First-Time PC Build for 3D, Filmmaking, and Visual Art (Lifetime Mac User)

[brohimer]

Budget (including currency): $5,500 (including monitor)

Country: USA

Main Programs: Blender, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Lightroom, potentially C4D, and potentially Unreal Engine 5

Other details

 

In particular, I'm having difficulty understanding if my choices for memory/storage are optimal or even work with the other hardware.

 

PCPartPicker Part List:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($635.97 @ Amazon) 
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
• Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($322.02 @ Amazon) 
• Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory  ($459.00 @ Amazon) 
• Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($74.98 @ Amazon) 
• Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Adorama) 
• Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
• Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 4 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($67.98 @ Amazon) 
• Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24 GB GAMING OC Video Card  ($1539.99 @ Newegg) 
• Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($176.89 @ B&H) 
• Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME PX 1300 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($294.43 @ Amazon) 
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM 64-bit  ($119.98 @ Amazon) 

Total: $4046.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-06-28 23:18 EDT-0400

 

And I'm also trying to decide which monitor to get since I do a lot of visual art stuff:

• BenQ PD2725U ($949.99)
• BenQ PD2705U ($536.68)

I'd appreciate suggestions for better alternatives if anyone is familiar with the parts I'm picking out.

 

Thanks in advance!

[dj_ripcord]

You have 3 M.2 SSD's and yet, your motherboard only supports 2?

[brohimer]

1 minute ago, dj_ripcord said:

You have 3 M.2 SSD's and yet, your motherboard only supports 2?

Good eye. I watched a video about storage hierarchy, and the guy said it's ideal to split video editing storage across 4 drives.

1. OS + Programs (Gen 4 NVME)
2. Project (Gen 4 NVME)
3. Cache/Temp (Gen 3 NVME)
4. Archive (HDD)

Do you think it's a bad idea to combine any of these levels? Or should I look for a motherboard with more M.2 slots?

[RONOTHAN##]

Your storage configuration makes no sense, you're probably better off with a different case, motherboard doesn't make sense (there are much better boards for less), and you can get a lower end PSU without much issue. 

1. The B550 Taichi is currently $100 less and is a more fully featured motherboard. 
2. 4x16GB doesn't make a ton of sense when 2x32 is a lot cheaper and allows for much more upgradeability. 
3. Go for a single 2TB Gen 4 drive and a 1TB Gen 3 drive for boot. It'll be cheaper, you end up with more storage, and it'll perform better. 
4. The Fractal Torrent is the same price and comes with a lot of fans. It'll perform better and cost about the same amount, it would be my pick instead. 
5. The Corsair HX1200 is $100 less and is a very similar quality PSU. 
6. Just get a Windows key from a reseller, it's just as good and will save you $100. Windows 10 keys work for Windows 11 so just get whatever is cheaper. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4F7prD

 

6 minutes ago, brohimer said:

Do you think it's a bad idea to combine any of these levels? Or should I look for a motherboard with more M.2 slots?

I would just partition the drives and run 2 instead. Gen 4 drives are really fast and should be able to handle levels 2 and 3 at the same time, and the OS doesn't actually benefit from Gen 4 operation anyway. 

Edited June 29 by RONOTHAN##

[brohimer]

1 minute ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Your storage configuration makes no sense, you're probably better off with a different case, motherboard doesn't make sense (there are much better boards for less), and you can get a lower end PSU without much issue. 

1. The B550 Taichi is currently $100 less and is a more fully featured motherboard. 
2. 4x16GB doesn't make a ton of sense when 2x32 is a lot cheaper and allows for much more upgradeability. 
3. Go for a single 2TB Gen 4 drive and a 1TB Gen 3 drive for boot. It'll be cheaper, you end up with more storage, and it'll perform better. 
4. The Fractal Torrent is the same price and comes with a lot of fans. It'll perform better and cost about the same amount, it would be my pick instead. 
5. The Corsair HX1200 is $100 less and is a very similar quality PSU. 
6. Just get a Windows key from a reseller, it's just as good and will save you $100. Windows 10 keys work for Windows 11 so just get whatever is cheaper. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4F7prD

Thanks for the advice