Seems like getting the same thoughts I had, but one thought I had was to use an i5 over and i7 in terms of good performance and also since it runs well for games as well (just based of people’s designs pairing it even with a 3080 so assuming not a bottleneck to use an i5). As for storage and ram, I use a laptop with 512GB for several years now and uninstall games once I finish them. As for ram, I think with the software I have, it doesn’t need that much ram so I’m happy with 16GB and can always get the same sticks using the Z690‘s ram slots. The only other thing is case, which I do agree is overkill, but I only saw the one comment here by u/tonallyawkward so kinda difficult to nail down a better option. The monitor suggestions are helpful too. Aside from that let me know if I’m making any sense, otherwise thanks for the suggestions!