Log 9950x workstation

[ajarara]

Hi, I'm a person who doesn't game but wants an sff compute workstation. I pretty commonly run linux compilation loads that have all 16 cores of my 8945HS mini PC at 100% for multiple minutes at a time. I also used to run android instrumentation tests, I have run qemu performance tests, JMH tests. I'm looking to move on because I think I can get compile times down by 40-50% with ECC DDR5 ram and a bios that isn't garbage.

I'm thinking of this setup: , another https://pcpartpicker.com/b/X6GG3C, with a 500W GaN HDPLEX, TR 120 EVO PS (or some other tower that fits), 9950x. No graphics card planned, and so I might even just lay it on its left side for a bit more desk space. The 500W PSU is necessary over the 250W since the 9950x can pull 300W when not limited.

Afaict you only get 7% more perf: https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-9-9950x-zen-5-cpu-12-percent-faster-14900ks-unlimited-tdp-309w-power/, but I personally don't mind spending 50% more on electricity for 7% more perf for these workflows. This also leaves me access to buy a graphics card if I need one, which is unlikely given I haven't installed a game on this computer despite it having better integrated graphics than anything else I've got, I don't do any 3D modelling (though I wanted to design a case, I just don't have the time). I'm just as likely (if not more) to install some PCIE U.2 drives instead.

Does this make sense? The 500W PSU has dimensions 200.2x45x55 probably an additional 10mm for allowing the wire that juts out the side, the PSU cage is removable, little modding required (I do need to dremel out the slot for the power cable or find a mesh I can cut),

The other approach is honestly to stuff either a 9900x or a 9950x into a densium with a 250W GaN and an AXP90x67 copper, undervolt and/or power limit it (hopefully getting away with 200W, which gets 93% of the full load 300W, but it's more likely we can only get to 160W given this small cooler). The nice thing is no mods needed, significantly smaller, and if I really want more power I can simply buy another HDPlex 250W, bigger case, bigger cooler. Honestly I'd prefer to go all out though, the increased space really isn't that big a deal.

 

[ajarara]

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1520965-kxrors-g200-mini-itx-case-mini-review/

Or the G200. That thread probably compares it to a genuine PSU on top of a low height cooler, so understandably the thermals are bad. The nice thing about the G200 is that it's prettier, it can use regular power supplies with a tower cooler, and it seemingly has better thermals. There's some, but not a lot, of wasted space at the bottom given we're not using a graphics card. But whatever, this gives us the ability to use full height ones in the future if we want, and vertical space isn't really much of a premium. I like the vertical layout too.

I think the G200 is a better idea, no mods required, more flexible, prettier, less desk space. $30 more expensive, who cares, I'm dropping half a grand on the CPU and $300 on DDR5 ECC Ram.

 

[ajarara]

Alright, here's the revision I'm settling on:
- g200
- 9950x
- hdplex 500W GaN (again, just the 9950x can pull 300W at full multicore load)
- asrock b850i lightning wifi
- Phantom Spirit 120 SE (shows slightly better temps than the EVO at maximum load on intel according to hardware canucks)
- no graphics card yet, probably never if I can like watch youtube videos on integrated graphics. I just code, run virtual machines, mostly headless, rarely otherwise.

The HDPlex would allow me to mount 2x 120mm intake fans in the front (140mm fans won't work since the mesh doesn't extend all the way and the case itself isn't even 280mm high, only long), though I'd probably hold off on that unless I need it. I do have to mod with this setup, but just screw holes on the back for the hdplex, for the fans I'd have to think of something else (or drill through the front mesh).

 

[LukeD]

You should look at the 9950X3D or the 7950X3D. They can suck around 30% less power than the 9950X

 

[ajarara]

Thanks, I think the x3d works as well. I'm definitely not power limited, and as long as I can get the same amount of performance I don't much care about the wattage (though the math favors a 9950x in terms of cost: ~$100 for the same amount of performance at 30% less power consumption would take years of usage to pay off for electricity costs). I'd probably have less noise though.

 

[LukeD]

Less noise, less heat. As you mentioned the 9950X will pull 300W.... 7950X3D at most pulls 150W. Your power supply will thank you
Im just working on a project with the HDPlex 500W GaN and because I used the 7950X3D, not only was I able to cap it at 100W with less than 10% performance loss, I was able to also power a RTX 5080 from that same power supply because of the power savings on the CPU.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

I accidentally ran my 7950X at full load a few months ago, and my Thermalright Silver Soul 135 kept it at 85 C under full load. Arctic P12 Max improved on that by another 2 - 3 C, so at best, 84 C with a 135 cm high CPU cooler. And yeah, Asrock board, too.

If you set proper limits, 180 or 200W is totally easy, but even lower power limits wont reduce the computing power much.

I'd suggest watching a few videos by DalraeMyo. There are a lot of tests done with mid to upper tier CPUs, including 9950X and 7950X tests, both with low profile as well as regular single and dual tower CPU coolers.

Some examples:




cu, w0lf.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Re: Shiny Snake G200 - thats a good case. Its what people been suggesting as "the better version of the SG16", and I'd say, they're right.
The disadvantage of the SG16 clearly is the low / "could have been better" airflow because of the solid bottom plate, and the very restrictive side panels. Also, the G200 is smaller and thus might still fit in a medium-sized padded backpack. Oh, and with the front mesh comes the super-advantage: Lots of air for the PSU - something I'm dearly missing with my current SGPC K77 Lite build!

If the paint jobs of the different clones are the same, then I'd strongly suggest getting the white version. I tested several variants of the black S versions (S300, S400) and the black coating tends to be much worse, seems to attract dust much easier, and sometimes even leads to damaged panels (eg. I could bend the middle tray by hand very easily, happened by accident, but I was like .. What. The. Actual. F?!?).

cu, w0lf

 

[ajarara]

The black is the only version available in my region (without going through superbuy and paying $100 to ship), it's on its way. I'd rather dust on the case then in the case at least

The 9950x3d turned out to be $269 more expensive than a 9950x I got for $430 -- that means many more years before break even.

If I wanted to game, then the x3d was definitely the right choice, since the added wattage headroom would've allowed for a more powerful card (and the 3d vcache lol). As is I'm limited to ~150W before I risk running out, whereas with the x3d it would be something like 220W. But I don't game anymore.

On the other hand, a 30% drop in wattage for the 9950x3d would've meant I could've gone safely with the 250W HDPlex instead, which means I would've locked myself into a no-gpu build and would have the motivation to design a very, very tiny <8L workstation case around pretty much just the cooler and a couple case fans. I don't have time for that right now, but it's definitely a neat idea.

I came up with a couple ways I don't have to mod the case: L Brackets for the hdplex, command strips (or taped down zip ties lol) for the front fans. Everything's arriving next week, I'll see if I can put up a build log.

 

[ajarara]

I was looking at this youtube channel for a 9900x low profile cooler demo, but found none. The 9900x is about 50% more performant than my current 8945hs based off of llvm compile times, whereas the 9950x is double the 8945hs (though I'll have the opportunity to check). The 9900x can be found for a lot cheaper (I glimpsed one at $219!), would fit into an actual small form factor case (something like 3 or 4 liters total, which would feel great chucking into a suitcase as opposed to this which needs about a quarter of a carry on).

 

[ajarara]

Oh, and the cryorig CU C5 shown at computex 2025 claims to cool 185W at like 55MM? Yet another avenue. This stuff is so tantalizing.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

On the other hand, a 30% drop in wattage for the 9950x3d would've meant I could've gone safely with the 250W HDPlex instead, which means I would've locked myself into a no-gpu build and would have the motivation to design a very, very tiny <8L workstation case around pretty much just the cooler and a couple case fans. I don't have time for that right now, but it's definitely a neat idea.

I came up with a couple ways I don't have to mod the case: L Brackets for the hdplex, command strips (or taped down zip ties lol) for the front fans. Everything's arriving next week, I'll see if I can put up a build log.

With the high-tier AM5 CPUs, you can just set a manual eco mode in the bios, so thats totally a non-issue. I did the same with my 7950X, ie. the 105W manual eco mode (142 W cTDP). You can look it up elsewhere or eg. watch DalraeMyo's videos where they do exactly that, ie. showing how to set up the eco mode in the bios.

For single core processing, there is next to zero loss in computing power, and for multicore it'd be about 8 - 9% of loss. Undervolting may improve on that, but even with 91% of performance left, the 9950X can churn out more computing power than an untamed Intel 14900k.

cu, w0lf.