Advice building PC for DFIR home lab + moderate gaming

[shrdlu]

Hello all,

I'm wanting to build a small-form-factor desktop that would be able to handle running a few VMs at once for a home-lab setup, and be able to play modern games at decently high settings. I'm considering getting into amateur video editing and rendering in the future, so it would be nice if it was good at that as well. My budget is somewhere in the ballpark of $2000

Overall, my main goals in this build are as follows:

• Can handle desired workload (running several VMs / running modern games)
• Linux-friendly
• Portable
• Able to upgrade in the future

Here are the parts I've chosen so far, and below are my questions.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor ($549.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML120L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650M-A WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($144.99)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($209.99)
Storage (HDD): Western Digital WD_BLACK 6 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.99)
Storage (SSD): Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($159.73)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99)
Case: Mechanic Master C28 KuFang mATX Chassis/Alumium/Steel/Water-Cooling/Temered Glass MATX/ITX Small Form Factor Computer Case (Vitality Yellow) ($111.86)
PSU: Corsair SF750 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($149.99
Total: $1866.52
(pcpartpicker.com link)

Firstly, this is my first PC build. I've done a bit of research choosing the parts, but if I missed something is there any obvious bottleneck I should upgrade or any excessively expensive part I don't need?

As you can see, I've gone with an AMD GPU as I plan to mainly use Debian (I might dual-boot into Windows for gaming or other Windows-only software that doesn't play nice with Wine), and from my research AMD GPU drivers are much more Linux-friendly than Nvidia. However, it also looks like Nvidia GPUs get a bit better performance for the price. Am I making the right choice here?

I've been annoyed at running out of RAM or storage in the past, so I figured I'd splurge a little and get 64GB RAM and a 6TB HDD for large file storage to ensure this wouldn't be an issue. I also got a 2TB SDD for the OS and other files I'd like to access quickly, since I know HDDs are a bit slower. Is this overkill?

Finally, as mentioned above I'd like this to be somewhat portable. I'm not planning on throwing it around or anything, but if I take it on a bumpy car ride or in a checked bag on a plane, I'm a little worried the HDD and water cooler might get jostled around and have issues, since those have moving parts. Is this a real concern, or are they pretty rugged?

 

[shrdlu]

Forgot to mention, I'm purchasing in the US

 

[Jerry James]

Hello all,

I'm wanting to build a small-form-factor desktop that would be able to handle running a few VMs at once for a home-lab setup, and be able to play modern games at decently high settings. I'm considering getting into amateur video editing and rendering in the future, so it would be nice if it was good at that as well. My budget is somewhere in the ballpark of $2000

Overall, my main goals in this build are as follows:

• Can handle desired workload (running several VMs / running modern games)
• Linux-friendly
• Portable
• Able to upgrade in the future

Here are the parts I've chosen so far, and below are my questions.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor ($549.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML120L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650M-A WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($144.99)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($209.99)
Storage (HDD): Western Digital WD_BLACK 6 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.99)
Storage (SSD): Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($159.73)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99)
Case: Mechanic Master C28 KuFang mATX Chassis/Alumium/Steel/Water-Cooling/Temered Glass MATX/ITX Small Form Factor Computer Case (Vitality Yellow) ($111.86)
PSU: Corsair SF750 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($149.99
Total: $1866.52
(pcpartpicker.com link)

Firstly, this is my first PC build. I've done a bit of research choosing the parts, but if I missed something is there any obvious bottleneck I should upgrade or any excessively expensive part I don't need?

As you can see, I've gone with an AMD GPU as I plan to mainly use Debian (I might dual-boot into Windows for gaming or other Windows-only software that doesn't play nice with Wine), and from my research AMD GPU drivers are much more Linux-friendly than Nvidia. However, it also looks like Nvidia GPUs get a bit better performance for the price. Am I making the right choice here?

I've been annoyed at running out of RAM or storage in the past, so I figured I'd splurge a little and get 64GB RAM and a 6TB HDD for large file storage to ensure this wouldn't be an issue. I also got a 2TB SDD for the OS and other files I'd like to access quickly, since I know HDDs are a bit slower. Is this overkill?

Finally, as mentioned above I'd like this to be somewhat portable. I'm not planning on throwing it around or anything, but if I take it on a bumpy car ride or in a checked bag on a plane, I'm a little worried the HDD and water cooler might get jostled around and have issues, since those have moving parts. Is this a real concern, or are they pretty rugged?

The build looks good to me if you're not doing anything too GPU-intensive. Any particular reason for going with that specific case? It seems pretty pricey for a not-so-well-known brand.

I'd definitely upgrade that CPU cooler, though. A 120mm AIO is more for show than any meaningful cooling performance. Probably opt for a low-profile Air Cooler or a 240mm AIO.

 

[shrdlu]

I did end up switching the case, cooler, and GPU out. Here's the new list, if you want to check that as well

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JJ46VW
- note: It says the case is incompatible with the motherboard. This is because the case is listed as only itx-compatible on pcpartpicker, but the actual case accommodates both matx and itx motherboards

I am a little worried about the cooling still, since the 7950X is supposed to run kinda hot. I'm thinking of switching the cooler to a 240mm AIO, but maybe I could find a better low-profile air cooler instead

 

[Jerry James]

I did end up switching the case, cooler, and GPU out. Here's the new list, if you want to check that as well

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JJ46VW
- note: It says the case is incompatible with the motherboard. This is because the case is listed as only itx-compatible on pcpartpicker, but the actual case accommodates both matx and itx motherboards

I am a little worried about the cooling still, since the 7950X is supposed to run kinda hot. I'm thinking of switching the cooler to a 240mm AIO, but maybe I could find a better low-profile air cooler instead

The 7950X is designed to use as much cooling as you can throw at it. It'll hit the same temperatures with most coolers, but you'll see better performance with better cooling. Noctua has some decent options (like the L9 you picked), but if you want to go the AIO route, Arctic's 240mm Liquid Freezer AIO is an absolute beast.