Jump to content

Second rig, polyvalent use : which CPU/MB ?

Wolrajh
 Share
Posted

Hey,

 

Every once in a while I tend to upgrade some parts of my computer. And sometimes, upgrading one part pretty much means upgrading everything else ( looking at you, CPU ! ).

 

I'm a CG artist who have been using Softimage so far as my main CGI tool. With Autodesk announcing the EoL of the software, I had to quickly learn another tool. My specialty being FX, I chose SideEffect's Houdini.

My very own computer at home is mainly used for gaming. It packs a I5 3570k, plugged on a AsRock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard. I've got 24GB DDR3 1600, a gainward phantom GTX 780. Case is a Fractal Design Define R5. Cool? Almost.

 

Houdini is a very, very hungry beast. I had to go from 8gb ram to 24 because whenever I tried to run some calculations, my computer just froze in agony.

It became obvious I needed something more powerful if I wanted to use Houdini from home - even if this is a rare event, it still happens, and besides, I want to be able to work on personnal stuff too.

 

I just can't afford Xeons, so I7s it is. I just want this hyperthreading.

I'm thinking of getting a second rig, and turning my I5 into some kind of "renderfarm" for lack of a better term. Also, I've been wanting to do some streaming, so a secondary rig should be perfect. This means no components recycling. I wanted to get myself a GTX 970 anyway...

 

So yeah:

X99-based hexacore I7 5820k ?

Z97-based quadcore I7 4790k?

Something else ?

 

I may put up to 2k euros in the rig, but somehow I doubt it is needed. I feel like 1.5k could be enough. I want a polyvalent computer which I would mainly use for game and casualy for work. And by "casualy" I mean that I do not want to be completely unable to work when I need or want it. Also I guess I could just either put the money saved by going from 5260k to 4790k into even more DDR3 RAM... Or maybe even a second GPU.

 

TL;DR : see bold characters ;)

And obviously, once the CPU is sorted out, I will have to talk about the motherboard - brand, model...

 

Thanks for any enlightment you may provide me!

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/404763-second-rig-polyvalent-use-which-cpumb/
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

So yeah:

X99-based hexacore I7 5260k ?

X97-based quadcore I7 4790k?

Something else ?

 

Did you mean x99 mobo with a 5820k (uses ddr4 ram) or a z97 with a 4790k(uses ddr3 ram)??

 

Edit: I guess you should go with the 4970k and any z97 mobo (its cheaper and you can reuse your ram)  :D

Edit 2: @Wolrajh remember to follow your own posts :P

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Did you mean x99 mobo with a 5820k (uses ddr4 ram) or a z97 with a 4790k(uses ddr3 ram)??

 

Edit: I guess you should go with the 4970k and any z97 mobo (its cheaper and you can reuse your ram)  :D

 

aaand that's why you don't post at 5AM :P fixed, thanks for pointing that out !

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5960X 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($999.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($111.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE/U3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($389.99 @ Amazon) 


Total: $1811.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-10 22:36 EDT-0400

 

this should be your best bet, you still have a good card and I'm guessing a decent case

 

also check if your PSU is at least 650watts 

Early 2020 Build : Intel i7 8700k // MSI Krait Z370 // Corsair LPX 8x2 16GB // Aorus 5700 XT // NZXT H500 

Early 2019 Build : Ryzen 2600X // Asus Tuff X470 // G.Skill Trident Z RGB 8x2 16GB // MSI RTX 2070 // NZXT H500 

Late 2017 Build : Intel i7 8700k // Asus Prime Z370-A // G.Skill Trident Z 8x2 16GB // EVGA GTX 1080 Ti  // NZXT S320 Elite 

Late 2015 Build : Intel i7 6700k // Asus Maximus VI Gene Z170 //  Corsair LPX 8x2 16GB // Gigabyte GTX 970 // Corsair Air 240

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

I indeed have a Fractal Design R5, which I reckon is a good case.

 

However, I was thinking of building a full rig, meaning I won't recycle my current components...

Also, I'm still questionning whether going X99 makes more sense than going Z97. Sure, more cores, especially with the 5960X, but the cost sure puts off. Not to mention additionnal costs on both MB and RAM.

Technology sure costs a lot, but is always the improvement worth it ?

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Oh well, this actually looks quite OK, with more RAM.

 

Link is in French but you could just scroll down a bit to get the more international-friendly components list.

This rig even got the GPU I was aiming for, since I'll pass on the Gainward Phantom edition of the GTX970 and its stupid, stupid outputs for now. I'm a bit annoyed by their custom PSU which could be swapped if proven bad, and I'd gladly get rid of the DVD drive just because these things have become quite useless nowdays.

 

They also have some X99 based premade rig, but even at this price it's still lacking a few things. Storage is poor, brands aren't indicated ( GPU, SSD, HDD ? ), a case I don't like, useless BR burner and speakers. I dunno it just feels like some of the money could have been put to a better use.

 

Anyway I'm not looking for a all in one rig, but when they almost got everything right, why the hell not. Also it can be used to get an idea of the overall price of a completely custom rig.I think a good Z97 based rig will cost around 1500€ while a decent X99 based will be priced around 2000€.

 

Now to justify this 500€ difference ...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing CPUs, Motherboards, and Memory

×