PC36 Creator Select | Ryzen 9 5900XT 16-Core + RTX 5070 12GB + 64GB DDR4 | Creator PC | PC36

🎨 PC36 Creator Select

Sixteen cores, thirty-two threads, and no fuss about it

Creator Select exists for one reason. There is a certain kind of work that only gets faster when you throw more cores at it, and most machines at this level do not have enough of them. Renders, batch exports, transcodes, denoise passes, compiles, anything that splits itself across every thread you can offer. This build gives you sixteen cores and thirty-two threads, and it gets there by using a platform that has already had its expensive years.

That platform is AM4, with DDR4 memory and PCIe 4.0. It is mature, thoroughly debugged, and cheap in exactly the places that matter to a creative workload. The saving goes straight back into core count, memory and a 2TB project drive, so you sit down to 64GB of RAM and a machine that does not flinch when a render kicks off in the background while you keep working in another app.

We will be straight with you about the trade. There is no Thunderbolt and no USB4 on this board, and there is no meaningful CPU upgrade path left on AM4 once you are running a 5900XT, because this is already close to the top of it. If you need either of those things, a newer platform is the honest answer and we will tell you so on live chat. If you do not, this is the most thread-count per pound we know how to build, and it will still be doing the job in five years.

📃 Specifications

• 🧠 CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT (16 cores, 32 threads, Zen 3)
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • Sixteen physical cores and thirty-two threads, which is where the value in this build sits. Export queues, H.265 transcodes, Handbrake batches, CPU denoise, Blender Cycles on CPU and multi-track audio all scale with thread count, and this chip has more of them than anything else near this price.
  • Zen 3 single-core performance is still strong, so the interactive parts of the job stay pleasant. Timeline scrubbing, brush lag in Photoshop on a large layered file and After Effects RAM previews all lean on one or two fast cores rather than all sixteen.
  • Sustained all-core load is what this CPU is for. It will sit at full tilt through a long render without throttling, given the cooler we pair with it.
  • Honest caveat: this is a mature Zen 3 part. A current-generation eight core chip will beat it in lightly threaded work. It will not come close in anything that uses all sixteen.
• ❄️ CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120, black dual tower air cooler
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • Two towers, six heatpipes and two 120mm fans. It handles the 5900XT at sustained all-core load with headroom left over, which is the only test that matters on a machine that renders.
  • Air was a deliberate choice here. There is no pump to fail and no coolant to degrade, so a machine that spends years doing long unattended jobs has one less thing that can quietly stop working.
  • Plain black, no lighting, so it disappears behind the glass rather than performing at you.
  • If you would rather have a 360mm liquid cooler, say so at checkout and we will fit one instead where supply allows.
• 🔲 Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 EAGLE WIFI6 (ATX)
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • Full size ATX with a VRM and heatsink arrangement that is comfortable feeding a 16 core chip at sustained load. That is the part of a board specification that actually matters when your workload is measured in hours rather than minutes.
  • Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 are on board, so no add-in card is needed for a desk that is nowhere near the router.
  • PCIe 4.0 x16 for the graphics card and two M.2 slots, both of which we populate with the drives listed below.
  • Honest caveat: B550 is a mid-range chipset on a mature platform. There is no Thunderbolt, no USB4, and no realistic CPU upgrade beyond what is already fitted. Read the transparency notes before you buy if either of those points is load-bearing for you.
• 📏 Memory: 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4-3200 CL16
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • 64GB is the amount that stops you thinking about memory. Long 4K timelines with effects stacked, After Effects RAM previews, large Photoshop composites with dozens of layers, and a browser full of references all open at once.
  • Fitted as two 32GB modules rather than four 16GB, which leaves both remaining DIMM slots free if you want to go further later.
  • DDR4-3200 CL16 is the sweet spot for Zen 3. It runs at the memory controller's native speed with no stability compromises, and we enable the correct profile in BIOS before it ships.
  • This is the other half of why the core count is affordable. DDR4 costs a fraction of DDR5 per gigabyte right now, and for creative work capacity beats bandwidth almost every time.
• 💾 Storage 1, operating system and applications: 500GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (TLC)
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • A dedicated OS and applications drive keeps Windows, your creative suite and your plugin caches away from the media you are working on, so a big file copy never fights your application for the same drive.
  • 500GB is deliberate rather than cost cutting. Windows and a full Adobe or Resolve install sit comfortably inside it, and project media belongs on the 2TB drive below.
  • TLC flash rather than QLC, so write performance stays consistent instead of collapsing once a cache fills.
  • If you want this drive specified as DRAM-buffered rather than HMB, that is a live chat conversation and we will quote the exact model we would fit.
• 💾 Storage 2, projects: 2TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (TLC)
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • The working drive. High bitrate footage, scratch and cache, render outputs and project files, all on PCIe 4.0 rather than a spinning disk or a SATA SSD.
  • Sequential throughput here is what you feel when scrubbing multicam 4K, ingesting a card, or writing an export while still cutting.
  • TLC again, chosen so sustained writes during a long export or a large ingest hold up rather than dropping to a crawl part way through.
  • As with the OS drive, a DRAM-buffered specification is available. Ask on live chat and we will tell you exactly which drive you would be getting.
• 🎮 Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 5070 12GB
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • CUDA, NVENC and NVDEC acceleration, which is what Resolve, Premiere and After Effects actually reach for. Hardware encode and decode makes timeline playback and export times a different experience to running on CPU alone.
  • 12GB of VRAM is enough for the great majority of 4K editing and grading, most Blender scenes, and the AI-assisted tools now built into the creative suites.
  • Honest caveat: 12GB is the constraint to be aware of. Heavy 3D scenes, multiple noise reduction nodes on a graded 4K timeline, or large local AI models will want more. If that is you, the RTX 5070 Ti step is in Popular Upgrades below and it is the upgrade we recommend most often on this build.
  • Gaming is very good on this card as a side effect. It is not why we picked it.
• 🧰 Case: Phanteks XT Pro, Black (tempered glass side panel)
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • A mesh fronted ATX case with genuinely good airflow, which is the property that matters on a machine expected to hold full CPU and GPU load for an hour at a time.
  • Plenty of room inside for the dual tower cooler, extra drives and any add-in card you want later.
  • A tempered glass side panel is fitted as standard. It looks the part but glass reflects noise rather than absorbing it.
  • If you work in a quiet room, a shared office or a space where a microphone is live, there is a solid side panel version of this case with acoustic dampening material fitted. We can build into that instead. Ask on live chat and we will sort it.
• 🌬️ Case cooling: 3 x 120mm black non-RGB fans
  Click or tap for deeper spec info

  • The Phanteks XT Pro ships with one fan. We fit three more, so the machine arrives with proper front to back airflow rather than the bare minimum.
  • Fan curves are set in BIOS during the build, tuned so the machine stays quiet at idle and light editing load and only ramps when a render genuinely needs it.
  • All black, no lighting, in keeping with the rest of the Creator series.
  • Fan brand and model can vary with supply. If near silent operation matters, the Noctua Pure Silence Setup in Popular Upgrades is the better answer than any stock fan.
• ⚡ Power Supply: Montech Century II 850W 80+ Gold, fully modular
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  • 850W of 80+ Gold with real headroom over what a 5900XT and an RTX 5070 draw together, even at sustained full load. Headroom is what keeps a PSU quiet and long lived.
  • Fully modular, so only the cables this build actually needs are installed. Better airflow, less clutter, easier to work on later.
  • The capacity is also deliberate. It covers the RTX 5070 Ti step without any change of PSU, so that upgrade stays a straight swap.
• 🔌 Cabling: Stock cabling
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  • Standard PSU cables, routed and tied properly behind the tray during the build.
  • Custom sleeved or colour matched cable sets are available. Ask on live chat if you want the inside of the machine to look a particular way.
• 🪟 Operating System: As chosen by you from the listing options - Windows 11 Pro recommended
• 🧹 Setup: Clean Windows install, no bloat, drivers updated, BIOS configured, memory profile enabled
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  • No trial software, no bundled utilities, no promotional junk on the desktop. You get Windows and the drivers, which is what you asked for.
  • BIOS is configured and the memory profile enabled before dispatch, so the RAM runs at its rated speed out of the box rather than at a default fallback.
  • Every machine is hand-built and stress tested on CPU, RAM and GPU before it leaves us, and ships with the test certificate.
• 🛡️ Warranty: 3 years parts and labour, return to base
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  • Three years as standard, covering both parts and labour, with the machine returned to us for any work.
  • You talk to a person about it. There is no chatbot in front of our support.

🔌 Connectivity & Expansion

• 📶 Networking: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 on board, plus Gigabit Ethernet
• ⚡ Thunderbolt and USB4: Not available on this board and not addable in any way we would stand behind. If your workflow depends on a Thunderbolt interface or dock, tell us on live chat and we will point you at a platform that does it natively
• 🎮 Graphics slot: PCIe 4.0 x16, which is ample for an RTX 5070 or a 5070 Ti
• 📁 M.2 slots: Two on this board, both filled by the drives above. Further NVMe capacity can be added on a PCIe add-in card, or on SATA
• 💽 SATA: Ports and case mounting available for additional 2.5in and 3.5in drives if you want bulk archive storage inside the machine
• 🔌 Front and rear USB: A full set of rear USB-A ports plus USB-C, with USB-A and USB-C on the case front panel. If you need a specific port count for a particular set of peripherals, ask us before ordering and we will confirm exactly what this board provides

🛠️ Popular Upgrades

• 🎮 Step up to the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti 16GB (click or tap to learn more)

  Add this from the dropdown above. Worth taking if you work in 3D, run several noise reduction or grading nodes on 4K footage, or run AI models locally, because the jump from 12GB to 16GB of VRAM is what decides whether those jobs stay on the GPU or fall back to the CPU. Also worth it if you expect to move to 6K or 8K source material inside the next couple of years. If you are cutting 4K with light effects, working mostly in Photoshop, Illustrator or Lightroom, or doing audio work, keep as standard and put the money into storage instead.
• 🔇 Noctua Pure Silence Setup (click or tap to learn more)

  Every case fan replaced with Noctua silence-optimised fans and the curves retuned in BIOS for near-silent running. Worth it if you record voiceover, mix audio, take client calls at the machine, or simply sit close to it for long days. A sixteen core chip under a two hour render is audible on stock fans, and this is the single change that makes the most difference to living with the machine.
• 📦 Solid side panel, acoustically dampened case (click or tap to learn more)

  The same Phanteks XT Pro chassis in its solid panel form, with acoustic dampening material in place of the tempered glass. Worth it for anyone working in a quiet room or with a live microphone nearby, and it stacks well with the Noctua Pure Silence Setup for the quietest version of this build. Message us on live chat and we will arrange it. Airflow remains good, though it does run slightly warmer than the glass panel version, which is a non-issue on this cooler.
• 💾 DRAM-buffered drives and larger project storage (click or tap to learn more)

  The standard drives are TLC NVMe and are quick. Specifying DRAM-buffered drives instead is worth it if you routinely write very large continuous files, such as long form ingest, uncompressed intermediates or ProRes masters, where sustained write consistency matters more than peak speed. Larger project drives and additional SATA archive storage are available in the same conversation. Ask on live chat and we will tell you exactly which drive we would fit.
• 📏 Additional memory beyond 64GB (click or tap to learn more)

  Two DIMM slots are left free, so more DDR4 can be added later or at build time. Worth considering only if you regularly work with large 3D scenes, very long high resolution timelines, or several memory-heavy applications open simultaneously, because 64GB covers most creative work comfortably. Be aware that filling all four slots on this platform usually means running the memory a step slower for stability, which we would set up and test properly rather than leave you to discover.
• 🔋 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) (click or tap to learn more)

  Keeps the machine running for roughly ten minutes through a power cut, long enough to save and shut down cleanly. Worth it if you run overnight renders, work to client deadlines, or live somewhere with an unreliable supply. A render lost at hour three is a longer, more expensive problem than the UPS.
• 🎥 Capture hardware for camera or console sources (click or tap to learn more)

  Worth adding if you shoot talking-head content on a camera rather than a webcam, run a two machine streaming setup, or need to record an external source directly. We will match the card to your resolution, frame rate and software rather than sell you the most expensive option. Ask on live chat and tell us what camera you have.
• 🗄️ NAS and backup design (click or tap to learn more)

  Worth doing once your archive has outgrown the internal drives, or the moment you are holding client work that only exists in one place. We can design anything from a simple RAID-protected backup box to shared storage for more than one editor, sized to what you actually shoot. This is a conversation, not a checkout option.

👁️ Transparency Notes

• This is a mature AM4 platform, and that is exactly why the core count is affordable (click or tap to read more)

  AM4 with DDR4 memory and PCIe 4.0 has been in production for years. The engineering is settled, the parts are cheap, and the money saved goes into sixteen cores, 64GB of RAM and a 2TB project drive instead of into a newer socket. The flip side is that there is no CPU upgrade path here worth having, because the 5900XT is already near the top of what the socket supports. If you buy this, buy it as a complete machine that you keep, not as a base you plan to upgrade the processor in later.

• There is no Thunderbolt and no USB4 on this build, and no add-in card we would recommend (click or tap to read more)

  B550 does not provide either interface natively. If your workflow depends on a Thunderbolt audio interface, a Thunderbolt dock or a Thunderbolt RAID enclosure, this is not the right machine for you and we would rather say that now than after you have paid. Tell us what you are connecting on live chat and we will recommend a platform that does it properly.

• Both M.2 slots on this board are occupied by the two drives listed (click or tap to read more)

  Adding further NVMe storage later means either a PCIe add-in card, SATA drives, external storage or replacing one of the fitted drives with a larger one. None of these is a problem, but it is worth knowing before you plan a storage strategy around this machine. Ask us and we will talk through which route fits your workflow.

• The RTX 5070 has 12GB of VRAM, which is a real limit in some creative work (click or tap to read more)

  Most 4K editing, grading and design work sits well inside 12GB. Heavy 3D scenes, stacked noise reduction on graded 4K, and larger local AI models do not. The 5070 Ti step above exists precisely for that, and if you describe your typical project on live chat we will tell you honestly which one you need rather than defaulting to the more expensive answer.

• Where a specific model is not named in the specification, the exact part can vary with supply (click or tap to read more)

  Case fans, cabling and the NVMe drives are specified by capacity, class and performance rather than by a fixed model, because component availability moves constantly. Anything we substitute is of equal or better quality and is tested the same way. If a particular model matters to you, confirm it with us on live chat before ordering and we will put it in writing.

• The tempered glass side panel looks good but does nothing for noise (click or tap to read more)

  Glass reflects sound rather than absorbing it, so a sixteen core processor at full load is audible through it. That is a fair trade for most desks. If yours is in a quiet room or near a microphone, take the solid panel acoustically dampened version of this case, ideally alongside the Noctua Pure Silence Setup.

• Photographs on this listing may show a different specification in the same case (click or tap to read more)

  Your machine will look very similar but not identical, since internal layout depends on the exact parts fitted. If you want to see the finished build before it ships, ask and we will send you photographs of your actual system.

🎯 What is this PC best for?

• Heavily threaded work: renders, batch exports, transcodes and CPU denoise passes
• 4K video editing and grading in Resolve, Premiere Pro and After Effects
• Blender, Cinema 4D and other 3D work where CPU rendering still carries part of the load
• Large multi-layer Photoshop composites and big Lightroom catalogues
• Music production and audio post with high track counts and heavy plugin chains
• Anyone who wants maximum core count and memory for the money and does not need Thunderbolt

💬 Need help?

Not sure if this is the right spec for your workflow? Ping us on live chat, we'll help you choose or tailor the perfect creator PC.