Build Advice Wanting to Ensure Optimization for Targeted Tasks

[Aniu88]

Pcpartpicker List:
PC Parts

So I'm building a new gaming/Light workstation build and am curious of opinions on optimization and performance requirements.

My target is as follows:

1) 1440p gaming at ideally 144hz but at least 60+ fps on high to max settings. (Raytracing would be nice but not a have to)

2) Occasional VR gaming (things like blade and sorcery with mods and walking dead saints & sinners)

3) Occasional work station tasks: video editing/streaming/3D modeling, rendering/VM usage for gaming Servers

4) Also looking into dual booting as id like Linux to be my primary but want to ensure compatibility with windows games.

So, I've included a pcpartpicker list of the main components im thinking of. My main questions are as follows:

1) I want to make sure the mobo/cpu/ram combo aren't leaving ram/cpu performance on the table due to misconfiguration.

2) I'm aware 64gb is overkill but I do a lot of multitasking, vms for a server or two, video rendering, and 3d modeling, and some VR as well as a lot of gaming. So I want the extra overhead to handle whatever is needed. My only concern with this is I've read from various places some cpu speeds slow down when the ram pool gets too big. But I haven't found anything definitive on when this happens and to what cpus. So I'm wondering if im at risk with this configuration.

3) the GPU concerns me cause, I've never had amd but Nvidias price to Performance imo is just a tough pill to swallow. I've looked at other tiers (4070 ti, 3080, 6900xt etc) but since I'm aiming for 1440p with a target of high refresh rate, it sounds like the 6800 xt would work. My main concern with the 6800xt is non-gaming Tasks like blender/video rendering as well as VR. I dont know if it can handle the vr well or play nice with production apps. As well as driver stability concerns.

4) I've also been very interested in Linux and jumping ship from windows. But I do enough gaming and other production apps that seem to prefer windows that I'm strongly considering dual booting this system and making Linux the main but having windows as an alt. I'm curious on advice/thoughts on that as well.

Any info or experiences that anyone cares to share would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[hotaru.hino]

1) I want to make sure the mobo/cpu/ram combo aren't leaving ram/cpu performance on the table due to misconfiguration.

I don't see any issue with the combination, and any immediate issues are usually flagged by PCPP.

2) I'm aware 64gb is overkill but I do a lot of multitasking, vms for a server or two, video rendering, and 3d modeling, and some VR as well as a lot of gaming. So I want the extra overhead to handle whatever is needed. My only concern with this is I've read from various places some cpu speeds slow down when the ram pool gets too big. But I haven't found anything definitive on when this happens and to what cpus. So I'm wondering if im at risk with this configuration.

The CPU clock speed itself doesn't change with more RAM. More memory may cause some additional CPU time needed for housekeeping, but it's not large enough to matter.

Also you might want to consider getting a Ryzen 9 instead for more cores. Video rendering tends to favor CPU power over GPU power, at least when doing the final export.

3) the GPU concerns me cause, I've never had amd but Nvidias price to Performance imo is just a tough pill to swallow. I've looked at other tiers (4070 ti, 3080, 6900xt etc) but since I'm aiming for 1440p with a target of high refresh rate, it sounds like the 6800 xt would work. My main concern with the 6800xt is non-gaming Tasks like blender/video rendering as well as VR. I dont know if it can handle the vr well or play nice with production apps. As well as driver stability concerns.

Blender supports AMD cards https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/cycles/gpu_rendering.html

As mentioned before, video rendering tends to use the CPU more than the GPU. The GPU can be useful in the editing process, but typically for the best quality, people stick with x264 or x265 for the final output which are purely software based.

4) I've also been very interested in Linux and jumping ship from windows. But I do enough gaming and other production apps that seem to prefer windows that I'm strongly considering dual booting this system and making Linux the main but having windows as an alt. I'm curious on advice/thoughts on that as well.

Dual booting can lead to its own headaches, especially with Linux since it has to use GRUB or similar. Instead, use a VM or Windows Subsystem for Linux (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install)

 

[USAFRet]

4) I've also been very interested in Linux and jumping ship from windows. But I do enough gaming and other production apps that seem to prefer windows that I'm strongly considering dual booting this system and making Linux the main but having windows as an alt. I'm curious on advice/thoughts on that as well.

Either run Linux in a VM, or 2 completely independent drives, each with its own OS.

Install Windows on one, with only that drive connected.
Disconnect, install the other drive, and install Linux.

 

[helper800]

Have you already purchased the 5800x and the Phanteks case? I am also very concerned with spending over 600 dollars on 7 fans and a mouse...

 

[logainofhades]

Lots of waste, in that build, costing you a lot on performance.

 

[helper800]

Lots of waste, in that build, costing you a lot on performance.

Agreed, something like this is similar in cost and function but near the same price:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor ($573.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-5600 CL28 Memory ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card ($559.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE G500A DRGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PST A-RGB 0dB 48.8 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB PRO Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair SCIMITAR RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2504.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-03 13:56 EST-0500

Something else of note would be if you are within an hour of a microcenter for a deal like this. They have many other really good combos like this as well.

 

[Aniu88]

Appreciate the responses and ideas. I'll look into some of the dual boot options as I wasnt 100% sold on it and have been considering VMs as well instead.

As for the cpu, I have already purchased the 5800x last cyber Monday and have been trying to plan a build around it effectively since I already had it. Currently that's the only part on the list I've pulled the trigger on. The 8 cores I think will be adequate for the video encoding part as I had a ryzen 7 1700 I used for a while and it held up well enough for my tastes at the time.

As for the waste, I'll admit some of the choices were mostly about performance but also flavor and "cool" appeal. Such as the cpu cooler and ram with rgb etc. So I know it isn't 100% cost effective. But I'll definitely compare the alternatives listed to see if I can save and it still fits what I'd like the end result to be.

I will say there were a few of those items that (at least when I checked) were notably cheaper than pcpartpicker had them listed for. But yeah, some of the fans and other accessories were picked aware they weren't the most cost effective or were placeholders since it didn't list the actual one I have in mind (the mouse for example wasn't accurate). All the core components were the ones I was looking into though

 

[helper800]

Appreciate the responses and ideas. I'll look into some of the dual boot options as I wasnt 100% sold on it and have been considering VMs as well instead.

As for the cpu, I have already purchased the 5800x last cyber Monday and have been trying to plan a build around it effectively since I already had it. Currently that's the only part on the list I've pulled the trigger on. The 8 cores I think will be adequate for the video encoding part as I had a ryzen 7 1700 I used for a while and it held up well enough for my tastes at the time.

As for the waste, I'll admit some of the choices were mostly about performance but also flavor and "cool" appeal. Such as the cpu cooler and ram with rgb etc. So I know it isn't 100% cost effective. But I'll definitely compare the alternatives listed to see if I can save and it still fits what I'd like the end result to be.

I will say there were a few of those items that (at least when I checked) were notably cheaper than pcpartpicker had them listed for. But yeah, some of the fans and other accessories were picked aware they weren't the most cost effective or were placeholders since it didn't list the actual one I have in mind (the mouse for example wasn't accurate). All the core components were the ones I was looking into though

With all that in mind I have changed my recommendation:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($40.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570S AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline Lumina 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card ($559.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE G500A DRGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.85 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PST A-RGB 0dB 48.8 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB PRO Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair SCIMITAR RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1779.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-03 14:44 EST-0500

 

[logainofhades]

Even if you used the 5800x still, there is a lot of money wasted that could be put towards that 4070ti you weren't all to keen on, due to cost. Price/performance wise, this build would be better than the original.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Lian Li Galahad AIO240 (2022) 69.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($141.94 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570S AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline Lumina 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($264.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card ($799.99 @ ASUS)
Case: Lian Li Lancool II Mesh C RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($29.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB PRO Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair SCIMITAR RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Custom: 600W PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR Type-4 PSU Power Cable ($19.99)
Total: $2219.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-03 15:22 EST-0500

 

[Aniu88]

With all that in mind I have changed my recommendation:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($40.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570S AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline Lumina 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card ($559.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE G500A DRGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.85 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PST A-RGB 0dB 48.8 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 PWM PST A-RGB 68 CFM 140 mm Fan ($20.26 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB PRO Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair SCIMITAR RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1779.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-03 14:44 EST-0500

Thanks, I'll definitely look these over and compare. Is there any particular reason you chose some of these, like ram/mobo, or was it just same performance for a lower cost? Just curious if there were any pros/cons in particular.

Even if you used the 5800x still, there is a lot of money wasted that could be put towards that 4070ti you weren't all to keen on, due to cost. Price/performance wise, this build would be better than the original.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Lian Li Galahad AIO240 (2022) 69.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($141.94 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570S AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline Lumina 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($264.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card ($799.99 @ ASUS)
Case: Lian Li Lancool II Mesh C RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($29.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB PRO Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair SCIMITAR RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Custom: 600W PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR Type-4 PSU Power Cable ($19.99)
Total: $2219.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-03 15:22 EST-0500

That's a fair point. Is the 4070 ti going to have enough of a difference from the 6800 xt to warrant the higher price tag? I was under the impression that at the 1440p mark they both would perform similar with the 4070 ti possibly not having to work as hard. Is that incorrect?