Log Hardware recommendations for a new RTX 4090 portable 3D rendering & Unreal workstation?

[artbywaqas]

Ok so it's about time I built another computer.

Here's what I built the first time around a few years ago:

My 1st Custom Build - Cerberus 3D Workstation

Hi Everyone, So after my laptop ( of 7 yrs!) finally died I decided I should try to build my own smaller portable 3d workstation. This was my first time ever building a computer from scratch. I'm definitely no expert but hopefully this post will help out other first time builders and give...

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This computer still works great and I've been using it constantly every days since.

I want to build another easily portable machine with some updated components so that I can still continue working while
rendering.

I really love the Siger cases and handle. I'm thinking of maybe just choosing the bigger case this time.
The only downside to my previous build is I did have to down volt the CPU due to the limitations of the cooling
choices I used back then. It's not a big deal for me. It's still a superfast computer for my purposes and runs great.
But I'm thinking maybe this time I should keep this limitation in mind and see if I can design a build that will not require me to down volt the CPU.


Any recommendations on what to change this time?

 

[Valantar]

Considering that both CPU and GPU power draws have increased significantly since you built your previous PC, I would stick with the idea of power limiting and undervolting. Cooling a 250W+ current-gen Core i9 in a small, portable case is doable, but you'll have a much better time (and not lose much performance) toning things back a bit.

Is your workload more single- or multithreaded? Or both? How dependent are you on GPU performance? Do you need lots of VRAM? CUDA support? What kind of budget do you have?

Also, am I understanding you correctly in that you're planning on a new, ground-up build, rather than upgrading your previous one?

 

[artbywaqas]

@Valantar Yes, I plan to build a 2nd computer. So I can get more work done.

One thing I forgot to mention. For some of my Unreal Engine projects that are much bigger and I guess more power drawing my hard drives do get really hot. I'm not sure how big a concern these temperatures should be.




I would say my work is highly GPU dependent since I use Unreal Engine and work in Real Time a lot.


My new PC build would mostly likely about the same as before with just a more recent CPU and Graphics Card.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

@Valantar Yes, I plan to build a 2nd computer. So I can get more work done.

One thing I forgot to mention. For some of my Unreal Engine projects that are much bigger and I guess more power drawing my hard drives do get really hot. I'm not sure how big a concern these temperatures should be.




I would say my work is highly GPU dependent since I use Unreal Engine and work in Real Time a lot.


My new PC build would mostly likely about the same as before with just a more recent CPU and Graphics Card.

well. portable workstation I guess? so essentially the same goal as I have.

If you're willing to downsize, consider the Meshlicious, and maybe looking into my build log (which mostly consists of test fitting and measurements and plans for now, but hopefully, the actual system build is gonna happen soon).

Other options for mATX (with radiator compatiblity in mind):
- NR200P mATX mod
- Gecko XL - 16 L
- Raijintek Metis Plus mATX mod - 13.37L, 2.12 kg
- Powercube 715
- Jonsbo V4 (with creative realignments, and ignoring the "we want to build like THIS" instructions, even a nice radiator would fit very well) - 19.19L, 2 kg
- Jonsbo VR3 - its essentially the Meshlicious, just with a little bit more space (sadly, not on the right sides) - 19.87L, 5.28 kg

cu, w0lf.

 

[Valantar]

Those temperatures look perfectly fine. I have no idea why your monitoring application are showing them in red, but high 50s for SSDs is nothing to worry about whatsoever. If they were exceeding 70 I would consider some extra cooling for the drives, but as it stands that is perfecly fine.

More questions:
- Do you need a lot of expansion slots?
- Any plans for more than one GPU?
- Any preference for air/water cooling?
- What are your desires for case size/volume?
- Storage needs?


As for your workloads, you say you are mostly GPU dependent. How much VRAM do you need? Do you need CUDA support? And for your CPU, is it not important, somewhat important, pretty important (just not as important as the GPU)? How well threaded are your workloads? How much RAM do you need?


Without knowing all of this it's difficult to give any specific recommendations, but here are some general ones:
- If you want compactness, a handle, and expandability, AFAIK there's still no better case for that than the Cerberus-X.
- CPU: 12900K fastest overall but a power hog; 12700K good and less of a power hog; 5950X an excellent choice and far more efficient; 5800X3D fantastic for applications that like cache and don't need >8 cores, and is extremely efficient.
- Platform: AM4 is running out of steam a bit but still has everything you realistically need, while LGA1700 has another generation of CPUs coming if you want to upgrade at some point. DDR5 allows for more memory in the same number of slots, if that's interesting - though there aren't any 64GB modules on the market yet. PCIe 5.0 support is technically an argument for Intel currently, but in reality it won't have any real use case for quite a few years.
- GPU: If you need CUDA and/or fast RT and tons of VRAM, the 3090/Ti are the best choice. If you don't need CUDA or the fastest RT, an RX 6900 XT/6950 XT is an excellent choice as well, and significantly less of a power hog.
- Whatever your choice of CPU and GPU, undervolting and possibly a mild underclock is likely a good idea. Component power draws have been ballooning recently. The 12900K at "stock" runs at 250W forever unless thermals force it to slow down; the 3090 Ti has a stock power draw of 450W. Almost all components are quite receptive to restricted power limits, undervolting, and other tuning though.
- This also means that for high end components, you need a beefy PSU. Luckily there are some really good SFX and SFX-L units out these days. Silverstone has the SX-1000; Cooler Master showed off 1100 and 1300W SFX units earlier this year but AFAIK they haven't launched yet. Especially with current GPUs you need to overprovision PSU capacity, as their boost behaviour leads to transient power draw spikes up to more than 2x their rated power draw, which can trip OCP/OPP on some PSUs and cause system shutdowns.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

One (or two) topic forgotten: Which OS do you intend to use? Linux / BSD have nice(r) support for Intel + AMD, and NVidia is mostly a horrid mess.

... BUT: if you intend to use the system eg. for streaming etc., most applications, but esp. OBS prefer nvenc, and AMD is mostly garbage. Although, in theory, if you do all the rendering on CPU (esp. a 5950X), then that doesnt really matter anymore.

cu, w0lf.

 

[artbywaqas]

wow I got so busy with work last month. Ok so here's what I'm looking at getting:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Artbywaqas/saved/#view=zpdbjX

If it fits I may switch the case to the Cerberus instead of the bigger Cerberus X

Also what do you think of using an

NZXT Kraken CPU Cooler and maybe a version of the RTX 4090 that also has a cooler like this one​

GeForce RTX® 4090 SUPRIM LIQUID X 24G

GeForce RTX® 4090 SUPRIM LIQUID X 24G features liquid cooling for the GPU and air cooling for VRMs and a sturdy brushed metal backplate providing passive cooling. The MSI SUPRIM LIQUID is easy to install, requires no additional maintenance.

us.msi.com

 

[artbywaqas]

6 months later I finally got to build this computer!

Check it out

Log - Cerberus -X 3D Workstation 2023 - new build... finally!

Wow so this took waay longer than I though it would. I first ordered all the parts back in the last week of December 2022. Everything arrived within a week or two. The Cerberus -X case took a few months as Sliger was in the middle of moving and setting up in a new location at the time. It...

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