Charlie IV is my 4th custom PC build and is used primarily as a workstation for graphic design. My main goal was a lightning-fast, future-proof setup that avoids bottlenecks and prioritizes speed and multithread processing, all with a minimalistic, zero-RGB look.
For the case, I opted for a white Fractal Design North mid tower with tempered glass. This is my second North case, where I used the mesh version in my last build (Charlie III), and though I loved the look of the mesh, increased dust and fan noise were noticeable. Additionally, heat dissipates through the mesh side panel, which could be problematic depending where you place your tower (mine is mounted under my desk, so the heat constantly venting on my legs was uncomfortable). The tempered glass version seems to mitigate these drawbacks.
Under the hood, I’ve got a Ryzen 9 9950X, RTX 5070 Ti, and 64 GB of G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-6000 RAM, all strapped to an ASUS ProArt X8790E motherboard. The OS and apps run off a 2TB WD_Black SN8100 while a 2TB WD_Black SN850X handles daily files. Archiving is done on 2 x 2TB Samsung 870 EVO SSDs (brought over from my last build) and backups happen on a 10TB NAS drive. This is all powered by a Corsair RM850X 850 W PSU with CableMod C-Series Pro ModMesh black sleeved cables.
To keep everything cool, I use a front-mounted Corsair Nautilus 360 RS liquid CPU cooler. The simple black design, quiet pump and extra-long hoses make it ideal for my setup, especially when using a extra long graphics card. For the radiator, I swapped out the stock RS120 fans for 3 x Corsair RS120 MAX fans to gain increased static pressure with lower noise. These fans are thicker (30mm) compared to the standard thickness (25mm) of the originals, but still fit fine in the North case. 3 x Fractal Design Momentum 120mm fans exhaust warm air out the back and top of the unit.
Thankfully I completed this build right before the global memory shortage started last fall, so prices for many key components, especially storage, RAM and my GPU were significantly less than they currently are.
See my complete parts list here: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/xzpH99