[astrolollo]

I'm looking to build a desktop pc for mainly CFD work and some gaming on the side. My answers to the checklist are:
1. SU2 and OpenFoam
2. No
3. trying to maximize performance given the budget.
4. around 1k euros (all parts included, i.e. cpu cooler, case, mobo, storage etc), GPU cost not included, i'm planning to buy a cheap 2/4 GB gpu for the time being and hopefully wait for the market to go back to normal.
5. I'm an engineering student (master degree in Aeronautical Engineering).
6. Assembling it by myself, used parts are an option but I'm not really comfortable with buying from aliexpress, trusted ebay sellers are fine.
7. Italy
8. would like to build it in the next weeks and maybe take advantage of black friday sales.

After reading many of the threads on the forum i'm considering mainly 3 routes and being very new to this world i would appreciate some suggestions:
1. AMD 5600x, 2x16GB corsair vengeance rs 3600Mhz c18 (suggestion regarding RAM for amd are really appreciated)+ rest of the build =~910 EUR
This is the easiest build regarding part acquisition, most of it would be bought new, on the other end it is a dual channel build.

2. i7 7820x bought used for around 200 (am I getting scammed or is it a legit price?) also considered 9800x but it is 2x the cost used on ebay at around 390, used x299 Asus tuf mark 2, 4x 8gb corsair vengeance pro 3600 Mhz + rest of the build =~970 EUR (for 80 EUR can upgrade to 7900x)
This build is the one I'm leaning towards the most but I'm skeptical about longevity of 2066 platform and future upgradeability.

3. 2x Xeon e5 2680 v3 at around 80/90 EUR each (2673 v3 hard to find here in italy), 8x 8Gb kingston fury 3200Mhz, chinese motherboard on aliexpress for 200EUR (I really need help for the motherboard choice)+ rest of the build=~ 1100 EUR
This is probably the most powerful build but the motherboard will take around 1 month from aliexpress or the ones on ebay are very expensive.
I anyone could suggest a european pc online shops that sells lga2011-3 used motherboard it would really be helpful

4. I would consider a 12600k build but with ddr4 memory (given the budget constraint and the very expensive z690 boards) for around 1000 EUr, after the recent post on this forum regarding Alder Lake this cpu is useful only if paired with ddr5 memory to overcome the lack of quad channel.

5. Is a threadripper 1920x/1950x build worth considering?

Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for the help.

[casseer15]

As per this thread General recommendations for CFD hardware [WIP], I don't think its a good idea to go for a processor with dual channel memory, regardless of how high the core count is. Therefore, the best would be to go for 2x Xeon which has (2x4 channels) or thread-ripper (4 channels) atleast.

[wkernkamp]

You can get them from ebay in Italy:



https://www.ebay.it/itm/144254858153...3ABFBMyKrj3KRf


When you use two e5-4627 v2 cpus and populate four memory channels per cpu with 1866 MHz DDR3 memory you can expect about 100s for the OpenFOAM benchmark. (That is what I get on all three my R7610's.)


The benefit of this server is that it has full length PCI-E 3 bays. You can install a full size graphics card, or TESLA compute units, if you like.


The unit in the link has a graphics card already.


Your additional cost would be 8x*Gb DDR3 1866 maybe EUR 180, and 2x e5-4627 v2 at EUR 120 (2x50).


These machines are not too noisy.

[wkernkamp]

The 9800x does the benchmark in 150 sec per the link:



OpenFOAM benchmarks on various hardware

[flotus1]

2x Xeon e5 2680 v3 at around 80/90 EUR each (2673 v3 hard to find here in italy), 8x 8Gb kingston fury 3200Mhz, chinese motherboard on aliexpress for 200EUR (I really need help for the motherboard choice)+ rest of the build=~ 1100 EUR

If you care most about how fast the solver runs, this is your best bet.
The memory might be a bit too fancy though. These v3 Xeons can only handle up to DDR4-2133. So no point in spending more for faster memory. I'm a bit out of the loop on these motherboards, but in general, the CPUs need reg ECC memory.
Don't be alarmed by the relatively high prices for these motherboards. That's just the entry fee for the cheap CPUs you can put on them.

[astrolollo]

Thank you all for the replies and help, I didn't realize that even e5 v2 processors could give an advantage over the intel series X option. In the end I will probably go for a used dell T7810 workstation from ebay with 2x Xeon E5-2680 v3 64GB DDR4 RAM and a quadro k4000 gpu, including the importing fees from the uk it fits the budget and probably is the best solution in terms of price/performance. It won't probably be the best gaming machine on the planet so it will force me to study instead of playing games (and that's not a bad thing overall) .
Thanks again, once I get the pc in use I will try to enter the benchmarking data in the OpenFoam thread to help people in a similar situation.

[flotus1]

Short of researching which chinese "dual X99" board is right for you, a used workstation is not a bad choice, if the price is fair. The only downside is proprietary form factors and connectors. When the OEM workstation has outlived its usefulness, it is rather difficult to upgrade anything, without throwing the whole thing in the bin. The upside is of course no research and tinkering required.

Be warned though: v3 Xeons paired with a Quadro K4000 still makes for a relatively capable gaming machine

[wkernkamp]

In the intervening time, the prices for the E5-2680 v4 and E5-2683 v4 have come down. These processors have slightly faster memory speed 2400 MHz instead of 2133 MHz for E5-26xx v3. CFD solutions would be proportionally faster.

[wkernkamp]

Originally Posted by Kevinweeks

A bit of prehistory, I now also want to squeeze PC for ivnatatura and gaming and am looking for what parts to use. Unfortunately now there is a very high inflation and absolutely all parts that are on the internet already are much more expensive. I'm thinking of using the server processor because it's cheaper and just as powerful, has anyone else done this or not?

Gaming performance is often dependent on GPU more than CPU. I think you can enjoy games with the server processors.