$2000 PC for After Effects/Blender ☆ I need SO much help…

buriedinbears

Hello! First time PC builder/user here. I’ve been using a 2010 MacBook Pro with like 4GB of RAM until now, so I have a LOT of questions— thank you in advance for your patience!

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ☆

My budget is $2000 USD.

The PC is for:
After Effects -
Mostly animations and typography. 1080p camera footage, no 4k. Lots of layers, pre comps inside pre comps, heavy effects, stacking multiple magic bullet looks, scripting/expressions, etc.
I’d like playback to be smooth and to be able to render comps all in one go (without having to worry about not nesting too much or not being messy with layers lol).

Blender -
Animations with the grease pencil, high poly modelling/sculpting, simulations, rigging, and making detailed scenes rendered in the cycles engine.
I’d like to be able to move around the viewport with ease for once. I value real time viewport rendering more than actual render times.

Clip Studio Paint EX/Photoshop/other drawing softwares -
Digital painting, drawing, and 2D animation.
I’d like decent colour accuracy and to not feel any latency from the drawing tablet to the monitor.

My priorities:
I want the best “bang for my buck”. I want to know if there’s something cheaper that will suffice or something that’s the same price/slightly more expensive that will do a significantly better job.
I’m trying to stay as under budget as possible without sacrificing performance.

I’d like to get something really good so I won’t have to upgrade for a very long time.

I don’t care about noisiness as long as it’s healthy (just opening AE on a Mac makes it WHEEZE so I’m used to it).

RGB and aesthetics are wonderful, but not my main concern. The case is the only thing I’d like to be pretty. I generally care more about performance.

The parts I’m considering:

Link: https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder-intel.aspx?load=64e6d403-19a8-42f1-a961-5231c792d262

(Prices may vary since time of writing)

    •    Intel - Core i7-14700K Raptor Lake 3.4GHz Twenty-Core LGA 1700 Boxed Processor | $268.28

    •    ASUS - Z790-V Prime AX Intel LGA 1700 ATX Motherboard | $150.66

    •    Crucial Pro 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-5600 PC5-44800 CL46 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit CP2K32G56C46U5 | $148.49

    •    Gigabyte - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Windforce Overclocked Triple Fan 12GB GDDR6X PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card | $549.99

    •    Samsung - 990 PRO 2TB Samsung V NAND 3-bit MLC PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe M.2 Internal SSD | $144.99

    •    NZXT - H5 Flow RGB Tempered Glass ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - White | $89.99

    •    Corsair - RM750e 750 Watt 80 Plus Gold ATX Fully Modular Power Supply - ATX 3.0 Compatible | $99.99

    •    Cooler Master - MasterLiquid 360L Core RGB 360mm All in One Liquid CPU Cooling Kit | $99.99

    •    ASUS - ProArt Display PA248QV 24.1" FHD / WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 75Hz Wide Screen Monitor Desktops | $199.99 ($159.99 elsewhere)

I was also thinking about getting another m.2 ssd just to use as a cache for After Effects.
    •    Inland TN320 256GB SSD NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0x4 M.2 2280 3D NAND TLC Internal Solid State Drive | $25.99

Cooler Master’s website says the AIO comes with “CryoFuze Thermal Paste” so I think I don’t need this.
   •    Thermal Grizzly - Aeronaut High Performance Thermal Grease - 1ml | $7.99

I’m not super committed to anything on my list, so you can change basically everything as you see fit lol.

(Stuff also included in the budget but possibly bought elsewhere: Huion HS611 tablet $64; Clip Studio EX $64; cable ties $6; precision screwdriver kit $10; compressed air duster $6; anti static wristband $5; >2000 Joules surge protector $20)

so all that considered, I’m currently at ~$1960

My main concerns/questions:

1. Besides the case, are there any parts in my build I can replace with something lower priced that have the same performance?
2. Alternatively, are there any parts in my build that I should splurge more on as to not hold back performance?
3. I have no preference for AMD or Intel. Would a Ryzen build be better for what I’m trying to do?
4. Not sure which OS to get. I only hear everyone talk about how much they hate Windows 11.
5. I have no idea what GPU to get!!
   I want a GPU that has the best performance for my budget.
   When my budget was $1500, I was set on a 3060 (paired with an i7 12700k)– but then I thought it would actually be more cost effective to increase the budget to $2k so I can get a better CPU/GPU that won’t need upgrading for a while, but now I don’t know which one. A 3070?? 3080 Ti?? What about a 4060 Ti with 16GB? Would that be better than the 4070 with 12GB? Does the fan amount matter if I don’t care about noise (2 vs 3)? Is the 4070 significantly better than its predecessors and therefore worth the price increase? Or is the boost nominal? Specifically when used for AE/Blender.
6. Is an AIO a good idea? I’ve heard people suggest the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 over the Cooler Master, should I switch to that one? Also, AIO as top exhaust or front intake?
7. Alternatively, is there an air cooler that would be better for my build? I think I’d prefer air if it’s possible because of the fewer points of failure.
8. On Micro Center, it says the NZXT h5 flow RGB comes with 2 fans, but on NZXT’s website it says it comes with 4 (2 front RGB, 1 rear, 1 bottom). If it indeed has 4, am I all set for fans?
9. In the future, would it be ok to upgrade to 128GB RAM on this build?
10. This PC is for AE and Blender first and foremost— but how would games like Elden Ring, Tekken 8, and Valorant run on this set up? The monitor is only 75Hz but I won’t be playing competitively or anything.

Sorry for the long post!! But you are computer experts so I thought it’d be best to listen to people that know a lot more than me so that I can properly inform myself before making any purchases.
I really don’t know anything about this stuff, so I appreciate all and any help.
Thank you so much for your time!!
（＾Ｏ＾☆♪

PaulL

Hello! Thank you for all of this information! This is definitely going to help narrow down the options. I will be sending you a follow up email shortly!