New PC for heavy home use

[DarrenBrooker769]

I'm looking to finally retire my 7-year-old ancient PC (though only the case, CPU, PSU and motherboard are original), so I need a good replacement. I like to buy a good spec that will last and that I can upgrade / replace components as required (but ideally would rather not have to replace motherboard, CPU and PSU). My budget is around £3.5k-4k (including monitors).

I need two new monitors (dual monitor), the main issue with the monitors is that they *must* fit into my existing custom-built PC desk which has a maximum height of 46cm (18") and a maximum width of 64cm (25") each, I'm considering a pair of Dell 27" P2722H Monitors (I currently have 2 x HP27vx).

I mainly use it for heavy office work, including working on multiple large Word / Office documents with multiple images, etc. and multiple activities/windows/programs in parallel, including online Zoom, Teams & Skype presenting (I need to be able to host/share/play video clips, presentations and sound online, etc.).

I play a few games, though I don't think it's anything too intensive at the moment, but would like the capability to do more if something grabs my fancy (currently: Minecraft, Age of Empires II & IV, etc. and a few simulation games).

I edit short videos (nothing too fancy) and photographs (photos using Photoshop, etc.). Playing lossless music with good quality sound is a must. It will be Ethernet wired to my ASUS RT-AX88U router (FTTP 900Mbps internet connection), but I also want WiFi to connect to my backup router and backup broadband line.

Thank you for your advice and input.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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 [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
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
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £3,430.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/BhyCThHr5W/

 

[Bigfoot]

Wow. That is a lot of storage, but I guess you know how much you need. Ideally, you would put the OS and apps on a smaller M.2 drive (512GB) and use a second M.2 for your fast storage, which doesn't really need to be as fast. The big Barracuda HDDs are very slow and RAID doesn't really offer much for a home PC and is not a substitute for proper backups. Perhaps NASD would be better for your storage requirements. You need a much better cooler with that CPU and case. I would go for a Corsair H115i or H150i.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

Thank you, I'll change the cooling as you suggest. The storage may be a little over the top, I'll review again whether I need mirroring or not, I thought it might be a good idea to go big on storage early rather than the pain of changing it out later, but to be honest it's not that difficult and the future improvements in technology and pricing may well outweigh the hassle factor.

I do already have NAS for storing my music and a daily updated backup copy of my data - I also have a periodic offsite backup copy on external hard drives stored at my parent's house. I'm conscious that nowadays hard drive failure is probably one of the lower causes of data loss, the higher chances are some form of logical loss, e.g. ransomware, accidental deletion, etc. all of which mirroring does absolutely nothing to protect against.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

I've updated the spec to this:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 3000 MB/W)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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 [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
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
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £3,265.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/cysNS28PXa/

 

[Scott]

I genuinely wouldn't waste the money on RAID. Far better to put the money into cloud storage for backup.

I wouldn't recommend a 2TB primary drive. It suggests you're going to use the space on there which will significantly slow down the OS drive. Better to keep it to 500GB, install the OS and any programs on it. The surrounding storage drives then provide your fast access storage.

Consider each drive as being a lane. If you access the same lane, it's slower. Having the OS slowed down while trying to access storage on the same drive isn't good practise.

No need for the Arctic paste. The paste on the Corsair units is excellent and pre-applied.

 

[Scott]

Oh, just noticed the RAM. I wouldn't recommend such a high quantity for your uses. Everything you mention would happily run under 8GB, 16GB is the optimum with 32GB covering you for any future uses. 32GB is definitely the sweet spot and would allow you far faster RAM options, which will pay dividends in your uses. 3600Mhz would be my choice.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

I genuinely wouldn't waste the money on RAID. Far better to put the money into cloud storage for backup.

I wouldn't recommend a 2TB primary drive. It suggests you're going to use the space on there which will significantly slow down the OS drive. Better to keep it to 500GB, install the OS and any programs on it. The surrounding storage drives then provide your fast access storage.

Consider each drive as being a lane. If you access the same lane, it's slower. Having the OS slowed down while trying to access storage on the same drive isn't good practise.

No need for the Arctic paste. The paste on the Corsair units is excellent and pre-applied.

Thanks, I'll remove the Arctic paste and update the RAM. I think I'll stick with the 2TB primary drive - it is just for OS and programs, but I'm already at 700GB in my current set-up (which I had to increase from 500GB to 1TB a while back) and therefore think 1TB might limit my future program installation options (programs and games only ever seem to get larger and larger). I don't use the primary drive for data storage at all, even my profiles are on my data drive.

 

[Scott]

Thanks, I'll remove the Arctic paste and update the RAM. I think I'll stick with the 2TB primary drive - it is just for OS and programs, but I'm already at 700GB in my current set-up (which I had to increase from 500GB to 1TB a while back) and therefore think 1TB might limit my future program installation options (programs and games only ever seem to get larger and larger). I don't use the primary drive for data storage at all, even my profiles are on my data drive.

Something isn't right with your usage if you're at 700GB. You must be storing something on there, games maybe? You want games on the second drive, as explained above you want a separate channel for loading and drive access.

The software you mention, adobe etc, are all fine to run on the primary as they load into memory and tend not to access the primary drive again. You can setup cache space etc on the fast load for larger projects etc.

Up to yourself though, if you're happy managing the storage that way then it's your choice. It's just not the most efficient way to use the space

FYI, after 50% the drives slow down, after 70% they slow down significantly. When we recommend 500GB drives it's actually with the intention of only using around 250GB. 250GB, when used properly, is a generous amount of space. The OS would normally take up around 50-100GB (depending on certain uses), this leaves 150GB of space for programs and any general documents lying around. Anything over 150GB in programs doesn't make sense and suggests a problem.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

Something isn't right with your usage if you're at 700GB. You must be storing something on there, games maybe? You want games on the second drive, as explained above you want a separate channel for loading and drive access.

The software you mention, adobe etc, are all fine to run on the primary as they load into memory and tend not to access the primary drive again. You can setup cache space etc on the fast load for larger projects etc.

Up to yourself though, if you're happy managing the storage that way then it's your choice. It's just not the most efficient way to use the space

FYI, after 50% the drives slow down, after 70% they slow down significantly. When we recommend 500GB drives it's actually with the intention of only using around 250GB. 250GB, when used properly, is a generous amount of space. The OS would normally take up around 50-100GB (depending on certain uses), this leaves 150GB of space for programs and any general documents lying around. Anything over 150GB in programs doesn't make sense and suggests a problem.

Thanks - yes, a good chunk of my current C: drive is programs (Adobe, Office, et al) but another huge chunk is games. So if I understand correctly, you suggest 1TB M2 SSD for the OS and basic programs (C: drive), next a 2TB M2 SSD for my games (say D: drive) and then either 4TB SATA SSD for my primary data and profiles (say E: drive) and then 4TB HDD for my less accessed projects, etc. (the stuff I don't use too much) (say F: drive). I could upgrade/replace my NAS instead of having the 4TB HDD, but I think this option is cheaper and simpler!

 

[DarTon]

I really have to question why you need a 12900K for that purpose. That CPU draws more power, generates more heat and as a result prefers a high quality motherboard and top of the range cooler.

I'd say a 12700K would give you 95%+ of the performance, without stressing the rest of the system. Cheaper aswell.

 

[Scott]

Thanks - yes, a good chunk of my current C: drive is programs (Adobe, Office, et al) but another huge chunk is games. So if I understand correctly, you suggest 1TB M2 SSD for the OS and basic programs (C: drive), next a 2TB M2 SSD for my games (say D: drive) and then either 4TB SATA SSD for my primary data and profiles (say E: drive) and then 4TB HDD for my less accessed projects, etc. (the stuff I don't use too much) (say F: drive). I could upgrade/replace my NAS instead of having the 4TB HDD, but I think this option is cheaper and simpler!

Yip, that's how I would personally run it. I would opt for a 500GB primary, rather 1TB as it promotes hoarding

With the second drive, you could opt for one of the 4TB Corsair offerings. This would allow you to create a cache space as well for when using Photoshop etc.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

Here's where I think I've got to:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
4TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 3000 MB/W)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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 [KUK-00003]
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
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/!z9T259HPN/

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

I really have to question why you need a 12900K for that purpose. That CPU draws more power, generates more heat and as a result prefers a high quality motherboard and top of the range cooler.

I'd say a 12700K would give you 95%+ of the performance, without stressing the rest of the system. Cheaper aswell.

Thanks DarTon, I don't think I need a 12900K at this time, but I'd rather future proof the CPU, Motherboard and PSU as much as possible now - I'm quite happy to upgrade memory, video card, storage, etc. as, when and if I need to, but I personally don't like the idea of changing the motherboard and/or CPU myself (though I probably could do it if I had to). These parts of my current PC are over 7 years old, and whilst I only expect a 3 to 5 year lifespan of this system as purchased, I'd like to aim at 5 to 7 years (with upgrades) for these main components again.

 

[Bigfoot]

Please be aware that the Ironwolf HDDs are designed for servers and are noisy, which seems at odds with the case you have chosen. You really don’t need RAID, so I would go for 2x2TB Barracudas (without RAID) to give you 4TB of HDD at 7200rpm. The Corsair MP400s don’t have as good write endurance as some of the competition.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, here's my latest iteration:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
4TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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 [KUK-00003]
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)

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

I've got a question on the RAM: If I select 3600MHz RAM it seems to limit me to 32GB (2 x 16GB). I can only select 64GB (4 x 16GB) if I go with 3200MHz. This isn't a problem today, but I want to understand my future upgrade options. Is this just a limit of the PCS configurator, or is it some hardware limit? What would be my options if I want to upgrade to 64GB in the future? Thanks

 

[Scott]

It's the limit to which PCS have tested the configurations so far. You won't have a problem for upgrade potential. You will have the option to slot in a couple of sticks should the need arise.

 

[DarrenBrooker769]

Thanks all, I think I'm nearly there....

Three detailed questions following some more research on the various components, etc. which I've been doing today:

1. The fan / CPU cooler / cooling layout in the Fractal Define 7 case (including the case top which I'd like to leave as the non-vented option as I don't really want "crud" falling into the machine). If I order a Corsair H150i Elite where will this be fitted, or would a Corsair H115i Elite fit better? Where will the other supplied and extra fans be fitted? How will the airflow be configured? Please note: I intend to have an optical BluRay/DVD/CD RW drive fitted, which I think narrows down the options.

2. How are the USB, etc. outlets on the front of the Fractal Define 7 case connected to the motherboard - in the Motherboard manual it mentions additional modules being needed, will these all be supplied working or do I need something else, or have I misunderstood something?

3. When I checked with PCS about the possibility of getting 64GB of 3600MHz RAM installed on day 1, they replied: "For stability reasons, we do not sell 64GB of 3600mhz ram. In theory, there is no reason that you couldn't just upgrade the ram yourself, as this is supported by the motherboard. We have just run into problems with it before, and so do not want to sell this on a large scale to prevent customer issues with a problem that we cannot fix." Is anyone aware of the problems, or are they just being super-cautious? I'm tempted to go for 3200MHz just to be safe, or would that then be me being over-cautious too?!?

Many Thanks

 

[barlew]

2. How are the USB, etc. outlets on the front of the Fractal Define 7 case connected to the motherboard - in the Motherboard manual it mentions additional modules being needed, will these all be supplied working or do I need something else, or have I misunderstood something?

3. When I checked with PCS about the possibility of getting 64GB of 3600MHz RAM installed on day 1, they replied: "For stability reasons, we do not sell 64GB of 3600mhz ram. In theory, there is no reason that you couldn't just upgrade the ram yourself, as this is supported by the motherboard. We have just run into problems with it before, and so do not want to sell this on a large scale to prevent customer issues with a problem that we cannot fix." Is anyone aware of the problems, or are they just being super-cautious? I'm tempted to go for 3200MHz just to be safe, or would that then be me being over-cautious too?!?

Many Thanks

Ill have a crack at answering these two for you.

2. The computer that PCS send to you will be fully functional. If there are ports on the case they will all work.

3. They way I read this is, PCS will have tested that motherboard in loads of different configurations. For whatever reason when they tested the RAM configuration you wanted, it caused a number of faults. Say they tested 10 versions of that build and 2 of them consistently had problems with that RAM, now scale that up to PCS output. Say they sell 1000 PC's in that configuration, they would potentially have to sort out 200 machines that have problems. Its probably not worth their time. (I am am pulling these figures out of thin air by the way).

However you can guarantee if PCS know about it ASUS know about it (I am assuming it is a motherboard problem) and its either already been fixed or a BIOS update is on the way.

If I were you I would stick with the 32GB 3600MHz config. I honestly believe even that is probably overkill for your use case. I highly doubt you will ever need to upgrade above 32GB. And even if you do I reckon you'll be fine you just may need to do a BIOS update.

*Edit* In fact if you ever do get to the point where you need 64GB of RAM for your uses you would probably also need to buy a whole new computer.