:

 

It doesn't look like @Kalareor is struggling with RAM in the 3D modelling task...at least from his description.

And from the looks of it his 3D modelling software, Autodesk 360, doesn't properly make use of many cores or threads -- at least, that why other users are saying.

It appears to be mostly single-cored / single-threaded.

Which is the reason with the i7 route -- raw higher frequency, and single-core performance.

 

His image reconstruction work seems to top out at ~10GB, so that was the reason for the 16GB of RAM instead of 32GB.

That said, the 32GB for 244.- or 225.- is a REALLY good price.

 

True, the 750W would all room for future upgrades, but I am not sure if he would add a second GPU.

If he is sticking with a single GPU configuration, even 550W or would be enough.

 

Assuming overclocking the Ryzen 5/7 or Intel i7, and GTX 1080Ti (or RTX 2080Ti or whatever), system would still be under ~400W from the PSU side.

At stock, the system would be ~300W.

 

water cooling or air cooling will depend on the OP's preference.

The Dark Rock Pro 4, Nocuta NH-D14 / D15 are up there in performance vs most 240mm AIO's.

yeah, cooling is his choice. an r9 and 1080 ti alone is 450watts, felt 750 is better.

[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]

3 hours ago, Kalareor said:

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 ?

 

No, you are understanding it wrong, each core can turbo up to 3.6 ghz in your example. The cores frequencies aren’t related to each other. It depends on what you are doing. You can also put cores to sleep this way. The reason the i9 is better in single core benchmarks is because the ryzen 9 sacrifices higher frequencies for extra cores and threads, the i9 turbos to 5ghz while the ryzen 9 turbos to 4.6ghz. Base speeds are similar.

 

the first one is the i9:

[Shrekpad]

4 hours ago, Kalareor said:

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.

Thanks for telling us. For gaming either should be good enough, you won’t see a noticeable difference with either CPUs. Autodesk Fusion 360 benefits from more single core performance so i9 wins here. For 3D image reconstruction  more cores and more threads would be nice, although you won’t be doing much of with, the r9 wins.