Questions about first time workstation build :)

[Wockinine]

Hi there! 
 

I am currently on the verge of building a new workstation rig for my game development business along with Maya rendering and Video editing on the side. Due to the intensive nature of the work that the machine will be running, I have chosen to stretch my budget and aim for a 5950x as it offers the best balance between high clock throughout and overall Thread count which will really be a night and day upgrade for me from my anemic 7700k  . 
 

My first question about this however, is what board to go with as I am somewhat budget conscious and have alllowed for a £200 limit for the logic board. After looking thru my options, I have chosen the ASUS ROG b550-f as from what I read it’s a really solid board with decent power delivery and features but it does lack the extra PCIE 4.0 bandwidth which doesn’t really bother me much. However, for the same money, I can buy an MSI x570 board which would get me the PCIE 4.0 controller and other related features but I am very put off by the horror stories that seem to surround these low end x570 MsI boards. I guess my question is whether the Asus b550 board will be sufficient for the 5950x at stock speeds (or maybe a very moderate overclock).

 

Secondly, what sort of cooling solution do these big zen 3 chips need? I’m looking at purchasing a Corsair 240mm AIO to keep the beast cool but I am concerned whether this will be enough to retain reasonable temps after extended work days at full load. 
 

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I am excited to soon be able to play with my new toy!!

[Bombastinator]

17 minutes ago, Wockinine said:

Hi there! 
 

I am currently on the verge of building a new workstation rig for my game development business along with Maya rendering and Video editing on the side. Due to the intensive nature of the work that the machine will be running, I have chosen to stretch my budget and aim for a 5950x as it offers the best balance between high clock throughout and overall Thread count which will really be a night and day upgrade for me from my anemic 7700k  . 
 

My first question about this however, is what board to go with as I am somewhat budget conscious and have alllowed for a £200 limit for the logic board. After looking thru my options, I have chosen the ASUS ROG b550-f as from what I read it’s a really solid board with decent power delivery and features but it does lack the extra PCIE 4.0 bandwidth which doesn’t really bother me much. However, for the same money, I can buy an MSI x570 board which would get me the PCIE 4.0 controller and other related features but I am very put off by the horror stories that seem to surround these low end x570 MsI boards. I guess my question is whether the Asus b550 board will be sufficient for the 5950x at stock speeds (or maybe a very moderate overclock).

 

Secondly, what sort of cooling solution do these big zen 3 chips need? I’m looking at purchasing a Corsair 240mm AIO to keep the beast cool but I am concerned whether this will be enough to retain reasonable temps after extended work days at full load. 
 

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I am excited to soon be able to play with my new toy!!

Sounds like an x570 or b550 question.  That hinges on how long do you plan on using the thing and how many and what kind of Pcie cards do you want to stuff in it.

 

my understanding with a 5950 is big air is a minimum so you’re looking at 60-100+ for a cooler.  You can do it without putting it on water at stock, but if you want to clock it water can be a necessity. Two or 3 fan radiators for that. It’s got 16 cores after all.