New Build Hardware Recommendations for OBS

[ReadyToLearn]

Greetings!
My 10 year old Puget Systems desktop (Intel Xeon E3-1245 V3 3.4GHz Quad Core 8MB, 16GB DDR3-1600 ECC, Onboard Video) is aging (the hardware clock seems to have died, which is causing some issues), and it is struggling with some new things I am trying to do with OBS. So I am looking into getting a new build, hopefully something as solidly reliable and long-lasting (ie, I'd love the new build to last 10 years, if possible).

In addition to basic word processing and video conferencing, I also use this computer for light video editing (via CyberLink PowerDirector) of videos which I upload to YouTube. I record most of these videos (which are just me facing the camera and talking -- no gaming involved) using OBS, a Blue Yeti X USB mic and a Logi C920 webcam.

Additionally, I would like to use OBS to record audio and video of me while using the Virtual Camera feature to pipe the video (as it is being simultaneously recorded by OBS) to WebEx/Zoom for certain online meetings, presentations, etc. (which then will be edited and uploaded to YouTube). I have figured out how to set this up and have done an initial test, but this seems to be beyond the capability of this machine for the quality of output I desire. It can record a clear video image, but there is some periodic choppiness and lost audio at points in the recorded video and also during real-time (for the WebEx viewers) because the computer can't keep up (the CPU is too maxed out, and I have no dedicated GPU).

I also might be doing some YouTube live streams in the future, either using the YouTube browser software, or possibly OBS. Please note there would be NO gaming involved, only myself talking, gesturing. So I don't need gaming-centric recommendations.

Given that all of my recorded (or potentially streamed) content is just me talking I can't imagine ever having a need for 4K. Currently everything is recorded at 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Though I've been doing recordings with OBS for a year now I am still very much a noob. In my recent researching it appears that a decent GPU can actually help OBS a lot. If my current computer's hardware clock was not dead (and no, it's not a CMOS battery issue, as far as I have determined) I might see if I could just get an adequate, old GPU for it, as the computer is otherwise sufficient for my needs.

My budget is $2,000 - $4,000. Obviously, spending less is welcome in general, but not at the expense of reliability and longevity. I'm willing to spend for something that is likely to last me a decade (both in terms of hardware reliability and future performance needs). Since I've had such good success with my current Xeon build (with ECC ram) that is my initial preference (though I'm open to being persuaded in other directions -- I just want really solid reliability and longevity). Here are the relevant specs for a Velocity Micro build (that is ~$4,000):
Asus Pro WS W790-Ace Motherboard
Intel Xeon W3-2435 Processor, 8-core @ 3.1GHz (4.5GHz Turbo), 22.5MB L3 Cache
64GB DDR5-4800MHz (4 x 16GB), low latency, ECC, 1.2 volts
8GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming GDDR6

I much prefer Puget Systems because I know and trust them (I've just discovered Velocity Micro in the past few days), but a similar build with them is about $1000 more. I'm ambivalent as to whether that is worth the price (or if I can afford it). As it is, $4000 feels like a lot more than I would wish to spend.

If I abandon the Xeon direction (which for me is my imperfect proxy for ultimate reliability) I could get a less expensive build with something like an Intel Core i7-14700K Processor, 20-core (8P+12E) @ 3.4GHz (5.6GHz Turbo), 28 Thread, 33MB Cache.

What should I prioritize for OBS?
Is the RTX 4060 GPU plenty sufficient, or do I like need more powerful?
How much does CPU matter for OBS?
Any other recommendations, opinions, etc. are very welcome!

Thanks in advance for your time! :)

 

[koala]

Buy an ordinary desktop mainstream mid or high end computer. You will get best reliability (is "no crashes in years" reliable enough?) and much higher performance for less than half the money.

My own build from half a year ago is unfortunately superseded by the current Intel CPU generation (I have 13, current is 14), so I cannot recommend that any more, but that kind of composition might serve as starting point for own research.

Important is a certain balance among the components. Your Xeon system contains super expensive server hardware, yet it has less performance than desktop hardware. That's not balanced. You buy expensive ECC RAM - simply not necessary. It might be useful for server usage with 1 TB RAM or more in data center environments, but small desktop amounts of 32 or 64 GB RAM doesn't need ECC.

My desktop mainstream setup contains an Intel Core i5-13600K, 32 GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM, Nvidia RTX 4070, Asus mainboard with B760 chipset (the middle Intel chipset, not the gamer/overclocker's high end chipset). Additionally 2x 2 TB SSD (Samsung).
I consider this setup balanced - every part has somewhat matching price class, or with other words price/performance ratio. Nothing too cheap and underpowered, nothing unnecessarily high end with no actual return.

Total cost at the time: CPU 350 €, SSD together 260 €, GPU 660 €, Motherboard 170 €, RAM 120 €, case 130 €, CPU cooler 75 €, power supply 120 €, total about 1900 €.
At the time, the 13600K was the best price/performance CPU in that performance class.

CPU performance according to cpubenchmark.net: 38276 (your super expensive Xeon has only 26943 - mediocre for that price)
GPU performance according to videocardbenchmark.net: 26870

The RAM runs at 4800 MHz fine, I've yet to encounter a crash. Not a single crash or even issue yet since I bought that half a year ago. Windows 11.

 

[ReadyToLearn]

Buy an ordinary desktop mainstream mid or high end computer. You will get best reliability (is "no crashes in years" reliable enough?) and much higher performance for less than half the money.
...

Thanks, that is really helpful advice! I think I have been too cautious/paranoid on the reliability element (because of past computer issues, many years ago...and because I do genuinely rely on my computers quite a bit).

If I go with a more mid-range build like you're suggesting (which certainly would work better for my budget!), is something like the 8GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming GDDR6 sufficient for what I've described wanting to do? Or would even a 4GB PNY NVIDIA Quadro T400 Workstation Video Card be fine?

A variation on the above that has occurred to me is wondering if I could use my home computer (9 years old, Intel Xeon E3-1246 V3 3.5GHz Quad Core 8MB, 32GB DDR3-1600 ECC, GeForce GT 640 PCIe 3.0 x16 [GK107, Kepler, I think]) for the office (and then replace the home computer, of course)?

I'm still very much learning the parameters of what is essential for OBS functionality (particularly the goals I've laid out above), where the limits are, etc. Any guidance from you or others regarding the above options and how well (or not!) they would work for my goals would help me start to hone in better.

Thanks again! :)

 

[koala]

If you buy such an expensive new computer with a current CPU generation, you should buy the current GPU generation as well. A Quadro T400 is 2 generations back (same as RTX 20x0). So yes, some RTX 40x0.

However, for the workloads you intend (office work, webcam recording, light video editing, streaming) such a computer I presented is vastly overpowered, especially if you want to stick with 1920x1080 instead of using more state of the art resolutions such as 2560x1440 and higher.

I guess you also have only a single monitor. Some people do all this with just a laptop below 1000 €. A desktop computer would cost even less. Current good and still not high end laptops have double and triple the performance of your old Xeon. Use cpubenchmark.net to compare the performance of your old system with candidates for your new system.

With such a office workload, especially no gaming, you can try and go with the integrated iGPU of the Intel processor (make sure the CPU includes one, and the motherboard supports it).
If you're not satisfied with the GPU power, you can buy a discrete GPU later. Use videocardbenchmark.net to compare common current GPUs and candidates for your system.

With the benchmarks sites I mentioned, use the lists that sort by performance or by best value / price performance. Ignore entries from unwanted vendors and outdated chip generations, then choose the one with the best price/performance ratio. Don't be afraid to buy a system that's under 1000 € in the end.

The performance bottleneck on your old system is probably not having a SSD (the single most performance boost ever) and the outdated GPU.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

@koala is saying the same thing I'm thinking.
And yes - SSD makes HUGE difference, though on a system that age, looking at SATA SSD, unless you get a PCIe (likely v2, not 3) add-in card to add NVMe... but limited by PCIe bus, but still way faster than old SATA... but, not worth putting any money into that old system.

Your workload description does NOT call for an upper-end workstation build, as already observed. My 3yr old business class desktop for OBS Studio Streaming with an i7-10700K and a GTX 1660 Super would be overkill for what you describe (it can easily handle lower-end 4K video). I'm looking at a new workstation myself to replace my primary computer (a similar aged to yours, Dell Precision T3500 with a Xeon). However, I tend to run virtualized Windows operating systems (2,3,4 at a time), and am planning 4K video editing. And I'm looking in a budget range you mention in your original post.. and that will be plenty for me. but that means complete overkill for you.

I have, and like workstation class computers, but you aren't really getting that much extra over solid business class system (some slightly better components and extra QA, but at a material price premium). Some workloads typically need full access to system hardware (ex real-time video encoding) ... but for the rest, the way I deal with reliability is to virtualize. So when my 10 yr PCs power supply went up in smoke, I took my SSDs out of that PC and put into a spare PC, updated virtualization software, and I was up and running. Go on a trip, copy VM onto laptop. easy peasy... and much cheaper

I am familiar with Puget Systems (got a quote, get their newsletter, read their blogs, etc). They create custom builds tailor-suited for certain workloads, and if in a professional setting, that can be valuable... for typical compute use, you are paying a significant price premium for their parts compatibility knowledge, build testing and ongoing support. You can achieve a similar build quality and support (almost) for a lot less from a Tier 1 business class PC. I avoid consumer computer gear whenever practical. You can get 5 yr same day, next day, next business support, etc.
As long life means at some point, either Win11 or next version, which is likely to have similar motherboard requirements, meaning best to avoid older systems. If not a rush, I'd be inclined to spec out an Intel 14th gen system (my old approach was value with i7s, which I'm inclined to stick with, but latest CPUs and your lower compute needs means some upper-end i5 class system... but for slight premium getting i7-class probably makes sense for longevity.)
- One consideration is how you move video files around and do general backups. I mention this as with 4K video, and not running 100GbE at home, I'm looking for a system with Thunderbolt/USB4 (~40Gb/s data transfer rate) ... Getting TB4 on a front panel on a desktop can be a challenge from Tier 1 vendors.. and for reasons alluded to above, I'm preferring to avoid custom. I mention this, as USB4 is relatively easy to find on Intel systems vs AMD (which is much more power efficient per amount of compute, but system software can be problematic).
- another consideration I'd recommend, if buying a system with an extended warranty, if to get an oversized power supply now, so if/when you upgrade the GPU later, you don't have to swap out PSU at same time
- as for GPU, RTX 4xxx is overkill for 1080p, BUT includes AV1 which in a few years (3+?? is likely to replace H.264/H.265 as predominant standard for general use ... I'm specifically not referring to streaming). The challenge is that RTX 4xxx is first gen with native AV1 encoding... and I like to avoid bleeding edge... so, saving money now, getting a prior gen GPU (or system with iGPU as koala recommends, which I agree with), and upgrading GPU years later for a 3rd or 4th gen AV1 encoder (when you find that a desirable capability) may make financial sense (but really can go either way)
what is likely to happen is if you don't have 4K TVs now, within 5+ years that becomes likely, and then when you go to share a video, and not watching by yourself on your computer (if that is a thing for you), you are likely to want current standard video encoding standard, and higher resolution

As to hardware for OBS Studio... 1. what koala said. 2. it depends. Depending on your OS and OBS settings, you could bring a $5K+ dual CPU workstation to its knees. Or, you could have a $1K system doing 1080p and barely working at all (CPU and GPU in single digit % utilization range). Some plugins take a LOT more CPU that others (chromakeying, noise reduction (depending) etc... it really does just depend). Yes, a GPU for hardware video decoding and encoding offload from CPU make make a big difference, BUT that applies when CPU is really busy. or depending on a CPU and video encoding selection. But typical H.264 1080p std color depth encoding can easily be handled, when not running other CPU intensive workload, on latest mid-range of higher CPU (or iGPU) without a problem.
If you design your system to handle the video editing, your OBS Studio Streaming needs are likely to be fully covered
also, workstation class GPU sometimes makes sense, from a support perspective, for things like Premier Pro or DaVinci Resolve, in a professional setting. You haven't mentioned using a video editor or other real-time video encoding application that has hardware vendor certified support configuration such that workstation GPU would apply, and a consumer GPU or even iGPU will still be overkill for the use case your described. I'm looking at a higher-end GPU (than 4060 8GB) only because I intend to use DaVinci Resolve Studio Edition, and 4K editing. FYI, for Resolve, the low-end recommendation for 4K editing is a GPU with 8GB VRAM... complete overkill for 1080p
- random motherboard observation... PCIe v4 was always only ever going to be a interim short-life standard. So if targeting a long life PC, I'd advise looking at making sure to get a system with PCIe v5 mobo (again, complete overkill now, but in 5+ years???)
- finally, with a little shopping around, and NOT ordering a just released high-demand CPU, means you can typically easily get/find nice discounts on business class systems

 

[ReadyToLearn]

Thanks so much, @Lawrence_SoCal and @koala -- I'm trying to take your advice into account! Before I get to my latest build possibility, I should clarify a few things.

For my purposes 1920x1080 feels quite sufficient. I'm just doing "talking head" videos, and I think most people are viewing these on their smartphone (or maybe tablet or laptop). So unless I get into producing some kind of content that would benefit from higher resolution (which I have no inklings of doing, currently) I see no utility in upgrading to 4K until it is absolutely required (eg, by YouTube). Nothing against 4K, of course -- I just don't think viewers need the kind of visual fidelity that would let them count my nose hairs, LOL.

My monitor is an old (but perfect for me) Asus MS227N 22" LCD:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/670982-REG/ASUS_MS227N_MS227N_22_Ultraslim_Widescreen.html

Also, I do have a Samsung 850 EVO SSD in my current Xeon build that I record to, so I don't think that is necessarily the bottleneck. As I said earlier, I can do straight recordings fine. But when I did my test using the Virtual Camera, WebEx/Zoom and simultaneously recording it was too much for the system.

And I have a Synology NAS I use for longterm data storage.

Regarding video editing, it is nothing fancy: I use CyberLink PowerDirector and mostly I'm just doing crossfades at the beginning and end. However, an upcoming project will be a tiny bit more advanced with my adding in some kind of visible audio waveform for when online meeting participants were speaking (their video will not be recorded, only audio). But still I think that is pretty basic compared to what you probably think of (given your mention of DaVinci Resolve, etc).

So here is the latest build I am considering, from Velocity Micro (the +$ are indicative of what I'm paying to upgrade a particular feature from base offering):

• 850 Watt EVGA SuperNOVA Power Supply, 80Plus Gold Certified, > 90% efficiency (+$80.00)
• Asus PROART Z790-CREATOR Intel Z790 based chipset (has PCIe 5.0), ATX (+$220.00 upgrade from Asrock Z790 Taichi Lite)
• Intel Core i7-14700K Processor, 20-core [8P+12E] @ 3.4GHz [5.6GHz Turbo], 28 Thread, 33MB Cache (+$195 upgrade from Core i5-13600K base option; or could do +$45 for Intel Core i5-14600K Processor, 14-core [6P+8E] @ 3.5GHz [5.3GHz Turbo], 20 Threads, 24MB Cache).
• Memory 32GB DDR5-5200MHz (2 x 16GB), low voltage
• 4GB PNY NVIDIA Quadro T400 Workstation GDDR5 Video Card (base; could do +$150 for 8GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Gaming GDDR6; or +$190 for 8GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming GDDR6
• 500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive - 4700MBps Read/1900MBps write speed

Total build will come to around $2750 (pre-tax, so probably ~$3,000 final). While I'd love to be more around $2,000 I feel like the above will hopefully last me 10 years (the motherboard, in particular, I upgraded for that reason). I go back and forth on whether to bother with the i7-14700K or just do i5-14600K. Obviously both are more than I need right now, but the point is longevity (again, aiming for 10+ years, and the requisite Windows upgrades and what not).

Based on what you all are indicating about what my OBS needs indicate, I lean toward just doing the base GPU (the 4GB PNY NVIDIA Quadro T400). If I'm understanding you all correctly it should definitely be capable of what I'm wanting (particularly the simultaneous use of virtual camera piped to WebEx/Zoom, recording my video and audio, and recording the online meeting participant's audio). And like adding more memory, or replacing the hard drive, I can easily swap in a better GPU down the road if needed (eg, if/when YouTube requires AV1).

Back in the day Puget had some more affordable product lines (eg, I paid $1,500 total, after sale discount and plus shipping/tax, for my current office Xeon build) than they do now. Thoughts/opinions on Velocity Micro? They're running a sale currently (ends in a few days) so I can get a $100 discount, free shipping and a 2nd year of warranty. Or is there a different vendor(s) you'd recommend I check out? Who are the Tier 1 vendors (with the mentioned 5 year business support options) you recommend? I used Dell decades ago and then swore off them after some frustrating experiences. Then I built my own for a while, and then switched to Puget for the past ~15 years. One thing I have not mentioned is I definitely want a quiet system, as I am doing my recording right next to the tower (my webcam and USB Yeti mic both plug directly in, of course).

Your virtualization idea is interesting, and I'll have to think more about that and it would make sense for my situation. I've done very little with VMs -- I mostly had several VMs many years ago so that I could test my website in different versions of Internet Explorer (ah, those were the days, LOL).

Thank you, again, both of you, for all of your excellent input -- you are helping me better understand and think through all of this, which I greatly appreciate. :)

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Regarding YouTube and 4K.... agree on no need for extra resolution. however... if people finding/searching you out, then no worries. But if not already true, I suspect at some point 4K videos will be recommended before lower res videos... just something to consider.

You mention Recording got SSD now... good. Hopefully OS drive is SSD, as OS boot drive get lots of Disk I/O, regardless, so my approach is to have boot drive be SSD, record to that, and then move videos to Archive SSD afterwards (when performance is a non-issue)... leaving LOTS of spare space on SSD for wear leveling, etc

Beware - using OBS' Studio Mode is 2X the rendering workload, so if you don't need it (I don't), turn off Studio Mode to reduce system workload

That seems like a REALLY high price for what you are getting. like 2X+ ... in part why I don't build my own.
I've had some real doozies with Dell as well... My Dell UltraSharp LCD was an expensive mea culpa on their part 20 years ago (with a few dead pixels, monitor is still going strong ... though I did get a nice 32" monitor during lockdown as my home office desk didn't have space for dual monitor). Fortunately, since then, I've worked for some good since international enterprises, and each was a named account at Dell, so when I ran into some real bone-headed maneuvers on Dell's part over the years, I could escalate (and did, to VP level once) to get them to do the right thing. In my line of work, I saw most major PC OEMs screw-up royally. So, as much as I have reason to swear off Dell, I still use them a lot. I like some of the Optiplex line, I'm typing this on a Precision, and I've had Latitude's and mobile Precisions as well. I tend to prefer the engineering with HP workstations, but HP has some serious ethical issues as well (thinking printer stuff at the moment)... all about choosing amongst the least bad option ;^) ... I've been researching and really like the AMD CPU stuff Lenovo is doing, but there are some issues, and I can't get Lenovo to respond, unlike Dell and HP... So Dell Precision or HP Z line-up is my go to, unless a specific requirement I can't meet with vendors motherboard line-up. Sorry - no thoughts on Velocity Micro.
SSD prices are low at the moment. I wouldn't get less than 1TB, and with decent 2TB drives under $100, I'd probably skip even 1TB drives. My Our OBS streaming rig has a 256GB boot drive, and then more drives for data and other. My ancient home Precision has 3 SSDs installed.

Another thought.... expecting a video editing rig to last 10 years is ... not really reasonable... the tech moves too quickly. Again, I have numerous 10+ yr old PCs in my house. so I totally get value of buying quality and making it last. But, expecting 10 years life out of a new video editing rig seems like a real stretch to me. Video editing is one of the more computationally intensive tasks you can ask of a computer. Just something to consider. If seriously considering $2.5K for that system, I'd suggest spending $1K now on a 12th or 13th gen Intel workstation (prior year model, so-to-speak), and upgrade in 4 or 5 years, and still be ahead of the game. And I mean true workstation build system... (above business class, and well above consumer build quality testing, certification, etc)
For me, after getting my new workstation (soon, hopefully) upgrading to a new computer would involve re-installing Photo and Video editing s/w, and configuring virtualization s/w (been using VMware Workstation for 20 years) then copying over VMs for email, finance, taxes, test/play, etc. no gaming.. the point being that a new computer is a non-issue.. a few hours to set up just the way I like.
- so just a counter-point... one can make upgrading a relatively painless process... so spending a lot for a long life powerful system isn't necessary (or maybe even prudent).

As for Recording with Mic next to tower... I'd look into a sound barrier or s/w noise cancelling (but your 'fighting the current' at that point). I too can't stand a loud fan, but there are easy, inexpensive ways to deal with whatever you end up with.

 

[ReadyToLearn]

I really, really appreciate all that you're sharing and these various helpful challenges, etc. -- It is exactly what I'm needing (in addition to the technical input about OBS requirements, etc.). You're giving me a lot to chew on. :)

I hear you regarding price, and tend to agree. But I also feel so much resistance to Dell, etc. (though I will say my one Dell monitor at home is going strong for over 15 years now). I also just did a quick and dirty plugging in of a similar list of components (trying to make the same or a comparable build, just for a quick comparison) at Micro Center (a PC builder I've heard about online and within driving distance of me -- basically you pick your components and they build it, but there's minimal support after, I think) and the price was coming out to ~$2,000 pre-tax. So in that regard the question is whether it is worth ~$750 to me to have a 2 year warranty, a more thorough build and burn-in process and lifetime tech support (from Velocity Micro)? I don't know -- I've got to sit on it some more (and I will do some looking at Dell and HP).

Beware - using OBS' Studio Mode is 2X the rendering workload, so if you don't need it (I don't), turn off Studio Mode to reduce system workload

So I went through a whole series of reactions to the above. First I was like, holy sh*t!!! -- maybe I was doing this and so maybe my existing Xeon build could still work (though I'd still have the issue with the dead hardware clock and the impact on WebEx/Zoom meetings). But I just remoted into that machine and opened OBS and I don't usually use Studio Mode (Studio Mode is where you have the Preview on one side and Scene on the other, right?). I do, however, have the main Scene displaying my camera view at full resolution. The reason is that normally when I'm recording myself for later upload to YouTube I will look straight at my own recording, nearly full screen. So that was still going in the background when I was using the Virtual Camera, and then the computer, of course, is rendering the same content again within WebEx, plus OBS is recording the camera stream (+ audio streams).

 

[ReadyToLearn]

@Lawrence_SoCal regarding VMs, don't you have to pay for a OS license for each instance? Do you ever run into issues of the OS license in the VM somehow getting locked to particular hardware (which would then defeat the purpose of easy mobility that you've described)?
I'm still percolating on everything you shared about how you do things....

 

[ReadyToLearn]

In the vein of seeking more affordable options, I'm looking into Ironside Computers (who remind me a bit of Puget in their early days):

Customize an Intel Prebuilt Gaming Computer – Ironside

Unbeatable single core speeds at industry leading affordability. If you're looking for an Intel prebuilt gaming computer, look no further. %

ironsidecomputers.com

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

(Studio Mode is where you have the Preview on one side and Scene on the other, right?)

That is what I was referring to, yes

Beware remoting (RDP) into machine with OBS Studio... does stuff in regards to graphics that can have unintended consequences with OBS Studio (way Windows OS handles such RDP sessions).

regarding VMs, don't you have to pay for a OS license for each instance? Do you ever run into issues of the OS license in the VM somehow getting locked to particular hardware (which would then defeat the purpose of easy mobility that you've described)?

OS licenses of VM... well it depends. There are some OS (host licenses) that don't require guest VM Windows OS licenses... or at least used to. Then there were programs back in the day (remember TechNet). I'll stay out of the minutiae of M$ desktop OS licensing in a VM (especially if migrated from hardware that has been decommissioned)... there are legit ways to get additional OS licenses for cheap, if needed.
I tend to run Win10 Pro nowadays (and some Linux test VMs, and some older restricted use Win7 VMs), and no, those VMs are not hardware locked to a host machine. Now, to be fair, in this desktop OS scenario we are discussing, I've only moved VMs around various Intel CPUs (from old i7 to Xeon and back, to laptop U model, etc)... no issue ever... BUT, I've also kept the VM hardware level a bit older (as started on old PC/motherboard, and I don't need any of the newer features, yet. I also limit VM to not have all CPU cores/RAM/etc (not needed for email/browsing, word processing, finance s/w, etc) to facilitate moving VMs around to hardware with different resources).. so maybe that has helped?? not something I ever had to deal with / look into ... fortunately. My main VM is probably close to 15 years old, been on numerous computers, OS upgrade from 7 to 10, etc. nice and stable, no issues (granted, I do know how to properly manage such a system)
As for resistance to certain vendors... I get it.. I rationalize somewhat by separating (to some extent) Business vs Consumer product lines. And it helps that I'm aware of atrocious vendor behavior from most all of them at some point (meaning avoiding all such vendors would overly restrict my purchasing options). I happen to be more familiar with Dell Precision line, but the old Compaq workstations were fantastic, then HP Z line-up towers are nicely engineered (or at least were). My current needs dictates my next personal workstation will be portable (not worth buying both laptop and desktop, and if usable life is shorter, still better value to buy another machine in 4-5 years than 2 separate PCs now), so looking at 16" or 17" HX CPU workstation models which should be able to handle a couple of hour editing session of lower-end 4K video editing without thermal throttling too much (if at all)... fingers crossed. For relative pricing and just an FYI, on Dell's website, when configuring a workstation, avoiding limited availability components, I tend to assume I can get ~40% off from list price if I'm patient and persistent (as regular consumer, being aware of Dell's sales rep incentive process especially timing; and not taking advantage of any corporate account connections)

 

[ReadyToLearn]

Thanks yet again for all this info! I'm still digesting everything about the VMs, but I appreciate having it to come back to repeatedly. :)

Beware remoting (RDP) into machine with OBS Studio... does stuff in regards to graphics that can have unintended consequences with OBS Studio (way Windows OS handles such RDP sessions).

Yikes, I was not aware of this! Is there something in particular I should check on that might have gotten altered?

My deliberations with myself regarding what kind of build (and from which vendor) continue. I'm waiting to hear back from Ironside, and now also AVADirect. I'm leaning away from Velocity Micro at this point, in part because with either of the other two it looks like I may be able to get what I'm wanting closer to (or maybe even under) $2,000 final cost.

What I'm most excited about at the moment is I have discovered that Asus makes a 24/7 workstation board meant to work with the consumer Intel CPUs that have had ECC unlocked, the Asus Pro WS W680-ACE

Pro WS W680-ACE｜Motherboards｜ASUS USA

Intel® W680 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 2.5 Gb, SlimSAS, enhanced power and cooling solutions

www.asus.com

It actually costs a little less than the ProArt I've been considering (which is also rated for 24/7 running), but seems otherwise similar enough for my longterm goals.

PRIME Z790-A WIFI、ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI、Pro WS W680-ACE Product different Compare｜ASUS USA

Comparison between PRIME Z790-A WIFI、ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI、Pro WS W680-ACE in CPU、Chipset、Memory、Graphics、Expansion Slots、Storage、Ethernet、Wireless & Bluetooth、USB、Audio、Back Panel I/O Ports、Internal I/O Connectors、Special Features 、Software Features、BIOS、Manageability、Accessories 、Operating...

www.asus.com

I'll probably end up with the i5-14600K due to max TDP limitations of using an air cooler (note for future readers that it has to be a "K" model, and not "KF" in order to get ECC support: https://www.asus.com/us/supportonly/pro ws w680-ace/helpdesk_qvl_cpu/ ) and then potentially the below Kingston ECC memory (either 32GB or 64GB).

Kingston Server Memory: DDR5 4800MT/s ECC Unbuffered DIMM- Kingston Technology

Kingston Server Premier memory is designed for Data Centers. This Memory specification is: DDR5 4800MT/s ECC Unbuffered DIMM

www.kingston.com

I know I technically don't *need* ECC, but I really like having it. And the above direction feels like it potentially could hit the sweet spot for me of quality/longevity, performance, and cost. :)

I'm waiting to hear from Ironside about special ordering the W680 for me (I may ask Velocity as well, though I don't see how I can get the price with them down to what I would feel better about), and asking both about order the ECC ram. AVADirect actually has a few W680 workstations with the Asus board, so that's half-way there.

AVADirect Search

AVADirect Search

www.avadirect.com

 

[ReadyToLearn]

One thing I'm still curious about regarding GPUs is what is different (better/worse) about different versions of the same kind. Like, all three of the following are RTX 3050, but they are still sold as three different versions (and two of them by the same company), of varying prices. I don't game, but for OBS is there anything in these finer details that is worth paying attention to (eg, I know VRAM size doesn't seem to matter for OBS)?

ASUS Phoenix GeForce RTX 3050 8GB GDDR6 | Graphics Card | ASUS Global - Tech Specs

The ASUS Phoenix GeForce RTX™ 3050 8GB GDDR6 brings ultra high frame rates for today’s most popular titles.

www.asus.com

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3050 OC Edition 8GB GDDR6 | Graphics Card | ASUS Global - Tech Specs

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX™ 3050 OC Edition 8GB GDDR6 with two powerful Axial-tech fans and a 2-slot design for broad compatibility.

www.asus.com

MSI GeForce RTX 3050 VENTUS 2X XS 8G OC

MSI GeForce RTX 3050 VENTUS 2X XS 8G OC brings a performance-focused design that maintains the essentials to accomplish any task at hand. Built with the powerful graphics performance of the NVIDIA Ampere architecture.

www.msi.com