Advice on a new build & some questions

[ILiekGames]

Hi all. I am looking to buy a new PC, and was torn between going for a top end build (4090 + 14900K) which is very expensive, or a lower tier build (4070Ti + 13th gen i7 or i9). I will be going in for a 32" screen. At the moment, I've only played games at 1080p, so I don't what difference I will see in 1440p or 4K.

My main concerns with the 4090 are the following:
1. Risks of damage to the card with usage/card failure: is this common? As if this happens it will be £1.8k down the drain! What does the GPU warranty cover? (I will not go for Gigabyte because of their terrible warranty service)
2. Is it overkill? Will 4070/4080 card be more than adequate to handle 1440p?
3. Cost to run: with the high cost of electricity in the UK, will this be too expensive to run in the long run?
4. Heating: Will this heat up the case & cause heating problems in summer?

I have a few other questions as well with regards to other PC components:
5. PSU: what would the recommended PSU be for a 4090 Asus Strix OC edition with 14900K CPU? I have heard conflicting comments, with some saying it is most efficient to go for 1000W whereas others saying 1500W?
6. Case: Is a mid-tower (like corsair 4000/5000 iCue) OK for a 4090 or a full tower necessary? Can I go smaller than a mid tower?
7. Monitor: If I decide to future proof my PC and go for a 4K monitor, will the quality be poor if I play in 1080p instead (like watching SD content in an 8K TV?)
8. RAM: Does the speed make much difference to gaming (5200/5400/5800/6000/6400?) Also, what would the recommended RAM be for a 4090 build? is 32 GB recommended or 64 GB? What configuration will be better, 2x32 GB or 4x16 GB? Does increasing the RAM size or speed increase the power drain, heat generated or pose other risks?
9. SSD: Does the read/write speeds make much difference for gaming? (4300 vs 6000). Does it make sense to go for a 1 TB M.2 for windows installation & go for a 4 TB 2.5" SSD for installing games, or will an M.2 also for games make more sense?
10. RGB: If I go for RGB build & later decide I don't like it, can I disable them without physically removing/disconnecting them?

Sorry if some of these questions sound silly. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[dfour]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

IMHO the 14900k is a waste of money for just gaming. If your just gaming the best chip atm is still the:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DT-AM) = £329.99
• 1 x AMD - Avatar Ryzen Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-01185) = £0.00

Total: £329.99 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

​

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4090 is overkill for 1440p. A 4070/4080 is much better value for 1440p gaming. If you dont care about ray tracing then the 7900xt/xtx are much better value still.
4090 uses a lot of power under load and can heat up a poorly ventilated case.

I believe the strix OC uses even more power so a psu over 1k is probably best.
Mid tower is fine as long as it has decent ventilation. You just have to make sure it long enough to fit the actual card in.
Monitor I cant answer as I only use 1440p and dont have a 4k tv.
Ram can make a difference. The X3D chips are less bothered by ram speed. 32 gig is plenty for gaming. 2*16 is fine. marginal power drain or heat generation.
In most tests it makes marginal difference but why would you not go for the faster drive if the prices are similar. I always use a smaller drive for windows etc and a bigger one for my games as it means less downloading when I reinstall windows. I use a 1tb win drive and a 2tb games drive both M.2 with a 4tb ssd backup and storage drive.
RGB can easily just be turned off and on depends upon your mood via software or just dont connect them int he first place.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions if needed.

 

[Tetras]

1. Risks of damage to the card with usage/card failure: is this common? As if this happens it will be £1.8k down the drain! What does the GPU warranty cover? (I will not go for Gigabyte because of their terrible warranty service)

From what I've seen, the warranty only applies if you use the adapter supplied in the box, but nvidia have claimed they will support the FE cards whatever (I'm not convinced). There's a lot of cards in repair shops, so you can draw your own conclusions about that:

Three 4090 Melted Connectors. This is Toxic.

NF.Sucker https://northridgefix.com/product/nf-sucker-powerful-solder-removing-tool-extra-nozzle/⭕ Visit our ecommerce shop and buy all your tools at https:/...

www.youtube.com

2. Is it overkill? Will 4070/4080 card be more than adequate to handle 1440p?

This is an "it depends" question and the main variable in that is you (your expectations). Is a 4070 perfectly capable of playing games at 1440p? Yes. Will it play the latest games at 300 fps? No.

Since this is your first try at 1440p, I'd recommend you just stick with a 4070 or 7800 XT. If you like it a lot, then maybe you can upgrade again in the next generation or two (assuming you get a decent CPU).

3. Cost to run: with the high cost of electricity in the UK, will this be too expensive to run in the long run?

Again: "It depends". What do you consider expensive? If you can afford a 14900K and 4090, then I doubt you're going to worry about the electricity bill, but that assumption might be mistaken.

Techtesters often include some numbers in their reviews, see here (13:55):

AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Review - 33 Games, 1080p, 1440p & 4K Tested

Testing the new $499 AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. Shopping: https://geni.us/SkMvZ (affiliate)Sponsor: Seasonic Vertex PSUs are awesome! Get yours: https://amzn.to/...

www.youtube.com

If you want more specific numbers, then tell us the electricity price you're paying, how often you game per day and the chosen components.

If we say that a 14900K uses around 150 watts and a slightly OC 4090 450 watts, then 4 hours gaming a day (@ £0.35 per kWh) costs around £350 a year.

If power consumption/efficiency is a big concern then you'll be power limiting/undervolting the CPU/GPU.

TPU include some average power consumption (across games and apps) and efficiency (including FPS) numbers in their reviews:

MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming X Review

MSI's GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming X achieves impressive noise levels that are whisper quiet and temperatures are low, too. Unlike other vendors, MSI achieves that with a compact dual-slot card, which ensures it will fit into all cases out there, and PSU requirements are minimal, too.

www.techpowerup.com

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Review - The Best Gaming CPU

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is everything that gamers want: eight fast cores, in a single CCD, with 3D VCache stacked on top at a price point of $450. In our review we can confirm that 7800X3D is indeed the fastest gaming CPU available, beating Intel's 13900K and even the 7950X3D.

www.techpowerup.com

4. Heating: Will this heat up the case & cause heating problems in summer?

You would build the PC to cope with the heat, so that's not likely to be a big issue, the room is a different story.

6. Case: Is a mid-tower (like corsair 4000/5000 iCue) OK for a 4090 or a full tower necessary? Can I go smaller than a mid tower?

You can go smaller if you want (fitting a 4090 in a small case can be a problem), but you're likely to make life more difficult for yourself in keeping everything cool.

5. PSU: what would the recommended PSU be for a 4090 Asus Strix OC edition with 14900K CPU? I have heard conflicting comments, with some saying it is most efficient to go for 1000W whereas others saying 1500W?

The efficiency of a gold PSU is unlikely to matter much for these load levels, they're very inefficient at low loads, but the rest there's not much in it. 1000 is the minimum I'd get, but if you plan to OC the 14900K and 4090, more headroom is a good idea.

8. RAM: Does the speed make much difference to gaming (5200/5400/5800/6000/6400?)

At 4K? Not much. At 1440p? A bit more. At 1080p? Quite a bit, especially if you're CPU bottlenecked (which is very likely with a 4090).

Ryzen 9 7950X3D Memory Scaling Benchmark, Does DDR5 Performance Matter?

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedJoin us on Floatplane: https://www.floatplane.com/channel/HardwareUnboxedBuy relevant products ...

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is 32 GB recommended or 64 GB?

For such a high-end build just get 64GB, it would be silly not to.

What configuration will be better, 2x32 GB or 4x16 GB?

2x32

Does increasing the RAM size or speed increase the power drain, heat generated or pose other risks?

A bit, but the power consumption of RAM is very minor (a few watts). 4 sticks with high speeds/volts can overheat, especially if you have a hot PC (a 14900K and 4090 is a hot PC).

9. SSD: Does the read/write speeds make much difference for gaming? (4300 vs 6000).

Not yet.

Does it make sense to go for a 1 TB M.2 for windows installation & go for a 4 TB 2.5" SSD for installing games, or will an M.2 also for games make more sense?

SSDs are obsolete with throttled read speeds and don't support DirectStorage, I wouldn't buy one anymore if you're getting a high-end board with 3 or 4 M.2 slots. That said, they're still fine for your steam library of old games.

Don't waste M.2 slots with small drives.

10. RGB: If I go for RGB build & later decide I don't like it, can I disable them without physically removing/disconnecting them?

Yes, you usually can, but check with the case and/or fans that you want to buy.

 

[ILiekGames]

Many thanks for the replies.

From the above replies:
1. GPU damage can happen by overheating. Could happen to any card. I am getting it assembled professionally, so I assume they will use the adaptors provided & I will be covered under warranty?
2. 4090 is overkill for 1440. But is it recommended for 4k, or would you consider it an overkill in that regard as well?
3. Heating: Even if I have good ventilation in the case, in summer the ambient temperatures are higher, and the case will be generating a lot of heat which it will dissipate into the room, making the ambient temperature even higher. Would this cause heating issues within the case as its drawing in warmer air? What I guess I am asking is, would I have to restrict usage in summers, or have fans or AC in a small room in summer? (Sorry if this sounds like I'm planning too far ahead, I'm just trying to cover all aspects with getting a high end system.)
4. Will the power draw of the GPU always be high when running it? e.g if I am playing an older game or a game with FPS limited to 60 or 120, DLSS performance, or other settings lowered, would the GPU power draw be lower or would it still be 450W? Would I generate lesser heat in the above situations?
5. PSU: If I do go for a 4090 OC edition GPU with i9 14900K or Ryzen 7950X3D, but do not overclock them whatsoever (apart for the factory overclocks), would the Corsair 1000W be ideal or 1500W? Would the 1000W produce more heat (& use more power) as the load is higher, & the 1500W less heat as it has more room, or the other way round because 1500W is being under utilised
6. If I go for a 4090 & plan to play in 4K, what CPU would I need to avoid bottlenecks? And if I play on 1080 or 1440, what CPU is needed to avoid bottlenecks?
7. RAM: Why is 2x32 better than 4x16 GB? I remember ages ago (during the time of pentiums) that more RAM sticks were better than lesser sticks of same capacity. Is this because lesser power drain/heat generation or something else?
8. If I go for the top end CPU, which is better, and works well with a 4090? the 14900K or 7950X3D?

 

[Tetras]

1. GPU damage can happen by overheating. Could happen to any card.

I don't think there's anyone that knows 100% if the 12VHPWR connector issues are overblown or not (apart from nvidia, I guess), but these repair shops are getting a lot of repairs and they're definitely not all user error (as was initially claimed).

I am getting it assembled professionally, so I assume they will use the adaptors provided & I will be covered under warranty?

You'd hope so, but who knows.

2. 4090 is overkill for 1440. But is it recommended for 4k, or would you consider it an overkill in that regard as well?

It's not overkill for 1440p if you have high expectations (e.g. ultra settings and ray tracing in the very latest games, with high FPS). The 4090 is targeted at 4K though, yes.

The reason I suggest a 4070 is because it is one of the more reasonably priced cards for what it is, pretty energy efficient and plenty capable enough for a few years to get you accustomed to higher-end gaming. The 4070 Ti price is ridiculous for a 12GB card and the 4090 has gone up a lot recently, starting to edge 2K.

3. Heating: Even if I have good ventilation in the case, in summer the ambient temperatures are higher, and the case will be generating a lot of heat which it will dissipate into the room, making the ambient temperature even higher. Would this cause heating issues within the case as its drawing in warmer air? What I guess I am asking is, would I have to restrict usage in summers, or have fans or AC in a small room in summer? (Sorry if this sounds like I'm planning too far ahead, I'm just trying to cover all aspects with getting a high end system.)

For the card itself? Unlikely. Most of these coolers are pretty well built and you'd presumably buy a case with plenty of airflow. You can end up with overheating elsewhere though, especially pockets around the motherboard.

The room: it depends on the room, the size of the room, etc.

To answer your question: with a high-end 14900K and overclocked 4090 system you can be dumping the best part of 1K heat into the room, so obviously that has consequences. A 1K heater is pretty powerful and even if you undervolt / power limit you're looking at 500 odd watts.

5. PSU: If I do go for a 4090 OC edition GPU with i9 14900K or Ryzen 7950X3D, but do not overclock them whatsoever (apart for the factory overclocks), would the Corsair 1000W be ideal or 1500W?

The X3Ds have more modest power consumption when gaming (see here), so I'd be fairly comfortable with 1000 in this circumstance.

Would the 1000W produce more heat (& use more power) as the load is higher, & the 1500W less heat as it has more room, or the other way round because 1500W is being under utilised

Generally speaking: a PSU that is overloaded gets hotter (since it is working harder), but that's not because it is using more power, since the PSU only draws what the PC needs (except for efficiency losses).

You'd need to look at testing to know what impact heat has on efficiency, but in theory the 80 Plus rating only allows a few percent efficiency loss for 100% load (versus 50% load).

6. If I go for a 4090 & plan to play in 4K, what CPU would I need to avoid bottlenecks? And if I play on 1080 or 1440, what CPU is needed to avoid bottlenecks?

For a 4090 I'd buy a high-end CPU as a minimum regardless, since it's not a good idea to buy a slow CPU just because you're playing at 4K, as you can suffer in the lows/general smoothness:
- 7800X3D
- 13700K/14700K

I'd be content to downgrade the CPU if you had a smaller budget, e.g. for a 4070 or 7800 XT then:
- 7600/7700
- 13600K/14600K

7. RAM: Why is 2x32 better than 4x16 GB? I remember ages ago (during the time of pentiums) that more RAM sticks were better than lesser sticks of same capacity. Is this because lesser power drain/heat generation or something else?

1. You can still upgrade without chucking it.
2. Official memory specs mirror the difficult experiences with 4 sticks.
AM5:
(number of sticks, single or dual rank)
2x1R: DDR5-5200
2x2R: DDR5-5200
4x1R: DDR5-3600
4x2R: DDR5-3600

and 13th gen:
2x1R: DDR5-5600
2x2R: DDR5-5600
4x1R: DDR5-4400
4x2R: DDR5-4400

This is an old video (lots of bios updates since then), but gives you an idea:

Is 128GB of DDR5 IMPOSSIBLE on AM5? Level1 Investigates!

Check out the forum thread here: https://forum.level1techs.com/t/7950x-i-want-4x32gb-unless-it-sucks-does-it-suck/189825**********************************Che...

www.youtube.com

8. If I go for the top end CPU, which is better, and works well with a 4090? the 14900K or 7950X3D?

If you read/watch the launch reviews for the 14900K, you'll get lots of opinions on this topic, but generally speaking: neither. The 7800X3D is the best buy for a gaming PC. At stock, the X3D has better energy usage/efficiency and when it loses to the Intel CPUs, the loss is marginal. APO might change things for the 14700K/14900K, but it's way too game specific right now since it requires individual profiles that Intel create manually.

i9 14900K Review... The Best Space Heater for Winter 2023

How do you make a new generation more appealing in 2023 from Intel? Well just dump 340 watts into the CPU and hope you can top all the benchmarks... And with...

www.youtube.com

When Intel’s Efficiency Cores Cause Inefficiency: APO Benchmarks & +30% Performance Tech Demo

Sponsor: Get 10% off Squarespace purchases (https://geni.us/BqEpf)We're benchmarking the Intel APO tool on Intel's new Core i9-14900K CPU. APO is compatible ...

www.youtube.com

4. Will the power draw of the GPU always be high when running it? e.g if I am playing an older game or a game with FPS limited to 60 or 120, DLSS performance, or other settings lowered, would the GPU power draw be lower or would it still be 450W?

FPS limits significantly lower the power consumption, there's v-sync 60 Hz results in this review, but keep in mind that using ultra settings and ray tracing will increase power usage.

Would I generate lesser heat in the above situations?

Yes.

 

[ILiekGames]

Many thanks for the guidance. Can you please have a look at this configured 4090 + 7800X3D system & give your opinion?
***No competitor linking***

Is there any advice you would give me with the configuration I've selected? Overclockers does not have the same configuration available, nor does it allow customisation with the selected components, or I would consider them as an option.
Any advice would be really helpful.
Thanks!

 

[dfour]

@ILiekGames First your not allowed to post items from competitors so you had better remove the link asap.I have listed it for you below.

• *BASE_PRICE: [+3020]
• BLUETOOTH: None Selected
• CAS: Corsair 5000X iCue RGB Gaming Case - Black - (features 3x ARGB 120mm fans) [-6]
• 
  
• CPNR1: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts -- reducing the noise transmitted from fans [+9] pointless
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D - 8-Core 4.20GHz, 5.00GHz Turbo - 96MB L3 Cache Processor w/ Radeon Graphics [-233]
• CS_FAN: 4x Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB Black Fan Kit [+86] Pointless. 3 on the case and 3 one the cooler means ou will only use 1 of this pack unless you push/pull the AIO .
• FAN: Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT Display 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler, Ultimate OC Compatible [+148]
• FREEBIE_CU1: AMD Ryzen Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Game Bundle (Digital Game Code) [+0]
• FREEBIE_VC1: GeForce RTX Escape The Darkness With RTX Bundle - Alan Wake 2 (Digital) [+0]
• 
  
• HOLIDAY1: Norton 360 VPN & Security for Gamers (Full 1 Year License) [+0] bloatware
• 
  
• M2SSD: 4TB Kingston Fury Renegade M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD - 7300MB/s Read & 7000MB/s Write [+186] (Single Drive)
• M2SSD2: 2TB Samsung 990 Pro M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD - 7450MB/s Read & 6900MB/s Write [+116] (Single Drive)
• MEMORY: 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5/6400mhz Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB Memory [+192] pointless and expensive. X3d cores are not much bothered abour ram speed or timings
• MONITOR: 32" MSI OPTIX MPG321UR-QD 1MS 144Hz UHD 4K HDMI / DP / USB Flat IPS & G-SYNC Monitor [+660] (Single Monitor)
• MOTHERBOARD: ASUS ROG Strix X670E-F Gaming WIFI: ATX w/ PCIe 5.0, USB 3.2, 4x M.2 [+136]
• 
  
• NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT -- As standard on all PCs
• OS: Windows 11 Home - with FREE trial of Microsoft 365 and 1 month Xbox Game Pass (64-bit Edition) (No Recovery Media)
• OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
• POWERSUPPLY: Corsair HX1000i 1000W 80+ Platinum Ultra-Low Noise ATX 3.0 Modular Gaming Power Supply [+82]
• PRO_WIRING1: Arctic MX-4 - Enthusiast Performance Thermal Paste (4g) [+9] pointless as the water cooler comes with good thermal paste as standard.
• PRO_WIRING2: Professional Cable Wiring Care - Ensures all cables are optimally routed and secured to maximise airflow, prevent loose connections and provides an immaculate and organised look for your system [+19] nice but should be standard IMHO
• PRO_WIRING3: Instapak Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect your system during shipping with Instapak branded fitted expanding foam which secures your vital components to reduce potential shipping damage [+14]
• 
  
• RUSH: Fast Track Service !!! Ready to Ship in 5 Business Days with no Overclocking Service [+39]
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD AUDIO
• VIDEO: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 4090 - 24GB GDDR6X - Real-Time Ray Tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 3 [+246] (Single Card)
  WARRANTY: DESKTOP GOLD WARRANTY: 5 Years' Labour, 2 Years' Parts, 2 Years' Collect and Return plus Life-Time Technical Support
• _PRICE: (+4723)
• £5568 inc vat!!! thats some build

You can do some customization with OC pcs in the build or you can get OC to build you a custom one to your needs plus ther build fee. Just speak to there customer service.

 

[dfour]

Using OC configurator I have roughly duplicated your rig above for almost a grand cheaper (minus the monitor so still £400 cheaper.)!!!

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Tech Labs AMD Ryzen AM5 Pro Gaming Configurator (SKU: SYS-OCT-00042) = £4,443.06
  • Case: 1 x Lian Li Lancool II Mesh C RGB Midi-Tower Case - Black
  • Processor: 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail
  • Motherboard: 1 x Asus ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard
  • CPU Cooler: 1 x Lian Li Galahad II Trinity AIO 360mm ARGB CPU Water Cooler - Black
  • Memory: 1 x Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMT32GX5M2B6000Z30K)
  • Graphics Card: 1 x Asus GeForce RTX 4090 ROG Strix OC 24GB GDDR6X PCI-Express Graphics Card
  • Power Supply: 1 x Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W ATX3.0 Native PCIE 5 Fully Modular 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply
  • M.2 Solid State Drive: 1 x WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3
  • M.2 Solid State Drive: 1 x WD Black SN850X 4TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS400T2X0E)
  • Operating System: 1 x Build Stock Microsoft Windows 11 Home Advanced - Systems

Total: £4,443.06 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

​

​

​

Use this page if you want to try your hand tourself​

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OcUK Tech Labs AMD Ryzen AM5 Pro Gaming Configurator | OcUK

Order now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

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[ILiekGames]

Many thanks for your advice. Sorry about the link. I'm unable to remove the link as I don't see the edit post button anymore. Can the moderators please help me remove the above link from my post?

Regarding the 4 fans, I was planning to have 3 installed on the side & 1 on the rear. My plan was to have the 3 stock fans on the front & the 3 additional fans on the side (total 6 fans) pulling air in, with a single rear fan & the 3 fans from the AIO cpu cooler on the top, pushing air out. Do you agree?

 

[mickyflinn]

Many thanks for your advice. Sorry about the link. I'm unable to remove the link as I don't see the edit post button anymore. Can the moderators please help me remove the above link from my post?

Regarding the 4 fans, I was planning to have 3 installed on the side & 1 on the rear. My plan was to have the 3 stock fans on the front & the 3 additional fans on the side (total 6 fans) pulling air in, with a single rear fan & the 3 fans from the AIO cpu cooler on the top, pushing air out. Do you agree?

The edit is at the bottom left of your post next to the report button.

 

[ILiekGames]

It's not showing up on my end. Tried on other browsers as well. Only shows up immediately after making a post, but not for older posts.

 

[mickyflinn]

It's not showing up on my end. Tried on other browsers as well. Only shows up immediately after making a post, but not for older posts.

Strange you should be able to edit any post you make but don't worry about the link, it's a innocent mistake new members make by not reading the forum rules.

 

[dfour]

A Mod has nuked it anyways but its still strangge you cant see the edit button. Maybe its disabled for new members??

 

[ILiekGames]

That seems like the only explanation

 

[dfour]

Many thanks for your advice. Sorry about the link. I'm unable to remove the link as I don't see the edit post button anymore. Can the moderators please help me remove the above link from my post?

Regarding the 4 fans, I was planning to have 3 installed on the side & 1 on the rear. My plan was to have the 3 stock fans on the front & the 3 additional fans on the side (total 6 fans) pulling air in, with a single rear fan & the 3 fans from the AIO cpu cooler on the top, pushing air out. Do you agree?

Yes I would agree. I didnt realize the case had the side fans on it. So many different cases with so many features lol.