New Computer Build

[planachromat]

Hi Everyone!

I’m beck from hospital where I had to spend a few days and coming beck to my computer build.

After considering yours advises I have changed a concept.

I still want to have C drive (PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD) to contain only OS. Apps and current projects on another PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD.

I have already bout two SSDs: 2 & 4 TB Samsung 9100 PRO Drives.

2 TB intend to divide into small OS C and Lightroom partitions.

Because I want to have two PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSDs I had a problem finding proper motherboard. There is non which will not requiring some sacrifice of features - no matter of price!. Most often you loosing speed or number of PCIe slots.

I need one PCIe 5.0 x 16 for graphic card and another one for sound card which I intend to add in a future. For me it was difficult not to be lost in specification combinations.

Finally I selected two: MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI and X870E AORUS PRO X3D ICE (looks like no one is selling little chipper black version). Both have some price.

Both boards share bandwidth of second PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 slots with USB4 connectors, what I’m ready to sacrifice. Not sure which one to choose.

 

[BobKnDP]

Do you need a PCI-E X16 slot for a sound card?

I haven't paid attention to sound cards for years. But the ones I knew of were PCI-E X1. (My main desktop audio uses Kef Egg speakers. USB interface, DAC in the speakers.)

If you want many PCI-E lanes, I suggest an AMD Threadripper. TRX50 or WRX90 chipset. Or Intel Xeon. Don't mess around with those gaming motherboards. It's only money. ;-)

It's unclear that the real-world performance (not in benchmarks) of a PCI-E 5.0 SSD is greatly superior to PCI-E 4.0.

This isn't sour grapes. I have a Threadripper 7970X on a Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D. My boot SSD is a 2TB Crucial T700 (PCI-E 5.0).

 

[bmoag]

Not sure why the OP is fixated on NVME 5 drives for the stated purpose other than "bigger bar better" beloved of marketers but to each her own. Unless those drives are properly cooled, which does not happen under the usual motherboard heatsink, throttle they will if actually used for large data transfers.

I live in a world where most people for most purposes can't discern big I/O differences between standard SSDs and gen5 NVME drives, let alone for small files on and off spinning rust.

The high-end solutions for moving audio off the motherboard use a USB based DAC and outboard amplifier paired with high end speakers and headphones.

 

[Ken Seals]

Hi Everyone!

I’m beck from hospital where I had to spend a few days and coming beck to my computer build.

After considering yours advises I have changed a concept.

I still want to have C drive (PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD) to contain only OS. Apps and current projects on another PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD.

Most apps that I'm familiar with will install easier with less complications on the C: drive.

2 TB intend to divide into small OS C and Lightroom partitions.

I suggest you forget that. Use the 2TB for OS and apps only. You can use Samsung Magician to image that drive to yet another 1 or 2 TB SSD in an external enclosure. Just plug it in to the mother board replacing the failed C; drive which I expect will never happen. You will need to update the C: drive image on the external SSD whenever you make noticable changes to the internal C: drive
PCIe 4 drives will be just fine for your uses.

Use the 4TB drive for D: data and the Lightroom Classic catalog. Organize that drive with just a few master folders. That's how mine is setup. I have so many TB of image files that I spread them across two fast 8TB hard drives. Lightroom classic is fine with having image files on as many different drives as you need.

 

[planachromat]

I have clearly sad that I need 16 lines for video card. I don’t know weather motherboard offering two slots with 16 lanes even exists.

If you made suggestion of going for threadripper in my previous thread, I could have consider it. Now I already purchased AMD Ry zen 7 9700X what I thought be enough for Photoshp. Bridge, Lightroom and occasional slideshow making.

I’m not really concerned with differences in performance between generations of PCIe protocols. Building a new computer I want to use newest tech available. Otherwise, why to build a new computer in the first place. That just my take on the problem and I’m fine if someone else have a different approach.

 

[planachromat]

Sorry I have not mention that I’m following your suggestion!

I think, your advice to make image of C drive to external SSD is excellent and worth considering.

My main image storage is on16 TB external drive with two more drives.

This time I will have 20TB internal spinner backed up to external drives.

 

[planachromat]

Why I’m fixated on NVME 5 drives I unsered inreply to BobKnDP.

I have no knowledge of requirements of hi end audio yet. Just want to have now to me possibilities in a future.

 

[planachromat]

So far no one have answered my only question hidden in my OP. Which of two selected motherboards to choose. I do net have any criteria I can use for making selection.

 

[CBR1100XX]

Personally I'd go with the MSI, mostly due to the lowest M.2 having a separate heat sink.

Otherwise these are both 2 solid motherboards based on specs, but not having to remove the GPU to add/replace a M.2 makes things a lot easier for a quick upgrade.

As for audio work any NVME drive will be more than enough. Most of it is done on Macs that are on PCI-E 3-4 speeds which itself is way more than is needed. Even with high bitrate uncompressed WAVs you're talking a few MB/second.

 

[BobKnDP]

I have clearly sad that I need 16 lines for video card. I don’t know weather motherboard offering two slots with 16 lanes even exists.

If you made suggestion of going for threadripper in my previous thread, I could have consider it. Now I already purchased AMD Ry zen 7 9700X what I thought be enough for Photoshp. Bridge, Lightroom and occasional slideshow making.

I’m not really concerned with differences in performance between generations of PCIe protocols. Building a new computer I want to use newest tech available. Otherwise, why to build a new computer in the first place. That just my take on the problem and I’m fine if someone else have a different approach.

Looking back over your post, I see that you neglected to mention that you'd already bought a Ryzen 7 9700X. (A good choice, I think.) If you had another thread, I didn't notice it.

You may find this worth a look:

AMD Socket AM5 Chipset

And:

MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI

The board has 3 PCI-E X16 slots., but only one is PCI-E 5.0 X16. (Run off the CPU.) The second is PCI-E 4.0 X16 (off the chipset), and the third is PCI 3.0 X1 (chipset).

I haven't looked at the Gigabyte board, but I presume it has similar specs.

I don't understand your last paragraph. You want the latest tech, but you don't care about PCI generations. You insist on PC-E 5.0 NVME drives, regardless of the dubious performance gain. (I'm using one, despite that.) Seems very inconsistent.

 

[planachromat]

MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI is one of my two choices which I listed.

Sorry for poor explanations I have offered regarding my preferences in choosing PCI-E 5.0 over PCI-E 4.0. I now that gain I get is not big, but I still prefer newer tech.

Reading these forums for many years I can see this happening quite often leading sometimes to antagonistic discussions. We should be more patient with this problem, as to be absolutely precise is not possible in a first place, and it is not easy thing at all. Participants vary greatly in they abilities and as it is in my case English not being my first language may contribute to that problem.

 

[planachromat]

Thanks for pointing to MSI board feature. Very practical approach!

 

[BobKnDP]

MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI is one of my two choices which I listed.

Sorry for poor explanations I have offered regarding my preferences in choosing PCI-E 5.0 over PCI-E 4.0. I now that gain I get is not big, but I still prefer newer tech.

Reading these forums for many years I can see this happening quite often leading sometimes to antagonistic discussions. We should be more patient with this problem, as to be absolutely precise is not possible in a first place, and it is not easy thing at all. Participants vary greatly in they abilities and as it is in my case English not being my first language may contribute to that problem.

I only speak two languages, English and bad English. (10 points to anyone who gets the movie reference.)

I have an Asus Z690-E Intel board. Its M.2_1 is PCI-E 5.0, but if it's populated, the GPU slot (also 5.0) falls back to X8. (Doesn't matter what PCI-E gen the drive is.) I think I might have preferred one of the variants where M.2_1 is limited to PCI-E 4.0, but the GPU slot remains at X16.

An X870E system doesn't do that. I'm not sure that will give you all the PCI-E lanes/speeds that you desire, but it may be as good as it gets for a "desktop" system.