Workload
Video & photo
Timelines, effects, and exports love cores, fast storage, plenty of RAM, and a GPU with a hardware encoder.
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
A creation and compile chip that still games well — not the gaming specialist.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
The no-compromise 4K / AI card. Power, heat, and price are the cost.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
The last-gen king. Still elite at 4K and local AI if you can find one.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
The last-gen workstation Ryzen — still excellent for creators.
Intel Core i9-14900K
Peak LGA 1700 performance — and peak heat. A cooler is not optional.
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360
The AIO to beat on value — 360 mm of radiator for hot 16-core chips.
Intel Core i7-14700K
A strong creator CPU on a closed socket — buy it used, not as a new platform.
Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB
A fast OS and game drive. 2 TB is the comfortable modern size.
Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
A cooler, more efficient Intel — gaming is good, not the reason to buy it.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
High-end 4K gaming without the 5090’s power bill.
WD Black SN850X 2 TB
Same job as a 990 Pro — flagship PCIe 4 games and scratch disk.
Gigabyte X670E Aorus Elite AX
Extra lanes and USB for a 16-core / creator AM5 machine.
Noctua NH-D15
The air cooler that still beats many 240 mm AIOs. Huge, quiet, beige.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super
A proper 4K Ada card — 16 GB, strong raster, great NVENC.
Corsair RM850x
An 850 W Gold unit that will feed a 4080-class GPU without drama.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
The sweet 1440p/4K Ti — more VRAM than the 5070, less excess than the 5080.
Intel Core i5-14600K
The Intel all-rounder — games well, creates better than a 6-core Ryzen.
G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-6400 32 GB
Faster kit for Intel and tuned Ryzen. Diminishing returns above 6000 on AM5.
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Near-D15 cooling for a fraction of the money. The budget air king.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
AMD’s 4K raster hammer — 24 GB, great value when the price is right.
Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 32 GB
The default AM5 kit. 32 GB at 6000 CL30 is the Ryzen sweet spot.
Seasonic Focus GX-750
A quiet 750 W Gold — enough for 4070 Super / 7800 XT class cards.