…yeah, it’s time. I’ve finally found games I actually want to play that require a half-decent machine, I make all my money on the computer, and I regularly do video editing as well. I always keep my machines for a long time, so they need to be as future-proof as possible and I can’t justify saving up for a PC unless it’s going to be good enough for the foreseeable future. So here’s where my head is at, I’d be grateful for any advice.

tl;dr https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xjP3yF for the general idea, but I’m open to other ideas. It’s going to be a linux machine, and all AMD since I hear the drivers work better/are less fiddly. Aesthetically, I like an all-white motif but looks are secondary to pure power and long life. I would like to be able to emulate PS4, Xbox 360, run S&box so my kid can make games, and render my clip shows at high speed. The budget I’m targeting is about £2k. Will mean saving up for a couple months. Parts I’m considering:

CPU

  • Ryzen 9 9950X3D (I’m most excited about having a strong CPU, this one appeals to me even though it’s a bit of a splurge)
  • Ryzen 9 7950X3D
  • Ryzen 9 7900X3D

GPU

Anything AMD, 16gb preferred but at least 12gb. AMD RX 6800XT or higher perhaps. RX 7800 XT or similar would be great.

Memory

16gb preferred, DDR5, not too fussy about brand. Maybe someday another 16gb if it becomes worthwhile.

Storage

1 or 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, any really who cares. I don’t need a lot of storage, most of my games are lightweight indies or backed up on my server.

Power Supply

Anything 850-1000w, preferably modular? I dunno.

Cooling

Possibly an AIO liquid cooler. I’m iffy on that, would be happy with a fan if it’s more recommended.

Case

Fractal does a nice white wood effect one (North XL), as does Antec (Flux Pro). Happy with anything that matches, but don’t really love showy RGB, prefer understated and clean looks.

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
    1·
    11 hours ago

    Oh yeah, that’ll work! That’s a beautiful case, and not outrageously priced nor cramped, but still saves tons of space.

    Further suggestions:

    • Look up “weather stripping” on Amazon. It’s foam with one sticky side designed for doorways and such, but I stick it on my GPU (or case) to form a “seal” between the GPU and the outside grate, so it uses its own fans to suck in ambient temperature air (instead of recirculating it inside the case). It looks like it’ll work in the Lian Li:

    • I’d suggest rotating the CPU tower 90 degrees, if the cooler allows it, so it sucks in air from the top in a similar manner. There are simple ducts you can buy to aid with this.

    This all may sound crazy, but you’d be shocked how quiet a PC can be with no case fans, no grinding pump or anything.

    You could go AIO. But I never liked the leak risk of water cooling.

    • Brave Little Hitachi Wand@feddit.ukOPEnglish
      1·
      5 hours ago

      I had thought I’d do the standard thing of intake bottom/front and exhaust top/rear, but I’m not fully visualizing it yet. Does it always make more sense to duct in than out, so to speak? I assume so.

      Weather stripping I’ve actually used on doors and windows, I can get that from my evil international conglomerate of choice. A full-on duct would look kind of janky but that I can get behind.

      I have misgivings about liquid too. I’m sure it’s great while it’s working, but I’m building towards peace of mind. I would rather just spend more on an overkill CPU rather than overclock.