Intel vs AMD Confussion!

[Kich902]

Hi all,

 

I need help on sorting out my confusion on the two platforms. I want to build a 2 user rig running two Windows VMs for creative works i.e 3D/2D designs, graphic design, photo and video editing and some moderate rendering. I do not intend to run any dockers, the rig is PURELY FOR CREATIVES. I have the GPU figured out; RTX 3070 /3060 (depending of budget) and GTX 1660.

 

I initially had been settled on the AMD Ryzen 7 5800x but then came the new Intel 12th and 13th Gen processors. Been doing research on which is best which leaves me even the more confused. I ask pretty please if anyone could suggest which platform would be best and reasons why. I'm eyeing the i5 12600k for intel or AMD R9 5900x or R7 5800x-i've picked these due to budget limits. Also suggest the best motherboard for each.

 

Thanks in advance, I'll very much appreciate.😊

[ASap]

I purchased AMD Ryzen 5 5600G, swapped with 5500, returned both, and went with i5-12400.
I've done heaps of research and concluded that Intel is reigning again with starting with their Alder Lake generation.

Edited January 4, 2023 by ASap

[Kich902]

Seems like it. What are you using ur rig for?

27 minutes ago, ASap said:

I purchased AMD Ryzen 5 5600G, swapped with 5500, returned both, and went with i5-12400.
I've done heaps of research and concluded that Intel is reigning again with starting with their Alder Lake generation.

 

[ASap]

Just NAS predominantly, 1 parity drive, and 3 data drive, all of them are Seagate IronWolf Pro 4 TB.

But I'm planning to expand later on with VMs and docker images.

The one and currently running server application is just Plex 🤣

[Kich902]

Ok.

[Kich902]

@ASap curious as to how u intened/plan to assign the cores to unraid, plex and the VMs.

[JonathanM]

3 hours ago, Kich902 said:

plan to assign the cores to unraid, plex and the VMs.

In my experience it's not very helpful to micromanage cores, it's a lot of effort for very little real world performance, and doing it wrong can have very drastic negative performance impacts. The host OS does a pretty good job of assigning processor power where it's needed.

[Eviseration]

Question, if you run an intel chip (with onboard graphic card), can you then use 1 graphic card for a windows VM Passthrough?  I currently have 1 graphics card and a Ryzen 5 2600x @3600mhz, so it doesn't support a mb graphics card, so my one and only card has to be assigned to Unraid, which means I can't use it for a windows VM (passthrough, b/c it's already assigned (unless I'm doing something wrong in my setup).  I thought I read something somewhere that one of the main differences between choosing AMD vs Intel is that with AMD, you HAD to purchase a graphics card vs Intel, you could just rely on the mb graphics.  

The reason I'm asking is b/c my system is due for an upgrade (less due to performance, more due to I need something to do this Feb to get me through the crappy winter weather) and I'm trying to decide if I should go Intel or stick with AMD.

[mavrrick]

On 1/28/2023 at 12:24 PM, Eviseration said:

I thought I read something somewhere that one of the main differences between choosing AMD vs Intel is that with AMD, you HAD to purchase a graphics card vs Intel, you could just rely on the mb graphics.  

 

All the new Zen 3 AMD cpu's include integrated graphics so not sure why that would be the case. Some Intel chips don't though. 

[Lolight]

1 hour ago, mavrrick said:

 

All the new Zen 3 AMD cpu's include integrated graphics so not sure why that would be the case. Some Intel chips don't though. 

Intel iGPUs are super-efficient hardware transcoding powerhouses thanks to intel's proprietary Quick Sync.

Quick Sync is fully supported in Plex, Jellyfin and Emby.

AMD graphic cores are not compatible with Quick Sync.

[Lolight]

On 1/29/2023 at 5:24 PM, Eviseration said:

I thought I read something somewhere that one of the main differences between choosing AMD vs Intel is that with AMD, you HAD to purchase a graphics card vs Intel, you could just rely on the mb graphics. 

If you plan on transcoded streaming then yes, Intel is the clear choice thanks to its Quick Sync tech.

If strictly direct-played then it doesn't really matter, even though Intel is still considered to be a more stable and efficient (when mostly idled) platform overall.

[mavrrick]

On 2/6/2023 at 10:54 PM, Lolight said:

Quick Sync is fully supported in Plex, Jellyfin and Emby.

AMD graphic cores are not compatible with Quick Sync.

AMD and NVidia encoding engines are very robust and can do allot more then video. Also with the AMD one I am not sure if it is much less efficient. The AMD RDNA 3 cores can be used for several tasks like GPU based Acceleration as well for many other tasks. I wouldn't discount the AMD RDNA3 GPU simply because it doesn't support QuickSync.

 

On 2/6/2023 at 11:01 PM, Lolight said:

even though Intel is still considered to be a more stable and efficient (when mostly idled) platform overall

This is purely subjective. AMD built correctly are very stable and efficient. Also I think this largely depends on the work load being run on them. If you are putting much load on system AMD's seem to have an efficiency edge, but it is heavily dependent on the work load being put on them. If your load isn't much though i do think Intel runs at lower power when mostly idle.

[JonathanM]

19 minutes ago, mavrrick said:

AMD built correctly are very stable and efficient.

Hardware wise you are 100% correct.

 

However. the number of times the tech community has had to deal with AMD systems not working well with anything not Microsoft Windows based is a long and tortured list. I'm not saying intel is perfect with linux, but AMD has a far worse reputation.

[ConnerVT]

Good example of this - Plex support for AMD graphics under Linux as low to none.  Both for iGPU and discrete graphics cards.

[Zonediver]

On 1/3/2023 at 1:50 PM, Kich902 said:

the rig is PURELY FOR CREATIVES

...i am not sure, if unraid and VMs are the right choice for this...

This is more a "workstation case"

[Kich902]

On 2/17/2023 at 9:25 AM, Zonediver said:

...i am not sure, if unraid and VMs are the right choice for this...

This is more a "workstation case"

Why do you say that?

[Zonediver]

4 hours ago, Kich902 said:

Why do you say that?

Because a Workstaion is stronger and more flexible then a VM - at least for "some" workloads...

You like to use one GraphicsCard for two users >> less power for both.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Zonediver

[Kich902]

23 minutes ago, Zonediver said:

Because a Workstaion is stronger and more flexible then a VM - at least for "some" workloads...

You like to use one GraphicsCard for two users >> less power for both.

You clearly have no understanding of my setup and, most importantly, the cost saving of having a 2-in-1 rig vs two separate whole rigs. So NM!

Edited February 18, 2023 by Kich902

[Zonediver]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:16 PM, Kich902 said:

You clearly have no understanding of my setup and, most importantly, the cost saving of having a 2-in-1 rig vs two separate whole rigs. So NM!

 

?

If you don't like the answer, don't ask 👍

Edited February 19, 2023 by Zonediver

[Kich902]

On 2/19/2023 at 11:58 PM, Zonediver said:

 

?

If you don't like the answer, don't ask 👍

If you don't understand the context don't comment! 😄

Edited February 25, 2023 by Kich902

[LogicalMadness]

On 2/19/2023 at 12:58 PM, Zonediver said:

 

?

If you don't like the answer, don't ask 👍

Psst, he stated 2 GPUs, one for each user... Due to most bottlenecks coming from the GPU and not the CPU, I believe OPs VM setup is very cost efficient (share the CPU, GPU for each VM). 2 separate machines would be overkill. Don't forget about the space-saving as well!

 

@Kich902 what did you end up deciding?