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A Look Inside - Astronomical Build

Hello All,

you might be wondering why we're doing an even more expensive build instead of a really cheap build. This is because neither is realistic; if you get the cheap build, you'll probably end up replacing the parts within a few years; the expensive build will probably be unnecessary now and cheaper in a few years. The deciding factor was just that it's more fun to look at a ridiculous build. Enjoy!


CPU

We're going with the modest (jk) Ryzen Threadripper 3990X for our processor. Equipped with a dizzying 64 cores and 128 threads, this CPU is entirely impractical (unless you run incredibly advanced 3D modeling or are making a feature-length film) but super awesome. Rest assured that, paired with other nice components, this CPU will take your computer's performance through the roof. If you are unfamiliar with core amounts and want to know how ridiculous this CPU is, take the processor in a modern laptop, the base model Macbook Pro. It has an Intel's i5 four-core processor. So yes, this CPU contains 16 times more cores than a MacBook and 8 more than a capable gaming processor. Allow that to sink in. But also allow this to sink in: this egregious CPU costs $3800, or a good five times as much as the entire cost of our completed value PC build.



A brilliant scene in Minecraft, thanks to ray tracing.


GPU

The GPUs we chose had to be the best of the best, the cream of the crop. And the most awesome GPU we can find is the NVIDIA Titan RTX. This absolute unit includes 24gb of GDDR6 and 4608 CUDA cores. It's safe to say that this card can handle almost any game with ray tracing, and is so powerful you could use it for almost any task you think of, including AI learning and advanced 3D modeling. You could probably make a feature-length film with it. We're using four of them to maximize performance.


RAM

For the RAM, we are going with Corsair VENGEANCE RAM, 8x32gb DDR4. This ungodly amount of RAM will be more than enough to match the supercharged processor in this build. It runs at a stable 3000 MHz. Since there is no 256gb kit of RAM commercially available (for good reason), we'll use 2 of corsair's 128GB 4*32 kits. link


Motherboard

We're going with the ASUS ROG ZENITH II motherboard. It has the extremely fast Wifi 6, a TR4 socket for the CPU, 4 PCI-E x16 slots, 5 (!) M.2 slots for your SSDs, and even a mini SCREEN to flaunt your logos. It has 8 RAM slots and is COVERED in RGB lighting. Lastly, it comes with 13 four-pin fan headers, and we're going to attach a Y-Splitter to each of those to double the fan capacity to 26.


Case

For the case, we would go with the Corsair Obsidian 1000D. This case is so huge, it can fit literally 2 computers in it! It can fit a total of 24 fans in it, and is a triple chamber layout case, with a chamber for the 2 power supplies, a chamber for the main computers, and a chamber for the wires and drives. the 24 fans are placed as so: 8 on each side of the front radiators (for the graphics cards: total 16), 3 on each side of the top radiator (for the CPU: total 6), and 2 exhaust in the back. For this build though, we are only going to be using one of the computers that can possibly be fitted into this case.


Storage

If you got such an expensive machine, you'd need to store many files on it. Luckily, the motherboard comes with five M.2 slots! In each of those slots, we're putting in a Samsung Evo 860 2TB M.2 module, adding up to 10 terabytes of SSD Storage. And if that wasn't enough, we're also shoving in four Seagate Ironwolf Pro 16 terabyte hard drives, AND 4 of Samsung's 860 EVO 4TB SATA drives, bringing the storage total up to 98 terabytes!! The reason we can fit so many hard drives is the massive dual-chamber Obsidian 1000D case, which has room for 6 SSDs and 5 spinning hard drives. Another storage contributor is the fact that the motherboard comes with a special DIMM.2 addon that makes use of a separate DDR3-like slot near the CPU to increase the M.2 capacity from 3 to 5.


Custom Cooling

We've configured a custom cooling setup with Corsair's website. It uses Corsair's custom and award-winning cooling components. Check it out here! It comes with a custom water cooling system with a pump and reservoir, custom colored cooling fluid, and 11 fans.


FANS and LIGHTING

Because we need 13 fans (11 come with our cooling systems), we decided to go with Corsair LL120 fans, as they have the best synchronous lighting systems and are extremely reliable. To get the most cooling, we would buy four 3-packs, and a single pack. As our case already comes with the Corsair Commander pro lighting system to control all of our lights, we can plug most of our fans into that. But because we have so many fans, we need to get more of the Commander pro systems (2 extra would be ok). The Commander Pro has the power to control not only the lights but also the speed of your fans. We would also buy one of Corsair's lighting expansion kit, which comes with a Lighting Node Pro (An only-lighting version of the Commander Pro), and 4 LED RGB light strips. These strips are super easy to install, all you have to do is stick them on! They are magnetic, so if you want to change them mid-build, you can.


Power Supply

To power all of these high-profile components, you'll need an incredibly strong power supply - and here's where the Corsair AX1600i comes in. This is a fully modular, 1600 watt, 80+ Titanium rated power supply unit. The modularity will help with cable management and the wattage is almost the maximum you can safely draw from a wall outlet.


Peripherals

If you're willing to invest in such a gaming setup, you need peripherals to match. For the mouse, we're going with the FinalMouse Ultralight 2 Cape Town. This is the lightest mouse in the world, weighing in at an airy 47 grams. Its lightweight allows you to pull off incredibly fast "flick shots" and will be no hindrance to your reaction times. To prevent the cable from getting in the way, you should opt for a high-end mouse bungee, the Razer Bungee V2. For your mousepad, we've chosen one of the best mousepads ever made - the Steelseries QcK Prism XL. It offers precise tracking and comfort and is everything you need in a mousepad (that includes RGB lighting). For the keyboard, the best of the best is the Logitech G915. It utilizes Logitech's superb LIGHTSPEED wireless technology and offers features including an edgeless volume roller, per-key lightsync RGB, five macros, and excellent low profile mechanical switches. Next, your headset should be the Steelseries Arctis Pro. This wireless beast of a headset offers some of the best audio commercially available and 2 rechargeable 20-hour batteries. And lastly, to add a bit more flair to your setup, you should acquire the Razer Base Station RGB. It'll be where you put your headphones and adds extra USB ports for your keyboard and mouse.


External Accessories

The monitor you need is the HP OMEN X 27, with an insane 240hz refresh rate, and 1440p, an almost impossible combination at this time. For secondary monitors, we will go with 2 Asus rog swift monitors, that bring 4K resolution and 144hz refresh rate. For your speakers, we recommend the Razer Nommo Pro kit. This contains two Dolby surround sound-enabled speakers, a huge subwoofer, and an LED illuminated control pod. Additionally, the lights at the base of both speakers can be controlled with Razer Chroma.


Chair

If you are a true epic gamer, you have to have an epic gaming chair. For this chair, we are going with the DXRACER formula OH/FD101/NR. This chair comes with adjustable armrests, height adjust, recline to 130 degrees, a neck pillow, a lumbar pillow, and comes in a dashing red color.


Content Creation

If you're using this setup for YouTube, Twitch, etc, you need to get a few extra key accessories. The Shure SM7B microphone is a studio-grade option that will give your voice the utmost clarity in streaming or recording. The bundle we linked to also includes a great pop filter and a scissor arm for optimal positioning. The next item you should get for content creation is Elgato's 32-key Stream Deck. This is basically a massive bank of macros that you can use to do almost anything, such as play music, open up Discord, or start/stop streaming. Lastly, you'll want the Logitech BRIO, a 4K webcam, to make your face look sharp in streams.


Total List

Note: prices vary, especially now during COVID-19, all prices listed in USD

PC build:

(1) Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64-core - $3750

(4) NVIDIA Titan RTX - $10000

(2) Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 4*32 - $1370

(1) ASUS ROG Zenith II - $850

(1) Corsair Obsidian 1000D Super-Tower - $550

(13) Corsair LL120 RGB - $510

(2) Corsair Commander Pro - $150

(1) Corsair AX1600i - $430

(6) JBtek sleeved Fan Header 1-to-2 splitter, 2 pack - $36

(4) Seagate Exos 16tb HDD - $1600

(4) Samsung 860 EVO SATA SSD 4tb - $2600

(5) Samsung 860 EVO M.2 SSD 2tb - $1615


Accessories:

(1) FinalMouse Ultralight 2 Cape Town - $165

(1) Steelseries QcK Prism - $50

(1) Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED - $250

(1) Steelseries Arctis Pro - $330

(1) Elgato Stream Deck - $240

(1) Shure SM7B with Pop filter and scissor arm - $470

(1) Logitech BRIO 4K Webcam - $200

(2) ASUS ROG Swift - $2550

(1) HP OMEN X 27 - $650

(1) Razer Nommo Pro - $600

(1) DXRACER formula FD101 Chair - $289.99

(1) Razer Bungee V2 - $20

(1) Razer Base Station Chroma - $60


Without accessories: $25311

With accessories: $31186






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