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Is the i7-9800X a bad CPU to start a build off of?

thecompactor

New Member
I am starting a new build and could use some critique. I'm moving up from an i5-3570K on an ASRock H77M with 16GB of DDR3. My parts list so far is:

Mobo: ASRock X299 STEEL LEGEND
CPU: i7-9800X
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A
RAM: 64 GB DDR4 (add more as I go)
Storage: A mix of Samsung EVO SSDs for libraries and a couple HDDs for project files (owned)
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC HYBRID
PSU: Seasonic Flagship PRIME 600 Titanium Fanless
Soundcard: RME HDSPe Raydat (owned)

Software: Cubase 8.5 Pro, VE Pro, mostly East West libraries, and Izotope Iris (all owned). Plan to pick up some stuff from ProjectSAM after my wallet recovers from the build.

My Budget is $2K. I have a friend who can get discounts on Intel products, so I am able to get the i7-9800X for $296. Another possibility would be the i9-9980-XE for $990, but that stretches my budget too far for one component, even though that seems like a great deal.

My question is this: If my goal is mainly to use behemoth project templates with as many samples loaded into RAM as possible (within my budget), is the i7-9800X a good option? Should I be considering a different chipset altogether? As a side note, does anyone have experience with fanless PSUs? I'm considering the PRIME 600 strictly because of acoustics, but I don't want anything to melt under load. Any help is appreciated.
 
I am starting a new build and could use some critique. I'm moving up from an i5-3570K on an ASRock H77M with 16GB of DDR3. My parts list so far is:

Mobo: ASRock X299 STEEL LEGEND
CPU: i7-9800X
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A
RAM: 64 GB DDR4 (add more as I go)
Storage: A mix of Samsung EVO SSDs for libraries and a couple HDDs for project files (owned)
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC HYBRID
PSU: Seasonic Flagship PRIME 600 Titanium Fanless
Soundcard: RME HDSPe Raydat (owned)

Software: Cubase 8.5 Pro, VE Pro, mostly East West libraries, and Izotope Iris (all owned). Plan to pick up some stuff from ProjectSAM after my wallet recovers from the build.

My Budget is $2K. I have a friend who can get discounts on Intel products, so I am able to get the i7-9800X for $296. Another possibility would be the i9-9980-XE for $990, but that stretches my budget too far for one component, even though that seems like a great deal.

My question is this: If my goal is mainly to use behemoth project templates with as many samples loaded into RAM as possible (within my budget), is the i7-9800X a good option? Should I be considering a different chipset altogether? As a side note, does anyone have experience with fanless PSUs? I'm considering the PRIME 600 strictly because of acoustics, but I don't want anything to melt under load. Any help is appreciated.

Sorry, can't help there! I know there are some senior BYO on VIC, so it may be a question of time before one succumb to the temptation to chime in... :)

Cheers,

Andre
 
You can't go wrong with Seasonic, using X-Series mostly because though they're not fanless the fan only kicks in at a certain amount of load and by then everything else will eventually ramp up anyways. I wouldn't expect the PRIME 600 to meld down but rather to just shut off to protect itself.

Also I don't integrate spinning rust into my Systems anymore. SSDs/NVMEs have become dirty cheap and everything mechanical should go into a dedicated NAS.

For the rest of your system I think it will do pretty well. Personately I would go cheaper on the GPU and also choose AMD actually, NVIDIA has always been more problematic for me in the past and present.
 
Are you planning on one machine to rule them all or are you going to use your old i5 as an additional computer?
 
is the i7-9800X a good option?
Unless you have servers already running Intel chips, or are replacing a chip for a preset rig that you need up and running asap/don't wish to upgrade the motherboard, it makes no sense to buy Intel chips today.

Especially if you're building a new rig. A 3900X will give you the same, if not better performance than that CPU at less than half the price. And you don't even have to upgrade its stock cooler.
 
A 3900X will give you the same, if not better performance than that CPU at less than half the price. And you don't even have to upgrade its stock cooler.
The OP stated that they can get the Intel chip for just under $300.
I wouldn’t use any stock cooler if you want the quietest computer possible.
I would recommend looking at AMD for sure.
 
The OP stated that they can get the Intel chip for just under $300.
I wouldn’t use any stock cooler if you want the quietest computer possible.
I would recommend looking at AMD for sure.
I misquoted, what I wanted to quote was
Another possibility would be the i9-9980-XE for $990, but that stretches my budget too far for one component, even though that seems like a great deal.

I wouldn’t use any stock cooler if you want the quietest computer possible.
For quietest possible, yeah. If you have money to spend, why not. 3900X has lower TDP than 9800X, so the OP can put the $100 instead towards a better CPU, and get a 9980-XE-level or better CPU with 3900X, without upping his original CPU budget by more than $50.

Wraith Prism ships with 3900X and works just fine. My last PC used to be very loud, I even had to build a small semi-open box around it to block out some of the noise, and even then the mic would pick it up at times.

With this one, whenever I enter the room I need to pause for a second because I always think it shut down unexpectedly since I can't hear it. Case and airflow play big roles as well (Fractal R6) in both sound damping and temperature, yet these factors aren't talked about nearly as much.
 
For quietest possible, yeah. If you have money to spend, why not.
My Scythe Ninja cost just over £40 and is completely inaudible at 100% full load with decent temps even at 2AM when the background noise level is very low.
A small price to pay and especially in the context of the overall system cost.
With a CPU with a real world power consumption of 150W+ at load that gets harder.
In practice I don't suppose DAWs are typically running all cores at 100% and especially when you have 12 or more. :)
As you said you have to optimise the whole system to achieve silence and that is rarely mentioned.
Possibly because most people here aren't recording with microphones so the lowest noise floor isn't an issue!
 
What I would do is build a system based around a 3700x...and x570

Then I would sell the 3700x for little loss and plonk in a 4900x or a 4950x in September
( if rumours are true for the release )
 
I've happily sold my 3700x/x570 setup a while ago. It just wasn't up to the task. I'm not talking performance here .. performance was great .. but it wasn't stable. Went back to Intel for stability and reliabilty, that's where it still shines.
 
I've happily sold my 3700x/x570 setup a while ago. It just wasn't up to the task. I'm not talking performance here .. performance was great .. but it wasn't stable. Went back to Intel for stability and reliabilty, that's where it still shines.

When was this?....If it was near release then adopting a new platform comes with being patient for Bios update and chipset updates that come regularly.

I built a 9900k system on release...basically returned it due to the massive power consumption and heat and it only having 8 core 16 threads...for the same cost....

Bought a 3900X stuck with it through bios updates and chipset driver releases and it’s been one of the most stable smooth cool and quiet systems I have built...In fact I’ve built probably 60 Machines over the years and the 3900X is imo a legendary chip.

The power consumption, temps , core count and performance for the price amaze me on a daily basis...Plus it’s only even more heart warming I can update my bios and plonk in a new 4950x to get even more cores and performed down the line...

The statement that intel offer stability...is not really accurate...If you built a machine based on x570 and didn’t stick with bios updates and chipset updates then that is just lack of experience in hardware...not the platform. Which is rock solid.
 
You only have to look at the latest release form intel to clearly see they are in trouble...

The 10900k only 10 core 20 threads still based on old 14nm and not supporting PCIE 4

Not only that, you need a new Motherboard in socket 1200

Like I said in another thread...

AMD release new chips for current and older motherboards.

Intel release old chips for new motherboards.
 
The statement that intel offer stability...is not really accurate...If you built a machine based on x570 and didn’t stick with bios updates and chipset updates then that is just lack of experience in hardware...not the platform. Which is rock solid.

I think most people here got other things to do than update their AGESAs every one or two weeks but prefer to have a system that just works from day one and gets out of their way.

If you're the kind of guy who likes tinkering and wasting hours on getting something to run decent - that's ok, I'm not saying it doesn't fit your bill.
 
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What I would do is build a system based around a 3700x...and x570
Then I would sell the 3700x for little loss and plonk in a 4900x or a 4950x in September
( if rumours are true for the release )
For those that don't need more than 8 cores the presumed 4700X along with the soon to be released B550 looks to be good value.
The advantage of the 8 core is that I think Zen 3 for the first time has a native 8 core complex with a unified cache and latency, whereas the 12 core and up have a more variable latency due to their even more modular nature.
In theory your O/S might be able to mitigate against this being an issue, but we area talking about MS here so it might take a while before that gets sorted.
 
I think most people here got other things to do than update their AGESAs every one or two weeks but prefer to have a system that just works from day one and gets out of their way.

If you're the kind of guy who likes tinkering and wasting hours on getting something to run decent - that's ok, I'm not saying it doesn't fit your bill.

Updating a bios takes minutes...not hours....

Stability with Intel is placebo being it years old tech....

More misinformation again in your post.
 
For those that don't need more than 8 cores the presumed 4700X along with the soon to be released B550 looks to be good value.
The advantage of the 8 core is that I think Zen 3 for the first time has a native 8 core complex with a unified cache and latency, whereas the 12 core and up have a more variable latency due to their even more modular nature.
In theory your O/S might be able to mitigate against this being an issue, but we area talking about MS here so it might take a while before that gets sorted.

Indeed the B550 and a 4700x will only highlight the inferior expensive non entity the current offerings from Intel are...

Disclaimer : The majority of my my PC builds have been intel since Opteron 170...however AMD are the compelling choice now and they are clearly back in the game.

This is only good for consumers...I’ll buy the biggest bang for my buck...I don’t care who makes what....but when a company like intel release garbage like 10900k on a new socket on 14nm the choice is so clear AMD is the wise decision.
 
but when a company like intel release garbage like 10900k on a new socket on 14nm the choice is so clear AMD is the wise decision.

Except if you are using UAD pcie cards, in which case they may not be detected if you are running a ryzen chip. So it's not like Intel is all bad and AMD is all dandy.
 
Updating a bios takes minutes...not hours....

Stability with Intel is placebo being it years old tech....

More misinformation again in your post.

Well, good thing then you're only giving advise to DIY musicians/composers. You'd have a hard time in the Enterprise world with its old shitty legacy tech and requirements ... :grin:

Like I said. Bleeding edge is totally fine if you've still got enough hair to pull out. I still remember when Athlon XP was the king of the hill .. until you removed the CPU cooler. Today the cooler sits on top of the X570 chipset.

It's stupid things like that costing AMD its lead and will happen again. And putting out systems only usable after updating and updating and updating truely is proof for the quality and the maturity of the design.

Check out all the "Flagship Systems" of prominent System Builders. How would you explain them having an Intel Badge? Are all these companies misinformed like me?

Edit: you know you've almost made me feel bad for I'm defenately running old crap! Haswell-E and Broadwell-E .. so legacy. But then I've decided to have a look at https://xi-machines.com/en/systems-audio-x3.php and it brought back the smile in my face.
 
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Edit: you know you've almost made me feel bad for I'm defenately running old crap! Haswell-E and Broadwell-E .. so legacy. But then I've decided to have a look at https://xi-machines.com/en/systems-audio-x3.php and it brought back the smile in my face.
Is... that a $250 GPU in a $9k rig running 4 year old Intel CPUs? And a 240 GB SSD? 32GB DDR4 at 2400 MHz? Where are the other $8500 going to?

This looks about 4x overpriced for the performance you're getting and something only someone misinformed would buy. The only other people paying $2500 for that CPU are the ones who are expanding their existing server farms or are replacing them.
 
Is... that a $250 GPU in a $9k rig running 4 year old Intel CPUs? And a 240 GB SSD? 32GB DDR4 at 2400 MHz? Where are the other $8500 going to?

It sure isn't a bang for the buck! But then again people are spending thousands more on a new Mac Pro that doesn't deliver that much more performance. At some point things start getting rediculous anyways.

I mean seriously guys: are you going to throw extra compressors, EQs and whatnot on something just because you have the theoretical calculating power? Is anybody now creating 600 surplus tracks of something just to see the load meter go up?

I suspect at least some of the price comes from a lot of testing and trying beforehand. Look at Puget Systems and how they meticulously create Workstations for the Pro user. Having their own Lab testing everything, including thermals, noise, software compatablity .. even tweaking fan curves, custom firmware etc., it's the kind of time, research and detail you don't get if you're just lucking at a price tag and throwing a bunch of hardware in the basket, expecting it to work out perfectly. It rarely does.

People depending on their machines to run gladly spend that much. I doubt they even care if it's Intel, AMD or a Chinese x86 for as long as it does the job and does it reliably.

Fun fact however: I don't seem to find any AMD builds from Puget Systems either, huuummm. What could that possibly mean?
 
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