Build upgrade - is it really worth it?

[elipan]

Hello,

 

I am thinking of upgrading my machine. Its been almost 3 years since I touched it and I really think an upgrade could be useful.

 

Main uses:

• 3D modelling in AutoCAD.
  
• 3D modelling in 3Ds Max.
  
• Rendering in V-Ray.
  
• Post production in Photoshop.
  
• Doing other sort of work in Illustrator.
  

 

Things I wish to keep and/or upgrade:

• Viewport performance in 3Ds Max/AutoCAD.
  
• Rendering speed in V-Ray.
  
• System responsiveness - I sometimes experience slowdown in 3Ds Max. Even in obviously simple tasks.
  
• Overclock. Not looking for overkill overclocking. I need it to be rocksolid 24/7.
  

 

Things I don't care about:

• Gaming.
  
• Animation rendering.
  
• VR.
  
• Realtime render engines.
  

 

My current build:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Storage: Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (64-bit)

 

• Important to mention is when I purchased the build above I miscalculated and got myself a Fractal Design case that can't fit the Corsair H100i cooler, so I still got it laying around.
  
• Because I got this "extra" case I thought about "partially-relocating" my current build into it and assemble the new machine inside the used Corsair Vengeance C70.
  

 

Hardware I wish to keep for the next build but still have questions about it:

• The Corsair case - I kind of like it.
  
• The water cooling kit. Last time I checked it supports current CPUs. Am I right? Do I need to buy new brackets/screws/fits/hinges/ropes/superglue?
  
• The graphics card. Is it worth upgrading? I had very bad experience with Quadros last time but I am not well informed about recent cards.
  
• The HDDs and SSDs. Is it worth upgrading?
  
• The PSU. Will it keep up with the new build?
  

 

New build options:

• Option A - 1,159.92$
  CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
  Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
  Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
  

 

• Option B - 1,037.30$
  CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
  Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
  Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
  

 

Turning the older build into a render node:

 

• Should I overclock it? I will need a new air-cooler for it. Should I overclock on air? or should I play safe and revert it to stock clocks?
  
• Will a single 64GB SSD will be enough for it? Just for Win 8.1+3Ds Max+Vray.
  
• Is there a better option than Teamviewer to remote control it?
  
• I need a new PSU for it. Will 500W be enough?
  

 

And the 1,000,000$ question:

Will I there be significant improvement over my correct setup?

 

Sorry for the long post.

Edited April 27, 2016 by elipan

[numerobis]

If you do it because you want your new workstation to be faster, then NO. To buy a 5820K to replace a 3930K is clearly not worth the money. You will gain only a few percent. If your plan is the additional render node, then YES. You will double your overall render performance.

 

In both cases you can easily overclock the system(s).

And to get a "significant improvement" for your workstation you need to overclock both of them or look for a 5960X.

But it's not the best time to buy a new system - or a very good time if you can wait one or two months.

If don't need it now, i would clearly wait for the upcoming Broadwell-E CPUs: 6800K (6 cores), 6850K (6), 6900K (8), 6950K (10). Release date should be end of May.

For the graphics card i would wait for nvidia's Pascal GPUs. They should be released within the next months, maybe June/July.

[joelmcwilliam]

Best advise from numerobis.

 

You have a very good sytem there, with high end components which will be absolutelely fine in a modern system and you have absolutely no need to upgrade. You only have forgotten to overclock it.

 

Overclock it, 4.0 or 4.2 ghz, will be save, but me personally, I would look if the chip goes towards the 4.4 ghz. If you are lucky you will get a very nice overclock without the chip needing much juice and still staying cool.

 

That would help with the system speed and the problems you have.

 

 

Just go for it and let us know how it turned out. But do your homework first before overclocking your cpu.

 

(what i just wrote is only when you hadn't gave your cpu a decent overclock)

[Dimitris Tolios]

I don't think you will get your money's worth from a 5820K system, much like numerobis said.

 

Overclocking is a viable option to get more out of what you have currently. Will offer notable improvements.

 

If you don't plan on overclocking, then most s2011-3 options are kind of mute - even the 5960X doesn't have a decent single-threaded advantage over the 3930K to justify the cost, and outside the rendering face itself, most of the operations - including preping complex scenes for Vray, which often takes as long as small test renders - are single threaded or very lightly threaded.

 

Your best bet if you don't want to mess with O/C, is a fast quad-core that turboboosts to - what seems like - a GHz or so over your 3930K, pretty much getting you to the overclocked performance you would have with a 1 GHz overclock, out of the box. Those fast quads like the 6700K are no slouch either when rendering, with multi-threaded performance being on-par with the stock 5820K Hex.

 

So you can make a i7-6700K workstation, translating your GPU and main SSDs to, than turning your 3930K / X79 / DDR3 rig to a render node that you will power on on a need-to basis. You will need a cheap case, some GPU and a small SSD/HDD to make it work.

Don't O/C the 3930K on air. It needs more cooling than the 6700K, so keep the H100 on it. The 6700K can be O/Ced on air just fine with a good twin tower cooler.

[elipan]

If you do it because you want your new workstation to be faster, then NO. To buy a 5820K to replace a 3930K is clearly not worth the money. You will gain only a few percent. If your plan is the additional render node, then YES. You will double your overall render performance.

 

In both cases you can easily overclock the system(s).

And to get a "significant improvement" for your workstation you need to overclock both of them or look for a 5960X.

But it's not the best time to buy a new system - or a very good time if you can wait one or two months.

If don't need it now, i would clearly wait for the upcoming Broadwell-E CPUs: 6800K (6 cores), 6850K (6), 6900K (8), 6950K (10). Release date should be end of May.

For the graphics card i would wait for nvidia's Pascal GPUs. They should be released within the next months, maybe June/July.

 

Thank you. You must are right, I should probably wait for the new processors.

 

Best advise from numerobis.

 

You have a very good sytem there, with high end components which will be absolutelely fine in a modern system and you have absolutely no need to upgrade. You only have forgotten to overclock it.

 

Overclock it, 4.0 or 4.2 ghz, will be save, but me personally, I would look if the chip goes towards the 4.4 ghz. If you are lucky you will get a very nice overclock without the chip needing much juice and still staying cool.

 

That would help with the system speed and the problems you have.

 

 

Just go for it and let us know how it turned out. But do your homework first before overclocking your cpu.

 

(what i just wrote is only when you hadn't gave your cpu a decent overclock)

 

I did overclock my chip to 4.3Ghz , just forgot to mention it. Its the best I could get to keep it under 75 degrees under full load.

 

I don't think you will get your money's worth from a 5820K system, much like numerobis said.

 

Overclocking is a viable option to get more out of what you have currently. Will offer notable improvements.

 

If you don't plan on overclocking, then most s2011-3 options are kind of mute - even the 5960X doesn't have a decent single-threaded advantage over the 3930K to justify the cost, and outside the rendering face itself, most of the operations - including preping complex scenes for Vray, which often takes as long as small test renders - are single threaded or very lightly threaded.

 

Your best bet if you don't want to mess with O/C, is a fast quad-core that turboboosts to - what seems like - a GHz or so over your 3930K, pretty much getting you to the overclocked performance you would have with a 1 GHz overclock, out of the box. Those fast quads like the 6700K are no slouch either when rendering, with multi-threaded performance being on-par with the stock 5820K Hex.

 

So you can make a i7-6700K workstation, translating your GPU and main SSDs to, than turning your 3930K / X79 / DDR3 rig to a render node that you will power on on a need-to basis. You will need a cheap case, some GPU and a small SSD/HDD to make it work.

Don't O/C the 3930K on air. It needs more cooling than the 6700K, so keep the H100 on it. The 6700K can be O/Ced on air just fine with a good twin tower cooler.

 

Yes i'm not in a rush to upgrade. I should wait for the next gen like numerobis suggested.

But how will a oc'd 6700K vs a oc'd 5820K?

[philippelamoureux]

In all cases don't change your gpu if you don't care about real-time or gaming. It's a good gpu you have and even if you get a titan you wouldn't see much improvement in the viewport. Viewport performance is ALWAYS bad anyway!

 

How about a dual-xeon and you keep all your other components?

Edited April 28, 2016 by philippelamoureux

[joelmcwilliam]

Like Dimitris said, a i7-6700K has a very good single core performance (even better if you overclock it) and good rendering times. Very interesting.

 

Would I go for a 6700K? O hell no! Overpriced. You may look at the pentium g3258 and make that your main modelling pc. They can get very high overclocks (4.6 would be nice) and still stay cool. That would be great for modelling. Your 3930K can go in a render pc.

 

What's your cpu cooler?

[elipan]

Like Dimitris said, a i7-6700K has a very good single core performance (even better if you overclock it) and good rendering times. Very interesting.

 

Would I go for a 6700K? O hell no! Overpriced. You may look at the pentium g3258 and make that your main modelling pc. They can get very high overclocks (4.6 would be nice) and still stay cool. That would be great for modelling. Your 3930K can go in a render pc.

 

What's your cpu cooler?

 

Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler.

I don't want a pentium for 3d modelling. I need a single machine for both modeling and rendering. Me keeping the 3930K as a render node is just a bonus.

[joelmcwilliam]

My fault. I just saw in the openingpost you already mentioned the cpu cooler.

 

Well, you already have a case and cpu cooler that are one of the better ones cooling wise, so that is not the point to argue.

 

Assuming you have tweaked your overclock, if you want my opinion, keep your money in your pocket in you only want one machine. But If you want to spend the cash go ahead.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8426/the-intel-haswell-e-cpu-review-core-i7-5960x-i7-5930k-i7-5820k-tested/7

 

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1028

 

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/noctua_nh-d15_review/6

 

Hope this helps.

[elipan]

My fault. I just saw in the openingpost you already mentioned the cpu cooler.

 

Well, you already have a case and cpu cooler that are one of the better ones cooling wise, so that is not the point to argue.

 

Assuming you have tweaked your overclock, if you want my opinion, keep your money in your pocket in you only want one machine. But If you want to spend the cash go ahead.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8426/the-intel-haswell-e-cpu-review-core-i7-5960x-i7-5930k-i7-5820k-tested/7

 

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1028

 

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/noctua_nh-d15_review/6

 

Hope this helps.

 

Naturally I will keep the previous machine as a render node. Its not going to the trash.

But you guys say its pointless to go from a 3930K to a 5820K, so I just wait for next gen processors or buy a machine to be a render node

[joelmcwilliam]

But you guys say its pointless to go from a 3930K to a 5820K

 

Yeah, if find it pointless to spend money for a upgrade at THIS point, because you already have a good machine and it would be unwise to spend a lot of money for little performance gains. Keep your current machine as default.

 

so I just wait for next gen processors or buy a machine to be a render node

 

Wait and see how the upcoming processors perform.

 

But if you want to buy a rendernode, the question is: how much will you spend and how much performance gains (%) do you expect from this new rendernode?

[Nic H]

i would improve you r skills before you think about upgrading your allready decent machine

do some classes or learn some new software

[elipan]

I ended up getting a great deal for two i7 6700 nodes. At stock speeds each perfroms more or less as the 3930K so I guess its not bad.