Multitasking/productivity build

mrsplum

New member
Hi all, I hope someone can help configure a new build.

I currently have a 34” HP envy curved all-in-one. It’s been struggling for a while, and its final moments are very near. While I am probably more technical than the average middle-aged numpty, that isn’t saying much and I’m finding choosing the best/most-suitable components a challenge.

Use:

Multitasking/productivity. *Many* applications open at the same time including streaming and photo/video/sound and 3D processing. Several browsers each with 10s upon 10s of tabs open. Lot of peripherals eg, webcam/s, microphone and preamp, graphics tablet etc. No gaming requirements, however, nor is this a professional level creative setup.

Monitor:

I will have to buy a monitor as well which needs to be widescreen and capable of video processing and multitasking. For example, I am considering the Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor - U4025QW but if you have a better/cheaper suggestion I’m listening.

Case:

While I really like the form factor of an all-in-one, I don't like the limitation that has placed on upgrades, so I am looking for a desktop this time. I would prefer a smaller form factor but am persuadable. I do like the Fractal North for example. A quiet, elegant case would be my preference.

Intel/AMD:

I’ve always chosen Intel and was planning to do so again but I’m aware there may be some issues so am open to advice.

Graphics Card:

My homework so far has suggested that an RTX 4070 Ti or similar might meet my current/future graphics card needs?

RAM:

Am thinking 64GB, but what kind?

System/Storage drives:

I would like a ‘huge’ amount of photo/video/file space but, for safety, across at least two RAID1 arranged drives. I am considering a separate NAS at some point but that’s expensive. For context, my main C/system drive currently has 140 out of 475GB free – I try not to have anything on there that I can save somewhere else. My back-up drive currently has over 2 TB on it.

Budget:

I’m guessing that I’ll need to spend at least £2,500 excluding the monitor. Obviously, I’d like to spend as little as possible, but I’d rather not skimp on something now that might cause problems sooner rather than later, so the budget is flexible. I’d prefer to not even have to think about upgrading for many years but the capacity to be able to do so is important.
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
All-in-ones, and mini-PCs have limitations on what can be fitted (usually laptop level components), and more normal desktop options (even the smaller ones) tend to have more choice.

If there's no gaming, then the GPU isn't hugely beneficial unless the software can specifically make use of acceleration or VRAM...but the 4070Ti is being replaced by the 5070Ti out this week (20th IIRC).

Here's where I'd be with a productivity build...

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (WHITE) - swap out for black if that's more suitable
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12 Core CPU (4.4GHz-5.6GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5) - another £100 to go up to the 16-core version, can't do it at £2500
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL40 (2 x 32GB) KIT - sweet spot for AM5 builds
Graphics Card
12GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4070 GDDR6 TWIN EDGE - HDMI, 3 x DP - no 4070Ti level on the configurator, so using this as a placeholder - won't know what price the 5070Ti is until we see them on the config too, and then that might force a rebalancing of the config to fit it within the budget
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) - small, fast primary SSD for Windows and Apps ONLY - for security, longevity and speed
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) - secondary SSD for cache for your apps (will need to change cache location in each app)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE - enterprise drives (the consumer ones at this size has less cache and slower RPM)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE - enterprise drives (the consumer ones at this size has less cache and slower RPM)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) - only because you specified this, I'd rather have a good backup solution instead
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD - won't use any more power than it needs to, but gives you the option/headroom to run silently and at the most efficient range of 40-60% when running flat put)
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 240 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - the largest we can fit in that case (part of what I was saying about more limited choices with smaller cases, even though this is not a tiny case by any means)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 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
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Price: £2,426.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Hv73Y2WzSd/
 

mrsplum

New member
Wow, that so helpful, thank you.

Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12 Core CPU (4.4GHz-5.6GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5) - another £100 to go up to the 16-core version, can't do it at £2500
The budget is somewhat flexible. Of course I don't want to waste money but I want to spend enough to be confident that this PC will last me a good while. If you think the extra £100 provides good value for money then I would go for it. Am I right in thinking more cores are beneficial for multitasking?

RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) - only because you specified this, I'd rather have a good backup solution instead
What would you suggest instead? It would need to be something I could set up and then largely forget about.
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
If time is money, then the extra 4 cores / 8 threads could pay for itself in time saved - but only you know how important that extra time saving is.

I’ve got a local, internal backup which does different types of backups (incremental and complete) at different schedules drives, and I connect a larger external drive once a week which does a weekly complete backup. There’s also lots of external SSDs for individual client backups of projects (which are also on various cloud providers as per client wishes).

Depending on the computer, the backups in the external enclosure can be hourly incremental > daily incremental > daily complete > weekly incremental > weekly complete (across 4 HDD in a 5-bay Thunderbolt/USB3 enclosure)…using Macrium Reflect X Home.

The cost of extra drives/backups is nothing compared to having to completely redoing work or spending hours updating an older version.
 
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