[SOLVED] Advice on upgrade components

daE_12

Commendable
Nov 8, 2021
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Hey :)

I'm looking to upgrade my modest (early 2016 build) to something thats punchier. I only use my PC for 3D modelling/texturing and rendering (rendering is the main reason I want an upgrade as I want quick renders). I don't use my PC for gaming/overlocking.

I'm not sure I want to do a complete scratch build so looking to only do a partial one and keep most of what I've got as I don't wanna break the bank haha.

My current build is:

CPU - 6th gen i7 6700k, 4 core, 8 thread
RAM - Kingston HyperX Fury 2133 MHz DDR4 32GB RAM
MOBO - ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Professional Gaming i7
CPU Cooling - Noctua NH-U14S with 2 AF-A15 140mm fans
PSU - Corsair CP-9020072 Platinum Series 750W
SSD 1 - Samsung 850 500GB SSD - Running Windows 10
SSD 2 - Samsung 860 1TB SSD
HDD - Seagate Baracuda 4TB
GPU - Geforce GTX 1080Ti
Corsair 780T Graphite Tower


I'm looking to replace the first 4 with these:

CPU - Ryzen 3950x 16core, 32 thread
RAM - Corsair Vengence 64GB (4x16GB) DDR4, 3200
MOBO - ASUS ROG Strix X570-F
CPU Cooling - Noctua NH-D15

Anyone reckon this is cool? I know ryzen are on the 5000 series and will probably release the next gen soon but not sure if the price is worth it for a 5950x as it seems a little overpriced and would probably mean I'd have to upgrade the mobo/other stuff... not sure.

I'm hoping what I want to replace will fit into my Tower....

Any advice is much appreciated :)
 
Solution
Budget is £1200 for all parts :)
Motherboard VRM guide...

The Gigabyte S series have been launched more recently with updated BIOS. Something like this should be good...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor | £638.00 @ Infinite Computing
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler | £89.99 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | Gigabyte X570S AORUS MASTER ATX AM4 Motherboard | £344.43 @ Clove Technology
Memory | Crucial Ballistix RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | £137.69 @...
Looks good, that's a huge upgrade. Not sure where you are located but the difference between the 3950x and 5950x in US is like $5 from what I can see. But if the difference is massive at your location, then the 3950x is also right up there for the job.
That Corsair tower is pretty big. Should fit all of the above and then some.
 
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daE_12

Commendable
Nov 8, 2021
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Hey! Yeah it’s a big upgrade haha. I’d consider getting the 5950x as it’s about £95 (UK based) more than the 3950x.

I just don’t know if I’d need to get a new power supply, 3600 ram instead of 3200 and a different MOBO all to handle the new 5950x ... which would be more cost added. Not too sure... anyone know if I’d need to swap out my new 3950x gear for the 5950x? :)
 
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Those parts look good. As an alternative you can now pick intel Alder Lake cpus, but Im not sure what will be the price there. For example something like a decent DDR4-Z690 motherboard + the same RAM kit + 12700K or KF should be better according to latest benchamrks than the 3950X.

Then again the 3950X still a beast for most taks and a huge upgrade over your current i7 6700K.
In fact the Ryzen 9 3900X would also be a huge upgrade but Im not sure whats the price difference (where you live) between this one and the R9 3950X.
 
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Hey! Yeah it’s a big upgrade haha. I’d consider getting the 5950x as it’s about £95 (UK based) more than the 3950x.

I just don’t know if I’d need to get a new power supply, 3600 ram instead of 3200 and a different MOBO all to handle the new 5950x ... which would be more cost added. Not too sure... anyone know if I’d need to swap out my new 3950x gear for the 5950x? :)
Not sure where you are picking the prices from but this is what I can see at the time of posting...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor | £602.75 @ Infinite Computing
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £602.75
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-09 13:00 GMT+0000 |

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor | £638.00 @ Infinite Computing
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £638.00
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-09 13:00 GMT+0000 |

If you have the 3950x c heaper then its certainly a viable option. Motherboard and RAM are fine, should work seamlessly with the 5950x. Just make sure you are on the latest BIOS.

@RodroX Alderlake is good too, but the difference between 8 Performance Cores of 12900k vs 16 Performance Cores of 5950x in modelling/texturing is not yet benchmarked AFAIK. If you have that data please link below, thanks.
Bwtn, texturing benefits with more cores whereas modelling benefits with faster cores AFAIK. So a mix and match of both will be optimum.
 
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@Hellfire13 I was not comparing Alder Lake with the 5950X because the OP did not listed that part. It was mean to be between Alder Lake and Zen 2 (R9 3950X/3900X).

Sadly I haven't see any testing on modeling/texturing yet. I can only guess Alder Lake will still be good at those tasks because you can not compare 1 Alder Lake P-core to a Zen 2 core directly (and you also have the e-cores in the mix). Alder Lake P-cores are said to be way bigger than Ryzen ones (twice the size) and way more complex, hence why they get the results we have seen so far. But no, its only a guess, and I would love to see those benchmarks.

Nevertheless any of the cpu named should be an amazing update in terms of performance vs the current Skylake cpu OP is using.
 
Last edited:
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Hey :)

I'm looking to upgrade my modest (early 2016 build) to something thats punchier. I only use my PC for 3D modelling/texturing and rendering (rendering is the main reason I want an upgrade as I want quick renders). I don't use my PC for gaming/overlocking.

I'm not sure I want to do a complete scratch build so looking to only do a partial one and keep most of what I've got as I don't wanna break the bank haha.

My current build is:

CPU - 6th gen i7 6700k, 4 core, 8 thread
RAM - Kingston HyperX Fury 2133 MHz DDR4 32GB RAM
MOBO - ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Professional Gaming i7
CPU Cooling - Noctua NH-U14S with 2 AF-A15 140mm fans
PSU - Corsair CP-9020072 Platinum Series 750W
SSD 1 - Samsung 850 500GB SSD - Running Windows 10
SSD 2 - Samsung 860 1TB SSD
HDD - Seagate Baracuda 4TB
GPU - Geforce GTX 1080Ti
Corsair 780T Graphite Tower


I'm looking to replace the first 4 with these:

CPU - Ryzen 3950x 16core, 32 thread
RAM - Corsair Vengence 64GB (4x16GB) DDR4, 3200
MOBO - ASUS ROG Strix X570-F
CPU Cooling - Noctua NH-D15

Anyone reckon this is cool? I know ryzen are on the 5000 series and will probably release the next gen soon but not sure if the price is worth it for a 5950x as it seems a little overpriced and would probably mean I'd have to upgrade the mobo/other stuff... not sure.

I'm hoping what I want to replace will fit into my Tower....

Any advice is much appreciated :)
You might find a 2x32GB kit is easier for the mobo to handle.
You might find 3600 speed gives a little bump.
 

daE_12

Commendable
Nov 8, 2021
15
1
1,515
You might find a 2x32GB kit is easier for the mobo to handle.
You might find 3600 speed gives a little bump.
Hmmm interesting... I did read somewhere that the difference in 3200 vs 3600 is minimal and not terribly noticeable - I'm probably wrong and just don't wanna spend the extra cash :LOL:
 
Budget is £1200 for all parts :)
Motherboard VRM guide...

The Gigabyte S series have been launched more recently with updated BIOS. Something like this should be good...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor | £638.00 @ Infinite Computing
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler | £89.99 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | Gigabyte X570S AORUS MASTER ATX AM4 Motherboard | £344.43 @ Clove Technology
Memory | Crucial Ballistix RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | £137.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £1210.11
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-09 16:14 GMT+0000 |
 
Solution

daE_12

Commendable
Nov 8, 2021
15
1
1,515
Motherboard VRM guide...

The Gigabyte S series have been launched more recently with updated BIOS. Something like this should be good...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor | £638.00 @ Infinite Computing
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler | £89.99 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | Gigabyte X570S AORUS MASTER ATX AM4 Motherboard | £344.43 @ Clove Technology
Memory | Crucial Ballistix RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | £137.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £1210.11
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-09 16:14 GMT+0000 |

Ahh amazing! thats a really beefy mobo haha. I guess I was looking at the ASUS ROG Strix X570-F or E since it was cheaper and allowed me to upgrade to a corsair vengeance 64gb 3600. I'm guessing 64gb might be overkill for my usual modelling needs but was my 32GB 2133 won't cut it with a 5950x beast haha
 
Ahh amazing! thats a really beefy mobo haha. I guess I was looking at the ASUS ROG Strix X570-F or E since it was cheaper and allowed me to upgrade to a corsair vengeance 64gb 3600. I'm guessing 64gb might be overkill for my usual modelling needs but was my 32GB 2133 won't cut it with a 5950x beast haha
Yepp, with that kind of a beast CPU you will need all the juice possible to run it cool. That board is Tier A in terms of VRM cooling with all other features possible including wifi 6, and within your budget.
You can upgrade to 64gb down the line in case you need it.
 
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daE_12

Commendable
Nov 8, 2021
15
1
1,515
Yepp, with that kind of a beast CPU you will need all the juice possible to run it cool. That board is Tier A in terms of VRM cooling with all other features possible including wifi 6, and within your budget.
You can upgrade to 64gb down the line in case you need it.
Awesome will go ahead with that then! Suppose I don’t need 64gb if I’ve got 32gb 3600. (Or maybe I’ll stretch the budget to include it haha)
 
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Awesome will go ahead with that then! Suppose I don’t need 64gb if I’ve got 32gb 3600. (Or maybe I’ll stretch the budget to include it haha)
I would start with 32gb and then think about expanding depending or requirement. No point wasting money and resource if its supposed to sit idle.

is my 750w psu still gonna cut it with all this you think? Or can I leave that for an upgrade another time :)
Corsair HXi series is a Top Tier PSU...

5950x will draw a max of around 150w - 200w...
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-9-5950x-5900x-zen-3-review/4

1080Ti will draw a max of around 250w - 300w, and that's not even in your workload...
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-ti,4972-6.html

The rest will draw around 100w max. Even if we stretch to max figures it comes to around 600w draw. You still have around 150w headroom.

Should be fine.
 

daE_12

Commendable
Nov 8, 2021
15
1
1,515
I would start with 32gb and then think about expanding depending or requirement. No point wasting money and resource if its supposed to sit idle.


Corsair HXi series is a Top Tier PSU...

5950x will draw a max of around 150w - 200w...
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-9-5950x-5900x-zen-3-review/4

1080Ti will draw a max of around 250w - 300w, and that's not even in your workload...
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-ti,4972-6.html

The rest will draw around 100w max. Even if we stretch to max figures it comes to around 600w draw. You still have around 150w headroom.

Should be fine.

Ahh thanks for your help, really appreciate it!

One final thing with ram btw... I do want 64gb 3600 ram... currently Crucial are out of stock of 2x32GB so I'm gonna get 2x16GB. Can I get 4x16GB instead, is 4 modules better than 2? (not sure when Crucial will have 2x32 in stock and I'm impatient haha)
 
Ahh thanks for your help, really appreciate it!

One final thing with ram btw... I do want 64gb 3600 ram... currently Crucial are out of stock of 2x32GB so I'm gonna get 2x16GB. Can I get 4x16GB instead, is 4 modules better than 2? (not sure when Crucial will have 2x32 in stock and I'm impatient haha)
Ideally its a dual channel platform, but 4 sticks wont make a massive difference. Many people run it that way.
 
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