TBG's $1,750 Content Creation PC Build

[karchip]

Really great article, and super relevant for me right now. Thank you for posting. I am currently putting together a part list for a content creation build. My situation is slightly an anomaly as I need a couple of very specific capabilities. It's my first time building a PC and freaking out of course. Here is my situation any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated. (Hope this post is appropriate for this thread.) I work in three different content creation worlds. First and foremost I work with gigapixel imaging, which means I work with monster .psb files that are 10-50GB with compression and uptowards 150-500GB without. I also work with 3D rendering software (keyshot and C4D in particular) then AE and premier is also in the mix. I clearly have to spend more money than this article suggests, which I am prepared to do (to a point) to meet the needs. Here are the things I am exploring right now: for the Photoshop processing of these enormous files I am looking to the 3900X overclocked, with a mobo with lots of PCIe lanes, (right now thinking of the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X ATX AM4 Motherboard) and get as much RAM as possible 64-128GB 3200 RAM. I am thinking of getting an SSD PCIe 4 dedicated scratch disk to help with a faster swap. As I've been researching this I've been hearing that that going for a really high-end GPU card is not necessary for photoshop, but I am thinking that in order to get good performance out of the 3D software for screen upres on 4k monitors, having 2X Nvidia 2070 super is a way to go. This is where I don't know if I am heading toward the right direction and if it is an overkill.  If yes, would I need a link bridge to make the most of it? I would like to stay away from AIO if possible, apparently, with good fans and a good case that promotes airflow, I should be fine? Like I said, I am new to this, I am defecting from a lackluster Mac station and I definitely don't want to spend the ridiculous amounts of money they are asking for the new Mac Pro or even the imac pro. Would you please chime in with feedback and recommends and if needed, correct the errors of my way? I don't see anybody posting part list so I'll refrain from it - unless you guys tell me it is ok.

thanks!

[Ari Altman]

Really great article, and super relevant for me right now. Thank you for posting. I am currently putting together a part list for a content creation build. My situation is slightly an anomaly as I need a couple of very specific capabilities. It's my first time building a PC and freaking out of course. Here is my situation any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated. (Hope this post is appropriate for this thread.) I work in three different content creation worlds. First and foremost I work with gigapixel imaging, which means I work with monster .psb files that are 10-50GB with compression and uptowards 150-500GB without. I also work with 3D rendering software (keyshot and C4D in particular) then AE and premier is also in the mix. I clearly have to spend more money than this article suggests, which I am prepared to do (to a point) to meet the needs. Here are the things I am exploring right now: for the Photoshop processing of these enormous files I am looking to the 3900X overclocked, with a mobo with lots of PCIe lanes, (right now thinking of the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X ATX AM4 Motherboard) and get as much RAM as possible 64-128GB 3200 RAM. I am thinking of getting an SSD PCIe 4 dedicated scratch disk to help with a faster swap. As I've been researching this I've been hearing that that going for a really high-end GPU card is not necessary for photoshop, but I am thinking that in order to get good performance out of the 3D software for screen upres on 4k monitors, having 2X Nvidia 2070 super is a way to go. This is where I don't know if I am heading toward the right direction and if it is an overkill.  If yes, would I need a link bridge to make the most of it? I would like to stay away from AIO if possible, apparently, with good fans and a good case that promotes airflow, I should be fine? Like I said, I am new to this, I am defecting from a lackluster Mac station and I definitely don't want to spend the ridiculous amounts of money they are asking for the new Mac Pro or even the imac pro. Would you please chime in with feedback and recommends and if needed, correct the errors of my way? I don't see anybody posting part list so I'll refrain from it - unless you guys tell me it is ok.

thanks!

Welcome to the TBG Forum, karchip!

It sounds like you've come to the right place by landing on the $1,750 Content Creation PC Build, but that your particular use case, demands a few upgrades for optimal performance. Not being a user of most of your particular applications, I can just give this general advice:

(1) With the image sizes you're talking about, you need a video card with as much VRAM as possible. There's no reason at all to run dual RTX 2070 Super cards in SLI. It won't scale well in terms of performance, and it won't scale at all in terms of VRAM. You want at a minimum the RTX 2080 Ti, and you may actually want the $2500 Titan RTX 24GB. If you were expecting memory to double when using dual cards, well, that only works with RTX Titan and Quadro cards. The Quadro 6000 24GB is $3500, so then you're talking $7000 to get 48GB of VRAM. I'd honestly start with a single RTX Titan 24GB if you have the budget for it, otherwise stick with the RTX 2080 Ti.

(2) All X570 boards have the same number of PCIe lanes. There's nothing unique about the AsRock X570 Phantom Gaming X other than aesthetics. Spending a ton on a motherboard for this type of system doesn't really pay dividends. I'd stick with something like the MSI X570 Gaming Edge WiFi. I see that the Phantom does have three m.2 slots, but I'm not convinced that's a huge selling point, as it actually disables one of the onboard PCIe slots. If you really need three M.2 drives, you can simply use an M.2-to-PCIe adapter and save about $100.

(3) I absolutely agree that a PCIe 4.0 drive for swap is a good idea. Not sure if it needs to be dedicated, but you could do that, and have another for your OS drive, and then perhaps a 4TB high-capacity 2.5" SSD for your work product.

(4) Like all Ryzen processors, the 3900X doesn't overclock well, and running overclocked is not a good choice for professional applications. Just run Precision Boost Overdrive if you want to increase performance slightly with no risk of crashing or failure.

(5) The cooler and case recommended in the guide will be perfect, no need to upgrade.

Hope that helps!

[karchip]

Thank you Ari for the thorough advice and suggestions. A lot of it makes sense. Good to know about overclocking. I didn't know that Ryzen doesn't do well with that and will explore Precision Boost Overdrive, don't know much about it though .
-A couple of questions... since Photoshop doesn't take advantage of multicore and only uses GPU for certain functions, I'll be heavily relying on CPU speed and lots of RAM, would it make sense to use a mobo that supports quad-channel memory? Does the processor have anything to do with supporting quad-channel memory or is that primarily the function of the mobo?
-Thank you for the advice about the Vram (the price scares me) but sounds like the right way to think about it.  I am wondering if I should talk to some of those software co to see how their programs use GPU.
-The one reason I was thinking of the AsRock Phantom was for the thunderbolt capability or is there a cheaper workaround? In addition, I noticed that no x570 supports 8 RAM slots and none of them support memory beyond 128GB. Is that because of the lack of processor support? I thought it would make sense to get mobo that has 8 RAM slots and get 8 16GB 3200hz unbuffered chips? Am I correct that the processor and mobo need to be able to support those chip speeds in order to take advantage of it?

Thanks
Karchi

[Ari Altman]

Thank you Ari for the thorough advice and suggestions. A lot of it makes sense. Good to know about overclocking. I didn't know that Ryzen doesn't do well with that and will explore Precision Boost Overdrive, don't know much about it though .
-A couple of questions... since Photoshop doesn't take advantage of multicore and only uses GPU for certain functions, I'll be heavily relying on CPU speed and lots of RAM, would it make sense to use a mobo that supports quad-channel memory? Does the processor have anything to do with supporting quad-channel memory or is that primarily the function of the mobo?
-Thank you for the advice about the Vram (the price scares me) but sounds like the right way to think about it.  I am wondering if I should talk to some of those software co to see how their programs use GPU.
-The one reason I was thinking of the AsRock Phantom was for the thunderbolt capability or is there a cheaper workaround? In addition, I noticed that no x570 supports 8 RAM slots and none of them support memory beyond 128GB. Is that because of the lack of processor support? I thought it would make sense to get mobo that has 8 RAM slots and get 8 16GB 3200hz unbuffered chips? Am I correct that the processor and mobo need to be able to support those chip speeds in order to take advantage of it?

Thanks
Karchi

Contacting the vendors of your software suites may be a good idea.

But to answer your basic questions:

(1) Quad-channel memory is a feature of chipsets, not CPUs. It's only available on AMD Threadripper or Intel's X-series processors. A new threadripper and a brand-new Threadripper platform is coming out sometime next month, but it will likely land at around $1,000 for a 24-core CPU and $400 and up for the motherboards. Nothing's been announced yet. Availability will likely be very limited through the end of the year. Going with a 3900X and DDR4-3600 RAM today would likely be a better plan, but you will be limited to 64GB. No 8-slot boards outside of the Threadripper context (and Intel is sort of garbage at this point for your needs).

(2) You can always get a Thunderbolt add-in card, like this one. But if you have Thunderbolt devices or know you'll be using them, just go with the AsRock board. It's a good choice.

[karchip]

Thank you Ari for clarifying. So, with regards to the Thunderbolt, if I get the AsRock board that has thunderbolt capability I don't need to buy a TB card as well? In other words, am I just connecting the Type C port to the motherboard and it's good to go? (Excuse my ignorance.)

[Ari Altman]

Thank you Ari for clarifying. So, with regards to the Thunderbolt, if I get the AsRock board that has thunderbolt capability I don't need to buy a TB card as well? In other words, am I just connecting the Type C port to the motherboard and it's good to go? (Excuse my ignorance.)

Oh, you know what, I just checked the specs, and that board does not have a Thunderbolt port, it has a Thunderbolt header. Skip it. I don't really like the user reviews I'm seeing on it, and frankly, it's too much to spend on an AsRock X570 board.

If you need Thunderbolt, I'd use an add-on card and get a cheaper motherboard like the one in the guide.

[karchip]

Noted, thank you! And thanks for reading up on it and researching it. That makes total sense to me. So, I'll get the card you referenced earlier.

[karchip]

Hi Ari, one more quick question. I use NAS for my overall storage. Does it make sense for me to get a motherboard that can do 2.5 Gbit/s? Does my ethernet speed depend on the motherboard or does it need a card to go along with it? I continuously back up on the NAS as I work locally. thanks.

[Ari Altman]

Hi Ari, one more quick question. I use NAS for my overall storage. Does it make sense for me to get a motherboard that can do 2.5 Gbit/s? Does my ethernet speed depend on the motherboard or does it need a card to go along with it? I continuously back up on the NAS as I work locally. thanks.

Unfortunately, 2.5Gbps Ethernet is still in its infancy, and it won't work for your application. Even the most expensive routers, like the unreleased TP-Link AX11000 and the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 only have one 2.5Gbps port, and it's intended to be used with an ultra-low-latency gaming system PC. There are no routers on the market with dual 2.5Gbps ports, which is the minimum that you'd need to use for NAS (one for your main PC, one for your NAS).

So, you can certainly get a motherboard with a 2.5Gbps port now as an investment in future-tech, but you won't be able to use it yet for your purposes, or actually any purposes unless you upgrade your router to use with your new PC.

[karchip]

Thank you! it is then irrelevant for me at this point.

[karchip]

Hey Ari, I am picking out my RAM at this moment. My options for 128 GB are the Corsair 4X32GB or the one recommended by Puget Systems Samsung 32 GB 2666 indivigual modules https://www.pugetsystems.com/parts/Ram/Samsung-DDR4-2666-32GB-13191. When I looked up this Samsung RAM it didn't come in a kit so I'd just be getting 4 of those I guess. What do I need to know about compatibility? What should I keep in mind or be aware? I am going to get the AsRock X570 Taichi board with the Noctua NH-U12S fan. I know the RAM clearance and the CPU fan can be a problem. I don't know how to figure that in advance. It is a lot of money to lay out to make a mistake.

BTW, I've been watching your high-end PC build video. It is super clear and helpful, thank you! - still feels a bit overwhelming though.

[Ari Altman]

Hey Ari, I am picking out my RAM at this moment. My options for 128 GB are the Corsair 4X32GB or the one recommended by Puget Systems Samsung 32 GB 2666 indivigual modules https://www.pugetsystems.com/parts/Ram/Samsung-DDR4-2666-32GB-13191. When I looked up this Samsung RAM it didn't come in a kit so I'd just be getting 4 of those I guess. What do I need to know about compatibility? What should I keep in mind or be aware? I am going to get the AsRock X570 Taichi board with the Noctua NH-U12S fan. I know the RAM clearance and the CPU fan can be a problem. I don't know how to figure that in advance. It is a lot of money to lay out to make a mistake.

BTW, I've been watching your high-end PC build video. It is super clear and helpful, thank you! - still feels a bit overwhelming though.

The Corsair kit should work fine. DDR4-2666 won't stress the system. Such dense modules running at something like 3200MHz would likely fail to boot.

And the Noctua NH-U12S is a good choice, no RAM clearance issues, but a far better cooler at the same price is the new Scythe Fuma 2. If you're using the 12-core 3900X CPU, that extra cooling capacity will be helpful.

[karchip]

Great, sounds good and thank you for the suggestion re the cooler. I'll take a look.

[karchip]

Hey Ari, so I think this is close to my final part list. Do you see anything that could be problematic or that would negate/conflict max performance due to incompatibility or over-stuffing, etc.? Karchi's Build: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/karchip/saved/9NfTCJ

Thank you so much for your continued feedback.

[Ari Altman]

Hey Ari, so I think this is close to my final part list. Do you see anything that could be problematic or that would negate/conflict max performance due to incompatibility or over-stuffing, etc.? Karchi's Build: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/karchip/saved/9NfTCJ

Thank you so much for your continued feedback.

That list is private, so I can't see it.

Also remember that if you'd like to support TBG, you'll need to use the links in TBG's guide, rather than PCPP.