I’m currently looking for a new desktop, been a very long time since the last one.
I’m curious about these specs,
what does the bracket speeds mean?
I think the range… 2.9GHz to 4.8GHz… is reflective of Intel’s new attempts at power management. They are starting to shift frequency and voltage levels up or down depending upon what the workload demand calls for.
Their marketing info gives a nice overview on this, even if it’s spread across a small assortment of similar sounding terms. I think the wide angle view starts off as Intel’s Turbo-Boost Technology… and then it drills down to include…
- Enhanced Intel Speed Step (4.2.1.1)
- Intel Speed Shift (4.2.1.2)
- Low–Power Idle States (4.2.2)
…where, Speed Step places the enhanced control in the hands of the OS,… and Speed Shift lets the hardware make the determination (rather than relying on the OS)
Intel’s General Info Product Page — Core™ i7-10700
And, the following link is a direct download to Intel’s PDF Technical Doc DataSheet Vol 1 of 2… which can also be navigated to from the link above. OR for quicker access…
Intel’s Technical Documents – 10th Gen – Data Sheet Volume 1 of 2… See Chapter 4 for more info on the sections mentioned above.
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Sounds good generally, but if we believe the Passmark single-thread scores, there might be better performing CPUs in the similar price range.
I might double the RAM. If the need to save arises, one might perhaps make do with a slightly cheaper RTX card.
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Thanks Gents, all good info, certainly got me headed in the right direction.
I’m now considering this but seem to remember there were some recent issues with the AMD’s. Or am I remembering wrong?
I really haven’t any recent experience of AMD CPUs but after some late 20th century experiences I still have an Intel bias.
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I would absolutely get more than 16GB of memory it at all possible. My desktop (a 2014 iMac) has 32GB, which was its maximum. My wife recently replaced her ~2010 iMac, and we chose 64GB for the new one. (In both cases, I purchased the memory from a third-party vendor and installed it myself to avoid Apple’s very high RAM prices.) I usually run Photoshop (with a dozen or so 10MP-15MP color images open) along with SketchUp (with a 20MB-100MB model open). Plus a browser with 5 to 6 tabs open, etc.
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Yep, I’ll definitely up the RAM, 16 is what they do the deal at but it will go up to 128.
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I built a new PC a couple of months ago, specifically for SU and other 3D design apps. Apart from possibly getting the MoBo wrong, or should have waited for the 11th Gen processor to make it completely compatible with the MoBo (ASUS ROG Strix Z-590F), the rest of the build is not far off yours. I would advise going for 32GB RAM instead, though; (mine is 2 x 16GB Corsair 3600MHz). I could not get hold of an RTX 3070 due to the global shortage, so went with a Nvidia Quadro RTX4000, which is perfect. A 250GB M.2 NVMe SSD as boot drive and a SAT SSD as main drive keeps future OS growth easier to manage.
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a lot helps a lot… not. Besides doing UHD video editing or maybe photo editing in RAW format, 2x 16 GB (w/ 2 further slots free?) should normally do even for the largest SU models.
Buying a new system, why not the recent 11th generation intel CPUs preferrably as a high-clocked version (K naming extension) as e.g. the i7-11700K (3.6-5.0 GHz) being ~50% faster (single thread speed) than your choice:
W10 Pro of course.
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The preference for one platform over another at this point is personal. The biggest issue with both platforms is the processors are picky about the ram used.
I am running an AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9GHz on an Asrock X570 Taichi with Nvidia for graphics, RTX2070. Currently it is 15 months old and is one of the best builds I have had.
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After being an intel guy for years i switched to AMD CPU 5600X this year and it’s brilliant. I’m not quite sure what the reported issues are, but you do need a good motherboard (a lot of people consider AMD the budget option and then go and put a budget motherboard & RAM, which ends up being a bad choice). Also, if ordering from Dell or similar sites, you often dont get the nice premium motherboard spec - same with, RAM, PSU, etc. Things like the motherboard Voltage Regulators, and the RAM latency DO make a differrence to reliablity and performance. Sure it comes with an M.2 drive - but which one? They vary hugely in cost and performance. And it’s nice to have modern features like USB-C charging and AX3000 Wifi on the gaming motherboards.
One of the things that helped boost my SketchUp & LayOut is a very fast M.2 drive.
Think about the number of times that you save files when producing LO docs…it’s a lot! (edit model - save model - update model in LO - repeat - save LO oftens because it crashes…)
Then you have your component browser, and general loading of SKP (if you work on multiple SKP files at once and want it to load in 3 seconds…that’s nice)
So yea, a PCIE-Gen 4 enabled motherboard wiith a Gen 4 M.2 drive -as your primary drive…very handy!
Interestingly I use 16GB of RAM - i intended to get 32GB but never got around to it - and I dont see my RAM usage exceeding 12GB very often. And some of my models are HUGE. Adobe CC, however, is a RAM hog.
Here’s my Spec sheet - it’s a nothing too high end - and I’m getting 63FPS in the SketchUp benchmark:
AMD 5600X
Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro AX V2 ATX
G.Skill Trident Z Neo 16GB RAM (3600mhz)
Gigabyte Aorus NVme PCIe Gen4 M.2 (500GB)
EVGA Nvidia RTX2080 Super (a RTX3070 would be good too…I couldnt get one). I agree that a 3060Ti would do okay though…depends on your other needs aside from SKP.
And here’s what people seem to overlook - yet is very important these days with our hot & power hungry hardware:
Coolermaster SL600M case (full tower, with very large diameter fans and easy-clean filter)
Corsair RM850X V2 850W - or - NZXT C Series C850
and Corsair Hydro H60 V2 CPU water cooling.
Its nice to be able to play with the gaming software to control fan curves to reduce noise, tweak the CPU overclocking. control the lighting, etc.
The better quality hardware and chassis also makes things easy to install DIY - why not make a project out of it?
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This is why I hate buying a new computer, decisions decisions, and all from a point of almost total ignorance. It’s like learning a new language when all you want to do is replace the broken one and get back to work.
The last one I posted is 1000 dollar off until the end of business today, a similar one with an i7-11700K is 2500 dollars more.
Make it a project? Sure love to, even more decisions and learning to do and whenever I have tried to ‘configure’ a system to suit it comes out at 3 times the price before you even get to ram.
Would love to be able to go to a shop and ask for all the appropriate bits and actually get the right ones, then put them all together and have a super fast system for half the price of a dell etc, do you know where this magic shop is?
I hope this doesn’t come across as a rant, just venting my quiet frustration at the complexities of first world problems. I really appreciate all the info you guys are giving me.
The AMD issue I was thinking of was with a specific graphic card driver causing the front faces to be transparent, so nothing to do with the cpu.
Just as an example:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rZ2Nht
$2800 but thats with RTX3070, which is $1700 by itself (not sure why USA prices are so high - is that the China trade war still in effect?) and no 2060ti available on Amazon.
For our work 3d modelling PCs I usually take a parts list along to my local PC shop and see if theyll build it for me with a comprehensive warranty…and i get to support local business.
For the pre-configured machines, most people are going with laptops since their CPUs are just about as powerful for what we need. But a box PC like this will have a useful life of many years plus plenty of upgrade potential thereafter.
But by all means, due to global parts shortages, pre-built machines from Dell etc can offer very good value for money. so not to be discounted just because they are prebult. Its just hard to know exactly what youre getting at times.
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That’s a good example and a very helpful site, but when I change that to australian dollars it still comes in at more than 1000 over the preconfigured dell.
I’m going to have to take my time over this, but I’m already struggling with my ancient laptop since my main machine died, so I can’t dither too long.
This is one i put together super quick on a random aussie site.
Mwave.com.au “Custom Build PC” (using AMD Ryzen 5000 series “base build”)
-
AMD Ryzen Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Core AM4 3.70 GHz Unlocked CPU Processor + Wraith Stealth - [1 x $439.0000]
-
CPU Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB CPU Cooler - Black Edition - [1 x $55.0000]
-
AMD Ryzen Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming X570 Plus WiFi AM4 ATX Motherboard - [1 x $279.0000]
-
DDR4 Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4 3200MHz Memory - [1 x $145.0000]
-
PC Cases: NZXT H510 Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case - Matte Black - [1 x $139.0000]
-
Video Card: SYSTEM BUILD ONLY - GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - [1 x $1499.0000]
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Primary Storage: Gigabyte AORUS 1TB M.2 Gen4 NVMe SSD GP-ASM2NE6100TTTD - [1 x $295.0000]
-
Power Supply: Corsair RM750x White Series 750W 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply - [1 x $159.0000]
-
Mwave Custom PC Assembly: Mwave Custom PC Assembly and Testing Service - [1 x $199.0000]
Total: $3209.00
Generated by Mwave.com.au 05/06/2021 17:57:13 PM
I was not able to select from a wide range of parts, not sure if that’s low stock or just that site being difficult. But this is a good build.
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Thanks for that @AK_SAM, it’s about 1000 more than I could spend but it certainly helps me understand the combinations.
I may have to wait and just struggle on with my win 7 machine for now.