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Computer Upgrade uncertainies.

eddhuy
Level 7
Budget: Up to $10,000 but want to spend up to $1,500 at one time.
Main uses of intended build: Gaming, non-serious photo editing and general home use.
Parts required: Motherboard, CPU and 2x16 GB of memory, M.2 SSD 500GB or 1T and possibly a new power supply, currently 450 Watts.
Previous build information (list details of parts): ROG Maximus IX Hero, i7-7700k, Nvidia GeForce 1050 Ti
Monitor resolution: 1920 x 1080. Plan on an upgrade to a better monitor later most likely.
Storage requirements: I currently have 2, 500 GB SSDs.
Will you be overclocking: yes/no: Yes
Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Not really the boards I'm interested have enough.
Extra information about desired system: Looking at ROG Maximus XIII Hero or STRIX Z590 E Gaming WIFI. Not sure if I'll need to purchase another water cooler for CPU or if I can use the old one. I'm 71 years old, may be my last build so will wait a bit to take a look at the LGA 1700 MBs and CPUs.

Any and all suggestions are of course welcome.

My excuse to my wife is to be windows 11 compliant but I just like building new computers and have not done enough of that lately. If I decide to wait on an LGA 1700 mobo then I'll have get a lot more life out of it but would wait a few months for things to settle down most likely or should I just go with the Maximus XIII hero for now?
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5 REPLIES 5

xmanrigger
Level 12
Budget $10,000? Dude, you could have anything.

1) GPU - EVGA or ASUS. With 10K to spend, you should be able to get more than a kiss when getting f$%ked buying the card. I wont tell if you dont.
If you cant purchase all components at same time, I would start with a new GPU. Bundle the first 2 $1500 drops on a shiny new RTX 3080 Ti from either EVGA or Asus. EVGA being my first choice. Get a card that you can source an EK or Watercool waterblock for. Watercool being my first choice. Yes a 3080 will be bottle-necked by your i7-7700K. But it will be leaps and bounds above the 1050 you are presently running, and this will be only temporarily. Plus, you wont have to wipe O/S until all components are purchased.

MOBO/CPU/MEM (not sorry, but Intel fan boy here. No AMD)
Given you say this may well be your last build, I would go for some serious power. Even though you indicate 'amateur' photo editing, you will benefit with this suggestion as well as have serious gaming power. ASUS is my only choice for motherboards (might try an EVGA some day). These would count as a $1500 drop each.

2) MOBO: - ROG RAMPAGE VI EXTREME ENCORE
You want to overclock. Nothing more need be said.

3) CPU: - i9-10980XE Extreme Edition
Core count = longevity. Socket 2011 came at a premium in 2012 when compared to any other mainstream CPU platform then. But my 6 core i7-3930K (weak IMC, see below) served with honorable distinction until replaced with a i9-10850K in 2020. With a RTX 2070 Super strapped in, even today the 3930K games like a mofo at 1440. Games were hard pressed to use more than 4 cores back then. But given the time span, demand/coding advances catch up. Again, core count = longevity.

4) Memory and SSD:
You will benefit from the quad channel memory when photo editing. For SSD, you say PC will be for gaming as well. Best go with a 2TB drive to start. Doesnt take many games and an O/S to fill a 1TB SSD . Should be able to do both in a $1500 drop.

Memory: - Corsair / G.Skill
I would go with the fastest supported memory of the CPU. Do a bit of research on the CPU. Not sure if it applies to the i9-10980XE, but CPUs can suffer from a weak IMC. Memory wont run at rated speed. Even with XMP profiles. AMD notorious. Intel isnt immune to this either. Also, ensure memory is Quad Channel if going with the i9-10980XE platform. Dual channel will work (does with X79), but why when a foursome is far more entertaining? First choice would be Corsair Dominator series. Second would be G.Skill TridentZ Royal series. Absolutely nothing wrong with Kingston memory as well. Never had any luck with Crucial. I used 2 different Crucial Ballistic memory kits, in 2 different PCs, 2 different platforms/users. Both kits failed over time. OCZ wasnt any better during the same era.

SSD - 2TB Samsung / WD/ Corsair
Any of the above M.2 drives will serve well.

PSU: - Overclocking
Corsair or Seasonic. 1000W or better. Stick to their high end. Dont short yourself on power. The quality of the PSU is the most underestimated, but most crucial component of any PC build. It will ultimately determine the stability of your system.

Cooling: - Custom water loop.
Stick with soft tubing and compression fittings for first build if going water. Relative easy for first time water cooling. Also far more forgiving than hard tubing when building or something needs to be removed. Use a D5 pump for silence. I would use 2 radiators. The reservoir is trivial. Whatever fits your needs.

***You say you are 71 yrs old and not your first build. With the budget you stated and if you consider yourself competent at life, you should have no problem with a soft tubing custom loop. Well worth it. Even with a limited budget. Cant go wrong with Bitspower fittings. 10+ years using their fittings and not 1 failure. As a matter of fact, the majority of fittings in my present i9-10850 / RTX 3070 build are close to if not 10 yrs old.

Took me a bunch of beers and a phatty to come up with this. Just my take. Hope it is appreciated. Ha ha.
GUTS: ROG Strix Z490-A / i9-10850 / 16GB G.Skill TridentZ Royal 4000mhz / WD Black 1TB M.2 - 2TB Ki...

WATER: EK Velocity Strike - CPU / EK-Quantum Vector - GPU / 2X Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 360 Radiators / XSPC Photon Rez / D5 Pump / DISTILLED WATER + Silver Coil

I greatly appreciate your reply. You have given me a lot to think about and it looks like some solid advice. Time to do some more research and do this the right way.

Thank you very much, I'll update this post after doing some looking.

The Z690 CPU looks nice and I believe will be less than the i9-10980XE with as many cores with the Motherboard coming in about the same price. I'll know more soon enough but right now I may jump on the early band wagon and see what happens lol. Might be fun.

BigJohnny
Level 13
Best Advice I can offer is to wait little bit as new things are around the corner and buy everything at once. Nothing sucks worse than having a MOBO thats outdated before a newer CPU comes out. Bank the $$ until you can get it all at once.

BigJohnny wrote:
Best Advice I can offer is to wait little bit as new things are around the corner and buy everything at once. Nothing sucks worse than having a MOBO thats outdated before a newer CPU comes out. Bank the $$ until you can get it all at once.


Thank you, I intend to wait and get it all at once. Money is banked and waiting to see what comes down the pipe. If I don't like the z690 setup for some reason, going with the Maximus XIII Hero and i7-11700 for now. By next summer prices will be down and many things ironed out. I'll throw into the mix a few things I'll need like a new PSU and keep watching video cards and monitors for a good deal. I'd like to get a 32" monitor at minimum.

I'll probably stick with my Cooler Master full tower, easy to build in for and old man. https://rog.asus.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.png