Ambitious Lumos build: opinions sought

** Admins please note that I had to remake this thread because the original got locked or deleted last night (PST), probably during the spam sweep **

With apologies for this being my second "new build" thread in the last six months I went back to the drawing board and have put together this Lumos. It's important to know that I am building the PC "from the monitor down" and plan to get this bad boy:

Dell Alienware 1900R 34.1", Curved Gaming Monitor LED-Lit, WQHD 3440 x 1440p Resolution, 4ms 120Hz Overclocked Refresh Rate, NVIDIA G-Sync, 21:9 Aspect Ratio, HDMI, Display Port, 4x USB 3.0, AW341

I intend to keep this PC for many years so I've tried to build in some headroom, i.e. future-proof it a bit, but some of it you might find to be overkill, in which case, please say so. I got the 2080 even though the 1080 can handle the monitor because I figured I'd appreciate it down the road but if it's overkill for flight/race simming and action gaming then please pipe up! I gave myself a bigger PSU (headroom), upped the system memory to 32 GB and upgraded the two storage sets from default. I went for a couple of cooling options (always a good idea in SOCAL). Finally, I opted to o/c the CPU to 4.7 gHz but no gfx o/c, obviously.

Thoughts...? With thanks, as always...

Direct Load URL: https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=2078178

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lumos
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z390-P (Intel Z390 Chipset) (Up to 2x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3000MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX1000 (Fully Modular)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: External USB - DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive (Writes and Reads DVDs, CDs)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 970 EVO) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 2080 8GB (VR Ready) <br>
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Liquid CPU Cooler (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Corsair HD Series (RGB Fans)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
LaserMark: Option Not Available
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.7GHz on All CPU Cores
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows 10 Installation (Format and Clean Install)


Edited by Bahger - 19 Oct 2018 at 10:43am

Boy, do I owe you a beer, Bill, thank you!

I have made every change you suggested and here is the latest build:

https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=2078720

(Are these links publicly visible...?)

I suppose I could save significant coin by downgrading the GPU because people say the 1080 could handle that monster monitor but unless you strongly disagree, I figure I'd like to be ahead of the curve for the life of this rig (~ 5 years).

BTW, how many USB slots does your Lumos have at the back of the case?

Again, many thanks. I will probably commit to this build and order it in the next couple of weeks (although DS is probably jammed at this time of year...)




Edited by Bahger - 19 Oct 2018 at 11:38am

Looks really nice, but you might look at that motherboard choice. Just seems a little low-end for the rest of the build. I tend to like the MSI choices above the Asus for better customer support when you're DS warranty is over. Whichever you like, I just want to stick my nose in to say you might prefer a more fully featured board.

Any mobo here is very good.   Spending more is for added features you want or need, or, a better quality components.   

I have the MSI Pro Carbon with WIFI.    I don’t need the WIFI, but wanted something other than Asus because of recent issues and to just get a middle of the road component. I tend to buy most things as, not the cheapest or most expensive, but middle of the road.    

With the new 9900k you have a choice of Z370 and Z390 chipset boards.   I believe the Z390 has better, more up to date WIFI ac and usb3.1 gen 2. For 9900k just get the z390, but the Z370 is almost the same and not worth upgrading if someone already has one.

Motherboards have always been tough for us to recommend.   So many with different features.   Confusing.    

They all work. I go middle tier, just because.   

A lot of gamers, pc users, can’t hardwire pc to the router because of wiring issues, length etc so game and surf the web with their pc using just the motherboard built in WIFI.   I have a plugged in, RJ45 modem cable so the WIFI in my case isn’t used.

I actually have the exact same opinion as bprat22. Don't need overkill, but it's nice to have a bit better quality with a few extra features should the need arise. Unlike the other parts that you might want to upgrade later, to change a mobo requires a complete rebuild of the system should you decide later.

I didn't want to prejudge your preferences, But I also like the MSI Pro Carbon z390 for this build. At +$83, I think it's a very capable fit for you without going overboard. To my mind, it's a good pick for the obvious longevity you're going for with this beauty.

By the way, If it's not too far out, it's a good bet you might see a sale around Black Friday/Cyber Monday. No guarantees, of course, but I was able to score an extra year of warranty and a little money saved last year. Just sayin'.

Absolutely NO impact on build quality. DS never seems to rush anything out the door at the expense of quality control. Alex has told us elsewhere that they have beefed up staff, and they have just moved to a larger facility. He anticipates these things will help them meet the anticipated holiday demand perhaps better than ever.

Having said that, I ordered my rig on Cyber Monday, which I believe was 27 Nov. I received it 4 Jan., but it was in transit for nine days because I'm in Florida and the New Year's weekend interfered. I believe they shipped it right around business day 20. Your results may vary, but there's a lot of holidays in there to slow things down a bit.

Hey, I’d be very interested to know if the gamers among you have a dedicated SSD drive for games (including all Steam games, obviously) on top of a (smaller) SSD for the OS and a big HDD for data storage. If so, what’s the sweet-spot between affordability and size for a dedicated drive for games?

Edited by Bahger - 22 Oct 2018 at 7:16pm

I also have a 500GB m.2 for OS. I allow a few Origin games to reside there, but I don't want it to get too full. I, too, tend to uninstall when I've had my fill. My Steam library (what fits) is on my WD Black 1 TB HDD from my old rig along with my data files. Games seem to load quickly from it.

I have since acquired a 1TB Samsung 860 EVO, and I'll be installing Steam games there when I get it installed soon. I have 129 Steam titles, so not everything is meant to fit even in both places. I use a 1 TB external HDD for cloning.

Isn't DCS an itty, bitty download? If I have that right, why get a TB SSD for just that?

I like the idea of filling that drive as much as you like with games that might benefit from it. Having said that, ATM, all my games load from an HDD, and if it's slow, I don't see it. All the loads I have from the speed of my system are fast enough I can't read any of the cool tips they have while you "wait"!

IMHO, I think you should save yourself significant $ getting a 500MB Samsung 970 or 970 Pro for your C drive and being very selective the games you put on there. You can delete the ones you've finished and make room for new ones. You can have more than one Steam library on your system.

Storage is so easy to add later, you can adapt to your needs when they arise.

It looks just super to me! On-board audio has been high quality for many years. Only the most dedicated audiophile needs a sound card these days. Very easy to add later if needed.

Those fans are going to keep you cool as can be. You'll want to download Corsair LINK software to control your aio CPU cooler, and perhaps it gives you control over the case fans as well.

O/C options aren't required with all the power/speed you have natively, IMO.

I wish you nothing but the best from here on out. That's a fine system that should last you years. You're going to KILL 1440p!

None. The 750W is enough, but the 850W is only $32 more, so why not? I'm tellin' ya, you got it nailed.

   

It’s the last ones listed under Chassis Fans....Corsair ML Pro.

Onliest thing is I doubt that Airflow Control is needed. I'd bet with Corsair Link software you could fine-tune those lovely fans all you want, but you could look it up. Mebbe bprat22 knows. I know the Link runs your cooler. You jonesin' to spend, ditch that and up your warranty.

Otherwise, I love it!