£2k budget, gaming PC + monitor. What do you think?

mcfuzz

Active member
Hi all,

Currently using a gaming laptop, but finally have a spot in my home for a desktop PC. I mainly play WoW, but also looking to enjoy playing all AAA games due out in the next couple of years.

I'm not too clued up with specs nowadays, so I'm hopeful the below will do justice to my budget.

Will the below run games at a decent FPS, esepcially if my budget can squeeze in a 1440 monitor? Total spend including monitor is £2k. Looking for advice on a decent monior too if possible?


Case
PCS SR-628B RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

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Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs

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Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

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1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Promotional Item
The Outer Worlds -OR- Borderlands 3 w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £1,636.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/dmVJ4YdRtj/
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
AMD is definitely the way to go, couple of pointers:

If just for gaming drop to the 3600 (not x unless you’ll use the free games)

Drop the extra fans, no requirement.

Personally I’d use the stock cooler, it’s very good.

And nit picking here, I’d personally choose a slightly better case, that one restricts airflow at the front a bit.

The 2060 Super is a good pairing for 1440p 144hz. Gimme a sec and I’ll scout some prices on the web to fit budget.
 

mcfuzz

Active member
I'm not precious about the case. Thoughts welcome for an alternative (I just thought it looked cool) ;-)
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Agreed with all of the above said by @SpyderTracks , very strongly.

For alternative cases with a similar aesthetic (RGB, etc), there's the CORSAIR iCUE 220T or the CORSAIR CRYSTAL SERIES 460X RGB GAMING CASE, neither of which are much pricier.

Also drop the thermal paste. Instead of spending £ on a cheap cooler and a bit better thermal paste, just buy a better cooler, which may well come with decent paste on its own. Or stick to the stock cooler and stock paste.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
For screens, MSI came along quite recently with really high specs at very moderate prices and reviews have been impressive across the board.

This may take you a few quid over, but well worth it if you can do it:


27" CURVED (Unheard of at this pricepoint) 1440p 144Hz Freesync

Cheapest I've found it is @£389:
 

mcfuzz

Active member
Ok, how does this tweaked spec look? Is the cooling enough?

BTW love the monitor! And from Curry's too! :-o

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

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Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

down_right_arrow.gif
Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Promotional Item
Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £1,492.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Nh6Pm9x0q0/
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Wow, didn't realise the change would bring the price down so much, that's quite impressive.

If you want a different cooler to stock, I'd go for the H100i or x, can't remember which ones are avaialble. Much much better coolers and come with their own better thermal paste.

Yep, would be a sweet build.

The added bonus of choosing the X570 motherboard is that they're bringing out crazy fast M2 drives up to 5000Mb/s which is just insane. They're currently very expensive (obviously), but as a future upgrade path, you'd be able to slot on of those in down the line when prices are more mainstream. Plus you'd be able to add a PCIe 4 graphics card as and when they hit the market.

It's a good platform to be on I'd say, although looking a way off into the future.
 

mcfuzz

Active member
Made a big difference and with that sweet montior I will still be undetr budget. Updated spec, now with the Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

down_right_arrow.gif
Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

down_right_arrow.gif
Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Promotional Item
Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £1,585.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/SGGQvPGkDS/
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Just to stress, the cooler is completely over the top for that chip, will run absolutely fine on the stock cooler. The stock AMD coolers are really good on these Ryzen chips, not noisy like they used to be.

But yeah, that's a sweet build, would do the monitor absolute justice.
 

mcfuzz

Active member
Well thanks so much for the advice. Anything else to tweak to squeeze out the £2k I have to spend? Otherwise I think I am good to go!
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Well thanks so much for the advice. Anything else to tweak to squeeze out the £2k I have to spend? Otherwise I think I am good to go!
I'd save the change for some games :)

BTW, to get you on the move, there's 2 decent games going for free on the Epic Games store, just download the epic store launcher, create an account and add these for free, no other ties:

Alan Wake's American Nightmare

Observer

Observer in particular is only 2 years old and has amazing reviews.
 

mcfuzz

Active member
Perfect, I will check out Epic games, to be fair i need something new to get my teeth into as a touch bored of WoW at the moment.

Thanks again!
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Just to say if you dropped the CPU cooler to the Cooler Master Lite 240 and the mobo to B450, which would net you the same gaming performance, you'd be able to up the RTX 2060 Super to an RTX 2070 Super for the same price.
 

mcfuzz

Active member
Hi,

Presume the rtx 2070 is worth the upgrade vs the rtx 2060? Below takes me a touch over budget, but I;m willing to shell out more if it will make a decent difference?

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

down_right_arrow.gif
Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!

down_right_arrow.gif
Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,705.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/jxm4B8Gtx7/
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I'd drop to a cheaper CPU cooler. You're paying almost as much for the CPU cooler as for the CPU itself!

Also are you really going to use the X570's features that the B450 mobo doesn't offer?

Those changes alone would pay for the upgrade.
 

mcfuzz

Active member
Also are you really going to use the X570's features that the B450 mobo doesn't offer?

Unlikely to be honest, so will drop down to B450.

What cooler would you recommend, just the stock version?
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Stock cooler is fine, though if you want a decent cooler to keep temps down and boost clocks up, the Cooler Master 240 Lite is more than enough
 
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