Non-Gaming PC Upgrade!

Vipernet · 28 Mar 2022 at 14:08

Hi all, been a while since I've been in the loop on all thing current, and am looking for advice upgrading my workstation pc!

I mostly use PhotoShop, After Effects and Premiere and have been struggling with 4k content, so thinking about an upgrade. I already have a decent case, superflower psu, 32gb of ddr4 memory, GTX 970 and decent storage. So all I'm really looking to do is upgrade my cpu and motherboard for under £600!

Currently have an i7 6800k on the x99 platform. Was thinking either a 5800x, or would I be better on Intel for my type of workload? Thoughts and ideas please!

Quartz · 28 Mar 2022 at 16:00

The first thing you need to do is find out where you're struggling. You should run Task Manager or some other performance monitoring tool on a second monitor and find out if it's the CPU, RAM, GPU, or storage that's causing the issue.

Vipernet · 28 Mar 2022 at 21:49

I'm not using any 3d features that really utilise the gpu in after effects, so it's mostly down to cpu bottlenecking. I could upgrade to 64gb of memory, but having looked at performance charts, I'm leaning towards a 12700k.

Quartz · 28 Mar 2022 at 22:04

So you’ve gone into Task Manager and seen CPU usage max out? Then a better CPU is indeed the way to go. IIRC Photoshop is largely single-cored and Premier makes heavy use of multiple cores. Which you use more should guide your choice. Something you might consider is getting a lower-end CPU like the 12400 - still a substantial upgrade from your current chip - with the intention of replacing it with a 13xxx CPU later this year.

Vipernet · 29 Mar 2022 at 09:34

Yes, memory sits at 80% and cpu pegged at 100%, particularly when trying to render 4k. Good idea with waiting, but I need to make the purchase before the end of the month for tax reasons!

Quartz · 29 Mar 2022 at 09:44

I think you'll find the 12700 a fine choice. The problem you have is that there are so many good options.

mickyflinn · 29 Mar 2022 at 09:49

Vipernet said:
Yes, memory sits at 80% and cpu pegged at 100%, particularly when trying to render 4k. Good idea with waiting, but I need to make the purchase before the end of the month for tax reasons!

12700k seems a decent option with either a b660 or z690 motherboard, but t8ale a look at benchmarks for your most used software as the 5900x mite be a viable option.

Armageus · 29 Mar 2022 at 10:23

Another option, particularly if you are suffering mainly with multithreaded work e.g. Premiere (rather than single threaded) could be to drop in a Xeon?

£100 would get you a E5-2680v4 - 14 Core, 2.4Ghz base / 3.3Ghz boost chip which should be a decent uplift in multithreaded performance (at the expense of a little bit of single thread performance)

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...4-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-5800X/2785vs4609vs2779vs3869

You could then hold off and do a full upgrade once you see how the next lot of CPUs perform?

JollyJamma · 2 Apr 2022 at 18:57

12700K, 5800X or 5900X would all be excellent options for your use case, as the lads have already said.

12700K would be my choice as it’s one hell of a fast cpu.

Tetras · 2 Apr 2022 at 19:17

Was looking at some benchmarks (not sure if I can mention them here, cos they're technically a competitor, but gamersnexus do include photoshop and premier in their charts) and to my surprise there are some Adobe productivity scenarios that the 12900 is significantly faster than the 12700, I assume because of the extra 4 cores.

It would stretch your budget, but might be worth looking into, if time is money. That said, the 12700 is a lot faster than what you have. The 5900/5950X may well be more efficient though, for prolonged workloads.