Threadripper game performance?

[PSUGuru]

Before you smash the keys on your keyboard saying "Threadrippernotforgamingwhatareyoudoinghwgdkwudh..."

 

I do a lot of 3D modeling, animating, texturing, and rendering. I will be pairing VEGA with it.

 

But, I will not just be 3D modeling and such. I'll be gaming. Threadripper is just four Ryzen 7 dies stuck together with two of them being just useless wafers, right? ( I know there's more to it ) So it should perform similarly to Ryzen 7 in games?

[WereCat]

5 minutes ago, QuantumElement said:

So it should perform similarly to Ryzen 7 in games?

 

Yes

[KenjiUmino]

2 minutes ago, QuantumElement said:

So it should perform similarly to Ryzen 7 in games?

in theory, yes. i see no reason why it should not. 

 

maybe quad channel memory might even give it a slight edge over a regular r7 but it sure should not perform worse than r7. 

 

benchmarks and comparsions adressing this should be already out or come out very very soon-ish i think

[Jarno.]

HI @QuantumElement

 

As Threadripper is based at the same microarchitecture (Zen) it should perform pretty much the same as a 1800x at 4ghz in games. Benchmarks need to confirm this tough.

[PSUGuru]

Thanks. I thought as much, and that's perfectly fine with me as the focus is on 3D works.

[Brooksie359]

Most likely it will preform similar to the r7 lineup when at similar frequencies. 

[mariushm]

17 minutes ago, QuantumElement said:

Before you smash the keys on your keyboard saying "Threadrippernotforgamingwhatareyoudoinghwgdkwudh..."

 

I do a lot of 3D modeling, animating, texturing, and rendering. I will be pairing VEGA with it.

 

But, I will not just be 3D modeling and such. I'll be gaming. Threadripper is just four Ryzen 7 dies stuck together with two of them being just useless wafers, right? ( I know there's more to it ) So it should perform similarly to Ryzen 7 in games?

Tiny bit lower performance due to lower boost frequencies (unless you go with 1950x) and some higher latency if threads across dies exchange data between them, instead of threads being all in one die.

Renderers and heavily multithreaded apps which generally have lots of threads each doing their job independently have no problems using all the cpu power.

 

And there's TWO dies in the Threadripper, the other two dies in cpu are silicon bits, spacers to keep the prevent heatsink from bending/flexing/cracking etc.

[stealth80]

17 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

in theory, yes. i see no reason why it should not. 

 

maybe quad channel memory might even give it a slight edge over a regular r7 but it sure should not perform worse than r7. 

 

benchmarks and comparsions adressing this should be already out or come out very very soon-ish i think

This is what I'm waiting for with the effect high speed ram has on infinity fabric latency, Quad will effectively double the bandwidth so i'm interested here - I may actually be better for gaming than the so called lower end Ryzens

[KenjiUmino]

10 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

This is what I'm waiting for with the effect high speed ram has on infinity fabric latency, Quad will effectively double the bandwidth so i'm interested here - I may actually be better for gaming than the so called lower end Ryzens

if i understand it right the lowest tier threadripper has the same cores/threads/clocks than the highest tier ryzen but with quad channel and 64 PCIe lanes added to it - would be interesting to compare these two CPUs directly against each other. 

 

how much more would one have to pay for a build with the lowest tier threadripper instead of R7

[mariushm]

Motherboards start at around 350$ ... so do the math.

[stealth80]

24 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

if i understand it right the lowest tier threadripper has the same cores/threads/clocks than the highest tier ryzen but with quad channel and 64 PCIe lanes added to it - would be interesting to compare these two CPUs directly against each other. 

 

how much more would one have to pay for a build with the lowest tier threadripper instead of R7

Well an R7 1700 could be had now for like $290 + a decent B350 for $100 and say 2x 8gb 3200 ram for like $150 so $540.

 

The R9 1900X is $550, a board say $250 and then 32gb (4x 8gb) $300 so $1100. I think if you're gonna spend the extra on the board and ram, you may aswell grab the 1920X with 12 cores/24 threads, ye its like another $250, but at least that would make the platform cost increase worthwhile (imo) 

[PSUGuru]

1 hour ago, stealth80 said:

Well an R7 1700 could be had now for like $290 + a decent B350 for $100 and say 2x 8gb 3200 ram for like $150 so $540.

 

The R9 1900X is $550, a board say $250 and then 32gb (4x 8gb) $300 so $1100. I think if you're gonna spend the extra on the board and ram, you may aswell grab the 1920X with 12 cores/24 threads, ye its like another $250, but at least that would make the platform cost increase worthwhile (imo) 

It's all pretty pricey, but I have it covered.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1950X 3.4GHz 16-Core Processor  ($999.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI - X399 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX TR4 Motherboard  ($333.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LED 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($309.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($127.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($81.78 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: AMD - Vega Frontier Edition 16GB Frontier Edition Video Card  ($999.00 @ B&H) 
Case: Corsair - Air 540 Silver ATX Mid Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $3101.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-06 15:58 EDT-0400

 

This is the PC I plan on building. I am doing this for College and Universities then I am going to pursue it professionally. However, I am a very heavy gamer as well. The most intensive game I own is probably Fallout 4 lol. I know VEGA isn't optimized for gaming, getting only performance similar to that of a 1070, but I think that's still more than plenty performance. VEGA is very useful dealing with complex models which is why I chose it.

[stealth80]

1 minute ago, QuantumElement said:

It's all pretty pricey, but I have it covered.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1950X 3.4GHz 16-Core Processor  ($999.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI - X399 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX TR4 Motherboard  ($333.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LED 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($309.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($127.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($81.78 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: AMD - Vega Frontier Edition 16GB Frontier Edition Video Card  ($999.00 @ B&H) 
Case: Corsair - Air 540 Silver ATX Mid Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $3101.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-06 15:58 EDT-0400

 

This is the PC I plan on building. I am doing this for College and Universities then I am going to pursue it professionally. However, I am a very heavy gamer as well. The most intensive game I own is probably Fallout 4 lol. I know VEGA isn't optimized for gaming, getting only performance similar to that of a 1070, but I think that's still more than plenty performance. VEGA is very useful dealing with complex models which is why I chose it.

Looks very solid, I would pick a nicer case for such a premium build and a big one here, faster ram. It's still gonna be based on the inifinity fabric, so I would pick up 3600mhz CAS 16 to give you that boost - also Fallout 4 is ram speed sensitive 

[mariushm]

@QuantumElement Be careful when picking power supply, as most if not all Threadripper motherboards will require TWO 8 pin cpu cables. That Corsair RM 750 only has one.

 

Seasonic Focus Plus 850w comes with 2 4/8 pin cpu connectors and 6 pci-e cables and pretty much costs the same at ~ 110$, and has 10 years warranty  :  https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151188

 

And don't go with the Frontier edition ... you can probably get 2 RX Vega 56 with the same amount of money and you'd probably get more performance at less power consumption.  I'd only imagine you need Frontier edition if you really need more than 8 GB of memory on the card.

 

Other than that, if you're going to spend so much money, don't cheap out on the storage. Buy a 3-4 TB drive with at least 3 years warranty, even if it costs 10-20$ more.

I recommend HGST NAS drives these days, but they may be sold with only 2 year warranty in some places (depends on distributor). Other than that, WD Blacks should be reliable.

 

ps. And I can't tell from the pictures of the case, but you may want to double check if the case easily fits E-ATX motherboards as most Threadripper boards will be E-ATX ... there's no mention in that case's specs. Basically EATX is maybe 2-3 inches wider, and the board could cover those rubber covered holes at the side and make cable management ugly.

In worst case scenarios, the board could lack support in that area (no screws or whatever) or the metal plate could have some curves or waves which could cause shorts in the back of the motherboard

[PSUGuru]

Just now, mariushm said:

@QuantumElement Be careful when picking power supply, as most if not all Threadripper motherboards will require TWO 8 pin cpu cables. That Corsair RM 750 only has one.

 

Seasonic Focus Plus 850w comes with 2 4/8 pin cpu connectors and 6 pci-e cables and pretty much costs the same at ~ 110$, and has 10 years warranty  :  https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151188

 

And don't go with the Frontier edition ... you can probably get 2 RX Vega 56 with the same amount of money and you'd probably get more performance at less power consumption.  I'd only imagine you need Frontier edition if you really need more than 8 GB of memory on the card.

 

Other than that, if you're going to spend so much money, don't cheap out on the storage. Buy a 3-4 TB drive with at least 3 years warranty, even if it costs 10-20$ more.

I recommend HGST NAS drives these days, but they may be sold with only 2 year warranty in some places (depends on distributor). Other than that, WD Blacks should be reliable.

Aren't those GPUs more optimized for gaming, though? I want something optimized for 3D modeling whilst still being able to game. The Frontier Edition has 1070 performance while still being a powerhouse in 3D content creation. Considering I want to go in professionally, whether that's for gaming or movie-level CGI, I think 16gb will be enough. Power consumption doesn't bother me.

 

Perhaps I'll get a Seagate 3tb Drive for now. I can always get more storage later.

 

Does the EVGA G3 have those cables?

 

[PSUGuru]

14 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

Looks very solid, I would pick a nicer case for such a premium build and a big one here, faster ram. It's still gonna be based on the inifinity fabric, so I would pick up 3600mhz CAS 16 to give you that boost - also Fallout 4 is ram speed sensitive 

There's 3600Mhz Trident.Z RGB RAM for 100$ more, maybe I'll go for that.

 

How about the CoolerMaster MasterCase Maker 5t?

[stealth80]

3 minutes ago, QuantumElement said:

There's 3600Mhz Trident.Z RGB RAM for 100$ more, maybe I'll go for that.

 

How about the CoolerMaster MasterCase Maker 5t?

both good choices

[mariushm]

16 minutes ago, QuantumElement said:

Aren't those GPUs more optimized for gaming, though? I want something optimized for 3D modeling whilst still being able to game. The Frontier Edition has 1070 performance while still being a powerhouse in 3D content creation. Considering I want to go in professionally, whether that's for gaming or movie-level CGI, I think 16gb will be enough. Power consumption doesn't bother me.

 

Perhaps I'll get a Seagate 3tb Drive for now. I can always get more storage later.

 

Does the EVGA G3 have those cables?

 

Honestly I don't think it will really make a difference.. Usually with the workstation cards is that it's more like having drivers with more certifications and better compatibility with 2d applications like Autocad , Catia all kinds of software for fluid dynamics, complex crap... 

 

But with Vega FE they make a sort of hybrid with is supposed to be both that and for gaming, and the drivers aren't really special in any way, other than having some power management stuff and some features disabled (because they wanted to launch the cards fast and didn't have the time to put those things in the launch date drivers)

 

If the software you use can do rendering with multiple graphics cards (and most do), then both cards will be equally used and will be perfectly fine and stable even with "gaming cards" like Vega 56 or Vega 64 ... it's same silicon chip after all. for Blender and 3d rendering things, I don't think there's really any difference.

 

The Vega 56 is supposed to have equal or better performance than GTX 1070 for a power consumption of around 200 watts, while Vega 64 is at GTX 1080 or above levels but at more power consumption, around 280 watts. The watecooled version of Vega 64 peaks at around 350 watts.

 

Vega FE uses around 300-350 watts (I think, not sure) but as GamersNexus found out, due to rushing the cards to launch they came out with some power management features disabled and some features of the chip disabled (primitive discarding, very useful for gaming)... so these made the FE cards more power hungry and less good in gaming. These Vega 56 and 64 will come with more polished drivers from the start.

 

Steve at GamersNexus was able to manually lower the default voltage on his Vega FE card and that made the card consume less power and actually be more powerful because as it heated less, it could stay at boost frequencies more often, instead of always going down a notch to stay within 80c or something like that.

 

With cards like Vega56 and their much lower power consumption of around 150w for the chip itself (~200w for the whole card), there's a better change these chips will actually run by default at higher frequencies than RX Vega FE and therefore two cards together will be more powerful than Vega FE (unless you really need to use more than the 8 GB of memory on the cards, which I think will be unlikely).

There's also the added bonus of heat being spread over two cards, instead of having just one card there making a lot of heat and having to spin its fan hard (unless you get watercooled version)

 

 

EVGA G3 .. I don't know .. usually you can simply check the specifications on Newegg and they'll list the cable types and the number of connectors for each type. Though I don't know what you would have against Seasonic , they're top quality power supplies.

 

[PSUGuru]

3 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Honestly I don't think it will really make a difference.. Usually with the workstation cards is that it's more like having drivers with more certifications and better compatibility with 2d applications like Autocad , Catia all kinds of software for fluid dynamics, complex crap... 

 

But with Vega FE they make a sort of hybrid with is supposed to be both that and for gaming, and the drivers aren't really special in any way, other than having some power management stuff and some features disabled (because they wanted to launch the cards fast and didn't have the time to put those things in the launch date drivers)

 

If the software you use can do rendering with multiple graphics cards (and most do), then both cards will be equally used and will be perfectly fine and stable even with "gaming cards" like Vega 56 or Vega 64 ... it's same silicon chip after all. for Blender and 3d rendering things, I don't think there's really any difference.

 

The Vega 56 is supposed to have equal or better performance than GTX 1070 for a power consumption of around 200 watts, while Vega 64 is at GTX 1080 or above levels but at more power consumption, around 280 watts. The watecooled version of Vega 64 peaks at around 350 watts.

 

Vega FE uses around 300-350 watts (I think, not sure) but as GamersNexus found out, due to rushing the cards to launch they came out with some power management features disabled and some features of the chip disabled (primitive discarding, very useful for gaming)... so these made the FE cards more power hungry and less good in gaming. These Vega 56 and 64 will come with more polished drivers from the start.

 

Steve at GamerNexus was able to manually lower the default voltage on his Vega FE card and that made the card consume less power and actually be more powerful because as it heated less, it could stay at boost frequencies more often, instead of always going down a notch to stay within 80c or something like that.

 

With cards like Vega56 and their much lower power consumption of around 150w for the chip itself (~200w for the whole card), there's a better change these chips will actually run by default at higher frequencies than RX Vega FE and therefore two cards together will be more powerful than Vega FE (unless you really need to use more than the 8 GB of memory on the cards, which I think will be unlikely).

There's also the added bonus of heat being spread over two cards, instead of having just one card there making a lot of heat and having to spin its fan hard (unless you get watercooled version)

 

 

EVGA G3 .. I don't know .. usually you can simply check the specifications on Newegg and they'll list the cable types and the number of connectors for each type. Though I don't know what you would have against Seasonic , they're top quality power supplies.

 

Nothing against SeaSonic. They're my second go-to for power supplies. If EVGA has a top notch PSU, I'll opt for that one if possible.

 

I'll have to look into the GPUs more. Gaming is secondary. 3D content creation is the priority. And hardcore CGI and textures eat up VRAM very quickly. I'd rather be safe than sorry.