I did a similar server upgrade recently. I upgraded my AM4 system to AM5, specifically as part of upgrades to enable better AV1 video encoding support (Ryzen 9xxx has AVX-512 which supposedly helps here ; Ryzen 7xxx does not have full AVX-512)
Since I was already pushing >64GB RAM used with CPU encoding I also decided to shoot for higher server memory, and settled on 128GB DDR5 ECC.
I have made a couple posts about it already, specifically about the memory choices;
The final parts list I settled on is here;
I will get a full formal build write up in the near future, once I 100% finalize the AV1 video encoding on it and get some preliminary benchmarks.
For reference, the old system is here Real Ultimate Plex Server by dk9 - RTX A4500, Fractal Design Define 7 ATX Mid Tower - PCPartPicker
I am really, really happy with the Ryzen 9900X for this. Its got a lot of power, compared to the “low power” build I was using in this server previously for the sake of just serving Plex.
I specifically chose the Ryzen 9900X over the 9950X for these reasons;
- the 9900X was a good deal at $380 USD (at the time) vs. the $550+ for 9950X
- I had serious concerns about the feasibility of air cooling the 9950X, considering my intention was to have long-running high intensity CPU tasks (AV1 encoding)
For my own purposes I feel like I made the right choice. The 9900X has a lower TDP. But even with the monster NH D15 G2 this CPU still hits 85C+ at full load (>5GHz with all the stock turbo boost settings). On my normal configuration, i run with all turbo boost / precision boost / boost over drive etc. disabled and CPU Eco Mode enabled from Bios. Still the 9900X jumps up around 4GHz in heavy tasks and hits >75C.
I am not entirely confident that the 9950X would be able to use this same cooler and remain <95C under full load. For reference, you can see Noctua’s compatibility list here for CPU air coolers
I really dont know how feasible this is. Note that I am using the new G2 model of the NH D15 ; this is even larger than the old NH D15, and is larger than the cooler you have listed in your OP parts list.
Given my experience so far with the Ryzen 9900X it really feels like we are at the limits of what is feasible with air cooling if even the G2 here comes close to 90C on full load. It makes me suspect that the 9950X might be at the cusp of requiring an AIO water cooler or similar. I would be very interested in hearing about other user’s experiences in this regard and if I were buying a 9950X I would research this heavily to ensure the beefiest air cooler really is sufficient for this CPU.
As for “why AM5”, I went with AM5 for these reasons, which may or may not include some of OP’s reasons but seemed to be valid considerations;
- Ryzen 9xxx has full AVX-512 (finally)
- AM5 allows ECC RAM on compatible consumer motherboards (look at Asus and Asrock especially)
- motherboards are in the $200-300 USD price range instead of $800+
- there were good deals on Ryzen 9xxx CPU’s available
I looked hard at previous generation Epyc configurations (you can find tons of quality listings online for Epyc 7xx2, 7xx3 CPU + motherboard + memory combos on eBay) but those dont have AVX-512 which I still wanted
I looked at consumer desktop Intel builds but those dont support ECC
I looked at Xeon builds but those had poor performance compared to Ryzen 9xxx for more money.
And in general with any “server” platform your motherboard options are severely limited and the boards cost a fortune ; things like “number of PCIe lanes” is also a massively overrated and largely irrelevant metrics to toss around as well because you will quickly find that the vast majority of motherboards do not even have enough PCIe slots to make use of the lanes, and the number of mobo models that do have enough PCIe slots to make use of all the lanes number in the single digits and still cost a fortune.
Ultimately the AM5 platform had the best combination of features, availability, and price:performance ratio. The struggle I had was finding a motherboard that had my desired PCIe slot config while still supporting ECC, which may be a serious consideration depending on your needs.