Need help with a PC build

[NerdyBoss]

Budget (including currency): max 1800

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: programming code and adobe, Microsoft 365, 3-4 screen hookup. Multiple programs same time (software development or light game design), Very little gaming planned maybe Diablo 4 or Civilization 6.

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):

 

Hello,

this would be a new build:

 

I am looking for recommendations on building a custom PC tailored to support my software-based programming needs. I don’t require RGB lighting or gaming-level specifications, but I do need a machine that can handle heavy multitasking efficiently.

 

Key requirements:

 

• CPU: I’m considering the AMD Ryzen 7 for future-proofing.

 

• Company Laptop: I currently use a Dell Latitude 5440 laptop with an Intel i5 processor for work, but it’s too slow for my needs. I would like to be able to connect my company laptop to the new PC’s setup, specifically through a USB-C port, to easily connect to multiple screens without needing to switch cables or settings.

 

• Use case: Primarily for software development, which includes programming, small-scale data analytics, SQL queries, and code compilation. I often work with applications like Adobe Suite, Office 365, and Visual Basic, and need to run these across three monitors simultaneously.

 

• Resolution: 1440p is sufficient. 4K is not necessary.

 

Additional features:

• Blu-ray burner is optional but nice to have.

• A 10TB hard drive would be ideal, but starting with 2TB is acceptable.

 

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled motherboard is required.

 

• Water cooling is not necessary, but I’m open to it if it’s important for performance.

 

Budget: My maximum budget is $1800, but I am open to a more budget-friendly build with the option to upgrade in a year if necessary.

 

The PC will not be used for gaming, although I might occasionally play Diablo 4 or Civilization V. However, gaming performance is not a priority. My primary focus is speed, multitasking, and reliability for software development tasks.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions or adjustments to meet these goals within my budget.

 

[Zenny232323]

1 hour ago, NerdyBoss said:

Budget (including currency): max 1800

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: programming code and adobe, Microsoft 365, 3-4 screen hookup. Multiple programs same time (software development or light game design), Very little gaming planned maybe Diablo 4 or Civilization 6.

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):

 

Hello,

this would be a new build:

 

I am looking for recommendations on building a custom PC tailored to support my software-based programming needs. I don’t require RGB lighting or gaming-level specifications, but I do need a machine that can handle heavy multitasking efficiently.

 

Key requirements:

 

• CPU: I’m considering the AMD Ryzen 7 for future-proofing.

 

• Company Laptop: I currently use a Dell Latitude 5440 laptop with an Intel i5 processor for work, but it’s too slow for my needs. I would like to be able to connect my company laptop to the new PC’s setup, specifically through a USB-C port, to easily connect to multiple screens without needing to switch cables or settings.

 

• Use case: Primarily for software development, which includes programming, small-scale data analytics, SQL queries, and code compilation. I often work with applications like Adobe Suite, Office 365, and Visual Basic, and need to run these across three monitors simultaneously.

 

• Resolution: 1440p is sufficient. 4K is not necessary.

 

Additional features:

• Blu-ray burner is optional but nice to have.

• A 10TB hard drive would be ideal, but starting with 2TB is acceptable.

 

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled motherboard is required.

 

• Water cooling is not necessary, but I’m open to it if it’s important for performance.

 

Budget: My maximum budget is $1800, but I am open to a more budget-friendly build with the option to upgrade in a year if necessary.

 

The PC will not be used for gaming, although I might occasionally play Diablo 4 or Civilization V. However, gaming performance is not a priority. My primary focus is speed, multitasking, and reliability for software development tasks.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions or adjustments to meet these goals within my budget.

 

Hey there.
Here's what I came up with:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JmpDrv

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($244.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($85.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda Pro 10 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($182.00 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY VERTO OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card  ($569.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($101.30 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($81.25 @ B&H) 
Total: $1506.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-06 11:32 EDT-0400

Realistically you can spend the extra money for a better CPU and GPU, but, this should work rather well. Put your games and software on the SSD, put your big heavy data into the hard drive. GPU I listed has 3 DP and 1 HDMI ports, so as long as your monitors have that you should be fine. I'm not sure about gaming on all 4 monitors, but you definetly can multitask and work on them.
I'd recommend just buying an external blu-ray burner, just see what's on amazon with decent reviews, it should work fine.

[brob]

PCPartPicker Part List

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700 2.1 GHz 20-Core Processor ($329.97 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 77.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($42.90 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro RS WiFi ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($147.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($232.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card ($299.00 @ Amazon) 

Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ B&H) 

Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($82.90 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($24.49 @ ASUS) 

Custom: Fractal Design FD-A-USBC-001 Pop Accessory USB-C 10Gbps Cable -... 

Total: $1326.22

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-06 12:01 EDT-0400

[NerdyBoss]

8 hours ago, Zenny232323 said:

Hey there.
Here's what I came up with:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JmpDrv

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($244.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($85.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda Pro 10 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($182.00 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY VERTO OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card  ($569.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  ($101.30 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($81.25 @ B&H) 
Total: $1506.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-06 11:32 EDT-0400

Realistically you can spend the extra money for a better CPU and GPU, but, this should work rather well. Put your games and software on the SSD, put your big heavy data into the hard drive. GPU I listed has 3 DP and 1 HDMI ports, so as long as your monitors have that you should be fine. I'm not sure about gaming on all 4 monitors, but you definetly can multitask and work on them.
I'd recommend just buying an external blu-ray burner, just see what's on amazon with decent reviews, it should work fine.

The multi monitor is for the projects I’m doing, not for the gaming. This looks great. I usually work with only 3 monitors. I’ve been debating if I need to go with a ryzen 9, I’m newer to building pc. Built one about ten years ago. A lot has changed and never done liquid cooled before. 

[NerdyBoss]

8 hours ago, brob said:

PCPartPicker Part List

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700 2.1 GHz 20-Core Processor ($329.97 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 77.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($42.90 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro RS WiFi ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($147.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($232.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card ($299.00 @ Amazon) 

Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ B&H) 

Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($82.90 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($24.49 @ ASUS) 

Custom: Fractal Design FD-A-USBC-001 Pop Accessory USB-C 10Gbps Cable -... 

Total: $1326.22

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-06 12:01 EDT-0400

My one worry is this is the new intel cpu changing sockets. I saw that intel might be changing in next or the gen after. 

[brob]

1 hour ago, NerdyBoss said:

My one worry is this is the new intel cpu changing sockets. I saw that intel might be changing in next or the gen after. 

 

For sure next gen Intel moves to the LGA 1851 socket. But why does that matter to you?  Are you planning to upgrade the system in the next couple of years? If not, how willing will you be in 4 years to put a $400 CPU in a 4 year old motherboard?

[NerdyBoss]

11 hours ago, brob said:

 

For sure next gen Intel moves to the LGA 1851 socket. But why does that matter to you?  Are you planning to upgrade the system in the next couple of years? If not, how willing will you be in 4 years to put a $400 CPU in a 4 year old motherboard?

That is the rookie side of me. I will have the funds to upgrade overtime if needed. Not sure if I will need to upgrade CPU or graphics  due to wanting increase speed of unit.  I hate slow computers had them all my life. This will be a hobby I am willing to improve and grow in. Would intel be worth it in 2 years to get a new board and cpu. Or would staying with 1 board and amd cpu and improve cpu to a ryzen 9. 
 

It’s hard to tell at the moment. Getting into the hobby is not user friendly. I am looking for the best suggestion before I buy as I’m doing research 

[Zenny232323]

13 hours ago, NerdyBoss said:

The multi monitor is for the projects I’m doing, not for the gaming.

I know. But you did say you would game SOMETIMES right?
Also if you want some more headroom for the GPU, plug some of the monitors into the motherboard, just make sure it's not in there when you game. But the 4070S will run 4 monitors no problem.

 

12 minutes ago, NerdyBoss said:

Would intel be worth it in 2 years to get a new board and cpu. Or would staying with 1 board and amd cpu and improve cpu to a ryzen 9. 

It's up to speculation. Fact is right now intel's greatest are faulty. And AMD'S AM5 socket will probably have support just like the AM4, atleast 5 years or so. Plus I have yet to hear of any serious issues with them. If Intel offered better price to performance ratio I'd recommend them, but, they don't, so go AM5.

Also please for the love of god don't just use the R(number) to talk about cpus(same with intel's i5 i7 etc.), talk about the 4(or 5 if intel's latest) digits after it. A 5900x and the 7900x are both ryzen 9's, but the 7900x is on a diffrent platform and it's much better overall.

[Zenny232323]

Just now, Zenny232323 said:

plug some of the monitors into the motherboard

Little correction: only do that if the cpu you pick has intergrated graphics.

[brob]

4 minutes ago, NerdyBoss said:

That is the rookie side of me. I will have the funds to upgrade overtime if needed. Not sure if I will need to upgrade CPU or graphics  due to wanting increase speed of unit.  I hate slow computers had them all my life. This will be a hobby I am willing to improve and grow in. Would intel be worth it in 2 years to get a new board and cpu. Or would staying with 1 board and amd cpu and improve cpu to a ryzen 9. 
 

It’s hard to tell at the moment. Getting into the hobby is not user friendly. I am looking for the best suggestion before I buy as I’m doing research 

 

There is still a bit of room in an i7 build to improve CPU to i9. But upgrading just the CPU is a big job and generally there are enough non CPU upgrades available that replacing other parts at the same time make sense, i.e. a new system.

 

Don't ignore storage performance. In this use case improvement likely offers a noticeable bump in performance.

 

Depending on Adobe use, GPU improvements may also provide noticeable performance bump.

 

3 minutes ago, Zenny232323 said:

Fact is right now intel's greatest are faulty

 

No longer. Intel claims recent microcode update has resolved the issue. 

 

[Zenny232323]

1 minute ago, brob said:

No longer. Intel claims recent microcode update has resolved the issue. 

Yeah, except the CPU physically still has oxidation issues.
Can't fix that with software updates.

[brob]

25 minutes ago, Zenny232323 said:

Yeah, except the CPU physically still has oxidation issues.
Can't fix that with software updates.

 

Was a 13th gen issue and as far as I know doesn't really affect locked CPU.

 

[Zenny232323]

1 hour ago, brob said:

 

Was a 13th gen issue and as far as I know doesn't really affect locked CPU.

 

I would still be rather wary of going intel right now. Mainly because of the 2 major problems they've had, and because 14 gen is the last one on the socket.