2D + 3D Animation, Video Editing Workstation / My first PC build

[thomashobbess]

Budget (including currency):  $5,000 USD

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Blender, After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and some gaming for fun, not too concerned with top notch FPS when gaming. Mostly want to cut through render times, and make the Blender viewport lightning fast.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):

My current configuration is looking like:

 

CPU: Ryzen 9 7950x

Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420

Motherboard: ASUS ProArt X760E CREATOR WIFI ATX

GPU: ASUS TUF RTX 4090 24GB

RAM: Kingston Fury 128GB (4x32GB) DDR5 5600MT/s CL36 FURY Beast Black EXPO 

SSD: Crucial P5 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe M.2 x3

PSU: Corsair HX1200 Platinum 1200 W

Case: Fractal Meshify 2 or Corsair 7000D Airflow

 

My main concerns are around the instability of DDR5 running with AM5. I've heard people successfully running 128GB at around 3600, but the use of 2 DIMM slots at 64GB can yield up to the full 5600. For productivity tasks specifically, would programs like Blender/After Effects benefit most from the lower speed 128gb (mixed kits as well), or the full speed running 64gb? I'm okay to start with 64 and see if the BIOS updates catch up and DDR5 starts to play nice. 

 

Since the 7950x is always sprinting to the 95 C, I'm thinking the 420mm Arctic can help out keep those thermals under control.

 

I'm also thinking the 1200w is generously on the safe side considering the power hungry CPU, GPU combo.

 

Would also love some reference on the case, I'm attracted to the plentiful size of the 7000D, but mostly wanting the best airflow.

 

Additionally, since this is my first ever build, feel free to throw out any general things I should be aware of / references or homework I should take a peek at. Thanks and of course all hail the LTT Screwdriver.

 

[The Hope]

18 minutes ago, thomashobbess said:

Mostly want to cut through render times, and make the Blender viewport lightning fast.

https://www.phoronix.com/review/corsair-48gb-ddr5-7000/3

For many of the more demanding workloads, the Corsair DDR5-7000 memory kit was providing some nice advantages over more common DDR5-6000 speeds even with the higher latency of DDR5-7000. For basic desktop usage though there is little outright performance advantage over DDR5-6000 with current generation processors. Besides the better performance in memory intensive workloads, the 48GB memory capacity at just $215 USD for the CMK48GX5M2B7000C40 kit is quite a nice value option.

 

If you really want the fastest render times possible and you are thinking about 5000 dollar, you should get memory @7000MHz or @8000MHz..

[Why_Me]

7 minutes ago, The Hope said:

https://www.phoronix.com/review/corsair-48gb-ddr5-7000/3

For many of the more demanding workloads, the Corsair DDR5-7000 memory kit was providing some nice advantages over more common DDR5-6000 speeds even with the higher latency of DDR5-7000. For basic desktop usage though there is little outright performance advantage over DDR5-6000 with current generation processors. Besides the better performance in memory intensive workloads, the 48GB memory capacity at just $215 USD for the CMK48GX5M2B7000C40 kit is quite a nice value option.

 

If you really want the fastest render times possible and you are thinking about 5000 dollar, you should get memory @7000MHz or @8000MHz..

Doesn't AMD hit a ceiling at DDR5-6000?

[The Hope]

Quote

Blender viewport lightning fast

Clear Linux is faster in Blender than any other system, but you need AMD for Clear Linux so RTX 4090 24GB is not an option.

It would be interesting to see if Clear Linux + Ryzen 9 7950x + RX 7900 can beat 'other random OS' + Ryzen 9 7950x + RTX 4090 24GB

I think the Clear Linux + RX 7900 scenario will be +- 700 dollar cheaper and give you performance close to 'slower OS' + RTX 4090

[The Hope]

4 minutes ago, Why_Me said:

Doesn't AMD hit a ceiling at DDR5-6000?

Yes it was like that in the past.. Is this still te case?

[Why_Me]

PSU with PCIe 5.0 that allows you to skip having to use the adapter that comes with that card and a case worth having a look at.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Case: *Lian Li LANCOOL III ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: *MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 1300 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($329.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $479.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-22 19:39 EDT-0400

 

https://www.msi.com/Power-Supply/MEG-Ai1300P-PCIE5  

 

https://lian-li.com/product/lancool-iii/  

 

 

[Why_Me]

Just now, The Hope said:

Yes it was like that in the past.. Is this still te case?

According to W1Z over at TPU nothing has changed in that regard.

[thomashobbess]

2 minutes ago, Why_Me said:

According to W1Z over at TPU nothing has changed in that regard.

Yeah, that's where my concerns lie. Potentially being able to tap into those 4 DIMM slots eventually would be nice, but I may end up sticking with 2x32GBs in favor of stability.

[The Hope]

10 minutes ago, Why_Me said:

According to W1Z over at TPU nothing has changed in that regard.

Is it a software/driver/BIOS issue that can be fixed in the coming months?

Or does the (Ryzen 7000) architecture have no support for higher frequencies?

[thomashobbess]

6 minutes ago, Why_Me said:

PSU with PCIe 5.0 that allows you to skip having to use the adapter that comes with that card and a case worth having a look at.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Case: *Lian Li LANCOOL III ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: *MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 1300 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($329.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $479.98

 

The Lian Li looks great, I have never heard of the MSI with the PCIe 5.0, is that a significant improvement versus how the adapter looks/operates? I know most people aren't a fan of the aesthetics, since there's nowhere to really nicely position it.

[Why_Me]

6 minutes ago, The Hope said:

Is it a software/driver/BIOS issue that can be fixed in the coming months?

Or does the (Ryzen 7000) architecture have no support for higher frequencies?

I'm not sure tbh.

[Why_Me]

6 minutes ago, thomashobbess said:

The Lian Li looks great, I have never heard of the MSI with the PCIe 5.0, is that a significant improvement versus how the adapter looks/operates? I know most people aren't a fan of the aesthetics, since there's nowhere to really nicely position it.

Big time improvement. The adapter is something less than to be desired.

[thomashobbess]

15 minutes ago, The Hope said:

Is it a software/driver/BIOS issue that can be fixed in the coming months?

Or does the (Ryzen 7000) architecture have no support for higher frequencies?

I took a look at these tests:
 

It seems like the DDR5 hits some significant reduction in speed, latency issues, and overall instability when attempting to utilize all 4 DIMM slots.

[SorryBella]

3 hours ago, The Hope said:

Is it a software/driver/BIOS issue that can be fixed in the coming months?

Or does the (Ryzen 7000) architecture have no support for higher frequencies?

Im gonna guess its more of the latter, AMD memory controller designs are less refined than Intel in that regard. 2 dimm at 96GB is the best configuration right now for both sides on DDR5 spectrum unless if you dont mind going with JEDEC speed of 4800C40 on Intel Raptor Lake.