Somewhat experienced looking to upgrade

[VikingLovesThings]

Budget (including currency): $1500 - $2000 US (with some flexibility)

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, Video and Audio creation and editing

 

Apologies ahead of time for a potentially long post; I can be wordy.

 

My current PC build is about 6-7 years old now, and although it's held up admirably (all things considered) I've been wanting to get into more modern PC stuff (gaming that I'm severely under-powered for, video creation and editing, etc.) and just generally upgrade into something much bigger.

 

I've built a number of PC's in my time and really enjoy doing it but admittedly, I'm not as familiar with the PC tech space as I once was (though thanks to some friends, some personal research and LTT, I've learned a lot more in the last few months).

 

I already have managed to get my hands on a GTX 3090 Founder's Edition and, after doing some research into recommended build specs for a decent audio creating/editing machine I was looking at purchasing AMD's Ryzen 9 5950x as a pair up to this beastly GPU.

 

The problem is I need a workhorse computer that can do it all because I really can't afford 3 good computers that can each do the one thing well, money OR space wise.

 

The 5950x is a phenomenal piece of tech and from what I've seen it would more than suffice for my CPU needs...but is it worth it to go a step up and get a lower thread ripper like this? https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Threadripper-48-Thread-Processor-YD297XAZAFWOF/dp/B07JBQJ1D9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8JYRT9YFKHGR&keywords=AMD%2Bthreadripper&qid=1647290507&sprefix=amd%2Bthreadrip%2Caps%2C600&sr=8-1&th=1

 

Likewise I found what seems to be a great deal on 128 gigs of DDR4 ram from Kingston but I'm unsure if Kingston is still a trustworthy company as many of the companies I used to turn to (like Intel back in the day) have since been shown up by competitors in the modern age working to offer better solutions. Not only that but with the advent of DDR5 now available, should I look into that? I'm told that many of the ram developers are working directly with Intel so the much of the current DDR5 market is hinging on that partnership (info gotten from a friend and have not yet done follow up on research; happy to be proven incorrect about this, I'm definitely no expert). Here's a link to this Kingston pack. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097RHXRFC/ref=twister_B09CMZPC1J?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

This is where I could really use the help. I come from a time when liquid cooling (which I've been told is all but necessary in order to utilize the 3090 without causing major overheating problems) pretty much was all custom made and very expensive so I haven't got as much of an understanding for whose delivering on good components since liquid cooling tech has ALSO made some phenomenal strides both in capability and affordability. Corsair is a great standard but perhaps there's better options that won't cost as much (which is to say that some of the Corsair units I've seen are not very expensive at all).

 

Are sound cards still worthwhile purchases at this point? I imagine they would offer better sound quality in general over the standard built-in sound on most any motherboard but maybe it's better to save my money?

 

My only stipulations are that I, of course need to be able to utilize my 3090 to as best a capability as I can; again, not only for gaming but also for video editing (which I know this is not the IDEAL GPU for that but again, I'm hoping to make this into a workhorse PC). I also would really like my computer case to be CD drive, capable if possible. Obviously, it's not the end of the world if there's a more suitable case option as there are plenty of external drive options out there but I'm old-school and I still collect physical media (and I'm one of those weirdos who is collecting CDs because vinyls are a little too expensive and unruly for me at the moment). I would also like to be able to maintain my surround sound system; despite it's age (it's a 5.1 channel Logitech system I got back when I got a Dell XPS at the end of high school) it still works and sounds amazing. Again, I need to be able to use this computer to work audio creation and editing.

 

I'd also prefer to stick with PC. I like building my own machine and I like the control it affords me. Call me a freak perfectionist.

 

I'm fairly open minded and because I already have what is likely to be the most expensive piece of the this puzzle (the GPU) already in hand, I'm hopeful that maybe you fine folk can offer some advice? I know I'm asking for a LOT here (at least, I think I am) expecting to make this thing this multi-capable but, at the end of it all, this is really what I am trying to do with it and I just want to be as upfront about it as possible. I hope this was enough info for you guys to be able to understand my situation, I'm open to most any suggestions.

 

Thanks in advance, should this garner any replies!

[IkeaGnome]

2 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

The 5950x is a phenomenal piece of tech and from what I've seen it would more than suffice for my CPU needs...but is it worth it to go a step up and get a lower thread ripper like this?

It's really only worth it if you need the extra PCIE lanes. Or the core count increase, but the 5950x should out perform the 2970x for the most part.

10 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

with the advent of DDR5 now available, should I look into that?

DDR5 doesn't give hardly any performance gap over DDR4 currently. Wait for that to mature before you go DDR5. Not nearly enough to be worth the extra costs.

 

12 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

This is where I could really use the help. I come from a time when liquid cooling (which I've been told is all but necessary in order to utilize the 3090 without causing major overheating problems) pretty much was all custom made and very expensive so I haven't got as much of an understanding for whose delivering on good components since liquid cooling tech has ALSO made some phenomenal strides both in capability and affordability. Corsair is a great standard but perhaps there's better options that won't cost as much (which is to say that some of the Corsair units I've seen are not very expensive at all).

 

The 3090 is a hot GPU. Specifically the back side modules. I'd look into an active backplate for these. For the rest of it, AFAIK most of your parts are made by Bykiski or Barrow and some costs could be cut by going with them. 

15 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

Are sound cards still worthwhile purchases at this point? I imagine they would offer better sound quality in general over the standard built-in sound on most any motherboard but maybe it's better to save my money?

For audio production, they might be, but on board audio has gotten very good. If I were you, I'd go with an onboard audio and see if it's up to your standards. If it's not, it's easy to drop in a sound card. 

 

Any reason for a 5950x over the 12900K? 5950x would leave some performance on the table.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/12th-Gen-Intel-Core-CPU-Review-Roundup-2248/ 

Since you didn't say how much storage you want/need, I put a really good gen 4 dive in as a placeholder.

12900k build

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 AERO G DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($274.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Thermaltake Core X71 ATX Full Tower Case  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($204.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $1929.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-14 17:36 EDT-0400

The downside to the 5950x would be the chipset fan on X570 if what you're doing is noise sensitive. If it's not, that makes the motherboard much easier to pick.

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($589.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Thermaltake Core X71 ATX Full Tower Case  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($204.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $1854.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-14 17:37 EDT-0400

TR4. If you really wanted to go Threadripper, and it doesn't look like you need the extra PCIE lanes, you're looking at almost double the CPU cost and double the motherboard cost. 

 

[Jonathan Lee]

AMD Option:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($589.98 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($111.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($569.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S7 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks PH-ES614PC_BK ATX Full Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GT 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.00 @ Walmart) 
Total: $2020.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-14 18:43 EDT-0400

 

Hard to find a case with a bay for CD drive. The Enthoo pro is the best one I can find

[VikingLovesThings]

Sorry for not responding sooner on this; it has been a busy week!

 

Firstly thanks to both of you, for the replies, I do appreciate it!

 

On 3/14/2022 at 3:41 PM, IkeaGnome said:

It's really only worth it if you need the extra PCIE lanes. Or the core count increase, but the 5950x should out perform the 2970x for the most part.

DDR5 doesn't give hardly any performance gap over DDR4 currently. Wait for that to mature before you go DDR5. Not nearly enough to be worth the extra costs.

 

Good to know: yeh, I kind of figured that the DDR5 wouldn't really be too worthwhile as it is so new, but I just wasn't sure: I do appreciate the confirmation on that!
 

On 3/14/2022 at 3:41 PM, IkeaGnome said:

The 3090 is a hot GPU. Specifically the back side modules. I'd look into an active backplate for these. For the rest of it, AFAIK most of your parts are made by Bykiski or Barrow and some costs could be cut by going with them. 

 

 

 

Honest to God, I've not heard of either of these two companies so thank you for pointing me in that direction!

 

On 3/14/2022 at 3:41 PM, IkeaGnome said:

Any reason for a 5950x over the 12900K? 5950x would leave some performance on the table.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/12th-Gen-Intel-Core-CPU-Review-Roundup-2248/ 

Since you didn't say how much storage you want/need, I put a really good gen 4 dive in as a placeholder.

12900k build.

 

 

Storage is not an issue: as I've been getting setup for this build I've built up a substantial amount of space. I definitely don't have as much as someone with a server (not even close, likely) but I'm definitely sitting on more than 16 terabytes worth of space, and my intention is to get a new M.2 drive for OS purposes which will free up even more space on another, older SSD that I have.

 

The big reason why I chose the 5950X is because a friend of mine has one and mentioned it and with some of the research I had done prior to coming here, it seemed to be the most commonly recommended. In my current build, I'm running an Intel processor but I know that recently, Intel has been kind of caught with their pants down as far as competition goes...so I figured I would try for AMD to see if, perhaps it would be better. I've never utilized AMD before, though so I thought I would ask for a little more info from people who would likely be more informed and knowledgeable than I am.

 

All that to say, I've never had problems with Intel personally and am open-minded to using one!

 

On 3/14/2022 at 3:41 PM, IkeaGnome said:

The downside to the 5950x would be the chipset fan on X570 if what you're doing is noise sensitive. If it's not, that makes the motherboard much easier to pick.

  Reveal hidden contents

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($589.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Thermaltake Core X71 ATX Full Tower Case  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($204.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $1854.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-14 17:37 EDT-0400

TR4. If you really wanted to go Threadripper, and it doesn't look like you need the extra PCIE lanes, you're looking at almost double the CPU cost and double the motherboard cost. 

 

I have planned a good budget for this, to be fair so that's not a huge issue but I do appreciate you looking out, as I am not working with a massive budget, either. That said, I do prefer to have extra PCIE lanes (just in case) so it seems likely I'll be going for the other options (the 12900k or the 5950X) in this case.

 

As for the sound, there's a lot I can do to dampen but the less work I have to put in, ultimately WILL be better. The computer will, essentially, be the workstation for an in-house multipurpose studio so...again noise isn't the end of the world as there's a lot of options at my disposal for cutting down on it, but whatever can be done to reduce it does help me in the long run.

 

I will definitely be watching/checking out these links and builds you've suggested so thanks again!

On 3/14/2022 at 4:44 PM, Jonathan Lee said:

AMD Option:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($589.98 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($111.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($569.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S7 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks PH-ES614PC_BK ATX Full Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GT 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.00 @ Walmart) 
Total: $2020.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-14 18:43 EDT-0400

 

Hard to find a case with a bay for CD drive. The Enthoo pro is the best one I can find

 

I know, it's a pain, but I do appreciate you looking!

 

Thank you both again! It means a lot to me, truly! I know I probably sound (read?) like a goof but I really do appreciate the assist! Hope you both are doing well!

Edited March 20, 2022 by VikingLovesThings
Clarification purposes.

[IkeaGnome]

22 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

Intel has been kind of caught with their pants down as far as competition goes...so I figured I would try for AMD to see if, perhaps it would be better. I've never utilized AMD before, though so I thought I would ask for a little more info from people who would likely be more informed and knowledgeable than I am.

Intel has been. Alder Lake did impressive things for them though. Something to keep in mind though, AM5's release is "2nd half 2022" and Alder Lake is newer than Zen 3. There's a chance that AM5 and Zen 4 come out, and Intel looks like a joke again. If you're patient, I'd hold off a little bit if you really want to go AMD. 

28 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

I do prefer to have extra PCIE lanes (just in case) so it seems likely I'll be going for the other options (the 12900k or the 5950X) in this case.

The 5950x does have 24 lanes to the 12900k's 20. 4 of the 5950x's will go to the chipset leaving 20 to go directly to the CPU for storage/GPU. 

However, the 12900k also has 20 PCIE lanes for CPU and storage. It uses DMI lanes (Direct Media Interface) to attach to the chipset. 12900k allows for up to 8 of these. 

32 minutes ago, VikingLovesThings said:

As for the sound, there's a lot I can do to dampen but the less work I have to put in, ultimately WILL be better. The computer will, essentially, be the workstation for an in-house multipurpose studio so...again noise isn't the end of the world as there's a lot of options at my disposal for cutting down on it, but whatever can be done to reduce it does help me in the long run.

In that case, I don't know what you have for a case or if that's part of the budget. If I were in your shoes I'd go with something like this.

The AIO would be a whole lot cheaper and more simple than custom loop. I've got the Aero G in my build. Great motherboard. Doesn't like to XMP DDR4 RAM until you update the bios, but it's a great board otherwise. A 420mm is a huge AIO, and you could more than likely step down to a 240 or 360, but the bigger it is, the cooler your CPU runs, the less you have to spin your case fans. The 802 is a nice balance between good airflow and noise dampening quiet case. Just about the only way to get that build much quieter would be to swap all the fans out for Noctuas, but the Be Quiet fans do really well on their own. 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($124.51 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 AERO G DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($274.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: be quiet! Silent Base 802 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($169.90 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1149.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-20 18:42 EDT-0400

 

[Error 504]

On 3/14/2022 at 2:41 PM, IkeaGnome said:

  Reveal hidden contents

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 AERO G DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($274.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($579.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Thermaltake Core X71 ATX Full Tower Case  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($204.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $1929.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-14 17:36 EDT-0400

The downside to the 5950x would be the chipset fan on X570 if what you're doing is noise sensitive. If it's not, that makes the motherboard much easier to pick.

msi and gigabyte, and asus have a new line of x570s mobo with passive chipset cooling.

the "s" stands for "eSktra eSpensive".

 

no but seriously, this is the reason why i'm planning a 5950x build now. i didn't like the chipset fan, but the x570s took care of that problem.

 

On 3/14/2022 at 2:41 PM, IkeaGnome said:

DDR5 doesn't give hardly any performance gap over DDR4 currently. Wait for that to mature before you go DDR5. Not nearly enough to be worth the extra costs.Any reason for a 5950x over the 12900K? 5950x would leave some performance on the table.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/12th-Gen-Intel-Core-CPU-Review-Roundup-2248/ 

Since you didn't say how much storage you want/need, I put a really good gen 4 dive in as a placeholder.

12900k build

i was reading some posts, may be anecdotal, but some said 12900k is still new, and there might be issues with using ddr4. this again is probably anecdotal, but kind of make sense about new cpu's. whereas 5950x has been around relatively longer, and more likely that most bugs have been debugged.

 

imo....

[VikingLovesThings]

On 3/20/2022 at 4:47 PM, IkeaGnome said:

Intel has been. Alder Lake did impressive things for them though. Something to keep in mind though, AM5's release is "2nd half 2022" and Alder Lake is newer than Zen 3. There's a chance that AM5 and Zen 4 come out, and Intel looks like a joke again. If you're patient, I'd hold off a little bit if you really want to go AMD.

I appreciate the offer and, it's possible it'll end up being a money sink but, presumably, I can upgrade again later if I really want/need to. I'd like to try to have this computer ready to go well before summer really kicks off so I kind of want to pull the trigger on this sooner than later, if possible. Thanks for letting me know about this though, I had not heard about release dates for these!

 

On 3/20/2022 at 4:47 PM, IkeaGnome said:

In that case, I don't know what you have for a case or if that's part of the budget. If I were in your shoes I'd go with something like this.

The AIO would be a whole lot cheaper and more simple than custom loop. I've got the Aero G in my build. Great motherboard. Doesn't like to XMP DDR4 RAM until you update the bios, but it's a great board otherwise. A 420mm is a huge AIO, and you could more than likely step down to a 240 or 360, but the bigger it is, the cooler your CPU runs, the less you have to spin your case fans. The 802 is a nice balance between good airflow and noise dampening quiet case. Just about the only way to get that build much quieter would be to swap all the fans out for Noctuas, but the Be Quiet fans do really well on their own. 

 

That does look like a good option; it would be a little bit of a bummer to lose the onboard/internal CD tray options but I do understand that those have long been going out of style so, as Johnathon Lee pointed out it's getting harder to find in newer cases. That said, I do know there are options for separate, external disc drives so that's, perhaps something I should look into.

 

Will this work well for cooling the 3090 I have? Obviously, if I get the backing plates you recommended as well, all things add up but I've heard that this GPU is a bit of a nightmare to deal with cooling wise. Any recommendations on specific backing plates?

 

I've got 3 good case ideas...decisions decisions!

 

Would the motherboard you recommended (the Aero G) work with either the Thermaltake or the be quiet! or would it require the larger case? That may help me make that decision overall.

 

Also I have to show my lack of "education" here: What do you mean "Doesn't like to XMP...until you update the bios?" I'm unsure of what this is. I've always just plugged RAM in and run with it...

 

 

On 3/20/2022 at 10:59 PM, Error 504 said:

msi and gigabyte, and asus have a new line of x570s mobo with passive chipset cooling.

the "s" stands for "eSktra eSpensive".

 

no but seriously, this is the reason why i'm planning a 5950x build now. i didn't like the chipset fan, but the x570s took care of that problem.

 

i was reading some posts, may be anecdotal, but some said 12900k is still new, and there might be issues with using ddr4. this again is probably anecdotal, but kind of make sense about new cpu's. whereas 5950x has been around relatively longer, and more likely that most bugs have been debugged.

 

imo....

Thanks for the info! Will definitely help with my decision-making process on this! Do you have a specific recommendation on which of these you're looking at? The Aero G that IkeaGnome recommended definitely looks like a winner but I'm open to something else if it'll solve that particular issue.

 

This is the X570S variant of the Aero G...looks like fun, but I see what you mean by "ekStra ekSpensive!"

 

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-X570S-AERO-Ryzen-Motherboard/dp/B083HZHL81/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2HYS6CKY2EVVQ&keywords=Gigabyte+X570S&qid=1648052027&sprefix=gigabyte+x570s%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-2

[brob]

Unless you want to overclock, I'd suggest going with a locked i9-12900. There is a very small performance hit but it runs cooler which means a quieter system.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-12900 2.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($499.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe FUMA 2 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus ProArt B660-CREATOR D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($229.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($569.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ GameStop) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB Founders Edition Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($179.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Corsair HX Platinum 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1849.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-03-23 13:46 EDT-0400

 

 

On 3/21/2022 at 12:59 AM, Error 504 said:

i was reading some posts, may be anecdotal, but some said 12900k is still new, and there might be issues with using ddr4. this again is probably anecdotal, but kind of make sense about new cpu's. whereas 5950x has been around relatively longer, and more likely that most bugs have been debugged.

 

 

Some early Gigabyte boards had issues. But the Alder Lake memory controller itself has had no issues as far as I know.

[Error 504]

11 hours ago, brob said:

Some early Gigabyte boards had issues. But the Alder Lake memory controller itself has had no issues as far as I know.

i want to stay with team blue, but i thought i should go red this time, because 5950x after all, is the first consumer, or prosumer 16-core cpu. i think it's rather iconic in cpu history. this will be the first time ever for me to go team red.

 

13 hours ago, VikingLovesThings said:

This is the X570S variant of the Aero G...looks like fun, but I see what you mean by "ekStra ekSpensive!"

 

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-X570S-AERO-Ryzen-Motherboard/dp/B083HZHL81/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2HYS6CKY2EVVQ&keywords=Gigabyte+X570S&qid=1648052027&sprefix=gigabyte+x570s%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-2

honestly, i think the aero looks beautiful. it is a beautiful board.

[GeorgeMKane]

On 3/14/2022 at 4:04 PM, VikingLovesThings said:

Budget (including currency): $1500 - $2000 US (with some flexibility)

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, Video and Audio creation and editing

 

Apologies ahead of time for a potentially long post; I can be wordy.

 

My current PC build is about 6-7 years old now, and although it's held up admirably (all things considered) I've been wanting to get into more modern PC stuff (gaming that I'm severely under-powered for, video creation and editing, etc.) and just generally upgrade into something much bigger.

 

I've built a number of PC's in my time and really enjoy doing it but admittedly, I'm not as familiar with the PC tech space as I once was (though thanks to some friends, some personal research and LTT, I've learned a lot more in the last few months).

 

I already have managed to get my hands on a GTX 3090 Founder's Edition and, after doing some research into recommended build specs for a decent audio creating/editing machine I was looking at purchasing AMD's Ryzen 9 5950x as a pair up to this beastly GPU.

 

The problem is I need a workhorse computer that can do it all because I really can't afford 3 good computers that can each do the one thing well, money OR space wise.

 

The 5950x is a phenomenal piece of tech and from what I've seen it would more than suffice for my CPU needs...but is it worth it to go a step up and get a lower thread ripper like this? https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Threadripper-48-Thread-Processor-YD297XAZAFWOF/dp/B07JBQJ1D9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8JYRT9YFKHGR&keywords=AMD%2Bthreadripper&qid=1647290507&sprefix=amd%2Bthreadrip%2Caps%2C600&sr=8-1&th=1

 

Likewise I found what seems to be a great deal on 128 gigs of DDR4 ram from Kingston but I'm unsure if Kingston is still a trustworthy company as many of the companies I used to turn to (like Intel back in the day) have since been shown up by competitors in the modern age working to offer better solutions. Not only that but with the advent of DDR5 now available, should I look into that? I'm told that many of the ram developers are working directly with Intel so the much of the current DDR5 market is hinging on that partnership (info gotten from a friend and have not yet done follow up on research; happy to be proven incorrect about this, I'm definitely no expert). Here's a link to this Kingston pack. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097RHXRFC/ref=twister_B09CMZPC1J?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

This is where I could really use the help. I come from a time when liquid cooling (which I've been told is all but necessary in order to utilize the 3090 without causing major overheating problems) pretty much was all custom made and very expensive so I haven't got as much of an understanding for whose delivering on good components since liquid cooling tech has ALSO made some phenomenal strides both in capability and affordability. Corsair is a great standard but perhaps there's better options that won't cost as much (which is to say that some of the Corsair units I've seen are not very expensive at all).

 

Are sound cards still worthwhile purchases at this point? I imagine they would offer better sound quality in general over the standard built-in sound on most any motherboard but maybe it's better to save my money?

 

My only stipulations are that I, of course need to be able to utilize my 3090 to as best a capability as I can; again, not only for gaming but also for video editing (which I know this is not the IDEAL GPU for that but again, I'm hoping to make this into a workhorse PC). I also would really like my computer case to be CD drive, capable if possible. Obviously, it's not the end of the world if there's a more suitable case option as there are plenty of external drive options out there but I'm old-school and I still collect physical media (and I'm one of those weirdos who is collecting CDs because vinyls are a little too expensive and unruly for me at the moment). I would also like to be able to maintain my surround sound system; despite it's age (it's a 5.1 channel Logitech system I got back when I got a Dell XPS at the end of high school) it still works and sounds amazing. Again, I need to be able to use this computer to work audio creation and editing.

 

I'd also prefer to stick with PC. I like building my own machine and I like the control it affords me. Call me a freak perfectionist.

 

I'm fairly open minded and because I already have what is likely to be the most expensive piece of the this puzzle (the GPU) already in hand, I'm hopeful that maybe you fine folk can offer some advice? I know I'm asking for a LOT here (at least, I think I am) expecting to make this thing this multi-capable but, at the end of it all, this is really what I am trying to do with it and I just want to be as upfront about it as possible. I hope this was enough info for you guys to be able to understand my situation, I'm open to most any suggestions.

 

Thanks in advance, should this garner any replies!

DDR5 RAM currently doesn't have that much better performance than DDR4 RAM. It's not worth it for the money right now either, since you can get the 128GB DDR4 RAM for about the same price as 32GB or 64GB DDR5 RAM (most likely the 32GB though). I would probably recommend 64GB of DDR4 RAM right now though, as I can't see 128GB being used unless you have 1,000 chrome tabs, photoshop, premiere pro, and a video game opened all at the same time (please don't do that lol). You can always add another 64GB later.

 

As far as cooling goes, I would recommend going with a NH-D15 for the CPU. You can go with an AIO for a little bit better temps, but I've always recommended air cooling in the place of liquid cooling. A beast like the NH-D15 would hold up against most AIOs. The NH-D15 will also come with some thermal paste, but I'm not 100% sure that it comes with the NT-H2 or not. I would recommend that instead, and it comes with cleaning wipes for later on when you need to redo the thermal paste in the future.

 

As for the CD/DVD drive, I would recommend going external on that one. ASUS ZenDrive comes with usb 2.0 & usb-c cables, for faster reading and writing too.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gMDhgb

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($589.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($289.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($199.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair HX Platinum 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Custom: Noctua NT-H2 ($12.90)
$1772.79

[rikitikitavi]

Since you are putting together very heat heavy parts, you might want to go for Fractal Design Torrent. It may also be on a quieter side (normalized test, in the video below).

 

 

[VikingLovesThings]

On 3/23/2022 at 11:50 PM, GeorgeMKane said:

DDR5 RAM currently doesn't have that much better performance than DDR4 RAM. It's not worth it for the money right now either, since you can get the 128GB DDR4 RAM for about the same price as 32GB or 64GB DDR5 RAM (most likely the 32GB though). I would probably recommend 64GB of DDR4 RAM right now though, as I can't see 128GB being used unless you have 1,000 chrome tabs, photoshop, premiere pro, and a video game opened all at the same time (please don't do that lol). You can always add another 64GB later.

Well, I definitely won't be doing THAT but to be clear, but I AM going to be putting this thing through it's paces. I intend to use this computer for literally ALL of the things you listed (sans the thousand open chrome tabs ).

 

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the tips and the help! Now for the hard part...deciding what I'm actually gonna get!

[Error 504]

5 hours ago, VikingLovesThings said:

Well, I definitely won't be doing THAT but to be clear, but I AM going to be putting this thing through it's paces. I intend to use this computer for literally ALL of the things you listed (sans the thousand open chrome tabs ).

 

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the tips and the help! Now for the hard part...deciding what I'm actually gonna get!

i bit the bullet and got a 5950x. this is the first time ever that i use amd. i was lucky to get it for a low low price. the amd cpu price seems to have gone back up, by a lot.

[Jonathan Lee]

Yea AMD stuff was on a good discount for a bit

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22 minutes ago, Jonathan Lee said:

Yea AMD stuff was on a good discount for a bit

the prices all gone back up today. weird.

 

maybe another chip shortage is coming? semi-conductor and stuff.... raw materials.