Need Help Parting Out a New Build

P

PTNL

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
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I am looking to refresh my main office machine with a new CPU + motherboard, and re-use some parts from the original build that the community helped with back in 2018. I've done a few upgrades since then, but I am now ready to swap out the core this machine.

So, borrowing from that last thread, here is what I am looking for...

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
A mix between computer programming (Visual Studio, VS Code, C#, ReactJS/Angular, SQL Server, Postgres, Windows Subsystem for Linux, and working with some 3rd party video encoders like FFmpeg), using some virtual machines, and doing some single-monitor gaming (Killing Floor 2, soon Killing Floor 3, Phasmophobia, Dark Souls, Starcraft 2).
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$800, including shipping, but I can go higher if it is relevant to my needs.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US -- St. Louis, Missouri
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU
CPU fan
Motherboard (Micro ATX)
RAM (32 GB minimum)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Seasonic G 550 watt PSU
Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB NVMe drive (for OS and apps/games)
MSI Nvidia 3060 (12 GB RAM)
3 monitors, all displayport connected (2 x 27 inch Dell 1440p, 1 x 24 inch Dell 1080p)
Antec SOLO II case
Some SATA drives used purely for file storage, no app installs
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1440p, 27 inch
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Building sometime over the next 1-2 months. Purchases may need to be spread out or delayed to buy at the same time due to budgeting against other household needs.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Required would be RAID-1, USB-3, NVMe, and SATA-3. (The RAID-1 would be used on 2 SATA drives that are pure storage -- no apps installed there.)
Motherboard should be Micro ATX form factor.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have a license for Windows 11 Professional (64-bit).


Aside from the above list...
- I am initially leaning toward an Intel-based build for faster encoding support with Intel Quicksync. If there is a compelling reason to change to AMD, then please share your thoughts and any supplemental reading that would help my understanding.
- I do prefer to have a quiet machine, and I don't have a spot for a closed-loop AIO water cooler. An air cooler is preferred. And by quiet, I don't mean completely quiet. A soft hum is fine, basically subtle white noise. Just nothing that will whine when the CPU ramps up.
- If there is a reason to _not_ reuse one of the existing parts listed above, please share your thoughts on why and include a replacement in the recommendation.

I hope this provides enough to start with, and thanks to everyone in advance for their time and experience.
 
I looked at PC Part Picker over the weekend, and came up with this list of parts:

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
HSF: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Mobo: Asus PRIME B860M-A
RAM: Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2x16 GB)

** Total is $560, all via Amazon.

Any thoughts or tweaks to this idea? I'm still open to other suggestions from the more knowledgeable audience.
 
Cooler Master Hyper 212 was a long time budget choice but now it is more the peerless assassin/Phantom Spirit or equivalent, if you have room and the price is close enough could be worth the upgrade for a high core count cpu like a 265k, ram clearance can be more of an issue too with their size.
 
LukeTbk said:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 was a long time budget choice but now it is more the peerless assassin/Phantom Spirit or equivalent, if you have room and the price is close enough could be worth the upgrade for a high core count cpu like a 265k, ram clearance can be more of an issue too with their size.
Click to expand...
Hey hey... Thanks for chiming in!

Could you send a link to the Peerless Assassin and Phantom Spirit you were thinking of?

Also, you mentioned "could be worth the upgrade for a high core count cpu like a 265k" ... Is that different from what I listed? Just wondering if there is a typo in what you posted vs. what you meant.
 
I meant by that the more cores the more worth it it tend to become to have better cooling for the noise/performance.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hY...sassin-120-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-pa120-se-d3
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Gp...tom-spirit-120-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ps120se

I think the spirit is the updated and better version if the price are the same:
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/air-cooling/thermalright-phantom-spirit-120-evo-review
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO Review: This isn’t a competition. This is a massacre.
 
LukeTbk said:
I meant by that the more cores the more worth it it tend to become to have better cooling for the noise/performance.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see what you mean now. Sure, I'll take a look at it for dimensions and product evals. Cost wise, I don't have a problem adding $10 to the build.
 
LukeTbk said:
I think the spirit is the updated and better version if the price are the same:
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/air-cooling/thermalright-phantom-spirit-120-evo-review
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO Review: This isn’t a competition. This is a massacre.
Click to expand...
Welp, I just read that article and you got me sold on that cooler. Much appreciated!

Are there any thoughts on the PSU I mentioned reusing at the start of the thread? That may be the one remaining outlier I can see, assuming there are no other recommendations coming in.
 
I'm holding off a bit on buying, just in case some deals pop up as part of Intel's Gamer Days promo in a week.
 
I just pulled the trigger on this modified build, based on feedback in this thread. I also added a Seasonic PSU.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FFbmMC

If there are any last minute critiques, questions, or pivots I need to make, then please share.

And kudos to LukeTbk for his feedback and guidance on my build 🙂🙂
 
Update... I've been running this build for several months now and couldn't be happier with the advice provided here. With some PTM7950, this thing idles at 26-28 C. Under a heavy transcoding load, this averages around 72-75 C (with occasional bursts up to 82 C) -- all with only a slight whisper of air heard when hitting the highest temps. And all jobs in-between like running multiple IDEs are chewed through like nothing.

Thanks again, community, I appreciate you all. Merry Christmas!
 
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