Computer Specs - Please help me select a new desktop!

[RAULMAYORGA72]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone would give me some feedback on the decision between these two desktops. As our office has an account with Dell we are only looking at Dell at the moment although I know there are many more options out there. We are replacing a 5.5 year old Dell Alienware desktop that is not performing so well since upgrading to X14. At the time of purchase it met or exceeded Chief recommended specs. We are a small architectural firm that does single family residential projects (new houses, remodels & additions) with some rendering work. 

 

Generally speaking I'm trying to decide between these two and maybe 3 options:

 

#1 is $1999 and meets all recommended Chief specs or exceeds the specs as follows:

a. 1 TB SSD instead of 512 (this is good as we want the extra storage)

b. The graphics card slightly exceeds minimum as it is 10 GB vs 8 GB

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-and-games/alienware-aurora-r13-gaming-desktop/spd/alienware-aurora-r13-desktop/wdr13aurcm2h

We need extra storage so if I ordered this one I'd add a $85 1 TB SATA hard drive bringing the price before tax to $2084.

This desktop is not customizable.

 

#2 is $2399 and meets all the recommended Chief specs or exceeds the specs as follows:

a. 1 TB SSD instead of 512 + 1 TB SATA (this is optimal as we ideally want 2 TB storage)

b. The graphics card slightly exceeds minimum as it is 10 GB vs 8 GB same as #1.

c. 64 GB RAM instead of 32GB 

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/alienware-aurora-r14-desktop/wdr14aur50h?cartitemid=f10afdcc-6ee4-446f-88ee-6a22b63bf0c0&ref=carconfigedittitle&configurationid=b5f4681c-2ed5-45ed-a527-ea39529ea627

This option is also slightly more customizable. For the processor, there is an option to upgrade to an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16 core processor for $300 or add another TB SAA for $30 or change to a 2TB SSD for $200. 

 

My biggest concern with #2 is that it has an AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12 core processor vs #1 has the Intel Core I9-12900F 16 core processor. I don't know enough about this stuff, but is the Intel I9 16 core much superior to the AMD Ryzen 12 core and is Intel generally better for our work? Would it be worth it to get #3 but upgrade to the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16 core processor for $300 bringing the total to $2699 or is it not worth spending this much more over #1?

 

Also is it a waste spending more $ for 64 GB RAM when 32GB is enough? Will 64 GB help the computer last longer with future Chief upgrades or should I only focus on CPU and Graphics card?

 

And finally, #3 what about spending almost double $3599 to get the latest NVIDIA 24 GB graphics card and a 24 core processor like this model: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-and-games/alienware-aurora-r15-gaming-desktop/spd/alienware-aurora-r15-desktop/wdr15aur50h? I am of two minds. Is it a waste to get a computer with specs as they are well beyond what we likely need and we'll be buying a replacement for this computer anyway in 4-5 years? Or is it worth the extra for productivity increase and insurance against needing a future upgrade as soon?

 

Would love anyone's opinions here. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Alaskan_Son]

I don't have a whole heck of a lot to say about AMD vs. Intel but regarding the video card...

 

I wouldn't spend anything extra for an upgraded video card in today's market unless your business HEAVILY utilizes Chief for photo realistic renderings or needs it for some other software you're running.  Shoot, I'm still not even using an RTX card and I'm not having any problems.  I can't use the newer PBR features, but then again, I don't really need to and if I need to do a ray trace, I can still use the old CPU ray tracer.  The video card can almost always be upgraded later if you find the need, and hopefully at that point the prices will have dipped back down a bit.

[SHCanada2]

my view is you pay a large premium for the latest. I'd rather get a new one more often than invest in the best of the moment as you are never sure where things are going

 

When I watch the video card processing raytraces, it seems to use the video card processor more than the video RAM.

 

And I did the math on storage, it wasnt worth my while to go to 2 TB. I'm good for like 5 years. 

 

Even when CA is slow on my PC(while not doing RTRT), the processor is never pinned, so I'm not sure what the bottle neck is

 

So if I was buying something today, I'd actually wait a few months until the 40xx came down in price and buy 32GB ram (that had expandibulity to 64) a midline processor, 1TB and probably 10 or 12GB on the video card (just in case). Thats running in a desktop version about 2500US up here. laptop about $3300 (non dell), which is why I would wait. I have a general thought, $ 2000 for the hardware, over 30-36 months ...unless a sale comes along or I by chance can resell my laptop to my cousin or something

 

 

 

 

 

[VHampton]

 

As a former DELL user... their gaming computers are simply made for Chief. I still have my old ones. The best thing about PC's (and DELL) in general is they're like being able to work on an older model car.  Adding memory and extra drives is relatively easy.  The NVIDIA card also enjoys a long history of being quite compatible with Chief. That was years ago however, and AMD does an equally great job. (It just needs to be in the higher series according to the current system recommendations). 

 

So in sum, it may essentially come down to the graphics card. If that piece of hardware has robust horsepower, you will be all set for everyday Chief use and more. For what it's worth, the option for additional memory may not be necessary, but what's helpful is that you can multi-task in the background while a render is underway. The 64 GB option probably in the hundreds of dollars for the increase. Consider it a business expense - which it is. (It can always be added at a later date as well). 

 

Good luck with your decision making. It sounds as if the services which your firm provides may not require the highest end of the spectrum (based on the quote below regarding occasional renderings only.) But then again, this is your office computer vs. a laptop. It should be reliable for many years to come. On a side, renderings can be expensive to outsource, particularly at a cost for several hundred dollars for a single view. If one were to make enough of them, or want to explore that type of offering with various software makers, the machine will literally pay for itself. 

 

Interestingly, the most expensive of the (3) options is being offered at a $1,000 discount. Surely that's an offer worthy of serious consideration. The hardware on that model is literally above and beyond, and while you may not need it, Chief will run extremely quietly in the background with that kind of a system. It should be excellent for many years to come. 

 

On 3/24/2023 at 2:15 PM, RAULMAYORGA72 said:

with some rendering work. 

 

This article below may help with some insights on the Ryzen vs. the Intel.  It's kind of like asking if a Ford Mustang will outrace a Dodge Charger. They are both incredibly fast. The price variations which you appear to be muling over are both under $3K,  and yet in the general same range ($2399 vs. $2699).  The findings in the report may help to offer become insights on why that few hundred dollars more could be worth the investment. If possible, and budget allows, the slight premium is worth it. 

 

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/ryzen-9-7950x-vs-intel-core-i9-12900k/

[ProPlan_2011]

I might have a different opinion than the previous posters, but here goes.

 

My old PC had been running reliably since 2013 (!).  I did introduce some SATA3 SSD's along the way.  So that's 10 years. I had issues with the power supply issues lately so I thought it was upgrade time, plus I was intrigued by RTRT (more on this later).

 

As you can hopefully see in my signature, I've upgraded to 2023.  My cost: 2150 US$ equivalent before taxes.  I did assemble the system myself.

 

What's 2150$ as a tax deductible business expense, over the next 'x' years?

 

My philosophy is go as high as the budget deems reasonable,  I did that in 2013 and have no regrets. A few comments on hardware:

• CPU: I opted for the i7-13700f after reviewing benchmarks.  For my budget, i9 (13rd gen) was too much.  I looked at previous generations: the cost savings versus performance pushed me to the i7-13xxx.  I acknowledge AMD has some serious processors, but that's not my religion
• Mem: 32GB is the sweet spot for me, but I believe that should be a minimum for anyone.  I run at 50%, but I'm not seeing paging activity, so runs faster and I'm more productive.  Plus I have headroom for years to come, I hope.  If not, the motherboard has 2 more slots waiting to be filled.  Go for DDR5 at a minimum
• Storage: I previously has 2 x 1TB so was inclined to upgrade accordingly.  But then I looked at the delta between 1-22TB drives: +30US$ per disk (yes, it was on sale).  Even with my previous 2 x 1TB, I was seeing them fill up pretty quickly, so don't skim on storage (if budget deems reasonable)
• Video card: I wanted the RTX 3080 but is was sold out.  The RXT 4070 Ti cost me 77 US$ (+10%) more, no brainer despite the outrageous prices for these cards and it's 21% faster (depending on what is benchmarked)
• RTRT: as soon as I could, I fired up CA (X14) to finally see what the excitement was all about.  As quickly as I had turned on RTRT, I turned it off.  Not a performance issue, but I could still see noise on PBR.  From my own perspective, I did not see the added value of RTRT.  But then again, I didn't test much.

[SHCanada2]

4 hours ago, ProPlan_2011 said:

but I could still see noise on PBR.  From my own perspective, I did not see the added value of RTRT

x15 has a denoiser. RTRT on your machine denoised is probably like 4 seconds or less. Your setup is pretty much what I would buy today, minus the storage. You guys must be storing a lot of interesting things. Even at 1 GB per project, that would be 2TB=2000GB, less the O/S et al is 200GB =1 800 GB. @ 1 GB per project, that is 1800  projects

 

 

[richoffan]

I think I've observed a fairly equal split between Intel and AMD in the posts here on Chief Talk. An I7 32G with RTX2070 Super 8G have given no problems. I remember when a decent raytrace would take  hours  and now takes seconds..... I have a 1T boot drive and an additional 512 drive on the computer but drives fail.... I keep a 1T external connected for work files and a 1T for personal files and they are backed up at least daily, more if I'm spending alot of time on something complicated. Both are backed up to a 5T external weekly (that's happening as I write this) and that is kept in a safe. I have projects back to 1999 on that drive. This is good 'cause a 200G external that held many of the old files failed a few months after it was backed up to the 5T. I know some use the cloud. Point being I'd make my "extra" storage external.

[Renerabbitt]

Soooo, I have 4 machines currently. Order of favorites:
Legion 7 with DDR5, a 2tb m.2 drive, and I keep it plugged into a Sonnet eGPU running a 7900XTX card. Its ridiculously fast in all things chief. There are only a few applications that wont use the eGPU. This thing is a dream to work on. When I unplug it from the egpu, its still super fast running a 6850 mobile. PCI4 and DDR5 make this thing so dang snappy, and its such a steal at $2200

I have a xeon desktop with a 3.2gh 8 core, 80 gb DDR4, and 2 m.2 drives with a 4090 card. It gets the job done, its quick, but nowhere near as quick as the Legion

I have an Eluktronics Max-17 with a 11900K intel, DDR4, and a 3080 mobile. My last year's workhourse..I bring it to events when I need a second machine.

I have a Surface Book 3, top of the line a few years back with a max-q 3000 RTX Quadro card. I use it for drawing only.

[Garreth]

Hi Rene, if you were looking for flexability to work offsite on travels etc and you need the ability to sketch and mark up pdfs whilst jumping into chief would you say the surface book 3 achieves this, I am currently looking for a two in one (I have surface book 2) and looking at the surface studio with nvidia gpu.

Interested though in your legion 7 machine with external gpu - hear they dont work with every machine?