[SOLVED] Would appreciate advice on selecting hardware for new system

[Andrew_Werber]

I want to upgrade my current desktop, but will keep my old monitors. My main reason for building a new system is that while my current system is working well, there are some issues, and it's Windows 7 32 bit, so I want to move on to Windows 10. I have not bought any new hardware for quite a while. I have some pretty specific requirements, and some general ones. So, here we go:

Usage - I don't do gaming. But I do photo editing and some video editing. I also use SQL Server for some database usage in my home network. I also use video streaming over the Internet.

1. I will keep my 3 monitors that are connected to my current laptop. One of the monitors only has DVI conectors. I currently have 2 video cards each with DVI outputs. The monitors are set up to have one virtual desktop.

2. I have no specific specs for a processor, other than it should cost around $250.

3. For the motherboard, I need 6 USB ports (I would like at least 2 of those to be USB-3), an Ethernet port, sound ports, and support for the ports on the case (see #6) and the Rosewill card reader.

4. The system drive will be on a 500 Gb SSD

5. Other hard drives - I want a total of 10 Tb. If I get one 10 Tb drive, it will be partitioned into 4, 5 and 1 TB. If I get two drives, one would be 4 TB, the other 6 Tb, with the 6 partitioned into 5 and 1 Tb.

6. Case - the must not be deeper that 18 inches. This is an absolute requirement to fit properly under my desk. Height no more than 21 inches. Width is not a problem. I want at least 2 USB ports on the front, preferably 4. There also needs to be a headphone jack on the front. The case needs to hold the hard drives as described above (1 SSD and 1 or two SATA drives) and a Rosewill card reader (fits in a 5.25 inch knockout) and a DVD player/writer (preferably 2 DVDs). I would like a case that's easy to work with in case I need to replace components.

7. Video card(s) - As mentioned, I have 3 monitors attached to my current system. Currently, I have 2 cards with 2 DVI outputs. I've seen that there are cards with 3 DVI outputs. I'm not picky here, other than I want reasonably fast performance (not for gaming) that work with my current monitors.

8. Power supply - enough power to handle all the hardware.

9. Memory - 32 Gb (It's my understanding that this would cost about $100, so I want to load up on memory so as to not have any issues)

10. OS - Windows 10 Home 64 bit.

During setup, this system will be hooked up to one monitor.

I would like to have the system generate as little heat as possible.

As for cost, I'd like to keep this around $2,200.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions, and I will be happy to answer any questions.

Andy

 

[Nemesia]

So something like that. Need a case, your 10TB HDD's and a GPU. That build will cost you way below 2,200 dollars.

250 dollars for your 10TB and let's say 300 for a GPU and 80 dollars for a case. System would be around 1700 instead of 2200.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 3.7 GHz 12-Core Processor ($549.00)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Adorama)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P2 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1053.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-24 19:10 EST-0500

 

[Andrew_Werber]

Nemesia,

Thank you for getting me started. The $2,200 was just an upper limit, the more money I save, the better. I have a few questions and comments.

1. Will I see a big difference between having the AMD Ryzen 5 versus a AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT 8-Core 3.9 GHz Socket AM4 105W 100-100000279WOF , which is about $200 less?

2. I like the motherboard, but I don't need the video ports, and more USB ports would be more useful. Do you happen to know of a board like that?

3. I omitted from my spec the input for my speakers. I have Altec Lansing ACS 31 speakers. Based on my current motherboard (which is a MSI), it looks like the connectors are the same, except that the color of the jack on my motherboard is green. Is there a way to be sure the board you listed supports my speakers?

4. The video cards I found online that support 3 DVI outputs cost around $400. For example, the https://www.newegg.com/evga-geforce-gtx-690-04g-p4-2690-kr/p/N82E16814130781?Description=video cards&cm_re=video_cards--14-130-781--Product&quicklink=true. Any comments are appreciated.

5. I've seen a few 10 Tb SATA disks at various prices. For example https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=internal+hard+disk+SATA&N=50001305 50001306 601192404 100167523 4814 4131&Order=1 at $234 and https://www.newegg.com/seagate-barracuda-pro-st10000dm001-10tb/p/1JW-001N-00025?Item=9SIA4MRCYV1842&Description=internal hard disk SATA&cm_re=internal_hard disk SATA--9SIA4MRCYV1842--Product at $504. I assume there must be something 'better' about the more expensive drive, but I don't see anything better about the more expensive drive.

6. I notice that you listed a 1 Tb SSD drive instead of a 500 Gb. I'm very confident that I won't ever need more than 500Gb. Is there some reason you're recommending the larger drive?

7. I found the following case that looks good to me - https://www.newegg.com/black-therma...tion=cases&cm_re=cases-_-11-133-247-_-Product. I'm surprised it looks really good and is so inexpensive. Any comments would be appreciated. It seems easy to use and it has 3 5.25 inch bays.

8. I already have a Rosewill card reader, not sure of the model. I would transfer that, or possibly buy a new one - https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rdc... reader-_-20-223-120-_-Product&quicklink=true. So, the motherboard would need to support that.