Question Threadripper VS Ryzen for Video Editing & Gaming

[dsc106]

Video editing is priority because it’s my profession. That said, use is split 50/50.

But here’s the thing: I use mainly Adobe Premiere Pro and I don’t do a ton of rendering, I spend most of my time in the timeline with h.265 content so that’s where I’m focused for performance. As of last month they finally support NVIDIA hevc decoding so Intel’s advantage here may be gone.

For gaming, it’s everything from Doom and Cyberpunk 2077 to MS Flight Sim 2020. DCS World and Project Cars 2 in VR, Half Life Alyx, etc.

I had originally been eyeing a 3960x or 3970x but now I am leaning Ryzen 5950x.

Here is my reasoning:
- I don’t think I’ll really use the extra PCI-E bandwidth on TR. I plan to run an RTX 3080 and two m.2 SSD drives plus a handful of internal HDDs plus an external RAID 6 QNAP. I could add more internal M.2s on Ryzen and they’d split the available bandwidth but I don’t think I’d run extra internal m2 drives concurrently - it would be more of a video footage drive and a gaming install drive, run at different times.

- Quad channel memory is appealing so I could use 8x16gb modules instead of 4x32gb modules to get a whopping 128gb of RAM. But I don’t think I need the quad channel bandwidth as my memory use would be more to have a bunch of stuff open all at once, like a really large project file plus a chrome browser with 50 tabs and a number of other apps and background stuff. Not like 3D rendering or calculations. I don’t think I’ll see much benefit for quad channel memory in my case? My main concern would be the slower timings on 32gb modules but I am not sure it that justifies the cost of TR.

- Ryzen at 105 TDP is so much better than a 280 TDP. I’ve never been stoked on the TR cooling requirements and power requirements. The Ryzen seems so much more power efficient and practical.

- Ryzen 5950x is going to be about half the cost for higher IPC, lower TDP, and a 16 core count, exceeding what I can likely take advantage of right now in most software.

All that said - what do you think? Would I be a fool to give up all the extra power and I/O of threadripper, or is that platform more specialized than ever and simply overkill for my goals?

Here is the build I am considering right now:


$800 AMD 5950x
$100 beQuiet Dark Pro 4 Cooler
$400 Asus ROG X570 Crosshairs VIII
$800 Nvidia RTX 3080 (evga FTW3)
$500 128gb RAM (4x32gb)
$350 2TB m.2 SSD Corsair mp600 (boot)
$300 Corsair AX1000 PSU
$0 Case - use existing Lian Li A75 from 2012?

TOTAL: $3250
(Prices rounded off)

I’d use my existing Lian Li case, 970 nvme 1TB drive as my 2nd m2, and a bunch of internal SATA HDDs.

 

[VirtualLarry]

That's a pretty reasoned argument for choosing the Ryzen 5950X over TR.

 

[MalVeauX]

Looks good, but basically any flagship component based system will do this for you. It just so happens that video editing systems use the same resources that a gaming system does (same thing if you think about the end result). The key difference would be if the application supports multi-threads and fully utilizes all the cores and threads at its disposal (some software cap out at 4, 6, 8, etc; some use everything given to it). And as you pointed out, having a high quality CUDA capable GPU with a ton of shader units will do similar to what a CPU will do (a higher end CPU). Intel doesn't have much advantage here. The other big part of this kind of system is having fast storage media, like the SSD you've selected, assuming 2TB is actually enough for your work and your OS/games. If you require more space, consider adding 10Ge lan and a NAS with 10Ge capability and you can load it with high capacity SSD or massive capacity HDD.

Very best,

 

[dsc106]

Thanks, I thought it was a well reasoned process - but my lack of confidence was in if my data was actually correct! It sounds like there’s agreement that the benefits of:

-8-16 additional cores
- more PCI-E lanes
- Quad channel memory and use of 16gb modules vs 32gb modules to achieve 128gb

Are not important for most workloads in video editing or for my needs? And that the drawbacks of TR, in regards to cost (both money and TDP) don’t warrant stepping over to the platform?

 

[dsc106]

If I understand correctly (please tell me if I am wrong): I get 24 lanes on the CPU + 16 lanes on the X570 chipset for a total of 40 lanes. From the CPU, 16 of my PCI-E 4.0 lanes would be dedicated to an RTX 3080, 4 to connect to the PCH chipset, and 4 for the first M.2 SSD (My boot drive).

Of the 16 lanes on the chipset, this is where I am confused. That MSI board comes with 6 SATA ports and a boatload of USB 3.2 ports. Do these use up any PCI-E lanes, or are those controlled by their own USB/SATA controllers? Do I have 16 lanes just hanging out for the taking?

If so, I'm thinking I would utilize 4 lanes for the 2nd M2 SSD slot on the mobo chipset, utilize 1-2(?) lanes for a SATA add in card (to get 4 more SATA ports for internal drives), and then maybe 4 lanes for their included PCI-E M2 Expander card to get 2 more M2 drives running.

Thus, I'd be using 9-10 out of the 16 chipset lanes, leaving me 6-7 open lanes for possible future PCI-E cards (such as a capture card, sound card, or otherwise?).

Essentially - I am planning to immediately run an RTX 3080, 7 Internal SATA HDDs (video editor), 2 Blu Ray optical drives, and 2 M.2 drives. I later would like to add 2 more M.2 drives if possible, plus maybe some add in PCIE cards. I'll be plugging in a ton of USB peripherals as well. Will I have enough PCIE lanes on X570?

 

[13Gigatons]

If I understand correctly (please tell me if I am wrong): I get 24 lanes on the CPU + 16 lanes on the X570 chipset for a total of 40 lanes. From the CPU, 16 of my PCI-E 4.0 lanes would be dedicated to an RTX 3080, 4 to connect to the PCH chipset, and 4 for the first M.2 SSD (My boot drive).

16 lanes for the video card
4 lanes for m.2 drive
4 lanes for usb and etc.

24 x 16 = 384 Gb of total bandwidth (double the x470)

 

[KentState]

Gaming on a TR platform can be underwhelming at times. I've actually gone back to my older 9900k desktop and put my RTX 3090 in it for gaming purposes. The TR has the 2080 Ti back in it for now and will be used just for other stuff. If the 5950X is as good as advertised, I may end up building a desktop around it and replacing both.