Workstation advice

#1

Hi!

I am looking for parts for a new workstation and I can’t decide which CPU and motherboard to go for.
Currently, I am looking at the i9 9900K, the i9 7960X and the Threadripper 2970WX. The 9900K seems like a smart deal, since the other two are quite expensive. The AMD seems to be very power hungry, which I don’t like because I plan to do a lot of rendering. I tend to the fast Intel with less cores, but can talked into one of the bigger ones.

The system will be used with 3dsmax, Corona and Vray, Nuke and Photoshop, practically no gaming or GPU rendering.

I need some hints for parts. On the shopping list should be 2 fast disks and at 64 GB Ram and no fancy LED light crap, I like my computers black.

Budget is around 3000 Euro

Thanks!

#2

For Vray and Corona (both cpu renderers) I would build a system based on the 2950X (the best and most balanced Threadripper chip up to now).
The 9900K would be faster in modeling/editing tasks, but in final renders the 2950X would be way faster.
Here is a list of parts you might consider:
https://geizhals.de/amd-ryzen-threadripper-2950x-yd295xa8afwof-a1867615.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/asrock-x399-taichi-90-mxb5r0-a0uayz-a1664939.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/g-skill-trident-z-silber-rot-dimm-kit-64gb-f4-3200c15q-64gtz-a1393948.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/asus-cerberus-geforce-gtx-1070-ti-advanced-90yv0bj1-m0na00-a1741821.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/samsung-ssd-970-pro-512gb-mz-v7p512bw-a1809120.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/crucial-mx500-2tb-ct2000mx500ssd1-a1745360.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/be-quiet-dark-base-pro-900-silber-bgw12-a1462362.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/enermax-liqtech-tr4-ii-360-elc-lttrto360-tbp-a1885614.html?hloc=at&hloc=de
https://geizhals.de/corsair-hx-series-hx850-80-plus-platinum-850w-atx-2-4-cp-9020138-a1558736.html?hloc=at&hloc=de

Grand Total: 3120€ (without shipping cost)

#3

Thanks FatherN! This list contains many parts that I had in mind too :wink:
Never thought about the 2950x though. Did you pick it over the 2970wx for the price or for its performance?

#4

Both. It’s more balanced imo. In Vray and Corone, the 2970WX would be slightly faster, but in STP tasks (=single threaded) it would be somewhat slower. It’s not worth the extra 450€ imo. You can spend it in more valuable parts (the 1070ti I picked is priced at 400€, for instance).
In order to fit the 2970WX inside your budget you should go way cheaper in other parts, and I don’t think this is the right thing to do.

If you finally decide to go for the 2950X, do a thorough research on the RAM+Motherboard combination. It’s highly important for a Threadripper build.