Help! What motherboard / parts should I put in my new build?

[qfurgie]

Budget (including currency): 2500 USD

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Streaming, Gaming, Game Development, Computer Programming

Other details: I have monitors, speakers, peripherals, etc, from my previous build, so I am just looking for advice on the tower right now.

 

This build is for school - I am a computer science and music production major - but I am also going to use it for work and streaming/gaming (the real reason).

 

My current build has an ASUS motherboard, and I like the auto overclocking ability it has, and I am fearful to move to a brand I haven't used before, in this case NZXT.

 

I am going for an all white clean but powerful build, and these are my current parts:

 

CPU:               Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor

    COOLER:   Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

RAM:              Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

MOBO:           NZXT N7-Z69XT-W1 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard

STOR:             Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

GPU:              MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB VENTUS 3X OC Video Card

PSU:               Corsair RM (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

CASE:            Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case

OTHER:         Additional Corsair ML fans

 

I already have HDDs from my old build I am going to put into my new machine, the SSD is just to run windows and certain programs off of.

 

I was wondering if that is not a good Motherboard, as I really like the clean look of it, but I am afraid the performance will not be enough for my needs.

Audio, overclocking, and general performance is important to me, but I don't really need the WIFI that's on it.

 

I am stuck between the NZXT N7 and the ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A, as the ASUS seems to have more performance, but the NZXT looks nicer and lacks the marketing to let me know if it holds up.

Edit: I kind of like the bluetooth on the NZXT? It seems fine from my needs looking through the specs, but I understand I am still learning and would love to hear feedback

 

Feel free to recommend anything or tell me I should change parts etc, I will try to respond to any questions if there are any. Thank you!

 

Quinny

[Ryuikko]

It looks fine to me besides the psu and ram, I'd probably want at least a 1000 watt psu in this system and 16gb is skimpy for your workloads. 

Afaik there isn't a white corsair rm 1000, so you can cable mod an a1000g if wanted.

The strix is probably gonna be the better board here so I'd personally go with that.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/x9qxxs

Oc doesn't net the most benefit on 12th gen, but I put it anyways 

Have you considered the o11 dynamic? If you like the look of the 4000d I'd get the 5000d airflow instead since it supports 360 mounting on top/ don't like the look of the o11

The 3080 12gb is pretty much the same as the 3080ti just with a lower clock speed , and it's 150 less so I'd get that instead 

[8tg]

I would be looking at a much more substantial cooler than a 240mm aio if you intend to overclock a 12900k.

The 4000D can do a 360mm front radiator and I would go that route, ideally in push/pull 

 

The NZXT board is solid, but it’s biggest thing is it’s appearance, it’s otherwise a really mediocre z690 board from the stance of overclocking or just raw performance. You have fairly average I/o but 3 nvme 4.0 slots which is nice. 
The board is expensive because of its looks, if you want actual performance look elsewhere because this isn’t going to push anything more than a reasonable light overclock on a 12900k. 
Its a 12+1 vrm setup which is fine, but not amazing. Its vrm cooling is adequate for that, but pushing it hard will heat it up pretty bad without some kind of airflow over the board, and all the shrouds make that difficult.

 

The strix Z690A will be a much better choice if you want to overclock beyond just a little bit of a boost.

Otherwise I would look at faster ram, this isn’t amd where it’s gotta sync up with infinity fabric or whatever, you can easily manage 4000Mhz+ ddr4 with ease on almost any Z690 board, at least 3600 would be recommended as it’s maybe a dollar or two more than 3200

I wouldn’t get a ventus card, they’re cheaper than the others for a reason, lower boost clocks and harsher power limits than most models. Check out techpowerups vbios comparisons for this. 
As well right now a lot of AIBs are trying to dump 3090’s for cheap and they’re the better choice since they barely cost any more than a 3080ti, a decent evga rtx 3090 now is around 1100$ while a 3080ti is still 950-1000$

 

 

[qfurgie]

1 hour ago, 8tg said:

I would be looking at a much more substantial cooler than a 240mm aio if you intend to overclock a 12900k.

The 4000D can do a 360mm front radiator and I would go that route, ideally in push/pull 

 

The NZXT board is solid, but it’s biggest thing is it’s appearance, it’s otherwise a really mediocre z690 board from the stance of overclocking or just raw performance. You have fairly average I/o but 3 nvme 4.0 slots which is nice. 
The board is expensive because of its looks, if you want actual performance look elsewhere because this isn’t going to push anything more than a reasonable light overclock on a 12900k. 
Its a 12+1 vrm setup which is fine, but not amazing. Its vrm cooling is adequate for that, but pushing it hard will heat it up pretty bad without some kind of airflow over the board, and all the shrouds make that difficult.

 

The strix Z690A will be a much better choice if you want to overclock beyond just a little bit of a boost.

Otherwise I would look at faster ram, this isn’t amd where it’s gotta sync up with infinity fabric or whatever, you can easily manage 4000Mhz+ ddr4 with ease on almost any Z690 board, at least 3600 would be recommended as it’s maybe a dollar or two more than 3200

I wouldn’t get a ventus card, they’re cheaper than the others for a reason, lower boost clocks and harsher power limits than most models. Check out techpowerups vbios comparisons for this. 
As well right now a lot of AIBs are trying to dump 3090’s for cheap and they’re the better choice since they barely cost any more than a 3080ti, a decent evga rtx 3090 now is around 1100$ while a 3080ti is still 950-1000$

 

 

Awesome thank you! I got faster RAM and doing the Strix motherboard now. Also upgraded to the 3 fan rad.

 

Saw the slower clock speeds you were talking about, would you say a Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB GAMING OC card is better to buy?

[qfurgie]

1 hour ago, Ryuikko said:

It looks fine to me besides the psu and ram, I'd probably want at least a 1000 watt psu in this system and 16gb is skimpy for your workloads. 

Afaik there isn't a white corsair rm 1000, so you can cable mod an a1000g if wanted.

The strix is probably gonna be the better board here so I'd personally go with that.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/x9qxxs

Oc doesn't net the most benefit on 12th gen, but I put it anyways 

Have you considered the o11 dynamic? If you like the look of the 4000d I'd get the 5000d airflow instead since it supports 360 mounting on top/ don't like the look of the o11

The 3080 12gb is pretty much the same as the 3080ti just with a lower clock speed , and it's 150 less so I'd get that instead 

Got a 1000 watt, which I realize now is better, so thank you! I switched over to the Strix and got the 3 fan rad, as well as your recommended SSD. I like the o11, however i think it is a little expensive, and I am confused as to why there is IO on the bottom of the case and not the top. Also, I am curious how I could utilize the 5000D AF better than the 4000, as the 5000D AF can mount three 360mm rads, and I am not sure what I would do with all of that extra space. I was planning on putting the 360mm rad on the front of the case, then having fans go in the back and out the top, or both out top and back? I am not sure how much positive air pressure I would need, and if the PSU would create that from its intake below. However, I would love to hear why the 5000D AF would be better, I do not think I am fully understanding. Thank you!

[8tg]

14 minutes ago, qfurgie said:

Awesome thank you! I got faster RAM and doing the Strix motherboard now. Also upgraded to the 3 fan rad.

 

Saw the slower clock speeds you were talking about, would you say a Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB GAMING OC card is better to buy?

Yes, here’s the gigabyte oc:

 

and here’s the msi ventus

it seems like little changes but it adds up especially when the cards are so similar in pricing, as well as the cooling solutions for further overclocking, cards like the ventus become a limitation

I use a 3070ti gaming oc from gigabyte and it’s a fantastic card, gigabyte can be hit or miss some generations (during pascal they were a miss) but for these rtx 3000 series cards they have some really solid coolers out there even when the windforce gaming oc is only the “mid tier” of their cooler lineup 

the aourus… aurous… mega rgb gaymer meme one is probably the best cooler, and even the lowly eagle coolers are some of the best for low end cards 

 

[qfurgie]

2 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Yes, here’s the gigabyte oc:

 

and here’s the msi ventus

it seems like little changes but it adds up especially when the cards are so similar in pricing, as well as the cooling solutions for further overclocking, cards like the ventus become a limitation

I use a 3070ti gaming oc from gigabyte and it’s a fantastic card, gigabyte can be hit or miss some generations (during pascal they were a miss) but for these rtx 3000 series cards they have some really solid coolers out there even when the windforce gaming oc is only the “mid tier” of their cooler lineup 

the aourus… aurous… mega rgb gaymer meme one is probably the best cooler, and even the lowly eagle coolers are some of the best for low end cards 

 

AMAZING thank you so much those visuals were just what I needed. Awesome! Gigabyte locked in!

[Ryuikko]

19 minutes ago, qfurgie said:

am confused as to why there is IO on the bottom of the case and not the top. Also, I am curious how I could utilize the 5000D AF better than the 4000, as the 5000D AF can mount three 360mm rads, and I am not sure what I would do with all of that extra space. I was planning on putting the 360mm rad on the front of the case, then having fans go in the back and out the top, or both out top and back?

Afaik as I know there isnt io on the bottom of the o11? Unless you meant the front panel.

It's just for the ability to mount a 360 aio on top so the pump dosent (move the air bubbles around/create them?)decreasing lifespan. It's just one of the cases that I know have that support, but I do agree it is a pretty large case. So there's nothing wrong with front mounting, your aio might just die a bit faster.

The most common airflow config i see is technically negative pressure with the front intake and the rest exhaust

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yfZgrD

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯

 

Have fun not overpaying >200$ for a decent white gpu, there are white gpus but i cant reccomend them due to being overpriced asf, up to you though if you wanna blow 200$ on aesthetics when you can do it yourself for 1/10th the cost

[qfurgie]

55 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yfZgrD

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯

 

Have fun not overpaying >200$ for a decent white gpu, there are white gpus but i cant reccomend them due to being overpriced asf, up to you though if you wanna blow 200$ on aesthetics when you can do it yourself for 1/10th the cost

Thank you so much! Yeah I am going for just a regular GPU cuz the white is incredibly overpriced, appreciate the build guide though!

[qfurgie]

2 hours ago, Ryuikko said:

Afaik as I know there isnt io on the bottom of the o11? Unless you meant the front panel.

It's just for the ability to mount a 360 aio on top so the pump dosent (move the air bubbles around/create them?)decreasing lifespan. It's just one of the cases that I know have that support, but I do agree it is a pretty large case. So there's nothing wrong with front mounting, your aio might just die a bit faster.

The most common airflow config i see is technically negative pressure with the front intake and the rest exhaust

Okay awesome thanks. I have to fit it in my college dorm room and I'm limited with price so I think I will get the 4000D AF then save up for the EVO with my school job. Thank you!

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 hour ago, qfurgie said:

Thank you so much! Yeah I am going for just a regular GPU cuz the white is incredibly overpriced, appreciate the build guide though!

You can actually paint the gpu yourself, even the pcb can be painted, look for some vids on yt, dont waste your money on white only to ruin it with one non colour matched part

[NF-A12x25]

8 hours ago, qfurgie said:

STOR:             Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

The 980 is a terrible SSD for the price- if you want to go gen 3 grab a 970 Evo Plus but if you want to go Gen 4 get the cheapest well reviewed SSD. I think the Rocket 4 Plus was at one point but now it’s not on sale anymore, the Rocket 4.0 isn’t as good but it’s generally pretty cheap

 

(don’t confuse the 980 with the 980 pro- the 980 pro is actually a good drive with DRAM cache and a gen4 connection, the 980 is an overpriced dramless gen 3 ssd)