Need Help Designing Fractal Terra Build Based on Apr. 18 LTT Vid

[sophietlav]

Budget (including currency): US$800

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: GIMP, Light adobe suite, Ardour, storage

Other details:

Hello! I am new to the forum but knew I needed to stop by after the recent LTT video, "He Spent 3 YEARS Begging me for a PC. Good Luck Finding it!" I have been hoping to build a new PC to share with my partner in the Fractal Terra for a while now, and it looks like I finally have got the money together to do it! Linus's build (below) in the case seemed to be pretty good for what I need, other than the price. As I have a restricted budget, I really need to stay around US$800. This is my first PC build for myself, but I have plenty of experience working with servers (ex-IT worker lol) so I'm confident I can build in a mini itx case. My PCs for the last couple years have been random 10 year old thinkpads that I keep limping along, so I've been very limited. My husband even more so - he has an ancient chromebook lol.

 

I need a build that is decent with art software like GIMP and Adobe suite (this is for my husband, who creates digital art), can function as a basic coding workstation (I code in Java, C++, Python, etc - I don't do anything too intensive as I've left the IT world but I would like to be able to mess around), obviously can handle the browsing the internet, can handle a DAW (Ardour), and can function as a 2TB storage stop-gap for my music until I save up to build a NAS. I have a couple 1tb hard drives scattered around, so I don't need any more than 2tb. I game very rarely, and it's always games like Stardew and Minecraft (am a girl lol) so I'm not worried about that. I plan to dual-boot some debian-based distro for my side of the PC, (big fan of antiX for thinkpads, but will find something a bit more solid for the PC) and my husband will likely get a Windows license for his side at some point (therefore that's not part of my budget).

 

I don't plan on buying monitors or other peripherals, already have a decent starter set. Will upgrade them later, and will probably check in again at that point :)

 

If you have a question about 10-year-old tech, I've got you. However, I don't know anything about the current landscape of PC parts. Therefore, I'm a bit lost - I would love help on trimming the cost of Linus's build to maximize savings, while also investing a tiny bit more into storage. And of course, it all has to fit in the Fractal Terra.

 

Approx. of LTT's Build (US$1233.69): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tdTZ7R

 

Thanks all so much for the help, it is so appreciated,

 

sophietlav

[SorryBella]

18 hours ago, sophietlav said:

other than the price

And that is why Terra is not my first pick even for smaller ITX build. Its price is well compensated with an amazingly built case, but its debilitatingly limiting to get more performance out of your thin budget. I would personally recommend to transition a well valued build into ITX later down the line instead of having to build it in a Terra now, or save up for a proper PC for your budget. Let me show you both plans.

Value+Transition Kit:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2 Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($102.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($102.97 @ B&H) 
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($43.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.00 @ MSI) 
Total: $886.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-19 19:52 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: ASRock B650I Lightning Wifi Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($179.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS SGX (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $489.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-19 19:52 EDT-0400

 

Terra Build on your criteria:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($183.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z690M-ITX/ax Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($102.97 @ B&H) 
Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($179.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS SGX (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $824.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-19 18:37 EDT-0400

Add GPU later down the line, and install the Linux on a separate 1TB drive. A lot of people have issue with partitioning specifically for Linux where Windows deletes parts of the Linux partition, leaving the install brick. 

18 hours ago, sophietlav said:

I have a couple 1tb hard drives scattered around

PS: this case only supports 2.5 inch drives, so if its the bigger 3.5 inch, you are SOL. Either you have to put it outside of the case, or get an external HDD encloser.

[sophietlav]

On 4/19/2024 at 7:52 PM, SorryBella said:

And that is why Terra is not my first pick even for smaller ITX build. Its price is well compensated with an amazingly built case, but its debilitatingly limiting to get more performance out of your thin budget. I would personally recommend to transition a well valued build into ITX later down the line instead of having to build it in a Terra now, or save up for a proper PC for your budget. Let me show you both plans.

Value+Transition Kit:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2 Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($102.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($102.97 @ B&H) 
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($43.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.00 @ MSI) 
Total: $886.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-19 19:52 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: ASRock B650I Lightning Wifi Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($179.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS SGX (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $489.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-19 19:52 EDT-0400

 

Terra Build on your criteria:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($183.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z690M-ITX/ax Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($102.97 @ B&H) 
Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($179.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS SGX (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $824.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-19 18:37 EDT-0400

Add GPU later down the line, and install the Linux on a separate 1TB drive. A lot of people have issue with partitioning specifically for Linux where Windows deletes parts of the Linux partition, leaving the install brick. 

PS: this case only supports 2.5 inch drives, so if its the bigger 3.5 inch, you are SOL. Either you have to put it outside of the case, or get an external HDD encloser.

Thanks so much for the help! I really appreciate it