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Build Tweaking

Post Date: 2021-06-22
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Darasuum View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		  Quote Darasuum Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Build Tweaking
    Posted: 22 Jun 2021 at 7:31pm
I've mostly settled on this: 3951062

As far as I can tell it should meet my needs but I've never been well-versed in the hardware side of things so I wouldn't mind a second opinion.

Right now I mostly play older MMOs (STO and FFXIV) and some android games with an emulator. I do play some newer games (FPS, RPG, strategy) but they don't tend to stick around long. I'd like to run them well and continue to for at least a few years but they don't need to be absolutely bleeding edge. No 4K or VR, just two 1920x1080 monitors and one 2560 x 1080 monitor.

I also do a lot of GIS work. As far as I can tell it needs pretty much what everything else needs but there might be a bit more emphasis on RAM.

I'm a bit of a data hoarder as well but I'll probably use the hard drives from my current computer for that. They're a bit old but right now I'd like to save money where I can.

I'd of course like the computer to be as quiet as possible and to have as few LEDs as I can get.

As for the budget, I'd like to keep it pretty close to where it is. If there's anything that would give me a significant boost for a bit of an increase I'd consider it though.
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 4:16am
I think you're good for what you need, except for that glaring error at Storage Set 1. That's a very slow SATA drive. For one whole dollar, you can get a 500GB Firecuda NVMe SSD that is up to 9 TIMES faster. That is game-changing for everything you do from your OS, from ~12 second boots to instant everything else. Wait times? ...none. You don't have to worry about the smaller size. Loading data files and games will be fine from SATA SSDs and HDDs until you want to upgrade. The OS, your apps and maintenance software is all you really NEED on your "C" drive. Plenty of room will be left for a few of your favorite games, but there is not a huge difference in load times on those.

I think the extra RAM may serve you well.

The only other bit is that you might consider investing in an 850W PSU so you will be able to upgrade without worry anywhere in the future. The 600W supply will limit the GPUs available, but be plenty if you stick with the RTX 3060.

I would personally feel a bit better about a dual fan cooler in that enclosed case, but it's not necessary.
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ArcherZ View Drop Down
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Posts: 28 		  Quote ArcherZ Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 6:06am
He is right about that SSD. Just the quick boot time alone makes the firecuda 520 worth the extra $64. I too agree that the dual fan for the liquid cooler would be better for peace of mind for when workload really begins to stress and heat the pc up. But that being said I have heard the single fans working just fine so its a toss up.

Edited by ArcherZ - 23 Jun 2021 at 6:09am
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 6:24am
The best part is he'd be downsizing from the 1TB SATA drive, so it only costs him a dollar!
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Darasuum View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		  Quote Darasuum Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 3:32pm
Originally posted by Cretae

I think you're good for what you need, except for that glaring error at Storage Set 1. That's a very slow SATA drive. For one whole dollar, you can get a 500GB Firecuda NVMe SSD that is up to 9 TIMES faster. That is game-changing for everything you do from your OS, from ~12 second boots to instant everything else. Wait times? ...none. You don't have to worry about the smaller size. Loading data files and games will be fine from SATA SSDs and HDDs until you want to upgrade. The OS, your apps and maintenance software is all you really NEED on your "C" drive. Plenty of room will be left for a few of your favorite games, but there is not a huge difference in load times on those.

I think the extra RAM may serve you well.

The only other bit is that you might consider investing in an 850W PSU so you will be able to upgrade without worry anywhere in the future. The 600W supply will limit the GPUs available, but be plenty if you stick with the RTX 3060.

I would personally feel a bit better about a dual fan cooler in that enclosed case, but it's not necessary.


This is why it's always good to ask first. I completely for got about speed. I was just thinking about SSDs and storage space when I chose that.

Sorry, did you mean the 32GB would serve me well or that adding extra would?

I'm not sure about the PSU. In the past I've tried to keep my options open for future upgrades but it's never really worked out. I just keep pushing the upgrades back until something breaks and it's easier to just start over. I am probably going to add a bunch of HDs and a Blu-ray drive so the extra wiggle room might help. I do have a 750W PSU from my current desktop but my current computer is dead an I'm not sure how it happened so I don't know how much use it would be.

I think I will go with the dual fan. It's not that much more and I'd rather play it safe with that kind of stuff.

Thanks for your help. This makes me feel a lot better.
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Darasuum View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		  Quote Darasuum Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 3:34pm
Originally posted by ArcherZ

He is right about that SSD. Just the quick boot time alone makes the firecuda 520 worth the extra $64. I too agree that the dual fan for the liquid cooler would be better for peace of mind for when workload really begins to stress and heat the pc up. But that being said I have heard the single fans working just fine so its a toss up.


Ya, I'll probably go with both recommendations. The dual fan isn't that much more and I'd rather err on the side of safety with that stuff.

Thanks for the reply.
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 24 Jun 2021 at 3:58am
I'm thinking the 32GB of RAM will speed up your GIS work and be more helpful than 16 GB. You won't need more.

This website is pretty easy to use, and will help you determine how much PSU you will need for expansion. Your power needs are pretty modest at present, it seems around 375W. More storage devices will add about 20-25W per HDD on initial spin-up and then settle down to about a fourth of that at idle. You need about 30W for a Blu-ray. SSDs use a lot less, because of no mechanical parts. From where you are, I'm guessing you could add a Blu-ray and 3 of each kind of storage drive and still have a nice margin of overhead on start-up. You'd have a much larger margin while most drives were idle.


https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator


I use the Coolermaster Master Liquid Pro 240 (two fans) for the liquid cooling kit.

The value you get with each drive added is start-up requirement. You should not push that too much past 500W IMO (for a 600W PSU), but know that consumption will drop considerably when the drives go to idle. It goes from 20-25w on start-up to about 6W for HDDs, and much less for SSDs.

Edited by Cretae - 24 Jun 2021 at 4:00am
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Darasuum View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		  Quote Darasuum Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Jun 2021 at 12:27am
Originally posted by Cretae

I'm thinking the 32GB of RAM will speed up your GIS work and be more helpful than 16 GB. You won't need more.

This website is pretty easy to use, and will help you determine how much PSU you will need for expansion. Your power needs are pretty modest at present, it seems around 375W. More storage devices will add about 20-25W per HDD on initial spin-up and then settle down to about a fourth of that at idle. You need about 30W for a Blu-ray. SSDs use a lot less, because of no mechanical parts. From where you are, I'm guessing you could add a Blu-ray and 3 of each kind of storage drive and still have a nice margin of overhead on start-up. You'd have a much larger margin while most drives were idle.


https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator


I use the Coolermaster Master Liquid Pro 240 (two fans) for the liquid cooling kit.

The value you get with each drive added is start-up requirement. You should not push that too much past 500W IMO (for a 600W PSU), but know that consumption will drop considerably when the drives go to idle. It goes from 20-25w on start-up to about 6W for HDDs, and much less for SSDs.


That makes me feel a lot better. Right now I only have 2 HDDs and 3 SSDs and if I need more I'll probably just replace the ones I have now with higher capacity ones.

Thanks for all your help. I sent in my order tonight.
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Jun 2021 at 4:15am
Glad to help!

Best wishes for having a great experience.
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