[SOLVED] Workstation Build

[xcedrikx]

Hello guys,

Application:
I'm going to study electrical engineering and I want a solid computer for that purpose for the next 3-4 years.
I don't know what kind of software I'll be using there, but I hope some of you do.
Also I enjoy video editing.

What I already have:

• PSU 650W
• SSD 500GB 970 EVO
• HDD 1TB
• DVD-Drive

Money isn't too much of a problem, but I really don't want to spend more then I have to.
So far I had been doing fine with an Intel 2 Quad CPU @ 2.5GHz, 32Bit-System. But it really does slow down my workflow and I can't use the software I want to use.


I highly appreciate your help guys!
Cedrik

 

[King Dranzer]

Without a budget estimate we cannot advise you the PC config as it may go way over budget that you can spend or be extremely limited. Depending on the config that 650W PSU may or may not be sufficient and also can you please provide more details about the PSU like model and manufacturer.

 

[xcedrikx]

@TechMaster1

Sorry, I haven't made myself clear enough.
I want to build a completly new Computer and I already have some parts I want to use.
All I ask for are some suggestions for the GPU, CPU and Motherboard.

I won't be using anything from my current PC. I just said it to show you where I come from.

 

[xcedrikx]

@King Dranzer
Thank you both for your answer.

I didn't give a price estimate, because I have no idea how much I should spend for a PC. I can definetly spend another 1000 € (I live in Germany), but I just don't know if it's worth it. All I want is a working tool that won't frustrate me during my time as a student.

PSU: Kiss Quiet Series KS 620 W (My bad, it's only 620W and not 650W)
Datasheet

 

[King Dranzer]

We are happy to help.
As you said that you are ready to spend another 1K if required, but what was your initial budget.

That PSU is no good or should I say unknown. Recommend to go with a new one.

 

[xcedrikx]

@King Dranzer
1200€

 

[King Dranzer]

Here is the list(Budget Friendly):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor (€317.90 @ Alza)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€69.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€95.89 @ Alternate)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€65.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB TURBO Video Card (€642.05 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design - Define S ATX Mid Tower Case (€76.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€119.00 @ ARLT)
Total: €1445.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 14:36 CET+0100

Here is the list(Maximum Budget):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (€523.56 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65 CFM CPU Cooler (€44.19 @ Aquatuning)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z390 GAMING X ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€137.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€95.89 @ Alternate)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€65.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB Black Video Card (€1149.00 @ Caseking)
Case: Fractal Design - Define S ATX Mid Tower Case (€76.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€119.00 @ ARLT)
Total: €2270.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 14:46 CET+0100

Difference between Budget Friendly and Maximum Budget is around good 50% improvement depending on what software you are using. CPU vs CPU there is good 20% improvement depending on number of cores used. If Software scales well with multi core then the difference will be less when compared to software which only utilizes single core. GPU vs GPU good 35% improvement which is very much noticeable.

If you want a build performing in between these two I recommend you to swap the RTX2080 in Budget Friendly build with RTX2080Ti. Go for Intel i9-9900K only if you think that the software at some point can perform better with it. The performance gain going for i9-9900K over R7 2700X is noticeable but only worth if you regularly utilize it.

 

[logainofhades]

If no gaming will be done, then a threadripper based build might be beneficial for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1920X 3.5 GHz 12-Core Processor (€389.90 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - DARK ROCK PRO TR4 59.5 CFM CPU Cooler (€75.60 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - X399 Phantom Gaming 6 ATX TR4 Motherboard (€261.91 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€128.46 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€65.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GT 1030 2 GB LP Video Card (€71.73 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: RIOTORO - CR488 ATX Mid Tower Case (€48.82 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: XFX - XTR 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€99.83 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1200.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 16:00 CET+0100


If you will do gaming, then Ryzen 7.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor (€317.90 @ Alza)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard (€119.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€95.89 @ Alternate)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€65.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING Video Card (€364.99 @ Alternate)
Case: RIOTORO - CR488 ATX Mid Tower Case (€48.82 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: XFX - XTR 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€99.83 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1170.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 16:02 CET+0100

 

[King Dranzer]

If no gaming will be done, then a threadripper based build might be beneficial for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1920X 3.5 GHz 12-Core Processor (€389.90 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - DARK ROCK PRO TR4 59.5 CFM CPU Cooler (€75.60 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - X399 Phantom Gaming 6 ATX TR4 Motherboard (€261.91 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€128.46 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€65.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GT 1030 2 GB LP Video Card (€71.73 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: RIOTORO - CR488 ATX Mid Tower Case (€48.82 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: XFX - XTR 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€99.83 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1200.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 16:00 CET+0100

I did think of that and even Quadro P4000 but as he is unsure of the software I thought it will be better to provide equally powerful GPU and good enough CPU. Probably slip in a GTX1060 instead of that GT1030 will be a good spec. But you did lock it under his initial budget.

 

[logainofhades]

Yea my goal was to keep it within their budget. Video editing tends to like more cores as well. Though with Ryzen 3, a drop in upgrade, with more cores, might be doable in the future, as well.

 

[xcedrikx]

Thanks you both a lot for your answer! @King Dranzer @logainofhades

I barely know anything about computers. That means I can only rely on your opinion. So I'm trying to give you a bit more input:

I dont play any games at all.
I will mostly use my PC for general Student stuff and coding, which I don't think requires a powerful PC.

However I will probably also be using more demending software for:

• math and computation
• algorith development
• modelling, simulation, and prototyping
• data analysis, exploration, and visualization
• scientific and engineering graphics
• ...

But I guess those last points won't be that important during my first year (I'll start studying in 2 month). So maybe it's better to not spend so much money now and wait till I know more about the specific software I'll use.

My current PC is driving me nuts in even the most basic stuff and I'd be happy to simply not have to wait 10 seconds for Firefox to start.

Don't take my 1200€ budget too seriously. I wasn't asking for the best system I can get for that amount of money. I just want a working tool that won't frustrate me. If this will cost 700€ or 2000€ doesn't really matter.

So I dont think it's worth spending 800 € for a GPU right know. Also I'm interested why @logainofhades you are suggesting ASRock - X399 Phantom Gaming 6 ATX TR4 Motherboard ?

Again, I highly appreciate your help guys!

 

[King Dranzer]

Here is the list(Budget Friendly):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor (€567.99 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (€108.16 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X399 AORUS PRO ATX TR4 Motherboard (€275.01 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport AT 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€182.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€129.89 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Mini Video Card (€199.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (€99.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€119.90 @ Caseking)
Total: €1741.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 20:11 CET+0100

Here is the list(Maximum Budget):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 2970WX 3 GHz 24-Core Processor (€1004.52 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (€108.16 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X399 AORUS PRO ATX TR4 Motherboard (€275.01 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport AT 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€182.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€129.89 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€58.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Mini Video Card (€199.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (€99.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€119.90 @ Caseking)
Total: €2178.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-15 20:10 CET+0100

logainofhades showed you right path suitable for your Software requirements with his Threadripper build. Mine is improvement over it. More compute power for minimal budget increase. For your workload based on Software requirements you listed the PC will mostly depend on CPU and will work better having more number of cores. Also increased RAM to 32GB as it is second most important component effecting the performance.

I again listed two configs with only difference of CPU as one having 16C/32T with notch lower Clock Speeds and the other having 24C/48T with bit higher Clock speeds. Will there be noticeable difference? Answer is definitely. Majority of the workload you listed is directly dependent on number of cores available and will perform great with higher number of cores.

Still I would recommend you to decide taking price into consideration. If price is no issue I definitely recommend going for 24C/48T workstation.