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View Full Version here: : no more excuses


peter_4059
27-05-2020, 08:24 PM
I've always found the image processing stage a bit of a chore and convinced myself it was because the computer couldn't keep up with my amazing PI skills.

I started considering options, inspired by Rick's Threadripper build. There was a temporary setback when I managed to repair my Dell laptop power plug and restore it to it's full i7 8 thread glory however the spark had ignited and there was not going to be any stopping it now.

While a Threadripper was never going to fit within my budget, AMD continue to develop multi thread options and they seem to be seriously competing with Intel on price. After what seems like months of research I convinced myself I'd earned a new PC since the last desktop I've owned was in 1999 however I've built a number of gaming PC's over the past 6 years for my son and his friends so I felt quite well qualified to build an image processing beast of my own.

Roll forward to last weekend and it is done. :)
Picked up the parts from Computer Alliance - they are sooooo well organised and efficient at packing your order and have got Covid-19 covered - kudos to them :thumbsup:

Assembled all the pieces in the box, connected the cables and powered it up and it came to life with a beautiful beating heart of the Ryzen Wraith cooler pulsating through the window of the case.

Couldn't get PI installed fast enough and ran a side-by-side benchmark with the Dell laptop for the benefit of the manager of household expenditure (and me)......it wasn't a fair match. The new build was done with the benchmark test in 10 seconds and was already shaved, showered and dried before the laptop was done. The project received a glowing report in the stage 5 look-back, so I'm calling that a good investment. Anyway on to the specs:

Ryzen 9 3900X
X570 motherboard
32GB DDR4 3600MHz RAM
860 Evo 500GB system SSD
970 Evo plus M.2 PCIe swap disc with room for a second one to be added later ;)
RX570 GPU - not relevant to PI processing but you need to plug the monitor into something and Troy is trying to get me started on CS Source :gamer:


Anyway, here's the current state of play. More work to do to understand any bottlenecks and further optimization options.

jwoody
27-05-2020, 08:59 PM
That is a very nice build :)
X570 will also allow you to upgrade to AMD's next gen' Zen processors also, not that you will need to with the 3900X
Well done

peter_4059
27-05-2020, 09:12 PM
Thanks Jeremy. I get a lot of satisfaction from these builds. Nice to finally enjoy one for myself!

troypiggo
27-05-2020, 10:10 PM
Aaaaaand I was playing CS Source while you were posting this... hahah. My excuse is quarantine therapy since we can't catch up at the pub with mates, better off shooting each other online :)

Lovely computer mate. Very jealous.

AstroJunk
27-05-2020, 10:25 PM
Holy something - that takes me back, er, 20 years!

I got permanent RSI from FPS gaming and had to pack it in - that or never turn right :rofl:

h0ughy
28-05-2020, 06:52 AM
Oh wow, so will that make a trip to astrofest?

And what's it look like all together? Did you get the glowy keyboard and mouse?

Like the others above, very envious

In wifedollars how much?

peter_4059
28-05-2020, 12:52 PM
Funny - should have known you'd be at it!



you'll have to explain that one Jonathan?



Won't be taking it to Astrofest Dave - the car is already full.

Images added! Already had the glowy monitor, glowy keyboard and glowy mouse!

Not sure about wife dollars but it will be under 3k when I'm all done. I could have saved a few bucks here and there with cheaper brands and lower spec items like slower RAM/PSU but you only live once!

multiweb
28-05-2020, 12:57 PM
Sensei tower powered by Asahi. :thumbsup:

peter_4059
28-05-2020, 02:53 PM
That would be Asus rather than Asahi in this case :)

peter_4059
22-06-2020, 07:38 PM
I've been playing around a bit more since my last post including adding a second m.2 SSD for PI swap files.

Thought I'd share some benchmark data from Samsung Magician:

1. SATA SSD (Samsung Evo 860)
2. 2x NVMe SSDs (Samsung Evo 870 plus)
3. SATA HDD (WD Caviar Blue)
4. PI benchmark results with 1 NVMe swap disk (Swap transfer rate 3555.082 MiB/s)
5. PI benchmark results with 2 NVMe swap disks (Swap transfer rate 4637.986 MiB/s)

So about 25% improvement in swap performance with the extra NVMe drive.

I also changed the stock Ryzen Wraith Prism cooler out for a Noctua NH-U12A. While I don't have any benchark data the CPU peak temperature has dropped from 72 degC to 64 degC which is what I was hoping for.

StuTodd
23-06-2020, 01:43 AM
Cinebench R20, or it didn't happen...:D

peter_4059
23-06-2020, 09:10 AM
Here you go...