System Upgrades - Motherboard, Cooler, Power Supply and Case.
VitalBodies
Posts: 161
Greetings.
It is that time again and I am thinking about upgrading some systems.
Anything special I should look for, for DazStudio?
I have one system with an Asus ROG Strix Motherboard and other systems with proprietary Dell AlienWare boards, cases, coolers and power supplies. Hoping to trade out the proprietary boards, cases, power supplies and coolers. I have AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs and possibly ram if it is transferable. I have EVGA RTX 3000 series graphic cards - 3050 and 3060 although it is nice to keep an upgrade path clear.
These systems will be purpose built for DazStudio and possibly Blender. I do not use them for anything else.
I am in the US.
Thanks...
PS: This does not have to be all about me. Lots of us are likely pondering upgrading and such.
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Comments
Ryzen 5000s and RTX 3060s sound pretty up-to-date and adequate to me. Which Ryzen 5000s do you have? Which RTX 3060 do you have - 8GB or 12 GB?
I have 5900x, 5900x, 5900, & 5800x. I have one 3060 with 12GB. I have found I do better with a number of cheaper systems, rather than with one expensive one because rendering tends to hog the computer as does LEARNING. I also found for the art I do (so far) two 3050 cards is better than one 3060. In fact, I wrote a post on my hardware times with various RTX cards.
Mostly I am currently trying to move out of super proprietary hardware (MB PS Coolers and cases) into more easily upgradable hardware.
I am happy with my Asus ROG Strix MB for $209 on Amazon.
I wonder if something like an Asus ProArt B550 is worth the extra $ for around $300. Thunderbolt 4 is the likely reason if so.
Or can one save a hundred dollars with a more basic board and be fine.
With cases, open frame vs closed?
Coolers 240 vs 360?
PS does one need more than 1000w?
Etc.
It is all an investment, where to spend it, where not?
...yeah have picked a Strix B550 a 5900X, 64 GB of Corsair 3200/Latency16 memory, a BeQuiet Darkrock Pro4 CPU cooler and Samsung 970 EVO plus 500 GB M2 drive (for the new boot drive) all which will go into my existing Antec P-193 case (already have the other drives and a relatively new 850W PSU. Also have a 3060 I purchased last fall from EVGA which is in the box for now because the BIOS on the old MB wouldn't recognise it.
This primarily is an upgrade for Windows 11. as I'm still on W7 which has all but been abandoned. 64 GB is more than sufficient for a 12 GB card but I also work with Wowie's Awe Shader for 3DL and Carrara. Having 24 fast threads for rendering with both of those will be really nice.
Kyoto Kid, Sounds like a radical setup! I had not seen that case before. 64gb should awesome.
Win11 will be an awesome step up from 7.
However, I would be surprised if that cooler is enough for a 5900X and rendering. I had a Noctua NH-U9S and rendering would just shut the computer down.
In my own experience with a 5900X I have needed a liquid cooler with not just a one fan liquid cooler but at least a two or three fan. You can get by with the a one fan (loud) cooler, and find them for around the price of the cooler you mentioned.
I have been seeing three fan (360 liquid coolers) versions for $70.
https://amzn.to/3xPONbt
The Thunderbolt is tempting. It opens up the world of external GPUs.
..my other option was be the Noctua D15S but it was a questionable fit in the case. The issue with Liquid cooling is it would take out the two top case fans (and that's for only a dual fan radiator) which would cripple full case airflow. The Dark Rock Pro is one of the more highly recommended air coolers for the 5900X which is a dual fan cooler whereas the Noctua NH-U9S has only a single fan.
The P-195 was one of the best large mid tower cases ever released . No dopey side window (there's a large filtered intake fan there instead).and lots of interior space. it has provisions for a total of 7 fans (including the 200 MM one on the left panel).
Smart and professional looking
@Vitalbodies
Your system really isn't that old in "user" computer terms, and probably in the upper 5% of what is being used by forum members now.
There are folks here way smarter than me... but the way I see it, if that system (or the one you want to morph into) is truly just for DAZ/Content Creation, The only thing I think you would need to do is go memory MAX and get a high(er) end Card.
And I will make the assumption that you want to move to the new The Ryzen 7000 series when it drops in the fall, along with the Nvidia 4000? I don't think there is much of a cost/benefit for moving one place up the current AMD stack now (June 22).
I think I've read that the Ryzen 7000 series on the upper end (with the high end Motherboards) will be DDR5 only. To get the most out of 'everything' you will proably want DDR5 memory, new board, Ryzen 7000 etc etc... and I don't know how much faster that would be in rendering over your current system with just a nVidia 4080/4090 plopped in it.
If you have to do somehting now, EVGA Has B-Stock 3090s in the $1200 range....
Prixat, what are your thoughts on that?
In some ways that creates an interesting upgrade path also.
Plus potentially a different way to connect monitors.
The speed gain on external drives would definitely show up as a positive.
I have been upgrading the USB-C / THUNDERBOLT / USB4 cables I use. An old cable can really slow moving files around.
Kyoto Kid, as long as you know the cooler works for CPU rendering you are set to go.
I have been considering open frame cases and less fans for less fan noise.
There are some wild designs out there!
https://amzn.to/3xzVoX8
Chumly, I was wondering when the next series of CPUs and GPUs are thought to come out.
I have been watching B stock for power supplies but had not seen a $1200 3090.
I agree, there is not a lot to gain in terms of speed etc by swapping right now.
I am mostly getting setup for the next upgrade you speak of with the next series.
Thus my emphasis in case and power supply. I heard the next series GPU might require a 1200watt PS although that is (of course) a rumor.
Some say the CPU socket will be different with the next series...
Seems to me that a case is a fairly safe longer term investment, other than the front panel ports might get outdated.
A power supply is a fairly safe long term investment too.
GPUs CPUs and MBs just keep on changing.
Still, having fun choosing a case. There are a lot to choose from.
I like this case as it is can be wall mounted, or on a desk vertical or horizontal.
eGPU via Thunderbolt (or otherwise) is a 'nice to have' but very expensive route to a multi-GPU setup. Though if I cold afford multiple GPUs then, I expect, my idea of 'expensive' would also be very different.
The other features of Thunderbolt you mention might be a bit of future proofing but not much use to me. I use a large TV for display and there is no sign that TVs are dropping HDMI in favour of Displayport.
It's been difficult going back to small screens. When I log in from home I get the 23" and 21" monitors side by side on my TV and they're bigger than if I was at the office, sitting infront of them!
Prixat, I use a TV for a monitor too with an additional computer monitor to check color accuracy and such.
I do get the sense the computer world is going to USB-C as are iPads and such. Will be interesting to see what TVs do.
With a quick check on prices it seems one could find an external enclosure for $250-350. The MB costs an extra $100.
So if one spent say, an extra $350 on that, can they make it up some elsewhere?
Can one render in DazStudio from a Mac Mini with an eGPU?
...I've researched both the BeQuiet DarkRock and Noctua D15S and either is said to be more than capable of keeping the 5900X running cool. The Dark Rock is a bit smaller in height as well as has a slightly raised heatsink on one side to make it easier to install and service memory modules so will be a better fit for the case I know people swear by water cooling but to me that is more cxomplexity to deal with as well as more expensive (fo a good system), and like I mentioned, would take away the two upper exhaust ports.
Where I am, dust is a matter to deal with so a fully enclosed case with filtered intakes is the only way I'll go. When turned off I put a cover over the upper exhaust fan ports. Dust contamination is rarely an issue.
Kyoto Kid, I can certainly see where if dust were an issue you would want to take action and precaution.
Which Strix are getting? The "F" version II with WiFi or other?
For me it is more about heat and noise, rather than dust.
Oddly enough, I am actually more concerned with spiders, birds, bats and the occasional squirrel.
Does anyone have a sense if going with the B550 chipset is better or worse than an X570 for AMD for Daz or Blender?
Does a feature like SLI matter in motherboards with modern 3000 series GPUs?
...this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F9VP2RC?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
As I live in a single studio flat, have no wireless peripherals, and have a hardwired Net connection, WiFi is unnecessary.
If you mean nVidia's "SLI" with a SLI bridge, that died around 2020. (Battlefield IV had SLI support, Battlefield V does not, so it was somewhere between the two.)
"NVLink" is the successor and is on their RTX2000 cards but was removed from most RTX3000 cards (it's now only a 3090 and Quadro feature.)
Just using multiple cards does not need any special bridges or motherboard features, but obviously has no memory pooling.
Prixat, I mean at the motherboard level. Some higher end motherboards from Asus list Supports NVIDIA 2-Way SLI® Technology.
Kyoto Kid, that seem like a nice board, I wonder other than WiFi how it differs from the F. On the Asus (compare two boards) site it says there is no difference yet you know at least WiFi is different so you have to wonder. The version II of the F is the newest board although the only difference might be the antenna.
Only the old SLI needed a compatible motherboard. It's not surprising to find something like a X570 with both SLI and Crossfire support since it was first launched in 2019. The old SLI had no use in any 3D software and you're often recommended to switch it off for 3D and turn it back on for games.
(The replacement (NVLink) has no motherboard requirements.)
Finding this very interesting as I am planning to upgrade my graphic card. But how can I find out if a card is compatible with my mother board. Is there a Web site that will help
I have gotten the impression most folks around here try to upgrade to an Nvidia based card like the 3050, 3060, 3070, 3080 or 3090 or the TI versions of those cards as they a compatible with the DazStudio Rendering engine iRay. Although the older Nvidia 2000 series works also. Often you can find your exact motherboard manual or specs on the support area of the manufacturers website. The manual usually tells what all the slots are like PCIe x16 and what PCI version. You can look those terms up on the Wikipedia to learn more. Once you know what slot your motherboard has, you just need to consider if the power supply has enough power and if the case can support a large card if you buy a large card. The graphics card folks usually list the power supply wattage you need an how long the card is. You might also inquire on your computers manufacturers forum too.
Thanks VitalBodies. thats give me a starting point
my pc is
Gigabyte Z87X UD4H Motherboard this is PCIEX16
Chip is Intel i7-4770 @3.40GHz (8 core)
ram is 32GB
now running win 10 64pro
(was running win 7 pro until last week)
my cuurent graphics card is a Quadro K2000 But this is not interested is Rendering.
2X 2 TB.1X TB with the "C" drive on a SSD drive (under 1TB)
I would really like to get some rendering speed (no one likes to wait)
Would this run a EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 XC Gaming, 12G-P5-3657-KR, 12GB GDDR6, Dual-Fan, Metal Backplate (it says PCI- express x16 in the product info)
or something along those line
Myotherworld, I am not familiar with that exact board, yet I would think that card should be fine considering it has a PCIe x16.
Windows will likely provide you with a driver if you have internet.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z87X-UD4H-rev-1x#ov
The dual fan card is a relatively short card so you should be fine there I would guess.
I have that same card.
Requirements
Eventually you might want to upgrade your MB to one that supports PCI 4.
Myotherworld, you might also watch "b stock" on the EVGA site for occasional GPU deals.
Well all that is a big expense. You should stick it out until Zen 4 / AM5 / RTX 4000s if you can.
AMD Unveils 5 nm Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" Desktop Processors & AM5 DDR5 Platform | TechPowerUp.
I will go for the RTX 4000s 1st & then the Zen 4 (includes RDNA2 iGPU!!!) / AM5 / DDR5 / next gen pcie gen 5 nvme M.2 SSD together because they are expensive to the typical computer user.
Nonesuch00, for me at least, the only expense is the motherboard as the cooler (thankfully), the power supply, and case will work for the next generation. Sounds like fall is the target date for the new stuff to come out. Likely for holiday shopping. At that point to upgrade I would a MB, Ram, AND processor and that gets spendy. Not to mention a graphics card. At least the case, power supply and cooler would be ready.
What do you make of having an iGPU in the chip? We will still need an Nvidia card but might have the iGPU take some of the load off for the normal monitor as compared to rendering.
I've had an ASUS Prime 550 for a while. It's the entry level model of their 550 lineup.
The only mention of specific software in UEFI is a setting to 'optimise for Cinebench'.
Otherwise the different chipsets are just about various hardware features.
If you want a bit more detail: 550 has 10 lanes 'through the chipset' and they are PCIe 3.
The chipset has to distribute these 10 lanes among any SATA drives, USB devices, mouse, keyboard and the 2nd M.2 socket.
On the PRIME thats good enough, though it means the second M.2 is 'only' PCIe 3.
On the 550 Creator mentioned above, it's not enough! You also have Thunderbolt through the chipset. You will have to choose between the second M.2 or Thunderbolt!
The X570 has 16 lanes for the chipset to use, which are PCIe 4. You can use the fastest M.2 drives and Thunderbolt at the same time.