Desktop newbie seeking advice on high end rig

I’m unable to post links for some reason, though I see other users have done it. Maybe it’s because I’m new? Are people able to use my ticket number to see the build?

Is this overkill for my requirements? Also, any advice on fans and motherboard? I don’t know how to choose those.

Off the top, you should be aware the Aventum weighs over 100 pounds. It's that gigantic. you may want to consider your space, and that it won't be portable at all.

Next, your choices are suitable for a very high-end content creator, editor, studio or engineering monster, not a gaming rig at all. For gaming it contains some parts that will never be of any benefit.

Specifically the CPU has threads and cores that will never be used for gaming and everyday use. 64GB of RAM is not just overkill, in gaming, half of it will be idle all the time.

It's cool you want all that super fast storage, but you don't want that for your boot drive, Lean and mean is the idea for your "C" drive for ease of management, scanning, and routine maintenance like back-ups and cache clean-up.

This is better preserving some of your choices:

https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=4638649

Saves a grand, and upgrades the motherboard to fit the budget. Eliminates the parts you'll never use. I don't recommend you buy all that stoarge at once. It's really easy to add more when you need it, and you may well get better performing parts, With 4.5TB, you won't fill it for maybe a couple of years and you don't need idle parts doing nothing for all that time. Feel free to configure as you wish, but that's my advice.

The 4090 of course, because you want the best. I know the overclock is free, but the 4090 doesn't need the help, and the card doesn't need to run warmer. Nvidia has free software to tinker if you ever think you need to. That's about all DS is gonna do IMHO.

The custom liquid cooling is just for the looks. Total waste of money for this CPU. The Noctua air cooler will keep this proc chilly with nothing that could ever leak or need to be plumbed to repair.

This is what I would get instead:

https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=4638663

Now this case has the window on the right, so the mobo is mounted upside down. That's not as goofy as it sounds because it means the GPU fans point up and out for better overall cooling of everything in the box. If you like it better than the Aventum, but still have to have that cooling loop, get it. It needs maintenance, and you'll need extra coolant, so order some.

If you have question, come back. Oh, yeah, I threw in the fans on the Velox because, why not?   

Edited by Cretae - 06 Mar 2023 at 8:28am

Extremely helpful advice. Thanks @Cretae. I did know about the size and weight of the Aventum. I have a space big enough for it, but ultimately I think I will go with a smaller machine because I just don’t want to carry the thing. Especially given your advice on the specs.

I will take a look at your builds and save them. Really appreciate you taking some time to build those out. I’ll let you know what I end up going with.

Definitely good advice and will consider. I have need of the storage as we have accumulated so many photos and videos of my kids and family (lots of nieces and nephews live close) that I’ve had to buy too many portables and new laptops over the years to store stuff and I’m ready for a one stop shop that I know I won’t fill for a bit.

For your Velox buildout, regarding the fans…the colorful ones that look to me like speakers…are those worth the extra cost? Will they keep the components cooler or are they purely cosmetic?

Also on the motherboard…can you educate me on why the upgrade there is valuable? What is gained by the higher tier motherboards?

Would I use the i7 power if I got that instead of the i9? You recommended i5, but I’m struggling with that (perhaps irrationally) because no laptop I’ve owned since before 2009 has had under an i7. I know that we’re talking apples and oranges here, but still…

Thanks again.

Edited by JP$ - 08 Mar 2023 at 5:49pm

Okay, you’ve convinced me :). I’ll go with the i5. Last question on this though…does this still hold true for VR gaming? I don’t have any VR tech yet but would like to be able to expand my horizons with this machine.

I will definitely also do the Velox. This one just uses fans for cooling and doesn’t mess with all the liquid cooling stuff, right? That’s ideal I think as I’m not really interested in messing with coolant.

I will need to get a good monitor too. Any recommendations? There are two Asus models available from DS, but should I get my own separately?

Edited by JP$ - 09 Mar 2023 at 6:48pm

The i5 13600KF will handle any gaming task. the Velox is the top air-cooled rig here.

If you're not going to spend on a top-end 4k monitor, you are way overspending on your GPU. That's what the 4090 is for. Neither DS offering is 4K.

JamesAstro knows what he's talking about, but that size may or may not be right for you. Online, there is plenty of top 5/top 10 lists and plenty of reviews. the info is out there, so shop around. Google 4k 144fps monitor in the size you think you'd prefer to start, or just go look at JamesAstro's and fall in love. Happy hunting.   

That monitor seems to get pretty good reviews here:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/lg/27gn950-b

Heck..if you can get that for free, then I say go for it!

I've never actually tried 4K gaming, and I always wonder if it would improve the appearance of games very much. I know that 4K can make a huge difference when displaying small text (like on web pages, and in productivity apps.) However, I wonder how useful it is for gaming? I'd love to hear your opinion after you try out your new 4K monitor. :)

Hey all. Just wanted to say I pulled the trigger today on this build. Mostly Cretae’s suggestions but with the generic fans and more storage. 4643898.

Also went with that LG monitor. But I don’t think it comes with a DisplayPort cable…

Really appreciate all the help and advice. Not going to buy this all now (need to earn some money now lol), but at some point will want to expand my set up to include the following:

1. Headset/mic
2. Face Tracking tech (e.g. turn head to view—kinda like VR lite I think)
3. Full blown VR tech

If anyone has suggestions or leads for that tech, feel free to offer some recommendations!

Thank you all.

Go half way to the bottom of the link JamesAstro posted for that monitor. "In the Box" 1st listing is DisplayPort cable.      

This is new to me. DS systems are plug and play right out of the box unless damaged in shipping. They have the system stress-tested and working perfectly when shipped. They even take photos of inside and out for reference.

Right off the top of my head, if you are able, turn off sleep and hibernate. They are notorious for randomly doing bad things like you describe.

If that doesn't do anything, or if it does, and you're still not pleased, e-mail

[email protected]

Head of customer service, he will refer you to someone who may expedite your issues. This should not be happening to a new system unless it's the sleep/hibernate issue.
Good luck!   

Thanks Alex and Cretae. I talked to the technician Adam H. today for a couple hours. It appears to be hardware related--something wrong with the GPU itself. Our current "fix" was to "jiggle" the GPU to try and make sure all the copper is aligned. Strangely enough, the black screen hadn't happened when I left my house not too long ago. Hoping that fixes it. But we clearly isolated the cause to the GPU.

Wanted to say thanks to everyone for the inputs/attention on this. It's been about a week and the PC seems to be running fine now.

@Alex, I am a bit concerned that just jostling the card in the chassis was enough to fix it. That may be a great sign that it was "fixed" so easily, but I'm paranoid there could be a deeper problem with the hardware. The computer worked for weeks prior to the error occurring and there was no movement that I can identify that would have jostled it loose in the first place. How is a scenario like this handled from a warranty perspective? If several months from now the issue returns, and I can't repeat the same fix, what would that mean as far as replacement goes?

Thanks @fwfdfireman

I would not worry, we're always here to help if you run into any problems.