A new build

Prices of video cards and memory are coming down so I think I may build myself a new pc. This is what I am thinking about. It has been a long time since I built my own system. Things have changed some. I will only be editing photos and some videos here and there so this may be overkill but I don't want to build a new one for several years. My monitor is a 1440 resolution. I also want to get good transfer speeds from my cfexpress cards. I was wanting to stay around $2000. This came to $2500 on Newegg. What do you computer savvy builders think?
Intel Core i9-12900KF - Core i9 12th Gen Alder Lake 16-Core (8P+8E) 3.2 GHz LGA 1700 125W Desktop Processor - BX8071512900KF
https://www.newegg.com …8341?Item=N82E1​6819118341

ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi 6E LGA 1700 Intel 12th Gen ATX Gaming Motherboard- PCIe 5.0, DDR5, 18+1 Power Stages, 2.5 Gb LAN, Bluetooth v5.2
https://www.newegg.com …9512?Item=N82E1​6813119512

CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 5600 (PC5 44800) Intel XMP 3.0 Desktop Memory Model CMK32GX5M2B5600C36W
https://www.newegg.com …6847?Item=N82E1​6820236847

GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 3060 ELITE 12GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 ATX Video Card GV-N3060AORUS E-12GD (rev. 2.0) (LHR)
https://www.newegg.com …2431?Item=N82E1​6814932431

Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB CC-9011205-WW White Steel / Plastic / Tempered Glass ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
https://www.newegg.com …9158?Item=N82E1​6811139158

EVGA SuperNOVA P3 220-P3-1200-X1 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
https://www.newegg.com …8227?Item=N82E1​6817438227

SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2 2280 1TB PCI-Express Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.3c Samsung V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V8P1T0B/AM
https://www.newegg.com …7790?Item=N82E1​6820147790

MSI MAG Series CORELIQUID C280 AIO Liquid CPU Cooler, 280mm Radiator, Dual 140mm ARGB PWM Fans, ARGB Lighting Controlled by Software LGA 1700 Ready
https://www.newegg.com …6023?Item=N82E1​6835846023

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit, DVD - OEM

I think you should have something that will hold up for many years. It's the bleeding edge of CPU and memory (that will take advantage of Windows 11's optimization for 12th Gen Intel CPUs). I'm a bit of a traditionalist: if you are going to do a lot of video work, then perhaps bump up the RAM size compared to your CPU core count. Traditionally you did have to think about each core having that percentage of RAM. With new CPUs, it's getting more of a gray area (as they have "performance" vs "efficiency" cores that switch on and off depending on tasks). Are you doing 4K HDR type videos? If so, I'd say maybe consider 64GB for that CPU. If not, this system is above and beyond what would be needed now. When it comes to cfexpress: it's easily handled with any USB 3.1x2 interface (so these days, any USB-C port on a new computer will have enough bandwidth for any iteration).

davesrose wrote in post #19394962
I think you should have something that will hold up for many years. It's the bleeding edge of CPU and memory (that will take advantage of Windows 11's optimization for 12th Gen Intel CPUs). I'm a bit of a traditionalist: if you are going to do a lot of video work, then perhaps bump up the RAM size compared to your CPU core count. Traditionally you did have to think about each core having that percentage of RAM. With new CPUs, it's getting more of a gray area (as they have "performance" vs "efficiency" cores that switch on and off depending on tasks). Are you doing 4K HDR type videos? If so, I'd say maybe consider 64GB for that CPU. If not, this system is above and beyond what would be needed now. When it comes to cfexpress: it's easily handled with any USB 3.1x2 interface (so these days, any USB-C port on a new computer will have enough bandwidth for any iteration).

Thanks for the reply. I won't do much 4k stuff. My wife has a handycam 4k and shoots some video when we go out to Yellowstone. I shoot a handful of 4k stuff on my R5. I may just go ahead and add the extra ram anyway. I will do some shopping around on prices before I pull the trigger. I won't do the build until middle of July.

NNut, what software do you use for photo develop/editing?

chuckmiller wrote in post #19395093
NNut, what software do you use for photo develop/editing?

Photoshop and DXO PureRAW

Nascar Nut wrote in post #19395155
Photoshop and DXO PureRAW

I use LR so I cannot speak to DXO. But I can say that LR uses the processor far far far more than it uses the GPU, especially when it is building previews and exporting files.

When you get your system going look for Gigabyte Aorus Engine. It calculates how much your Gigabyte Aorus video card GPU can be overclocked. I have the Gigabyte Aorus RTX 2080 and the app boosts it's performance by several times just momentarily when something hits the GPU.

When I run a photo through DXO PureRAW it takes about 30 seconds to finish. I wonder how much faster this process will be?

Nascar Nut wrote in post #19395265
When I run a photo through DXO PureRAW it takes about 30 seconds to finish. I wonder how much faster this process will be?

What is your current CPU, motherboard, and RAM?

If it"s older I'd bet it will be significantly faster.

I just finished a new build a month and change ago. Coming from an i7-4790k based system with 32gb RAM to a Ryzen 9 5900x 64gb one. Since GPUs were still pricey, I reused my Nvidia GTX-960 2 gb card for now. LRC and PS are way faster. Using Topaz DeNoise plugin, used to take nearly 2 minutes to process an R5 file, now takes less than a minute, and 5D4 / 7D2 files finish in 30 seconds. Not sure the old GPU will hold up for 4k editing, but so far I don't do much of that.

chuckmiller wrote in post #19395286
What is your current CPU, motherboard, and RAM?

If it"s older I'd bet it will be significantly faster.

Ryzen 7 1700X eight core
32 gigs of ram
Radeon RX570
Not sure what the motherboard is. I bought this prebuilt. It is a Dell Inspiron 5675. Video cards were so high priced that it was a lot cheaper to buy this dell then build one.

Nascar Nut wrote in post #19395371
Ryzen 7 1700X eight core
32 gigs of ram
Radeon RX570
Not sure what the motherboard is. I bought this prebuilt. It is a Dell Inspiron 5675. Video cards were so high priced that it was a lot cheaper to buy this dell then build one.

Far from horrible but 5 years old. I think your new machine will be dramatically faster at processing images.

Hi

My 2 pence.

Keep some memory slots free, to allow future expansion. But pay attention to the optimal interleaving configuration, which depends on the number of memory channels on the processor.

You probably don’t need a 1200W power supply. Power supplies are more efficient at higher loads.

Enjoy your new build!

Take a look at the i7 12700k, doesn't run as hot and performs very well i7 12700k vs R9 5900 comparison ( https://www.youtube.co​m/watch ) , and more cost effective for the build. i9 12900k gives you about 15% more performance but doubles your cost. The integrated graphics helps with video. https://www.newegg.com …2th-gen/p/N82E16819118343

The RAM decision is next though. DDR5 vs DDR4. 4 is cheaper, and more practical for now, and your MB can only run one or the other. Plus DDR5 cannot yet run the promised speeds. They've been working through a lot of the DDR5 problems but there are special settings needed sometimes to prevent endless rebooting loops.

You really don't need to run with the Z690 series MB unless you really need all the IO ports. The H670 series should be able to meet your needs. The ASRock Steel Legend H670 LGA 1700 atx MB might be a good fit. Currently $15 off at Newegg. https://www.newegg.com​/p/N82E16813162043

GPU, unless you're gaming too, try the ASUS RTX 3050 8gb. Although Adobe is starting to use the GPU now, it's still not really heavy. And if you're doing light video that should be enough. https://www.newegg.com …050-o8g/p/N82E16814126557

As for cooling the Vetroo V5 air cooler works well in the testing I've seen for the i7, and if you're not planning on overclocking the CPU this should be enough without the hassle of water cooling. https://www.newegg.com​/vetroo-v5/p/13C-00F3-00002

For your M2 drives look at the Teamgroup Cardea Zero Z440 1tb drive. I've learned that it's not so much what speed it runs, they all can run fast, it's how much data they can empty and fill per use that matters this drive can fill and empty almost the entire card daily, for 5 years. A good backup is the WD Blue SN550 series, also 1tb. https://www.newegg.com …440-1tb/p/N82E16820331429

As for RAM, for now it might be better to use DDR4 since the speeds aren't up there for the R5 yet, and the best sync between the CPU and RAM is I believe maximum of 4000.

Case, NZXT H510 mid tower, or the Corsair 4000D Airflow ($10 off at Newegg)

PSU EVGA 650 GQ 210-G2-0650-V1 gold modular looks good and is $50 off at Newegg. https://www.newegg.com …v1-650w/p/N82E16817438059

For your OS I'd look to some of the YouTube channels like JayzTwoCents (not affiliated in any way) where he has codes much cheaper for the Windows OS. Plus he has a walk through on how to keep Microsoft from skimming all your info to sell to the highest bidder thru windows 11. https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=s1wqOHo9Lb0

goalerjones wrote in post #19395906
Take a look at the i7 12700k, doesn't run as hot and performs very well i7 12700k vs R9 5900 comparison ( https://www.youtube.co​m/watch ) , and more cost effective for the build. i9 12900k gives you about 15% more performance but doubles your cost. The integrated graphics helps with video. https://www.newegg.com …2th-gen/p/N82E16819118343

The RAM decision is next though. DDR5 vs DDR4. 4 is cheaper, and more practical for now, and your MB can only run one or the other. Plus DDR5 cannot yet run the promised speeds. They've been working through a lot of the DDR5 problems but there are special settings needed sometimes to prevent endless rebooting loops.

You really don't need to run with the Z690 series MB unless you really need all the IO ports. The H670 series should be able to meet your needs. The ASRock Steel Legend H670 LGA 1700 atx MB might be a good fit. Currently $15 off at Newegg. https://www.newegg.com​/p/N82E16813162043

GPU, unless you're gaming too, try the ASUS RTX 3050 8gb. Although Adobe is starting to use the GPU now, it's still not really heavy. And if you're doing light video that should be enough. https://www.newegg.com …050-o8g/p/N82E16814126557

As for cooling the Vetroo V5 air cooler works well in the testing I've seen for the i7, and if you're not planning on overclocking the CPU this should be enough without the hassle of water cooling. https://www.newegg.com​/vetroo-v5/p/13C-00F3-00002

For your M2 drives look at the Teamgroup Cardea Zero Z440 1tb drive. I've learned that it's not so much what speed it runs, they all can run fast, it's how much data they can empty and fill per use that matters this drive can fill and empty almost the entire card daily, for 5 years. A good backup is the WD Blue SN550 series, also 1tb. https://www.newegg.com …440-1tb/p/N82E16820331429

As for RAM, for now it might be better to use DDR4 since the speeds aren't up there for the R5 yet, and the best sync between the CPU and RAM is I believe maximum of 4000.

Case, NZXT H510 mid tower, or the Corsair 4000D Airflow ($10 off at Newegg)

PSU EVGA 650 GQ 210-G2-0650-V1 gold modular looks good and is $50 off at Newegg. https://www.newegg.com …v1-650w/p/N82E16817438059

For your OS I'd look to some of the YouTube channels like JayzTwoCents (not affiliated in any way) where he has codes much cheaper for the Windows OS. Plus he has a walk through on how to keep Microsoft from skimming all your info to sell to the highest bidder thru windows 11. https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=s1wqOHo9Lb0

Thanks for your detailed reply. I was actually considering the i7 12700k when I started putting together a build as it wasn't that much slower. I was going with the DDR5 just because it was the latest. I hadn't read up on the DDR5 vs DDR4. You brought up some good points. As for the video card, I will probably stay with the one on my list of something similar. Photoshop doesn't even kick the fans on with my current GPU but DxoPurRAW sure does. Seems like it is using the GPU a lot. I am a wildlife photographer and always shooting in poor light so my ISO is usually high so I use PurRaw a lot. You definitely saved me some money with your suggestions.

Have you thought about waiting until Nvidia's new GPU's are announced later this year? I've been kind of dragging my feet at a Windows build even though the 3000 series GPU's are finally in stock, since I heard and am seeing prices continue to drop over time and is speculated to do so especially with the announcement and production of 4000 series GPU's