Build? Mini PC? Productivity + Light (4K) Gaming - Budget $2000

Lmonky on 01/02/2024 - 12:39

Looking for a prebuilt or Mini PC(?) that can do productivity during the week, and light (4K) gaming on the weekends. Budget TBD, happy to spend upwards of $2000 but I'm a brainlet in regards to computer hardware, so please be kind to me if I'm lowballing the price for what I want.

I work as a freelance finished artist and digital illustrator, and I've noticed many of the apps I use getting pretty sluggish, and I'm guessing it's the weak CPU performance paired with the normal, resource-hungry bloat all these apps have been gaining over the years (Looking at Photoshop specifically…)

I'm running two, 32" 4K(60hz) displays, so playing graphically intensive games on my current rig isn't something I can do without spending a lot of time tweaking game settings. But for reference, the nicest looking games I'm consistently running at 60FPS in 4K is Monster Hunter Rise and Overwatch 2, but really it's not a huge deal if I'm playing low settings, or with lots of DLSS/AI/whatever; Keeping a solid 60 fps is enough for me, too.

Specs of my current ramshackle PC I built for this purpose back when I was in university: https://i.imgur.com/KNhMbzn.jpeg

My current workflows involve software like Photoshop/Lightroom, After Effects/Premier Pro, Affinity Designer/Publisher, Clip Studio Paint and Blender.

Is it safe for me to buy any of the really appealing looking "Gaming" PCs that are uploaded to OzB every other day? Or will they suffer in productivity tasks due to being more gaming focused?

I have also considered some of the MiniPCs that get shared here, just for the productivity and space saving, but I feel like I would miss my dedicated GPU in a couple software workflows I use: I bought two of the BEELINK SER5 MAXs for my family for Christmas last year, and I've heard only amazing things from them as they use it as a daily driver — But I'm doubting there's enough power there for what I want to get done during the week.

Cheers in advance to anyone taking time out of their day to help out! :)

Computing Computer Mini PC

Comments

  • monky on 01/02/2024 - 12:46

    Another thing I hadn't considered is salvaging as much as I can from this build, and spending that extra money on a far nicer CPU/MB/RAM?

  • scrimshaw on 01/02/2024 - 13:23

    If you want a mini PC that can handle all those tasks you listed then you're most likely looking at a bespoke / custom build, not one of those deals that have been featured on Ozb. There's only been 1 ITX desktop listed which is OOS and not really have the specs you're looking for.

    • monky on 01/02/2024 - 13:30

      Doesn't have to be ITX formfactor, I was just weighing up the options of upgrading over buying one of those cute lil boxes

      • scrimshaw on 01/02/2024 - 13:35
        +1

        With those gaming builds they are focused more primarily on gaming performance not productivity (which in your case is more important).

        You can make do with a mid-range GPU but you might want a high end processor, to cut down on render times, applying VFX and exporting times in your video editing sw.

        You can recycle certain parts of your current PC, and you can even keep the GTX 1080 for rendering something else on the side while your main rig is busy doing something else.

        • monky on 01/02/2024 - 13:38

          With those gaming builds they are focused more primarily on gaming performance not productivity (which in your case is more important).

          Yeah was worried about that.

          How about getting a bundle like this and just throwing it in my current rig with a new cooler? I've got headroom on my PSU. https://www.pccasegear.com/bundle/201148/aorus-ryzen-7800x3d…

          • scrimshaw on 01/02/2024 - 13:42
            +1

            @monky: The general consensus is that the AMD 3d V-cache processors are gaming-first processors and sort of mediocre for productivity.

            The AMD 7800x3d are popular amongst gamers but in your case I think you should be chasing after high clock speed and possibly higher core count.

            That said, I'd suggest looking at benchmarks for the specific productivity software you use.

            • monky on 01/02/2024 - 13:45

              @scrimshaw: This is really useful info thanks. I'm trying to ozbargain this ideally, which is why I was looking at bundles; but you don't really save that much anyway.

  • jk82 on 01/02/2024 - 13:29
    +1

    yeah anything is going to be better than that xeon skylake you're using at the moment. Not much to salvage though other than your SSD's.

    I wouldn't recommend going a mini-pc with an APU (beelink etc) as I don't think it'll suit your productivity needs, and there's little to no room for upgrades there. You could aim for a small form factor PC but you pay extra for that small size. Are you happy with a "regular" sized PC?

    Also, do you want to build yourself and tinker and play? Or just get a new PC and be done with it??

    This is a killer build for a great price, but $500 over your budget - it would easily do 4k 60fps on the latest AAA's for years to come.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/829197

    Otherwise this would also be great and sits $1k less
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/826661

    If you want to select the parts and build it yourself you'll end up with a better machine, but obviously it'll take you time to research, and the know-how to put it all together yourself.

    I'm not familiar with Photoshop and graphics software so I don't know what CPU's are better suited to them though, so you may need to research that yourself.

    • monky on 01/02/2024 - 13:34

      Thanks for the tips! More than happy with the form factor I've got at the moment. I could realistically save my storage, case, PSU and GPU, since gaming is really not my first priority,? But would like to upgrade GPU in the future for better performance in blender/video editing.

      • BLAIL on 01/02/2024 - 13:43
        +1

        Those Mini PCs have a good processor - see benchmarks comparison https://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-amd_ryzen_7_pro_78…

      • jk82 on 01/02/2024 - 13:43
        +1

        Yeah for sure - you can definitely use that GPU for now.

        What form factor is your case? ATX I assume?
        How old is your PSU and how much power is it rated for?

        I'd likely look at intel CPU's if you're doing productivity work, but again - research that. I'd suggest an i7 13700K but you might find AMD equivalent. That also means a new motherboard, CPU cooler (I'd go an AIO) and new DDR5 RAM.

        • monky on 01/02/2024 - 13:48

          It's a Fractal Design Edison M, rated for 650w — And yeah, ATX.

          I'll start looking around, thanks :)

          • jk82 on 01/02/2024 - 14:02
            +1

            @monky: Cool! Couple more bits of advice. If you're going DDR5, the specific sticks you get need to be compatible with your mobo. Most are fine these days but you still need to double check (can be found on mobo manufacturer website).

            If you want to save some money the intel i7 12700K is still a fantastic CPU (so is the i9-12900k) so you could go that route - couple it with a DDR4 mobo and it will be a lot cheaper than 13th or 14th gen intel with DDR5, while still giving you great performance.

            That PSU looks like it's getting old. I would recommend spending the money and getting a new one. It's one part you don't want to cheap out on. Good ones can be found for under $200 anyway.

            • monky on 01/02/2024 - 14:04

              @jk82: Alright looks like I'm off to pcpartpicker then! Thanks again for the info.

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