Looking for opinions, suggestions and advice on my first PC Build *UPDATED*

[EmWag1999]

Hi,
The 'etc is not included in the budget of £1800 - which is just for the tower.
It's just the tower I'm looking for advice with at the moment, and I'm looking at a logitech wireless keyboard and one of the 2 monitors suggested to me earlier up in the thread

I took the suggestions on board and changed my quote, which is why I just wanted to know if you guys thought it looked any better now... its kind of a lot of money (for a non-obsessive gamer) so I just valued and appreciated everyone's suggestions

Link below:

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[EmWag1999]

Is it possible to bump this?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Is it possible to bump this?

Helps if you answer the questions asked?

 

[EmWag1999]

Is GeForce RTX 3060 the same thing as ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3060? And if so, which is the better gpu in your guys' opinion??
For an idea I will be mainly using the PC for multi-tab and multi-program work but also occasional gaming. Looking for it to be as fast as possible all round.

 

[AleTax]

Is GeForce RTX 3060 the same thing as ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3060? And if so, which is the better gpu in your guys' opinion??
For an idea I will be mainly using the PC for multi-tab and multi-program work but also occasional gaming. Looking for it to be as fast as possible all round.

Hey man, yes: 3060 and Strix 3060 are the same GPU. The model is exactly the same, only that the Strix is ASUS branded. The RX 6700 XT is better for 1440p monitors and 3060 for 1080p

 

[sck451]

The GPUs are the same, but the performance may not be. They may be better performing chips (the so-called silicon lottery), while Asus (like other AIB manufacturers) may well have improved the power delivery, cooling and clock speeds compared to the reference/FE/generic version. It's likely that there will be a small performance advantage over the Zotac/Palit cards that PCS mostly ships.

Unless you're looking at a no-holds-barred-budget-be-damned build, I would go for one of the standard cards, rather than paying extra for a brand name and a slight performance benefit.

Ultimately, the choice of which card depends on your monitor. You need to match the monitor to the graphics card:

Resolution & refresh rate	Monitor examples	Suitable graphics cards
1440p 144Hz	Samsung G5 (curved) AOC CQ27G2U (curved) AOC Q27G2U (flat) (all around £260-300)	RTX 3070 RTX 3060 Ti AMD RX 6700XT
1080p 144Hz	AOC C24G1 (curved) and others (around £160-200)	RTX 3060 RTX 2060 GTX 1660 Super

Personally I'd definitely go for the 1440p 144Hz experience, so you would need to choose one of those three graphics cards. The 3060 Ti is still a mostly fictional card, so it's the choice between the 3070 and the 6700XT.

I can't see that you've mentioned what monitor you already have, but if you do have one already, match the graphics card to it. Otherwise, work out what you maximum budget is for monitor and tower, and use the above table to find the ideal setup.

 

[AgentCooper]

@EmWag1999 - in attempting to clean up the thread you’ve actually made more of a mess of it by deleting all your messages and updating the original post. Makes for very difficult reading.

I’ve undeleted the messages so that it makes more sense for everyone involved so far 👍

 

[EmWag1999]

@EmWag1999 - in attempting to clean up the thread you’ve actually made more of a mess of it by deleting all your messages and updating the original post. Makes for very difficult reading.

I’ve undeleted the messages so that it makes more sense for everyone involved so far 👍

Apologies for attempting to make the info that actually mattered clearer 👍🏻 I did it so I could easily see the recommendations made so far, as none of my responses were important (and they're all in the original post)

 

[EmWag1999]

Helps if you answer the questions asked?

I did...

 

[AgentCooper]

Apologies for attempting to make the info that actually mattered clearer 👍🏻 I did it so I could easily see the recommendations made so far, as none of my responses were important (and they're all in the original post)

I see where you’re coming from, but with that approach the only person it makes it clearer for is you. For the rest of us it makes it more difficult to comprehend and confusing for people trying to assist you.

 

[EmWag1999]

I see,
I'll leave it from now then

 

[EmWag1999]

The GPUs are the same, but the performance may not be. They may be better performing chips (the so-called silicon lottery), while Asus (like other AIB manufacturers) may well have improved the power delivery, cooling and clock speeds compared to the reference/FE/generic version. It's likely that there will be a small performance advantage over the Zotac/Palit cards that PCS mostly ships.

Unless you're looking at a no-holds-barred-budget-be-damned build, I would go for one of the standard cards, rather than paying extra for a brand name and a slight performance benefit.

Ultimately, the choice of which card depends on your monitor. You need to match the monitor to the graphics card:

Resolution & refresh rate	Monitor examples	Suitable graphics cards
1440p 144Hz	Samsung G5 (curved) AOC CQ27G2U (curved) AOC Q27G2U (flat) (all around £260-300)	RTX 3070 RTX 3060 Ti AMD RX 6700XT
1080p 144Hz	AOC C24G1 (curved) and others (around £160-200)	RTX 3060 RTX 2060 GTX 1660 Super

Personally I'd definitely go for the 1440p 144Hz experience, so you would need to choose one of those three graphics cards. The 3060 Ti is still a mostly fictional card, so it's the choice between the 3070 and the 6700XT.

I can't see that you've mentioned what monitor you already have, but if you do have one already, match the graphics card to it. Otherwise, work out what you maximum budget is for monitor and tower, and use the above table to find the ideal setup.

Hiya, I was suggested 2 monitors further back, and will attach the monitors im looking to choose between

SAMSUNG Odyssey G5 LC27G55TQWUXEN Quad HD 27" Curved LED Gaming Monitor - Black

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

AOC Q27G2U/BK Quad HD 27" VA Gaming Monitor - Black & Red

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; USB 3.0 x 4; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

ACER Nitro VG270bmiix Full HD 27" LCD Gaming Monitor - Black

Full HD 1920 x 1080p; Refresh rate: 75 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / VGA; Built-in speakers; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

ASUS TUF VG249Q1R Full HD 23.8" IPS LCD Gaming Monitor - Black

Full HD 1920 x 1080p; Refresh rate: 165 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Built-in speakers; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

This is exactly why I find it useful having you guys give your thoughts, as I can pick the highest performing parts but it doesnt mean theyll perform to their ability together :')

 

[EmWag1999]

I'm starting to understand why everyone is asking which monitor I'd be getting now, as it appears the best other parts depend on which monitor I have to a degree? And then how they work together etc...

I will go through those monitors listed above and try to narrow it down,
recommendations are appreciated

 

[EmWag1999]

Also, another question: what is the difference between 1440p any 108p? I assume 1440p looks better and only certain games etc support it, but does this mean it wont run as well on programs that dont use 1440p? Or is it kind of like both in one, whereas the 108p monitors is just that one...?

 

[sck451]

Hiya, I was suggested 2 monitors further back, and will attach the monitors im looking to choose between

SAMSUNG Odyssey G5 LC27G55TQWUXEN Quad HD 27" Curved LED Gaming Monitor - Black

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

AOC Q27G2U/BK Quad HD 27" VA Gaming Monitor - Black & Red

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; USB 3.0 x 4; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

ACER Nitro VG270bmiix Full HD 27" LCD Gaming Monitor - Black

Full HD 1920 x 1080p; Refresh rate: 75 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / VGA; Built-in speakers; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

ASUS TUF VG249Q1R Full HD 23.8" IPS LCD Gaming Monitor - Black

Full HD 1920 x 1080p; Refresh rate: 165 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Built-in speakers; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

This is exactly why I find it useful having you guys give your thoughts, as I can pick the highest performing parts but it doesnt mean theyll perform to their ability together :')

Of those, the Samsung and the AOC are excellent 1440p monitors (the biggest difference is whether you like the curved screen). The ASUS is very good if you want to go cheaper and 1080p. The Acer is not really a gaming monitor as it's only 75Hz.

I have the AOC one and can fully recommend it (though you will see from my signature that I break my own advice and use a lesser graphics card: this is because I don't game much and the games I do play are not graphically demanding).

Also, another question: what is the difference between 1440p any 108p? I assume 1440p looks better and only certain games etc support it, but does this mean it wont run as well on programs that dont use 1440p? Or is it kind of like both in one, whereas the 108p monitors is just that one...?

1440p means the screen size is 2560 pixels by 1440. 1080p means 1920 by 1080. This means 1440p has approximately 75% more pixels than 1080p. This means significantly higher quality at a given screen size because the pixels are much denser. (24 inches is about as high as you can push 1080p before the individual pixels become visible; a 1440p monitor can happily do 27 inches and can make a decent stab at 32.)

Almost any program or game (certainly any modern one) will be able to run at 1440p and 1080p (and variants on them). It's just that 1440p is (for obvious reasons) much more demanding on the graphics card, which is why matching the monitor to the card is so vital.

It is possible to do 1080p on a 1440p monitor, but it won't be as high quality as on a normal 1080p monitor because of the way you have to scale up the pixels.

 

[EmWag1999]

Because having built in speakers is important for me, im looking more towards this monitor atm

ACER Nitro VG270UPbmiipx Quad HD 27" LCD Gaming Monitor - Black

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Built-in speakers; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

 

[EmWag1999]

Of those, the Samsung and the AOC are excellent 1440p monitors (the biggest difference is whether you like the curved screen). The ASUS is very good if you want to go cheaper and 1080p. The Acer is not really a gaming monitor as it's only 75Hz.

I have the AOC one and can fully recommend it (though you will see from my signature that I break my own advice and use a lesser graphics card: this is because I don't game much and the games I do play are not graphically demanding).


1440p means the screen size is 2560 pixels by 1440. 1080p means 1920 by 1080. This means 1440p has approximately 75% more pixels than 1080p. This means significantly higher quality at a given screen size because the pixels are much denser. (24 inches is about as high as you can push 1080p before the individual pixels become visible; a 1440p monitor can happily do 27 inches and can make a decent stab at 32.)

Almost any program or game (certainly any modern one) will be able to run at 1440p and 1080p (and variants on them). It's just that 1440p is (for obvious reasons) much more demanding on the graphics card, which is why matching the monitor to the card is so vital.

It is possible to do 1080p on a 1440p monitor, but it won't be as high quality as on a normal 1080p monitor because of the way you have to scale up the pixels.

My games aren't graphically demanding either,
is there a benefit to downgrading the graphics card?

 

[AgentCooper]

Because having built in speakers is important for me, im looking more towards this monitor atm

ACER Nitro VG270UPbmiipx Quad HD 27" LCD Gaming Monitor - Black

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Built-in speakers; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

I’d bear in mind that built in speakers are usually low quality and low wattage (usually 2w) so tend to give very poor sound reproduction. I think all of us here would recommend picking up a pair of decent external speakers at some point. It’ll transform the listening experience.

 

[sck451]

I’d bear in mind that built in speakers are usually low quality and low wattage (usually 2w) so tend to give very poor sound reproduction. I think all of us here would recommend picking up a pair of decent external speakers at some point. It’ll transform the listening experience.

And DisplayPort (generally a better way to connect the monitor than HDMI) doesn't support sound, so you have to use HDMI instead. Not the end of the world, but potentially a step down (depending, I think, on which exact HDMI standard it's rated for).

 

[sck451]

My games aren't graphically demanding either,
is there a benefit to downgrading the graphics card?

What I mean is, I basically just play Age of Empires. I wouldn't recommend going for a lower-tier graphics card for gaming: this is actually one more game than I thought I'd play when I bought it.