$4,000 Spreadsheet PC

[xKyric]

Greetings internet dwellers. 

A person I know quite well is in possession of a Sandy Bridge i7 / GTX 680 laptop that is no longer fulfilling her computing needs. I was graciously asked to replace her laptop with a new desktop of greater power.

 

1. Budget & Location

This machine's budget is a maximum of $4,000 USD. This will definitely not be a price-to-performance machine, but I still don't want to throw money out the window on unnecessary features. If a $4,000 machine only delivers five more FPS than it's $3,200 counterpart, then I'll side with the cheaper option. There's no set budget for a monitor, peripherals, and speakers, but they will be needed to complete this setup. 

 

2. Aim

This machine's aim is the run spreadsheets and lightweight Clash of Clans-like games. I understand that in no way is a four thousand dollar system necessary to preform these tasks, but the user is willing to pay a premium for the benefits of a extremely high end system. The person I'm building this for does not want to be limited by hardware specifications in any way. If she impulsively decides to play Destiny 2 @1440p 144Hz one day, she wants to be equipped for it. 

 

Aesthetics aren't of key importance with this build. I'm willing to pay a small amount more for a better looking component, but not at the expense of performance.   

Also, an important note: I will not be overclocking this system. Because I'm dealing with expensive hardware, I'd like to keep all manufacturer warranties.   

 

3. Monitors & Peripherals

I'm open to any recommendations. I think that a 1440p, 144Hz display will fit nicely with this build. Again, the monitor, peripherals, and speakers are not included in the $4,000 budget.

 

I've been bouncing around with the case and cooling selection for this system. This isn't a final list, but here are the specifications I up with:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	$483.99 @ SuperBiiz
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler	$89.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus ROG MAXIMUS XI HERO (WI-FI) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$274.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$349.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$227.85 @ OutletPC
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$227.85 @ OutletPC
Video Card	Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card	$1219.99 @ Newegg
Case	Phanteks Evolv X ATX Mid Tower Case	$179.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.88 @ OutletPC
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit	$139.89 @ OutletPC
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM 140 mm Fan	$21.95 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120 mm Fan	$29.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120 mm Fan	$29.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120 mm Fan	$29.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120 mm Fan	$29.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120 mm Fan	$29.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120 mm Fan	$29.90 @ Amazon
Monitor	Dell S2719DGF 27.0" 2560x1440 155 Hz Monitor	$299.99 @ Amazon
Keyboard	Logitech G613 Wireless Standard Keyboard	$72.90 @ Amazon
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Wired Optical Mouse	$45.00 @ Amazon
Speakers	Logitech Z333 40 W 2.1 Channel Speakers	$59.99 @ Dell
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$4013.60
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$3973.60
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-10 18:49 EDT-0400

 
Thanks for everybody's help!

[Princess Luna]

Alrighty, here are my considerations.

 

CPU:

For this kind of budget it really is between the 9900K and 3900X, both work out fine nothing to point out here.

-

Cooler:

NH-D15 also is an automatic win, only consideration you could make here is going with the Dark Rock Pro 4 instead for a more pleasing aesthetic but it's all subjective to taste.

-

Motherboard:

It has been long known the Maximumx Hero XI is extremely overpriced and one of the worse motherboards there is on the 200 USD+ mark, you're only paying for the ROG branding at this point.

 

The best alternative and best high end motherboard while keeping some sort of value for money aspect to it is the Gigabyte Aorus Master.

 

Memory:

64GB of memory is overkill here even with the budget, I'd recommend a high end like 3600mhz CL15 memory so it holds up performance wise well through out the life span of DDR4 and remains relevant when DDR5 becomes a thing, GSkill Trident Z has some of those in 2x16gb = 32gb kit form.

 

GPU:

Nothing to mention here really, any high end model of the 2080 Ti will do.

 

PSU:

I'd shift some of this immense budget here, as much as a RMx should suffice you got the money so why not burn it in one of the literally BEST power supplies on the market that should be relevant for the next 10 years? I'd buy a beQuiet! Dark Power Pro 11 80+ Platinum (650W).

 

Monitor:

I'd always consider the latest high end 3440x1440p and smilar 21:9 ultrawides, 100hz~120hz should be completely enough even for majority of competitive playing while providing far more immersion and over all premium feel.

 

The Rest:

This is the "subjective part" pick what pleases you more and I won't really bother mentioning as we all have biases/preferences.

[brob]

Depending on spreadsheet design, programs like Excel can use multiple cores. This suggests that the 3900X may be a better option if highly complex spreadsheets are being used.

 

Spreadsheet users tend to like large desktops so sacrificing 144Hz for a 3840x2160 desktop makes sense.

 

Fastest currently available NMe drive also a good idea for loading large and complex spreadsheets.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($499.00 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($89.90 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 GAMING PRO CARBON WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Royal 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  ($194.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($449.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card  ($1199.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Phanteks Evolv X ATX Mid Tower Case  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME Ultra Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($114.99 @ B&H) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($139.99 @ Other World Computing) 
Monitor: Acer XB321HK BMIPHZ 32.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  ($799.88 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Logitech G613 Wireless Standard Keyboard  ($72.90 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Logitech G305 (Black) Wireless Optical Mouse  ($47.79 @ Amazon) 
Total: $4059.40
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-10 19:50 EDT-0400

[xKyric]

1 hour ago, Princess Luna said:

-Snip-

Thanks for all the great recommendations.

Could you explain to me why the be quiet! Dark Power Pro is a top-tier PSU? Aside from efficiency ratings, reliability, and not being a fire hazard, I've never grasped what makes one power supply better than another. 

[Princess Luna]

1 hour ago, xKyric said:

Thanks for all the great recommendations.

I would like to point out that you'd be better off with using 1 reliable sata 3 for windows something like the Samsung 860 Pro for boot where it matters less and then the workload to happen on a single 2TB SSD as Storage, one SSD is always better than 2 because it will have higher over all life span, performance from higher cache and so on.

 

1 hour ago, xKyric said:

Could you explain to me why the be quiet! Dark Power Pro is a top-tier PSU? Aside from efficiency ratings, reliability, and not being a fire hazard, I've never grasped what makes one power supply better than another.  

I'll let @LukeSavenije attend you on it since he enjoys talking about PSU more than I do [:

[LukeSavenije]

9 hours ago, xKyric said:

Could you explain to me why the be quiet! Dark Power Pro is a top-tier PSU?

many things: the regulation, ripple, efficiency, protections, heat, noise, soldering and many more things