Hello all,
I am a first-time PC builder who is a bit overwhelmed with mapping out my build. I am nervous about making an integration mistake (e.g., my motherboard ends up not having the proper ports for the various cords / devices) so I am looking for advice on a few things before I purchase parts. I used Logical Increments to get a baseline of parts (Extremist / Monstrous build) and then have been using Build Cores for compatibility, but I am open to other helpful tools as I map out the approach
Background:
· Current build: https://www.buildcores.com/builds/26yly_nH7?share=true
o Open to any and all feedback; don’t want to spend unnecessarily if it is not needed
· Budget: not particularly price sensitive, but would prefer not to go much over $5.5k in incremental cost (GPU, keyboard, mouse, and webcam have already been acquired)
o Already purchased an Asus ROG Astral OC GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB
· Peripherals / accessories I use currently, that I’d like to reuse here, if possible:
o Corsair SCIMITAR RGB ELITE Wired Gaming Mouse – Black
o Corsair K100 RGB Wired Optical-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
o Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam
o Dell WD22TB4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
· Typically work from the office, but do work quite a bit from home as well and want a computer that can handle connecting to our remote desktop so I can leave my laptop at work
o Work laptop seems to do well performance-wise—specs for reference include:
§ Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 9 185H (2.50 GHz)
§ RAM: 64.0 GB
§ GPU: Intel(R) Arc(TM) Pro Graphics and NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
· Work in finance but with large data files so need a computer that can handle that plus heavy AI usage
o No gaming, but I do stream movies
· Would like to minimize tower footprint and RGB as much as possible
Concerns / Seeking Advice:
· Monitors
o Would like three, 27” 4K-capable monitors. I am not sure which would be best given the number of options.
· Docking station /
o While I should be able to use the remote desktop, I’d like to preserve optionality and still have my dock so I can use the laptop if need be
o I would like to switch seamlessly between my PC and Dell work laptop
o I have tried to wrap my head around a KVM switch, which seems like it will be needed to do this? I can’t conceptualize the simultaneous Laptop à Dock à KVM Switch à Monitors, and PC à KVM Switch à Monitors setup.
o My concern is that the dock won’t be able to handle the 3x 4K monitors?
· Where to buy
o I have seen differing opinions on how to go about this. Seems like consensus is to avoid Amazon and try to bundle with Micro Center?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions / help. Happy to answer any questions—hopefully this made sense.