My build priority was to replace my aging original super-build, an i7 3930K 6-core Sandy Bridge system which I originally OCed at 4.6GHz. and has since declined to 4.0GHz after driving it hard for the past 10 years. The centerpiece of this build is a Dell Ultrasharp UP3218K 7680x4320 monitor and the RTX 3090 Ti graphics card.
If you get the significance of the Super II reference, you are OLD like me :-)
This is my ideal build for high-end imaging, 4K and 8K video editing, engineering work, and a little gaming now and then. I do massive gigapixel imaging for printed commercial indoor building murals up to many tens of feet often consisting of 100-200+ 45MP images stitched in large arrays. I also run multiple VMs, build and mine knowledge graphs, and much more. I/O performance is an important element, hence no traditional HDDs or SSDs aside from the external NMVe 4T SSD for on-prem static backup; I also archive off-premises. The Corsair HX1200 PSU is sized accordingly for the 3090 Ti and further overclocking. I didn't use a Corsair AX1200i in this build as I already have one installed in my older i7 build that I might yet swap with the HX, but so far the HX is whisper quiet.
I use an Epson 850V pro scanner to scan and proof large format 4x5" and 6x7 negatives when I occasionally shoot film. I still maintain a high-end professional traditional wet darkroom in addition to a digital darkroom; digital accounts for 90% of my work, but I still shoot film weddings for a high premium.
The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E WiFi 6E LGA 1700 PCIe 5.0, DDR5 motherboard automatically OCed the i9 12900K's best P-cores to 5.1 out of the box. I plan on custom OCing this CPU by individual core, optimizing the best P-cores, and then under-volt. The ASUS BIOS has unique analytics that shows which P-cores are best to drive at a higher clock rate and which ones to drive at a lower clock using BIOS-assessed per-core ranking - so I plan to overclock by core and see how far I can push the good cores using a per-core ratio limit while keeping the E-cores down around 4.0, then under volt the thing to drop the overall voltage consumption to drop the temps.
128GB of DDR5 5200 RAM might seem excessive to some, but when I get into heavy-duty imaging I'll often create a large RAM disk and copy the images into the RAM disk for the fastest possible performance. I use RAMDisk from Dataram to create and destroy RAM disks on the fly (an old high-performance I/O trick that still works today for those with ample RAM to do so). I love the Lian Li 011 XL-X EATX case. So much room and so easy to build. I did pull the rear hot-swap drive cages completely as I didn't need them at this time; that provided a lot of extra space for cable management with all of those interconnected iCUE fan controllers that drive the H150i Elite and 9 RGB iCUE fans.
The other build priority was an 8K, 10/30-bit display that covers 100% of the aRBG color space and as much of the ProPhoto color space as possible. I do use a high-end display calibration device as well for monitor/printer color matching. I like that I'm able to assign the specific color spaces of the Dell UltraSharp UP3218K 32" 8K Monitor application by application using the Dell utility - such as assigning AdobeRGB to PS and LR and sRGB to browsers and so on. The resolution looking at those big, beautiful, Nikon Z9 45MP images is simply stunning for precision editing - the attached smartphone snapshot photo cannot do it justice - you just have to see with your own eyes.
The Lian Li Strimer main power cable and the IngCool internal 7" status display driven by ADA64 is just for fun. I can't use a Lian Li GPU Strimer yet as the new 3990 Ti cards use a new 12-pin power connector requiring three separate PCIe cables to the PSU independently. For speakers, I'm reusing my old Bose Companion 5 speakers w/sub. it was the best bang for the buck with great sound unless I want to hook the system up to my existing pair of Bose L1 pro 16 stage speakers that can (literally) shake the whole house.
For my keyboard I'm sticking with my 35-year-old original buckling-spring IBM Model-M keyboard of which I have several; they just don't make them like that anymore for my tastes. The Strix Z690-E doesn't provide a PS/2-style port, but an inexpensive active PS/2-to-USB adapter saved the day. The last detail was to add an Orico Monster USB 3.0 PCIs card with 5 Rear USB 3.0 Ports and 1x Internal USB 3.0 20-PIN connector controller. This was needed to support the two bottom front-panel USB ports that are provided with the Lian Li case, but the motherboard doesn't come with the extra onboard 20-in internal port to support them.
Those of you that know my other "impossible "that can't be done" builds ( https://pcpartpicker.com/b/krYrxr and https://pcpartpicker.com/b/yJjcCJ will understand.
Full System Spec:
Monitor: Dell 8K UP3218K 31.5" 7680x4320 60 Hz Monitor
Processor: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor.
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i Elite
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z690-E
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR5-5200
Graphics/GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB FTW3
Storage/OS and Apps: Corsair MP600 Core 2 TB M.2-2280 NVMs
Storage/Data: Corsair MP600 Core 4 TB M.2-2280 NVMe
Case: Lian Li O11D XL-X ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair HX Platinum 1200 W 80+ Platinum Modular
Mouse: Logitech M510 Wireless Laser Mouse
Webcam: Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
Thermal: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste
Fan Controller: Corsair iCue Fan Controller Commander Pro
Fans: Six QL Series, Ql120 RGB, 120mm RGB LED Fans with Lighting Node Core
External backup: Portable SanDisk Professional 4TB G-Drive NVMe
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Power/CPU Cable: LIAN LI Strimer Plus
Keyboard: IBM Model-M classic buckling spring keyboard
External Optical disk: LG BP60NB10 Portable 6X Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Burner
Internal Status Display: Ingcool 7 inch Touchscreen Monitor
