New Pc Purchase Options

[Storm Linnebjerg]

I'm copying my thread from the Reaper forum into here. Perhaps it could be valuable for people to follow along with my decision here:

I decided to ask at the Reaper forum, as they are similar users to me. I've asked my gaming friends, but they tend to push towards gaming setup, prioritizing newer graphics cards etc. like the RTX3080 (around $950 here), which I don't think is needed for my use. See below for further detail

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Thread:

"I've been (un)fortunate enough to get a small sum of money from the insurance company due to theft. Nothing grand, but about enough for a good new PC. My old one (parts from late 2015 ish) is creeping towards the end of its lifetime and I'm looking to future-proof for a bit again (tend to run for around 7 years before upgrading). Currently on an i7 6700k, 32 GB DDR4 2400 mHz RAM, RTX 2070 Super etc. Given that the 6th gen Intels are not currently capable of running Windows 11, I'd be looking at buying a new PC or parts in 1-2 years anyway, which would mean motherboard, CPU etc. Thinking about grabbing the chance now and just making a big overhaul.

I'm thinking about skipping out on getting a new GPU and keeping my 2070 Super, as I don't game much*, and I think it should cover my relatively few needs and tie me over till i.e. a 3080 possibly drops further in a couple of years.

CPU:
CPU wise I'm reading i9 12900k could possibly be the superior choice to i7 12700k, but I'm also reading that the i7 should be enough for most users and that single core speed is more important. I'm able to fit either into my budget, as long as I'm skipping out on buying a graphics card and keeping my 2070 Super. That's of course not evening mention AMD options, but I'm not updated on that, besides maybe the 5950x or 5800x as an option?

Here's a bit about my Reaper usage:
I mostly run VST plugins for drums (Superior Drummer 3 and expansions), Trillian for bass, Omnisphere for keyboard, sometimes East West (Composer cloud) for other things, various vocal plugins and such besides individual plugins (Waves and similar) on busses, channels or master. Neural DSP, Bias and the like for guitars if I'm not mic'ing up my amp. I've already got a Steinberg UR816C audio interface that I'm quite comfortable with, so no need to worry about that. So the question is: Do I go i9 or i7?

RAM:
From what I understand DDR5 is still in its infancy and it might be worth it to stick with DDR4 for now, but I do see a few comparisons saying DDR5 has a tiny advantage over DDR4. DDR5 or DDR4?
I'd probably be looking at 64GB of DDR4 RAM or 32GB of DDR5. What would be the best choice here also in regards to future proofing - i.e. choosing a DDR5 motherboard or seeing how far DDR4 gets me?
There's also the possibility of keeping my 32 GB DDR4 2400 mhz RAM and perhaps adding 32 more.

Hard drives/SSD/storage:
I'm not overly concerned with speed, but of course it's always nice, so SSD or NVME? I've read about the newer NVME's like Samsung 980 Pro etc. Is it worth making that jump or is it overkill in terms of music production? Currently on a relatively small SSD for my OS (256GB) and older HDDs for everything else. I'd possibly get a 4TB storage HDD while I'm at it - or at first keep my 2+1 TB HDDs around.

Cooling, noise and case:
Is it worth going water cooling in terms of noise? What about case and such? Not looking for anything fancy RGB. Just plain and simple will do.
I've currently got a regular air CPU fan (arctic freeze) and a Cooler Master Silencio 550 case. Wouldn't mind upgrading the case while I'm at it and possible going water cooling if it's quiter etc.

Other not too important mentions:
Recently bought an ultrawide monitor which I'm very happy with - coming from a 2 monitor setup with a 1440x900 and an Aldi TV - to a triple monitor setup (previous 2 plus the ultrawide as the main one now), I'm not looking to upgrade my computer monitors.

If I have overlooked important parts and decisions feel free to suggest them of course!

Thanks!

EDIT: I made it sound like money isn't an issue. That's of course not the case. My budget is just below $2000 for what it's worth.

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*I do play the occasional game, but I think my 2070 Super will suffice (i.e. older retro games, but sometimes games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Witcher 3, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and such), but it's not a priority and I'd rather spend money on getting a good CPU etc. for music production."

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This post has been edited by Storm Linnebjerg: Sep 16 2022, 02:25 AM