I'm looking to build a desktop for freelancing work. I'm currently working on laptop that was provided by my company but once my contract is up with them I'll need my own PC. Trying to research CPUs is making my head spin because I don't know shit about anything. The last time I built a computer was 8 years ago, in high school, where I didn't know much more than "buy parts that were recommended to me and put them together"

My work laptop has a Intel Core i9-10885H @ 2.40GHz and it's okay, but it can start to slow down a lot when I load really huge ZBrush files.

So, trying to pick a CPU for ZBrush:

According to CGdirector:

Coming as a relief to buyers in a time of GPU shortages, ZBrush utilizes your CPU for rasterization in the viewport and is multi-threaded.

However, the fact that it’s heavily dependent on the single-core performance of your CPU means it performs better on CPUs with higher frequencies, lower latencies, and higher IPC (instructions per cycle).

...
Since most of the tasks you’ll perform in the viewport are burst workloads, a CPU that can use thermal headroom to raise its clock speed for short periods will perform better.

...
Keeping in mind the hardware requirements and usage patterned addressed earlier, the ideal CPU for ZBrush would have:
A mid-to-high core count (\~12-24 Cores)
Great single-threaded performance
Handles burst workloads well (Great boosting behavior)
...

So here’s what we generally recommend: Get a higher core count AMD Ryzen CPU for great ZBrush active viewport performance and great Multi-Core Performance. Get an Intel 11th gen CPU if you don’t care about multi-core performance and want that extra marginal performance increase in active sculpting snappiness.

CPU Recommendations

Top Tier allrounder Performance: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Value Picks AMD: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Top active workload performance, Intel: Intel Core i9 11900K, Intel Core i9 10900K, Intel Core i5 11600K

Okay, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X seems like a good contender. But it's a few years old and so maybe I should get something like the 7950x or 7900x? (7900x would be better for my budget, I'd like to spend <$500 on the CPU but it's not a hard limit).

And then I saw someone else on Reddit say:

Just on Zbrush alone, I would strongly advise you to pick the 13900K or the 13700K. There is a reason production studios handeling multi million dollar projects have been picking those processors for their artist PCs.

The 7900x would be okay if you have to have AMD, it won't be as stable in Zbrush or other 3D software.

The X3D chips should be entirely out of the question.

And now I don't know wtf to do. What is the difference between X and X3D? Why is AMD less stable in ZBrush? Am I overthinking this shit?

Please help.