Yet another new build

radmanhs · April 14

Budget (including currency): Look below

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Mild 1440p gaming, CAD

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 1440p, 144hz, nothing else fancy peripheral wise.

I will admit I'm posting this before I go into my 6 hours of research. I'm looking for more guidance than exact component choices. It has also been about 5 years since I built my last pc. For reference, my current system is a 9900k, 32gb of ram, gtx 1080, 850w psu, plus some storage and peripherals. However, it is on it's last leg. The motherboard or psu is dying. 2 times in the past month I have put it into sleep mode, but I can't get it to boot after. It doesn't even try. There are no lights on the mobo or gpu at all, even when plugged in. Most recently I didn't even put it in sleep mode, it just died. When I try jumping the power switch, absolutely no response at all. I've concluded for now its either the mobo or psu. Here's the main kicker for me to say screw it and try to get something new. It's all custom hardline watercooled with hand-made cables. I really don't want to go through the 3 day process to drain, replace 1 part, refill and test it. It was a great experience doing that all myself, but I need something that doesn't take 2-5 days to troubleshoot now...

My main concerns for now are finding a case that fits my desire and understanding which gen/brand I should go for now. Specifically I'm looking for a server chassis because I have a server rack next to my desk that has up to 4u of space available. I would like to use a 240mm aio for the cpu, which makes server cases hard to source. I am also kind of aware of the fact the 14th gen intel cpu's are not really worth it over the 13th gen. Is this true? Ram and storage is easy. GPU I will be holding off on, for now jut integrated graphics, but in the future somewhere between a 4080 - 4090 range. I don't play AAA that often anymore since my 1080 can barely hold 40+ fps at 1440p.

As for cpu usage I use a lot of solidworks and other CAD programs. not sure off the top of my head which brand is best for that. In the end I plan on going for what the equivilent of at i7 would be. As for motherboards, I'm looking for something pretty standard, but reliable, around the $200-250 range I'm guessing. Don't need crazy overclocking potential, but having what I'm guessing are pretty standard features these days is desirable.

Besides the ram, gpu, and new storage, which I can figure out myself. I think my biggest concern is to find a decent 4u case that can hold a gaming system that doesn't have huge compromises in one way or another. Then which 'roughly equivilent to the current i7 is worth it' for my use.

I don't have a hard budget, since I'm more worried about sourcing an i7 and standard mobo. However I am aware of how much server parts can get, so no supermicro stuff plz... My rough budget is $350 for the cpu, 200 for the mobo. and 200-300 for the case. Might just get a micro atx if a server chassis too much, but we'll figure this out.

brob · April 14

42 minutes ago, radmanhs said:

am also kind of aware of the fact the 14th gen intel cpu's are not really worth it over the 13th gen. Is this true?

Not really. Certainly the i7-14700(K)(F) has significantly more power than the comparable 13th gen. The 14th gen overall uplift while small should not be ignored unless budget comes into play.