Sanity check on the build

[Aidiakapi]

Budget (including currency): 3500 EUR (assume I can get the GPU at MSRP)

Country: Netherlands

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Game development, C++ and C# compilation, running in-development unoptimized game.

Other details:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8K9Xwz

 

This is a completely new build, other than some storage I'm taking from my old system: cheap-o bulk HDD storage (7TB from 2 drives), and a 2TB 970 EVO NVMe.

The remainder of the old system will be going to a relative.

 

The 4 key things I care about are:

• Performance, the games in development are generally not yet well optimized, and running in engine editor is significantly slower. Excellent single-threaded performance is necessary for that. On the other hand, compilation (especially C++) goes wide on the cores, and between my current i7-5930K and a co-workers Ryzen 3950X, the difference is night and day, a full recompile for me takes over 11 times as long.
   
• Noise/thermals. While working, my current system is consuming about 200W continuously from the tools running, this means that there will always have to be fans spinning, and since it's only about 2.5m away from me, I want this to be as quiet as possible. Similarly, I don't want the components running hot all day, so thermal performance needs to be excellent too. That's why I've selected the case and CPU cooler that I have. The GPU is under significantly less load continuously, but still regularly spinning up.
   
• Efficiency. Energy consumption during working hours alone accounts for over 200 euros/month in electricity, hence a more efficient power supply and CPU should hopefully put a dent in that.
   
• Dust filters. I know they go against the noise points, but while I do regularly clean out my dust filters, I'm not actually dusting off the internal frequently (once a year or so with some canned air), so it's important to me that the system is relatively low-maintenance.

 

My old case (Corsair Obsidian Series 750D, see spoiler) is a large XL-ATX compatible case, and it's in a corner, with some clearance around it for airflow. The new case will be positioned the same way (though smaller), and so I don't care about a tinted side-panel, or seeing the components in general, hence things like RGB fans are unimportant.

 

I also don't care about doing overclocking, probably a couple of years down the line, I'll run an auto-tuner, but it's definitely not a priority.

 

I'm happy with any feedback, but specifically I'm looking for a sanity check on the following things.

• The motherboard might be a bit overkill. The things I mainly care about are the reinforced PCI-e slot for the GPU, and at least 2 NVMe M.2 ports. WiFi is not required, but doesn't hurt, at least 4 RAM slots, and a good power solution, efficient and cooled well for longevity.
   
• Regarding the RAM, I need about 32GB (IDE regularly uses up to 8GB, with the project peaking over 20GB). I was planning on getting 64GB so that the OS (Windows) can use that extra RAM for a larger FS cache, however I've heard that large memory sizes may cause issues with stability and memory performance. Hence my question is, should I go for 2x16GB, and I can always add another kit down the line, or should I go for 64GB?
   
• Clearance in general. I think it should all be fine, but I'm not 100% certain. Here are the case specs.
   
• Should I get extra fans? Seems like the 3 included + 3 on the AOI should be sufficient airflow. 2 intake on the front, 1 exhaust on the back, 3 exhaust on the top.

Thanks for the assistance!

 

Spoiler

 

[brob]

I don't see any clearance issues.

 

I do have some suggestions.

 

Consider a less expensive motherboard. Perhaps the MSI MEG X570 Unify or the B550 version. 

 

I'd suggest the Seasonic Prime TX-850 psu. An excellent, quiet psu with a 12 year warranty. At lower loads the fan is passive.

 

You might consider using a Samsung 980 Pro instead of the 970 Evo. More expensive but much higher performance.

[Downkey]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  (€802.95 @ Azerty) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€109.00 @ Azerty) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  (€159.00 @ Azerty) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory  (€392.95 @ Megekko) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€169.00 @ Amazon Netherlands) 
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€215.00 @ Amazon Netherlands) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card  (€1200.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  (€127.27 @ Paradigit) 
Power Supply: MSI 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€118.95 @ Megekko) 
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€13.55 @ Azerty) 
Total: €3307.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-16 15:50 CEST+0200

[Aidiakapi]

On 6/16/2021 at 3:34 PM, brob said:

I don't see any clearance issues.

 

I do have some suggestions.

 

Consider a less expensive motherboard. Perhaps the MSI MEG X570 Unify or the B550 version. 

I'd suggest the Seasonic Prime TX-850 psu. An excellent, quiet psu with a 12 year warranty. At lower loads the fan is passive.

You might consider using a Samsung 980 Pro instead of the 970 Evo. More expensive but much higher performance.

Thanks a lot for your reply, it's much appreciated!

 

I've been looking into your recommendations. The motherboard looks a lot more sensible indeed, though it does show a potential incompatibility due to being a bit of an older board, do you think this'd be a problem? https://nl.pcpartpicker.com/list/qXhrbh

The PSU is very interesting, the difference in cost between the Prime TX 750W and 850W, but between 850W and 1000W isn't. Now PC part picker estimates a bit under 600W in total at max load, so lets say it's more like 500W at a common high load, and the efficiency curve seems to peak around 50% usage, it might be worth getting the 1000W one.

 

I dunno where I somehow in my research ended up shying away from the PCI-e gen 4 SSDs, I saw them having having higher sequentials but lower IOPS. Double checking the two models, that seems to not be true, so I guess it's a worthwhile upgrade. The write endurance should be no problem, with my approximate 0.2TBW/day that should be over 15 years.

 

Thanks again for the response!

[brob]

Linked build list looks good.

 

The X570 (and the B550 for that matter), have the Flash BIOS Button feature. The feature supports BIOS updates without a cpu.