Need advice for planning build

[CaptainQuirk26]

Budget (including currency): $2,000 - $4,000 USD

Country: United States

Games, programs, or workloads that it will be used for: Everything

So I'm planning on building a desktop PC (I've shelved the wall-mounted idea for now), and I need some help/advice as this is my first build (and my needs are somewhat unusual).

I want:

32 GB dual-channel RAM, DDR4 or DDR5 depending on price and efficiency

GeForce RTX graphics, basically just whatever performs the best

AT LEAST 8 CPU cores

AT LEAST 8 USB ports

2 VGA ports

HDMI port

Bluetooth capability

I need:

DVD-R drive

WiFi capability

 

Furthermore, there are a few other big concerns. I don't know what case to use, but I need one that can handle a LOT of hardware, as well as a DVD drive (I do a lot of work with CDs so this is critical, and no, I will not settle for an external), but the cases on Amazon don't have a spot for that. Also, I really don't need anything like the crazy 'sleek' design shit or the plexiglass panel on mine. I prioritize functionality over everything else, and I want to squeeze as much money out of this as possible. No extra aesthetics. Also, storage is a large concern. I will probably dualboot the PC, so I want a decent size boot drive(s), and I was planning on having a partitioned SSD or two SSDs and a large capacity HDD, but I need to know what I would put on what before buying them as I need to choose storage sizes accordingly. My uses are: Gaming (largely older titles, but some newer ones like HL2 RTX, and also probably Unrecord when it comes out), video editing/content creation, audio engineering, game development (GoldSRC, Source, Source 2, etc.), small-scale server hosting, and other uses.

This is my first build and I am completely lost. Help!

[brob]

I don't think there is a current generation desktop motherboard with two 15-pin VGA ports. There are several lower-end boards that offer one.

 

Several models of Phanteks Enthoo Pro have optical drive bays. The Fractal Design Pop series also offers mounting for an optical drive. To get a list of models available on Amazon use pcpartpicker. In the case filter set merchant to Amazon and External 5.25" to at least 1.

 

2 TB NVMe drives are well priced at the moment. 

 

[venomtail]

Tried to keep the price down. Could go more baller. Case has a 5.25 drive cover which has to be removed by hand each time you want to access the DVD drive. I think I'd find that annoying buy then the altertives are ugly cases or on that push $250+ that have a door:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($389.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool ASSASSIN IV 79.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($299.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($96.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M570 HS 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($269.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M461 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card  ($1191.34 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Straight Power 12 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($219.90 @ Amazon) 
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-212DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($74.75 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2901.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-26 05:35 EDT-0400

 

Ideally I'd use a Pro 900 or Pro 901

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i7-13700 2.1 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($366.99 @ Best Buy) 
CPU Cooler: *Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  ($63.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: *MSI PRO Z790-A WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($209.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws S5 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($184.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($125.65 @ Amazon) 
Storage: *Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($125.65 @ Amazon) 
Storage: *Samsung 870 QVO 8 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($366.00 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte EAGLE OC GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card  ($1099.99 @ Best Buy) 
Case: *Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: *MSI A1000G PCIE5 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($174.99 @ Amazon) 
Optical Drive: *LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($69.00 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: *LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($69.00 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($121.98 @ Other World Computing) 
Monitor: *LG UltraGear 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor  ($315.30 @ Amazon) 
Total: $3373.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-26 05:48 EDT-0400

 

A better look at those components.

 

https://www.lg.com/hk_en/monitor/lg-27gr75q-b  

 

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-Z790-A-WIFI  

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/230490/intel-core-i713700-processor-30m-cache-up-to-5-20-ghz/specifications.html  

 

https://www.deepcool.com/products/Cooling/cpuaircoolers/AK620-High-Performance-CPU-Cooler-1700-AM5/2021/13067.shtml  

 

https://www.gskill.com/product/165/377/1649234605/F5-6000J3040G32GX2-RS5K-F5-6000J3040G32GA2-RS5K  

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/980-pro-pcie-4-0-nvme-ssd-1tb-mz-v8p1t0b-am/  

 

https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N4080EAGLE-OC-16GD#kf

 

https://www.msi.com/Power-Supply/MPG-A1000G-PCIE5  

 

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/pop/pop-air/black-tg-clear/  

 

 

[CaptainQuirk26]

10 hours ago, venomtail said:

Tried to keep the price down. Could go more baller. Case has a 5.25 drive cover which has to be removed by hand each time you want to access the DVD drive. I think I'd find that annoying buy then the altertives are ugly cases or on that push $250+ that have a door:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($389.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool ASSASSIN IV 79.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($299.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($96.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M570 HS 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($269.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M461 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card  ($1191.34 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Straight Power 12 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($219.90 @ Amazon) 
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-212DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($74.75 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2901.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-26 05:35 EDT-0400

 

Ideally I'd use a Pro 900 or Pro 901

The specs of this are great, but there's some extraneous stuff I might cull to keep the price down. I'm not really that knowledgeable about GPU performance, but a 4080 seems unnecessary for my usage. Maybe a 30-series? Also, the Blu-ray drive is unneeded, I don't work with Blu-ray. I could probably bring the price down by getting a simple DVD-R instead.

[Why_Me]

10 hours ago, CaptainQuirk26 said:

The specs of this are great, but there's some extraneous stuff I might cull to keep the price down. I'm not really that knowledgeable about GPU performance, but a 4080 seems unnecessary for my usage. Maybe a 30-series? Also, the Blu-ray drive is unneeded, I don't work with Blu-ray. I could probably bring the price down by getting a simple DVD-R instead.

RTX 4070 Ti + 850w psu.

[venomtail]

11 hours ago, CaptainQuirk26 said:

The specs of this are great, but there's some extraneous stuff I might cull to keep the price down. I'm not really that knowledgeable about GPU performance, but a 4080 seems unnecessary for my usage. Maybe a 30-series? Also, the Blu-ray drive is unneeded, I don't work with Blu-ray. I could probably bring the price down by getting a simple DVD-R instead.

The only threshold for performance I have is "used for: Everything." With everything I also assume rendering, blender, video editing, gaming and so on. State what it is even if it's Youtube, browsing and Sims 4 then we'd get a more accurate picture.

 

Just about never look at the previous gen after the new one's out. If your not on an extreme budget, don't get a 30 series GPU. Either 4070 at worst or look at AMD if you need something cheaper than a 4070.

 

When it comes to CD/DVD drivers, on the listing all of them had BlueRay capabilities. This was the 2nd cheapest and picked it cause whilst it was $5 more expensive the speed rating was double. No idea if that's important on disc readers but the more the betterer?

 

I could also just recommend getting an external reader via USB. Will free up case choice for you by a ton.

[CaptainQuirk26]

2 minutes ago, venomtail said:

The only threshold for performance I have is "used for: Everything." With everything I also assume rendering, blender, video editing, gaming and so on. State what it is even if it's Youtube, browsing and Sims 4 then we'd get a more accurate picture.

 

Just about never look at the previous gen after the new one's out. If your not on an extreme budget, don't get a 30 series GPU. Either 4070 at worst or look at AMD if you need something cheaper than a 4070.

 

When it comes to CD/DVD drivers, on the listing all of them had BlueRay capabilities. This was the 2nd cheapest and picked it cause whilst it was $5 more expensive the speed rating was double. No idea if that's important on disc readers but the more the betterer?

 

I could also just recommend getting an external reader via USB. Will free up case choice for you by a ton.

Okay, so here's the thing. When it comes to graphics performance, my current applied uses are largely older games, ranging from DOOM to Portal 2. Probably the most graphics-intensive game I play right now is Black Mesa. However, I want to be able to play RTX titles. The ones I've been looking forward to trying are Quake RTX, Quake 2 RTX, Half-Life RTX, HL2 RTX, etc. I was also thinking of giving this Unrecord game a shot when it comes out, I will admit that the graphical fidelity has caught my attention. I don't know what the performance on that is going to look like, though. I was thinking of doing some RTX development, and more specifically Im planning to use Source 2 for a specific game I'm working on. Source 2's RTX will work on just about any RTX card... Call me crazy, but can we get RTX for UNDER $1,000?

And how the hell is every listing for optical drives a Blu-Ray burner? Not two years ago my dad replaced the DVD-R on his desktop for about $30!

[venomtail]

12 minutes ago, CaptainQuirk26 said:

Okay, so here's the thing. When it comes to graphics performance, my current applied uses are largely older games, ranging from DOOM to Portal 2. Probably the most graphics-intensive game I play right now is Black Mesa. However, I want to be able to play RTX titles. The ones I've been looking forward to trying are Quake RTX, Quake 2 RTX, Half-Life RTX, HL2 RTX, etc. I was also thinking of giving this Unrecord game a shot when it comes out, I will admit that the graphical fidelity has caught my attention. I don't know what the performance on that is going to look like, though. I was thinking of doing some RTX development, and more specifically Im planning to use Source 2 for a specific game I'm working on. Source 2's RTX will work on just about any RTX card... Call me crazy, but can we get RTX for UNDER $1,000?

And how the hell is every listing for optical drives a Blu-Ray burner? Not two years ago my dad replaced the DVD-R on his desktop for about $30!

We've reached the point in the market where the demand for DVD burners is low enough that no one keeps stock anymore, thus the ones who need them either really need them or are the niche customer, in either cases the sellers can now charge fatter margins. It'll only get worse as DVD is dead. BlueRay is having a slight resurrections as offline storage communities are picking up steam.

 

You can get a checkbox PC that can turn on RTX under a $1000 but it won't really be playable RTX. Again, if you want to enjoy RTX and have any game actually be playable, 4070 is the minimum you need to spend.

 

Have a look:

5800X3D best gaming CPU for value, will last long

Premium cooler. Sure, you could get a cheaper model

No nonsense motherboard

Good RAM

Fast NVME

Good 4070 model

Case with at least one built in 5.25 bay

Good PSU

Your DVD drive

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($389.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool ASSASSIN IV 79.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($96.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($53.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card  ($559.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($116.52 @ Amazon) 
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-212DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($74.75 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1651.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-27 04:39 EDT-0400

[CaptainQuirk26]

6 hours ago, venomtail said:

We've reached the point in the market where the demand for DVD burners is low enough that no one keeps stock anymore, thus the ones who need them either really need them or are the niche customer, in either cases the sellers can now charge fatter margins. It'll only get worse as DVD is dead. BlueRay is having a slight resurrections as offline storage communities are picking up steam.

 

You can get a checkbox PC that can turn on RTX under a $1000 but it won't really be playable RTX. Again, if you want to enjoy RTX and have any game actually be playable, 4070 is the minimum you need to spend.

 

Have a look:

5800X3D best gaming CPU for value, will last long

Premium cooler. Sure, you could get a cheaper model

No nonsense motherboard

Good RAM

Fast NVME

Good 4070 model

Case with at least one built in 5.25 bay

Good PSU

Your DVD drive

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($389.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool ASSASSIN IV 79.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($96.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($53.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card  ($559.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($116.52 @ Amazon) 
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-212DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($74.75 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1651.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-27 04:39 EDT-0400

Oh, that's WAY better. I appreciate your help here, I knew I was a fish out of water here. Using other sites I might be able to find the same parts cheaper or like, IDK, a DVD-R.