Question Components to prepare for Windows 12? (And beyond?)

Texan_100

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Dec 10, 2012
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I am configuring a new HP Z2 Tower G9 Workstation. I want the stability of a workstation (I am coming from an HP Z800). I know no one can predict the future, but I want to try to get a system that would be able to run whatever is the current Windows for 5-7 years. I have speced an Intel® Core™ i5-12500 and an NVIDIA® T1000. Do you think the i5 is enough, or should go for an i7 and correspondingly upgraded NVIDIA? The system will accommodate an i9, but that is quite a price jump. As you can see from my staying with the Z800, anything I buy today will be fast enough for me. I do limited video editing, but nothing above HD.

Thank you so much!
 
Thank you Lutfij. I was hoping to tap this very knowledgeable community for some speculation. Maybe I should reframe the question a bit--if you were buying a system today that you wanted to be able to use for several years, would you get the i5 or the i7?
 
Windows 12 will almost certainly require a NPU, as Windows 11 with Copilot already requires one. The T1000 is like a GTX 1650 and doesn't have one.

Windows Copilot requires a NPU+CPU with 40 combined TOPS now, and it is currently believed Windows 12 will require a minimum of 45-50 TOPS. At present the Strix Point and Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V-series APUs can already meet this with their integrated IGPs, so no separate GPU required.
 
Any system that is carefully built is a "Workstation." The only thing you get from configuring a PC in this way is a warranty on the whole system from HP that you will very likely never use. Configured systems like this from such OEMs are usually very expensive, and are not any more reliable than something you put together yourself. What is your particular budget for such a system? If you were to try and build it yourself, or have someone build it for you, I would start here. The amount of money saved is likely in the hundreds or more:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K 3.9 GHz 20-Core Processor ($371.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z890 LiveMixer WiFi ATX LGA1851 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Inland Performance Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC Edition GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: FSP Group Hydro PTM X PRO,Gen5 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($146.94 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! Pure Wings 3 57.4 CFM 140 mm Fan ($11.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! Pure Wings 3 57.4 CFM 140 mm Fan ($11.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $1468.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-03 13:33 EST-0500
 
HP support convinced me to go to Intel® Core™ i7-14700 Processor vPro® Enterprise and then dropped the call.

BFG-9000, I can't keep the chip nicknames tied to their numbers. Is the above chip a Lunar Lake?

Also, I know there is a question about NVIDIA and some consumer AI (obviously NVIDIA boards can do AI, or they wouldn't sell so many of them for it, but that must be different).

Should I be looking at one of the AMD Radeon boards for my computer?

AMD Radeon™ RX 6400 Graphics (4 GB GDDR6; FH; PCIe x16)+ $238.00 I see that one is terrible

AMD Radeon™ PRO W7500 (8 GB GDDR6, 4x DisplayPort 2.1) Graphics+ $570.00

The first one is less expensive than the Nvidia T1000 and the second one is a bit more.
 
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Any system that is carefully built is a "Workstation." The only thing you get from configuring a PC in this way is a warranty on the whole system from HP that you will very likely never use. Configured systems like this from such OEMs are usually very expensive, and are not any more reliable than something you put together yourself. What is your particular budget for such a system? If you were to try and build it yourself, or have someone build it for you, I would start here. The amount of money saved is likely in the hundreds or more:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K 3.9 GHz 20-Core Processor ($371.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z890 LiveMixer WiFi ATX LGA1851 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Inland Performance Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3060 V2 OC Edition GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: FSP Group Hydro PTM X PRO,Gen5 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($146.94 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! Pure Wings 3 57.4 CFM 140 mm Fan ($11.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! Pure Wings 3 57.4 CFM 140 mm Fan ($11.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $1468.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-03 13:33 EST-0500
Thank you. I thought at length about having it built, but haven't found someone I trust to do it. if I go back to considering that option I will start with your recommendations.
 
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