i7 Builds - Specs and Results

[CEMusic]

Originally Posted by EGS

Does that MB have Thunderbolt 4/USB 4? For that CPU/RAM build, you can skip the GPU (!) & spend that money on a bigger 4Tb internal NVMe drive and partition it.

The two TB4 ports were one of the reason for choosing this board.

[CEMusic]

Originally Posted by Skwaidu

I would always keep the OS on it's own physical drive.

Like I said on GS, the build looks quite good, although upping RAM to a mid-level higher XMP one is something I would do.

I would also get a separate GPU myself if only to drive 3+ screens, but it doesn't need to be fancy.

The system will be delivered as whole. I am ordering at www.mifcom.de.
I had selected a different RAM (6000 MHz) but their configurator said it conflicts with the chosen cooler. This was the only one that didn't give me a warning.

Does that system require a liquid cooler or do you think its not neccessary?
Is the Fractal Design Define 7 XL Case alright? Anything regarding cooling in that configuration that needs to be taken care of?


I probably won't need anything bigger than those SSDs. System and Audio will be on separate drives. I may consider a dedicated graphic card later. I am using 2 monitors right now and can't see that changing any time soon.

[Skwaidu]

Originally Posted by CEMusic

The system will be delivered as whole. I am ordering at www.mifcom.de.
I had selected a different RAM (6000 MHz) but their configurator said it conflicts with the chosen cooler. This was the only one that didn't give me a warning.

Does that system require a liquid cooler or do you think its not neccessary?
Is the Fractal Design Define 7 XL Case alright? Anything regarding cooling in that configuration that needs to be taken care of?

I have the Fractal Define R6 (non-XL), the same CPU cooler as you and I have tall RAM. I need to raise the front fan on the cooler a bit, but it all fits. Maybe challenge them on this issue - or ask them to find less tall fast RAM.

The faster RAM isn't really visible in mixing plugin counts (but it is on streaming VI use), but I did find PT to be noticeably more snappy on huge sessions after my RAM upgrade of 3200->4000 DDR4 - keep in mind that low CAS Latency values and the resultant RAM latency (i.e. CL in conjunction with MHz, seek an online calculator) is also important!

IMHO you don't need liquid cooling. I keep my machine on 24/7 for remote connectivity (using the MS Store PowerPlanSwitcher App to make sure I'm on Balanced when not working) and having it air cooled gets me some peace of mind.

You will leave maybe 5% synthetic multicore on the table with the NH-D15 (vs. a really good 360 or 420 liquid cooler), but IMHO it's moot in Pro Tools use. I have never seen PT go above 200W or so on the CPU, and the Noctua can handle that (normal sessions I do hover around 90 to 140W, and they are still large sessions).

[EGS]

Originally Posted by Skwaidu

... IMHO you don't need liquid cooling...

+1. I'm using air cooling on my 11th gen i9, with dual 120mm low db fans. For Pro Tools, I'm clocking all cores at a constant 5.1Ghz.

[Sugarnutz]

For cooling I'm a firm believer in the Noctua NH-D15 but to fit a 4 space rack chassis I used a Noctua NH-D9L on mt Z390 Designare/i9 9900K rig, no issues and quiet too.