Help me decide: 1950x vs. 7900x vs. 7820x (Mixed Use Computer)

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caltech31

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
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Hi all,

I recently posted about whether I should upgrade my 3930k @4.9 to Coffee lake, but was ultimately dissuaded from doing so due to the marginal improvement for the cost (30% increase in performance for $1000 platform switch).

However, I have decided that I really do need more cores given the work that I do (where I am asked to analyze these massive excel files that take minutes to perform any update to the spreadsheet).

I have a budget of roughly $2000CAD (I could spend more if it is a really compelling value), and will be reusing some components I have around the house.

The one catch is that while I don't really game anymore, I like the idea of good gaming performance (1440p) should the desire arise.

All systems will be paired with a gtx 1070:

Option 1 ($1838 Before Taxes):

Threadripper 1950x
Asus Prime X399
16GB DDR3200 RAM
Cooler Master Seidon 240L

Option 2 ($1859 Before Taxes)

i9 7900x
ASROCK X299 Killer SLI
16GB DDR4 3200 RAM
Cooler Master Seidon 240L

Option 3 ($1717 Before Taxes)

i7 7820x
ASROCK X299 Killer SLI
32GB DDR4 3200 RAM
Cooler Master Seidon 240L
Samsung 960 EVO 500gb

I was originally only looking at high core count CPUs, but the the 7820 allows me to double the ram and add a faster SSD.

So, given my use case of 90% work, 10% gaming, what would you recommend?

I will try overclocking all of these systems - how far I can get on a 240L is anybody's guess.
 
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I agree with Shintai, I don't know if excel uses multiple cores. You can always check by running your calculations and seeing what your core load looks like. If it's single core then the fastest IPC is where it's at. I think the 7820x is a great value though, if you can double your ram and get a good SSD I would go that route if you can use the extra cores.
 
Hmm, when I run some of my calculations - it is loading all 6 cores at 100% - (so it appears to be using all cores).

Local retailers have dropped the price on thread ripper by 30% - too bad the motherboards are so expensive :(
 
caltech31 said:
Hmm, when I run some of my calculations - it is loading all 6 cores at 100% - (so it appears to be using all cores).
Click to expand...

Including Hyperthreading? Aka 12 threads? There is a long way to 20 or 32 threads. Also 20 or 32 may offer no actual speed improvement. Perhaps even regression.
 
custom90gt said:
If there is a way for me to test it for you, I'm happy to test on 24 threads...
Click to expand...

I would suggest you try reduce the core count first and see if there is any performance loss. As you can see documented more cores may not be faster, even slower.
 
With the prices of the 1950x are today, I would say that you should get that. (Especially if you are near a Microcenter since they cost $699 at this time.)
 
Shintai said:
I would suggest you try reduce the core count first and see if there is any performance loss. As you can see documented more cores may not be faster, even slower.
Click to expand...

You mean it's been shown on something other then the 4 core 8 thread cpu running excel with 256 threads enabled?
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I decided to get the 7820x because NewEgg had it on sale for $660CAD. Put together an entirely new system, but will move over my 1070 (and put the GT710 in the 3930k as backup - it will be turned into an ftp server, so no need for heavy graphics power).

I'll be picking up the parts from NewEgg warehouse tomorrow, so should do some benching over the weekend.

New rig is as follows (all prices in CAD):
1 x ($669.99) Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz LGA 2066 140W BX80673I77820X Desktop Processor
$669.99
1 x ($287.99) ASRock X299 Killer SLI/ac LGA 2066 Intel X299 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard
$287.99
1 x ($219.99) ADATA XPG SX8000 M.2 2280 512GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ASX8000NP-512GM-C
$219.99
1 x ($199.99) G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GVGB
$199.99
1 x ($129.99) Rosewill PHOTON Series 1050W Full Modular Gaming Power Supply, 80 PLUS Gold, Single +12V Rail, Intel 4th Gen CPU Ready, SLI & Crossfire Ready - Photon-1050
$129.99
1 x ($99.99) Refurbished: Corsair Certified Hydro Series H115i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060027-WW/RF)
$99.99
1 x ($69.99) Rosewill - ATX Full Tower Gaming Computer Case - Supports Up to E-ATX MBs, Dual PSUs, and Up to 7 Fans - Rise
$69.99
1 x ($29.99) Refurbished: MSI GeForce GT 710 DirectX 12 MSI-GT7101GD3HLPV1 1GB 64-Bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x 8 HDCP Ready Low Profile Video Card
$29.99
1 x ((20.00)) DISCOUNT FOR PROMOTION CODE
($20.00)
Subtotal: $1,687.92
Handling: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
GST/HST: $219.44
PST: $0.00
Total Amount: $1,907.36

P.S: I am going to double up the RAM, but I bought the last kit of 16, and have to wait for it to be restocked.
 
Finally put together everything and got the system up to 4.83ghz (using an 800mhz AVX offset).

Cinbench score of 2077, and Firestrike physics of 25240.

Very Pleased with the purchase - haven't had a chance to do any modeling work, but will do some tests once I migrate over some files.

PS: These chips run super hot. At 1.28v using a Corsair H115e Performance Profile, my temps were topping out in the low 90s (during prime)
 
caltech31 said:
Finally put together everything and got the system up to 4.83ghz (using an 800mhz AVX offset).

Cinbench score of 2077, and Firestrike physics of 25240.
Click to expand...

2077 seems a bit low for 4.8 ghz. Are ou throttling some? Seems like you need to delid to hold those clocks effectively.
 
custom90gt said:
What's your VCCIN?
Click to expand...

1.9v

Nightfire said:
2077 seems a bit low for 4.8 ghz. Are ou throttling some? Seems like you need to delid to hold those clocks effectively.
Click to expand...

You were right about the CB score being low - I had left MESH on Auto (2.4ghz), and bumping it up to 3Ghz resulted in a score of 2120. There are diminishing returns to overclocking the MESH speed though - anything about 3.2ghz, and performance started to decrease. I wasn't throttling either (although temps peaked at 92c)

Settled on 4.9Ghz, 3GHZ Mesh @1.285v, 1.9VCCIN, everything else on auto. Using an H115 with a fixed fan speed of 60%, temps peak in the low 90s during prime (AVX offset of -8). During 3D benches, I rarely see temps break 50c

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