Godly computer under $5k CAD for cpu+mobo+ddr4+ssd

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libertaire

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I have $5000 budget to upgrade cpu, motherboard, ram and SSD
Here's my choice so far:

$2229 - i7-6950X (10 core)
$800 - MSI X99A motherboard
$244 - 32GB DDR4 3400
$700 - Intel 750 NVME SSD 400GB
Nvidia GTX 1080 Titan X (not counted in the budget)

Questions:

1) What's the temperature like with the i7-6950X ? I noticed it is rated 140W TDP I'm current using an i7-4790k and it's running very low temp even overclocked. Should i expect average higher temp or just under high load ? My current i7 is rated 88W TDP which is very lower than 140W...

2) What's the overclocking like on the i7-6950X ? I always bought the "K" serie

3) XEON vs I7 ?? Some people seems to be recommending Xeon instead of high-end i7. Would it apply for my situation ? The CPU will be used for work (illustrator and photoshop) and gaming. Not running any server stuff on this machine, so i'm not even sure if i would be able to benefit of the high core number

3) Is there a faster NVME SSD than the intel 750 that would provide a better performance/price ratio or the best option for me would be to get another intel 750 ssd and run it in raid0 ? Should i consider a motherboard with 2x M2 instead ?

4) Why does a lot of DDR4 manufacturers include fans for the ram ? Does high frequency DDR4 is prone to overheating ? I never used DDR4 before

5) The motherboard states that DDR4 at 3400MHz is only available in OC mode. Is this a problem ? Is there another high end motherboard that have stock 3400mhz ddr4 ?

6) Is the socket LGA 2011 the same size than LGA 1150 ? I'm currently using a custom water cooling loop with my cpu on 1150 and i'm wondering if i would be able to use the same CPU water cooling block if i upgrade to 2011

Please no comment like "it's overkill you don't really need this blabla". thanks!
 
Solution
Ecky
You can't trust the numbers manufacturers stick on their products, look at the benchmarks:

78130.png


Regarding RAM speed, most CPUs have no problem running 2666 or 2800. Many will even run 3200, but Intel has not validated any RAM past 2400:

http://ark.intel.com/products/94456/Intel-Core-i7-6950X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-25M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

I thought it was 2133, but apparently that's only for socket 1151 CPUs.
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Ecky

Ecky

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1) The temperature will depend on the cooler you install.

2) "X" is equivalent to "K" on high-end CPUs.

3) Many photoshop tools benefit most from having high single-threaded performance and GPU acceleration for everything else. You may find that in some cases, the 10-core i7 is outperformed by 8, 6, and even 4-core CPUs due to it having much lower clockspeed.

3 also) Don't RAID SSDs. The best value high-end SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro.

4) I've never seen DDR4 with a fan. DDR4 draws less power than DDR3 and runs cooler. Any heatspreaders you see are entirely aesthetic, and in some cases may actually make the RAM run warmer.

5) DDR4 frequency is determined by the CPU, because the memory controller is on the CPU. I believe the 6950x only officially supports DDR4 2133, and anything higher is technically overclocking the memory controller. You may find you can't run past 2800-3200 without instability, but it depends on the individual CPU.

6) No, the mounting is different, but most coolers include mounting hardware for both 1150 and 2011.
 
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Hlsgsz

Hlsgsz

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1. a good aircooler will ahve no issues.
2. overclocking is bad wiht that chip.
3. a Xeon is not merited in this case. Also, if gaming is on the table the i7-6950X is a bad choice because of it's low clockspeeds and poor overclocking. The 6900K is teh chip to get.
"3". get the biggest Samsung m.2 SSD you can afford. The 950 PRO, or, even better if you can find it, the SM961
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10437/samsung-sm961-price-and-availability-outlook
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7762/samsung-sm961-1tb-2-nvme-pcie-ssd-review/index.html
4. don't bother. just gett a good 3200Mhz 4x8 kit, like the tridentZ
5. see 4. over 3200 is more trouble than it's worth.
6. it depends on teh compatibility of your waterblock. they are not teh same size.
 
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libertaire

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single-threaded performance is a very good point to consider indeed. I didn't know that photoshop doesn't fully use multi-threading performance. :O

3 also) Don't RAID SSDs. The best value high-end SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro.
Click to expand...
Why not raid ssd ? You get almost the double of performence.

Also the intel 750 seems faster than the samsung 950

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147466
Max Sequential Read
Up to 2200 MBps
Max Sequential Write
Up to 900 MBps

intel 750 is 2500mb/s read + 1200mbs write
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwi8kPjUy_bOAhXF6iYKHYXMAOUQFggjMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.intel.com%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Fwww%2Fpublic%2Fus%2Fen%2Fdocuments%2Fproduct-specifications%2Fssd-750-spec.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFZjrIRoCkTXFY8XjwVYpbnlafe9w&sig2=vzAbXVyxsQQkruLCYVi-6w

4) I've never seen DDR4 with a fan. DDR4 draws less power than DDR3 and runs cooler. Any heatspreaders you see are entirely aesthetic, and in some cases may actually make the RAM run warmer.
Click to expand...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231851&cm_re=ddr4_3400-_-20-231-851-_-Product
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233818&cm_re=ddr4_3400-_-20-233-818-_-Product

5) DDR4 frequency is determined by the CPU, because the memory controller is on the CPU. I believe the 6950x only officially supports DDR4 2133, and anything higher is technically overclocking the memory controller. You may find you can't run past 2800-3200 without instability, but it depends on the individual CPU.
Click to expand...
Interessing, so does this means even if i find a board than officially supports higher than 2133 it doesn't means i will be able to run it without instability, it depends on the chipset lottery ? 2133 sounds low though, i'll check if i can find different motherboard that officially supports higher frequency

The 6900K is teh chip to get.
Click to expand...
That was in my second choices list. So i guess if i still want something better, the only option would be the $4600 i7-4960x 3.6ghz 6-core ?? There's no cheaper alternative in the $2500 price range ?


Thanks for the answers!
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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libertaire

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Another question : if i want to consider using 2x Samsung 950 Pro in RAID0 in the future, would i need a motherboard with 2x M.2 ? I found only 1 motherboard with 2x M.2

Also what is the difference between M.2 and Ultra M.2 ?

And thanks for the benchmark posted previously, i will definetly go for the Samsung 950 SSD. I love Samsung, i bought 6 SSD from them and never had any problem, i just hate how the 950 pro is just bare circuit boards are vulnerable to physical damage and static discharge. I prefered the older 2.5" ssd models, or the intel 750 that have some sort of shielding around the pcb. But if the 950 gives me better performance, i guess i'll just get used to it.
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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You would either need 2x M.2 slots, or a PCIe->M.2 adapter. I believe Ultra M.2 is just another name for M.2, but I'm not certain of that.

One common criticism with SSD RAID is that although it increases sequential transfer rates, it often hurts (or at least doesn't help) random reads, which is where SSDs feel so much faster than traditional HDDs. I suppose RAID would improve performance in specific workloads, but not in others.

Also be aware that RAID has CPU overhead, and the faster the drives you're using, the more CPU overhead you'll have. With a 10-core CPU this is probably close to irrelevant, but it's much less irrelevant on a quad, for instance.
 
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Hlsgsz

Hlsgsz

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SSD Raid is not merited. It good only for benchmarks and actually increases latency. Look for a Samsung SM961. That will wipe the floor with everything else.
As for the CPU, sure get that. But really, what do you do that uses more than 16 threads? It just costs to much over the 6900K to be merited.
 
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libertaire

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Any idea where to get Samsung SM961 in Canada ? Can't find it anywhere, but it looks promising

I'd be curious to see how it compares to the 950 in the benchmark graphic posted earlier by Ecky
It may be worth waiting until it is available in Canada. I can use my 1tb SSD Pro until i get my hands on it. And what is the MSRP ?

Edit: looks like it's due for September ? This thread says tomorrow: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/samsung-evo-960-pro-sm961-release-date-2033957/

One common criticism with SSD RAID is that although it increases sequential transfer rates, it often hurts (or at least doesn't help) random reads, which is where SSDs feel so much faster than traditional HDDs. I suppose RAID would improve performance in specific workloads, but not in others.

Also be aware that RAID has CPU overhead, and the faster the drives you're using, the more CPU overhead you'll have. With a 10-core CPU this is probably close to irrelevant, but it's much less irrelevant on a quad, for instance.
Click to expand...
From my understanding, i thought only software raid used CPU ? Hardware raid is managed by hardware, so no cpu overhead ?
Thanks for the information about the random reads, i guess i'll have to read more information before making a final decision on this
 
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Hlsgsz

Hlsgsz

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