What do you think?

I have two questions to start the suggestion discussion.

• Is this rig going to be used for anything beyond gaming (e.g., video creation/editing, audio creation/editing, live streaming)?

• Is one of your current drives an NVMe (PCIe 3 or PCIe 4) SSD?
-- You'll want an NVMe drive for the OS at a minimum. Using a SATA drive for the main drive nowadays will unnecessarily/unreasonably limit the other components.

Originally posted by MrCheetah I have two questions to start the suggestion discussion. • Is this rig going to be used for anything beyond gaming (e.g., video creation/editing, audio creation/editing, • Is one of your current drives an NVMe (PCIe 3 or PCIe 4) SSD? -- You'll want an NVMe drive for the OS at a minimum. Using a SATA drive for the main drive nowadays will unnecessarily/unreasonably limit the other components.

Thanks so much for responding. I will also be using the computer for video and sound editing.

The 2tb Samsung 860 Pro that I have in my config will be the main drive. I have 5 other high capacity 3.5" hard drives that I will be putting in the case which contain all my media and games.

Originally posted by Acetylide I think that unless you have a need for a case that size(it is one heavy SOB) and the extra RAM headroom provided by the X299 chipset(256 Gb max), you're throwing a lot of money away; especially if its going to be for gaming and you only have a 3060Ti selected in light of your other selected components. If this system is just going to be used for gaming, you would be better off going with a cheaper X570 or Z590 system(128 Gb RAM max) with a Velox case and putting more of the money into a RTX 3070 or maybe even a 3080 depending on what resolution you game at & what kind of games you're playing. I couldn't help but notice you have a sound card selected, so I can only assume you have more in mind than just gaming for this system since most motherboards already have decent on-board audio. Is your cooling selection for aesthetics or do you plan on adding on to it(i.e. graphics card(s) )? You're actually paying over $400+ more for it vs. Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan), so unless you're going to be heavily OC'ing the CPU, that's an extra $400+ you could put into a GPU selection. That's just my opinion based on what you've provided thus far. More information is going to be needed for others to chime in: -Expected usage besides gaming. -Number of drives/type to be migrated/added to the system. -Monitor resolution/single, dual, triple, etc. -Type of gaming.

Thanks so much for your comprehensive reply. It is very helpful. Here are some answers to your comments;
I am also going to be using this system for video and sound production. I am also going to move my 5 internal 3.5" HD to this system. I think that this is the only case that can handle that many drives. It is also the reason I am putting 64gb ram in it.
The sound card it because of the sound editing.
As far as the cooling system, I am not looking for the aesthetics. I am also not going to do any heavy overclocking.
I just want to make sure that I have sufficient cooling for a system that has 5 mechanical hard drives and the rest of my components. The Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) will do the job?
I am running a dual monitor system. Probably the most processor demanding games that I run would be Total War:Warhammer 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Is it worth putting the extra money into a RTX 3070 over the RTZ 3060.

Thank you!

Dual monitors at what resolution? 1080, 1440, or 4k?

You're probably not going to ever need 256 Gb system RAM, so you should opt for a X570 or Z590 system. Beyond that, the only other reason to go with a TRX40 or X299 board would be if you need the extra PCI-E slots on the motherboard for adding additional(more than 2) graphics cards or other PCI-E devices. Some of the X570 boards offer 3 or even 4 PCI-E slots, but then you need to consider PCI-E version, bandwidth sharing, slot speeds when fully populated, etc., vs your needs.

Ditch the Hydrolux Pro and get the maintenance-free H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan).

If the Velox doesn't support your needed hard drive numbers, then I would find a similar case that does and ask DS if they would use it(you might need to have them order additional fans for the case), or at the least, see if they would recommend one other than the Aventum. That thing is just way too big and heavy; especially if you're not going to use it to its fullest potential nor ever have the need to. No sense in paying a whole lot of extra for features you won't use.

When it comes to the SSD, if you're going with a motherboard that supports PCI-E 4.0, you should consider going with an M.2 SSD that is also 4.0 since it is faster.
Forget about the 2TB Samsung 860 PRO. It uses SATA III, which is much slower than M.2. You can get the 2TB Seagate FireCuda 520 for the same price and is near 10 times faster. Just keep in mind that if you're going to be near filling it up that it will slow down. I know the Sabrent SSDs will do this.

Originally posted by Kandwar I am also going to move my 5 internal 3.5" HD to this system. I think that this is the only case that can handle that many drives.

That does appear to be true.

Originally posted by Kandwar I am also going to be using this system for video and sound production.

Originally posted by Kandwar It is also the reason I am putting 64gb ram in it.

I do agree 64GB should be fine. I also agree with...

Originally posted by Acetylide the extra RAM headroom provided by the X299 chipset(256 Gb max), you're throwing a lot of money away

You probably don't need a workstation-class CPU and motherboard -- even with video and audio production, unless you're a pro working on films with multi-angle shots in UHD or something like that.

I realized, I don't recall you stating a budget -- which you'll want to do for best advice. Nevertheless, I selected a couple of configs, both a little more than $6,000.

Intel - Config #: 4007670
AMD - Config #: 4007671

(To view, go to the top of the page, click Load Config, enter one of the configuration numbers above, then click Load.)

A few clarifications on the component selections.

• CPU: The more cores the better, however, the improvement is rarely linear (e.g., 16-cores isn't typically going to be double the performance of 8-cores).

Premiere Pro CPU performance: Intel Core 10th Gen vs AMD Ryzen 3rd Gen | Puget Systems

The one benefit Intel has is higher default Turbo Boost clocks, but neither brand's latest is a slouch -- stay with the 11th gen. if you do go Intel.

• Storage: You'll notice there are two drives selected. First is the main drive (OS and apps) Second one can be your scratch disk.

Build and Optimize Your Computer for DAW Music Creation
| Preset Patch

Working with scratch disks | Adobe

Both drives could be PCIe 4 (e.g., two Samsung 980 SSDs) but I picked a gen. 3 drive for the main because any NVMe drive is fast, it's not as if you should be needing to reload OS and app files often -- possibly never until the next reboot, and thus it's okay to grab some cost savings.

• RAM: TridentZ is great RAM -- it is. Although, performance wise, you probably won't see double the performance despite nearly double the price compared to Digital Storm's standard stuff. So, unless you really want RGB RAM, I'd go with the 3200MHz sticks.

• Graphics Card: With video editing in mind and dual monitors, the extra VRAM and oomph of something such as a 3080 isn't a bad investment.

• Cooling: This choice is certainly debatable. Put simply, I figured if you go with the Aventum, a case designed with custom cooling as a forefront feature, might as well utilize those giant radiators. So, I chose the HydroLux option that covers both CPU and GPU. Not so much as necessary as trying not to be entirely wasteful. :)

• Power: I did want to point out 1000W does appear sufficient, at least according to OuterVisions's Power Supply Calculator. I didn't surpass an estimate of 775W with either config.

It just occurred to me that you can configure the Velox or Lumos with the Antec P101 case which supports 8 hard drives. The case isn't as elegant as the Velox or Lumos cases, and it doesn't have a side window to show off your hardware. However, it's big, and it's also known for being quiet. This might be a good way to save money, and get the space that you need for hard drives.

Antec P101

Review of Antec P101

Lots of great suggestions and information that I really appreciate. All of my previous computers have been Intel so I will be spending time looking at reconfigurations with AMD too.

Someone mentioned that the Aventum custom cooling loops require lots of attention and can leak. I'm heading toward the H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance) anyway, but am curious as to other opinions.

I made quite a lot of changes based on your suggestions and some research. I pulled back on some parts that were probably overkill for me and were just wasting money. I switched to a AMD system. Kept the large Aventum case because of the number of HD slots I will need. Went to 3200 Mhz RAM probably never seeing any difference with the 3600. I ditched the Hydrolux system for the Stage 2:Digital Storm VOrtex. Went for the ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero becasue of the built in WiFI and Bluetooth. Up my specs to the GeForce RTX 3070.
With all of these changes, I saved about $700 and have a stronger system than what I initially started out with.
I removed the Sound Blaster Card since I can take that from my current computer and move it over. Will it be easy top put in the Sound Blaster card without disturbing other components? Thank you!

Thanks so much for all of the great feedback and suggestions for my build. Because of your help, my current configuration plan is so much better and less expensive than what I started with.
It's great to see a group of knowledgeable people being willing to share their time and ideas to help others.
I will sit on this build for a few days and unless I discover something new or hear from you about a change, I will purchase the system this coming week. Here is the current build.
Digital Storm Aventum X (Config # 4009120)
1
$5,333.00
$5,333.00
Chassis
Chassis Model: Aventum X
Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish

Core Components
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (16-Core) 4.9 GHz Turbo
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero (Wi-Fi) (AMD X570 Chipset) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices) (No SLI)
System Memory: 64GB DDR4 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Performance Series (Semi-Modular) (80 Plus Gold)

Storage / Connectivity
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Seagate FireCuda 520) (NVM Express) (Gen4 PCIe)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Seagate FireCuda 520) (NVM Express) (Gen4 PCIe)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)

Graphics / Multimedia
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 3070 8GB (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Digital Storm Engineering
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) (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: Exotic Cable Management - Blue - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)

Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm LED Lighting System
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software

Digital Storm TwisterBoost Technology
Boost Processor: Stock Factory Turbo Boost Advanced Automatic Overclocking

Software
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit)
Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows 10 Installation (Format and Clean Install)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows 10)

Accessories / Goodies

Customer Care
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 21-28 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Edited by Kandwar - 31 Jul 2021 at 4:16pm

You've made some excellent choices IMHO. I really like MrCheetah's choice of motherboard for you. I think everything has come together very nicely, and you will get a ton of mileage from this system.

The last time I looked, however, the 1 TB Samsung 980s were actually cheaper than the Firecudas. There is no doubt in my mind which I would prefer. The Samsungs are not only quite a bit faster (7GB/5GB read/write vs 5GB/4.4GB), but Samsung has been the standard for reliability in NVMe SSDs for most of their existence. Taken together, those facts scream SAMSUNG 980. The speed difference would not be the big deal, price and reliability are. The Firecudas are a great go-to if you can save money, in the case of the 1TBs, you don't.   

I have a Lumos with a 5950 and Dark Hero running dual 1 TB Samsung 980s. Pretty happy with the performance so far.

Edited by ealderson - 01 Aug 2021 at 3:23pm

My order has been placed! Thank you all for your valuable help in developing a configuration.
Now comes the agonizing part; counting the days until it arrives.