3ds max Threadripper 2990wx Work/Render Station.

[Strale]

Hello all!

 

I am building a 3ds Max workstation and I am close to the end of my component research, but since it has been about 3 years since my last workstation build and this is quite new CPU I would really appreciate any expert advice, suggestion and help on components I have chosen/narrowed down.

 

 

Motherboard: ASUS PRIME X399-A

Not planning to overclock for now (maybe some tweaks later) and don't really need any extra features more than this board has to offer. Except for the price, extra features and better overclocking ability does it make sense to pick the ASUS PRIME X399-A over ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme??

 

CPU: Threadripper 2990wx

Need to speed-up my renderings by 3x-4x due to the increase of work and shorter deadlines. = More sleep!

 

RAM: 64GB should be enough for now, extra 64GB later. The problem is the compatible RAM with this CPU I can get here! So, my best choices are the kits below.

or 1x G.SKILL 64GB Ripjaws V DDR4 2800MHz CL14 KIT F4-2800C14Q-64GVK -Currently out of the stock, for the second time this week, not sure why, but this was my first memory choice as an only 64GB kit I could get.

or 2x G.SKILL 32GB Ripjaws V DDR4 3000MHz CL15 KIT F4-3000C15D-32GVR  -Available but not sure is better to get kit of 4 sticks (the one above) or two kits of 2 sticks? Does it even matter performance wise?

or 2x CORSAIR 32GB Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz CL15 KIT CMK32GX4M2B3000C15

or 2x CORSAIR 32GB Dominator Platinum 3000MHz CL15 KIT CMD32GX4M2B3000C15

or 2x G.SKILL 32GB Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200MHz CL14 KIT F4-3200C14Q-32GTZR -It will take all 8 RAM slots, no room for upgrade, very expensive and not planning to look at glowing RAM while working

-still searching for other 64GB kit options...

 

PSU: EVGA P2 850W

https://outervision.com/b/1JG7jS from this calculator with this PSU I will have room for some small overclocking (tweaks) and future upgrades and from reviews I have read, it is a very good PSU.

 

GPU: Some GTX 1060 6GB with at least 2x DP will be enough for my needs. Any recommendations are welcome!

 

CPU COOLER: NOCTUA NH-U14S TR4-SP3
Not a fan of water cooling and this one seems to work the best for an air cooler. It is little ugly, but they know how to make an effective cooler! Would like to get Wraith Ripper, but still not available.

 

M.2: SAMSUNG 512GB 970 PRO M.2 PCIe M.2 2280 MZ-V7P512BW

Faster one I could find and a good price. Need about 300GB for installations.

 

PC CASE: Corsair Air 540

Really like the little piggy

Great dual chamber and air flow, extended ATX compatible. Probably will get some extra filters and fans for the second chamber with drives and cables.

 

2x Storage Disks from old pc

 

 

The only game I play is CS:S for about 2h per week (to blow off some steam), but other than that, this will be a workstation.

 

All the help or suggestions are welcome!

[SHROUD]

7 minutes ago, Strale said:

Hello all!

 

I am building a 3ds Max workstation and I am close to the end of my component research, but since it has been about 3 years since my last workstation build and this is quite new CPU I would really appreciate any expert advice, suggestion and help on components I have chosen/narrowed down.

 

 

Motherboard: ASUS PRIME X399-A

Not planning to overclock for now (maybe some tweaks later) and don't really need any extra features more than this board has to offer. Except for the price, extra features and better overclocking ability does it make sense to pick the ASUS PRIME X399-A over ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme??

 

CPU: Threadripper 2990wx

Need to speed-up my renderings by 3x-4x due to the increase of work and shorter deadlines. = More sleep!

 

RAM: 64GB should be enough for now, extra 64GB later. The problem is the compatible RAM with this CPU I can get here! So, my best choices are the kits below.

or 1x G.SKILL 64GB Ripjaws V DDR4 2800MHz CL14 KIT F4-2800C14Q-64GVK -Currently out of the stock, for the second time this week, not sure why, but this was my first memory choice as an only 64GB kit I could get.

or 2x G.SKILL 32GB Ripjaws V DDR4 3000MHz CL15 KIT F4-3000C15D-32GVR  -Available but not sure is better to get kit of 4 sticks (the one above) or two kits of 2 sticks? Does it even matter performance wise?

or 2x CORSAIR 32GB Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz CL15 KIT CMK32GX4M2B3000C15

or 2x CORSAIR 32GB Dominator Platinum 3000MHz CL15 KIT CMD32GX4M2B3000C15

or 2x G.SKILL 32GB Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200MHz CL14 KIT F4-3200C14Q-32GTZR -It will take all 8 RAM slots, no room for upgrade, very expensive and not planning to look at glowing RAM while working

-still searching for other 64GB kit options...

 

PSU: EVGA P2 850W

https://outervision.com/b/1JG7jS from this calculator with this PSU I will have room for some small overclocking (tweaks) and future upgrades and from reviews I have read, it is a very good PSU.

 

GPU: Some GTX 1060 6GB with at least 2x DP will be enough for my needs. Any recommendations are welcome!

 

CPU COOLER: NOCTUA NH-U14S TR4-SP3
Not a fan of water cooling and this one seems to work the best for an air cooler. It is little ugly, but they know how to make an effective cooler! Would like to get Wraith Ripper, but still not available.

 

M.2: SAMSUNG 512GB 970 PRO M.2 PCIe M.2 2280 MZ-V7P512BW

Faster one I could find and a good price. Need about 300GB for installations.

 

PC CASE: Corsair Air 540

Really like the little piggy

Great dual chamber and air flow, extended ATX compatible. Probably will get some extra filters and fans for the second chamber with drives and cables.

 

2x Storage Disks from old pc

 

 

The only game I play is CS:S for about 2h per week (to blow off some steam), but other than that, this will be a workstation.

 

All the help or suggestions are welcome!

Firstly....what's ur budget nd where r u located?

[Strale]

Well, the budget is 4-4.5k euros. Would like to go as lower as possible

Serbia, but can get components from Hungary for little cheaper and little earlier.

[TVwazhere]

20 minutes ago, Strale said:

CPU COOLER: NOCTUA NH-U14S TR4-SP3
Not a fan of water cooling and this one seems to work the best for an air cooler. It is little ugly, but they know how to make an effective cooler! Would like to get Wraith Ripper, but still not available.

Dark Rock Pro 4 TR4? (If it ever comes out)

[Strale]

8 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Dark Rock Pro 4 TR4? (If it ever comes out)

It's out, it's black, looks cool, cools the TR but I'm worried the space between the RAM and the fan!

If I can get the G.SKILL Ripjaws 64GB kit I am aiming for, I don't think the cooler will fit!

[DildorTheDecent]

4 minutes ago, Strale said:

It's out, it's black, looks cool, cools the TR but I'm worried the space between the RAM and the fan!

Just move the fan up.

[Blasteque]

I've not done this myself (my 3D Max work is mostly hobby level only), but some people recommend ECC RAM for workstations like this.  That will require moving to the zenith extreme mobo (it doesn't look like prime supports ECC) and appropriate RAM.  It's more money, but if you want to go all out, it's something to consider.

 

What I can strongly recommend is that you reserve some of your budget for a really good monitor.  Renders are a waste of time if you can't view them accurately!  Look for color accuracy, uniformity, black levels, and easy of calibration.  (This will often lead in the opposite direction of "gaming" monitors.)

[Strale]

4 minutes ago, DildorTheDecent said:

Just move the fan up.

That could work!

[Strale]

4 minutes ago, Blasteque said:

I've not done this myself (my 3D Max work is mostly hobby level only), but some people recommend ECC RAM for workstations like this.  That will require moving to the zenith extreme mobo (it doesn't look like prime supports ECC) and appropriate RAM.  It's more money, but if you want to go all out, it's something to consider.

 

What I can strongly recommend is that you reserve some of your budget for a really good monitor.  Renders are a waste of time if you can't view them accurately!  Look for color accuracy, uniformity, black levels, and easy of calibration.  (This will often lead in the opposite direction of "gaming" monitors.)

Yes, the ECC RAM is better for the job, but the ones I can get here are much slower than I would like them to be. Also did not try to work with ECC RAM but will have to check that out and does it really pays off at the end.

Got the great 27" 10bit panel for the main monitor. And yes, it is terrible at gaming!

Thanks.

[Strale]

1 hour ago, Strale said:

That could work!

Just got an idea to get Noctua cooler and replace the fan with the black one! Maybe even two of them.

https://noctua.at/en/nf-a15-hs-pwm-chromax-black-swap/specification

[brob]

2 hours ago, Strale said:

It's out, it's black, looks cool, cools the TR but I'm worried the space between the RAM and the fan!

If I can get the G.SKILL Ripjaws 64GB kit I am aiming for, I don't think the cooler will fit!

Dark Rock Pro 4 has 44mm memory clearance which is enough for Trident Z modules. Bequiet has yet to post detailed specs on the TR4 version, but media pictures suggest it should be the same.

 

Threadripper supports quad channel memory. To take advantage of this, (it will make a difference in long renders), one should get four module (quad channel) memory kits. I think one should also make sure that the kit should have an eight module version that is on the motherboard QVL. From what I can see this limits the choice to Corsair - Dominator Platinum 64GB. Problematic with any coolers that overhang memory areas as the modules are some 55mm tall. (I believe it is possible to reduce this by removing the light bar.)

 

While memory speeds matter, the total amount of memory and number of channels make a much bigger contribution to performance.

 

The advantage of ECC memory is that a single memory error does not crash the system. If one is doing long renders, this can make a difference and more than make up for the slower memory speed. If render jobs are relatively short, it probably isn't worth the cost.

 

1 hour ago, Strale said:

Just got an idea to get Noctua cooler and replace the fan with the black one! Maybe even two of them.

https://noctua.at/en/nf-a15-hs-pwm-chromax-black-swap/specification

Good idea. Noctua suggests a second NF-A15 fan should improve boost headroom.

 

The NH-U14S is not compatible with the ROG Zenith Extreme motherboard.

 

If you need 300GB of main storage I'd suggest a 1TB NVMe M.2 drive if it can be fit in the budget. I've never known main storage requirements to be stable or shrink.

 

You may want to check pricing on Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum and Corsair HX psu.

[Strale]

6 hours ago, brob said:

The advantage of ECC memory is that a single memory error does not crash the system. If one is doing long renders, this can make a difference and more than make up for the slower memory speed. If render jobs are relatively short, it probably isn't worth the cost.

1

Currently, my i7-5930K is rendering final resolution renders from 1h to 2h with Corona Renderer. Even when rendering needs more than 32GB of RAM and takes 3h to render, I had program crashings very rarely (maybe 2%). With 2990WX and 64GB of RAM, that time should be from 15min to 30 mins with less crashing. So I guess I am skipping on ECC RAM and ROG Zenith Extreme Motherboard!

 

7 hours ago, brob said:

If you need 300GB of main storage I'd suggest a 1TB NVMe M.2 drive if it can be fit in the budget. I've never known main storage requirements to be stable or shrink.

Currently, I have 250GB (230GB actual size) SSD and always have 50-100GB of free space. -regular cleaning and maintenance. I have only the essentials installed I need for work (+  CS:S which I rarely play) so with the 512GB I guess I will be covered even if I install a couple of new programs?

I know it is a couple of hundreds euros more, but with all "couple hundreds here and there" I can get new software licenses and updates -which at the end, will probably cost more than this workstation!

 

8 hours ago, brob said:

Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum

 

It has a good price, but from reviews I have read, some people are having trouble getting more than 550W-600W from this PSU. Would not like to risk it.

 

But, the CORSAIR HX Series HX1000 Platinum 1000W has a really good price. It is very little cheaper than EVGA P2 850W but has more juice. Will check it out. Thanks!

 

 

[Motifator]

10 minutes ago, Strale said:

It has a good price, but from reviews I have read, some people are having trouble getting more than 550W-600W from this PSU. Would not like to risk it.

The BS is strong within the random user PSU "reviews" you read on Amazon, Newegg, etc.. what do they understand from PSUs? Absolutely nothing. Here, an actual test with a load tester, you will see even better results at 230v.

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/06/26/seasonic_focus_plus_platinum_850w_psu_review/4

[Strale]

5 hours ago, Motifator said:

The BS is strong within the random user PSU "reviews" you read on Amazon, Newegg, etc.. what do they understand from PSUs? Absolutely nothing. Here, an actual test with a load tester, you will see even better results at 230v.

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/06/26/seasonic_focus_plus_platinum_850w_psu_review/4

Great website for research, thanks!

[Strale]

As for the graphics, I've got my eye on:

ASUS DUAL-GTX1060-6G GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 PCIE or

EVGA 06G-P4-6265-KR GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 SSC DT GAMING PCIE

So many 1060 cards out there...very confusing. If someone has a better recommendation for a similar price, please let me know. Thanks.

[Strale]

On 9/8/2018 at 11:04 AM, Motifator said:

The BS is strong within the random user PSU "reviews" you read on Amazon, Newegg, etc.. what do they understand from PSUs? Absolutely nothing. Here, an actual test with a load tester, you will see even better results at 230v.

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/06/26/seasonic_focus_plus_platinum_850w_psu_review/4

Will be buying the SEASONIC Focus Plus 1000 Gold 1000W!

Thank you Motifator for the website referral!!

[Strale]

On 9/8/2018 at 2:03 AM, brob said:

Good idea. Noctua suggests a second NF-A15 fan should improve boost headroom.

Trying to find little wire things to attach the second fan, but no luck!

Not sure if there is another elegant way attaching a second fan on this cooler?

[brob]

47 minutes ago, Strale said:

Trying to find little wire things to attach the second fan, but no luck!

Not sure if there is another elegant way attaching a second fan on this cooler?

I believe the cooler comes with a second set of clips. See last page of the User Manual, https://noctua.at/media/blfa_files/manual/noctua_nh_u14s_tr4-sp3_manual_en.pdf.

[Strale]

6 minutes ago, brob said:

I believe the cooler comes with a second set of clips. See last page of the User Manual, https://noctua.at/media/blfa_files/manual/noctua_nh_u14s_tr4-sp3_manual_en.pdf.

This is great news! Thank you for the info!

Found this cooler 30% cheaper. No warranty, but it is sealed, no damages and brand new. Guy who is testing them, got two of those so I guess I got lucky and will spend that 30% definitely on new fans

[Strale]

I have a question and would really appreciate any help and advice I can get!

The "CORSAIR DOMINATOR Platinum Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15 memory kit (CMD32GX4M2B3000C15)" is available but they cannot check which version are they before ordering it.

 

Compatible RAMs are:

CMD32GX4M2B3000C15(Ver4.31)

CMD32GX4M2B3000C15(Ver5.39)(XMP)

 

I know there is also a Ver3.xx generally in ram sticks, but not sure if there is this case?

And if I order two kits and it happens to be version 3.xx, would RAM even work? Would there be any problems with the RAM and/or PC?

 

Trying to be sure here, it is quite expensive.

 

Thanks!

[brob]

Optimal memory configurations are kits of four matched modules. A two module kit at best supports dual channel which has some performance benefit but not nearly as much as quad channel. Further, there is a small chance that when a second two module kit is added, they will not permit quad channel operation.

[Strale]

2 minutes ago, brob said:

Optimal memory configurations are kits of four matched modules. A two module kit at best supports dual channel which has some performance benefit but not nearly as much as quad channel. Further, there is a small chance that when a second two module kit is added, they will not permit quad channel operation.

I am aware of that, but still nothing available for 4*16gb kits!

What about RAM versions? If wrong version memory is inserted, would that work?

 

Found this minutes ago:

Ver3.xx = Micron
Ver4.xx = Samsung
Ver5.xx = Hynix

[brob]

Versions could make a difference as the sensitivity is to particular memory chips and organizations.

 

Is ordering direct from Corsair an option?

 

[Strale]

13 minutes ago, brob said:

Versions could make a difference as the sensitivity is to particular memory chips and organizations.

 

Is ordering direct from Corsair an option?

 

Yeah, that would not be an option for me. Taxes for that could be 30%-50% of RAM price! Sometimes as high as 80%. Totally random here...and the waiting, damage...not worth the risk I think. Will wait a couple of days more as I see G.SKILL 64GB Ripjaws V DDR4 2800MHz CL14 KIT F4-2800C14Q-64GVK is slowly coming back to Hungary!

[brob]

Good luck.