Question Considering upgrade....most threads for the $$?

[JC]

Considering upgrading my i7-4770 box....my wife doesn't want 2-3 computers running DC all the time, so I'm thinking about maximizing my threads. Been out of the upgrade loop for a long time now, obvi I'll need CPU/mobo/RAM, not sure about PSU...would like to get to 16 threads...I'm semi-retired with a 2 year old kid, so trying to find the balance of "as close to current tech" vs. "if it's too much the wife won't let me do it, cause the i7 works fine!" lol. Suggestions appreciated, thanks

 

[Markfw]

Considering upgrading my i7-4770 box....my wife doesn't want 2-3 computers running DC all the time, so I'm thinking about maximizing my threads. Been out of the upgrade loop for a long time now, obvi I'll need CPU/mobo/RAM, not sure about PSU...would like to get to 16 threads...I'm semi-retired with a 2 year old kid, so trying to find the balance of "as close to current tech" vs. "if it's too much the wife won't let me do it, cause the i7 works fine!" lol. Suggestions appreciated, thanks

Budget.... My first thought was a 32 core 64 thread EPYC Naples box. The CPU can be had for $300

AMD epyc 7551p 2.0ghz 32-Core 180w Socket sp3 server CPU processor | eBay

This is inevitable. You can consult us.

www.ebay.com

But the motherboard will be about $500 maybe more, and the memory (you will need 64 gig in 8 sticks) about $425.

Let us know the budget.....

16 threads is only 8 cores.... In todays world, you want more than that.

 

[JC]

Thanks, Mark.
Trying to keep the budget to $5-600, if possible...wife got a nearly new HP touchscreen laptop with an i7-1165G7 for $400, so it's gonna be hard to justify more than that to upgrade a box that "works just fine", lol.

 

[Skillz]

I am literally building the rig recommended right now.


edit
If I were you, screw that budget and just build a 5950X rig, but if the budget really is that tight then consider a 5600X or even a 5800X build.

 

[JC]

Getting the feeling that I will only be able to afford to get halfway to "up to date", lol....I can't afford to be a big DC player.

 

[Skillz]

Getting the feeling that I will only be able to afford to get halfway to "up to date", lol....I can't afford to be a big DC player.

Every little bit counts man. No need to go all out nuclear on setups.

5950X is a strong processor, but the processor itself is around $700. You could consider going with one of the lesser cores version like a 5600X (6-cores - $260) or a 5800X (8 cores - $350) and a cheap motherboard for around $150 and then just add 2GB of RAM per thread and you'll be good.

 

[Markfw]

Thanks, Mark.
Trying to keep the budget to $5-600, if possible...wife got a nearly new HP touchscreen laptop with an i7-1165G7 for $400, so it's gonna be hard to justify more than that to upgrade a box that "works just fine", lol.

Well, looks like the 5800x is it. (about $340) You need 32 gig 3200, the lowest CL rating you can afford. Saw some 3200 gig cl16, 4 x 8 gig for $120. I found an MSI B550 with 4 memory slots, $95. You need a heatsink ($50), PSU ??

What about case and video card ? reuse ? and you need an M.2 hard drive. ( found one 500 gig for $50 with a heatsink.)

 

[JC]

Yep, reuse case and my 1050Ti....not sure if I have a 24-pin PSU. Looks like the M.2 hdd is about the cheapest part of the upgrade!

 

[Skillz]

Yep, reuse case and my 1050Ti....not sure if I have a 24-pin PSU. Looks like the M.2 hdd is about the cheapest part of the upgrade!

Your 4770 motherboard is a 24 pin.

 

[JC]

Ah, thanks! Back when I started doing DC (before multi-core CPUs, lol), I was up on all the latest stuff, just couldn't afford it

Now I'm out of the loop, and I still can't afford it, lol! Hopefully my PSU has enough power.

 

[JC]

Question, I was always an AMD guy since the K6-300 days (my first build was a Cyrix 586-120), but what about the i7-12700 compared to the 5800x? Wouldn't that give me 20 threads (8 hyperthreaded, 4 single threaded)?

 

[Tech Junky]

20 threads (8 hyperthreaded, 4 single threaded)?

Intel® Core™ i7-12700K Processor (25M Cache, up to 5.00 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i7-12700K Processor (25M Cache, up to 5.00 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Looking at about $400 or if you find a deal / wait for a sale maybe $350

 

[JC]

$315 at the Egg right now, actually....how can I get the wife on board with this.....

 

[Tech Junky]

board with this.

Tell her once you build it you'll sell off the other systems to pay for it.

 

[JC]

Well, part of it....4770 with mobo, an i7-3770 box, and a 3770 processor....$300?

 

[UsandThem]

$315 at the Egg right now, actually....how can I get the wife on board with this.....

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've got a BNIB Ryzen 5900X, for $500 shipped. LMK.

12/24, highest cache-to-core ratio of desktop Ryzen CPUs. (We'll see if they come out with a 5900X3D chip.)

Combo with a GTX 1660 (used) for $800.

Edit: Will throw in a 16GB kit of DDR4-3200.

 

[JC]

Thanks, that's a generous offer, but too much for me to spend at the moment. Thanks again though

 

[JC]

What do you think about this?

Asus Prime B660 PLUS -D4
I7-12700F
2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB CL 16

$575

or I could save $40 on the mobo with an Asus H610 board with only 2 RAM slots, since 16GB sticks are apparently cheaper than 8GB sticks.

 

[Tech Junky]

What do you think about this?

Asus Prime B660 PLUS -D4
I7-12700F
2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB CL 16

$575

or I could save $40 on the mobo with an Asus H610 board with only 2 RAM slots, since 16GB sticks are apparently cheaper than 8GB sticks.

Don't forget your cooler and video card if you don't have one since the F doesn't have the UHD graphics.

Here's my build from the ground up - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bKYwGq Just tweak or delete things to what you want. The cooler though is really good for a $50 part and even better than my FUMA 2 I was using on my 8700K build.

 

[Mloot]

OP, if you want lots of threads on the cheap, you could get a Chinese X79 motherboard, a V2 Xeon, and cheap ddr3. For a little over $200, I replaced an ancient Phenom II 1100t with this motherboard from Amazon:

Lolovi motherboard , a Xeon E5 2690 V2 (10 core/20 thread), and 32Gb of registered, ECC ddr3.

You should be able to find registered ECC ddr3 on Ebay pretty inexpensively, and the 10-core 2690 v2 is about 60-70 on Ebay, or the 12-core E5 2697 V2 for about 75-80.

If you don't mind buying from AliExpress and getting a mATX motherboard, here is a nicely-priced combo:

motherboard, 10-core Xeon, and 32Gb of ddr3 for under $200

These systems will not blow your socks off compared to modern systems, but they give you alot of threads for the money.

Or, for about double the price, you can get two of those CPUs on a dual-socket motherboard. It looks like the core/thread count is a little off, but this should net you 24 cores and 48 threads for under $500. I believe Gamer's Nexus did a review of a similar motherboard.

Dual-socket Xeon goodness

 

[JC]

Wow, I'll mull that over!

AliExpress, in the past, hasn't been that.....'express' for me, lol.

 

[Markfw]

OP, if you want lots of threads on the cheap, you could get a Chinese X79 motherboard, a V2 Xeon, and cheap ddr3. For a little over $200, I replaced an ancient Phenom II 1100t with this motherboard from Amazon:

Lolovi motherboard , a Xeon E5 2690 V2 (10 core/20 thread), and 32Gb of registered, ECC ddr3.

You should be able to find registered ECC ddr3 on Ebay pretty inexpensively, and the 10-core 2690 v2 is about 60-70 on Ebay, or the 12-core E5 2697 V2 for about 75-80.

If you don't mind buying from AliExpress and getting a mATX motherboard, here is a nicely-priced combo:

motherboard, 10-core Xeon, and 32Gb of ddr3 for under $200

These systems will not blow your socks off compared to modern systems, but they give you alot of threads for the money.

Or, for about double the price, you can get two of those CPUs on a dual-socket motherboard. It looks like the core/thread count is a little off, but this should net you 24 cores and 48 threads for under $500. I believe Gamer's Nexus did a review of a similar motherboard.

Dual-socket Xeon goodness

It might be 10 cores, but they are slow. The 5800x will eat it for lunch. And the 12700f will most likely also get beaten by the 5800x. I have A 14 core E5-2683v3 on a socket 2011-3 and it get beaten 2x by a 5950x, so a 5800x would beat my 14 core. That 10 core will get stomped. That why its cheap. And no drivers for those chinese motherboards.

 

[Markfw]

Point in fact !!! My 5950x's were doing 215-230k per day per host in WCG. My poor 2683v3 14 core is still trying to empty its queue at 86k per day. Thats 40% of a 5950x. So a 8 core 5800x would beat my 2683v3 by over 20% with almost 1/2 the cores !

My 3900x's with 12 cores were doing 170k per day ! (I still have one for sale) I might even sell the motherboard/cpu/ram as a package ! A week of stats om my 3900x

2022-01-27	0:022:12:48:23	166980	264
2022-01-26	0:022:16:04:18	168403	288
2022-01-25	0:022:07:55:58	164936	252
2022-01-24	0:023:18:14:32	176944	260
2022-01-23	0:024:23:56:19	180660	322
2022-01-22	0:025:06:34:55	181760	298
2022-01-21	0:018:20:07:15	141770	230

Not to mention the power usage.....

 

[Mloot]

Markfw, true they are slow cores and I am not saying it is the best option, it is just an option. For my purposes, it was a nice, cheap upgrade over my Phenom, and Windows 10 handled all of my drivers for me. I have had no issues, so far, and since this is a backup to the main desktop, it serves its purpose well.