First time PC build...does this make sense for what i want?

[cvmn]

Hi,

Looking to buy a computer to run multi threaded Windows C# programs that currently use all of my 16 GB Ram.
Currently my computer is rendered useless for about 20 min several times a day while software takes all resources.

Budget £3500.

- looking for a lot of memory to intensly run .NET for 10-20 min multiple times a day on multi cores.
- looking for quick IO as software reads/writes 150mB csv files routinely
-looking to mirror RAID the hard disc to protect from losing any software changes? does this make sense?
-looking to run 4 monitors Dell UltraSharp U2415 at a minimum. Possible to add two screens? But happy with 4 for now.
-I use bluetooth and have direct ethernet..but WiFi a bonus.
-I am on live video (zoom.us) all day on portion of one screen.

I am not gaming. Dont need any lights although a white light might be useful if I can turn it off.

First time putting together anything like this so looking for a sanity check.
Do I need liquid cooling? Was hoping to get away with fans but like it to be mostly quiet?
What is too hot for cpu and how do I best monitor?

Was going to install Noctua fans in place of any standard case fans as I read they are very quiet and very good cooling.
This should be easy after I recieve? Or unecessary?

Also, prefer the Define 7 case but not available. I might wait for it to be available.
Glasss would seem to be more insulating than aluminium.
Worried about dust with the mesh as well. Lot of agricultural fields around where I live and gets dusty.

Some expandbility for memory/hard drive might be useful. But looking out 4-5 years hopefully before touching it.
Also, PCspec asked which drive on which to install OS. I chose the Samsung?

These are my current specs:

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY S2 BLACKOUT TEMPERED GLASS
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X 24 Core CPU (3.8GHz - 4.5GHz, 142MB CACHE)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG ZENITH II EXTREME ALPHA (DDR4, Wi-Fi 6, CrossFireX/SLI) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ FX OEM
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Cable Management
3 x PCS 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days


Many thanks to all of you experts and any help!

 

[cvmn]

I found a spec that relies heavily on Scott from this thread

Help with work/gaming build

Hi, I am looking at building a new desktop that I want to use for both demanding work and gaming reasons. On the work side I need to run software that requires me to run lots of VM's so need 10 cores and 64Gb of RAM. On the gaming side I want to be able to play the latest games in best...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

...which is looking at pretty similar build.

I decided to go with the Noctua NH-U14S instead of Corsair H115. Probably not a huge difference.

One question as I am also new at PC configuring.
On which drive do you install the OS? One of the SSD always?
Is there an advantage to having at least one mechanical drive as opposed to all solid state.
I saw it as less expensive storage for more archived stuff.


Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.7GHz/73MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

 

[SpyderTracks]

Are you gaming on the system at all? The build you’ve linked is rigged for gaming as well as workstation use. You mentioned you weren’t so just double checking.

 

[cvmn]

Not gaming. But do run 4 monitors with possible addition of 2 more. thanks

 

[SpyderTracks]

Not gaming. But do run 4 monitors with possible addition of 2 more. thanks

That build isn't relevant then, that's for VM's and gaming which is very different from your use case.

A couple of things to address, RAID won't allow you to roll back software changes or anything like that. RAID is a very old replication technology that's not really used these days outside of data centers, it would effectively mirror one drive to another so any change you made would immediately be replicated onto the backup drives. For what I think you're talking about, setting up volume shadow copy in windows would be what you're after. This creates on the fly backups so if an error has happened with windows or any software installation, you can revert back to a previous time:

How to Use Volume Shadow Copy in Windows 10/11 for Backup

Read the full guide to know what is volume shadow copy, how it works, and how to use it to protect data by enabling it and then restoring your files.

www.ubackup.com

With that in mind I've configured a main data drive, a secondary volume shadow drive, and a fast IO for OS and program drive.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE Excellent case both for cooling and quieter
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.7GHz/73MB CACHE/AM4) Absolute monster CPU, will destroy anything you've previously witnessed
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) Faster RAM, 32Gb should be plenty
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 570 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12 Has 5 display outputs, if you need more you could fit another
1st Storage Drive
6TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE Data Drive (adjust size to your needs)
1st Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE Shadow Copy Volume
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W) Fast primary OS and program drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler Absolute minimum on this CPU to maintain boosts. It's a sealed unit to needs no maintenance
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING Cooler comes pre applied with high quality paste
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 Wifi card also has BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003] Thought pro may be beneficial for encryption? (Bitlocker)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days

Price: £2,638.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/nP2Wk!78Jb/

 

[cvmn]

That's great! Thank you @SpyderTracks . Exactly what I needed. I'll look into Bitlocker as well as ShadowCopy.

I was choosing the Noctua instead of the Corsair H115 because I had read this article:

Threadripper 3990X CPU Cooling Comparison – Taming the Beast - KitGuru

It's been around two months since the release of AMD’s flagship Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64-core CPU

www.kitguru.net

Maybe does not apply to the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X though. So best to stick with your advice. But I thought the builds/performance on the noctua fans looked very good.

Maybe have a look at the article if you have time. I thought it was interesting.

Thanks again for your response!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Maybe does not apply to the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X though. So best to stick with your advice. But I thought the builds/performance on the noctua fans looked very good.

Yeah, that's a completely different line of processors, those are threadripper processors, the 3950x is a desktop processor, they're not in the same ball park.

You wouldn't put a 280mm radiator like the H115i on threadripper, it's not compatible at all. You'd want a 360mm Rad as a minimum.

They even state in that article " The conventionally sized – 56mm x 56mm – copper cold plate supports all modern Intel and AMD platforms but does not provide complete coverage for the Threadripper heatspreader"..... seems a bit of a pointless article as the cooler isn't designed for TR4 sockets.

 

[cvmn]

Reviewing build and speaking to my wife about this computer and agreed that for an expensive computer we should be able to allow her nephews to play their games on it when they come to visit monthly. Any possibility that we can slightly upgrade this to include the ability to play Destiny which is their game of choice? Vast majority of time it will be used as my work pc. I like the Shadow Drive and the Windows Pro..both great points.

I only have Dell monitors... UltraSharp U2415. Perhaps these need a slight upgrade or will they be ok? I use 4 currently.

Want to maintain it as a workstation but perhaps lean it in the direction of a gaming PC just a bit more for some occassional weekend use. Thanks for any help!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Reviewing build and speaking to my wife about this computer and agreed that for an expensive computer we should be able to allow her nephews to play their games on it when they come to visit monthly. Any possibility that we can slightly upgrade this to include the ability to play Destiny which is their game of choice? Vast majority of time it will be used as my work pc. I like the Shadow Drive and the Windows Pro..both great points.

I only have Dell monitors... UltraSharp U2415. Perhaps these need a slight upgrade or will they be ok? I use 4 currently.

Want to maintain it as a workstation but perhaps lean it in the direction of a gaming PC just a bit more for some occassional weekend use. Thanks for any help!

For gaming I’d suggest the RTX 2060 Super if money isn’t too much of a factor, really you’d want a dedicated 1080p 144hz monitor for that.

The issue there is that the 2060 Super only has 4 display ports

 

[cvmn]

would the 2060 be able to handle 4 monitors all 1080p 144hz?

 

[Scott]

Any GPU will handle desktop use and software use of their pre-defined monitor limit. It gets a bit tricky over 4 outputs though and you tend to need a bespoke card.

If you're happy wit 4 outputs and a bit of gaming the 2060 will have your requirements smashed.

Above build suggested will be an absolute monster for you. You could go Threadripper to get more throughput but I have a feeling the 3950X is going to absolutely blitz your requirements regardless.

I'm curious.... what is your current CPU?

You could probably work out the difference it's going to make to you, back of a cigarette packet calculation, from the following:

Current Time * Current frequency * Current Cores / (New Frequency * New Cores) = New Time

So if you had a 4 core 4.5ghz chip it would look as follows

20*4*4.5/(4*16)
360/64 = 5.6 mins

 

[cvmn]

Hi - currently using Intel i7-6700 about 5 yrs old. 3.4GHz. 4 cores. with 16GB RAM. So would takea 20 min run and roughly make it 4 from what I gather. That would make my life much more easier. Alot of time is spent reading/writing large text files and searching directories with 10's thousands of folders. Would ultra fast M.2 SSD help make this process much faster? that was why included them in the spec I set out originally. @SpyderTracks mentioned the overshadowing whcih i really like. But should I put this with SSD's instead of HDD. I guess I don't know enough about the storage systems work to really know how best to configure. From what I have read the M.2 SSD are the fastest route to take?

 

[Scott]

M2 SSDs are blazingly fast. For just about any read/write operation they are going to blow anything else out of the water.

I would have thought the searching would be taken care of by indexing, but the read/write operations would see a significant bump.

M2s are always recommended as being the primary. If you had another use for another one then a 500GB Evo 970 paired with a 1TB Firecudda would be a fair shout.

 

[cvmn]

I think I'm there. I decided to use @SpyderTracks overshadowing (great idea!) but between a 2TB M.2 and a 4 TB storage. My software is currently running on my data drive and so wanted fast read/write speeds and will use the 4TB as the backup. Does this make sense to do this?

Using 1TB M.2 for the OS.

Decided to get the 2070 instead of the 2060 as it is £70 more but I get a 'free' £25 game for the nephews as RTX. So not much in it.

Windows Pro for encryption. Again thanks @SpyderTracks for suggestion.

Was going to order today. Any apparent problems or last suggestions? Thanks so much to @Scott as well for suggestions.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.7GHz/73MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]

 

[SpyderTracks]

I think I'm there. I decided to use @SpyderTracks overshadowing (great idea!) but between a 2TB M.2 and a 4 TB storage. My software is currently running on my data drive and so wanted fast read/write speeds and will use the 4TB as the backup. Does this make sense to do this?

Using 1TB M.2 for the OS.

Decided to get the 2070 instead of the 2060 as it is £70 more but I get a 'free' £25 game for the nephews as RTX. So not much in it.

Windows Pro for encryption. Again thanks @SpyderTracks for suggestion.

Was going to order today. Any apparent problems or last suggestions? Thanks so much to @Scott as well for suggestions.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.7GHz/73MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]

Looks really good and the changes you’ve made make sense.

that will be a monster build!

 

[cvmn]

Thank you!