Would appreciate some feedback on a new build, details below.
My requirements are 3D modelling work (3ds Max, realtime viewport, not much rendering), 2D (Photoshop), gaming and flight simulation. I will be driving a 4K display. The 64 GB RAM is probably overkill, but I do work with huge PS files and have a lot open at once. I will not be overclocking or using multiple graphics cards. The machine will be seeing heavy usage, hopefully for many years to come.
Here's what I'm looking at:
CORE
CPU: i9 9900K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Master
RAM: 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 2666 MHz (4 x 16 GB)
GPU: RTX 2080Ti (Zotac/Palit)
PSU: Corsair/Seasonic 850-1000 W Gold-Platinum
DRIVES
M.2: 500 GB WD Black SN750 NVMe (OS, Win 10 Pro 64-bit)
M.2: 1 TB WD Black SN750 NVMe (Work, Active)
SSD: 1 TB WB Blue 3D NAND SATA (Flight Simulator)
SSD: 1 TB WB Blue 3D NAND SATA (Games)
HDD: 1 TB WD Black (Storage, Personal)
HDD: 2 TB WD Black (Storage, Work)
DVD: Sony DVD RW
CASE & FANS
OPTION 1
Case: Silverstone TJ07
Fans: 2 x Noctua NF-S12A 120 mm (HDD/SSD cages, base/pedestal); 2 x Noctua NF-S12A 120 mm (top); 2 x Noctua NF-A9 92 mm (rear)
CPU cooler: Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT/Noctua NH-U12A
OPTION 2
Case: Lian Li PC-7NA/Lian Li PC-7HA
Fans: Default (2 front, intake; 1 rear, exhaust)
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-D15/NH-D15S
Of the above, I currently own the TJ07 case, the 2 standard HDDs and the optical drive, the rest will be new, put together by PCSpecialist (https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/).
Cases mentioned above:
TJ07: https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=92&area=en
PC-7NA: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-7na-midi-tower-case-silver-ca-772-ll.html
PC-7HA: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-7ha-midi-tower-case-silver-ca-603-ll.html
Questions:
1. Is this Gigabyte motherboard the best choice? I am not a fan of that way it looks, but it has received good reviews. I will not be overclocking and do not care for RGB, but do value high quality construction/components and require Wi-Fi (could be via a card though). Another option is the ASUS Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi).
2. Having checked the Z390 AORUS Master manual, it seems that I should be OK to run 6 SATA ports if I use only two of the M.2 slots, with the only drawback being limiting the bottom PCIe slot to x4 (from x8). Should I use all 3 M.2 slots, I understand that I would sacrifice 2 SATAs (in addition to the reduced speed x4 PCIe) - is that correct?
3. As regards case and cooling options; if I stick with my existing case I'll be replacing all the fans (details above). I would appreciate any thoughts as to the best intake/exhaust configuration + if you feel that the NH-U12A would be sufficient for a stock 9900K or whether I should really go with the LGM (I can't use the NH-D15 due to its 165 mm height requirement as case max is 162 mm). I have read conflicting info in this regard; I would like to use the NH-U12A if possible (for a full Noctua build), but suspect it might not quite cut it, even at stock - then again some reviews only show a few degrees difference between them... If anyone has been able to test this setup personally, or has any definite/strong views on it please let me know.
4. Would appreciate your thoughts regarding case options in general. As you can probably tell, I like simple aluminium designs with good build quality. As such the only cases that fit the bill seem to be a few Lian Li options and my existing TJ07 (or possibly another Silverstone). Ideally I don't want to spend hundreds more, but even if I did there doesn't seem to be a great deal of choice for under £300. Style-wise I like both this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-d600wa-big-tower-silver-ca-665-ll.html and this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-v760a-full-tower-case-silver-ca-77a-ll.html, but given the rig is currently at the £3,000 mark (sans display and peripherals) I don't really have the budget for either. To make matters more frustrating the Lian-Li PC-7NA is pre-order only with no ETA and I can't seem to find it anywhere. It looks like the update to the 7HA model with more modular internals and a larger CPU cutout in the motherboard.
5. The decision to go with 2666 MHz RAM as opposed to higher is due to both stability and cost. Whilst 3000 MHz is only £60 more, the little here and there keeps pushing the price. If someone thinks this is a bad call and that that £60 (or more/faster) is really worth it, please comment.
I intend to wait a little longer before pulling the trigger to see when Intel will bring the 10-core Comet Lake chip to market, hopefully will have news later this month. If the wait isn't long, I'll go with that; if right at the end of this year or early next I'll stick with the 9900K. Either way, I'd like to be able to spec up the rest now so I'm good to go research-wise.
Thanks in advance for any help, sorry there's quite a bit of text...
My requirements are 3D modelling work (3ds Max, realtime viewport, not much rendering), 2D (Photoshop), gaming and flight simulation. I will be driving a 4K display. The 64 GB RAM is probably overkill, but I do work with huge PS files and have a lot open at once. I will not be overclocking or using multiple graphics cards. The machine will be seeing heavy usage, hopefully for many years to come.
Here's what I'm looking at:
CORE
CPU: i9 9900K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Master
RAM: 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 2666 MHz (4 x 16 GB)
GPU: RTX 2080Ti (Zotac/Palit)
PSU: Corsair/Seasonic 850-1000 W Gold-Platinum
DRIVES
M.2: 500 GB WD Black SN750 NVMe (OS, Win 10 Pro 64-bit)
M.2: 1 TB WD Black SN750 NVMe (Work, Active)
SSD: 1 TB WB Blue 3D NAND SATA (Flight Simulator)
SSD: 1 TB WB Blue 3D NAND SATA (Games)
HDD: 1 TB WD Black (Storage, Personal)
HDD: 2 TB WD Black (Storage, Work)
DVD: Sony DVD RW
CASE & FANS
OPTION 1
Case: Silverstone TJ07
Fans: 2 x Noctua NF-S12A 120 mm (HDD/SSD cages, base/pedestal); 2 x Noctua NF-S12A 120 mm (top); 2 x Noctua NF-A9 92 mm (rear)
CPU cooler: Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT/Noctua NH-U12A
OPTION 2
Case: Lian Li PC-7NA/Lian Li PC-7HA
Fans: Default (2 front, intake; 1 rear, exhaust)
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-D15/NH-D15S
Of the above, I currently own the TJ07 case, the 2 standard HDDs and the optical drive, the rest will be new, put together by PCSpecialist (https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/).
Cases mentioned above:
TJ07: https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=92&area=en
PC-7NA: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-7na-midi-tower-case-silver-ca-772-ll.html
PC-7HA: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-7ha-midi-tower-case-silver-ca-603-ll.html
Questions:
1. Is this Gigabyte motherboard the best choice? I am not a fan of that way it looks, but it has received good reviews. I will not be overclocking and do not care for RGB, but do value high quality construction/components and require Wi-Fi (could be via a card though). Another option is the ASUS Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi).
2. Having checked the Z390 AORUS Master manual, it seems that I should be OK to run 6 SATA ports if I use only two of the M.2 slots, with the only drawback being limiting the bottom PCIe slot to x4 (from x8). Should I use all 3 M.2 slots, I understand that I would sacrifice 2 SATAs (in addition to the reduced speed x4 PCIe) - is that correct?
3. As regards case and cooling options; if I stick with my existing case I'll be replacing all the fans (details above). I would appreciate any thoughts as to the best intake/exhaust configuration + if you feel that the NH-U12A would be sufficient for a stock 9900K or whether I should really go with the LGM (I can't use the NH-D15 due to its 165 mm height requirement as case max is 162 mm). I have read conflicting info in this regard; I would like to use the NH-U12A if possible (for a full Noctua build), but suspect it might not quite cut it, even at stock - then again some reviews only show a few degrees difference between them... If anyone has been able to test this setup personally, or has any definite/strong views on it please let me know.
4. Would appreciate your thoughts regarding case options in general. As you can probably tell, I like simple aluminium designs with good build quality. As such the only cases that fit the bill seem to be a few Lian Li options and my existing TJ07 (or possibly another Silverstone). Ideally I don't want to spend hundreds more, but even if I did there doesn't seem to be a great deal of choice for under £300. Style-wise I like both this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-d600wa-big-tower-silver-ca-665-ll.html and this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-v760a-full-tower-case-silver-ca-77a-ll.html, but given the rig is currently at the £3,000 mark (sans display and peripherals) I don't really have the budget for either. To make matters more frustrating the Lian-Li PC-7NA is pre-order only with no ETA and I can't seem to find it anywhere. It looks like the update to the 7HA model with more modular internals and a larger CPU cutout in the motherboard.
5. The decision to go with 2666 MHz RAM as opposed to higher is due to both stability and cost. Whilst 3000 MHz is only £60 more, the little here and there keeps pushing the price. If someone thinks this is a bad call and that that £60 (or more/faster) is really worth it, please comment.
I intend to wait a little longer before pulling the trigger to see when Intel will bring the 10-core Comet Lake chip to market, hopefully will have news later this month. If the wait isn't long, I'll go with that; if right at the end of this year or early next I'll stick with the 9900K. Either way, I'd like to be able to spec up the rest now so I'm good to go research-wise.
Thanks in advance for any help, sorry there's quite a bit of text...
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