New PC tweaks

[katie279]

Hey all,

Musing a new PC for my design workshop - I'm starting with the same spec as the PC I built last year, which is still munching away on everything I throw at it, but conscious there's lots of changes (5090s, CPUs, RAM and more that you blink and lose track of!)

So as a bit of a 'what would you change if you were buying today' list, it'd be great to get a modernised list?
I'm using it for general abuse really (graphics, video, games, AI and more)

Existing build (just listed the key parts):
CPU: Ryzen 7950x
MB: Asus Proart x670e
GPU: 4090
RAM: 192gb DDR5 5600 (I could probably survive with 128gb if that's more optimal)
HDD: 8tb (4x M2 Drives @ 7000mb/s R/W)

Thoughts:
- Cores and Cudas are key for AI/Rendering work, so I 'think' a 4090 or a 5090 are the key (the 5080 annoying has quite a drop in CUDAs)
- M2 Drives - I think I could probably get better bang for buck with 2 x 4tb these days? I'm not sure if 7000mb/s is still the benchmark or if even faster options (this is always a bottleneck, so can't get fast enough for me!)
- RAM - this is always a total minefield with MBs being useless at support quad channel and all that, so appreciate any advice - I 'think' I've need the new x870 proart as they seem to be discontinuing the x670e? But I love this MB, but anything that has the same masses of usb ports, 10GBe ethernet and the rest is great too!

 

[heatonpkmassive]

You already have a super build but even that can be improved upon quite a bit without swapping out the mobo.

But that depends on the budget. If that's large, drop a 9950x3d in there, a 5090, 4 x 8tb gen5 nvme drives and maybe check your power supply is up to a 5090. You seem to purchase quality components and with you already having a 4090, I'm guessing you're all good in the power supply department.

 

[Tetras]

So as a bit of a 'what would you change if you were buying today' list, it'd be great to get a modernised list?

- RAM - this is always a total minefield with MBs being useless at support quad channel and all that, so appreciate any advice - I 'think' I've need the new x870 proart as they seem to be discontinuing the x670e? But I love this MB, but anything that has the same masses of usb ports, 10GBe ethernet and the rest is great too!

I don't know if the newer boards/CPUs are any better with high capacity memory.

X870E ProArt is a nice board, though the sound choices are odd for a creator (e.g. no spdif).

It also has the usual X870/X870E fun of one of the M.2 slots knocking the graphics lanes to 8.

Review here:

ASUS ProArt X870E-Creator Wi-Fi Review

Arguably one of the best-looking motherboards out there, but what does the latest ProArt motherboard for AMD Ryzen CPUs bring to the table considering its high price tag? Is it worth it compared to the competition, even for creators?

www.techpowerup.com

If you're happy with 5Gb LAN and like lots of M.2, take a look at the Nova.

- Cores and Cudas are key for AI/Rendering work, so I 'think' a 4090 or a 5090 are the key (the 5080 annoying has quite a drop in CUDAs)

I'd have a look in the usual places:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Content Creation Review

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful consumer GPU in the world. How does it perform in content creation applications?

www.pugetsystems.com

- M2 Drives - I think I could probably get better bang for buck with 2 x 4tb these days? I'm not sure if 7000mb/s is still the benchmark or if even faster options (this is always a bottleneck, so can't get fast enough for me!)

What kind of bottleneck is it, exactly? The headline read/write of PCI-E 5.0 drives sounds great in theory, but depending on the workload it ain't the improvement you might imagine because sequential read is only one part of the performance picture.

RAM: 192gb DDR5 5600 (I could probably survive with 128gb if that's more optimal)

64GB sticks are starting to surface now, though still not widely available.

CPU: Ryzen 7950x

9950X3D has been released recently.

 

[katie279]

You already have a super build but even that can be improved upon quite a bit without swapping out the mobo.

But that depends on the budget. If that's large, drop a 9950x3d in there, a 5090, 4 x 8tb gen5 nvme drives and maybe check your power supply is up to a 5090. You seem to purchase quality components and with you already having a 4090, I'm guessing you're all good in the power supply department.

Sorry, I wasn't being clear - this is for a separate build, but I want to base my specs on my existing pc (as it works great for me!)

 

[heatonpkmassive]

Sorry, I wasn't being clear - this is for a separate build, but I want to base my specs on my existing pc (as it works great for me!)

Ah right, then you'll be good following what @Tetras has recommended.

 

[katie279]

I don't know if the newer boards/CPUs are any better with high capacity memory.

X870E ProArt is a nice board, though the sound choices are odd for a creator (e.g. no spdif).

It also has the usual X870/X870E fun of one of the M.2 slots knocking the graphics lanes to 8.

Firstly, take the awesome post of the day award, this whole reply is a gold mine of awesome advice!

Yes, this is a silly feature for the M2 drives- I 'think' I should be ok as I'll just need to avoid it. MBs have become really scammy over the years....

Review here:

ASUS ProArt X870E-Creator Wi-Fi Review

Arguably one of the best-looking motherboards out there, but what does the latest ProArt motherboard for AMD Ryzen CPUs bring to the table considering its high price tag? Is it worth it compared to the competition, even for creators?

www.techpowerup.com

If you're happy with 5Gb LAN and like lots of M.2, take a look at the Nova.

I really need 10gb min unfortunately...grrr...

I'd have a look in the usual places:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Content Creation Review

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful consumer GPU in the world. How does it perform in content creation applications?

www.pugetsystems.com

What kind of bottleneck is it, exactly? The headline read/write of PCI-E 5.0 drives sounds great in theory, but depending on the workload it ain't the improvement you might imagine because sequential read is only one part of the performance picture.

Bottleneck as in the slowest part of my work is moving mahoosive amounts of data, files and more around - so the drives can't be fast enough, nor the network, but as you say it needs to be a real world benefit.

64GB sticks are starting to surface now, though still not widely available.

Yes, this is one I'd probably stick with 32/48gb sticks until they're more common/stable. I don't too often hit a limit here and when I do, it's manageable.

9950X3D has been released recently.

Ooh I'll have a nosey at speed comparisons - the X variant worked out faster for my general work previously over the x3d, but I'll check if this is still the case.

 

[Tetras]

Bottleneck as in the slowest part of my work is moving mahoosive amounts of data, files and more around - so the drives can't be fast enough, nor the network, but as you say it needs to be a real world benefit.

Ahh, I see. Yeah, deffo worth checking carefully. E.g. in some of the tests here the latest PCI-E 5.0 drive from Samsung does really well, but in others a 'cheap' PCIE 4.0 drive like Crucial's T500 is still competitive.

Samsung 9100 Pro 2 TB Review - The Best Gen 5 SSD

The Samsung 9100 Pro is the company's new PCI-Express 5.0 flagship. It reaches transfer speeds of over 14 GB/s and our review confirms that this is the fastest Gen 5 SSD you can buy right now. Energy efficiency is also improved, which helps with heat output, but you still need a dedicated...

www.techpowerup.com

Yes, this is a silly feature for the M2 drives- I 'think' I should be ok as I'll just need to avoid it. MBs have become really scammy over the years....

If you don't care about USB4 and don't need lots of M.2 lots, you don't HAVE to go X870/X870E. Since, it is USB4 that causes the problem with the lanes, primarily (by taking 4 of the CPU's 8 spare PCI-E 5.0 lanes). B850 is a cheaper alternative, or you can still look at the last gen boards.

I'm not sure what Intel's Z890 boards are like (if they handle this stuff better), because I've barely looked at them. I doubt it would make sense anyway as the Ryzen seems to be superior for your workloads.

If you want a lot of PCI-E 5.0 M.2 slots, it is almost inevitable that you will lose graphics lanes.

There's a video that goes into more detail on each board here:

The spreadsheet linked to here mentions some of the cases where it is not mentioned in the manual what compromises the use of USB4 causes:

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/xvvl9b/comment/ir6koh8/

Ooh I'll have a nosey at speed comparisons - the X variant worked out faster for my general work previously over the x3d, but I'll check if this is still the case.

I believe AMD fixed it by repositioning the 3D cache, so they no longer have the performance penalty for productivity.

Firstly, take the awesome post of the day award, this whole reply is a gold mine of awesome advice!

Thanks

 

[katie279]

Ah super helpful again.

Woah! I didn't realise PCIE5 had got that quick - 14k read is super attractive.

Yes this is the annoyance - my data use means I saturate usb lines (eg loading 200gb videos off cards, so every bit of speed helps there), I saturate network transfers to M2 drives (so 10gb very attractive) and I saturate the M2 transfers regularly with massive AI models, video work, 3d graphics work and more.

And then naturally I batter the GPU - so impacted performance there isn't great!

Great to know the x3d performance is fixed, that makes it easier there.

I'll dig through that video and see if any perfect solutions!

 

[heatonpkmassive]

You do right by asking here first Katie, not everyone does that.

And there are a handful of members here who will come along and give excellent advice, Tetras is one of them.

I think the only thing I have to add is that it sounds like Gen 5 nvme drives would be advantageous for you, you're one of the few users here for whom that upgrade would make a noticeable difference. Graphics card too, I'd just ensure you have some kind of air moving over those Gen 5 nvmes, they can get a bit toasty.

 

[Tetras]

Woah! I didn't realise PCIE5 had got that quick - 14k read is super attractive.

Yes this is the annoyance - my data use means I saturate usb lines (eg loading 200gb videos off cards, so every bit of speed helps there), I saturate network transfers to M2 drives (so 10gb very attractive) and I saturate the M2 transfers regularly with massive AI models, video work, 3d graphics work and more.

Yikes. Sounds like USB4 and PCI-E 5.0 is a must then. Picking the board is going to be tricky!

And then naturally I batter the GPU - so impacted performance there isn't great!

For gaming the difference between 16 and 8 lane operation is very small with a 5090, just a few percent, but I don't know if your other workloads will care more. From the sounds of it, losing a few percent on the graphics is less important for you than having fast storage.

I'll dig through that video and see if any perfect solutions!

FYI: there are timestamps (for each board) at the bottom.