[SOLVED] New Build | Your Advice on Gaming & Multimedia System

[Cosmopolarbear]

Hi everyone

I would greatly appreciate your assistance in putting together a new system. My current build (~ 2013) is probably going to reach the end of its lifespan very soon and the installed HD7950 has already passed away spectacularly including an early stage fire on the GPU board¹. I am therefore planning to order the listed components within the next few days, with the exception of the GPU, to allow operations with the IGP for a few months, if necessary, until hopefully something changes in availability and pricing ...

I would thus love to hear your opinion and recommendations on some of the components, specifically PSU, motherboard, RAM and loops/loop arrangement. (marked: !!!)

FAQ

Spoiler: FAQ

• Use Case?
  Gaming including more demanding titles and semi-professional image manipulation, editing and processing with DxO and Adobe CC e.g.
  
  
• Requirements?
  Focus on performance and quality, no RGB with exception of RAM maybe, not too loud, focus on good protection against dust.
  
  
• Resolution?
  One or two monitors, max 2560 x 1440, min 1920 x 1080, refresh rate tbd.
  
  
• Budget?
  ~ 1100 EUR, please note that the budget excludes GPU!
  
  
• Timing?
  Soon.

COMPONENTS

Spoiler: COMPONENTS

• GPU: AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 Graphics or AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Graphics (subsequent acquisition!)
  
  
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-12600K
  
  
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 or ASUS TUF Z690-Plus D4, or recommendations? !!!
  
  
• Case: Meshify 2
  
  
• PSU: Fractal Ion+ Platinum 760W or Fractal Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W? !!!
  
  
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB RS Schwarz 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16, or recommendations? !!!
  
  
• SSD: WD Black SN850 SSD - 1 TB, alternatively 980 PRO NVMe™ M.2 SSD - 1 TB
  
  
• CPU Cooler: DeepCool AS500 PLUS, DeepCool DeepCool AK620 or DeepCool DeepCool Assassin III, or recommendations? !!!

FANS & ARRANGEMENT

Spoiler: FANS & ARRANGEMENT

And of course, what to do about loops! The case includes 3 x Dynamic X2 GP-14 loops. How would you supplement and organize those? !!!

• Front Side Fans
  3 x 120/140 mm (maybe 3x Dynamic X2 GP-14, or Aspect 14, or recommendations?)
  
  
• Top Side Fans
  3x 120/140 mm (maybe 3 x Dynamic X2 GP-14, the ones included?)
  
  
• Back Side Fans
  1 x 120/140 mm (maybe 1x Dynamic X2 GP-14, or Aspect 14, or recommendations?)
  
  
• Bottom Fans
  2x 120/140 mm (necessary? unnecessary dust catcher?)

Thank you so much!
¹ Thanks Gigabyte!

 

[g-unit1111]

That looks like it would be a pretty killer rig. The only thing I would suggest would maybe be to avoid Fractal Design PSUs. Though I think a couple of them are rebranded Seasonic PSUs, you could always get better in that category, especially if you're going to power a liquid loop.

And I'd definitely go for a 980 Pro for the primary boot drive. You can't go wrong with Samsung SSDs.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

i don't get what you mean by "loops".
all i see linked are air tower coolers & fans.
a loop would entail installing a block, pump, radiator, tubing, & fans.

those Dynamic fans listed are pretty low quality with low airflow, low RPMs.
Aspect versions are even lower quality.
for radiator/heatsinks i would use Noctua iPPC.
for case intake/exhaust, be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed PWM.

my last few builds i've always included a bottom intake for blowing cooler air directly into my GPUs.
and aim for 3x front intakes, 1x rear exhaust, 1x top-rear exhaust, all 140mm.

those Deep Cool air coolers aren't very high quality either.
for air cooling i would stick to be quiet! Dark Rock 4 series
or Noctua NH-D15 series.

for power supply, depending on GPU;
for RX 6900 XT/RTX 3080 Ti or equivalent = ≥850w.
stick with those listed here in the top tier:

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

those Fractal Design cases are pretty high quality with some nice features, i just think that front panel is very ugly.
my Fractal Design Vector RS is a much nicer design in my opinion.
but the best case i've run across in the last year or two is the be quiet! Silent Base 802.

for storage i would go with a ~512GB M.2 NVMe for OS & applications
and a 2-4TB 2.5" SATA III for games.
plus something(maybe external) for backup purposes, if you don't already have an extra larger HDD or SSD available.

 

[Why_Me]

Hi everyone

I would greatly appreciate your assistance in putting together a new system. My current build (~ 2013) is probably going to reach the end of its lifespan very soon and the installed HD7950 has already passed away spectacularly including an early stage fire on the GPU board¹. I am therefore planning to order the listed components within the next few days, with the exception of the GPU, to allow operations with the IGP for a few months, if necessary, until hopefully something changes in availability and pricing ...

I would thus love to hear your opinion and recommendations on some of the components, specifically PSU, motherboard, RAM and loops/loop arrangement. (marked: !!!)

FAQ

Spoiler: FAQ

• Use Case?
  Gaming including more demanding titles and semi-professional image manipulation, editing and processing with DxO and Adobe CC e.g.
  
  
• Requirements?
  Focus on performance and quality, no RGB with exception of RAM maybe, not too loud, focus on good protection against dust.
  
  
• Resolution?
  One or two monitors, max 2560 x 1440, min 1920 x 1080, refresh rate tbd.
  
  
• Budget?
  ~ 1100 EUR, please note that the budget excludes GPU!
  
  
• Timing?
  Soon.

COMPONENTS

Spoiler: COMPONENTS

• GPU: AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 Graphics or AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Graphics (subsequent acquisition!)
  
  
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-12600K
  
  
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 or ASUS TUF Z690-Plus D4, or recommendations? !!!
  
  
• Case: Meshify 2
  
  
• PSU: Fractal Ion+ Platinum 760W or Fractal Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W? !!!
  
  
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB RS Schwarz 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16, or recommendations? !!!
  
  
• SSD: WD Black SN850 SSD - 1 TB, alternatively 980 PRO NVMe™ M.2 SSD - 1 TB
  
  
• CPU Kühler: DeepCool AS500 PLUS, DeepCool DeepCool AK620 or DeepCool DeepCool Assassin III, or recommendations? !!!

LOOPS & ARRANGEMENT

Spoiler: LOOPS & ARRANGEMENT

And of course, what to do about loops! The case includes 3 x Dynamic X2 GP-14 loops. How would you supplement and organize those? !!!

• Front Loops
  3 x 120/140 mm (maybe 3x Dynamic X2 GP-14, or Aspect 14, or recommendations?)
  
  
• Top Side Loops
  3x 120/140 mm (maybe 3 x Dynamic X2 GP-14, the ones included?)
  
  
• Back Side Loops
  1 x 120/140 mm (maybe 1x Dynamic X2 GP-14, or Aspect 14, or recommendations?)
  
  
• Bottom Loops
  2x 120/140 mm (necessary? unnecessary dust catcher?)

Thank you so much!
¹ Thanks Gigabyte!

Go with the Assassin III cpu cooler, the Gigabyte board has the better audio codec vs the Asus Tuf board and find a better brand psu such as Seasonic for example.

 

[g-unit1111]

Go with the Assassin III cpu cooler, the Gigabyte board has the better audio codec vs the Asus Tuf board and find a better brand psu such as Seasonic for example.

Yeah I hate the Asus audio drivers, been experiencing problems with them on two different rigs now.

 

[Cosmopolarbear]

That looks like it would be a pretty killer rig. The only thing I would suggest would maybe be to avoid Fractal Design PSUs. Though I think a couple of them are rebranded Seasonic PSUs, you could always get better in that category, especially if you're going to power a liquid loop. And I'd definitely go for a 980 Pro for the primary boot drive. You can't go wrong with Samsung SSDs.

Good to hear, thanks for your opinion. In my experience as well, Samsung SSDs are pretty good, but I just noticed that the WD Black SN850 SSD - 1 TB beats the 980 PRO NVMe™ M.2 SSD - 1 TB when it comes to write speed (5,300 MB/s > 5,000 MB/s), though not by much. So you would recommend Samsung because of the overall better quality?

i don't get what you mean by "loops".
all i see linked are air tower coolers & fans.
a loop would entail installing a block, pump, radiator, tubing, & fans.

Some manufacturers in Europe seem to market them as eloops, so I used that term incorrectly. But in fact, I was referring to fans, as you correctly guessed!

those Dynamic fans listed are pretty low quality with low airflow, low RPMs. Aspect versions are even lower quality. For radiator/heatsinks i would use Noctua iPPC. For case intake/exhaust, be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed PWM.

Is be quiet! as a brand that good? I had more mixed experiences, including one PSU that only lived three to four years. But will check the be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed PWM!

my last few builds i've always included a bottom intake for blowing cooler air directly into my GPUs.
and aim for 3x front intakes, 1x rear exhaust, 1x top-rear exhaust, all 140mm. Those Deep Cool air coolers aren't very high quality either. For air cooling i would stick to be quiet! Dark Rock 4 series or Noctua NH-D15 series.

Thanks for sharing your architecture. I would probably use the three included fans for the top of the case and buy five high quality fans for the front, back and bottom. Both the Deepcool Assassin III and the Deepcool AS500 got some rather enthusiastic reviews at Tom's Hardware (see links). That's why I had a relatively positive attitude towards Deepcool. Would you also consider the CoolerMaster MasterAir MA624 Stealth as a worthy alternative? I have already flirted with the Noctua NH-D15, but the chromax.black¹ edition is rather too expensive for my personal taste.

For power supply, depending on GPU; for RX 6900 XT/RTX 3080 Ti or equivalent = ≥850w. Stick with those listed here in the top tier:

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

As I said, I'm thinking about the RX6800 series and have no plans for OC. Is 750W enough in this case or does it have to be 850W in any case? Unfortunately, I find the overview a bit difficult to work with and have searched for alternatives via Tom's Hardware and other portals. What are your thoughts on the following PSUs, or do you have any concrete suggestions of your own?²

• be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum, 750W
• EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2 750W
• Corsair RM750x, 750W
• Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold, 750W

What are your objections to the Fractal PSU? Platinum certification, good reviews and a 10-year warranty doesn't sound bad in principle. Just for me to understand!

those Fractal Design cases are pretty high quality with some nice features, i just think that front panel is very ugly.
my Fractal Design Vector RS is a much nicer design in my opinion.
but the best case i've run across in the last year or two is the be quiet! Silent Base 802.

Doens't look bad either, but I actually decided for the Meshify 2 due to exact that pannel.

Go with the Assassin III cpu cooler, the Gigabyte board has the better audio codec vs the Asus Tuf board and find a better brand psu such as Seasonic for example.

Ok thanks for the recommendations! Does the rather chunky tower even fit into that case? And do you need an additional plate for the i5 12600K? And good advice here, that speaks for the Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 which conveniently is also significantly cheaper. Or can you guys recommend any better motherboard in that price range?

Thanks all for your help!


¹ other than that the designs are just unbelievably ugly, imho
² I find it quite challenging to keep track of all the sub-variants and model years.

 

[Why_Me]

Good to hear, thanks for your opinion. In my experience as well, Samsung SSDs are pretty good, but I just noticed that the WD Black SN850 SSD - 1 TB beats the 980 PRO NVMe™ M.2 SSD - 1 TB when it comes to write speed (5,300 MB/s > 5,000 MB/s), though not by much. So you would recommend Samsung because of the overall better quality?



Some manufacturers in Europe seem to market them as eloops, so I used that term incorrectly. But in fact, I was referring to fans, as you correctly guessed!



Is be quiet! as a brand that good? I had more mixed experiences, including one PSU that only lived three to four years. But will check the be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed PWM!



Thanks for sharing your architecture. I would probably use the three included fans for the top of the case and buy five high quality fans for the front, back and bottom. Both the Deepcool Assassin III and the Deepcool AS500 got some rather enthusiastic reviews at Tom's Hardware (see links). That's why I had a relatively positive attitude towards Deepcool. Would you also consider the CoolerMaster MasterAir MA624 Stealth as a worthy alternative? I have already flirted with the Noctua NH-D15, but the chromax.black¹ edition is rather too expensive for my personal taste.



As I said, I'm thinking about the RX6800 series and have no plans for OC. Is 750W enough in this case or does it have to be 850W in any case? Unfortunately, I find the overview a bit difficult to work with and have searched for alternatives via Tom's Hardware and other portals. What are your thoughts on the following PSUs, or do you have any concrete suggestions of your own?²

• be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum, 750W
• EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2 750W
• Corsair RM750x, 750W
• Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold, 750W

What are your objections to the Fractal PSU? Platinum certification, good reviews and a 10-year warranty doesn't sound bad in principle. Just for me to understand!



Doens't look bad either, but I actually decided for the Meshify 2 due to exact that pannel.



Ok thanks for the recommendations! Does the rather chunky tower even fit into that case? And do you need an additional plate for the i5 12600K? And good advice here, that speaks for the Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 which conveniently is also significantly cheaper. Or can you guys recommend any better motherboard in that price range?

Thanks all for your help!


¹ other than that the designs are just unbelievably ugly, imho
² I find it quite challenging to keep track of all the sub-variants and model years.

That cooler fits.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Is be quiet! as a brand that good? I had more mixed experiences, including one PSU that only lived three to four years.

for the last 10 years at least they have produced some of the highest quality products and gotten some of the highest reviews and rating for those.
their fans are more powerful at lower decibels than the majority out there and look better than a lot of them.
their higher quality power supplies like the Dark Power & Straight Power are some of the highest rated out there wth great protection, warranty, and power delivery.

What are your objections to the Fractal PSU?..
I'm thinking about the RX6800 series and have no plans for OC. Is 750W enough in this case or does it have to be 850W in any case?..
thoughts on the following PSUs

i would always go with multi-rail quality vs single-rail for a higher end build like this.
the ION+ series isn't bad at all though.

as i stated; 850w for an equivalent to those 2 graphics cards.
for any specific card you're looking for get at very least what they suggest to power it. most RX 6800/XT require at least a 750w.

the Straight Power Platinum, the RMx, and the FOCUS Gold series are all trustworthy. i've seen the Super Flower Leadex III Gold going for really good prices lately too.
just look for the best priced with the longest warranty.

Both the Deepcool Assassin III and the Deepcool AS500 got some rather enthusiastic reviews

the AK620 appears to be the best out of those three you originally posted but still lacking compared to some better options.
and all that "best of 2022" review page really tells you is that maybe there haven't been many great air coolers produced yet this year.

comparing the AK620, Assassin III, & the Dark Rock Pro;

air pressure: AK620 = 2.19 / Assassin III = 1.79 / Dark Rock Pro = 3.37.

aesthetically:

i'd say the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 blows all of them out of the water in each category.

 

[g-unit1111]

Good to hear, thanks for your opinion. In my experience as well, Samsung SSDs are pretty good, but I just noticed that the WD Black SN850 SSD - 1 TB beats the 980 PRO NVMe™ M.2 SSD - 1 TB when it comes to write speed (5,300 MB/s > 5,000 MB/s), though not by much. So you would recommend Samsung because of the overall better quality?

I generally buy Samsung because of the build quality and the fact that they manufacture their own NVMe controller for their drives whereas Western Digital I believe uses the Phison NVMe. You can't go wrong with WD either.

As I said, I'm thinking about the RX6800 series and have no plans for OC. Is 750W enough in this case or does it have to be 850W in any case? Unfortunately, I find the overview a bit difficult to work with and have searched for alternatives via Tom's Hardware and other portals. What are your thoughts on the following PSUs, or do you have any concrete suggestions of your own?²

• be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum, 750W
• EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2 750W
• Corsair RM750x, 750W
• Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold, 750W

What are your objections to the Fractal PSU? Platinum certification, good reviews and a 10-year warranty doesn't sound bad in principle. Just for me to understand!

They're not bad but you could definitely get better. I'd definitely do some research beyond what the store reviews say before you buy. The one thing that people don't really tell you about the current generation of graphics cards is that they are power hogs. My 3080 I had to wind up buying a Corsair HXi 850W to replace my aging EVGA Supernova. And it handles that card just fine. I'm not sure about the 6800s, though.

 

[geofelt]

A very good selection of parts.
On your question about choices:

Let the marketplace determine your graphics card later is a good idea.

I have no opinion on which motherboard. DDR4 is a good thing today.

Good case.

It comes with two 140mm fans in front and one as rear exhaust. That is very good. Possibly add a third front 140mm fan. I do not know if those fans have any issues, but I would try them first. They will not be running fast.

On the psu, I think I would go stronger, 850w.
A psu will only use the power demanded of it, regardless of the max capability.
The fractal units do have a 10 year warranty which is a good indicator of quality.
Alternatives would be Seasonic GX or corsair rm units.

The ram will work. But, I think 3600 speed would not cost much more, particularly if you did not pay more for rgb.
Past that, tall ram may have an impact on some coolers.

On the ssd, samsung is the way to go. It will have a 5 year warranty.
Puget systems has a report on ssd reliability that hinks highly about Samsung ssd devices.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/hardware-reliability-puget-systems-2021
Benchmarks show the 980 PRO to be a superior device, but in the real world, you would be hard pressed to detect any difference.
I would be more inclined to use a more pedestrian 2tb 970 EVO +

The 12600K is a great processor, and not all that hot.
That said, buy a top cooler.
Your case has plenty of headroom for a tall air cooler.
The auto boost capabilities look into the temperature of the cpu to determine how high to go.
It pays to have a good cooler. Of the three you picked, the Assassin III looks most capable.
Check the ability to clear tall ram if you buy the rgb and not lpx corsair.
You will want to verify that any cooler comes with LGA1700 mounting.
Better yet, look at NoctuaNH-D15s Chromax black.
It will clear most any ram and is a quiet effective cooler.
New stock comes with lga1700 mounting.
If you happen to get a noctua cooler without the lga1700 mounting, noctua will send you one gratis.

 

[Cosmopolarbear]

I generally buy Samsung because of the build quality and the fact that they manufacture their own NVMe controller for their drives whereas Western Digital I believe uses the Phison NVMe. You can't go wrong with WD either.

Will do then! Another question is whether I should go with a 500 GB one for the OS, and later add a 1 TB or 2 TB SSD when prices drop again?

They're not bad but you could definitely get better. I'd definitely do some research beyond what the store reviews say before you buy. The one thing that people don't really tell you about the current generation of graphics cards is that they are power hogs. My 3080 I had to wind up buying a Corsair HXi 850W to replace my aging EVGA Supernova. And it handles that card just fine. I'm not sure about the 6800s, though.

And yes, true that, I should perhabs consider a 850W PSU to be on the safe side. AMD recommends at least a 650W PSU for the AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 Graphics and at least 750W PSU for its AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Graphics.

Thank you very much!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

AMD recommends at least a 650W PSU for the AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 Graphics and at least 750W PSU for its AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Graphics

keep in mind these are the AMD manufactured variants.
many 3rd party manufacturer's(EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc) variants will require more power.

 

[Cosmopolarbear]

for the last 10 years at least they have produced some of the highest quality products and gotten some of the highest reviews and rating for those. their fans are more powerful at lower decibels than the majority out there and look better than a lot of them. their higher quality power supplies like the Dark Power & Straight Power are some of the highest rated out there wth great protection, warranty, and power delivery.

noted then!

i would always go with multi-rail quality vs single-rail for a higher end build like this. The ION+ series isn't bad at all though. as i stated; 850w for an equivalent to those 2 graphics cards. for any specific card you're looking for get at very least what they suggest to power it. most RX 6800/XT require at least a 750w.

the Straight Power Platinum, the RMx, and the FOCUS Gold series are all trustworthy. i've seen the Super Flower Leadex III Gold going for really good prices lately too. just look for the best priced with the longest warranty.

Yeah, I checked as written above, and the minimum recommendation for the more demanding of those, AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT Graphics, is 750W. But I should maybe plan with some reserves and consider a 850W PSU instead. I was at first flirting with the be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum, 750W due to the platinum certification and your remarks about the brand's quality. Unfortunately they only offer a 5 years warranty which I find highly unsatisfying. Seasonic's FOCUS series meanwhiles only fields a Gold certification, but at least a 10 years warranty. If I understood correctly, the ION+ and ION+ 2 series do not offer a multi-rail quality making them a less desireable choice in your oppinion?

the AK620 appears to be the best out of those three you originally posted but still lacking compared to some better options. and all that "best of 2022" review page really tells you is that maybe there haven't been many great air coolers produced yet this year.

comparing the AK620, Assassin III, & the Dark Rock Pro; air pressure: AK620 = 2.19 / Assassin III = 1.79 / Dark Rock Pro = 3.37.

aesthetically:

i'd say the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 blows all of them out of the water in each category.

That's true indeed, sleek looks and good quality. I just checked the RAM clearance for both, and unfortunately both the Deepcool Assassin III and the be quiet! Dark Rock 4 do not offer enough clearance for the higher Corsair Vengeance RAM modules, 44.8mm. Moving the fan up is probably going to hurt the overall performance of the cooler...

Thank you very much!

 

[Cosmopolarbear]

A very good selection of parts.
On your question about choices: Let the marketplace determine your graphics card later is a good idea.

Thanks, that's reassuring to hear!

I have no opinion on which motherboard. DDR4 is a good thing today.

Will stick with the Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 probably.

Good case. It comes with two 140mm fans in front and one as rear exhaust. That is very good. Possibly add a third front 140mm fan. I do not know if those fans have any issues, but I would try them first. They will not be running fast.

Had the same thoughts in the meantime and improve air flow on the go after gaining some experience with the new case. ( :

On the psu, I think I would go stronger, 850w.
A psu will only use the power demanded of it, regardless of the max capability.
The fractal units do have a 10 year warranty which is a good indicator of quality.
Alternatives would be Seasonic GX or corsair rm units.

Ok noted, as also mentioned by JohnBonhamsGhost and g-unit1111. And thanks for your explanation regarding real power demand. The Seasonic Prime GX-850 850W ATX 2.4 also got some good reviews, but Gold certification only, same as the Corsair. Is there much of a difference between Platinum and Gold certifications?

• be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum, 850W (5 years warranty, Gold)
• Corsair RM850x, 850W (10 years warranty, Gold)
• Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold, 850W (10 years warranty, Gold)
• Fractal Ion+ 2 Platinum 860W (10 years warranty, Platinum)

Unlike with GPUs and CPUs, I unfortunately have far too little knowledge here and have a very hard time making the best choice for my future PSU. #sad

The RAM will work. But, I think 3600 speed would not cost much more, particularly if you did not pay more for rgb.
Past that, tall ram may have an impact on some coolers.

Ah sorry for linking the wrong product version! Of course went for the 3600 MHz CL16 one from Corsair. Unfortunately I just realized that neither of my CPU cooler choices will work with the rather high profile RAM, 44,8mm height vs 40mm clearance (46,8mm if fan is moved) for the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 or respectively 32mm clearance (54mm if fan is moved) for the Deepcool Assassin III. Any other recommendations for some good but maybe lower profile RAM (3600, CL16, is CL18 also acceptable?) that isn't too expensive?

On the ssd, samsung is the way to go. It will have a 5 year warranty.
Puget systems has a report on ssd reliability that hinks highly about Samsung ssd devices.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/hardware-reliability-puget-systems-2021
Benchmarks show the 980 PRO to be a superior device, but in the real world, you would be hard pressed to detect any difference.
I would be more inclined to use a more pedestrian 2tb 970 EVO +

Both WD and Samsung offer 5 years warranty by the way! But everyone here is clearly favoring Samsung, which will be my choice. Maybe I'll go with a 500 GB one and at a later time add a 1 TB or 2 TB SSD that is a little slower and thus less expensive.

The 12600K is a great processor, and not all that hot.
That said, buy a top cooler.
Your case has plenty of headroom for a tall air cooler.
The auto boost capabilities look into the temperature of the cpu to determine how high to go.
It pays to have a good cooler. Of the three you picked, the Assassin III looks most capable.
Check the ability to clear tall ram if you buy the rgb and not lpx corsair.
You will want to verify that any cooler comes with LGA1700 mounting.
Better yet, look at NoctuaNH-D15s Chromax black.
It will clear most any ram and is a quiet effective cooler.
New stock comes with lga1700 mounting.
If you happen to get a noctua cooler without the lga1700 mounting, noctua will send you one gratis.

I really like the NH-D15, but it's soo expensive unfortunately ... and the RAM clearance is only 32,0mm compared to 44,8mm needed for my RAM of choice. Very good hint btw! So probably time to look for alternate RAM!

Thank you very much!

 

[geofelt]

I mentioned the NH-D15s, not the NH-D15.
The NH-D15s is a high compatibility version of the NH-D15.
It is equally efficient.
The NH-D15s will clear ram up to 65mm:
https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s-chromax-black/specification
It is also offset a bit to clear graphics card back plates if the gpu is mounted in the first pcie slot.

As to performance, I had no problem running cpu-Z stress test on 12900K with a nh-D15s.
If you are gaming, do not expect to fully load all threads and the heat will be even less.

On the ssd,
Assess your likely capacity needs for a year or two and buy that up front.
It is much easier to manage a single large C drive space.

On psu sizing, here is a handy chart for wattage requirements of various graphics cards:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
It often does not cost much more to go from a 750w psu to 850w.
The bronze/gold/platinum efficiency ratings should probably be ignored.
The electricity savings over time are not likely commensurate with the upcharge for more efficient units.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

44,8mm needed for my RAM of choice.

if considering a lower clearance cooler and wanting to move the first fan a bit;
keep in mind that dual fan models, like most of those mentioned here, will perform just as well since the center fan will be pulling most of that first fan's air back into itself and also working to cool on it's own.

i've been using G.Skill Trident Z for my last 3 personal builds and they have turned out to be a great product.
stay nice & cool, look great with quite a few color combination variations, lifetime warranty,
even allowing for some overclocking past their 3200MHz CL14 specs.
they are reported at 44mm tall.

 

[Cosmopolarbear]

Thanks guys! Everything besides GPU and except the PSU ordered!

I mentioned the NH-D15s, not the NH-D15. The NH-D15s is a high compatibility version of the NH-D15. It is equally efficient.

Ah same same but different, it surely helps if you can read haha. Thanks for the recommendation, but I now followed JohnBonhamsGhosts suggestion and went with the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4. : )

The NH-D15s will clear ram up to 65mm: https://noctua.at/en/nh-d15s-chromax-black/specification It is also offset a bit to clear graphics card back plates if the gpu is mounted in the first pcie slot. As to performance, I had no problem running cpu-Z stress test on 12900K with a nh-D15s. If you are gaming, do not expect to fully load all threads and the heat will be even less.

I will have to see how moving the fan up will play out for the overall performance, and considering that the Dark Rock Pro 4 is a dual fan CPU cooler. In general, this is some very potent cooling for a non OC quality CPU that is not exactly known to be a hotspur. : )

On the ssd, assess your likely capacity needs for a year or two and buy that up front. It is much easier to manage a single large C drive space.

I went with 1 TB now, that should do the job for quite some time.

On psu sizing, here is a handy chart for wattage requirements of various graphics cards: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm. It often does not cost much more to go from a 750w psu to 850w. The bronze/gold/platinum efficiency ratings should probably be ignored. The electricity savings over time are not likely commensurate with the upcharge for more efficient units.

Thanks, both that blog and AMD's website state the RX 6800 XT's requirement to be 700W, respectively 750W. As you suggested I will go with either a 750W or 850W PSU and maybe with Gold certification instead of Platin. Nevertheless, still unsure which one to buy. Many recommendations for be quiet! but there 5 years only warranty is an exclusion criterion for me.

if considering a lower clearance cooler and wanting to move the first fan a bit; keep in mind that dual fan models, like most of those mentioned here, will perform just as well since the center fan will be pulling most of that first fan's air back into itself and also working to cool on it's own.

Listened to your words and ordered the Vengeance RAM and the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4. We'll see how that offset will play out. As mentioned above, I am rather optimistic about the performance...

i've been using G.Skill Trident Z for my last 3 personal builds and they have turned out to be a great product. stay nice & cool, look great with quite a few color combination variations, lifetime warranty, even allowing for some overclocking past their 3200MHz CL14 specs. they are reported at 44mm tall.

CL14 is nice of course, but as I am not planning on OC, using the stock 3600 MHz Vengeance one from Corsair seemed to be the better choice for me. Height difference is only 0,8mm, so rather negligible. : )