Want opinions on computer hardware to get

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s time. I need to upgrade my primary computer system, and I welcome advice.

The goal – to modernize my primary video editing station. My current unit is about 5 years old, and is showing its age (balding, sleeping late, forgetting things, likes to listen to Doo-Wop).

My latest desktop unit is a 6-core AMD CPU, 3.5 Ghz, with 32GB RAM, so a new one would have to be faster.

I have enough stuff in my junkbox and on the network that I don’t need disk drives (optical, SSD, or HD), keyboards, monitors, printers, etc. What I am missing is a motherboard (for a desktop), CPU, and RAM.

Long-term storage is already available in the form of 4 Drobos and several boxes of external hard drives, which add up to ~70TB or more. In this new computer, I plan to use a 1-2TB SSD for temporary, local, working storage, then moving completed, edited files to long-term storage over the local network. So storage isn’t a question at this time.

Economy is important, but so is performance, so I’d like to find a sweet spot where the cost curve escalates, like maybe a 2-year old technology that is now being discounted.

So I will start with 2 desktop boxes, including power supplies, and add what I need and have.

I would welcome advice on what motherboard and CPU to get, which will be the heart(s) of my new system(s). Anyone?

2

What’s the actual model of the CPU? Make it easier to compare.

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X is $139 at Micro Center, if you have one in your area. More from Newegg or Amazon if you’re forced to order online but fits right into the “Two year old tech being discounted” and compares favorably with the Intel i7 9700k for the applications you mention.

That said, without knowing what you’re running now, it’s hard to say how significant an upgrade it would be.

[Edit: Assuming you’re still in Sturgeon Bay, WI it looks like you’re out of luck for a Micro Center within reasonable distance]

3

My best desktop now is using an AMD FX-6300 6-core CPU. Since I am doing more HD (1080p, not yet 4K) video, I sure could use more speed. Going to an all-SSD system will be a help, too.

No, no Micro Centers nearby! But Fedex, UPS and USPS deliver just fine (everything I get has to be delivered), and I’m not in a hurry. :slight_smile:

4

You probably aren’t budgeting $4,000 for the CPU, so the latest Threadripper is probably out. But one of the more modest Threadrippers would be a good bet.

5

No, a $4K CPU won’t be in my budget until the price comes down to $400 – maybe next year!

Thanks for the link, DG. There’s a lot to digest there. Why AMD Threadripper compared to Intel i9? Do you have any personal experience with either?

I’ll probably keep the CPU price under $500 and hope that will be enough. I also want a motherboard with as many SATA connectors as possible (6 on my current one). Since I never put covers on my computers and often want to connect a bare hard drive, I’d prefer going direct to the internal buss instead of thru a USB port.

6

No, just going by reviews. AMD has been getting a lot of praise for their latest CPUs vs Intel. (I’ve been looking out of curiosity rather than hopes of an upgrade lately at top CPU speeds for video work–I’m in the midst of transcoding my video library to h.265 and am getting an abysmal 2 or 3 frames per second.)

7

Another issue to consider is the size and type of M.2/NVME drive to use a your main “hard” drive. NVMe is faster than a SATA SSD.

A new MB should at least support M.2 and preferably NVMe. For something data-transfer intensive like video editing, NVMe should be under consideration.

8

More threads, making it better suited for multitasking and various applications like video editing.

If your CPU budget is $500, you could get a Ryzen 9 3900X for $470

9

I’ll echo **Jophiel **and suggest a look at the Ryzen 9 3900x - it’s a 12 core/24 thread processor running at 3.8 ghz with a 4.6 ghz max boost. It’s going to outperform the Threadripper versions that are comparable in price, and is very likely to have better single-core performance as well.

If you go Zen2 (the third generation of the Ryzen processors), I’d go with a x570 chipset motherboard. I got a Gigabyte Aorus Ultra- it only has six SATA ports, but 3 M.2 nVME slots as well, and is well suited to overclocking. Memory- the third gen Ryzen processors only officially support DDR4 3200 memory, but can actually utilize much faster than that, with the sweet spot being somewhere around DDR4 3600, so I’d go with that and get 32 gigs from a reputable manufacturer- I ended up with 32 gigs of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR 4 3600 myself- it only cost about $170.

If I was in your shoes, I’d also probably get a good cooler- maybe one of the AIO solutions- probably a 240-280 mm radiator/fan version, like the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 AIO.

10

I will second what Bump has said above. I am running the Gigabyte Aorus Elite x570 mother board with no issues. It also has 6 SATA ports but only 2 M.2 NVME slots. If you are looking to save a bit you could use the 3700x instead of the 3900x and save ~$200.

None of the new ryzen CPUs have integrated GPUs, so you will need to buy a graphics card as well.

11

True, but if you’re not gaming or doing anything that requires a lot of that specific sort of processing power, just about any card will do.

12

I am in pretty much the same boat as the OP with my old old Hewlett-Packard HPE-560Z (3.20 gigahertz AMD Phenom II X6 1090T). Even stitching panorama photos in Lightroom causes this box to choke.

In the discussion above, the talk is mostly about mother boards or CPUs. When discussing mother boards or CPUs, is it assumed that an entirely new computer would be custom assembled? That is, a new case, power supply, etc.?

If so, how much can be saved by custom assembly?

Also, how hard is this to do?

13

But I am doing something which requires extreme processing power, so any card may not do.

Neverthess, I have several video cards in my junkbox, and I plan to use what I have for now. An upgrade will come later.

Right. Thanks for the recommendation.

It’s not hard if you are familiar with the build process. As someone who has built over 200 PCs (mostly years ago). I don’t have a problem with it.

Compared with laptops, self-assembly of a desktop is cheap. The parts are not optimized for size and portability, so you aren’t paying extra for that.

I also want to avoid the problems that come with pre-build units. It takes many days to remove the junkware that comes with it. Buying a whitebox unit would make sense, but may vendors don’t like to sell those (except in large quantities), as they lose the revenue that the junkware provides them.

If you build the unit, you can upgrade it and repair it. What do I need a computer store for?

14

It’s fairly easy. There’s a number of DIY tutorials and it’s worth watching one just to avoid some basic errors but it’s mostly just clicking parts into the right spots. That said, the main value in building your own these days is custom selecting parts and the experience of making it yourself (and the confidence to upgrade later). You don’t save nearly as much money as once upon a time when you could cut your costs by a third or more. There’s valid reason to go with a prebuilt: Save time, single warranty and hopefully pre-tested so you’re reasonably confident it’ll turn on right out of the box.

If you’re just making an email & Facebook machine, it’s usually easier to just buy outright. If you’re making a system for gaming, video editing or other higher-end purposes, there can be value in making your own. Or just because you enjoy the process.

15

From CGDirector.com (Criteria is Davinci Resolve 16, Lightroom, Photoshop, ~$2000 budget):

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8GHz 12-Core Processor ($469.99)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 AM4 ($86.47)
Motherboard: MSI MPG x570 Gaming Pro Carbon Wifi ATX AM4 ($239.98)
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB - MSI Gaming X ($429.99)
Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 CL16 ($129.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($168.99)
Storage HDD: Seagate BarraCuda Compute 4TB, 3.5" ($89.99)
Power Supply: Corsair CX Series CX550 550W ATX 2.4 Power Supply ($68.99)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 Titanium Big Tower Case ($144.10)
Total: $1,779.48

Almost everything available at Amazon Prime, so no shipping costs.

Opinions? Comments? Advice?

Thanks!

16

I decided to “future proof” this rig by upgrading the RAM, CPU and mother board:

Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16 Memory Kit ($302.54)
CORSAIR RMX Series (2018), RM650x, 650 Watt, 80+ Gold Certified, Fully Modular Power Supply ($119.98)
Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite (AMD Ryzen 3000/X570/ATX/PCIe4.0/DDR4/USB3.1/Realtek ALC1200/Front USB Type-C/RGB Fusion 2.0/M.2 Thermal Guard/Gaming Motherboard) ($179.99)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16-core, 32-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor, without Cooler ($749.00)
Seagate BarraCuda 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch Sata 6 Gb/s 5400 RPM 256MB Cache for Computer Desktop ($89.99)
Samsung 970 EVO SSD 1TB - M.2 NVMe Interface Internal Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology (MZ-V7E1T0BW), Black/Red ($169.99)
Fractal Design Define XL R2 Titanium - Full Tower Computer Case E-ATX - Optimized For High Airflow/Performance And Silent Computing with ModuVent
($144.10)
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2060 Super 8GB GDRR6 256-bit HDMI/DP G-SYNC Turing Architecture Overclocked Graphics Card (RTX 2060 Super Gaming X)
($429.99)
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4, BK022, 250W TDP, CPU Cooler ($86.46)

TOTAL: $2,272.04

17

I’d stick with the 3900X as you’re not getting anywhere near a 62% boost in performance for 62% more money and, the time either is getting obsolete, you’ll probably be able to upgrade to something far better for another $400-odd bucks. Looking through the benchmarks here, I wouldn’t be able to justify the jump.

18

Great point. Thank you.

19

Sure, but does video editing actually use GPU processing power, or is it very dependent on CPU? Or both? I’m not familiar. If it does, then you probably have a better idea of what GPU works for what you want to do than I would; GPUs are kind of a murky minefield relative to comparing CPUs, IMO.

20

From here: