Intel i7 10700K or AMD Ryzen (3800x, 3900x, 5800x or 5900x) for new desktop rig?

Linux Discussion Linux Desktop
#1

I’m about to take the plunge and buy a new desktop PC to replace my aging i7-4790.

Does anyone use the i7-10700 or Ryzen 3800x, 3900x, 5800x or 5900x with Linux? If so, do you have any issues? Is everything running optimally? What motherboard and RAM do you use?

Any information/suggestions/advice would be really appreciated.

UPDATE: My use case is now work and play, so:

  • Compiling loads of C/C++ projects (can take 30 minutes to clean build some projects on my current i7-4790).
  • Building Android projects in Android Studio.
  • Building a whole bunch of large Java projects.
  • Compiling CUDA projects.
  • Screen recording (have a hardware capture card for this).
  • Some basic and light video editing (some videos are approx. 45 minutes).
  • Messing around with VMs/containers.
  • Light gaming (with Steam).

I’m not worried about getting something that’s overkill - I’m pretty sure I’ll find a way to use whatever I get :smile:

#2

I’ve personally had success with an AMD 2200G

I can’t give a great answer but…

If I was going with a newer AMD i’d recommend checking freedesktop.org to make sure they have a driver for the processor’s codename. My 2200G AMD for example was “Raven”.

https://people.freedesktop.org/~agd5f/radeon_ucode/

Their drivers come pre-installed in Fedora/CentOS/RHEL but you’ll need to do a manual install for other distros.

AMD also doesn’t have the Spectre vulnerability which requires all sorts of software mitigation. Intels will perform slower than what the stats imply depending on what you’re doing with them.

I don’t follow Hardware Addicts but if I did I could probably give you some great episodes for this:

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#3

You havent really specified a use case.

If its just for general desktop usage for web browsing, light gaming you could go for a lower end CPU, as @Ulfnic mentioned, the 2200G should be more than enough horsepower.

For gaming, the 3600 was the bang for buck choice for overall price to performance. The “current gen” (assuming you can get your hands on one that isnt unreasonably priced) should be the 5600X.

From here on if you require VMs or more processing power (for rendering or other process intensive task) you should get the highest one you can afford for the amount of cores your require.

With that said, you could also look for second hand processors. These days, it is the motherboards that literally burns out first before the CPUs so a last gen 3900X, (if you can get it for cheap) could be a good call.

One last thing to consider is the is the new Smart Access Memory, particularly if you intend to pair it with the new video Radeon video cards. Supposedly, Linux had it implemented even long before it was marketed by AMD, so I do not know if we could squeeze additional optimizations/performance from it.

EDIT: The Zen 3 version of the Threadripper could be released/announced soon so I do not know if even that is within your interest. If it is of interest to you, you could wait but I do not know if it will have the same availability issues as all current release.

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#4

Thanks! Have update my original post. To be honest, I probably don’t really “need” to upgrade, I just “want” to upgrade to something new. The rig I have at the moment (a z97 motherboard with the Intel i7-4790) works just fine, it just takes a while if I have to build a large project (especially if I’m watching a video on the attached TV and/or video conferencing with colleagues).

It would be great to experience fast build times for larger projects, and the ability to do multiple things without the machine stuttering (when all cores are running at 100%).

I’ve had this machine for around 6 or 7 years now, it works great and has served me well, but would be nice to get something faster/beefier/newer/shinier :slightly_smiling_face:

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