A bit confused about the current gen mobos, looking for advice for a pretty specific build.

[jo_la]

Hello everyone!

I'm a 3d generalist and motion designer.
I use lots of different software every day, so I need a machine that's beefy both on the cpu/storage side for media editing and 3d workflows, and on the gpu side for daily rendering tasks and iterations.

I'm currently running an AMD Ryzen 3900x on an Aorus x570 mobo, dual 1080tis that are getting reeeeally old but still get the job done (I mostly send my final tasks to render farms anyway), dual m.2 ssds for system files/caches/working files, plus a bunch of sata ssds for all the storage and less i/o demanding stuff.

I'm starting to plan an upgrade, but I got a bit confused about the current gen motherboards.
What would be the best pick in your opinion for running this exact same machine, but with current hardware?
So let's say for example: Ryzen 7950x, dual current gen gpus (which ones will be another topic, let's say 4080s just to put a name down), dual m.2 ssds, an extra bunch of sata ssds, all without running into pci-ex bottlenecking?
Also, what is the Mhz/timings sweetspot for current ddr5 ram for Amd processors?

Thank you for your advice!

 

[Jerry James]

So let's say for example: Ryzen 7950x, dual current gen gpus (which ones will be another topic, let's say 4080s just to put a name down), dual m.2 ssds, an extra bunch of sata ssds, all without running into pci-ex bottlenecking?

Although I'm still collecting info about all the AM5 motherboards, you should be okay with any X670 (or X670E) boards that offer a triple-spaced PCIe slot. The ASUS ROG X670E-F Gaming and ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara come to mind (pick the latter if you want PCIe 5.0 x8/x8 bifurcation). As for bottlenecking, anything that offers at least PCIe 4.0 x4, shouldn't bottleneck your second GPU for a few years.

Also, what is the Mhz/timings sweetspot for current ddr5 ram for Amd processors?

It's DDR5-6000. But how realistic this is for most boards and AMD's memory controller isn't really a known yet. Still working on collecting data for this, and we should have an article up about it soon

 

[jo_la]

Although I'm still collecting info about all the AM5 motherboards, you should be okay with any X670 (or X670E) boards that offer a triple-spaced PCIe slot. The ASUS ROG X670E-F Gaming and ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara come to mind (pick the latter if you want PCIe 5.0 x8/x8 bifurcation). As for bottlenecking, anything that offers at least PCIe 4.0 x4, shouldn't bottleneck your second GPU for a few years.

It's DDR5-6000. But how realistic this is for most boards and AMD's memory controller isn't really a known yet. Still working on collecting data for this, and we should have an article up about it soon

Thank you Jerry!
Looking forward to the article.

 

[jo_la]

Hello again peeps.

I'm resurrecting this thread because I know there've been some substantial bios updates for AMD, and the time to upgrade my current machine is getting closer.

My mind changed a bit compared to the original post and this is what I'm thinking right now - the parts I'd need to buy are the ones in bold:

- AMD 7950x3d: I know the 3d version is gaming oriented, but getting much lower power consumption and much better gaming performance for a 10%ish loss in production scenarios sounds like a deal for me, given my workflows are not that cpu intensive. Any advice against this?

- Cpu Cooler: I'm running a noctua NHD15 but I understand a liquid cooling solution would most likely grant better frequencies. I always refused to go down this way tho, so I have no idea what the good options are - not looking for a performace/cost compromise here, but would like to keep it below the 150$ mark unless there is something soooo much better above it.

- Nvidia rtx4090, which I already have and it's amazing rendering wise. I might get another one, but if so I'll slap it on my current machine which at that point will just be a render slave. So no need for some ultra fancy motherboard, as long as it can handle a single 4090 + 2 m.2 ssds with no pciex bottlenecks. If it could handle 3 m.2 ssds it's even better but not a must.

- motherboard: question mark. I was initially aiming for x8/x8 bifurcation but I realised I don't really need it. So I'm only looking for something that has very reliable vrms and circuitry overall. I guess X670 is still the way to go but I'm still very confused about all the variants this current gen offers. Open to any advice on this.

- memory: same as above, only thing I'm sure about is I'll need a 2x32gb kit to begin with. I'm just looking for the sweetspot between performance and stability since, again, I'll get severely diminishing return in my workflows going up the scale with insane memory frequencies.

- psu: I currently have a 870W Corsair psu which is handling the current machine just fine, I wouldn't mind keeping it for the new one unless advised differently. I'll eventually upgrade it as well but for now I'd like to limit the new parts to the cpu/mobo/memory package.

Thank you again for any advice on this

 

[Jerry James]

Any advice against this?

It's a decent pick but the 7800X3D is a better pick for just gaming due to how the cache is configured on the 7950X3D. But if you have a decent mix of both gaming and production, the 7950X3D isn't a bad pick by any means.

but would like to keep it below the 150$ mark unless there is something soooo much better above it.

It would be a good idea to go with a 360mm AIO at this performance tier, tbh. I'd say pick a decent one over an air cooler. However, if you want to avoid liquid at all costs, the Noctua is solid.

I guess X670 is still the way to go but I'm still very confused about all the variants this current gen offers. Open to any advice on this.

This might help: https://www.cgdirector.com/best-am5-motherboards/

- memory: same as above, only thing I'm sure about is I'll need a 2x32gb kit to begin with. I'm just looking for the sweetspot between performance and stability since, again, I'll get severely diminishing return in my workflows going up the scale with insane memory frequencies.

DDR5-6000 should be a good pick for a 2x32 GB kit if you want the best possible performance.

- psu: I currently have a 870W Corsair psu which is handling the current machine just fine, I wouldn't mind keeping it for the new one unless advised differently. I'll eventually upgrade it as well but for now I'd like to limit the new parts to the cpu/mobo/memory package.

Should work just fine for this build!