New system – where do I go.

OK, I’ve been thinking about upgrading my system (current is Phenom 2 X4 BE, 8Gb Ram, more HDs than I care to count, NV GTX680 4Gb, and bits and pieces plugged in, and all running Arch Linux).

I’ve been toying with the idea of not building myself, but going for a part build from OCUK, I7 7770, suitable MB, 16Gb ram and GTX 1080 8Gb and 1Tb SSD. Re-using parts in my current rig, whilst keeping it working I can do the lot for around £1,200, and then just add missing.

But, Ryzen!!!!

I’ve been an AMD man for more years than I care to admit to. I’m aware of some Ryzen issues on current Linux kernels, but no doubt they will be fixed quickly.

Timing is not an issue yet, I have time to make my mind up (my system may be 5 years old, but it still kicks a lot of ass).

So opinions, which way do I jump. Obviously, platform will influence everything else.

For info, I have no TV (Netflix and Amazon Prime on a 27″ Samsung panel serve that purpose. I have no Hi Fi, 5.1 channel surround sound services that. I do a lot of Blender hobbyist stuff (So NV gfx card is a no brainer – Cuda is essential). Play the odd Wine game (Trackmania, which even an AMD 6700 can handle comfortably) and Trine 2 (not tested on AMD).

Then some getting lost around the net. Processor speed makes a difference when compiling. GPU makes a difference for rendering. Could probably manage without more than 16Gb, but I’m greedy and looking for something that will do at least 5 years. Current rig will be relegated to headless and be part of a render farm.

EDIT: Peripherals are not an issue. I have a spare monitor for current rig, and synergy will handle the mouse and keyboard. Printer is networked, and they can both have wired connections to the net.