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Help Me Build My Dream Workstation – 128GB RAM, Video Editing + OCR PC for Huge PDFs Work (Up to $3500)

Nibana
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Hi!
About a year ago, I tried to build a PC but it didn’t work out. Now I’m ready for round two.

I’d appreciate help putting together a desktop PC with:

  • an optical drive,

  • 96 GB (2×48 GB) or 128 GB of RAM,

  • and support for old hard drives (SATA).
    My budget is up to $3500.

This PC will be used for:

  • Video editing (Adobe Premiere Pro, Descript);

  • OCR and book scanning (CZUR ET16 + FineReader) for creating massive searchable PDFs from old newspapers — up to 100,000 pages in one file. That’s why I need 96 GB or 128 GB of RAM — memory fills up quickly.

What matters most:

  • SSD speed + RAM cache during rendering;

  • No lag when scrolling through 20 GB+ PDFs;

  • OCR with simultaneous TIFF writing and source reading.

I plan to order from:

Here’s what I’ve selected or am considering:

1. CPU:

Intel Core Ultra 7 265K 3.9GHz / 30MB (BX80768265K) s1851 BOX
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/intel-bx80768265k/p454463807/
💰 17,592 UAH (~$422)

2. GPU:

No idea yet. Budget is around $1000 — suggestions are welcome!

3. Motherboard:

MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk Wi-Fi (s1851, Intel Z890, PCI-Ex16)
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/msi-mag-z890-tomahawk-wifi/p456194809/
💰 15,299 UAH (~$367)
Has 4 SATA ports, but one will be taken up by the Blu-ray drive.
Is there a SATA splitter or controller card to expand this?

4. SSD (System):

Kingston KC3000 4TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 3D TLC NAND (SKC3000D/4096G)
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/kingston-skc3000s-4096g/p323284093/
💰 16,379 UAH (~$409)

5. Case:

✅ Already purchased: Fractal Design Define 7 XL Black (FD-C-DEF7X-01) — perfect for mounting many old SATA HDDs and one optical drive.

6. Power Supply:

MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850W

7. RAM:

Looking for 2×48 GB (96 GB) or 4×32 GB (128 GB) — I’m unsure what’s more reasonable. Please suggest a reliable model.

8. Liquid Cooling:

Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 (ACFRE00068B)
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/arctic-acfre00068b/p239553705/
💰 4,449 UAH (~$111)
But maybe I should choose version III, since it was released around the launch of socket LGA1851? Not 100% sure though.

If you can recommend parts (especially GPU and RAM) that fit well with the setup and budget, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

 

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2 minutes ago, Nibana said:

No lag when scrolling through 20 GB+ PDFs;

That is legit not possible.

 

2 minutes ago, Nibana said:

for creating massive searchable PDFs from old newspapers — up to 100,000

Split them up?

 

Genuinly by keeping it as one pdf instead of just splitting them up in more reasonable batches you are going from a totally possible pc to a impossible system that doesnt exist.

 

3 minutes ago, Nibana said:

perfect for mounting many old SATA HDDs and one optical drive.

How much storage do you need.

DO NOT just add random heaps of drives. Get a set amount of same drives, put them in an array and have that go. Or better yet have them as a nas on its own. Sounds like you would need a proper backup startegy with the work you will be doing.

 

Do you have a 321 setup? 3 copies of the data, 2 copies local on different storage media, 1 offsite (like the cloud)?

 

As for other specs keep in mind 4 sticks of ram HAVE to run slower ddr5 is very hard to run properly if not nigh impossible at 6000mhz+.

 

Then cooling wise the fractal case is pretty mediocre to kinda bad ish but your heatload is low so thats fine.

 

Gpu technically you can just use the igpu even and be totally fine since its just adobe premiere. Dont see anything here tjat would really need a dedicated gpu like at all. Sure you could get one but like a rtx 3060 12gb would already be waaaay more than enough.

 

 

 

 

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I am not splitting pdf I am combining them. For example, let's say I have 1996  Ukraina Moloda newspaper in separate pdfs which is a lot of files to open simultaneously. What I do, I combine in 1 pdf and can easily search for the information using search bar and it looks through all the year. If there's a kind of lag I think I would be fine with that.

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5 minutes ago, jaslion said:

How much storage do you need.

DO NOT just add random heaps of drives. Get a set amount of same drives, put them in an array and have that go. Or better yet have them as a nas on its own. Sounds like you would need a proper backup startegy with the work you will be doing.

 

Do you have a 321 setup? 3 copies of the data, 2 copies local on different storage media, 1 offsite (like the cloud)?

 

Thank you so much for your recommendations! For NAS I don't have much space in the room ergo I have chosen the tower that can fit all my HDDs. I think won't need much space 10TB is going to be enough I think. I have scanned old the photos of my family and made copies of the DVDs I had (and that's not too much space) and store them on those HDDs that are quite old right now.

 

 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, Nibana said:

I am not splitting pdf I am combining them. For example, let's say I have 1996  Ukraina Moloda newspaper in separate pdfs which is a lot of files to open simultaneously. What I do, I combine in 1 pdf and can easily search for the information using search bar and it looks through all the year. If there's a kind of lag I think I would be fine with that.

You'll have to expiriment then because well 20gig pdf files are just stupid hard to work with as well as with the sheer amount of data.

 

As for space sounds like 2 10tb hdds in raid 1 will be heaps good

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Use search indexing software to index your PDF files... for example dtSearch is good at that : https://www.dtsearch.com/

 

Then you can just type keywords or keyphrases and it will tell you where the keywords are found in which documents.

 

Most PDF viewers will be mostly single threaded and will load a few pages in advance, but won't load the full 20 GB file in RAM and won't decompress all the pages in RAM. Closest to being super fast no lag would be to store the PDF files into a RAM drive.

 

You can scan 1000-5000 pages at a time, generate PDF, repeat, then you can use free tools to merge multiple PDF files into a single big file, if you want to, but it's kinda silly to do it.  Just use some text search / indexing tool like dtSearch and search for keywords and then open the search results.

 

 

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2 hours ago, jaslion said:

As for space sounds like 2 10tb hdds in raid 1 will be heaps good

I know have an SSD 256GB and an HDD 2.5TB. The photos and videos and .docx are on HDD. I have i7 2600K no GPU at all and p8z68 Motherboard. What bugs me the most is whenever I open a folder or a document whatever that is on HDD I need to wait live from 5 to 14 seconds for it to spin and open the file. Then when the .docx is open but I don't do anything with it and in a while I start typing the issue happens again - I need to wait till HDD gets a proper spin. How can I solve this issue? Maybe I need to buy a better HDD that doesn't "fall asleep"? Thanks a lot.

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2 hours ago, mariushm said:

Use search indexing software to index your PDF files... for example dtSearch is good at that : https://www.dtsearch.com/

 

Then you can just type keywords or keyphrases and it will tell you where the keywords are found in which documents.

 

Most PDF viewers will be mostly single threaded and will load a few pages in advance, but won't load the full 20 GB file in RAM and won't decompress all the pages in RAM. Closest to being super fast no lag would be to store the PDF files into a RAM drive.

 

You can scan 1000-5000 pages at a time, generate PDF, repeat, then you can use free tools to merge multiple PDF files into a single big file, if you want to, but it's kinda silly to do it.  Just use some text search / indexing tool like dtSearch and search for keywords and then open the search results.

 

 

Thank you so much for your useful tips! I'll look into them.

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5 hours ago, Nibana said:

Hi!
About a year ago, I tried to build a PC but it didn’t work out. Now I’m ready for round two.

I’d appreciate help putting together a desktop PC with:

  • an optical drive,

  • 96 GB (2×48 GB) or 128 GB of RAM,

  • and support for old hard drives (SATA).
    My budget is up to $3500.

This PC will be used for:

  • Video editing (Adobe Premiere Pro, Descript);

  • OCR and book scanning (CZUR ET16 + FineReader) for creating massive searchable PDFs from old newspapers — up to 100,000 pages in one file. That’s why I need 96 GB or 128 GB of RAM — memory fills up quickly.

What matters most:

  • SSD speed + RAM cache during rendering;

  • No lag when scrolling through 20 GB+ PDFs;

  • OCR with simultaneous TIFF writing and source reading.

I plan to order from:

Here’s what I’ve selected or am considering:

1. CPU:

Intel Core Ultra 7 265K 3.9GHz / 30MB (BX80768265K) s1851 BOX
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/intel-bx80768265k/p454463807/
💰 17,592 UAH (~$422)

2. GPU:

No idea yet. Budget is around $1000 — suggestions are welcome!

3. Motherboard:

MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk Wi-Fi (s1851, Intel Z890, PCI-Ex16)
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/msi-mag-z890-tomahawk-wifi/p456194809/
💰 15,299 UAH (~$367)
Has 4 SATA ports, but one will be taken up by the Blu-ray drive.
Is there a SATA splitter or controller card to expand this?

4. SSD (System):

Kingston KC3000 4TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 3D TLC NAND (SKC3000D/4096G)
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/kingston-skc3000s-4096g/p323284093/
💰 16,379 UAH (~$409)

5. Case:

✅ Already purchased: Fractal Design Define 7 XL Black (FD-C-DEF7X-01) — perfect for mounting many old SATA HDDs and one optical drive.

6. Power Supply:

MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850W

7. RAM:

Looking for 2×48 GB (96 GB) or 4×32 GB (128 GB) — I’m unsure what’s more reasonable. Please suggest a reliable model.

8. Liquid Cooling:

Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 (ACFRE00068B)
🔗 https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/arctic-acfre00068b/p239553705/
💰 4,449 UAH (~$111)
But maybe I should choose version III, since it was released around the launch of socket LGA1851? Not 100% sure though.

If you can recommend parts (especially GPU and RAM) that fit well with the setup and budget, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

 

 

There are several Z890 motherboards with more than 4 SATA ports. https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/asus-prime-z890m-plus-wifi/p454607627/ for example. 

 

An alternative would be going back a generation to Z790. Eight SATA ports are common on motherboards.

 

https://hard.rozetka.com.ua/ua/corsair-cmh128gx5m4b5600c40/p455679899/ is a 4x32 GB memory kit on the linked Asus motherboard.

 

Adobe Premiere Pro prefers Nvidia GPU for acceleration. Pick an RTX 5xxx or 4xxx GPU that fits the budget.

 

Unless there is a significant price difference, I would choose the Liquid Freezer III.

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

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17 hours ago, Nibana said:

I think I'll buy this thingy to increase the amount of SATA ports (+6).

photo_2025-05-18_19-47-17.jpg

Dont. Get a PROPER one. Same price. Lsi raid card in it mode are like 30$, enterprise equipment and WORK PROPERLY!

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  • 3 weeks later...
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On 5/19/2025 at 1:38 PM, jaslion said:

Dont. Get a PROPER one. Same price. Lsi raid card in it mode are like 30$, enterprise equipment and WORK PROPERLY!

So,I can take LSI 9211-8i and flash it into IT mode, right? Will this one be okay?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/155421555013?_skw=LSI+9211-8i&itmmeta=01JWZTD94N5YKC6J0W067SJVYP&hash=item242fd8b945:g:3n8AAOSwsKdf9TOU&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAAwFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cbU8Nq%2FxF0GXaj5MTk2O1nc%2BCutTxs47cxWrIuNRBlGobsEKs%2FXz4snUFhXl5qYf%2BlFx3sw%2B4cR5oo92QltC4yqMSH4EMzZ1mWZyoexeSsIMuZ1YCJ6lECfYzsAQriVm150GkGLOokrnkkqWgxYnsEah5hAvF0QQc1vnEwZr3fc01%2FAJghIyYOWAeMz%2BArVafrhBXpGTxDhbEF7cQ4%2FmFnuaNe34S1%2FocjvywzJzOdMw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABlBMULyStfrnZQ
Thank you!

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