How 'future proof' s the 3900X

[Lord Flashheart]

Hi all

I have various computers:

Gaming machine: MSI B450 tomahawk , 32GB DDR4 3200 , 3600X CPU GTX 1080 ti, Windows 10
General use machine: Z77 extreme 6 motherboard, i7-3770k CPU, 16MB DR3 1600, Ubuntu OS
NAS: Z77-D3H-MVP motherboard, 32GB DDR3 , i5-3470 CPU, 16TB storage - Freenas OS
Router: A decade old laptop with an old i5 + 4GB memory - PFsense OS


It is a variety of hardware and not too compatible with each other and would like to change that.
I would like the option to be able to swap around components when needed.

So if I got a 3900X, it would go in the gaming machine. The i7-3770k would go into the NAS to run a few virtual machines. The NAS would be replaced with AM4 compatible components at some point, as well as replacing the laptop router.
.As for the 3600X, find a suitable motherboard & some cheap memory to shove in the Ubuntu linux machine.

Any Ryzen 4000 processors will not be an option due to the recent decision of AMD to limit compatibility and that is what I want.
It means lots of choice in the second hand market also if a component/machine is in need of replacing.

So it basically hinges on how long the 3900X would be a greet CPU for gaming to make it worth spending the cash.
As for games - long term are more and more cores the way to go and single core performance not so much?
So a 12 core/24 'processor' machine with a big CPU cache last a very long time as a gaming machine?

Is the trend for game engines to use more and more cores efficiently?
Are there any specific websites on this matter?

Useful & intelligent responses appreciated.

Useless & ill informed responses not so much.

[mimizukari]

if you want futureproof go 3950x or i9-10940x, 3900x is low-end of the "futureproofing"

[Lord Flashheart]

Originally posted by Kurumi Tokisaki:

if you want futureproof go 3950x or i9-10940x, 3900x is low-end of the "futureproofing"

3950x is not worth it as I see it. It will be a very long time before 16 cores/ 32 threads will be a requirement for gaming. The i9 is not AM4 compaticble which is what I want for all my hardware.

[r.linder]

If you have no heavily multi-threaded workloads that would warrant a 12-core CPU, forget about it. Ryzen 9 is an awful value for gaming in general and by time 12 cores are useful for gaming, the 3900X will be a weak 12-core CPU anyway, and the dual chiplet system of Ryzen 9 (2 CCDs, half of the cores/threads per CCD) adds latency which is why there's such a huge cache on them, but Windows task scheduler doesn't play nice with it, sometimes causing FPS drops when cores from different CCDs are used for the same game at the same time.

Ryzen 9 also does not get nearly as high clocks per core as the Ryzen 7 3800X.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Maybe save some money and get a 3600X or 3700X. But get a very good X570 board, then later on upgrade to whatever the Ryzen 9 is when the Ryzen 4xxx series comes out later.

[Lord Flashheart]

Originally posted by Escorve:

If you have no heavily multi-threaded workloads that would warrant a 12-core CPU, forget about it. Ryzen 9 is an awful value for gaming in general and by time 12 cores are useful for gaming, the 3900X will be a weak 12-core CPU anyway.

Ryzen 9 does not get nearly as high clocks per core as the Ryzen 7 3800X.

Well it is the the whole point of my question. a 12 'weak core' will still do very well if games are being better optimised, such as using Vulcan or Directx 12 efficiently. What is your reply based on?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The 3900X uses chiplets and thus in gaming just can't ever beat a 3800X in straight up gaming, due to overall design of the internal routing inside all the Ryzen 9

[Lord Flashheart]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Maybe save some money and get a 3600X or 3700X. But get a very good X570 board, then later on upgrade to whatever the Ryzen 9 is when the Ryzen 4xxx series comes out later.

It seems you did not understand my question. No Ryzen 4xxx at all for compatibility reasons. I want compatible/swapable components for all machines as when needed. that is even if I get an X570 motherboard.

[r.linder]

Originally posted by Mamba Bajamba:

Originally posted by Escorve:

If you have no heavily multi-threaded workloads that would warrant a 12-core CPU, forget about it. Ryzen 9 is an awful value for gaming in general and by time 12 cores are useful for gaming, the 3900X will be a weak 12-core CPU anyway.

Ryzen 9 does not get nearly as high clocks per core as the Ryzen 7 3800X.

Well it is the the whole point of my question. a 12 'weak core' will still do very well if games are being better optimised, such as using Vulcan or Directx 12 efficiently. What is your reply based on?

The fact that futureproofing is an utter load of bull dung. Again, by time the 3900X would be better than a 3800X (Ryzen 9's dual chiplet system has considerable flaws and the clocks are AWFUL on Ryzen 9 vs 7), we'd likely be on Ryzen 6000 because most games still aren't using more than 4 cores and less than a handful use more than 6. By time you'd need 12 cores you'd better off upgrade to a faster 12 core CPU then, futureproofing is something only a fool would chase and think they reached it.

I have a 3900X, Ryzen 9 is a terrible idea if you don't need it for actual work. It's the same issues that Threadripper had with gaming, the difference being that Ryzen 9 is just better suited for everything whereas Threadripper was only good for work.

To put it in perspective, my 3900X struggles maintaining 4.3 all-core while gaming and can't even do a 4.3 all-core OC without a rather high core voltage, whereas 3800X can do 4.5~4.6 with the same voltage, and it requires a beefier motherboard VRM. My X470 AORUS GAMING 7 has a 10 phase for the CPU and it's still barely enough for the 3900X.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If don't care about Ryzen 4xxx series then look at 3800X + X470 board, such as decent Asus model; PRIME PRO, ROG, CROSSHAIR

[xSOSxHawkens]

3900X is an amazing chip. *NOW DAYS* it is more than is needed for games, much like in 2015 the i7 was more than was needed for games...

That said, just as the i7 wasnt *bad* at games then, neither is the R9 now. Its just as good in games, more or less, as R7 as.

Where the 3900x and higher are great at though is heavy non-game loads, and much like the i7's of 2015 I would highly suspect them to hold up well for a long time.

I went 3900x in Jan and expect to have it as my base for a solid 5 years minimum, perhaps 7 or more. I further plan to push it down into second rate and third rate usage after, so I suspect it will have daily usage for the next 10+ years.

After that, it will probably see another 3 or more as some type of media server, depending on how tech advances over the next decade.

Sent a FR if you have specific questions, games you want tested, or benchmarks run!

[Bad 💀 Motha]

3900X should easily last 5+ years easy as far as being able to keep up with performance needs.

Even a 4790K does good still today in gaming. Sure it's showing it's age now, but give it credit, look how old it is.

[xSOSxHawkens]

The R9's also highly excel at multi-tasking, or gaming while doing other things. I play in 4K for example, and regularly record hours of footage at a time. It can add up fast. I can dual render a software .h264 4K/60 transcode in one handbrake window with 6c/12t, open a second handbrake and setup a second transcode stream with HW acceleration from my GPU plus 2c/4t CPU, and still have the 3D engine and 4c/8t open to play games at 4K while the vids rip.

[xSOSxHawkens]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

3900X should easily last 5+ years easy as far as being able to keep up with performance needs.

Even a 4790K does good still today in gaming. Sure it's showing it's age now, but give it credit, look how old it is.

4790K with a decent OC doesnt even look old. Mine (4.8Ghz) can easily outclass any stock 7700k or even mildly OC'd ones (read 4.4/4.5Ghz all core).

But any 4790K at ~4.6/7 is already roughly on par with the 7700k (stock) at that point.

They are great chips. But the R9-3900x blasts them hard. I was hostly expecting my i7 to at least compete in single core loading b/c of the major OC, but even at stock speeds the 3900x beats it in every single load including single thread. That part was a suprise to me. Was sure it would at lest be close on that one area, even if the R9 smashed the i7 in multicore...

[Bad 💀 Motha]

So yea, would depend on usage for sure.

If going to multitasking, gaming and streaming... or need good cpu rendering/encoding... a Ryzen 9 would excel doing all of that at the same time pretty much.

[Lord Flashheart]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

If don't care about Ryzen 4xxx series then look at 3800X + X470 board, such as decent Asus model; PRIME PRO, ROG, CROSSHAIR

I already have an MSI B450 tomahawk + 3600X for gaming. The CPU is planned to be put into another machine and the 3900X into the gaming one.