I'm a work-from-home 2D animator looking to replace a nearly decade-old PC. I primarily use Toon Boom and TVPaint for demanding projects and do a lot of rendering locally, so 32GB of RAM is the minimum and I want plenty of storage for large PNG sequences. Gaming would be a secondary use.
My approximate budget is £2,000, or around $2,600, for the computer itself. I already have peripherals. I'm considering this build:
- Intel Core i9-14900K
- ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 240mm liquid cooler
- ASUS Prime B760M-K motherboard
- GeForce RTX 5070 12GB
- 32GB DDR5-5600 memory
- 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
- 4TB 5400RPM hard drive
- be quiet! System Power 10 Gold 850W PSU
- Corsair Frame 4000D case
I'd appreciate feedback on whether the i9 is excessive or worthwhile for longevity, whether the motherboard is suitable, and what a BIOS update would involve. I'm also unsure whether a 240mm liquid cooler is enough, how many case fans I should use, whether the 850W power supply provides enough headroom, and what compatibility issues I should check with the case and motherboard. I could add another £200–300 if it would make a meaningful difference in animation performance, reliability, or lifespan.
5 Answers
The graphics card may be overkill for 2D animation unless you also want strong gaming performance or your particular effects and rendering workflow use GPU acceleration. Check the recommended hardware for the exact versions of Toon Boom and TVPaint you use before putting most of the budget into the GPU. For your work, reliable cooling, fast storage, and possibly 64GB of RAM could be more useful than moving to an even faster graphics card.
I’d avoid the 14900K for this build. It can run extremely hot and has had stability and efficiency concerns. A newer Intel Core Ultra 7 model or AMD Ryzen 9 9950X would be a better starting point for heavy rendering, but either option needs a motherboard with strong VRMs and adequate cooling. The B760M-K is not a good match for a high-end, power-hungry CPU.
An 850W PSU should be sufficient for this CPU and graphics card, although I’d choose a higher-quality modern unit with some extra headroom. The case itself is fine. If you stay with liquid cooling, a 360mm radiator mounted at the top would be preferable to a 240mm model. Also verify whether Toon Boom and TVPaint actually benefit from a powerful GPU; if not, you could spend less on graphics or keep the stronger card mainly for gaming.
I’d leave some power-supply headroom rather than running close to the limit. 850W is probably enough for this configuration, but a quality 850W or 1000W unit with modern connectors and good transient handling would make the system more comfortable under sustained rendering loads. Also remember that a 4TB mechanical drive is useful for bulk storage, but active projects and image sequences will feel much better on the NVMe drive or a second SSD.
For a hot, high-power CPU, use a 360mm radiator if the case supports it. A sensible airflow setup would be three front intake fans, one rear exhaust fan, and the radiator mounted at the top as exhaust. You don’t need to fill every fan mount just because liquid cooling is installed; the radiator fans cool the CPU while the case fans move air through the rest of the system.
A BIOS compatibility warning means the motherboard may need newer firmware before it can boot with that processor. If the board has BIOS Flashback, you can usually update it from a USB drive without installing a supported CPU first. Otherwise, you may need an older compatible processor or have the retailer update it.
A more balanced system would use a current high-end CPU, a Z890-class motherboard if choosing the newer Intel platform, 32GB of reasonably fast low-latency DDR5, a 2TB NVMe SSD, and a quality 850W fully modular PSU. A 16GB graphics card is worth considering if your software or future workloads benefit from extra VRAM, while the RTX 5070-class card will generally provide more gaming performance.
The important point is matching the motherboard and socket to the processor rather than just selecting an i7 or i9 label. You may also be able to save money by buying certain parts used, but storage and the power supply are areas where I’d be more cautious.
A used graphics card or memory kit can reduce the total cost if you’re comfortable checking condition and warranty coverage. I’d still buy the PSU new and choose a reputable model.