Yet another computer build question :)

[grimm]

It's that time of year again, and I'm starting to plan my next computer upgrade. It's been awhile since my last build which was about 2010 or there abouts. Currently my computer has the following:

CPU: AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T 2.8 Ghz
Motherboard: MSI NF980-G65
Memory: 8 Gb
GPUs: GTX460 2 Gb
GTX980 4 Gb
Power Supply: 750 W

It's been a good system and only just recently has become long-of-tooth. I have budgeted about $700 for an upgrade and I will be reusing many of the components (SSDs and hard drives as they are mostly new). I have priced out the following:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231V3 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 80W BX80646E31231V3 Server Processor
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC Force LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Memory: G.SKILL TridentX Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C9Q-32GTX

Which puts me right at my budget. Does this sound good, can I go a bit cheaper and still get the same amount of bang for my buck? FWI I'm not interested in games at all and I would like to be able to put at least 3 GPUs on the motherboard. I'm considering another 980 to put in the systems, but unsure if my 750W power supply could support two 980's and a 460. I have read that the Xeons are about as fast as a I7 but much cheaper. Thanks,

Jason

[RobSteady]

The CPU only has 16x PCIe Lanes.
So with four GPU's you will have 4x/4x/4x/4x lane configuration. I think this means slow data transfer from the processor to your graphic cards and in the end more time to load scenes into Octane.

Half knowledge

[grimm]

Thanks Rob,

Did you mean motherboard instead of CPU? The motherboard I'm looking at has 3 x16, 2 x8, and 2 x1 PCI slots. I'm assuming that my two cards will run at the full x16 and a third one too, if I have the money for it. Unless I'm reading it wrong?

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/produc ... id=4484#sp

Jason

[smicha]

Grimm,

Rob is right. If you looking for a computer for animations (at 16x for multiple gpusi or at least 8x) I'd suggest going with x99 platform and 5930k (3930k) - both have 40 pci lanes. The cpu you've chosen has 16 pci lanes only
http://ark.intel.com/products/80910/Int ... e-3_40-GHz
so with 2 gpus pinned into 16x slots you'll have 8x but with 3 gpus even less (a manual of the mobo shall say exactly how fast pcie are in certain scenarios).

Otherwise your choice is good.

[grimm]

Thanks guys, I never really worried about it with AMD CPUs. I'm going to do some research on Intel's Skylake processors and see if there is something in my budget. The 5930k is way over my price range (about $250).

[Tutor]

It's that time of year again, and I'm starting to plan my next computer upgrade. It's been awhile since my last build which was about 2010 or there abouts. Currently my computer has the following:

CPU: AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T 2.8 Ghz
Motherboard: MSI NF980-G65
Memory: 8 Gb
GPUs: GTX460 2 Gb
GTX980 4 Gb
Power Supply: 750 W

It's been a good system and only just recently has become long-of-tooth. I have budgeted about $700 for an upgrade and I will be reusing many of the components (SSDs and hard drives as they are mostly new). I have priced out the following:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231V3 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 80W BX80646E31231V3 Server Processor
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC Force LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Memory: G.SKILL TridentX Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C9Q-32GTX

Which puts me right at my budget. Does this sound good, can I go a bit cheaper and still get the same amount of bang for my buck? FWI I'm not interested in games at all and I would like to be able to put at least 3 GPUs on the motherboard. I'm considering another 980 to put in the systems, but unsure if my 750W power supply could support two 980's and a 460. I have read that the Xeons are about as fast as a I7 but much cheaper. Thanks,

Jason

Hello Jason,


I. Why do you want to upgrade?
a. Have you considered sticking with your system as is? Doesn't your system already have three PCIe 2.0 slots (1x16, 1x16, 1x8) for three GPUs, i.e., doesn't it already support two GTX 980s and one GTX 460 [ http://us.msi.com/product/mb/NF980G65.h ... o-overview ]? Why not spend that $700 on a refurbished GTX 980 Ti (Hybrid?) [ see, e.g., http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.as ... P4-2883-RX - for $620USD} and get a more powerful PSU {see below) and take your favorite person(s) out to dinner? My cheapness is showing.

II. If you want more GPU expansion capability have you considered adding an Amfeltec GPU Oriented Splitter (<$200USD) [ http://amfeltec.com/splitters-gpu-oriented/?view=list ]. If this is a desirable option, talk with Tim Sample of Amfeltec's Sales Team (T: 1.905.604.6438 x103 | F: 1.905.604.6439; E: [email protected]; http://www.amfeltec.com) about compatibility with your system. You'd need to upgrade that 750W PSU or add a supplementary one to go beyond three GPUs. My cheapness is still showing.

III. Adding newer motherboard, CPU and memory - Now I'm splurging, but it's not with my money.
I tried to stay within your budget, but I couldn't do it. So I took a shot at getting close to it.
It's not the latest and the greatest, but neither is any of mine. In the age of GPU rendering it's not that big of a deal; unlike CPU rendering where one becomes a servant to Intel or AMD and their costly and much slower at rendering CPUs and because tock/tick requires regular investments in newer motherboards. However, here's some food for thought if too long a tooth length is really adversely affecting your biting properly into your work:

(1) Intel® Core™ i7 4820K Processor 
(10M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz) - $320 @ http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... dition=new ;
Max # of PCI Express Lanes = 40 lanes [ http://ark.intel.com/products/77781/Int ... Hz?q=4820k ]; TDP = 130W [ http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_i7/I ... 4820K.html ]. I've got three systems with i7 4820Ks in some EVGA Dark Classified (recently picked up two on EVGA's site for $150 each brand new) and Gigabyte X79 UP4 motherboards (recently pick up one on Newegg's site for a little over $200USD). But note they all have special power requirements - so, see below where I discuss ASUS ROG.

(2) ASUS ROG Rampage IV Black Edition LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Gaming Motherboard [ 4 x PCIe3.0 x16 slots, support x16; x16/x16; x16/x8/x16 and x16/x8/x8/x8 {16+8+8+8 (or 16+16+8) = 40} - $325 [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813132053 ] Note Well: You'll need as PSU capable of supplying power to (a) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector, (b) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector and (c) 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector. So make sure that your PSU can do this.

(3) CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2800 (PC3 22400) Desktop Memory Model CMY8GX3M2A2800C12R - $127 [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product ]

Total: $320 + $325 + $127 = ~ $772, excluding any shipping.

4) PSU power requirements just for GPUs [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N ... sing_units ]:
1x GTX 460 = 160W TDP
1x GTX 980 = 165W TDP; thus, for two GTX 980s TDP = 330W
330W + 160W = 490W;

5) 750W - 490W = 260W; thus 260W for CPU (TDP 130W) , memory, chipset PSUs requirements, HDs, etc. = Close Fit; not a lot of room for much overclocking of GPUs and CPU. Four GPUs would require enlisting more PSUs or more powerful PSU [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... IsNodeId=1 ]. I’d recommend a 1600W EVGA PSU with the 10 year warranty - You'll most likely need it if you continue on this rendering road.
.

[grimm]

Wow!! Thanks Tutor, that is awesome!!

My budget is not set in stone, I have about $1300 in total to spend. I just wanted to try and have my cake and eat it too, by upgrading my system and getting another GPU as well. I'm going to have to compromise some on it I know. I'm liking the direction you are going with it, the only item that I would really like to change is the memory. My current system only has 8 gigs of memory and it's about the only thing I have wished I had more of. Running Blender simulations can be slow with 1055T but it's not that bad. It would be nice to speed it up though.

How does this one sound?

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819117561 $249
MSI Z170A GAMING M7 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130872 $226
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4-19200) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231796 $219

For a total of $694.00

I am worried about the i5, as it only has 16 PCI lanes, but according to what I have read with the right motherboard you get 20 additional PCI lanes. I don't know how that works though. I'm also worried that I wont be able to put three dual slot cards into the motherboard and still have it all fit into a case?

One good thing is that I could upgrade the CPU at a later date quite easily. DDR4 memory has come down in price a lot hasn't it. I will have to buy a CPU cooler as well.

Jason

[Tutor]

Wow!! Thanks Tutor, that is awesome!!

My budget is not set in stone, I have about $1300 in total to spend. I just wanted to try and have my cake and eat it too, by upgrading my system and getting another GPU as well. I'm going to have to compromise some on it I know. I'm liking the direction you are going with it, the only item that I would really like to change is the memory. My current system only has 8 gigs of memory and it's about the only thing I have wished I had more of. Running Blender simulations can be slow with 1055T but it's not that bad. It would be nice to speed it up though.

How does this one sound?

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819117561 $249
MSI Z170A GAMING M7 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130872 $226
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4-19200) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231796 $219

For a total of $694.00

I am worried about the i5, as it only has 16 PCI lanes, but according to what I have read with the right motherboard you get 20 additional PCI lanes. I don't know how that works though. I'm also worried that I wont be able to put three dual slot cards into the motherboard and still have it all fit into a case?

One good thing is that I could upgrade the CPU at a later date quite easily. DDR4 memory has come down in price a lot hasn't it. I will have to buy a CPU cooler as well.

Jason

As an extremely wise friend once told me - “To have one’s cake and then eat it too isn’t remarkable; but to eat one’s cake and then have it too is a sight to behold.” Please re-read my most recent post because my cake had to be put back in the oven after I tasted it - it wasn't baked thoroughly.

I can't recommend the i5-6600K for a GPU centric setup for the same reason about which you're worried. Nor would I recommend that you spend any money on that motherboard because you already have a motherboard with 3 x16 sized slots. I'd recommend that if you spend any money to get a newer motherboard that you get one with at least 4 x16 sized slots and get a CPU that supports as many lanes as yield at least x8 x8 x8 x8 or a similar multiple from the both of them. So at least 32 lanes for x8 x8 x8 x8 would be my minimum configuration recommendation for both the motherboard and the CPU, and that means mainly sticking with the LGA 2011socketed motherboards and CPUs when buying new equipment for 3d rendering and thus getting a previous generation LGA 2011 v.1 or v.2 (x79) or a current generation LGA 2011 v.3 (x99) motherboard and a CPU setup that both support, at a minimum, as many as 32 PCIe lanes, but forty or higher for both is even better for future growth as you acquire more GPUs. Although I'm cheap, even my cheapness has limits. If I have to spend money now, it's better that I spend a little more over budget now than to have to spend a lot more of it again within a year or two. And where would I next put Pascal and/or Volta GPUs [ http://wccftech.com/nvidia-pascal-gpu-gtc-2015/ ]?

[FrankPooleFloating]

i7 5820k is a mere $140 more, and worth every penny. I love my GA-X99-SOC.

[grimm]

Thanks guys, I understand, no GPU this time around. It does mean I can get a nice new case though. The 8520k is very interesting, it has 28 lanes so it would support 3 8x plus 1 4x right? That processor with 32 gigs of memory plus motherboard would be right around $850. That is still very good, and I will keep my two GPUs and move the hard drives and SSDs over to the new system.