Looking for a a new low power trio for my home studio

[Fif23]

Hi there folks!

So I am looking for a new triad to replalce my 8700k/h370/16gb ddr3.

Primary use - home audio recording, video and audio editing (I have an OK RTX 2080 that does the job fine) and office work.
Also a plex server with multiple 20TB drives, so 24/7 on.

I am seeing those Ryzen 7's have 65W which is half the intels, not bad! But is it a good buy?
I could also go the normal way and get an I7 14700, but that's 130W.

Budget wise, as you can see I like to keep my computers for a long time, so anything that will likely last is OK with me, minus any gaming specific stuff I will not use.

Thanks!

 

[MCH170]

CPU TDPs are more like "guidelines" but considering it will be running 24/7 I would go with AMD.

My choice in your situation would be the R7 7700X with a B650 motherboard (most have at least 4 sata connectors for your drives). I would avoid Zen5 because B650E motherboards (out of the box compatibility with Zen5) cost 80-90% more. If you want to upgrade down the road, you can flash the latest bios, sell your 7700X and put in a newer CPU from AMD.

 

[Endymio]

I am seeing those Ryzen 7's have 65W which is half the intels, not bad! But is it a good buy?

Under load, AMD consumes considerably less power, but at idle, Intel often wins. For AV encoding, Intel is the clear performance winner; for gaming, AMD generally wins.

A power comparison chart here:
Ryzen vs Intel's idle power consumption (whole system) : r/Amd (reddit.com)

Some AV benchmarks here:
Intel Core i9-13900K - Media Encoding | TechPowerUp

 

[unwind-protect]

Every modern PC is overkill for recording unless you are Hans Zimmer.

Power-wise Intel still idles lower than AMD. But they take more under load.

I give AMD the edge because most CPU/mainboard combos support ECC memory and because I don't want to deal with E-cores.

 

[dgianstefani]

Arrow lake 265K, 32/64 7200 DDR5, passive ATX 3/3.1 PSU.

All modern CPUs are the same silicon. If you want to run cool and quiet, power limit.

 

[Caring1]

Under load, AMD consumes considerably less power, but at idle, Intel often wins. For AV encoding, Intel is the clear performance winner; for gaming, AMD generally wins.

A power comparison chart here:
Ryzen vs Intel's idle power consumption (whole system) : r/Amd (reddit.com)

Some AV benchmarks here:
Intel Core i9-13900K - Media Encoding | TechPowerUp

Why not an AMD CPU for multi tasking and gaming, and an Intel GPU for encoding and gaming.

 

[Fif23]

Thanks very much for your responses!
So if the TDP isn't such a clear cut between them, then let's turn to otheer factors.

What are some of the best used CPU/chipset deals to hunt for now? And we'll just go by that. Or do you absolutely recommend going with 2024 silicone for these two.
I could get a 12700k from 2-3 years ago, for about 150USD cheapter what the 14k costs, but is that a wise call?

 

[SL2]

What are some of the best used CPU/chipset deals to hunt for now?

All I can say about boards is that you definitely don't need a new 800 series motherboard if you want to buy an AM5 CPU, the 600 boards are just as fine, because they're almost the same. (The B840 is just an insult to customers, a FUD turned into a product if you will, as it should've been called A820 or never released at all.)

Just to clarify, you're looking for 1: low power draw at all times primarily because of $, it's not about 2: keeping it low noise? Because the latter doesn't dictate CPU choice as strictly as the former. You can have a beefy CPU that ramps up performance when you need it, but when you don't it uses about the same as a 65 W model the rest of the time running.

A thought: keep the old one for plex alone, and build a new one for your other non-server needs. There are pros and cons either way, of course.

 

[Fif23]

Good to know about the chipset! @SL2

So the way I see it for similar costs (400-500$ depending if used or new) I can get:
1. B600s Mini ITX Asus + 7700
2. B760 Mini ITX Asus + 12700k

Out of the two, which would you go for for 24hr on low power? They will have a 2080 on them, and air-cooled.

 

[SL2]

Out of the two, which would you go for for 24hr on low power? They will have a 2080 on them, and air-cooled.

One will draw 25 W more than the other in idle. The other will draw less during load. Performance about the same in applications.

I'd go for AMD, mostly because of the (possibly irrational) appeal of being able to upgrade to a future CPU model.

 

[Fif23]

Great charts! Intel it is.
And with regards to 12700 vs 14700, will I even feel the difference with the tasks that I outlined?

Oh and one more thing, what am I gaining with a Z chipset vs the B chipset that is to do with studio/plex applications? Or is it just OC abilities.

 

[SL2]

Great charts! Intel it is.
And with regards to 12700 vs 14700, will I even feel the difference with the tasks that I outlined?

I'm not sure, but I don't think so. It's down to how much the CPU actually works at closer to 100% for prolonged times.

The 14700K does run hotter and uses more power tho.

Oh and one more thing, what am I gaining with a Z chipset vs the B chipset that is to do with studio/plex applications? Or is it just OC abilities.

A thinner wallet?

 

[Fif23]

Got it! Very nice.
So looks like I'm settled, at least until Qualcomm starts making desktop chips

Thanks much!

 

[SL2]

Also a plex server with multiple 20TB drives, so 24/7 on.

HOW MANY? Connected directly to the motherboard?

Remember that in the modern days of M.2 SSD's, the number of SATA ports, especially on Mini-ITX, has been reduced.

Some LGA1700 boards have only 2 SATA ports, many have 4 (same for AM4/5), and I see one expensive server-style with 5.

For AM4 there's a €500 board with 8.

If you need more than 4 I'd guess you need to go for µATX.

µATX would probably be cheaper, but you'd need a new case I guess, no biggie.

 

[AleXXX666]

Every modern PC is overkill for recording unless you are Hans Zimmer.

Power-wise Intel still idles lower than AMD. But they take more under load.

I give AMD the edge because most CPU/mainboard combos support ECC memory and because I don't want to deal with E-cores.

AMD 8000 series has Zen4c - it's KINDDA "e-waste" cores.

Thanks very much for your responses!
So if the TDP isn't such a clear cut between them, then let's turn to otheer factors.

What are some of the best used CPU/chipset deals to hunt for now? And we'll just go by that. Or do you absolutely recommend going with 2024 silicone for these two.
I could get a 12700k from 2-3 years ago, for about 150USD cheapter what the 14k costs, but is that a wise call?

I may be dumb, but do you need high clocks or more cores? Good multitasking performance from used CPU could be Ryzen 5900X, for example... a 12700K is pretty OK, remember, 13/14 gen. i7 could potentially have "issues", which must be fixed, etc. etc.. So 12700K is safer way IMO!

 

[SL2]

AMD 8000 series has Zen4c - it's KINDDA "e-waste" cores.

Oh, a completely unrelated Intel/AMD bashing party no one asked for about a CPU type no one even brought up here, can I join?

Unlike Intel Economy™ cores, Zen4C has the same IPC as Zen4, only lower clocked, so not really any waste there.

You're talking about the Ryzen 8400F/G and 8500F/G. The 8600G and 8700F/G have no Zen4C cores.

 

[nomdeplume]

So I am looking for a new triad to replalce my 8700k/h370/16gb ddr3.

Abbreviating conversation thus far other than tackling point below.

Sales, there are none worth mentioning right now. Especially on 13/14 gen Intel if you intend to run DDR5. Massive discounts on 12th gen are built into the price but likely to go even lower near release of Core Ultra. If you want a deal I'd be ready to move fast.

Also, no H boards for LGA 1700. None despite issuing the chipset. This drastically cut into the amount of mobo worth owning. Vast majority are low end B or Z boards with the latter being categorically the least desirable. Especially considering the substantial cost. As a very happy H370 owner I would suggest focusing more on finding a mobo than cpu for 12th-14th gen if going that route. I will suggest that a Z board with built in DAC might be your best target due to focusing on something other than flash gaming features or overclocking.

Arrow lake 265K, 32/64 7200 DDR5, passive ATX 3/3.1 PSU.

All modern CPUs are the same silicon. If you want to run cool and quiet, power limit.

You always, always, sell up to the latest thing regardless of whether it has been released or not.

In theory only. This is the second refresh of LGA 1700, has a high likelihood of being single gen using this chipset, appears to be following Nvidia's "efficiency" that resulted in cliff face power draw jumps, and finally we have zero formative proof of performance or any other characteristic that would make it a hard recommendation.

 

[Ruru]

Arrow lake 265K, 32/64 7200 DDR5, passive ATX 3/3.1 PSU.

All modern CPUs are the same silicon. If you want to run cool and quiet, power limit.

Arrows aren't even out yet so it's kinda pointless to recommend them

 

[dgianstefani]

Arrows aren't even out yet so it's kinda pointless to recommend them

It isn't though.

Would you recommend Zen 5 for gaming two weeks before Zen 5 X3D releases?

Or tell someone to buy a 4090 in late 2024 on the eve of RTX 50xx?

OP's concern is power efficiency, which is the primary focus of ARL.

 

[SL2]

You always, always, sell up to the latest thing regardless of whether it has been released or not.

In theory only. This is the second refresh of LGA 1700, has a high likelihood of being single gen using this chipset, appears to be following Nvidia's "efficiency" that resulted in cliff face power draw jumps, and finally we have zero formative proof of performance or any other characteristic that would make it a hard recommendation.

True. Besides, a brand new platform with seemingly few pro's for the OP will only drive up cost (well besides the possibly lower idle power draw, but that's a wild guess). Alder is tried and true, and good prices.

No staff member should ever suggest unlaunched/paper launched/untested platforms (too many question marks), or newly relesased platforms (cost). It's irresponsible IMO, because I've yet to find out a reason to do a guinea pig launch day/week/month purchase, save for bragging rights.

Intel's own presentation shows them set to PL1 = PL2 = 250 W, not really what we wanted to see I guess. And I if Arrow didn't need that high setting, why set it that high anyway? It only looks bad and causes FUD.

 

[dgianstefani]

True. Besides, a brand new platform with seemingly few pro's for the OP will only drive up cost (well besides the possibly lower idle power draw, but that's a wild guess). Alder is tried and true, and good prices.

No staff member should ever suggest unlaunched/paper launched/untested platforms (too many question marks), or newly relesased platforms (cost). It's irresponsible IMO, because I've yet to find out a reason to do a guinea pig launch day/week/month purchase, save for bragging rights.

Intel's own presentation shows them set to PL1 = PL2 = 250 W, not really what we wanted to see I guess. And I if Arrow didn't need that high setting, why set it that high anyway? It only looks bad and causes FUD.

Lets come back to this discussion after it releases and see who was right. It uses the same cores as Lunar Lake, known for class leading efficiency, even compared against ARM CPUs, but without the 4+4 limitation that hindered MT performance/efficiency compared to the competition which had twice or 3x the cores (more cores almost always more efficient at MT tasks than fewer cores).

 

[Ruru]

It isn't though.

Would you recommend Zen 5 for gaming two weeks before Zen 5 X3D releases?

Or tell someone to buy a 4090 in late 2024 on the eve of RTX 50xx?

OP's concern is power efficiency, which is the primary focus of ARL.

Nope. I'd never recommend over a 1000EUR GPU for anyone.

edit: I also wouldn't recommend the Intel selfdesctructive CPUs for anyone, but 7700X is still a good buy if it's a) for a budget system or b) not for a gaming rig, due its efficiency and price/performance.

 

[dgianstefani]

Nope. I'd never recommend over a 1000EUR GPU for anyone.

Do you understand conditional hypotheses?

 

[nomdeplume]

I felt the points I made had topical relevance outside the nod at selling unproven products. Any consumer should be wary.

Finding the correct mobo is going to be harder than a cpu.

 

[Ruru]

Do you understand conditional hypotheses?

I got your point and I hope you got mine.