Complete setup that I use to create videos and music for Clone Hero. Deep thought goes into every part I get. All my ideas and recommendations below. Parts you can buy on Amazon are linked so you can support the site.

CPU

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

16 CPU cores. No CPU bottlenecks. Overkill for gaming PCs, great for motion graphics stuff I do.

MOTHERBOARD

ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi)

Built in Wi-Fi capability. Versatile feature set and well received reviews.

RAM

G.Skill Trident Z Neo 64GB

The motion graphics software I use is Adobe After Effects and it will always max out your RAM.

SSD

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1 TB PCIe NVMe M.2

An NVMe SSD is the easiest way to speed up your PC. The price, performance and reliability of the 970 EVO is as good as it gets.

PSU

Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold, 850 Watts

RM850x is fully modular for the best cable management and has a zero RPM fan mode for near silent operation.

GRAPHICS CARD

Nvidia RTX 3080Ti Founders Edition

Best graphics card. I do not recommend getting the 3000 series at the current inflated prices. If you find an RTX 3080 (non Ti) at RRP, you hit the jackpot.

CASE

Corsair Crystal Series 680X RGB

Large PC case for good cooling and cable management with the dual-chamber layout. Tempered glass panel to view the components inside.

CPU COOLER

Corsair H150i PRO RGB

Excellent cooling performance. Silent when idle. LED lighting and I designed a subtle lighting effect that completes the look of the PC.

THERMAL PASTE

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut

Keeps the CPU cooler and lower idle temperatures. Worked better than Arctic Silver 5.

Picking the right monitor, keyboard, mouse and other hardware is important. Do your own research to get what you need. After a LOT of searching I can strongly recommend the products I’ve listed below.

MONITOR

Dell U4919DW

I can see everything with this. Video editing, full timeline… 14 MS Word pages at once… 5120×1440.

MOUSE

Logitech MX Master 3

The MX Master series by Logitech is a mouse I strongly recommend. For all things production/digital design.

KEYBOARD

CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2

Per-key and dynamic lighting. Looks good with the brushed aluminium frame.

HEADPHONES

Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO

I do 90% of my music production using headphones and these are the current weapon of choice.

SPEAKERS / STUDIO MONITORS

Yamaha HS5

Balanced sound. if your music sounds detailed through these speakers, it will sound good anywhere.

SUB WOOFER

Yamaha HS8

After research to get the right audio equipment, the Yamaha HS series was my pick.

AUDIO INTERFACE

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen USB

Amazing reviews say a lot. Small, looks good, reliable and has inputs for headphones/guitar.

HEADPHONES (BACKUP)

Audio Technica ATH-M50X

Honourable mention. Lasted 10 years. I used these headphones to produce everything I made from 2009-2020.

MIDI KEYBOARD

AKAI MPK Mini MK3 – 25 Key

This is small compact and works perfectly for testing synth samples.

GAME CONTROLLER

Xbox Elite Controller Series 2

If you have the budget, for the extra cost you get something that lasts longer and is better to use every time.

I used a common setup I found on the internet with an Ikea Karlby Walnut countertop on top of two Ikea Alex drawers. This provides a massive desk to work from. The 49″ monitor is suspended with the Ergotron HX Monitor Arm which means loads of desk space. I added a Philips Hue light strip to the back of the desk and foam acoustic panels on the wall behind for decoration.

MONITOR ARM

ERGOTRON HX

Built like a tank and strong enough to suspend a large heavy 49″ monitor to any height needed. Looks excellent. Frees up loads of desk space.

WORKTOP

IKEA Karlby Worktop

Excellent large desk for a very modest cost. Buy direct from Ikea. I linked on Amazon but they never have stock.

STORAGE

IKEA Alex Drawer Unit x2

Good clean versatile design that mixes with anything. I use two of them with the Karlby worktop.

LIGHTSTRIP

Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus

Enhances the look of the setup. Stuck to the back of the desk and programmed any way you can think of. It casts a glow across the wall behind. I control the lights with the Hue dimmer switch.

TABLET/PHONE HOLDER

Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Holder

This is something you don’t realise you need until you get it… I have it clamped to a higher unit and an iPad floats above my desk for watching content / video calls.

ACOUSTIC FOAM TILES

EQ Acoustics Foam Tile Kit

16x 30x30cm classic wedge tiles. I have them around the room and in a 2×5 formation on the wall behind my desk because it looks great.

CABLE MANAGEMENT

D-Line 3015KIT001 Trunking

Miles of cables and none in sight thanks to this. I took a strip of this and it has adhesive on the back which sticks to the bottom of your desk for hiding everything.