PC Tech Thread

how necessary is the baby to the functions you'll use it for most

That's the thing... there is no "most" in my usage.

What I'm aiming for is a computer that will be extremely competent at heavy multi-tasking (and the Ryzen 5950x is a pure multi-tasker, it won't beat the top Intels or even a 5900 on single scenario items, but it will beat all other CPU on the heavy multi-tasking).

My default during a week day is:

• Video conferencing a minimum of 6h per day and on a Tuesday this is close to 12h per day (with a professional camera and audio setup, OBS and Reaper both running for the entire work day)
  
• On one browser I have 15 browser windows open, some running 20 tabs... I'm going to guess I have around 200 tabs open
  
• I also run 2 other browsers.
  
• An Ubuntu machine with a full dev environment runs in the background (primary OS is Windows and I run Linux in the background)
  
• Compiling code a few times per day along with the execution of test suites
  
• An hour or two of gaming in the evening (whilst all that other stuff still runs, because it's not unusual to pause a game, switch window and jump in to a meeting)
  
  

So that's the always present background multi-tasking... and because of OBS, Reaper, the video conferencing, and the browser... it's already a lot. Google Docs noticeably strains when I jump tabs and it needs to wake.

Then I have the occasional work load:

• Webinar production, video editing and transcoding, perhaps every few weeks.
  
• A few blu-ray rips and transcoding per week.
  
• Moving significant volumes of files back and forth (video and music).
  
• Photo batch processing, typically in the region of 20GB of photos after a vacation or something
  
• More intense compute projects, simulations
  
• More intense gaming sessions
  
  

What I'm trying to build is a machine that isn't the best video machine, or the best game machine, or the best compute system... but a machine good enough at everything to be a top 10 system for each of those... such that I don't have multiple computers which are specialist at something but aren't great at everything.

My gamble on a desktop of this price is that it will spare me buying 2 average / above-average machines in the same period of time that I own this... and that ultimately it will amortise better and prove to be better value, whilst also being a much better experience each day I use it.

The last workstation I had was a HP Z800 and I owned it for 7-8 years. The amortised value was far far better than if I'd purchased a new mid-range laptop every 3-4 years and even when I sold it, it was still faster than most mid-range things. I only sold that because a dual-Xeon is very power hungry.