Overview / Usage

As a Mechanical Engineering student one of the most important aspects of design is designing with the human in mind. In this case I am the human. So the component choice in this build is by me for me. My PC currently is a multipurpose machine; It is a CAD station, light gaming rig, and home theater set up. While it currently does all of that, it doesn't do any of these jobs particularly well. My proposed build is built around the ultra-capable 12th generation Intel Core i9-12900K. The hardware I surrounded this chip with is based mostly on my needs. I hate noise and it is reflected in this PC. Every component is focused on performance and the reduction of noise. I also tried to minimize RGB as it will be disabled anyway. I took some inspiration from Linus Torvald's PC build that I read about as he also focused on minimizing noise. The end result is a quiet, capable, and adaptable PC that I hope to have the pleasure of building.

Methodology / Approach

The first step in my ideation process was identifying my need. I know I wanted a quieter PC and one of the most important components for that is the case. So, I researched different cases and organized different contenders in an Excel sheet with different attributes and features to compare. I landed on the Dark Base 700 due to the many features that this case offers, such as dampened vents and the capability for a 360mm radiator.

Next came the CPU which wasn't too hard of a choice the Intel Core i9-12900K was immediately a very attractive choice because of the amazing performance. For research on CPUs I watched the Gamer's Nexus video on this CPU. This channel provides consistently unbiased and professional tests of PC components and this video confirmed that this CPU was a perfect fit.

The GPU also came pretty easily as there are only a handful of cards to choose from. I went with the 3080 because this offers great performance for gaming as well as for CAD and CAD simulations. My current GPU architecture is too old to run the latest software. Being able to upgrade my software version would be a great leap in my designs.

In choosing the more minor components of this build I relied on the PC building community and tools built by the PC community to guide my product choices. In choosing my RAM I realized that 12th generation Intel chips support DDR5 so I chose a solid pair of XPG DDR5 sticks of ram for my build.

The motherboard I chose, ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero, was perfect for my needs because it can provide enough power to the CPU and has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This motherboard also has support for USB 3.2 which is a nice addition.

For cooling I opted for the PURE LOOP from be quiet! and additional fans from them also. These components work well with each other and all connect to the case though a controller so fine tuning fan speeds should be painless.

I added a Sonos Five to the build to supplement the home theater aspect of this build.

For storage I went with the Intel Optane 900P as this is a super fast drive not many people know about. For secondary storage I chose a SAMSUNG 980 PRO which will be fast enough for files I access less frequently.

I believe that every part chosen in this build is the best part for my uses and the combination of them into one PC would create a quiet, elegant, and powerful PC for years to come.

Technologies Used

Power Supply Calculator (https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator)

Excel

Intel Optane

Intel Core Series

User Submitted Benchmark Data (https://www.userbenchmark.com/)