new build Twitch Streaming/Editing for AAA Games (New Build)

[Killians1978]

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I'm using an outdated LG 1080p television as my main screen, as it gives me the real estate to run games windowed and have other windows outside of the stream focus.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.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Killians1978
Adjusted stretch budget.

[Grabhanem]

For most video editing Threadripper probably won't be worth it over a Ryzen 9. Video work is traditionally a multicore task, but most programs don't scale super well above 12-18 cores. Games won't care in the slightest about large core counts, and Threadripper's lower single-core boost clock will hurt you much more than the many threads will help.

 

At your budget, you're right that Nvidia is the way to go. Additionally, current Nvidia cards include the improved Nvenc engine for GPU encoding, which provides good quality while not taking up any CPU usage. That said, on a 3900x or 3950x you'll have enough cores to run CPU encoding anyway.

 

One important consideration if you go Ryzen 9 is that Ryzen really likes fast FCLK (Infinity fabric speed) and memory, which are usually linked. If you stick with your current 2666MHz memory, you'd likely want to break that link and go to 1800+ FCLK instead of the 1333 FCLK that you would get if you left it stock.

 

One thing I'm not super familiar with is how much After Effects etc. like memory capacity. In the parts list I added a fast 2x16GB kit, you could add another if you think you'll want 64GB.

 

Here's an $1800 build I threw together- I didn't include peripherals or monitors because I don't know what would work best for your setup, and you could upgrade to either a 3950X or a 2080 Super for some marginal benefit if you wanted to spend a bit more.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor	$469.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black 55 CFM CPU Cooler	$69.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock X570 Steel Legend ATX AM4 Motherboard	$179.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory	$154.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$112.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card	$473.98 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$98.95 @ Walmart
Power Supply	Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$109.99 @ Amazon
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$99.99 @ B&H
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1790.82
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$1770.82
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-07 16:33 EST-0500

 

[Killians1978]

58 minutes ago, Grabhanem said:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Motherboard	ASRock X570 Steel Legend ATX AM4 Motherboard	$179.99 @ Amazon

 

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.

[Grabhanem]

1 hour ago, Killians1978 said:

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.

Basically all the X570 boards should work fine, pick whichever you prefer I didn't put a whole lot of research into the board choice, I just remember that that one is pretty decent without being super expensive.

 

If you have some time to kill, Buildzoid has an excellent roundup of all the X570/X470/B450 boards: (I would recommend sticking to X570 to avoid issues with fast memory and BIOS compatibility)

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($469.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool Neptwin RGB 56.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($49.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($164.98 @ Amazon) 
Memory: OLOy 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($108.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Pioneer 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($130.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB SEA HAWK X Video Card  ($599.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Corsair SPEC-DELTA RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Best Buy) 
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($99.99 @ B&H) 
Total: $1844.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-07 23:21 EST-0500