So it’s been 5 years and it’s time to build a new Linux workstation. I am wondering if I should build a new one or just swap out the Memory, CPU, and GPU from my current system? Any suggestions? Below is my current and potential workstation specs.
Current Workstation
CPU: Ryzen 7 2700x
Cooler: Nocuta NH-D15
Mobo: Asus X470 ROG Crosshair VII Hero
RAM: 32GB G. Skill Flare X DDR4-3200 CL14-14-14-34 1.35v (4x8GB)
GPU: XFX Radeon VII 16GB
PSU: Corsair HX750i
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB
Case: Fractal Design Define S
Potential Workstation
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Cooler: Nocuta NH-D15 (Can this hand the heat from a 5950x?)
Mobo: ASRock X570S PG RIPTIDE
RAM: I can’t find a memory kit in stock on Newegg or Amazon from ASRock’s QVL any suggestions? I would like to go to 64GB of RAM
GPU: ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming D 16GB
PSU: Corsair HX750i (Do I have enough power?)
SSD: Western Digital WD BLACK SN850
Case: Fractal Design Define S (Love this case so I will reuse it)
You do not need to update your motherboard, honestly, that X470 is more than fine. In fact your entire system is more than fine right now.
You have three choices right now:
Wait four more months until Q1 2023, at which point AM5 should be a stable Linux platform with cheap DDR5 RAM. Snag a 7950X with 128 GB of RAM and that should be it. The AM5 platform launches this Tuesday, budget is $300 motherboard, $250 for 2x32 GB DDR5 and $700 for the CPU.
Snag a current-but-discounted Zen 3/AM4 system like you have listed above - though I would personally go B550, you really don’t need the X570 board.
Upgrade CPU, RAM and GPU only. You will lose some performance due to the frankenbuild but we’re talking things like 2% longer to unzip stuff (if most zips open in 3 seconds, does it really matter that you open in 2.96s or 3s?).
If going with 2 or 3 you are esssentially saying you’re sitting AM5 out completely, though this is completely fine. You can always change your mind in 2025 or so, but it’s not a bad idea to wait for AM6 in your case.
Regarding some of your bullet points:
Yes, definitely.
Yes, the 6800 XT has a max power draw of ~300W and the 5950X has a max power draw of ~150W. That leaves around 300W headroom.
Take your pick, anything above 3600 MHz @ 18CL DDR4 memory is overpaying for that CPU platform.
This upgrade all depends if you run a 4k screen or not. If not, no point in upgrading yet. Invest in a 4k screen first. If you do own a 4k screen, the 6800 XT is a solid entry level buy for 4k, though I would wait until Q1 next year since the 7000 series is just around the corner.
Finally, I give you two PCPartpicker lists, one with your current system, one with the system you mentioned, and some suggestions on things to improve:
Linux workstation. Coding, running docker, and testing OS’s, with KVM. Was also trying to build something that will last. My 2700x for my needs has aged really well and I just want some power for when I do game every once in awhile.
I recently went 2700x to 5900x and the jump is pretty huge.
I repurposed my old cpu board and ram to replace my ancient nas, as I didn’t want to deal with UEFI upgrading the x470 board and breaking old cpu compatibility on it (and the nas was old gen hardware when I bought it in 2012 ).
I went x570 (also have a b550 system) on this board for more complete cpu support if I want to swap different gen ryzen into it in future (I have 4 ryzen CPUs of different gen here).
2700x to 5900x is almost a 2x leap in heavy multi core stuff.
Better IPC, clocks much better and 1.5x the cores.
In my opinion much better value than the 5950. And depending on workload very close performance wise. Try find out what your workload runs like on 5900 vs 5950 I’d suggest because there’s a big cost jump and not always a big performance gap.
Edit: If you want a lot of storage I’d suggest x570 over b550 also. More high speed m.2 and normally more sata ports. Pcie 4 on all slots. May be a consideration for dev workload. Trade off is generally b550 boards seem to have better memory topology and clock ram better.
B550 better/cheaper for gaming and x570 for general purpose and more workstation slant.
But the r9 chips have huge cache anyway so it’s worth the worse memory clocks for more storage in my opinion.
Seems like your upgrade is more a “want” than “need”. If I were you, I would postpone for three months. By then you’ll get cheaper prices for your original plan, or you might change your mind and decide to move to AM5.
If cost difference is not very essential, I would wait for the right time to move to AM5 since you’re replacing almost all essential parts. DDR5 would fit really well for a busy system running multiple VMs, not to mention the excellent performance uplift in Zen4. Also, AM5’s PCIe lanes and bandwidth are a substantial upgrade from the previous gen. Make sure you pick a nicely designed motherboard.
Here is my ideal AM5’s PCIe lane layout that you might want to look for. Though I’m not sure if vendors will produce such a board since it’ll cost them a bit more, and cannibalise sales of much pricier boards.
the only thing i would upgrade is the motherboard bios and the cpu.
then if i needed to the ram, jumping to 3600.
as for the gpu. amd is supposedly launching new cards, that will finally compete with nvidia.
if true then i would consider waiting a month or 2 (but no more) to see what they drop.
but in reality nvidia at the moment have the best offerings.
Since this system is mainly a workstation, i would probably only upgrade the cpu to a 5900X.
The Asus X470 Crosshair VII Hero board is totally fine it only needs a bios update.
I personally don´t really see that many reasons to upgrade the motherboard to x570.
Unless you really would like to utilize more m.2 storage.
However there are also pci-e add in cards to solve that problem.
This is true in theory; but given the lane setup on the X470 Crosshair VII Hero, in practice a few problems arise. Here is the schematic for the PCIe lanes for the X470 and a Zen 3 CPU:
As you can see, at best you can add two more PCIe 3.0 NVMe drives, and one 2.0 NVMe. That is if you agree to the x8 3.0 lane tradeoff on the GPU. Meanwhile the Aorus B550 allows for three m.2 version 3.0 out of the gate, but with similar tradeoffs if you want MOAR.
If you’re already ok with getting a new motherboard, I’d just wait for ryzen 7000 series or intel 13th gen. Same goes for the gpu, lovelace and rdna 3 are just a few months around the corner. AM4 is a dead platform at this point.
Came here to say this… Its a great time to get older used 5xxx series AM4 if OP is trying to buy a budget monster.
BUT if they intend to spend the next 5 years on this platform then I would say go Ryzen 7000 and wait for RDNA3.
One other note, the 6800xt’s are next to impossible to find and the 6900xt is a crazy deal atm I would get it if your buying today and not waiting until RDNA3 hits soon.
In my opinion a 5800X would be a good upgrade. Larger capacity drives is always a plus. You never really know where your software adventures will take you. Another option is 3600mhz dimms since the price is low.
The problem with AsRock in general is that they do not allow any negative reviews of their products. I would go with Gigabyte or MSI.
If you go that route, save yourself a few bucks and get the 5700X instead. Newegg had them for $200 a couple weeks ago, but they went pretty fast at that price.
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