After Effects & Blender: Puzzling out $3k - $4k Build

[ShawnH]

Greetings. Figuring out a PC for my edit addicted son (successful enough on social media to afford this himself! So strange.) USA/California.

I put this together: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6Mzfk

CPU: seems like the CPU most recommend is the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

GPU: I'm not sure which GPU is best. My son thinks the RTX card has greater compatibility. Based on Puget's scores is the AMD Radeon RX 6800 worth the extra from the 3060ti or 3070? Or try to find a 3080?

MEMORY: Does it matter if I do 2x32GB or is the (4 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo just fine? Will I want the slots if he increases the RAM? And what is "Fan Up-Shift"?

STORAGE: Three drives recommended? Most seem so but wanted feedback. Maybe a bigger one for storage that isn't solid state?

POWER SUPPLY: Is the 650W enough for future planning? Not sure

OS: does home or pro matter? I wouldn't think so.

Most of his time is in After Effects and Blender so I want to really get it right for both as his current gaming laptop is torturing the poor teenager. Any tweaks up or down for any of the parts?

 

[Jerry James]

Greetings. Figuring out a PC for my edit addicted son (successful enough on social media to afford this himself! So strange.) USA/California.

CPU: seems like the CPU most recommend is the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

At that budget, definitely. That's the CPU you should be considering.

GPU: I'm not sure which GPU is best. My son thinks the RTX card has greater compatibility. Based on Puget's scores is the AMD Radeon RX 6800 worth the extra from the 3060ti or 3070? Or try to find a 3080?

Well, the GPU shortages have unfortunately limited our choice. The best GPU for work is usually Nvidia because of its broader compatibility with professional applications. As for which one to buy, I'd say whatever (RTX 3070 and above should be okay in your budget) you can find at as close to the MSRP as possible.

MEMORY: Does it matter if I do 2x32GB or is the (4 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo just fine? Will I want the slots if he increases the RAM? And what is "Fan Up-Shift"?

Yep, it's better to leave open slots if you think he'll need an upgrade within a couple of years or so. As for the fan note, some memory modules have heat spreaders (covers) that might be tall enough to block the CPU's fan. In such cases, you'll need to shift the CPU fan on the memory side up by a tiny bit to fit properly.

STORAGE: Three drives recommended? Most seem so but wanted feedback. Maybe a bigger one for storage that isn't solid state?

Yep, that's correct. A large HDD for cold storage that you don't have to access often. And two fast storage drives should do the trick.

POWER SUPPLY: Is the 650W enough for future planning? Not sure

No, at this budget get at least 850W for high-tier single GPU use.

OS: does home or pro matter? I wouldn't think so.

Not really, but you can usually find used Pro keys on eBay and stuff for the same price so it doesn't really matter either way. Just get the Pro.