workstation New pc build for productivity workloads

[Andrew Manitsas]

Hello everyone.

 

Over the last few weeks, my 9 year old desktop PC is starting to go downhill, with random reboots and shutdowns being almost a weekly tradition. And as such, I must prepare my wallet for the inevetable expense of having to buy a new PC in possibly the worst time (price wise). My current budget if the current PC dies today (knock on wood) is ~900€, but if it lasts until the summer it should go up ~1200€. Also note that I live in Greece, so prices are in Euros (€) and we don't have Amazon, Newegg etc here. There are 2 search engines (www.skroutz.gr / www.bestprice.gr) to see the prices of the components in local stores. And yes, prices are much higher than the global average. Small country with very small stock on a few stores, import taxes and a 24% VAT dont help. But we gotta work with what we are given.

 

Current PC:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

Motherboard: Gigabyte EP43-DS3

RAM: 4x 2GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 @ 800MHz

GPU: XFX AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 700W

Storage: Patriot 120GB SSD / Seagate 750GB HDD

Cooling: 2x 120mm Xilence Blue LED

Case: Vero VeroStation 2

 

The PC was bought as a prebuilt (I was 15 then) with a different GPU (MSI GeForce GTX260) that died 4 years later. I bought the 6850 used for 70€. It started its life purely as gaming machine until I started studying Computer Engineering in late 2013. Since then it is used daily for everything school and work related. I game very rarely (1-2 times a month) and play old games like CSS, TF2, NFS U2, NFS MW, GTA SA, TMNF. My daily workflow is mainly programming, hardware engineering and 3d modeling. For the programming jobs, programs like Visual Studio, Sublime Text, 1-2 linux VMs, SSH and FTP connections are the daily bread and butter. As for the hardware engineering and 3d modeling. I mainly use Autodesk EAGLE, NI MultiSim, Dassault SolidWorks. And a few times per month some MATLAB. Also to mention I'm a Chrome tab addict. I rarely have <15 tabs open at the same time.

 

On my current workloads, the CPU barely copes and ram usage is atleast 6-7gb all the time. Plus upgrading such an old system is a waste, since nothing newer is compatible.

 

As you can see, my workloads are mosty CPU dependent. Plus due to limited time and being 8+h/day in front of a PC, gaming is lets say not a priority. And so we come to the 2 build I have in mind around my budget.

 

Build 1:

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Window) Black [95€] (I want the R6 but its not available in Greece yet) (Treat it as a place holder)

PSU: Corsair RMx Series 650X [120€]

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 [280€]

Motherboard: Gigabyte AB350 Gaming 3 [105€]

RAM: 2x8GB G.Skill RipjawsV DDR4-3200MHz kit [185€]

GPU: ***I used to have an RX560 4GB but nothing is available***

Storage: Samsung 960 Evo 250GB [125€]

Total: 910€ plus a GPU that I can afford...

 

Build 2:

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Window) Black [95€]

PSU: Corsair RMx Series 650X [120€]

CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K [365€]

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster MasterAir MA410P [45€]

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z370 HD3 [120€]

RAM: 2x8GB G.Skill RipjawsV DDR4-3200MHz kit [185€]

GPU: ***I used to have an RX560 4GB but nothing is available*** ***I think I can get away with only using the iGPU here***

Storage: Samsung 960 Evo 250GB [125€]

Total: 1055€ without a GPU...

 

My main problem is that almost none does productivity benchmarks and I cant decide is the amd or the intel is better for my workloads. I understang that that's what most people do with thei PCs but I want is mostly for getting work done. Also it has to be VERY SILENT. My heart want the ryzen (or the ryzen+ in a few months) cause I'd like to support AMD not that they are on top of their game, but having to get a GPU not seems impossible. The 8700k is 80€ more expensive and 2 cores less, but has a 1GHz+ clock advantage. Plus most software is better optimized for the intel architecture. And it has a iGPU. But its hotter and requires an extra cooler. And i dont want a AIO due to noise.

 

If you have any suggestions, I'd love the hear them and see what you think. And sorry for any errors, english aint my native language.

Thank you!

[LienusLateTips]

Ryzen 7 2700?

[AlexTheGreatish]

I'd probably go with the 8700K, despite having less cores it still wins in multicore performance by a bit and wrecks in single core.  Really any aftermarket cooler should keep it relatively cool and quiet as long as you don't plan to overclock (although if you want to overclock it'll go a lot further than Ryzen), although I'd recommend the Noctua NH-U12S or NH-D9L instead of the MasterAir.

[hconverse02]

The ryzen system is a much better choice.  The 2 cores less doesn't really make an impact, as they are similar in performance, with the 8700k coming out on top by a margin (mostly in gaming).  The ryzen stock cooler isn't silent, but be quiet! is, so if you could find a dark rock 3 for ~50 euros then you'd be good.  You could reuse a gpu (ie the 6850) until prices drop or find a friend, since you won't be gaming and you won't need it for productivity use.

[hconverse02]

Just now, AlexTheGreatish said:

I'd probably go with the 8700K, despite having less cores it still wins in multicore performance by a bit and wrecks in single core.  Really any aftermarket cooler should keep it relatively cool and quiet as long as you don't plan to overclock (although if you want to overclock it'll go a lot further than Ryzen), although I'd recommend the Noctua NH-U12S or NH-D9L instead of the MasterAir.

Well look at the >1000 euro price tag, the ryzen system is better for his budget and keep in mind he needs to save all the cash he can for a new gpu when prices drop.

[LienusLateTips]

5 minutes ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

I'd probably go with the 8700K, despite having less cores it still wins in multicore performance by a bit and wrecks in single core.  Really any aftermarket cooler should keep it relatively cool and quiet as long as you don't plan to overclock (although if you want to overclock it'll go a lot further than Ryzen), although I'd recommend the Noctua NH-U12S or NH-D9L instead of the MasterAir.

For that price, there are many better options than the MasterAir such as the be Quiet! Dark Rock 4.

[Thinkfreely]

I would go Ryzen for upgrade-ability. Unless you don't want to for 9 more years.