Suggestions for a new PC

[towforce]

Hi,

I need that it has at least 8 physical cores, mainly to run engine vs engine blitz tournaments, 1 core per engine, no ponder (at least 7 simultaneous games). Also to analyze chess games. I guess 16 GB RAM might be enough.

OTOH, what would be a good GPU for that PC so Lc0 could compete vs SF with 7 cores?

My budget is $1000.

I am considering to buy an AMD Ryzen.

Best regards,
Carlos

I am guessing you're planning to use it a lot, otherwise you could use Google Compute Engine until GPU prices fall.

[MikeB]

Including a GPU makes it hard. Even a low end GPU

[jdart]

I am using a Ryzen 3700x (12 cores) as my main machine. I wanted a 5900x but those are scarce. That CPU is plenty powerful for a desktop and reasonable for chess analysis. It's not enough CPU power for serious competition (e.g. on Playchess or other servers) and it is isn't nearly enough cores for the testing I do (I have other machines for that). But it's quite a nice desktop processor and runs cool, unlike the Threadrippers.

[Carlos777]

Thanks to everybody for your suggestions. I'll do some research about those options.

I am guessing you're planning to use it a lot, otherwise you could use Google Compute Engine until GPU prices fall.

Not really and for what I am reading, Rasmus and John suggestions are closer to what I need. I did not know about Google Compute Engine.

[Dann Corbit]

Timing is important.
If you wait for a major CPU release, all the progenitor CPUs will drop, sometimes significantly.
A big PSU is a really good idea if you plan to upgrade. I have 1400 watts. Sounds like a ludicrous total, but 280W for the CPU and about the same for 2 GPUs gives nearly 900 watts even before you power the motherboard, ram, disks, peripherals, etc. I figure it is barely adequate.
Besides water cooling, I have a 12 amp commercial blower I use to blast air through the case.

You can always add GPUs later. Besides, for now, the CPU version of SF is nice and strong.
Another thing to remember is that time is also power.
I have a 32 core 64 thread AMD. I could have spent a lot more and got the 64 core model, but if I run for 1.75 times as long, I will get the same analysis.
I have lots of other mighty machines but I only run them when I need to because they are old technology and gobble down power with a slurp and a burp. When I have the whole gang of machines going full tilt, I get up to 700 dollar power bills.

[Milos]

Timing is important.
If you wait for a major CPU release, all the progenitor CPUs will drop, sometimes significantly.
A big PSU is a really good idea if you plan to upgrade. I have 1400 watts. Sounds like a ludicrous total, but 280W for the CPU and about the same for 2 GPUs gives nearly 900 watts even before you power the motherboard, ram, disks, peripherals, etc. I figure it is barely adequate.
Besides water cooling, I have a 12 amp commercial blower I use to blast air through the case.

You can always add GPUs later. Besides, for now, the CPU version of SF is nice and strong.
Another thing to remember is that time is also power.
I have a 32 core 64 thread AMD. I could have spent a lot more and got the 64 core model, but if I run for 1.75 times as long, I will get the same analysis.
I have lots of other mighty machines but I only run them when I need to because they are old technology and gobble down power with a slurp and a burp. When I have the whole gang of machines going full tilt, I get up to 700 dollar power bills.

You mean 12cm 12V fan, coz 12A, i.e. 150W fan in 120mm would be like having 100k+ RPM (i.e. would sound like a helicopter) .

With that much wasted electricity (I understand it's a hobby but your CO2 footprint is horrible) you should really consider some solar panels (like a football field of it) to offset the impact on global warming you are making .

[Dann Corbit]

Timing is important.
If you wait for a major CPU release, all the progenitor CPUs will drop, sometimes significantly.
A big PSU is a really good idea if you plan to upgrade. I have 1400 watts. Sounds like a ludicrous total, but 280W for the CPU and about the same for 2 GPUs gives nearly 900 watts even before you power the motherboard, ram, disks, peripherals, etc. I figure it is barely adequate.
Besides water cooling, I have a 12 amp commercial blower I use to blast air through the case.

You can always add GPUs later. Besides, for now, the CPU version of SF is nice and strong.
Another thing to remember is that time is also power.
I have a 32 core 64 thread AMD. I could have spent a lot more and got the 64 core model, but if I run for 1.75 times as long, I will get the same analysis.
I have lots of other mighty machines but I only run them when I need to because they are old technology and gobble down power with a slurp and a burp. When I have the whole gang of machines going full tilt, I get up to 700 dollar power bills.

You mean 12cm 12V fan, coz 12A, i.e. 150W fan in 120mm would be like having 100k+ RPM (i.e. would sound like a helicopter) .

With that much wasted electricity (I understand it's a hobby but your CO2 footprint is horrible) you should really consider some solar panels (like a football field of it) to offset the impact on global warming you are making .

Guilty as charged.
Il pense à sa punition bien méritée
For me, it is not a hobby. It is an illness.
No, I really mean it.

[Dann Corbit]

The blower in action:

[Carlos777]

I am using a Ryzen 3700x (12 cores) as my main machine. I wanted a 5900x but those are scarce. That CPU is plenty powerful for a desktop and reasonable for chess analysis. It's not enough CPU power for serious competition (e.g. on Playchess or other servers) and it is isn't nearly enough cores for the testing I do (I have other machines for that). But it's quite a nice desktop processor and runs cool, unlike the Threadrippers.

Are you sure Ryzen 3700x is 12 cores? I can only find the one with 8 cores. The cheapest in my country costs $ 396.

No luck finding here a Ryzen 4750G.

Timing is important.
If you wait for a major CPU release, all the progenitor CPUs will drop, sometimes significantly.

Thanks for your opinion. You say I should wait then? Not sure how long it would take.

I have lots of other mighty machines but I only run them when I need to because they are old technology and gobble down power with a slurp and a burp. When I have the whole gang of machines going full tilt, I get up to 700 dollar power bills.

[towforce]

Thanks to everybody for your suggestions. I'll do some research about those options.

I am guessing you're planning to use it a lot, otherwise you could use Google Compute Engine until GPU prices fall.

Not really and for what I am reading, Rasmus and John suggestions are closer to what I need. I did not know about Google Compute Engine.

Google Compute Engine is a service for running computationally intensive tasks in the cloud. Last time I checked (probably a year or so ago), their prices for renting powerful processor and GPU combinations were very competitive. Here's the current pricing - link. IIRC you get some free "compute units" when you start your account, so you won't even have to start paying immediately. If you don't know for sure how much you're going to use your new computer yet, you could possibly do your heavy computing in the cloud until you have a better idea.