The right AMD CPU for 3D and general purpose?

[Timstertimster]

I really dislike overpaying on hardware features I don't really use.

My computer needs to be able to handle Daz Studio and IRay. So I'm going with a GTX 970 Strix 4GB which has like 1660 CUDA cores. Also I like playing modded FO4 and Skyrim SE and figure 4GB 970 is just fine.

CPU wise I am lost though. Ryzen 3, or 5, or 7?

What would I need these cores for? Threads? Isn't 4cores /4threads enough? What actually utilizes the 8/16 CPU?

As for RAM I suppose a corsair 2666 MHZ kit is good enough to handle things, yes?


I'd rather pay less and actually utilize the threads because last thing I care about is benchmarks. I'm a real world user and just want real world performance.

 

[mdd1963]

R7-1700 /1700X are pretty reasonably priced, so if your applications can make use of more threads, ....why not start there?

 

[InvalidError]

Personally, I'd go with the the 1600 which has the best bang-per-buck.

While few individual games and programs may make use of a 6C12T CPU, that number is only going to increase over time and if you throw any amount of non-trivial multi-tasking, the extra processing power to handle background tasks may come in handy much sooner.

My thinking is that I prefer paying $50 up-front for the 1600 than wishing I had bought the 1600 a year or two from now and have to buy a new CPU for ~$200 again. Paying $230 up-front is $150 cheaper than buying a $180 CPU with no resale value now and another $200 CPU later. It was the same thinking that got me to buy an i5-3470 instead of an i3 five years ago and I'm still perfectly happy with my i5 today. Had I bought an i3, I would have had an itch to upgrade 2-3 years ago.

 

[photonboy]

1) R5-1600 is the minimum I'd recommend

2) Found THIS: https://helpdaz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/207530513-System-Recommendations-for-DAZ-Studio-4-

This mentions that when you do tasks that offload to the GPU, especially better GPU's then more than six cores appears to do little.

3) THIS is hard to read through:
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/53771/iray-starter-scene-post-your-benchmarks/p17

4) If you've got the GTX970 already then great, but otherwise it sounds like a GTX1060 6GB might be a good value depending on budget. But... it's confusing as to what tasks are GPU accelerated.

Newer versions of the software tend to add more GPU features. Older versions rely more on the CPU.

5) 2666MHz?
No. If you were gaming and not getting more than a GTX1060 I'd say yes depending on your total budget as it saves you some money, but when you STRESS THE CPU heavily in editing tasks you want the highest bandwidth to system memory that you can benefit from.

3200MHz (Dual Channel) is about the upper limit. Make sure it's a kit the motherboard likes too. Usually Corsair is a good bet.

4) Amount of DDR4 memory?
It depends on how demanding the project is so that varies a LOT. Perhaps you know already. I saw mention of at least 32GB but that sounds like intensive projects. Maybe start with 2x8GB then add another kit if that's getting maxed out.

5) RYZEN or INTEL?
You mention Fallout 4 specifically which unfortunately is very demanding of SINGLE CORE performance so benefits most from something like an i7-7700K.

But.. you can mostly stay at a solid 60FPS. There doesn't appear to be ANY CPU that can stay above 60FPS 100% of the time. Probably not a big deal overall.

OTHER:
Don't forget to upgrade your motherboard BIOS.

OTHER:
Cores and Threads. Every game and program are different. Software is generally changing to make use of MORE CORES and threads. A hyperthread (or AMD is SMT) is simply running a separate code thread during the time that the same physical core is normally waiting for more data. The software must stil be able to have its code split up into enough threads to benefit.

In general, the R5-1600 is a great CPU that doesn't do as good as a similarly priced Intel CPU for many tasks but is more future proof and will perform BETTER later in many tasks (comparing to same price like i5-7600 or similar).

You might get the R5-1600 up to 3.8GHz using the included stock cooler, but you need a better cooler to go higher. It appears more than 4GHz is hard to do for most people anyway though I'd consider a $50 (ish) quality cooler to help clocks a bit AND keep the fan noise down.

Or maybe just build the system and see what the clocks are like and how loud the fan noise is.

SUMMARY:
Lots of points, so hope that helps.

 

[Timstertimster]

I'm not keen on spending 200+ on the CPU if I can get away with less and have 3 years worth of utility. I'd rather spend 100 now and 100 in 2020, than 200 now for things I won't use

 

[mdd1963]

80% gaming/surfing, only casual work on the side (i.e., who cares if a decoding/encoding task takes 4 minutes longer once per week)...1600 is indeed at a *great* price point...

75% work, but with a little gaming on the side...1700!

 

[photonboy]

I'm not keen on spending 200+ on the CPU if I can get away with less and have 3 years worth of utility. I'd rather spend 100 now and 100 in 2020, than 200 now for things I won't use

Well, I tried to give you links to give a rough idea. The R5-1600 is my recommendation. At least wait to see how the R3 CPU's clock because clock speed is important. If you can get close to 3.8GHz with a 4C/4T (four core not hyperthreaded) CPU then sure consider that.

Don't expect to plunk another $100 down and get a significantly better Ryzen CPU in a few years though. Prices aren't going to drop unless you can get a used R7 CPU which I suspect is unlikely for that cheap.

You can and will benefit from better than that 4-core CPU however it's very difficult to say by how much, and what value you associate with that. And of course upgrading more frequently can even end up more expensive.

So... good luck I guess. Try using PCPARTPICKER to create "builds" of various part combinations.

 

[InvalidError]

I'm not keen on spending 200+ on the CPU if I can get away with less and have 3 years worth of utility. I'd rather spend 100 now and 100 in 2020, than 200 now for things I won't use

$100 today won't even buy you an R3-1200 or i3. CPUs worth buying for semi-serious productivity start around the $200 mark and I don't expect that to change by 2020, though I would expect to get at least two extra cores at that price point by then.

 

[Timstertimster]

Apparently R3 1300 will be about 120 or such... will an extra 100 really be worth it?

In a way I'm almost wondering if I should just forget about it altogether and just muddle through it with my FX 6300 for another couple years...

 

[InvalidError]

In a way I'm almost wondering if I should just forget about it altogether and just muddle through it with my FX 6300 for another couple years...

My general rule for upgrades: if you've got to ask whether you actually need it, then you don't need it and you are looking for validation for your mostly unfounded upgrade itch more than anything else.

If you genuinely felt like you needed to upgrade, sticking with the much slower FX-6300 any longer wouldn't sound like an acceptable option, especially not for "another couple of years."

 

[Timstertimster]

Yup agreed.

The entire question arose when I found that my FX 6300 is chugging along everyday usage okay, but once I got into doing some blender and stuff, it's getting a bit lame, literally.

But then it became this whole platform upgrade. And then I'm like oops I gotta make this worth it for a whole generation and sure don't want to have issues modding TES6, which we all know is coming eventually.

 

[madmatt30]

You simply have to take value for money into context here.
All the ryzen chips are great value compared to Intel for what your getting.

When you compare them to each other though the 1600 is the best buy by a huge margin, to the extent that I'd actually say it is underpriced for what you're getting


The 1700 is 25% more CPU for 50% more money.
The 1500x is 33% less CPU for 12% less money.
The 1400 is a hard one because its substantially less (25%) but also has a lower standard cooler

The 1600 is plainly the best buy & you've got a CPU there that reckon will still do the job in 5 years time.

Should honestly be your first choice for anything video, rendering related.

 

[mdd1963]

YOu get so much performance at the R5-1600 level, the lesser ones are complete non-players, IMO....

 

[InvalidError]

The 1400 is a hard one because its substantially less (25%) but also has a lower standard cooler

And you also lose half of the L3 cache compared to the 1500+. Not a huge deal in most cases but still something to keep in mind.

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
To me it doesn't make sense to want to UPGRADE but then skimp on the main component (CPU) that will give you the biggest update. You have to build an entire new computer now (or most of one) so my advice is don't upgrade until you can make a bigger break which to me is an R5-1600 or better, 16GB main memory etc.

 

[InvalidError]

You have to build an entire new computer now (or most of one) so my advice is don't upgrade until you can make a bigger break which to me is an R5-1600 or better, 16GB main memory etc.

Yeah, not a fan of spending money you can't (or barely can) spare on a half-ass upgrade then spend even more money to get it up to par from there when doing it right to begin with is ~$200 cheaper overall.

If you could buy a $60 Pentium equivalent to put in there for the time being, it wouldn't be so bad but $130+ "throw-away CPUs" as a placeholder for a ~$220 CPU are a painful proposition in my book.

 

[photonboy]

You have to build an entire new computer now (or most of one) so my advice is don't upgrade until you can make a bigger break which to me is an R5-1600 or better, 16GB main memory etc.

Yeah, not a fan of spending money you can't (or barely can) spare on a half-ass upgrade then spend even more money to get it up to par from there when doing it right to begin with is ~$200 cheaper overall.

If you could buy a $60 Pentium equivalent to put in there for the time being, it wouldn't be so bad but $130+ "throw-away CPUs" as a placeholder for a ~$220 CPU are a painful proposition in my book.

Consider also he has an FX-6300 already so a G4560 Pentium is arguably not much of an upgrade (if at all) for things like Daz Studio depending on how well threaded it is.

He also said he's "chugging along" so anything that's not a major upgrade won't give him what he's looking for.

Beyond actually TESTING this software myself to see how many threads it can use it's hard to discuss further, though of course he's likely to use OTHER SOFTWARE at some point that benefits from more threads. HANDBRAKE for example can often use everything thread you have (depending on settings as some aren't well threaded).