Thinking about my next PC build...

02/27/2024 11:52:27 PM · #1

Current system is 6 years old (a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5-3600, ASUS MB, 16 Gb ram, booting Win10 from a 120Gb NVME SSD) and I'm starting to think about my next upgrade build. Usually the first things I buy are the case and power supply, as those are items that don't see fast price drops.

Looking for a case that has at least 2, preferably 3 externally accessible drive bays. For things like an internally mounted card reader/USB hub, HDD docking bay for easy manual backups, Optical drive if enough space and SATA support on the Motherboard.

I asked advice in the AMD builders group on FB and got a lot of advice from gamers that external bays are not needed, but I kinda like having them because of the versatile storage. Not a lot of cool looking cases these days with external bays, though. Will probably settle for functional and maybe put a wrap on it. My photo of my daughter welding would probably be nice on it. So far this Seta D1 from Silverstone is in the lead, but thought I would ask here and for any other suggestions the other PC builders may have for me on this.

I've usually gone with a lower end graphics card, as not a lot needed to push pixels around the screen (I'm not a gamer) but I understand the Luminar Neo I now use can take advantage of the GPU, so will probably aim a little higher on that component.

02/28/2024 01:27:19 AM · #2

I was looking myself to upgrade my PC to the current generation graphics card (I have now 2080 Ti, the current top Nvidia is 4090) but I decided to wait till I upgrade the motherboard as well. To be honest I did not have accessible drive bays for at least 8 years, I am not sure why you would need internally mounted card reader/USB hub as USB 3.1 is fast enough to transfer photos from a card and the current cases and motherboards can have up to 12 USB ports altogether (I have 10 now), I have also 4 USB ports on my Benq monitors, with 14 ports I don't need a hub.

I have currently 2 SSDs, main one 2TB, secondary 1TB, and 3 HDDs with the total storage of 26TB (they are nearly full). In my next build I am planning to put HDDs into an external enclosure like this one:
4 Bay Fantec
so I don't have to mess around installing them internally. For most I do on the PC I use SSDs, HDDs are only for backup and old stuff.

Inside my current PC there is an enormous graphics card that takes two slots, enormous heatsink with 2 Noctua fans on the CPU, Seasonic 850W power supply and the drives, I have no other internal cards. I am a fan of Fractal PC cases, my current one is Define 7 with glass windows to see the lights on the 2080 Ti, very cool.

Maybe rethink a bit your ideas? :)

02/28/2024 01:37:05 AM · #3

Originally posted by MargaretNet:

I am not sure why you would need internally mounted card reader/USB hub

Convenience of not having card readers dangling about.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

02/28/2024 01:50:47 AM · #4

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by MargaretNet:
I am not sure why you would need internally mounted card reader/USB hub

Convenience of not having card readers dangling about.

What about this case with in-built card reader:
Case with Card Reader

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

02/28/2024 09:52:09 AM · #5

I've built more desktop systems than I can remember, but I've come to the realization that I will probably never build another desktop system. Laptop, external monitor, docking station... done. Use Bluetooth wireless mouse and keyboard. Storage can be a challenge with a laptop, but many of the higher-end machines have dual slots for internal drives, so it is easy to buy one with a single boot drive and install a second drive for data. That is my current configuration; I have a 1TB main drive, and a 2TB data drive internally. Back-ups can be done to an external USB-connected drive and/or to the cloud.

02/28/2024 09:59:34 AM · #6

Originally posted by MargaretNet:

What about this case with in-built card reader:
Case with Card Reader

That has possibilities. I've added it to my list to look at in more detail, thanks.

02/28/2024 10:12:40 AM · #7

If I went with no external bays, I was liking this design by Cooler Master. It comes with some pegs to hang things from the vent holes and someone on Thingiverse has designed some 3D printable clippydoos than can easily be reworked to hold any external devices.

Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS

02/28/2024 10:18:09 AM · #8

Probably go with a Terabyte boot drive. I Can get a brand name 1 Terabyte M.2 drive for what a 120Gb of a lesser known brand cost me 6 years ago. The 120 is starting to get difficult to keep enough free space on.

vawendy

Sony Alpha 1

02/29/2024 10:43:44 AM · #9

I showed my expert your original post and he said this:

They've got their head on straight from what I'm reading at a glance. If they plan on fully replacing their last build they most likely don't need to replace the case and power supply, those haven't changed much in some time.
New cases will have USB-C on the front, but that's really the only difference.
Jumping up just the motherboard, CPU, and RAM while keeping the same GPU, case, and PSU is a fine step if they aren't set on a full replacement.

For future proofing, I definitely recommend maximizing USB-C ports where possible. A USB-C external drive is faster storage than a SATA drive slotted in.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

02/29/2024 11:32:34 AM · #10

Originally posted by vawendy:

I If they plan on fully replacing their last build they most likely don't need to replace the case and power supply, those haven't changed much in some time.
New cases will have USB-C on the front, but that's really the only difference.
Jumping up just the motherboard, CPU, and RAM while keeping the same GPU, case, and PSU is a fine step if they aren't set on a full replacement.

I considered that, but it would mean having my main PC down for an extended time while while I rebuilt and reinstalled all the software.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

03/01/2024 01:31:45 PM · #11

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

My suggestion:

On my 3 or 4 year old machine, I went for 1TB and it wasn't enough because you want LR to cache files on the fastest drive, and that's going to be the NVMe drive you boot from, unless you have two NVMe slots on your motherboard.

I upgraded it to 2TB WD Black NVMe in August, but I wish I had done a 4TB instead so I could give LR even more space. But 2 will do you better than 1 in any case.

The other SSDs on my system are not as fast--and LR is still too slow with my large library of 500K images (when looking for photos in the library, which means I am not just in one "recent" folder (hence needing a larger cache).

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

03/01/2024 06:56:08 PM · #12

Originally posted by Neil:

you want LR to cache files on the fastest drive, and that's going to be the NVMe drive you boot from, unless you have two NVMe slots on your motherboard.

Thanks for the info. The MB I am looking at now has two M.2 sockets. I don't use Lightroom, though Luminar Neo probably is similar in that regard. I like to keep my OS and applications on one drive and separate drives for files. I'll probably put another M.2 in that second slot and use it for photos. Currently have a 256Gb SATA SSD for current files.

In fact, I just spoke to MSI tech support to find out if using the M.2's takes away any sata channels on the board I am considering. (Many boards are configured like this) He said it does not, so I'll have 2 M.2 sockets and 8 SATA ports available on the board. I think this is the one to get. Only thing it doesn't have is RGB disco lights. I don't care about that!

Interesting thing I just realized: I am in the habit of buying my components for a build one or two at a time as I can afford to over a few months. Just realized I can afford to just buy the whole darn pile at once now!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

03/01/2024 06:58:52 PM · #13

You guys are making me glad I'm still using my old camera -- my "originals" are < 4MB ...

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

03/01/2024 07:25:35 PM · #14

Originally posted by GeneralE:

You guys are making me glad I'm still using my old camera -- my "originals" are < 4MB ...

Editing on an IBM PC Jr?

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

03/01/2024 07:33:41 PM · #15

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
You guys are making me glad I'm still using my old camera -- my "originals" are < 4MB ...

Editing on an IBM PC Jr?

Close ... Mac G3 (System 8.6)/Photoshop 5.0 for most stuff -- Mac G5/Photoshop CS2 for a few things. My main camera(s) are 6MP/17MB uncompressed ... I have one which is 12MP but I seldom use it.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/01/2024 07:48:28 PM · #16

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Close ... Mac G3 (System 8.6)/Photoshop 5.0 for most stuff -- Mac G5/Photoshop CS2 for a few things. My main camera(s) are 6MP/17MB uncompressed ... I have one which is 12MP but I seldom use it.

I've got 2 G4's with OSX sitting in my garage if you want an upgrade.

Message edited by author 2024-03-01 19:48:47.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

03/01/2024 08:01:03 PM · #17

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by Neil:
you want LR to cache files on the fastest drive, and that's going to be the NVMe drive you boot from, unless you have two NVMe slots on your motherboard.

Thanks for the info. The MB I am looking at now has two M.2 sockets. I don't use Lightroom, though Luminar Neo probably is similar in that regard. I like to keep my OS and applications on one drive and separate drives for files. I'll probably put another M.2 in that second slot and use it for photos. Currently have a 256Gb SATA SSD for current files.

In fact, I just spoke to MSI tech support to find out if using the M.2's takes away any sata channels on the board I am considering. (Many boards are configured like this) He said it does not, so I'll have 2 M.2 sockets and 8 SATA ports available on the board. I think this is the one to get. Only thing it doesn't have is RGB disco lights. I don't care about that!

Interesting thing I just realized: I am in the habit of buying my components for a build one or two at a time as I can afford to over a few months. Just realized I can afford to just buy the whole darn pile at once now!

I agree totally about separating the drives--unfortunately, I only have one M.2 socket on my PC. I do have a 5 bay external eSATA / usb unit, and I have about 36 TB of storage on it, including one SSD. But to get the speed anywhere close to the internal NVMe drive, I'd want an external one, and usb 3.1 2x2 for 20MB/s transfer speeds! I'm considering getting a card supporting usb 3.1 2x2 so I can add an external NVMe drive.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

03/01/2024 08:45:41 PM · #18

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
Close ... Mac G3 (System 8.6)/Photoshop 5.0 for most stuff -- Mac G5/Photoshop CS2 for a few things. My main camera(s) are 6MP/17MB uncompressed ... I have one which is 12MP but I seldom use it.

I've got 2 G4's with OSX sitting in my garage if you want an upgrade.

I think I already have a couple of those, from when I worked at the print shop. I could almost open a Mac museum (need to make an inventory one of these days!).

03/02/2024 09:37:14 PM · #19

Well, I think I found my case. A very cool Thermaltake model that looks like an attack helicopter (or a Star Wars storm trooper?). It doesn't have the external bays I wanted, but is semi open and has lots of cutouts where I could attach card readers and hubs if needed. I also found a 3D printable external drive case that I could print in a matching color and mount on top if desired.

It will hold a 3 1/2" HDD. but with dropping prices, I might just transition my 4Tb HDD to a 2 1/2" SSD. So I can have 3 SSD's on the back panel, plus a pair M.2 drives on the motherboard I decided on.

I decided to go with white, as my motherboard is all black without any RGB disco lights, so black and white would look nice together (Also, Amazon had a great deal on a new one with a damaged box). I'll probably get a white CPU fan and RAM sticks as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Message edited by author 2024-03-02 21:51:35.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/03/2024 02:49:41 AM · #20

WOW! That beats my current case by a mile! :) But what about dust and noise with this design? What motherboard are you getting and what CPU? Won't it be noisy?

I checked NVMe prices and I would go for Pro version as the cost difference is small and the read speed is double, see:
https://www.galaxus.ch/en/comparison/10339167-14679277

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

03/03/2024 08:23:20 AM · #21

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Just put a chain on it so it doesn't get a pair of legs and eat you while you're sleeping. ;)

03/03/2024 10:35:33 AM · #22

Originally posted by MargaretNet:

I checked NVMe prices and I would go for Pro version as the cost difference is small and the read speed is double, see:
https://www.galaxus.ch/en/comparison/10339167-14679277

I believe one of thos SSD's are in my wishlist for this build. The motherboard has 2 M.2 sockets, a gen4 and a gen 3. Plan on using the 4 for Windows and applications, the 3 for recent photo project storage.

I downloaded the manual for the case and it appears It actually has 2 more 2.5" drive mounts than I originally thought, so I can move over all my existing drives. But will still probably move the contents of my remaining HDD to a similar size SSD.

03/03/2024 10:38:24 AM · #23

Originally posted by MargaretNet:

But what about dust and noise with this design? What motherboard are you getting and what CPU? Won't it be noisy?

It is closed up well enough that my cat won't get into it. I don't think the noise will be much different than my current system. The glass side panels are on hinges so it will be much more convenient to open it up and periodically blow out any collected dust.

The motherboard I picked is an MSI Micro ATX with 8 SATA ports (2 which are probably disabled by using one of the M.2 slots) 2 M.2's, Wifi and several of the latest gen USB 3 ports (the red ones) CPU is going to be an AMD Ryzen 7. Probably a 5700 or 5800. I've always built with AMD since the 386/40 way back when.

Message edited by author 2024-03-03 10:43:56.

03/04/2024 06:58:28 AM · #24

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by MargaretNet:
But what about dust and noise with this design? What motherboard are you getting and what CPU? Won't it be noisy?

It is closed up well enough that my cat won't get into it. ...

What if it has babies? ;)