@CubeAce

Hi Ray,

Thanks for reviewing and commenting.

The technician told me that they just happened to have received two 3060's. I won't be buying for another 2 months, so I'll see what the situation is then.

I have many things connected using USB - at least 6 hard drives, DVD/BR burner, 2 scanners, 1 printer, mouse, keyboard, M-Audio M-Track interface, webcam, piano keyboard, and occasionally other things, like the ColorMunki, camera/cellphone/GoPro, and USB Video Capture device. I use an external hub for some of the less important devices.

Power supply requirements noted. What do you suggest?

Thanks,

John CB

@browj2

For future proofing 850w power supply.

For example Rtx3080 and rtx3090 will draw 750w

I upgraded from gtx 1660ti to Rtx270 super.

As these cards are big, it would be ideal to purchase a card bracket to keep it well secured.

32gb ram would be ideal for 4k.

Everything else looks fine in specs.

@PATIENT-X

Thanks for that. I do want future proofing, so I'll up it to 850W. I wonder if I'll blow the fuse in the new (old) house.

@CubeAce

The mid-size tower is quite big. What do you think?

Thanks,

John CB

@browj2

Hi John

Looking at the above possible issues

Processor: consider a bigger cooler eg a four heatpipe + big slow fan(s) - not a AIO water cooler they have installation and maintenance requirements which are a pain.

Motherboard:

The mATX mother board is, IMHO, too small if you are going to fit a better (bigger) cooler and fan(s) it will be a very tight squeeze and may limit you to the size of the cooler.

I have an ATX board and it is tight with the Arctic Cooler 34 eSport with a single fan fitted as you can see below

the fan size is 120mm (4.7 in) and a RAM slot is directly underneath it - fortunately the stand off is high enough to allow the slot to be used.

Hard drive: for SSD I would consider a Samsung Evo 970 as a more reliable option.

Windows: consider the Pro version you can then tweak updates etc. more and disable/uninstall a lot of the bloatware

Power pack: Ray has commented on this, I would recommend 750W minimum - gives you some headroom.

Case: I would stay with a mid sized tower - particularly with respect to a bigger motherboard.

HTH

John EB

@browj2

Hi John.

The specs page gives you the clearances.

Max. Graphics Card Length350mm / 13.8 (in)
(Horizontal graphics card slots are compatible with RTX 3090/3080/3070.)

So that should be alright.

Max. CPU Cooler Height155mm / 6.1 (in)

Max. PSU Length200 (mm) / 7.9 (in)

Those you will have to check for yourself.

An 850W would have been what I would have gone for but could only get a 1,000W at the time.

Remember though the power used is only the power drawn from the components, so being over the wattage is no big deal and uses not much more additional power to a smaller one maybe less if the fan isn't on all the time.

Ray.

@browj2

Oops I did not notice micro ATX on your list, sorry as John mentioned an ATX motherboard.👍

Sometimes it can be a bit of a squeeze with your cpu cooler, graphics card and ram slot area.

Good luck with what you choose. Enjoy.

@johnebaker @PATIENT-X @CubeAce

Hi all and thanks for your input. Since moving, I have changed suppliers to one nearby.

Please review and comment on the changes:

MB: TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS WIFI

This looks to be the same size as the previous one, but comes with WiFi, now a necessity for me.

Should I insist on a larger MB? ATX instead of M-ATX? If so, which one?

SIMM: Corsair LPX 32GB DRAM 3000MHz C15 Memory Kit for DDR4 Systems

Up from 16 GB.

I was not able to get a Samsung Evo 9.

I asked for more power, but still at 650W. Should I insist?

Thanks,

John CB

For example Rtx3080 and rtx3090 will draw 750w

I don't think that's correct.

This says it (and the 3090) draws a max of 350w.

https://www.theverge.com/22463608/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3080-ti-review-test-benchmarks

The recommended PSU is 750w (CPU draw is around 150).

I'd go for liquid cooling, something like this:

https://www.ple.com.au/Products/631818/Corsair-Hydro-Series-H60-V2-AIO-Liquid-CPU-Cooler?gclid=CjwKCAjwybyJBhBwEiwAvz4G7xWpFCsyumaZhWRl0yV4OgEAoGF86wPY5OgionDNLhlTUSCMWQ0mPhoCyB8QAvD_BwE

Easy to fit, plenty of space inside the case. Dropped my CPU temps from 95 at 100% to 50 at 100%. brilliant.

@browj2 @AAProds @PATIENT-X @johnebaker

I am going to disagree with Alwyn on both points.

Although official nvidia figures from nvidia state the power consumption maximum as lower, looking at reviews of real world testing by people I trust on such reviews has shown brief spikes that have tripped systems using power supplies as large as 500w. Those systems are normally also minimalist during testing using only one or two drives and no peripherals eating up extra current.

If VPX is using the same setup as MEP 2022 for graphics card use I have found my system to be most effective using my more humble nvidia 1650 super over the Intel HD 630 graphics chip when using 4K footage which it seems able to push much harder than MEP 2021 ever did. Heaven knows what it will be able to do with a 3060 card. As such the Intel HD 630 and CPU itself is mainly left on tick-over most of the time but occasionally depending on the effects in use the CPU will max out for brief periods of time. Even then my my heat pipe CPU cooler has never allowed my CPU to get above 47c.

While the choice of the newer CPU may have a much better integrated GPU I doubt it will out perform the nvidia card for processing and export but will still be useful powering a separate monitor for a full screen view while editing.

I keep a close eye on these things during my testing phases of trying out new program versions.

Ray.

@browj2

Hi John

. . . . Should I insist on a larger MB? ATX instead of M-ATX? If so, which one? . . . .

Yes, also re-read my earlier post above.

I am going to contradict @AAProds comment regarding a water cooler - avoid at all cost - they require a very specific mounting arrangement which is not achievable with a lot of cases and they are often fitted incorrectly which can results in higher failure rates and cooling issues.

A passive/active cooling system as I posted above is IMO much better - it is quieter and virtually maintenance free, the same goes for the power pack, mine is Corsair modular 850W passive/active system and most of the time the fan is off, only when power consumption rises eg when rendering does the fan come on and even then it is not heard as it has a 5" slow speed fan.

HTH

John EB

@AAProds @CubeAce @browj2 @johnebaker

Apologies Alwyn, I know they can draw 350w, but doubling up is always advised.

I agree with Ray on spiking.

More so with regards to possible instability and crashes.

A modern GPU can go from using nearly no power to suddenly spiking to hundreds of watts. That’s something a borderline PSU, or one that’s been driven hard, might not be up to the job.

Hence my recommendation of 750w or 850w in basically operating the whole Pc's components.

Stephen

Lots of good information above. I would opt for Win10 Pro because of the Sandbox that is built in. It will easily allow you to have a "virtual" Windows to test software. You do have to install the software in the Sandbox, and after you exit the Sandbox, everything done it is will no longer be there. Sandbox is a part of Win10 Pro.

AIO vs air coolers.... I've done both in my builds. Nothing cools better than a good AIO outside of custom water cooling loops, but if you are not going to overclock the CPU, it's overkill. Right now, I am using the stock air cooler for the Ryzen 9 3900X since I am not overclocking it at the moment. In my closet, I have an Arctic AIO waiting for me if I get the "itch". But for easy of maintenance, air cooling is the way to go. There are many to choose from that are excellent. What options do they give you?

Looking at the case, does it come with fans? It's important to have proper air flow in the case. You can watch any of Gamers Nexus reviews on cases and the results of proper air cooling that affects the CPU and GPU. Video editing stresses computer hardware. My computer build is a couple of years old. I'm using a Phanteks P400a case.

I have 32GB of RAM. It affords me the ability to seamlessly multitask while editing without worry. And since you mentioned "future proof", that would be the way to go. I'll have Brave, Paintshop Pro/Aftershot 3, and at times, more than one editor open, and depending on the footage, no slow downs, no worries for the most part about RAM running out.

The power supply recommendations are good. The price difference between 650 and 750 on Newegg is $10USD. My only concern is that it's not even rated for 80+ White. Don't scrimp on the power supply. It might not be able to provide the power delivery that is needed by your computer when under full load. It's a budget power supply for budget builds, which yours certainly isn't. Get a name brand (NOT Gigabtye) and an 80+ Bronze at least.

Hi Guys,

Thank you all for your input. I shall return to the supplier with the recommendations. Price is a consideration and I am close to my limit.

@Reyfox

Concerning the power supply, I didn't note the change in model.

Now: BA650-EVGA

Looking at the EVGA site, it is rated at 80+ Bronze. Would an EVGA 750 GT or G5 (compact size, all 80+ Gold) do the job?

Under ECO mode, the first one says "Auto" and the other says "Yes." I don't know what that means other than the same thing.

@johnebaker

I looked at Corsair, Modular, quiet performance - RM series - 80+ Gold. Is this model ok?

Also, there is RM ATX and non ATX (compact size) - Which one do you recommend?

MB: I'm lost. I looked at the TUF Gaming X570 Pro with AMD, but I presume that would mean an AMD processor.

For Intel, there are the Z590, the Z490 and H470, all with Surround Sound (not a requirement). Note that WiFi is a requirement. Are any of these acceptable?

Comparison chart

Will all of this fit in the case?

Note that I have not checked with the supplier for these, but they should be able to order them.

Thanks,

John CB

@browj2

Hi John

Some EVGA PSUs are equipped with a feature called "Auto-Eco Mode" whereby the fan will only activate if the PSU gets hot enough. This is distinct from other EVGA PSUs with (manual) Eco Mode, which have a switch to manually enable or disable Eco Mode.

Stephen

@browj2

Hi John

IIRC my Corsair powerpack is the RM 850 - cannot check as I am working off my laptop at the moment.

I had a bad experience with a 1000 W unit EVGA - it blew upwith quite a bang - after about a year and took out everything except the two BD writers which are still going strong - both by LG 👍

For the motherboard - first select your Intel processor and then select the MB based on the correct socket, I have had mainly Gigabyte motherboards with no reliability issues, the current MB one is by MSI, Gigabyte did not have a model that met my requirements, after 2 years I have had no issues with it.

If your case supports ATX motherboards then you should have no issues. IIRC it is is a midi tower slightly bigger then mine, the only 'squeeze' was the cooler as I showed in my first post above.

HTH

John EB

@browj2

Hi John

I have a Corsair power pack 750w 80 plus, it's super quiet.

Stephen

@johnebaker @browj2 @Reyfox @PATIENT-X @AAProds

Hi John CB.

My current power supply is a 1000w EVGA modular unit which replaced my Corsair CX650w unit which is not modular. It has been running without incident since October 2019. In fact I only ever had one power supply fail and that was a cheap one some time back in the dim and distant. I have had power supplies from Antec, Corsair and EVGA in the past with no problems. Then again I've never had problems with Western Digital drives while I know other people who have had nothing but trouble. I guess that is just the roll of the dice.

The only things I see about the two mini ATX boards is both only have two ram slots and support Gen 10 Intel processors and have less M2 slots. The Rog Strix Z590-E is the most future proof supporting Gen 11 Intel processors, has four ram slots and four M.2 drive slots and still has room for six SATA ports.

All the boards have Wi-Fi. The Z590-E board may have more audio channels than you need but the sockets can be internally 'rewired' and act individually. I find that useful to send different volume levels to different components and the quality sound wise is as good as any previous outboard device I have ever had.

IMO Don't whatever you do load the following software. Armoury Crate. Totally useless and eats up resources. Sonic Studio III and Overwolf Totally unneeded and keep popping up when you least expect them to with no real benefits for non gamers.

Good Software from ASUS. AI suite 3. Really useful for tuning and it is the only non Microsoft product I trust to clear up unwanted files.

I had always had ASUS motherboards and not one has let me down.

@browj2 I would opt for the 750watt bronze power supply. You should be good.

As for motherboards, here is the difference between the z490 and z590 HERE. It's connectivity and the latest USB3x. Don't know if it will allow Intel next gen CPU's to fit. Looking at it, and the CPU works in both, I'd personally opt for the z490 Plus.

Don't forget fans for the case!

Hi guys,

Thanks again for your valuable insight.

@Reyfox

Thanks for the link about the difference. They say that both accept 11th gen i3 to i9 Intel processors, but I don't see that on the ASUS site. They also recommend 11th Generation Intel Core i5 to i9 processors and 10th Generation Intel Core i9 processors. I am going for the i7-10700.

However, as Ray @CubeAce points out, "The Rog Strix Z590-E is the most future proof supporting Gen 11 Intel processors, has four ram slots and four M.2 drive slots and still has room for six SATA ports."

I am leaning towards the Rog Strix Z590-E unless there is a reason not to.

So, will I be happy with 32GB for the next 10 years, or will I have to replace the 2x16GB with 2x32GB rather than just adding 2x16? Hmmm.

Don't forget fans for the case!

The ATX COUGAR MX331 MESH TG (I don't know why they indicated TG as there is only T or G) comes with 1 rear fan. Should I get more? More = more noise?

@PATIENT-X @johnebaker

I will ask for the Corsair RM Series™ RM750 — 750 Watt 80 PLUS® Gold.

Lastly, I'll ask for Windows 10 Pro.

Getting closer.

Thanks again,

John CB

@AAProds @PATIENT-X @Reyfox @browj2 @johnebaker

The problem with only having two ram slots is you should really always have two sticks of ram running at once to take advantage of the dual channel performance enhancement. In turn if you need more ram with a two slot board you would have to replace your current ram with larger capacity sticks rather than just adding two more at a later date. Make sure you order two sticks of ram rather than them putting in one large one regardless of the number of ram slots.

I also like the MemTest86 function that sets your ram up for best performance and checks it for you on ASUS motherboards. Only needs doing when you add ram modules.

Ray.

@browj2 @CubeAce @Reyfox @johnebaker @AAProds

Hi John CB

My case has three fans at front, one at the rear, super quiet.

Stephen

@browj2 one rear fan is not enough to keep everything cool on the inside. You need front fans on the case too. What CPU cooler are you going to get? Intel's run hot.

I too would opt for four RAM slots. I have 32GB (16x2) and still have 2 more slots.

As for "future" proof... Adler Lake CPU's will probably not be z590 compatible since DDR5 support is what it is proposed to have. So your "future" compatibility will only be limited in expansion usage, and not CPU upgrade to the newer CPU's. Hence, my reason to save $100 and go with the z490.

I personally am using an all AMD computer for various reasons. Ryzen 9 3900X (12 core 24 thread), 32GB RAM and an "old" MSI Gaming X RX480 8GB graphics card because I refuse to pay current GPU card prices. I have several options to upgrade the CPU to a 3950X (16 core 32 thread), or any Ryzen 5000 series CPU when prices drop, and add another 32GB of RAM if I want. PCIe4 everywhere. But the next generation CPU will probably not work in my X570 motherboard.