[SOLVED] Upgrading my CG-Animation Workstation (need advice)

[themilkynutball]

Hey guys! I built my first desktop workstation in 2013 (with the help of TomsHardware 😀), and aside from a few parts that crapped out on me, it's gotten me through to 2020. With that said, it's definitely time for an upgrade. I mostly do CG Animation in programs like Maya, and/or blender. I also do the occasional rendering/comp, but that's definitely lower priority. I already have a GTX 1080, computer case, and a CPU Fan, but here's what I'm thinking for everything else. Please let me know if anything looks dumb!

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/garrettanimates/saved/6XxmkL

Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1435917-REG/intel_bx80684i99900k_core_i9_9900k_3_6_ghz.html
$519

Noctua NH-D14 64.95 CFM CPU Cooler
(I own this already)

Asus PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCY7K9L?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
$179

Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-64GB-3200MHz-Memory/dp/B016ORTUIA
$329

Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1398240-REG/samsung_mz_v7e500bw_500gb_970_evo_nvme.html
$99

Samsung 860 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786QNSBD?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
$348

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB DUKE 8G Video Card
(I own this already)

Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case
(I own this already)

Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Power-Supply-Units/Power-Supply-Units-Advanced/RMx-Series-White/p/CP-9020188-NA?utm_source=PCPartPicker_79301&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=497986_CORSAIR US Product Catalog Ad&utm_content=Content&clickid=xt6QPxSXTxyJRNEwUx0Mo34lUkiz:BzvRxt83o0&irgwc=1
$155

Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-home-64-bit/p/N82E16832416892?Item=N82E16832416892&nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=AFC-RAN-COM&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-PCPartPicker&AFFID=2558510&AFFNAME=PCPartPicker&ACRID=1&ASID=https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wtgPxr/microsoft-os-kw900140&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2558510&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-7mzHm6SMvP_bvm1HWpPImA
$109

 

[refillable]

Maya and Blender would work 50% better with Ryzen, so go with Ryzen 3900X. Pair it with ASUS TUF X570 or Gigabyte Aorus Elite. Don't go with SATA SSD, use NVMe. Use this and call it a day. You are not going to need an RMx 850. A Good 650 W PSU (RMx, RM, Bitfenix Whisper Gold, SS Focus Plus, etc..) would do just fine even if you upgrade to an RTX 2080 Ti.

 

[Nemesia]

I agree with Refillable. This below would be a lot better build for what you want to do.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor ($431.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($199.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.48 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB DUKE 8G Video Card
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($108.78 @ Other World Computing)
Total: $1571.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-10 20:30 EDT-0400

 

[themilkynutball]

This is why I come here - You guys are the best!

Out of curiosity, why is the Ryzen 3900x so much faster than the i9-9900k for use in Maya/Blender? Is it as simple as the higher clock speed/higher core-count? Otherwise, is there anything I should be aware of going the AMD route instead of Intel (I'm just so used to running my computer on an intel chip lol).

 

[Nemesia]

This is why I come here - You guys are the best!

Out of curiosity, why is the Ryzen 3900x so much faster than the i9-9900k for use in Maya/Blender? Is it as simple as the higher clock speed/higher core-count? Otherwise, is there anything I should be aware of going the AMD route instead of Intel (I'm just so used to running my computer on an intel chip lol).

The Ryzen 9 3900X is slower than the 9900K in the single thread performance but the 3900X is better for the workstation stuff because of it's 12 Cores 24 Threads compared to the 8/16 of the 9900K. I was an Intel person too before I bought the 3900X. You won't see any difference really between an Intel and AMD. The only thing people are panicking about when they buy their first AMD system is that the CPU will spike. Meaning that if you have an IDLE temp of 30C and you see the CPU spiking to 50C in a matter of a fraction of a second just by opening Google Chrome it's normal. It's how AMD CPU are working. Cores are sleeping and when they wake up they spike in temp pretty fast. So people are asking question like "Why is my CPU cooler fan are going up all the time when I start Chrome". This is easily fixable using a custom fan curse in the BIOS where you set the CPU cooler fan speed to start going faster when the temperature goes over the spike temp.

Here my 3900X spike to 55C when I open some stuff and I have set the custom fan curve to start being agressive after 55C. So now my fan does not go crazy when I'm just opening Chrome

Trust me. You will love that 3900X.

 

[themilkynutball]

That is super helpful to know about the temperatures thank you!

Forgive me as I play devil’s advocate -- I’m researching more about the Ryzen and how it works with Maya specifically. It is my understanding that animation performance in Maya (rig manipulation, and viewport speed basically) doesn’t support multi-threading, so the single-thread performance gain of the 9900K might beat out the Ryzen in this regard. With that said, other tasks in Maya such as rendering (or any other programs that support multi-threading) would benefit greatly from the Ryzen’s extra cores. With that said, maybe the 9900k would be slightly better for animators specifically?

In any case, I’m still confused how the 9900k beats out the Ryzen when the clock speed is lower (3.6ghz vs. 3.9ghz).

 

[refillable]

With that said, other tasks in Maya such as rendering (or any other programs that support multi-threading) would benefit greatly from the Ryzen’s extra cores. With that said, maybe the 9900k would be slightly better for animators specifically?

That's true, but the 3900X is within 5% of the 9900K on single-thread performance, so there won't be a noticeable difference. I even doubt that the load on common 3D editing interface will even be enough to task both of those modern CPUs. However, when it comes to rendering, the 3900X absolutely trounces the 9900K. I don't exactly know how your priorities are, but I'd choose the Ryzen for this reason alone. Also, AM4 is upgradeable to Ryzen 4000, which will be handy in the future.

In any case, I’m still confused how the 9900k beats out the Ryzen when the clock speed is lower (3.6ghz vs. 3.9ghz).

Boost clocks are different.

 

[themilkynutball]

Thank you so much for the info. You've definitely sold me on the Ryzen, I'm gonna go for it!

I'm bummed because it's looking like motherboards are sold out EVERYWHERE. I'll just buy the other components and wait I guess!

 

[refillable]

Thank you so much for the info. You've definitely sold me on the Ryzen, I'm gonna go for it!

I'm bummed because it's looking like motherboards are sold out EVERYWHERE. I'll just buy the other components and wait I guess!

https://www.newegg.com/asrock-x570-steel-legend/p/N82E16813157885

This one's in stock if you can't wait. It's not the best, but it's OK. You can also wait for MSI X570 Tomahawk, it seems to be better than any X570 anyone has ever launched.

 

[ocer9999]

That's actually not a bad motherboard at all, 179$ is a good price. I bought mine for 200$.

 

[themilkynutball]

Argh I must have missed it, it's out of stock for me!

I'll keep an eye out, thanks for the mobo recommendations guys

 

[themilkynutball]

What about this? It's in stock!

https://www.newegg.com/asus-rog-crosshair-viii-hero/p/N82E16813119109

Is there anything you can tell me about this mobo that will help justify spending an extra $200 because I'm impatient 😬

 

[themilkynutball]

I agree with Refillable. This below would be a lot better build for what you want to do.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor ($431.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($199.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.48 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB DUKE 8G Video Card
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($108.78 @ Other World Computing)
Total: $1571.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-10 20:30 EDT-0400

 

[themilkynutball]

Quick follow up question if my thread isn't already dead 🤣

I ordered every part for my new build except for the new PSU (it's on backorder). With that said, my current PSU is technically compatible with the new build so I wanted to know if it would be safe to use it temporarily until I get the new PSU. I just don't want to risk damaging any new components. My current PSU is still working, but it's over 8 years old and I suspect its crapping out a bit because of some issues I'm having on my current machine (USB devices intermittently re-connecting/programs crashing frequently/etc.). I'm obviously very eager to build the new computer, but I will definitely hold off if I risk damaging any of the components.

Current (old) PSU: https://www.newegg.com/pc-power-and-cooling-silencer-mk-ii-ppcmk2s750-750w/p/N82E16817703027

 

[Nemesia]

A 8 years old crapping out PSU. Do not put that PSU in that new system unless you want to put all your new hardware at risk

 

[themilkynutball]

Baha ok that settles it! Thank you