# Threadripper with RTX build



## aQi (Mar 31, 2019)

Hello techpowerup.

As per customer’s demand i am and will have to build this pc instead of lga3647.

So here we go...

Processor: Threadripper 2990wx
Motherboard: Asus (recomendation)
Ram: Gskill or Corsair (64gb 3200mhz)
Gpu: 2x GTX2080Ti
Storage: Samsung 970 pro NVME 512gb
Powersupply: Recommendation

I need some advises as per performance parts and vendors.

And definitely price to deal with (lowest)

And ofcorse if someone has these and willing to sale the customer does accept unless the hardware is not abused.


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## Wavetrex (Mar 31, 2019)

What would this monster be used for ?

Because 2990Wx is a very poor gaming CPU, and 2x *RTX* 2080Ti's are going to be used for.... ?


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## Deleted member 24505 (Mar 31, 2019)

Yikes that is going to be a £4000+ build


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## Caring1 (Mar 31, 2019)

Unless he needs all those cores, a 2950wx costs a lot less and has heaps of cores still, as well as a higher boost clock.


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## Vayra86 (Mar 31, 2019)

"As per customers demand" guys.

Just build it and profit. Fools and money will be parted...

But really, this should be going back to the drawing board, it reads as that typical uninformed rich kid PC.


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## HTC (Mar 31, 2019)

Wavetrex said:


> What would this monster be used for ?
> 
> Because 2990Wx is a very poor *gaming CPU*, and 2x *RTX* 2080Ti's are going to be used for.... ?



Why are you assuming this build is intended for gaming? Because of the two 2080Ti's? Has it occurred to you this build's requestor has a need for two such GPUs for other reasons?

I'll give you an example: fellow TPUer @xkm1948 uses his 2080Ti for his bioinformatic work.

As the saying goes, "assumption is the mother of all fvck-ups".

EDIT

@ OP:

- be careful with the RAM you end up choosing: make sure it's in whatever board's QVL you end up getting and, even then, odds are you'll have to run it @ lower-then-rated-spec speeds due to it being 64 GB.
- this dude has @ least *SEVEN* TR builds and AFAIK all of them use AsRock Taichi x399 board. That includes @ least one TR 2990WX. So long as the build's requestor doesn't plan on upgrading the CPU later to one with even more cores (assuming they'll exist) due to possible issues with the VRMs, this board should work quite well.
- no mention of the planned CPU cooling. According to this review, the Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 is the *best air cooler* for this platform.


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## EarthDog (Mar 31, 2019)

You're building this for a customer...but need advice to do so? What kind of company are you running?

Anyway, we need to know the uses for this machine. As was pointed out earlier, unless your buyer can use all the cores and threads, it's a waste of money. It doesnt game as well as their much cheaper counterparts. With sli you want a fast cpu with high clockspeeds....TR isnt that. 



HTC said:


> Why are you assuming this build is intended for gaming?


Because it's a fair assumption considering how many people game versus uses gpus to crunch at home. I mean, you are right, there are other uses...but there isnt a need to look crooked at someone who suggests gaming...its a primary use.


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## Bones (Mar 31, 2019)

Vayra86 said:


> "As per customers demand" guys.
> 
> Just build it and profit. Fools and money will be parted...



Fool or not, that's not the OP's problem - The customer as it's said is always right so if they have the money, just build it.



Vayra86 said:


> But really, this should be going back to the drawing board, it reads as that typical uninformed rich kid PC.



Could well be but again, it's not the OP's problem.
If the customer specifically said "I want this and that" they should get it as long as they pony up for the parts.

The following however would be a gray area:
If the customer said "I want it to do this and that" but the actual parts selection was left up to the OP based on what they expect from the build then I'd have to say once the OP has a list of components for the build go over the parts list with the customer, explain things and the options available per cost of it all and let them make the final decision on what's purchased. In that case the research of it all is on the OP and they should come up with a few variants parts-wise and price-wise of the final build to present to the customer for going over.

This way the OP isn't at fault for what was chosen for it, cost to build or whatever else related to purchasing it all.


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## Vayra86 (Mar 31, 2019)

Bones said:


> Fool or not, that's not the OP's problem - The customer as it's said is always right so if they have the money, just build it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Absolutely 100% agree but there are examples where good advice is valued highly by customers and is reason to come back. That would certainly apply here if we consider the CPU choice, unless the customer has a very specific use case for it. Its the worst possible choice really at the highest possible cost.


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## Solaris17 (Mar 31, 2019)

What website do you plan to buy from @Aqeel Shahzad ?


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## Bones (Mar 31, 2019)

Vayra86 said:


> Absolutely 100% agree but there are examples where good advice is valued highly by customers and is reason to come back. That would certainly apply here if we consider the CPU choice, unless the customer has a very specific use case for it. Its the worst possible choice really at the highest possible cost.



That's why I also said what was below - If the customer themselves dropped the parts list into the OP's lap and said "Build it" that's certainly not on the OP, he would be doing the job as requested.

If the customer said they had a certain use in mind and wanted it to be something based on a TR build running a 2990 _or something similar_ then that does open up options.

I learned a long time ago that if you present things to the customer and just go over it with them, showing them options that may not be quite as expensive most will at least listen and consider. I also agree to say some of the things may be/are overkill for a given useage then you present something cheaper and not as extreme, again most of the time they will listen.

However you will eventually get the one that will tell you "If I wanted a 24 core I would have said 24 core - I said 32 core and that's what I expect" so.....
If that's the case chances are they already know it's gonna cost and don't really care about the rest _as long as they get what *they* want_. That's been my experience with it, some folks just don't care about the cost as long as they get what _they _want.
That goes right back to "The customer is always right" if so.

You still want to present them with the cost of it all to make sure they understand so you're not blamed if it's not what the customer expected cost-wise.

Since this has kinda gone off topic I'll make these two suggestions. 
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813119186
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813119026
The Strix is certainly cheaper yet still gives plenty of features to use. 
The Alpha is really more of an overclocker's board, fully capable of pushing one yet still has alot of features itself. 

If the customer wants it just for features and useability then the Strix is the one. 
If they plan on pushing the chip along the way then the Alpha would be it if anything.


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## EarthDog (Mar 31, 2019)

I see the OP thanked us......no reply as to use..etc..


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## cdawall (Mar 31, 2019)

There are better options than Asus for threadripper especially when it comes to the 2990WX. Would suggest the MSI MEG over it as the VRM is substantially better.


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## aQi (Apr 1, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> I see the OP thanked us......no reply as to use..etc..



Wait a while iv got the whole story summed up. I will post here later on.


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## EarthDog (Apr 1, 2019)

We're waiting with bated breath!


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## aQi (Apr 1, 2019)

Okay now that i have read all the post i will definitely want to tell i never built an amd system and there is no channel or distributers over here in my country. Intel is dominant and is always recommended.
Regardless still people buy either used or import hardware.
This build is put forward by a realiable customer Basically deals in H265 encoding. File server and casual gaming.

I have put forward some options but he is not interested iv also wanted him to consider Asus Dominus Extreme+Xeon W3175X for better results over Threadripper. But no he says he wants to settle with it.

This morning i got a call for quad SLI recomendation although Two 2080ti were more then enough to handle his 4k gaming.

I need to know more about the boards ? Asus Zenith Extreme is a better option no ?


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## EarthDog (Apr 1, 2019)

I don't think Quad-SLI exists anymore unless it is two (old) dual GPU video cards.

Is the Zenith Extm a better option as in what? What does your customer NEED? You as the seller, need to be asking the person these questions and looking up boards that fit his needs. This is a waste of time for us being a intermediary right now as we have no idea what the client's requirements are. We are 17 posts in and just now know he does encoding and casual gaming. How many SATA ports? M.2? USB 3.1 G2? etc...

Hard to help with such little information...


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## 64K (Apr 1, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> I don't think Quad-SLI exists anymore unless it is two (old) dual GPU video cards.
> 
> Better option as in what? What does your customer NEED? You as the seller, need to be asking the person these questions and looking up boards that fit his needs. This is a waste of time for us being a intermediary right now as we have no idea what the client's requirements are. We are 17 posts in and NOW know he does encoding and casual gaming. How many SATA ports? M.2? USB 3.1 G2? etc...
> 
> Hard to help without any information...



Even back in the day when Quad SLI was supported it was a big hassle to get working properly. These days even 2 cards in SLI is questionable as a lot of Developers have stopped supporting SLI. Too few gamers use it for Developers to consider it worth their time to bother with anymore.


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## EarthDog (Apr 1, 2019)

No doubt. Scaling was typically terrible when it was en vogue. Now... no way would I do that even if it worked. 

But yeah, OP needs to get himself together here and see what the heck his customer wants. Just buying the highest of high end motherboards isn't the answer... though this is clearly a more money than sense build so that needs to be kept in mind.


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## 15th Warlock (Apr 1, 2019)

Aqeel Shahzad said:


> Okay now that i have read all the post i will definitely want to tell i never built an amd system and there is no channel or distributers over here in my country. Intel is dominant and is always recommended.
> Regardless still people buy either used or import hardware.
> This build is put forward by a realiable customer Basically deals in H265 encoding. File server and casual gaming.
> 
> ...



Quad SLI for gaming? Good luck even enabling dual SLI for current games, been waiting for SLI profiles for multiple current games, with no real support from major studios, SLI is going the way of the dodo.

As  a 2080 Ti owner, I can tell you one card is enough for maxed out settings gaming at 4K. I wish I could recommend SLI, I've been an advocate for it for many years, but yeah, from personal experience I can't vouch for it anymore.

All my SLI systems run non supported games way worse when I enable two cards, as opposed to using a single card.

Unless you're going for Max profit from this build for your client, you should really do him a favor and advise him against SLI....


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## Vayra86 (Apr 2, 2019)

Better yet, direct him to this forum topic and I'll slap him in the face for you.


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## Chomiq (Apr 2, 2019)

Vayra86 said:


> Better yet, direct him to this forum topic and I'll slap him in the face for you.


Hush, hush, you don't want his customer to find out that his pro pc builder gets build advice on TPU. You might put Aqeel out of business.


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## Vayra86 (Apr 2, 2019)

Chomiq said:


> Hush, hush, you don't want his customer to find out that his pro pc builder gets build advice on TPU. You might put Aqeel out of business.



They call that 'a company backed by a powerful community'


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## Komshija (Apr 2, 2019)

It depends what for is this potential customer going to use such PC.

I suspect (if this story is somehow real) that it's some spoiled and rich brat with no hardware knowledge spending dad's or mom's money for a "gaming" PC. Despite this might sound awful to some, but if this is the case, rip him/her off as much as possible. Vayra86 mentioned famous proverb about fool and his money.   The thing is that usually such individuals don't inform properly prior to purchase and base their knowledge on the most expensive products they can find. Even more, if you try recommending them that eg. TR 2950X + single RTX 2080TI + 32GB RAM or i9 9900X + single RTX 2080 Ti + 32 GB RAM (both of which would be a monster 4K gaming machines) are better and much cheaper solutions, they might think that you want to sc**w them up and you'll have a very hard time convincing them otherwise.
In such case I would recommend Seasonic Prime Ultra Titanium 1000W PSU and Asus ROG Zenith Extreme MOBO.

However, if this is someone who wants a proper 4K gaming PC and if such individual isn't spoiled like some "famous" YT/insta "influencers", be reasonable and suggest Ryzen TR 2950X (cheaper and faster than i9 9900X), Asrock X399 Phantom Gaming 6, iGame/MSI/Gainward/Palit RTX 2080 Ti, 32 GB G.Skill DDR4 and FSP Hydro G 750W PSU.


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## SoNic67 (Apr 2, 2019)

Bones said:


> Fool or not, that's not the OP's problem - The customer as it's said is always right so if they have the money, just build it.
> 
> Could well be but again, it's not the OP's problem.
> If the customer specifically said "I want this and that" they should get it as long as they pony up for the parts.



Wrong. As a business you have to inform the customer what will not work and why, it's part of the service you provide.

Example: If you go with 4 spare tires (doughnuts) to the tire shop and tell them to install them on your car, they are required to tell you that's a bad idea and if it is even legal (most places is not). After that, they will do what you want, but they informed you. Sometimes they even make you initial a piece of paper that they did so.



Aqeel Shahzad said:


> This build is put forward by a realiable customer Basically deals in H265 encoding. File server and casual gaming.
> I have put forward some options but he is not interested iv also wanted him to consider Asus Dominus Extreme+Xeon W3175X for better results over Threadripper. But no he says he wants to settle with it.


H265 encoding cannot use multiple video cards. SLI or not, the encoding will use either the CPU (in which case a dual socket Intel Xeon will be a better option, Intel just works faster in video encoding) or, if he has a software that can do encoding in GPU, will use the hardware nvenc SIP core inside of ONE of those video cards. That SIP core is the same over the whole range of cards, has nothing to do with the other CUDA or RTX cores, so a 2080TI won't encode faster than a 2060 or even a 1660. However, not all video encoding software supports hardware encoding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_NVENC#Sixth_generation,_Turing_TU10x/TU11x

Mixing "file server" with "casual gaming" is a bad idea. Is that file server working just intermittently?
Also, "casual gaming" does not require one 2080Ti. More less 2 or 4 of those.

I think is just a case of spoiled kid spending other people money (parents).


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## aQi (Apr 3, 2019)

Likewise and all of you i have the same opinion this guys comes with a sack of money and do not know things rationally.
Traditionally i never built an amd but sure will do so as i told the customer that i will thats why i put up this thread just to know where this leads and how on par will the performance would end up.
The so called reasonable answer provided to me by the customer was the core count TR has. Yet i highly doubt encodings and procossings with the emergance of 28core W3175X.
Ofcorse thats expensive but i have already provided him with reasonable options for the sake of performance and price ratio.
Yet he just wanted the hardware anyway. Even though im not sure why he is doing SLI with 2080ti and not looking towards Titan RTX.
Boy this isnt even fun building as its done with Intel.
ThreadRipper 2990wx
Asus Zenith Extreme x399
Samsung 970 pro 512gb
Asus Strix RTX 2080 ti OC 11gb x2

This has been confirmed by me as per recommendations. As he just wanted the hardware but i need to provide the best in same hardware specified.

For PSU i can go for seasonic ? Or better provide him with evga as i use evga gfx psu motherboards and all ??


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## SoNic67 (Apr 3, 2019)

And he spends $ on two 2080Ti GPU but the SSD is a measly 512GB? I have two 1TB ones in my system and only one 1080 as GPU...


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## EarthDog (Apr 3, 2019)

I would get a 512GB for OS etc and 1TB for storage. Both NVMe SSD.

For PSU, I mean F it right? Grab a Seasonic Prime - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151195

I'd keep around 1000W for this guy with 3 250W parts. If he plans to overclock 1.3KW - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817151214


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## Gasaraki (Apr 3, 2019)

Vayra86 said:


> They call that 'a company backed by a powerful community'



We should get paid.

If that's what he wants go all out, who cares. Get a Seasonic 1200W Platinum, 2x  2TB Samsung SSD or 2x 980GB Intel Optane, 2x $1500 (USD) 2080Ti's and nvLink them. Add 3x 144Hz 4K monitors. etc.


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## thebluebumblebee (Apr 3, 2019)

The problem with just doing what the customer wants is that when its performance does not measure up to expectations, the customer will come back and blame you - _you_ must have done something wrong.  Anything above the 1950X is ill advised for a Windows desktop system.  You need Linux to really use all those cores/threads with the "WX" Threadrippers.
Windows 10 vs. Linux Performance On AMD Threadripper 2990WX


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## SoNic67 (Apr 3, 2019)

Hmm, all those tests are done with software that is specifically designed for Linux and crosscompiled for Windows. The optimizations are not at the same level, so I will take that info with caution.


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## Bones (Apr 3, 2019)

SoNic67 said:


> Wrong. As a business you have to inform the customer what will not work and why, it's part of the service you provide.
> 
> Example: If you go with 4 spare tires (doughnuts) to the tire shop and tell them to install them on your car, they are required to tell you that's a bad idea and if it is even legal (most places is not). After that, they will do what you want, but they informed you. Sometimes they even make you initial a piece of paper that they did so.



No - Right.
That's a safety/reliability issue you refer to with the dinkys on a vehicle, that being affected directly by law with the potential of the worst to happen.
Building a PC is of an entirely different context.

Note that in the post I made below the first one that I did say go over the build with the customer, explaining things and just lay it all out for them.

However if the customer still tells you "I want this", that's what they want and are paying for in the end - At that point just build it and build it right, you've fulfilled your responsibility of informing them of pros and cons.


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## thebluebumblebee (Apr 3, 2019)

SoNic67 said:


> Hmm, all those tests are done with software that is specifically designed for Linux and crosscompiled for Windows. The optimizations are not at the same level, so I will take that info with caution.


I'm getting the feeling that you think I have something against AMD, and that's just not true.
Okay, how about Puget System's look at Photoshop performance? Photoshop CC 2019 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD vs Mac


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## xkm1948 (Apr 3, 2019)

ASUS X399 offering is shit. Really bad VRM and NOT suited for 2990WX like at all. MSI MEG X399 or Gigabyte DESIGNARE EX X399 are the only 2 I would recommend.


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## Vayra86 (Apr 3, 2019)

Aqeel Shahzad said:


> Likewise and all of you i have the same opinion this guys comes with a sack of money and do not know things rationally.
> Traditionally i never built an amd but sure will do so as i told the customer that i will thats why i put up this thread just to know where this leads and how on par will the performance would end up.
> The so called reasonable answer provided to me by the customer was the core count TR has. Yet i highly doubt encodings and procossings with the emergance of 28core W3175X.
> Ofcorse thats expensive but i have already provided him with reasonable options for the sake of performance and price ratio.
> ...



In all fairness, just build precisely what he asks. Make sure you include the quad SLI as well, provide the bridges, and let him discover there isn't any support. Have some fun building it 

Also in this case I'd recommend a *dual* system, certainly looks like a requirement for casual gaming on one side and encoding on the other. There are actually cases that accomodate that, too


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## SoNic67 (Apr 3, 2019)

thebluebumblebee said:


> I'm getting the feeling that you think I have something against AMD, and that's just not true.
> Okay, how about Puget System's look at Photoshop performance? Photoshop CC 2019 CPU Roundup: Intel vs AMD vs Mac


My point was for Linux vs Windows comparation.
There are numerous examples of software that is designed for Windows and scales well with number of cores. And other examples of NLE editors that work better with Intel CPUs.
OpenGL is one of the places where AMD shines... and PS is still a Mac/OpenGL legacy software. However, Intel is top performer there too, so I don't get your point.
My point for this thread is that the above system seems very unbalanced and without knowing what will be used for, we can't extrapolate.


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## aQi (Apr 3, 2019)

Thought of editing the thread to elaborate more. So the customer really did not want any other options i gave him and has a stright head towards TR. 
Sorry i forgot to mention the 512gb 970 pro is just for OS. Day before yesterday he asked for 4x 2tb Sata SSD and then changed his mind over to 4x 4tb normal sata harddrives. So basically that option is still on hold.

Moreover i would like to know for the cooling of this cpu ? Coolermaster’s wraith is a basic passive option the way i see it. Cpu with such TDP must and should be running with water cooler.

And then if Asus Zenith is not a good option then what will be even the best there is ? 

And sorry guys the person is never interested in overclocking.

And another thing people (end user) have more knowledge towards their products, pros and cons  for what they should buy. Personally i dont think TR should be an option if you are looking just for the sake of core count. 


You know what guys the least thing i was worried about has emerged.
Warrenty claim issues.

No local warrenty provision other then personal or international.

Im not in favor of personal and international takes a really long while.

Any suggestions??


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## EarthDog (Apr 3, 2019)

Tell him its all on him. You'll ensure its built properly and works. That's it.


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## aQi (Apr 3, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> Tell him its all on him. You'll ensure its built properly and works. That's it.



Earth! Then there is no point building the system for him. I know this person, he will come crying to me. And what else i can do? I am not an AMD kinda guy. But the thing is, i do import stuff where most people refrain due to custom duties/taxes etc. Thats why he came to me in the first place and tells me straight “aqi bro what do you think of amd ? “ 
Said: Amd is already on its feet head to head with intel. 
So he says great here is what i need......


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## EarthDog (Apr 3, 2019)

This is why i got out of the business of building PCs for people over a decade ago. Support. I can't stand dealing with the general populous and their lack of knowledge. I learned early that users need to go through the companies themselves after the first 30 days. 

What else can you do? Build enough profit into the build itself to be his support. Or give him a support contract for a year for $xxxx...

Brotha, we can't do all of the thinking for you... maybe building PCs isn't for you?


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## aQi (Apr 4, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> This is why i got out of the business of building PCs for people over a decade ago. Support. I can't stand dealing with the general populous and their lack of knowledge. I learned early that users need to go through the companies themselves after the first 30 days.
> 
> What else can you do? Build enough profit into the build itself to be his support. Or give him a support contract for a year for $xxxx...
> 
> Brotha, we can't do all of the thinking for you... maybe building PCs isn't for you?




Not in the mood to quit bro. I do back and forth depending on other priorities. People just keep draging me back into this once in a while and when im free its all about PCs and modding.

Im just saying that customer these days have bright knowledge yet the confusion is of selection. There are so many options to chose from. There was a time with limited hardware and no such market segmants. Anyways Amd was never my taste yet i am trying to offer services as per the customer needs.


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## MrPerforations (Apr 4, 2019)

EVGA psu is the only choice, 10 year warranty.


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## cdawall (Apr 4, 2019)

MrPerforations said:


> EVGA psu is the only choice, 10 year warranty.



Several companies offer that same warranty with equal and better competing products.


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## R-T-B (May 8, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> You're building this for a customer...but need advice to do so? What kind of company are you running?



My thoughts exactly.

If you need advice on this...  maybe wrong business to jump into?  No offense intended.


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## Vlada011 (May 8, 2019)

cdawall said:


> Several companies offer that same warranty with equal and better competing products.



EVGA PSUs are one of best selling last 5 years.

Why ASUS Zenith is not good option? You must research how Threadripper 2990 work in software you plan to use.
That's processor for serious work, some softwares simply can't see all of his cores and he lose advantage.
Intel Xeon with 28 cores is so expensive that profit from work should be very nice to justify such processor.

I believe 2950X is good choice.
ASUS Zenith motherboard.
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB is better choice than 512GB faster PRO.
Size is bigger difference and more important than speed.
Performance of bigger models are better than smaller and they are closer to PRO then.

Memory should be 3200MHz, but no QVL 64GB. 
Never mind, CORSAIR Dominator Platinum or GSkill Trident Z kits will work nice.
Maybe you could save money if you don't need RGB. But Dominator Platinum RGB is extremely nice kit.
4x 16GB modules. CMT64GXM4C3200C16

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820236519 

God I like that kit.

I serious advice you to use 1TB M.2.
We should remove easy from HDD. 
I have 1TB M.2 NVme, 1TB SATA III SSD, 120 GB SATA III SSD and 2TB WD Black. I bought 1TB storage devices to abandon HDD.
WD Black is only component I hear in my computer. And I don't know why I not remove him out, because 850 EVO 1TB is empty literary.
I must be damned to keep WD Black 2TB mechanical drive only because storage to annoy me.


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## er557 (May 8, 2019)

that ram kit cas latency seems a bit high, I wonder what it is in 2133mhz, which is applicable to my system. I already snagged a similar 2666mhz kit quite some time ago from amazon used warehouse, @500$, but it's timings were 15-15-15-35


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