Can't Decide CPU (Software Dev + Gaming)

[Shadowsenses]

TL;DR : I am trying to upgrade my current PC build's CPU and need some advice on what processor to choose.

 

Use Case :

 

I work as a Software Developer for a company where I develop a web app. While that's not intensive, I also work as a Game Developer (Unity) and I compile my video game quite frequently to make amendments to test. I also intend on doing work with AI over the next couple of years. In my free time I also enjoy gaming and video editing, I would be playing mostly AAA multi-platform games that come out.  I also have a LOT of resources open at the same time, so we're talking 20 browser tabs, Spotify, maybe a tv show going in the background while compiling and testing the video game. I also don't like closing my other development workspace so I can switch between the web dev and the game dev.

 

I feel like my processor is my main bottleneck right now as whenever my PC gets slow my CPU usage is 100%. I am stuck between choosing the following (AMD TR is as high as I can go budget wise) : i7 8086k or i7 8700k or i7 7820X or an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X. I also don't know if I should upgrade my cooler or not. What do you guys suggest I change my CPU and cooling solution to?

 

Current Components : 

• CPU : Intel Core i5 7600K
• CPU Cooler : 212 Hyper X Evo
• RAM : 16 GB DDR4 
• Storage : SSD (1 TB), HDD (2TB), HDD(1TB)
• GPU : NVIDIA GTX 1070 
• Motherboard : MSI Z720 M5 (I understand this will have to change too upon upgrade)

 

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

[monjessenstein]

First of: Don't get the 8086K. It's literally just a binned 8700K. Aside from that, if your workload heavily benefits from extra threads I would suggest going the TR route, though in that case you'd probably have to get an adapter for the TR4 socket or something like a TR4 specific cooler. If your workload is all bout the single thread performance, I'd go for the 8700k.

[GOTSpectrum]

If you will be working with AI and neural networks in the next couple of years to for the TR good thread expandability and you have all those pcie lanes to their I'm GPUs!

[Shadowsenses]

5 minutes ago, monjessenstein said:

First of: Don't get the 8086K. It's literally just a binned 8700K. Aside from that, if your workload heavily benefits from extra threads I would suggest going the TR route, though in that case you'd probably have to get an adapter for the TR4 socket or something like a TR4 specific cooler. If your workload is all bout the single thread performance, I'd go for the 8700k.

Phew, was about to get that one tomorrow. 

 

2 minutes ago, Ben Quigley said:

If you will be working with AI and neural networks in the next couple of years to for the TR good thread expandability and you have all those pcie lanes to their I'm GPUs!

It's what I am doing my degree in, so that makes sense. I see that Intel beats AMD in single core performance thought, will that be noticeable while I game? 

[rukspuks]

13 minutes ago, Shadowsenses said:

TL;DR : I am trying to upgrade my current PC build's CPU and need some advice on what processor to choose.

 

Use Case :

 

I work as a Software Developer for a company where I develop a web app. While that's not intensive, I also work as a Game Developer (Unity) and I compile my video game quite frequently to make amendments to test. I also intend on doing work with AI over the next couple of years. In my free time I also enjoy gaming and video editing, I would be playing mostly AAA multi-platform games that come out.  I also have a LOT of resources open at the same time, so we're talking 20 browser tabs, Spotify, maybe a tv show going in the background while compiling and testing the video game. I also don't like closing my other development workspace so I can switch between the web dev and the game dev.

 

I feel like my processor is my main bottleneck right now as whenever my PC gets slow my CPU usage is 100%. I am stuck between choosing the following (AMD TR is as high as I can go budget wise) : i7 8086k or i7 8700k or i7 7820X or an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X. I also don't know if I should upgrade my cooler or not. What do you guys suggest I change my CPU and cooling solution to?

 

Current Components : 

• CPU : Intel Core i5 7600K
• CPU Cooler : 212 Hyper X Evo
• RAM : 16 GB DDR4 
• Storage : SSD (1 TB), HDD (2TB), HDD(1TB)
• GPU : NVIDIA GTX 1070 
• Motherboard : MSI Z720 M5 (I understand this will have to change too upon upgrade)

 

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

TR would be the usual choice but it won't play games that well and if you are choosing AMD, R7 1700 with 8 cores 16 threads would be a better choice. You can game alright and the price is less than $200 for the processor. Plus you can sell that 7600k for $120-160 and you have to pay very little for the upgrade.

[rukspuks]

3 minutes ago, Shadowsenses said:

Phew, was about to get that one tomorrow. 

 

It's what I am doing my degree in, so that makes sense. I see that Intel beats AMD in single core performance thought, will that be noticeable while I game? 

 

[Rauten]

Another vote for TR here, although if you can wait a couple months TR2 is scheduled to launch sometime during August, which means you could get a similarly priced TR2 piece that would likely have more cores, or see a steep price drop for both the 1920X and 1950X to save some dough.

 

Cooler wise though, you would definitely have to buy something new; the 212 is a venerable cooler, but it's starting to show its age and there is no way in hell that it can properly cool the multicore monstrosities that can be any HEDT computer.

 

Gaming wise you would definitely notice the loss in single threaded performance, but it wouldn't be earth-shattering; you can game just fine, it just won't be quite as smooth. In that regard, TR2 will probably yield better results than TR, but that's just speculation based on what we've seen with Ryzen 1XXX and Ryzen 2XXX

[GOTSpectrum]

5 minutes ago, Shadowsenses said:

It's what I am doing my degree in, so that makes sense. I see that Intel beats AMD in single core performance thought, will that be noticeable while I game? 

What monitor do you have, when you game what resolution and refresh rate? 

[Shadowsenses]

1 minute ago, Ben Quigley said:

What monitor do you have, when you game what resolution and refresh rate? 

I have a Asus ROG PG348Q 34-inch Curved G-Sync Monitor : 3440x1440 resolution, G-Sync, and a 100Hz refresh rate

[GOTSpectrum]

1 minute ago, Shadowsenses said:

I have a Asus ROG PG348Q 34-inch Curved G-Sync Monitor : 3440x1440 resolution, G-Sync, and a 100Hz refresh rate

Honestly the higher the resolution the less your CPU really matters, The fact you can use the TR in gaming mode makes it act pretty much like a Ryzen 1700. The frame rate drop wont really be all that noticeable IMO. Not going to lie you will probably get maybe 10% lower frame rate, but the CPU performance for the other tasks could be 90-100% better thank the 8700k. 

[Shadowsenses]

2 minutes ago, Ben Quigley said:

Honestly the higher the resolution the less your CPU really matters, The fact you can use the TR in gaming mode makes it act pretty much like a Ryzen 1700. The frame rate drop wont really be all that noticeable IMO. Not going to lie you will probably get maybe 10% lower frame rate, but the CPU performance for the other tasks could be 90-100% better thank the 8700k. 

Do you think I would need water cooling for it? (TR)

[GOTSpectrum]

Just now, Shadowsenses said:

Do you think I would need water cooling for it? (TR)

You don't NEED it, It can help, but there are a number of TR air coolers already, why do you ask? 

[GOTSpectrum]

Heres the list of coolers AMD recommends 

 

https://www.amd.com/en/thermal-solutions-threadripper

[Shadowsenses]

1 minute ago, Ben Quigley said:

You don't NEED it, It can help, but there are a number of TR air coolers already, why do you ask? 

Relatively new to building PCs and am not too sure about which cooler to use and water cooling looks generally harder to install. 

[Shadowsenses]

1 minute ago, Ben Quigley said:

Heres the list of coolers AMD recommends 

 

https://www.amd.com/en/thermal-solutions-threadripper

Thanks! Will definitely use that for reference. 

[AskTJ]

If you can wait until next year, AMD is releasing a 32 core, 64 thread Threadripper CPU for a rumoured price of (around) $1500. Beats i9's and is cheaper.

[Shadowsenses]

1 minute ago, AskTJ said:

If you can wait until next year, AMD is releasing a 32 core, 64 thread Threadripper CPU for a rumoured price of (around) $1500. Beats i9's and is cheaper.

My budget would be like 1000 for the processor. 

[Rauten]

16 minutes ago, AskTJ said:

If you can wait until next year, AMD is releasing a 32 core, 64 thread Threadripper CPU for a rumoured price of (around) $1500. Beats i9's and is cheaper.

TR2 is scheduled for a Q3 2018 launch as confirmed by AMD themselves during Computex, and everything that's been heard through the rumour mill points to August. 

 

Again, I'd recommend waiting because you could either get a 2920X or similar (SKUs have not yet been revealed AFAIK) or see a nice price drop for the 1920X and 1950X

[Shadowsenses]

1 minute ago, Rauten said:

TR2 is scheduled for a Q3 2018 launch as confirmed by AMD themselves during Computex, and everything that's been heard through the rumour mill points to August. 

 

Again, I'd recommend waiting because you could either get a 2920X or similar (SKUs have not yet been revealed AFAIK) or see a nice price drop for the 1920X and 1950X

Alright. I think I will wait then Thanks

[Taf the Ghost]

It's a chunk of change, and you need a good cooling solution, but a i9-7900X would make the most sense for you.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LZs73F

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-7900X 3.3GHz 10-Core Processor  ($860.98 @ Newegg Business) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus - TUF X299 MARK 2 ATX LGA2066 Motherboard  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1278.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-22 05:14 EDT-0400

 

You'd want to get another 2x 8 Gb memory kit, then look to get them as high as possible for speed & similar timings. You aren't throwing enough GPU at that system to really run into trouble. 

 

This is the type of workload that "High-End Desktop" (HEDT) is meant for. The 7900X is the best of the SKUs for Intel.

[Shadowsenses]

4 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

It's a chunk of change, and you need a good cooling solution, but a i9-7900X would make the most sense for you.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LZs73F

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-7900X 3.3GHz 10-Core Processor  ($860.98 @ Newegg Business) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus - TUF X299 MARK 2 ATX LGA2066 Motherboard  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1278.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-22 05:14 EDT-0400

 

You'd want to get another 2x 8 Gb memory kit, then look to get them as high as possible for speed & similar timings. You aren't throwing enough GPU at that system to really run into trouble. 

 

This is the type of workload that "High-End Desktop" (HEDT) is meant for. The 7900X is the best of the SKUs for Intel.

I am currently rocking a EVGA 700 Watt Bronze PSU, would I need to upgrade that?

[Taf the Ghost]

1 minute ago, Shadowsenses said:

I am currently rocking a EVGA 700 Watt Bronze PSU, would I need to upgrade that?

Given with PSUs you'd need the exact model to check if it's good or bad, I have no way of knowing. Should be fine? But, well, PSU fun!

[Taf the Ghost]

 

[Shadowsenses]

5 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

 

never liquid cooled before, can I assume the cooler will be compatible with any case?

[Taf the Ghost]

4 minutes ago, Shadowsenses said:

never liquid cooled before, can I assume the cooler will be compatible with any case?

No. You need a specific space for it.You might need a new case for it. (You might also think to just build a full new system and sell the old one.)