Good day, all! I am going to be coming into a windfall and would like to step up my game (pun intended) with my Twitch channel, as well as editing videos for YouTube, using Shotcut.
1. Budget and Location
I'm looking at spending between $1800 and $2500 USD, with priority for extra spending going towards future-proofing the rig. I don't want to have to drop any more significant cash into hardware for the next couple years. I live in the US (NY state). I have a stretch budget of $3200 if it's really worth it.
2. Aim
Right now, I'm using an HDMI capture card to pull video from my gaming desktop (HP Envy i5-7400, GeForce 1060 3GB, 32GB DDR4 2666MHz) and stream it through my laptop (Asus TUF FX504 i5-8300, GeForce 1050Ti, 16GB LDDR4 2400MHz). Additionally, I use a Fire HD 10 tablet to monitor chat and make on-the-fly channel changes. I'd like to bring this all into a single PC, multi-monitor setup that can easily handle both video encoding for streaming and have the power to run the most demanding games at their ideal graphics settings. It would also be nice to be able to cut and edit videos via Shotcut that won't bog down every time I create a split in a long source clip.
3. Monitors
I'm using an outdated LG 1080p television as my main screen, as it gives me the real estate to run games windowed and have other windows outside of the stream focus. I'm not opposed to a second, smaller monitor for dual desktops so I can run a game full-screen on the main TV and have auxiliary windows on a second monitor for managing stream status, chat, etc.
4. Peripherals
Currently using a Razor BlackWidow V2 for keyboard, but would like to step up the mouse I'm using. A/V for stream input/game output is already on point, or is covered by planned upgrades like a USB 2-port Mic interface. I will need a copy of Windows 10, though I don't know if there is any advantage of going Pro over Home version. I want to use SSDs to streamline game loading and bootup, and after seeing Optane in action on my laptop for booting, I would love to incorporate this as well, so hefty M.2 support would be great. Lots of USB 3.1 ports is paramount as I already use a 5-port hub in addition to the 4 ports on my PC for all the crap that's plugged into it. I considered extra storage for using the PC as a Plex Media Server during its downtime, but I figure that's a great use case for the soon-to-be retired HP Envy.
5. Why are you upgrading?
Stated pretty much throughout, neither my desktop nor my laptop has the raw power necessary to be a single-unit solution to my streaming needs, and being that the desktop is locked into an older format not supporting 8th-gen features like Optane, aside from upgrading the video card alone I don't see much upgrading before I hit a performance ceiling with it. The laptop was never meant to do as much work as it's doing (and is locked to my desk almost permanently because of the attached peripherals for streaming.
So, with all that said, some points of fact because I know that component preference is a factor here:
- I am platform-agnostic. I don't care if it's AMD or Intel, Nvidia or otherwise. If it gives the best performance for the dollar, I'm on board. I know Linus has been creaming his jeans over AMD's new CPUs, and I'm not inclined to disagree. The advantage of better, cheaper compatible Mobos as well is a draw for me. Nvidia probably still holds the top spot for GPU, but feel free to change my mind here.
- My biggest struggle with the choices of components has to do with a less clear understanding of return on investment. Is 64GB of 3600MHz ram worth it over a more affordable 32GB of 2666Mhz, or are the diminishing returns not worth it for the use case? I'm not rendering big scenes in AfterEffects, after all, but it's not out of the question in the future if I actually manage to gain traction (and income) with my channels. What about Threadripper? Is it really worth paying almost 4x as much for a 3970x over a Ryzen 9 chip, and would games even take advantage of that?
- Case size/style is... negotiable. Who doesn't love having a flashy rig to show off? But the fact is 99% of the time it will be tucked away below my desk doing its job. It won't be on camera. And, I'm on camera and under lots of lights so, if anything, garish RGB may do more harm than good in keeping my mug properly lit. And I'd rather those dollars go into top of the line components. If they happen to have RGB support, that's fine by me.
Any other questions to narrow down build ideas, please feel free to ask. Also, even though I gave the forum a cursory search for similar builds recent to the last few months, if anyone has already worked on this, links are always appreciated.
I'm curious about the differences in the ASRock X570 series Mobos. I noticed that both the Taichi and Creator editions (which range from $100-200 more) both have more M.2 slots and USB ports. I tried compare on both Newegg and ASRock's sites and admittedly got lost in the numbers trying to compare them. So, I guess my questions would be whether it's worth it for the extra ports and whether the recommended case would support all the front panel I/O Appreciate your time, mate. ?