Moving on from my 2015 DS build

Budget:$3000-3500

Expectations:
occasional gaming but like to play lag-free on max settings. I'm getting old (56!) and don't really play online. Just keep a lookout for good, immersive single player games.

Usage:
I spend most of my time editing images (raw files, higher megapixels) in Adobe Lightroom and photoshop. With only very occasional work in Premier or other video editing. With more horsepower in my desktop I'd do more here. But unloading my camera with a couple hundred full fram raw images is a weekly occurence,

Special Needs:
None really- just looking for a pretty powerful desktop editor that would also allow me to play Cyberpunk or whatever the more bleeding-edge games are and appreciate them in full 1080p.
For various reasons I need it to be Win11 compatible, which my current build is not.


Specifications:
I haven't built out any configs yet.
My current and previous builds were from Digital Storm and have been 100% trouble-free.
The current build is still running original everything; built in 2016:
Intel core i& 6700 3.4 Skylake Quad Core
Asus/Gigabyte Intel Z170
RAM 16GB DDR4 2666 Digital Storm Performance Series
750W PS
1x SSD 240gb Digital Storm Performance Series
1x 1TB Seagate
1z Geforce GTX 1070 8GB ASUS Turbo
Cooling - High Performance Cooloer/Fan w/copper pipes

Way way back, before my last two from DS and a rig from Puget I built my own, but don't really have the fire or time to do that now... So I'm feeling like just ordering a new build that gets me another 5-7 years is the way to go, especially due to the Win11 need and just general needs to improve my current lot (newest games exceed the rigs ability, and my Dell XPS-15 out-edits my desktop) :P

I'd appreciate some advice on which lines and customizations to look at. I eyeballed the workstation lines... don't really need that much dedicated focus on editing... and have scanned through the more gaming-oriented desktop offerings so far.

Cheers!
Good to be back having DS chats

My concerns for you are two fold. First the SSDs, I recommend the Samsung 980 Pro for OS & key daily activities and the Samsung 970 Evo Plus for your library of games and stuff that doesn't need needs lightning speed when crazy fast is good enough. These Samsungs are FAST!!

The graphic card seems out of place in a system as grand as yours. I am running an EVGA FTW3 ULTRA RTX 3080 and I would think in the type of system you are building I would reconsider your graphic card.

There are real wizards on the Forum that can provide serious technical advice but this is my two cents. Your game resolution you want to achieve with a playable frame per second is the most important as far as your gaming expectations.

I will let better informed talk about graphic cards but the SSDs at minimum need to be reexamined to go with a system as sweet as you are building!

Adobe Photoshop: 12th Gen Intel Core vs AMD Ryzen 5000 Series | Puget Systems

Moving down one step, the i7 12700K also scored higher than all of the AMD CPUs we tested, although it was essentially on par with the Ryzen 5900X and 5950X. But compared to the similarly priced Ryzen 5800X, the i7 12700K ended up performing about 5% faster overall.

RTX 3060 Ti tested in 62 games ultra settings 1080p benchmarks | Jegs TV (YouTube)

Samsung 980 Pro vs. Samsung 970 Evo Plus | User Benchmarks

Both are very fast. However, the better write performance will be noticeable for:

Originally posted by Hort But unloading my camera with a couple hundred full fram raw images is a weekly occurence,

With that, my top recommendation:

Config #: 4257351

Model: Digital Storm Lynx
Processor: Intel Core i7-12700K (4.9 GHz Turbo) (20-Thread) (12-Core) 3.6 GHz (Alder Lake)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z690-A (Intel Z690 Chipset) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices) (No SLI) (DDR5)
System Memory: 32GB DDR5 5200MHz FURY Beast (BACKORDERED ETA FEBRUARY)
Power Supply: 850W Digital Storm Performance Series (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (500GB Samsung 980 PRO) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 980 PRO) (NVM Express)
Graphics Card: 1x GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB (VR Ready)

Alternatively, your budget allows the same components in the Velox X case.

Config #: 4257389

The Velox's inverse/inverted ATX layout provides better cooling, primarily for the graphics card (though not as substantial for mid and lower range GPUs). Additionally, it appears (based on product photos) the 3.5-inch drive bays are a little easier to access than on the Lynx. Such a convenience would be relevant if you are going to transfer your current drives and/or another platter-based drive for data backup/archive. For some people, having logos/labels upside down irks them.

Edited by MrCheetah - 10 Jan 2022 at 10:28pm

As you can see, the Aventum case moves your build into a whole different price range with no gain except a 100 pound+ case. ( And wow factor.) The difference over a Velox closes in on $500 without the liquid cooling.

IMO, MrCheetah has you covered very well. The Lynx build shows just how much you can save on a budget case, but I think the Velox may suit you better. If you don't care for the right-side window, the Lumos is in play.

The 1 TB Samsung 980 PRO for Storage Set 2 may be a bit of overkill. The 970 EVO would do well there, but it's in the budget, so why not? The 980 is a bit less than 2x faster, and you want that for your primary drive, but for files and games, the 970 EVO is plenty fast. The DS drives are SATA, not cutting-edge PCIe drives, and they are nearly 9 times slower than a 980.

Like MrCheetah, I think you will be very happy with the performance of a 3060 Ti between now and whenever it may move you to upgrade in a few years. Here's a look at how it compares with where you are:

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3060-Ti-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1070/4090vs3609

This system will blow your current performance completely away, and serve you well for years.