What is the best New CPU for Home Office and Fast Number Crunching

[joeschmuck]

This is a definite Off-Topic topic. I've been toying around with upgrading/replacing my old Intel 950i CPU with 24GB RAM (limited by my CPU). I have an old hot swappable (even though I do not Hot Swap) Five 3.5" drive bay cage, a decent graphics card (very good 5 years ago, but weak by todays standards).

What am I trying to do?
All the CPU reviews are mainly focused on Gaming. While that is all nice for the folks wanting to game all the time, I only have an RC Flight Simulator and I have played some first person shooter games, but that comes and goes and is not a high priority for me. I'd like to replace my current build with a fast and energy efficient CPU supporting 32GB to 64GB RAM (No need for ECC here but I'd consider it).

So I'm looking for some good reviews for Office CPU's that also can run a VM or two at the same time. Not High End Workstations, I can't afford those like a Thread Ripper and I'd never use it's potential. $$$$

More about my desires and what I do with the system:
The system must be almost fanless. I have a fanless power supply and I run my chassis fans on 7VDC so things remain quiet. The Intel stock CPU cooler has been very good to me. I'm not opposed to M.2 SSD but I'd prefer the PCIe interface vice the older SATA interface.

What software will I run?
1. Windows 11 is my primary OS.
2. VMWare Workstation - Sometimes I like to spin up a VM on my desktop vice my ESXi server.
3. Play moderate video games (Flight Simulator, DOOM 10,000, Whatever)
4. Surf the web.
5. Do some script writing.
6. Swap out the Boot Drive for Debian OS and Linux Mint Cinnamon OS. This is why I have the 5 drive bay right now.

Hardware I need:
1. CPU w/Fan
2. Motherboard w/ 4 SATA ports minimum, (Intel NIC preferred or will use PCIe NIC)
3. Up to 64GB RAM. Does not need to be the fastest but fast is relative.

I appreciate your advice and opinions.

 

[Whattteva]

I mean... almost any modern CPU in 2022 is able to be almost fanless while idle (in higher C-state), but will require active cooling when doing something intensive like gaming.

For VM's the limiting factor really is RAM long before CPU. The more VM you're going to run, the more RAM you will need, but with 64 GB and 1 or 2 VM's, I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about and should have plenty of headroom.

Really, you should be fine with any modern Zen-based or 10th-gen (or even 8th-gen) and up Core CPU's.

 

[Arwen]

You could consider one of the ASRock Desk Minis. I have a A300 for Ryzen but they also make even more models for Intel processors. These are small, all in one PCs, but do have options. Their are some other models slightly larger, and some others smaller.

My A300 has:

• 2 x SO-DIMM, (2 x 16GB)
• 2 x M.2 2280 NVMe, 4 PCIe lane drive slots
• 2 x low profile 2.5" SATA drive slots
• Quiet mode for CPU fan
• Laptop power supply

Mine is about 3.5 years old and runs a TrueNAS SCALE VM just fine with I spin it up.

While hot swap disks are not available, you can re-load an OS on one of the other drives. Then boot off of it.

I find that with a small, all in one PC, I don't tinker with it much. No real need.

 

[joeschmuck]

You could consider one of the ASRock Desk Minis.

Thank you, I'm looking at this right now. If I buy one, it won't be any earlier than tomorrow. I need to figure out exactly which CPU I can install (if I'm upgrading, I want to do a worth while upgrade from my previous system) and the RAM. Looks like a 500 GB M.2 PCIe card is in my future, maybe a 1TB depending on the pricing as my primary boot device, but need to consider the two SATA ports as well, at least I could swap the 2.5" SSD out to support different booting environments, I just need to get creative with an external box, and maybe it's pop riveting a two drive bay to the top/side of the case, not sure what I will do yet. I really need to think about having the ability to dual boot, or maybe VMWare Workstation would be the solution. Many things to consider but I do like the small footprint.

Thanks for making me look outside the typical box.

 

[Arwen]

At present, I use 2 x 500GB NVMe drives and no internal SATA.

I did buy an internal SATA to eSATA adapter cable, then used a built in cut out for external access. That way I can use an external eSATA enclosure for one of my backup sets. For some reason I am unable to get Linux on Ryzen to recognize hot swapping of the eSATA enclosure. Have to reboot if I use the eSATA feature. (That same enclosure has a USB 3 / 5Gbps port too.) Perhaps MS-Windows or an Intel processor won't have that hot-swap problem.

 

[joeschmuck]

I'm not worried about Hot Swap myself but it's good to know. I prefer to power off each time. The only exception is if I'm using a USB to SATA adapter, those seem to work very well but the transfer rates are of course not as speedy as the eSATA. I do have an eSATA enclosure for a 3.5" drive. I used it on my DirecTv DVR since the internal drive was failing and they prohibit end users from cracking open the box to replace the internal drive. The external eSATA enclosure worked very well, but unfortunately I think it may be as large as the Desk Mini case

I need to see if I still have a SATA to eSATA adapter, I think I do somewhere in a box of goodies. Just in case I want to do something like that.

Well time to day dream and build this new little system in my mind.

Thanks Again!

 

[Arwen]

...
I need to see if I still have a SATA to eSATA adapter, I think I do somewhere in a box of goodies. Just in case I want to do something like that.
...

I had to use a special SATA to eSATA adapter cable. The internal SATA connector on the mini system board was combined power & data, in a miniature form factor. So I used the supplied Desk Mini SATA drive cable with this one;

22Pin SATA to Panel Mount ESATA 12 Inches

 

[HoneyBadger]

If you're coming from an i7-950, any CPU within the last few years is going to feel like going from training wheels to a space shuttle - there's been some pretty substantial increases just in terms of IPC, let alone clockspeed and core counts. However, TDP and power consumption has also climbed quite a bit, especially at the high-end. Something like a midrange Ryzen 5 or Core i5 might be the ticket here.

Note that the 12th-gen and newer Intel systems also basically require Windows 11 in order to properly leverage their heterogenous core configuration, so either hanging back a few generations or going with AMD might be necessary if you're wanting to run Windows 10. Also, be cautious of 2.5Gbps Intel NICs as there's an odd firmware issue that causes earlier revisions to have issues seeing a connection after sleep.

If silence is critical, you can look into something like the Noctua tower cooler series, as they're capable of handling a modern chip without being deafeningly loud - however, they probably occupy the same physical volume as that entire ASRock DeskMini system:

 

[joeschmuck]

I had to use a special SATA to eSATA adapter cable. The internal SATA connector on the mini system board was combined power & data, in a miniature form factor.

I discovered that earlier today. Thanks for the link.

If you're coming from an i7-950, any CPU within the last few years is going to feel like going from training wheels to a space shuttle

You are right. I have a difficult time upgrading when the system is working okay and doing what I need it to do. I recall the days of 8088, 80286, 80386, Math co-processors, AMD, Cyrix, Intel, everyone had a new something and the speeds were increasing like crazy, I was upgrading every 6 months or less. Computer shows were big back then. When I got my i7-950 things were slowing down, improvements were not as grand as they once were. So I've been waiting until I felt like the advancements were worth it and that time is now.

I'm looking at both AMD and Intel CPU's. The best bang for the buck and current I/O. Form factor is not a priority although I like the idea @Arwen has suggested. I don't tinker much with my system these days. I want a decent Graphics capability so I don't need to go find an upgrade path in 4 years. I'm older and money have much more meaning to me, as in I do not like to spend it like my younger self.

I'm still looking to see what I can build. I'm hoping I can reinstall my Windows 8, then upgrade to Win 10 and then Win 11. We will see, or I will have to buy another Windoze OS copy, I dislike that. I doubt I would use just Linux Mint just due to the limited applications, but who knows. I do like free.

As for quiet, I will go to great lengths to make a PC quiet. Better fans, slower fans, cut the case open and install wire fan grills to reduce restricted airflow. I do not need quiet, I just prefer it. It helps me work better when I can hear myself think. And I rarely will put the system into a maximum power consumption situation. I'm not a gamer but I like having the ability to compile a program or just crunch some numbers, whatever it will be, and do it fast.

Yes, that photo of the huge CPU heatsink is massive. I would like to get away from those if I could. I have a few heatsinks here, some nice ones but not sure if they would mount to some new socket board. But not an issue right now. I still need to figure out the CPU I would like to use. AMD, Intel, I've owned both and each it fine. The Intel 12th Gen seems cost effective. Same with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600, looks pretty good. But I have not listed my Pro's and Con's yet. I have all day tomorrow to figure this out. I'd like to pull the trigger very soon while the deals are good.

Unfortunately my truck drivers side headlight is out. I've been troubleshooting it for 3 weeks. I replaced the bulbs, not fixed, the Ballast, not fixed, the Ignitor, fixed for 2 weeks then failed again, swapped parts from left to right, drivers side light will not go on for longer than a few seconds. There are two pieces left, the Wiring Harness and Power Relay (which is a Solid State Relay). Thankfully they are sold together which will force me to replace both at the same time. If this fails to fix it I will be very unhappy, pull out the HID headlights and reinstall the factory headlights, call it a day. Good thing I have my Hot Wheel (Mazda MX-5) to drive in the meantime. My life has way too much excitement right now.

Thanks for the recommendations, I do appreciate it especially since I've been out of the upgrade game for a few years.

 

[joeschmuck]

Note that the 12th-gen and newer Intel systems also basically require Windows 11 in order to properly leverage their heterogenous core configuration

Are you talking about the Efficiency Cores? I will need to read up on that. I was leaning towards the Intel platform because is seems the B660 chipset has more/newer features than the AMD system had that I looked at. I'm still investigating. Either way I'm looking at about $700 for a new system. I could shave some off if I only replace the motherboard, CPU and RAM, but I think I want a new case as well. I'm still intrigued by the ASRock Desk Mini format. I might look into an ITX or MicroATX. Eh, I need to look at motherboards now, that will get me lined up on the format.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Are you talking about the Efficiency Cores? I will need to read up on that.

Yes, those are the ones. My understanding is that Microsoft hasn't bothered optimizing the Windows 10 thread scheduler for the E-cores, so it's just throwing processes to the wind with reckless abandon.

 

[joeschmuck]

I've settled on an AMD 5600G, the ASRock X300W, 64GB RAM, and a Samsung 980 1TB NVMe SSD (did you know it doesn't have DRAM cache), grand total to my door is $556.37 USD. I should have it all on 22 November (Tuesday). As you folks have said, it's going to be a huge improvement from my Intel i7-950 which was a fast processor in it's day. I looked up my invoice from 12 years ago (24 Nov 2010) and I paid over $100 less for my new processor than I did for the older one. Crazy.

I tried to order the extra USB ports but those were sold out. I think I have a few ports laying around in my old parts boxes, I need to look tomorrow to see what I have. I also didn't' want to mount the USB ports on the side of the case, I want them on the rear so a little Dremel work should make that possible. I have a mouse, keyboard, USB flash drive, and USB DVD-RW drive I want to plug into the back, leaving the front USB slots available for random connections.

I Hopefully I will find a 120mm Wire Fan Grill while I'm looking. I will be evaluating the case to see if I can fit a 120mm fan inside it (which I doubt) or possibly on the outside. I may need to think low profile fan. The goal is to have good ventilation, which maybe it will have with the AMD Wraith Fan that comes with the CPU.

I will be attempting to install an older version of Windoze to activate it and then do the upgrade path to Win11. In the past I've always purchased the Pro version but I'm not sure there is a big difference these days. Features that I wanted back then are now not relevant. And I need to reinstall my Office Suite, that should be fun . But if I can't get Windoze 11 installed, I'll shoot for Linux Mint - Cinnamon and Open Office.

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[Etorix]

Hardware I need:
1. CPU w/Fan
2. Motherboard w/ 4 SATA ports minimum, (Intel NIC preferred or will use PCIe NIC)
3. Up to 64GB RAM. Does not need to be the fastest but fast is relative.

Honestly, any socketed motherboard released in the last ten years will fit your requirements, save for the "Intel NIC" part which will eliminate about half. And anything Ryzen or "Skylake and later" should provide a huge boost over your i950.
So shop as you please, or tighten the requirements so we can point at something specific.

Yes, that photo of the huge CPU heatsink is massive. I would like to get away from those if I could.

That NH-D15 is ready to tame the most power hungry Intel processors, with room for overclocking.
There's no need for such a monster in a regular PC. That said, the largest single fan cooler that the case can accommodate will generally also be the quietest one, and Noctua is a no-brainer choice for a quiet build.

 

[joeschmuck]

Honestly, any socketed motherboard released in the last ten years will fit your requirements

I wish my LGA1366 socket motherboard would work but it will not. Maybe a bit less than ten years?

That NH-D15 is ready to tame the most power hungry Intel processors, with room for overclocking.

I remember those days long ago for me where I was O.C. CPU's like crazy. My first O.C. CPU was an Intel 8088 which ran at 4.77 MHz, I overclocked it to 10 MHz. But in those days it wasn't a simple BIOS change, I have to unsolder the oscillator crystal and install one of a different value to be able to O.C. the system. Also, this impacted other parts of the system so other factors needed to be considered. I think I bumped it up to just just under 10 MHz to be exact. But also, the 8088 CPU didn't require a heatsink. I took that same system and upgraded it to an NEC V20 CPU and O.C. it to 20MHz if I recall correctly. After that I skipped the 80186 and went to the 80286 (still no heatsink required but was a smart thing as the chip did get hot), the 80386 now needed a heatsink. When I got into 80486/586/686 the heatsinks became large and continued to grow, okay they were not that large but for the time period they were. When you get into something from the last 20 years, the heatsinks are large. I have a few that just weight so much, I thought they would crack the circuit board, but they didn't.

Now days with all that power and efficiency, I don't need a Thread Ripper type CPU that would heat up my room, the nice Intel/AMD heatsinks are good enough (well I know the Intel one's are, I'll see if the AMD is very soon). If the AMD heatsink is noisy, I'll replace the fan or the entire thing. I dislike distracting noise when I'm working.

So shop as you please, or tighten the requirements so we can point at something specific.

My previous posting states that I already pulled the trigger and placed my order. I'm stuck with it and I think it will be good, provided the BIOS has the updated firmware, otherwise I will need to contact the manufacturer to send me a loaner CPU. I'm not even going to mount the heatsink until after I get past POST. I will connect the fan header so the BIOS knows a fan is connected. If she POST's then the heatsink goes on and the build continues.

 

[ChrisRJ]

I've settled on an AMD 5600G, the ASRock X300W, 64GB RAM, and a Samsung 980 1TB NVMe SSD (did you know it doesn't have DRAM cache), grand total to my door is $556.37 USD. I should have it all on 22 November (Tuesday).

Good luck and a lot of fun!

 

[HoneyBadger]

I've settled on an AMD 5600G, the ASRock X300W, 64GB RAM

That should be good for your purposes - there's even a halfway decent GPU integrated into the 5600G, something akin to a GT1030 if I recall correctly.

Samsung 980 1TB NVMe SSD (did you know it doesn't have DRAM cache)

Thank the new NVMe spec for the Host Memory Buffer feature. :)

I'm not even going to mount the heatsink until after I get past POST.

You definitely want to mount the heatsink first. Even just POSTing and hitting the BIOS will cause those things to get toasty in a hurry.

Several motherboards also have a "dead man's switch" style of BIOS flash, where you can insert a USB stick and use a special key combination to tell it "please grab the .BIN file from here and flash it" - that's far preferable if it's possible.

Best of luck with the build!

 

[Davvo]

My first O.C. CPU was an Intel 8088 which ran at 4.77 MHz, I overclocked it to 10 MHz. But in those days it wasn't a simple BIOS change, I have to unsolder the oscillator crystal and install one of a different value to be able to O.C. the system.

You are an ancient one.
I personally love beQuiet for my fans.

 

[Arwen]

AMD's Ryzen xG processors have decent built in graphics. I am not saying suitable for hard core gaming or such. But my 3.5 year old Ryzen 5 2400G makes a perfectly suitable desktop for normal home & office type tasks. Plays Youtube videos at 1080p just fine. Even though I could afford an upgrade, (even a fully equiped Threadripper if I wanted), I see no need at present.

I have heard that the latest generation of AMD desktop processors all include graphics. The non-G versions have a very light weight graphics, somewhat intended to get your computer working, until you get your discreet graphics card up. Will have to see how that plays out.

 

[joeschmuck]

The non-G versions have a very light weight graphics, somewhat intended to get your computer working, until you get your discreet graphics card up. Will have to see how that plays out.

That is interesting to note.

Several motherboards also have a "dead man's switch" style of BIOS flash, where you can insert a USB stick and use a special key combination to tell it "please grab the .BIN file from here and flash it" - that's far preferable if it's possible.

Oh I wish it had that but as I understand it, this motherboard does not. There have been posted from last year that the BIOS was not able to support the 5600G and they needed to install an older CPU just to get the BIOS updated. I did read of someone having the updated BIOS a few months ago so I'm hoping for that to show up tomorrow vice an older BIOS. I'm screwed if it's not the right one, until I can get a loaner CPU. That would suck.

 

[Arwen]

I found a reference for the AMD Ryzen 7000 series graphics:
AMD Ryzen 7000 graphics aren’t powerful enough for gaming
It indicates what I thought, all Ryzen 7000 non-G series will have built in to the I/O die, light weight graphics. And AMD does intend to continue making Ryzen APU / xG series with higher performance graphics builtin to CPU die.