3900x vs Dual Xeon

[SnooPainting8310]

Hello, I recently upgraded my computer(1 month ago) and having bought the 3900x paired with a 160$ b550 mobo, I was wandering if I could have get more multi-core performances for that same budget(650$) by going the dual Xeon route.

 

The performance I seek is only in multi-core (and we will use cinebench r20 as the reference), so the concerns are the following : with a 650$ budget, what is the most powerful combo (cpu(s) + mobo) you can get ? (used parts are allowed of course)

 

Stock 3900x scores around 7200 points. For 2 Xeons to top that, a single Xeon would have to hit above 3600 points.

[flashiling]

3 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

Hello, I recently upgraded my computer(1 month ago) and having bought the 3900x paired with a 160$ b550 mobo, I was wandering if I could have get more multi-core performances for that same budget(650$) by going the dual Xeon route.

 

The performance I seek is only in multi-core (and we will use cinebench r20 as the reference), so the concerns are the following : with a 650$ budget, what is the most powerful combo (cpu(s) + mobo) you can get ? (used parts are allowed of course)

 

Stock 3900x scores around 7200 points. For 2 Xeons to top that, a single Xeon would have to hit above 3600 points.

would depend on the xeon you chose. not super experienced with Xeons and dual cpu motherboards as i've only seen them in servers, and they tend to be expensive there.

[SFFDesigns]

7 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

Hello, I recently upgraded my computer(1 month ago) and having bought the 3900x paired with a 160$ b550 mobo, I was wandering if I could have get more multi-core performances for that same budget(650$) by going the dual Xeon route.

 

The performance I seek is only in multi-core (and we will use cinebench r20 as the reference), so the concerns are the following : with a 650$ budget, what is the most powerful combo (cpu(s) + mobo) you can get ? (used parts are allowed of course)

 

Stock 3900x scores around 7200 points. For 2 Xeons to top that, a single Xeon would have to hit above 3600 points.

I'd stick with a 3900X. Old architectures like Xeons that you could find for $650 with motherboard probably won't be as good (this is just a guess though obviously, there maybe some great deals to be found). Honestly, maybe saving up for a "5950X" or something like that and dropping it in might be better? Used 3950X could also become an option

[Radium_Angel]

14 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

single Xeon would have to hit above 3600 points.

You are unlikely to get that for the price point you have, but saying "I have a dual Xeon workstation" is much cooler than "I've got an AMD CPU"

(For the record, I have a dual Xeon Workstation, and I am very happy with it)

[SnooPainting8310]

14 minutes ago, flashiling said:

would depend on the xeon you chose. not super experienced with Xeons and dual cpu motherboards as i've only seen them in servers, and they tend to be expensive there.

 

Lol a fellow redditor pointed me this https://aliexpress.ru/item/4001135866276.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.11f93114ErXnLS&algo_pvid=1909b7f4-038f-4c9e-8b6a-728299571997&algo_expid=1909b7f4-038f-4c9e-8b6a-728299571997-22&btsid=0b8b034116013874989863254e7222&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

What's your take for this build ?

[SnooPainting8310]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

You are unlikely to get that for the price point you have, but saying "I have a dual Xeon workstation" is much cooler than "I've got an AMD CPU"

(For the record, I have a dual Xeon Workstation, and I am very happy with it)

Yeah very expensive if bought from the factory and recommendable webstore, but from eBay or ali-express... like that https://aliexpress.ru/item/4001135866276.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.11f93114ErXnLS&algo_pvid=1909b7f4-038f-4c9e-8b6a-728299571997&algo_expid=1909b7f4-038f-4c9e-8b6a-728299571997-22&btsid=0b8b034116013874989863254e7222&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

I guess it's possible

[SnooPainting8310]

10 minutes ago, Hymenopus_Coronatus said:

I'd stick with a 3900X. Old architectures like Xeons that you could find for $650 with motherboard probably won't be as good (this is just a guess though obviously, there maybe some great deals to be found). Honestly, maybe saving up for a "5950X" or something like that and dropping it in might be better? Used 3950X could also become an option

Hum... good ideas there, but a used 3950x is REALLY unlikely and the 5950x would be way over the budget I guess

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

Yeah very expensive if bought from the factory and recommendable webstore, but from eBay or ali-express... like that https://aliexpress.ru/item/4001135866276.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.11f93114ErXnLS&algo_pvid=1909b7f4-038f-4c9e-8b6a-728299571997&algo_expid=1909b7f4-038f-4c9e-8b6a-728299571997-22&btsid=0b8b034116013874989863254e7222&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

I guess it's possible

If you wanna take that chance, sure. For the record, I have a Dell Precision with very nearly the same CPUs in it. Paid about 500$ for the system, sans GPU and additional SSDs, and I'm sportin merely 32GB of RAM.

[SnooPainting8310]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

If you wanna take that chance, sure. For the record, I have a Dell Precision with very nearly the same CPUs in it. Paid about 500$ for the system, sans GPU and additional SSDs, and I'm sportin merely 32GB of RAM.

sans GPU ? what does that mean ?

For 500$ !!! How well does this build do in cinebench r20 ? (multi-core score of course)

And me who though the 3900x was the best bang for the bucks option for a multi-thread build...

[Radium_Angel]

14 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

sans GPU ? what does that mean ?

For 500$ !!! How well does this build do in cinebench r20 ? (multi-core score of course)

And me who though the 3900x was the best bang for the bucks option for a multi-thread build...

sans GPU, meaning I had to put m y own dedicated GPU in the build. It came with a Quadro K2000, but I swapped it out for a GTX 660, and later a GTX 1060.

As to multi-core CB r20 performance, I get around 5k

[SnooPainting8310]

4 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

sans GPU, meaning I had to put m y own dedicated GPU in the build. It came with a Quadro K2000, but I swapped it out for a GTX 660, and later a GTX 1060.

As to multi-core CB r20 performance, I get around 5k

Ohh with 2 cpu ? Are you on a x99 mobo ? 

I though you'll get around 8k... even challenging the 3950x... but it appear I was mistaken.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

but it appear I was mistaken.

The system was built (it's a workstation after all) with stability, rather than raw performance in mind. It's a custom Dell mobo, unsure if it's a real x99 or not, and I don't care much to find out to be honest, it works for me, and that's really all that matters.

I'm sure with some tweaking you could get close, and there are a ton of off-brand x99 systems out there for cheap, but the long-term reliability remains a question for me, as attractive as their price point is.

 

See ifthis helps any

 

 

[SnooPainting8310]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

The system was built (it's a workstation after all) with stability, rather than raw performance in mind. It's a custom Dell mobo, unsure if it's a real x99 or not, and I don't care much to find out to be honest, it works for me, and that's really all that matters.

I'm sure with some tweaking you could get close, and there are a ton of off-brand x99 systems out there for cheap, but the long-term reliability remains a question for me, as attractive as their price point is.

 

See ifthis helps any

 

 

Yeah, of course you are right not cheaping out on the motherboard, what I was trying to say is that with the right xeon you could easily compete with even a 3950x...

 

Speaking of the right xeon, I dug a bit and found my supposedly perfect candidates : e5-2695 v4 and here is a performance idea (see this benchmark)

[Radium_Angel]

3 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

Yeah, of course you are right not cheaping out on the motherboard, what I was trying to say is that with the right xeon you could easily compete with even a 3950x...

 

Speaking of the right xeon, I dug a bit and found my supposedly perfect candidates : e5-2695 v4 and here is a performance idea (see this benchmark)

Now it's just a matter of pairing it with a solid and stable mobo. 

[SnooPainting8310]

5 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Now it's just a matter of pairing it with a solid and stable mobo. 

Yeah and usually stable motherboard mean trustful manufacturer and more expansive product (with few exception of course)

 

And what do you think about the double e5-2695 v4 option ? Paired with a solid vrm 200-300$ x99 motherboard.

[Radium_Angel]

Just now, SnooPainting8310 said:

Yeah and usually stable motherboard mean trustful manufacturer and more expansive product (with few exception of course)

 

And what do you think about the double e5-2695 v4 option ? Paired with a solid 200-300$ x99 motherboard.

Personally speaking, (and remember, I'm using a dual Xeon workstation) dual Xeons are like dual video cards, neat idea, but fall short of the promise.

It's going to depend on the workload, I mean you're not rigging this up to test Cinebench all day, you're going to actually want to use it for something, right?

What is that something? And how well does said something respond to lots of cores/threads? If you've got 20 cores and 40 threads, for example, and the software takes full advantage of only 1/4 of that, well then the rest are kind of a waste, no?

 

Dual, and quad Xeon rigs exist for a reason, but that reason is a mighty narrow line, make sure you can walk it before plonking down the dosh.

[SnooPainting8310]

2 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Personally speaking, (and remember, I'm using a dual Xeon workstation) dual Xeons are like dual video cards, neat idea, but fall short of the promise.

It's going to depend on the workload, I mean you're not rigging this up to test Cinebench all day, you're going to actually want to use it for something, right?

What is that something? And how well does said something respond to lots of cores/threads? If you've got 20 cores and 40 threads, for example, and the software takes full advantage of only 1/4 of that, well then the rest are kind of a waste, no?

 

Dual, and quad Xeon rigs exist for a reason, but that reason is a mighty narrow line, make sure you can walk it before plonking down the dosh.

I use Zbrush so the more core the better... In fact, the ideal cpu would be a 3990x but I don't want to sell my house, and even though I had the money, I think always going for the best perf/price deal is the best route. (which is the reason for this thread)

[Radium_Angel]

4 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

I use Zbrush so the more core the better... In fact, the ideal cpu would be a 3990x but I don't want to sell my house, and even though I had the money, I think always going for the best perf/price deal is the best route. (which is the reason for this thread)

Well, you just spent the cash for the 3900x, how is the performance in Zbrush? Do you feel you got a good bang-for-the-buck result, or are you dissatisfied?

Is the Zbrush use for fun, or money? In other words, if this is for your job, you could write off the new system on taxes, if it's just for fun, that becomes a different story.

 

I'm going to assume Zbruish benchmarks on dual Xeon rigs are few and far between on YouTube?

[SnooPainting8310]

13 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Well, you just spent the cash for the 3900x, how is the performance in Zbrush? Do you feel you got a good bang-for-the-buck result, or are you dissatisfied?

Is the Zbrush use for fun, or money? In other words, if this is for your job, you could write off the new system on taxes, if it's just for fun, that becomes a different story.

 

I'm going to assume Zbruish benchmarks on dual Xeon rigs are few and far between on YouTube?

No it's for money, so I must have a working computer all the time. And yeah the 3900x does wonderfully ! But knowing that the dual xeon is an available option, I just feel scamed by the industry... That's weird because 3900x is probably the second best option available after the dual xeon...

 

Yeah, most of the people just don't bother and go with a ryzen or a threadripper.

And I couldn't find any xeon user "benchmarking" zbrush on youtube

[Radium_Angel]

6 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

yeah the 3900x does wonderfully

 

6 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

I just feel scamed by the industry

Don't feel that way, it's working for you and there are always better options out there, every day a better option comes about, it's the nature of the industry.

Think about the poor sods who bought a 2080 at the height of the mining craze, now they got taken. You bought a perfectly fine CPU and it works well for your needs. 

 

Don't worry, be happy.

[Radium_Angel]

18 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

No it's for money

Have you read this?

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ZBrush/comments/b62bht/anyone_running_zbrush_with_an_amd_threadripper/

 

[NicoV]

Not sure about the motherboard costs, but some of the first, and even second gen threadripper CPUs can go for really cheap. As in, 300$ for a 16 core CPU cheap.

[SnooPainting8310]

29 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

 

Don't feel that way, it's working for you and there are always better options out there, every day a better option comes about, it's the nature of the industry.

Think about the poor sods who bought a 2080 at the height of the mining craze, now they got taken. You bought a perfectly fine CPU and it works well for your needs. 

 

Don't worry, be happy.

And of course I am happy, I just made the second best choice possible with my budget, I could have made one thousand other choice that would have been worse so of course I feel very lucky... But it's not perfect... But that's ok.. That's life lol

14 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Have you read this?

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ZBrush/comments/b62bht/anyone_running_zbrush_with_an_amd_threadripper/

 

Yeah, I have red all the thread concerning hardware for Zbrush and this one is dead wrong... lol, for the story I almost bought a 10700k because of this thread... But after watching this video, I immediately bought the 3900x... Cause there is nothing more annoying than working with a laggy viewport..

[SnooPainting8310]

9 minutes ago, NicoV said:

Not sure about the motherboard costs, but some of the first, and even second gen threadripper CPUs can go for really cheap. As in, 300$ for a 16 core CPU cheap.

Before buying the 3900x, I checked if there was any threadripper build that could concurence it... I found that no, for 450$, the 3900x is the best bet... But now for 450$ two xeon IS THE BEST BET !!! you see.

Thou the big weakness of this build would be the tremendous power consumption... 2 x 120 w tdp ... Yeah, that WAYYY more than a 3900x 

[Radium_Angel]

15 minutes ago, SnooPainting8310 said:

Cause there is nothing more annoying than working with a laggy viewport..

Gotcha. I assume there is no stand-alone Benchmark for ZBrush? Because I"m happy to test it on some of my systems as way of comparison