Build Advice Best possible build up to 2.5k for multi-tasking, charts, 4 monitors, productivity [No gaming] ?

[nate12]

So i am 1 week away for making an order. By now i know a lot(i think) so just want to confirm with you guys and get few more ideas to get best possible setup.

I was told that for my needs i7-12700 is way more than enough and there is no point in going for i9, same with motherboard that z690 should be a pass and i should go with B660. So far i picked B660 Wifi DDR6 Mortar from MSI. Was told its more than enough, no need to go with Tomahawk. Same with DDR5, so far as i understand its really no sense in going for it(even though i dont play to make any changes for few years at least) and that DDR4 will be enough. I was suggested 32 GB 2x 16 with Cl17 3600. After reading a bit i saw some of you saying it might be better to get 3200 with Cl16? Also i noticed i have a very good deal for Kingston Fury Beast 32GB with CL18 and 3600 so actually at this point i am willing to go with 2x32GB for a total of 64. But now is it better to go with Kingston Fury Beast 3600 at CL18 or maybe Patriot Viper Steel 3200 Cl 16, or Fury Best or Renegade also at 3200 CL16. Its all about similar prices here.

SSD i'll go with WDBlack SN850 1TB. I was going to pick Samsung Pro 980 but noticed WDblack is higher basically in all tests and its cheaper here than Samsung.
Water cooling will be SilentiumPC Navis F240, case most likely Bequiet 500DX

Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX650 or 750. Was told 650 is more than enough but i want it as quiet as possible and maybe its better to get 750 assuming i wont get bad GPU too.

So Main question remains with RAM + power supply. I assume rest is fine but if not of course please let me know. Currently i am using alienware laptop with i7-4700 MQ CPU @2.4 GHZ, 24 GB Ram, Geforce GTX 770 that i bought like 7-8 years ago and its time for a switch.

I am working for home, spending like 10 if not more hours every single day for work and all the other stuff so i want this maching to be best possible. I dont have a cap, if you tell me its not enough and i should go with i9 12900, DDR5 and Z690 i will go for it. But as far as i understand if i go with the above specs its still will be way more than i need and i wont notice any difference with i712700 vs i912900, same with DDR4 vs DDR5. Also was told that for my needs(even though 32GB is more than enough) its more about how much RAM i have, rather than ram speed so just figured that if i go with 64GB i can be set for many years.

I just want as smooth/fast machine possible for what i need for many years and help you very much in advance for all the help.


Budget (including currency): 2000-2500 $. So far i was told 2000 is enough for what i need but i dont have cap here so can stretch if if needed.
Country: Europe
Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Stock apps, charts, multi tasking on many tabs, 4 monitors. Not really gaming but for the sake of discussion lets cut graphic cards out of this topic I know i dont need a good one but i just want one just in case i decide to play like flight simulator or a new game. I have ps5 for gaming but still want to be able to play something if i decide to. There just will be one, but will focus on that once everything else is set

 

[geofelt]

Can you guys tell me a little bit more about cooling? I know Fuma 2 and Dark Rock Pro 4 are both great ones whatever pick here is but to be fair before i heard about it i was willing to go with water cooling SilentiumPC Navis F240 ARGB because i think it looks better but also i heard that when it comes to perfomance/cooling/silence it beats both Fuma 2 and Dak Rock Pro4. The only difference would be with how long it will last as such Dark Rock Pro would probably be fine for many many years while water cooling might have to be replaced after few.

Can you give me some thoughts here please? All 3, Fuma 2, Dark Rock Pro 4 and this water cooling SIlentium Pc Navis F240 are priced exactly same. No difference.

Most cooler tests are done on an open test bed, not in a case,
The cooling capabilities of the case are important.
For best cooling, pick a case that has two front 140mm intakes, or the equivalent of 3 120mm fans or even a single 200mm fan.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC. Or, to keep heat under control to get the best turbo boost out of your processor.

I do not much like all in one liquid coolers if a good air cooler like a Noctua, Phantex or bequiet can do the job just as well.

Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.

The orientation of the radiator is a catch 22 problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu best, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card, and motherboard voltage regulator coolers.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better), then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.

Past that, a AIO radiator complicates creating a positive pressure filtered cooling setup which can keep your parts clean.
The basic principle of positive pressure cooling is to have all air intake from one source and filtered.
Added fans, excepting perhaps a rear exhaust fan witll tend to draw in unfiltered air from adjacent openings.

The ultimate cooling ability of air or aio is the fin volume of the radiator which dissipates heat.
A 280 aio will have two 140mm fans, each in front of a radiator fin stack that is typically 30mm or so in thickness.
.
This is essentially the same size as the two fin stack on top air coolers like the Noctua NH-D15, Be Quiet drp 4 PRO Phanteks TC14pe and others.
The twin fin stack on a NH-D15, for example is about 40mm on each.

AIO coolers do not last forever. The cooling tubes have some degree of permeability that lets air eventually enter the system requiring a cooler replacement. The pumps are mechanical devices which will eventually fail or get clogged. I do not worry about
fans for air or aio, they can be easily replaced.
But, should an aio pump fail, you can not keep running until you replace it.

If budget is an issue, a top air cooler will usually cost less than a 280 aio.

And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
Google for AIO leaks to see what can happen.
While unlikely, leaks do happen.
A AIO leak may be covered by warranty but a leak is a nasty problem to recover from.

Where is an aio a good fit?
If you are into maximum overclocking and can use a 360 or larger aio, then liquid is your only option. Custom liquid will be even better(and more expensive)
Another good place for an aio is
in a space restricted case where there is insufficient height available to mount a good air cooler.

If one puts looks over function, The RGB "bling available on aio coolers may direct your choice.
That is a personal thing; not for me though.
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

 

[nate12]

Thank You again. Last one before moving to GPU, will likely make an order during weekend

Power Adapter. I picked Seasonic GX Focus 650 with Passive PFC as i heard it could be more quiet than active one. Is it a good choice or should i check something else?

Thanks,

 

[KyaraM]

Thank You again. Last one before moving to GPU, will likely make an order during weekend

Power Adapter. I picked Seasonic GX Focus 650 with Passive PFC as i heard it could be more quiet than active one. Is it a good choice or should i check something else?

Thanks,

I seriously can't remember ever hearing the PSU. Personally, I would go with an S-tier PSU from the list:

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

Though how big it will be depends on what card you ultimately choose, 650W is fine for a 3060Ti, but might get steained by a 3070Ti, for example. And currently, power requirements only go up with each generation, so unless you are 100% sure you don't want to upgrade later on...

 

[geofelt]

Seasonic units are generally quiet. In fact they warn you to not be alarmed if the fan does not run.
Only on high loads will the fan run.
650w will do for now.
The GX units have a 10 year warranty, others are in the 7 to 12 range.
But,
I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say by 20%.
It will allow for a stronger future graphics card upgrade.
It will run cooler and quieter.
Modern graphics cards can have high power demand spikes that need to be handled.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
For reference, here is what is recommended for various graphics cards:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

 

[nate12]

I seriously can't remember ever hearing the PSU. Personally, I would go with an S-tier PSU from the list:

I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say by 20%.
It will allow for a stronger future graphics card upgrade.
It will run cooler and quieter.

Thank You guys, will go for 750 then. Not much of a difference but dont want to be limited if i catch a good deal on GPU and then would be limited with 650.
Staying with Seasonic Focus GX because its on the list you provided and if there is not much difference between this and lets say Prime 750 with active PFC that is more expensive i would prefer to keep that $.

 

[nate12]

@geofelt great read about that cooling. I am quite sure i understand it completely but even though i might have to pick that AIO i mentioned just because of the space. I really like that Be quiet Dx500 case, there will be 2x140 at front as one will be on the back and aio on top. I always had laptops to be fair so out of everything the case was the only one i wanted to pick based on my "like" preference.

I wasnt able to find any good deals on RAM so most likely will have to go with Patriots either Blackout or Steel just because both are 3600 CL 18 and with significant price difference to the others. CL 16 with 3600 is like 70-80% more expensive for the kit. Also couldnt find any low profile RAM to fit with that case and got scared a little bit that it might not fit with either Dark Rock Pro 4 or Fuma 2.

 

[nate12]

Sorry but one more thing. Just noticed both sn-850 and samsung 980 pro have two versions. Regular one and with heatsink. I know the one with heatsink is better but is it needed? Should i get one of those with it or wont be a problem if i decide not to?

 

[KyaraM]

Sorry but one more thing. Just noticed both sn-850 and samsung 980 pro have two versions. Regular one and with heatsink. I know the one with heatsink is better but is it needed? Should i get one of those with it or wont be a problem if i decide not to?

Not if the board you chose has a sink itself. Never seen my SN850 go over ~45°C under full load on my MSI Pro Z690-A with the sink the board came with.

 

[nate12]

Not if the board you chose has a sink itself. Never seen my SN850 go over ~45°C under full load on my MSI Pro Z690-A with the sink the board came with.

I am going with MSI B660 Mortar and i believe it has one, not 100% sure though

 

[KyaraM]

I am going with MSI B660 Mortar and i believe it has one, not 100% sure though

I checked the board, actually looks like it got two on MSI's website. You are good.