[SOLVED] First build in 10 years, out of the loop and looking for suggestions

[yannifb]

Hey everyone,

It's been a long time since I've posted on these forums, and an even longer time since my last build- This was when I was in highschool in 2009, and now that I've graduated and am working I really want to jump back in.

I've been catching up on hardware changes since them, but it goes without saying that A LOT has happened. I've got a few ideas of what I want to do, but definitely need some help figuring out the details!

For the processor, I want to build around a Ryzen 7 3700X. The system will be used for compiling code, UX/UI design, some 3d modeling, some audio production, and some gaming- not the main focus since it's been a while since I've played any intensive games, but I am looking forward to Cyberpunk and the new Elder Scrolls. Aside from those, the games I usually play are strategy games, but very casually. I also want to be future-proofed as much as I can. Budget wise I'm flexible, but would like to stay around $1500.

So far, the only component I've actually purchased is a case, the Fractal Design Define R6, without the window. For graphics, I was thinking the RTX 2070, but am very flexible here. I also am very eager to try out one of the new PCI 4.0 NVME m.2 hard drives, and have been looking at the gigabyte Aorus pci 4.0 1TB. As far as motherboards go, an x570 may be the only choice since I'm keen on the pci 4.0 slots.

Also, is it worth getting an AIO water cooler for either the gpu or the CPU? And if so, is one more likely to benefit from liquid cooling than the other? I'm not going to be overclocking, but would like the temperatures to be within reason and lower noise.

Greatly appreciate any help! Can't wait to hear some ideas.

p.s: I want to build around Ryzen for 2 reasons- firstly, I'm intrigued by their 7nm process, secondly, I put a little money I had saved into AMD stocks back when they were on the Phenom II and was very pleasantly surprised by their growth over the past few years; I feel like I should return the favor

 

[Eximo]

GPUs do benefit from water cooling, but generally the price premium allows you to just get a faster GPU.

So if you were looking at an RTX2070 Hybrid, just get an RTX 2070 Super.

Ryzen CPUs don't really overclock that much, so keeping it cool will keep it in boost ranges longer. Stock cooler will probably get you about 95% of the way there. A large air cooler will let you get at or near the 4.3Ghz range. (Kind of a per core thing, Ryzen is a little different with its higher core count chips)

Nothing wrong with an AIO for the CPU though, any 240mm radiator and up would do fine. If you were thinking of a 120mm, then it makes more sense to get something like a Dark Rock Pro 4.

 

[yannifb]

So since the case has got quite a bit of room for larger radiators, if I do go with an AIO for the CPU I'd start at 240- unless there is a notable reason to get a larger one. How much does radiator placement affect performance? As in placing it as an intake at the front or bottom, versus placing it as an outtake at the top of the case? I imagine front or bottom would be best for the cpu itself since its drawing in air from outside the case, but would the radiator exhaust blowing into the case measurably heat up the other components?

 

[helper800]

Its a little over budget but this is a really good build:
*edited out case and added pcie 4.0 m.2 ssd

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($327.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI X570-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($719.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1642.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-06 18:41 EDT-0400

 

[helper800]

Or like this to stay within budget:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($327.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI X570-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($549.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1472.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-06 18:47 EDT-0400

 

[RLarcosPES2]

Its a little over budget but this is a really good build:
*edited out case and added pcie 4.0 m.2 ssd

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($327.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI X570-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($719.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1642.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-06 18:41 EDT-0400

Or like this to stay within budget:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($327.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI X570-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($549.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1472.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-06 18:47 EDT-0400

There is like only 5fps difference between the 2070S and the 2080S and the price difference is 200$. WOW! Not worth it at all! The 2070S should be enough for the OP at his price point.

 

[helper800]

There is like only 5fps difference between the 2070S and the 2080S and the price difference is 200$. WOW! Not worth it at all! The 2070S should be enough for the OP at his price point.

No, the 2080 super is about 12-18% faster depending on the game and resolution. Also the only time the fps is that close between the 2 cards is at 4k with all the eye candy. That 5 fps at that resolution and those settings could be the difference between playable and not. Also if you want to take advantage of the new tech with the 2000 series cards you need at least a 2080 super for playable frame rates especially above 1080p. I have a 2070 super with a crazy OC and it can barely do 50-60 fps in 1080p playing Control with the RTX on.

 

[RLarcosPES2]

No, the 2080 super is about 12-18% faster depending on the game and resolution. Also the only time the fps is that close between the 2 cards is at 4k with all the eye candy. That 5 fps at that resolution and those settings could be the difference between playable and not. Also if you want to take advantage of the new tech with the 2000 series cards you need at least a 2080 super for playable frame rates especially above 1080p. I have a 2070 super with a crazy OC and it can barely do 50-60 fps in 1080p playing Control with the RTX on.

30% price increase for a measly 18% performance increase if that, for a hobbyist 3d modeler and very casual gamer is not worth it. The difference will be minimal in his eyes even in the upcoming games. If he wants to spend that extra money he should just go for the Ryzen 3900x which is a more worthy upgrading considering the OP's usage.

 

[cryoburner]

I have to agree... Its probably not worth going with a $700+ enthusiast-level graphics card for someone who is only interested in "...some gaming- not the main focus since it's been a while since I've played any intensive games..."

They're coming from 10 year old hardware, and while a GTX 295 would have been rather high-end when it was new, even a mid-range card would be a massive improvement over it today.

It's worth asking though, what kind of monitor will you be using? Are there any plans for upgrading it? If it's just a 1080p 60Hz panel, even a 2070 SUPER would arguably be overkill for today's games at that resolution.

The regular 2070, as mentioned in the first post, might be a decent option, or the 2060 SUPER if you are able to find them priced significantly lower, as that card is actually just a 2070 with about 5% of its cores disabled, and as such falls within 5% of a 2070's performance.

 

[helper800]

30% price increase for a measly 18% performance increase if that, for a hobbyist 3d modeler and very casual gamer is not worth it. The difference will be minimal in his eyes even in the upcoming games. If he wants to spend that extra money he should just go for the Ryzen 3900x which is a more worthy upgrading considering the OP's usage.

That performance for that price isn't even bad all things considered. As I said, those are good builds for the budget.

 

[helper800]

3900x certainly can be done for a $1500 budget:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard ($194.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB SC GAMING Video Card ($339.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1478.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-06 21:17 EDT-0400

 

[yannifb]

Thanks for all the responses- super helpful so far.

As someone mentioned, the gaming would probably be casual, but the modeling aspect is important, and I do some heavy design (Ux/UI) and development work professionally. Would a 3900x show a noticeable improvement over the 3700x? Also I noticed that Asus motherboard has wifi built in, but costs a little more than the msi; the built in wifi is convenient so thats a plus, but what else about the Asus gives it an advantage?

And as for the monitor- I've got this older 1080p Samsung LED 120hz monitor that isn't being used- I'll probably be using that, but I will check out the newer ones in the future to see if its worth making the jump to higher resolutions (what do you guys think about that, worth it?)

Again thanks for all the help- I'm slowly catching up to all the new hardware

 

[yannifb]

Forgot to ask- with those NVME drive's read/write speeds being so fast does it stress the processor more than a standard drive?

 

[RLarcosPES2]

Thanks for all the responses- super helpful so far.

As someone mentioned, the gaming would probably be casual, but the modeling aspect is important, and I do some heavy design (Ux/UI) and development work professionally. Would a 3900x show a noticeable improvement over the 3700x? Also I noticed that Asus motherboard has wifi built in, but costs a little more than the msi; the built in wifi is convenient so thats a plus, but what else about the Asus gives it an advantage?

And as for the monitor- I've got this older 1080p Samsung LED 120hz monitor that isn't being used- I'll probably be using that, but I will check out the newer ones in the future to see if its worth making the jump to higher resolutions (what do you guys think about that, worth it?)

Again thanks for all the help- I'm slowly catching up to all the new hardware

You need to tell us what software exactly you use to be more correct, but in general there is not much difference between the 2070s and the 2080s in 3d rendering probably like 5-10% difference, but that depends on the software you use.

For UI/UX development I have the belief that single core performance is more important on the CPU side of things(again this is software dependant).

I believe the extra cores on the 3900x will make rendering times lower if your software uses the CPU for any kind of rendering(for example the new Eevee engine in Blender use both the GPU and the CPU).

For the motherboard if the price difference is significant, the wifi aspect isnt worth it IMO because you can get a usb wifi adapter for cheap.

For the monitor, both GPUs are overkill for that(in games), keep in mind that if you go with a higher resolution in the future that most people run lower resolution displays(i'm talking about desktop/laptop here, mobile is a completely different story) and your UI testing may not be appropriate in your future higher definition display(I have a 1440p most websites look empty, imagine if i designed a UI for a website and I created it in accordance on what looks and functions best. My higher resolution display gives a subconcious belief that I have plenty of space to work with, but imagine someone with a laptop at 1366x768 navigate all this full UI for a 1440p resolution, it would be an absolute pain). Best is to run multiple monitors, in addition of your current 1080p one if you decide to get another one in the future. Keep in mind I'm not an expert on this but I have done some UI design for myself.

Higher resolutions give you more space for multitasking.

 

[yannifb]

Software I've used for engineering work are Autocad, Matlab, and Mathmatica. I don't really use them as much anymore as I've moved into UI/UX and React for some start up work (which I definitely prefer), using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe XD, very large Excel sheets, and sparing use of AfterEffects.

The current 2018 Macbook pro I use is starting to lag even with Adobe XD, enough to be more than just an annoyance. While I don't use the heavier programs such as Autocad anymore, I figured considering it is something I have used in work before, it's better to be safe and make sure the machine could handle it well I ever have another career change.

As for the resolution scaling issue you mentioned- you should check out Adobe XD for developing UI's- they're pretty good for making scalable interfaces (moreso than Sketch imo, which I used to use). I design for mobile, so I'm used to working with weird resolutions that aren't nearly the same as my screen. Personally how do you like the 1440P screen? Is it as nice of a difference as going from a 1080 to a 4k tv?

 

[yannifb]

Forgot to ask- do you think that Asus board isn't worth the price increase? I figured you're right on the fact that wifi dongles have gotten pretty cheap nowadays; I just got gigabit google fiber in my building so I assumed a higher end one was needed, but nope I found a few for as low as $25 on amazon.

 

[helper800]

Forgot to ask- do you think that Asus board isn't worth the price increase? I figured you're right on the fact that wifi dongles have gotten pretty cheap nowadays; I just got gigabit google fiber in my building so I assumed a higher end one was needed, but nope I found a few for as low as $25 on Amazon.

I recommended the ASUS board because I prefer the brand and some of its features over the MSI one. The ASUS TUF boards also come with a substantial warranty.

 

[RLarcosPES2]

Software I've used for engineering work are Autocad, Matlab, and Mathmatica. I don't really use them as much anymore as I've moved into UI/UX and React for some start up work (which I definitely prefer), using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe XD, very large Excel sheets, and sparing use of AfterEffects.

The current 2018 Macbook pro I use is starting to lag even with Adobe XD, enough to be more than just an annoyance. While I don't use the heavier programs such as Autocad anymore, I figured considering it is something I have used in work before, it's better to be safe and make sure the machine could handle it well I ever have another career change.

As for the resolution scaling issue you mentioned- you should check out Adobe XD for developing UI's- they're pretty good for making scalable interfaces (moreso than Sketch imo, which I used to use). I design for mobile, so I'm used to working with weird resolutions that aren't nearly the same as my screen. Personally how do you like the 1440P screen? Is it as nice of a difference as going from a 1080 to a 4k tv?

You won't see much improvement with more cores for UI/UX development, Autocad, Photoshop and Illustrator(vector graphics cannot be paralilized, but Photoshop should be using them more, Adobe is stuck in the flash era), but Mathmatica, Excel, XD and AfterEffects use them. For Matlab it depends on how you code.

It depends mostly if you are willing to spend the money and you want to future proof your rig.

For me the resolution of 1440p is amazing as I do lots of multitasking. Before I had a monitor of 1360x768 and the difference is clearly night and day. I work faster on my PC with the bigger resolution because I don't have to scroll and change windows all the time(that was a TOTAL pain). I've never had a 1080p monitor myself, but I've used on other peoples PC's and it seems to me that there is not much space on the display, It is a noticeable difference(assuming you have Windows scaling at 100% because Windows automatically increases that number making the higher resolution's advantage obsolete, also the taskbar looks weird that way, like it is zoomed in).

I don't do anymore any UI/UX design myself. BUT since I had a major economic disaster recently, I would like to get back on that biz since I have a knack for design. For Adobe XD, I would like to stay away from paid products as much as possible. PM me for suggestions if you want because this question is beyond the scope of this thread. Thank you!