New Threadripper Build - What to Consider?

[toktik]

I'm thinking about putting together a new system this year. My current Windows 11 desktop is based on an Intel i9-12900K, RTX 3080 TI, and 64 GB of DDR4 memory.

I'm starting to move more into video editing with DaVinci Resolve Studio, and will continue using SilkyPix Developer Pro, Rawtherapee, darktable, Affinity Photo, and Topaz Photo AI for my photo-related programs. I was able to obtain a brand new RTX 5080 Founders Edition earlier this week for a very good price (under list), and this card would be part of the new build.

If I build a new system, I will probably move the current desktop to Kubuntu, but I don't think Linux is at a point where I can comfortably use it for all my video and photo post processing.

I was looking at Intel and AMD desktop processors, and while I am sure an Intel 285K or AMD 9950X3D would handle my workflow fine, I am also considering an AMD Threadripper 9960X with a TRX50 motherboard. I have never had a workstation before, and the opportunity to have lots of PCIe lanes to handle multiple graphics cards and network cards for virtualization with QEMU on Linux or via Proxmox interests me. If I go this route, I might reduce my desktops to one physical box running Windows 11 and Kubuntu.

Do you think Threadripper is a reasonable way forward, in order to consolidate systems, or would it be better to build a new system using a desktop processor/motherboard and maintain two systems (Windows 11 for photo/video and Linux for everything else)?

I like the idea of having a single powerful computer that can run multiple operating systems at the same time, but I have heard getting passthrough for PCIe cards can be tricky and somewhat unreliable.

If you don't think virtualization is worth the effort, are there other good reasons to still consider Threadripper over a more conventional desktop build?

 

[BobKnDP]

The challenge with cooling a Threadripper is coming up with a cooler that's good for 350W (stock), especially if you want one with a cold plate that covers the large Threadripper heat spreader.

It prettu much has to be a water cooler.

plus the GPUs.

And let's not forget that the intel folks need that same cooler anyhow.

If you're referring to Xeons, that may be true. I'm not familiar with them. 350W at spec seems like a lot of power. (Running an air-cooled RTX 4090 at 600W is worse. Its fans scream.)

If memory serves, Intel has not produced a nominal HEDT CPU since Gen10. I presume that both Intel and AMD make server CPUs that bracket the Threadrippers in core count and clocks.

 

[kelpdiver]

plus the GPUs.

And let's not forget that the intel folks need that same cooler anyhow.

If you're referring to Xeons, that may be true. I'm not familiar with them. 350W at spec seems like a lot of power. (Running an air-cooled RTX 4090 at 600W is worse. Its fans scream.)

The 13900k and 14900k both ran up pretty close to 300W.

 

[foot]

The challenge with cooling a Threadripper is coming up with a cooler that's good for 350W (stock), especially if you want one with a cold plate that covers the large Threadripper heat spreader.

It prettu much has to be a water cooler.

plus the GPUs.

And let's not forget that the intel folks need that same cooler anyhow.

If you're referring to Xeons, that may be true. I'm not familiar with them. 350W at spec seems like a lot of power. (Running an air-cooled RTX 4090 at 600W is worse. Its fans scream.)

If memory serves, Intel has not produced a nominal HEDT CPU since Gen10. I presume that both Intel and AMD make server CPUs that bracket the Threadrippers in core count and clocks.

intel doesn't seem to be doing all that well

many people are still having issues with the 13th and 14th gen chips. Still an issue over at the EU which is causing firefox to crash...alot during warm weather

Intel is also considering abandoning 14A technology (14 angstroms) unless customers start showing up with committed purchases. Good luck with that

Intel without any warning or grace period just suddenly canceled any support for their flagship Linux distribution, marking the repository read-only

whatever Intel can do, its most likely not in the consumer space. Maybe not in the server space. Look at the competition:

AMD, APPLE, QUALCOMM, NVidia, TMSC

 

[BobKnDP]

plus the GPUs.

And let's not forget that the intel folks need that same cooler anyhow.

If you're referring to Xeons, that may be true. I'm not familiar with them. 350W at spec seems like a lot of power. (Running an air-cooled RTX 4090 at 600W is worse. Its fans scream.)

The 13900k and 14900k both ran up pretty close to 300W.

Yep. Even though they were spec'd at 125/253.

I don't know whether that required a motherboard like those from Asus, that set the power limits above the Intel nominals.

 

[Robert Zanatta]

plus the GPUs.

And let's not forget that the intel folks need that same cooler anyhow.

If you're referring to Xeons, that may be true. I'm not familiar with them. 350W at spec seems like a lot of power. (Running an air-cooled RTX 4090 at 600W is worse. Its fans scream.)

The 13900k and 14900k both ran up pretty close to 300W.

They only do that if you configure the BIOS settings to ignore limits (or for some motherboards run at default settings). Even the above mentioned Threadripper could be configured to pull a fair bit more power than its rated 350W.

These processors can run with less power and still be fast. I have a 13900K and it doesn't go above 220W under a harsh stress test yet gets a Passmark multicore rating of over 60K. Just have to make some changes to the harsh settings the motherboard manufactures like to push.

 

[Robert Zanatta]

...I am also considering an AMD Threadripper 9960X...

Go for the 9980X... ;-)

 

[BobKnDP]

...I am also considering an AMD Threadripper 9960X...

Go for the 9980X... ;-)

And maybe avoid Windows 11 Home. I'm unsure whether it'd like 128 threads.

 

[kelpdiver]

...I am also considering an AMD Threadripper 9960X...

Go for the 9980X... ;-)

And maybe avoid Windows 11 Home. I'm unsure whether it'd like 128 threads.

it won't mind them....but it will ignore 64 of them.

The 9970X is the correct choice, for many reasons.

 

[BobKnDP]

...I am also considering an AMD Threadripper 9960X...

Go for the 9980X... ;-)

And maybe avoid Windows 11 Home. I'm unsure whether it'd like 128 threads.

it won't mind them....but it will ignore 64 of them.

The 9970X is the correct choice, for many reasons.

I dunno.

9960x: 24 cores, $1.5k. 9970x: 32 cores, $2.5k.

1 2/3X the price for 1 1/3 times the cores.

Not the only consideration, but the pricing is interesting.

(My own primary CPU is a 7970X. Mostly wasted, so far.)

 

[Robert Zanatta]

...I am also considering an AMD Threadripper 9960X...

Go for the 9980X... ;-)

Just watched a video on the 9980X processor. Amazing multicore speeds for certain applications and with a good cooler the the temperatures were low. If you enable PBO, with adequate cooling the power draw can go to 650W or more, so that would require a really good cooler for long and intensive runs. CB23 benchmark was run and it scored 3 times higher than a 9950X3D. One area where it didn't do any better than a higher end desktop processor was in Adobe Premier Pro video rendering. The software isn't taking advantage of the extra cores. Something to consider

So the 9 series of Threadripper runs cooler and faster due to its increased efficiency. Using it for system consolidation would work very well, and all those PCIe lanes gives a lot of room for expansion.

 

[Suntan]

I can't give advice on a threadripper system, or hassle/advantage of vertualizing two different OSes at the same time. But I can say, I have a 5080 & 9800X3D based desktop and it can eat through anything in DaVinci short of heavy multi-frame denoising (so I just turn that on at the end when it is time to render) or REALLY HEAVY Fusion workloads. This even running an 8K 60p timeline. Something like a 9950 would ostensibly be even better.

Further nothing is stopping a guy from dual-booting between windows and Linux. Other than having to reboot, like a caveman, to switch between the two.

 

[kelpdiver]

The 9970X is the correct choice, for many reasons.

I dunno.

9960x: 24 cores, $1.5k. 9970x: 32 cores, $2.5k.

1 2/3X the price for 1 1/3 times the cores.

Not the only consideration, but the pricing is interesting.

To do the pricing math correctly, you need to include the higher MB, memory, PSU costs. And then compare to a 9950X system (16 cores, $500).

I believe the drag of the other associated costs will drag down the perf/$ more significantly for the one that only adds 8 cores. Or more colloquially, don't half-as$ this choice- either go full-as$, or stick to the 9950.

ADD: system vs system price is how any CPU choice should be evaluated. The cpu can be but 10-30% of the system. It generally is sensible to pay more for the faster cpus, up to the #2 choice (#1 usually is terrible markup), if your use cases need performance.

 

[BobKnDP]

The 9970X is the correct choice, for many reasons.

I dunno.

9960x: 24 cores, $1.5k. 9970x: 32 cores, $2.5k.

1 2/3X the price for 1 1/3 times the cores.

Not the only consideration, but the pricing is interesting.

To do the pricing math correctly, you need to include the higher MB, memory, PSU costs. And then compare to a 9950X system (16 cores, $500).

I believe the drag of the other associated costs will drag down the perf/$ more significantly for the one that only adds 8 cores. Or more colloquially, don't half-as$ this choice- either go full-as$, or stick to the 9950.

ADD: system vs system price is how any CPU choice should be evaluated. The cpu can be but 10-30% of the system. It generally is sensible to pay more for the faster cpus, up to the #2 choice (#1 usually is terrible markup), if your use cases need performance.

I was comparing Threadrippers, for someone who seems to see a need for an HEDT system. Most of us might see little benefit over a Ryzen (or Core Ultra).

For Threadrippers, full as$ would be the 9980X, no? Twice the price, twice the number of cores (64) and threads (128) as the 9970X. Same PSU.

I've never attempted to price out a system based on "server" parts.

 

[kelpdiver]

I was comparing Threadrippers, for someone who seems to see a need for an HEDT system. Most of us might see little benefit over a Ryzen (or Core Ultra).

For Threadrippers, full as$ would be the 9980X, no? Twice the price, twice the number of cores (64) and threads (128) as the 9970X. Same PSU.

fuller-as$. The price jump is considerable, from 2500 to 5000. Harder to justify outside of work. And the base clock speed is considerably slower. We'll need to see some running tests to see how much that impacts or not. And then its back to can you make use of 128 threads.

I've never attempted to price out a system based on "server" parts.

The memory is the killer. You need 4 rdimms to get the bandwidth promised, and each one might be $400. Though that's a lot better than days of yore where Sun workstation memory upgrades might be half a million dollars.

 

[BobKnDP]

I was comparing Threadrippers, for someone who seems to see a need for an HEDT system. Most of us might see little benefit over a Ryzen (or Core Ultra).

For Threadrippers, full as$ would be the 9980X, no? Twice the price, twice the number of cores (64) and threads (128) as the 9970X. Same PSU.

fuller-as$. The price jump is considerable, from 2500 to 5000. Harder to justify outside of work. And the base clock speed is considerably slower. We'll need to see some running tests to see how much that impacts or not. And then its back to can you make use of 128 threads.

I've never attempted to price out a system based on "server" parts.

The memory is the killer. You need 4 rdimms to get the bandwidth promised, and each one might be $400.

(snip)

$400 per DIMM? For what capacity?

64GB each, yeah. Maybe the OP wants 256GB.

 

[jerry]

I don't think too many in this community has the need, or willingness to spend that amount of money for a AMD Threadpiper you're talking about.

+1

To the OP, are you starting to do real pro work? Why such an expensive CPU? Isn’t there something else that costs a lot less that will be just as good, perhaps it might be five or ten seconds slower, but will still be very fast in performance?
Also will the software you will be using perform well and take full advantage of the hardware you’re looking into getting?

I am not a pro using OPM (other people's money). I can see how a seasoned, successful pro can take full advantage of an ultra high end system, and, write it off as business expense.

We are dealing with computers which are subjected to the Moore's law which dictates the obsolescence of what you buy today. An average amateur user would keep their computer for 3-5 years, or even longer. The vast amount spent up front can be spread and spent in a few years and get a much better system (upgrades). Well, different stroke. But I stand by my observation that not too many here have a $6,000+ tower home.

I spent $1,200 for an i9-13500HX/RTX 4060 laptop 18 months ago. I have just replaced it with a Lenovo Legion 5i with Ultra 9 275HX/RTX 5060 for $1,500. The newer computer has better CPU, GPU and monitor. It is also a lot cooler and quieter. If I were to resell the G15, I would probably get $1,000, making my upgrade for only $500. Well, Moore's law at work.

I ran across the following system in Costco. I was wondering how many of this Costco would sell. There have to be a few well heeled gamers, or videographers out there to justify the showing . . . It is still a lot cheaper than what OP was aiming for.

I think you may underestimate what gamers are prepared to pay.

Very timely for me

Tomorrow morning I'm driving from CT to MD with all the components to spend the weekend building a gaming machine with / for my 13 year old grandson.

It's a 9800X3D / RX9070 build and the parts cost more than that Costco machine

--
Life is Short
Ride Hard

 

[kelpdiver]

It's a 9800X3D / RX9070 build and the parts cost more than that Costco machine

yep - DIY isn't about saving money. It's, to the degree supply allows, about building with the parts you want.

 

[Austinian]

It's a 9800X3D / RX9070 build and the parts cost more than that Costco machine

yep - DIY isn't about saving money. It's, to the degree supply allows, about building with the parts you want.

Right, although money can be saved by reusing some parts for subsequent builds; for example, the PC case I use has seen at least four builds over the years.

 

[DMKAlex]

It's a 9800X3D / RX9070 build and the parts cost more than that Costco machine

yep - DIY isn't about saving money. It's, to the degree supply allows, about building with the parts you want.

Right, although money can be saved by reusing some parts for subsequent builds; for example, the PC case I use has seen at least four builds over the years.

I have built and rebuilt 3-4 times. No doubt there is a sense of accomplishment in it.

Just hope that you don't accidentally drop or bend any of the pins.

 

[kelpdiver]

Right, although money can be saved by reusing some parts for subsequent builds; for example, the PC case I use has seen at least four builds over the years.

I finally got sick of big cases, and now will manage with an external case for the optical when I need it. So the big berthas have been gifted out. Were it not for my wish for both a GPU and 10g, I could manage with the micro sized cases. Very few MBs with 10gbe onboard. Probably ok in a few more years.