240hz 1440p+144 4k

[Dafru]

Hi, would love some opinions on the below build. My budget is £4500 and this came at just a little below - £4324. Purpose of this PC will be mostly gaming at 1440p. I currently have a 165hz monitor, might be upgrading to a 240hz soon.


Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900KS (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Black
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
4x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £4,324.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi, would love some opinions on the below build. My budget is £4500 and this came at just a little below - £4324. Purpose of this PC will be mostly gaming at 1440p. I currently have a 165hz monitor, might be upgrading to a 240hz soon.


Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900KS (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Black
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
4x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £4,324.00 including VAT and Delivery

Hiya

Can I ask why you're replacing the PC you bought a couple of years ago?

 

[Dafru]

Hiya

Can I ask why you're replacing the PC you bought a couple of years ago?

Hi! Recently cleaned it out, changed the fans and sold it for basically 75% of the original price I paid for it. I had no issues with just thought it was a time for an upgrade since it's been a while.

 

[Scott]

I don't think that system is at all worth it. For £3k you could have a system with 99% of the gaming potential that this has.

If you really want to eek out the 1% extra, that you won't actually see, then up the PSU to something reasonable like a 1200w and add a primary storage drive.

Always best to add the configurable link from the bottom of the list so that we can easily suggest changes. Going in and re-building your system from the configurator is very time consuming.

 

[Steveyg]

This is just not a well specced gaming machine at all mate and for 1440p it's a complete waste of resources. You can get a system that will perform similarly for a fraction of the cost of this

Absolutely no need for a 3090 or a 12900 in any gaming system they just aren't well suited to it

 

[wukeReacts]

Should aim for a 4k build for that price tag, but even then theres things that are overkill for 4k gaming. Someone here should be able to recommend a high end 4k build + monitor for well within your budget

 

[Steveyg]

For comparison this would perform similarly at 4K and still leave you enough budget left over to get a really really good monitor like a Samsung G9 to pair with it.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £2,651.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/0gG9ceqmB0/

 

[Dafru]

Thanks for the advice, I'm pretty set on this one but I'd love some final thoughts from you! I'm not really interested in 4k gaming, just wanna get a rig that will be able to run well at 1440p for the next 2-4 years. Specs below (this time with a link to reconfigure, sorry!)

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900KS (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Black
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
4x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £3,804.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-ddr5-pc/UVD0ZtWDUw/

 

[Steveyg]

Mate no one is going to recommend you buy that build, you're paying more than twice the price for a CPU that offers basically single digit FPS increases and runs so hot and draws so much power it'll probably kill either the CPU cooler or the motherboard before the end of it's lifespan

It just makes no sense to put a 12900k in a gaming build never mind the really silly 12900KS when the 12700K offers basically the same performance

Paying an absolute fortune for being an early adopter of DDR5 RAM which doesn't offer enough performance increase to justify it's massive costs

Paired with an ASUS GPU that's priced astronomically. At the end of the day it's your money and you can spend it how you like, I personally wouldn't want your selections

 

[Scott]

Thanks for the advice, I'm pretty set on this one but I'd love some final thoughts from you! I'm not really interested in 4k gaming, just wanna get a rig that will be able to run well at 1440p for the next 2-4 years. Specs below (this time with a link to reconfigure, sorry!)

As above. You really need to consider our position here. You are asking for advice, ignoring it and then re-asking for advice again.

It gets a bit pointless. More than happy to discuss the options but to just blatantly ignore the advice already offered followed by asking for advice again isn't going to get any change in response.

 

[pcadviceneeded2022]

Hi there!

Looking for some advice on the below build. Main use will be competitive gaming at 240hz/1440p with some single player 144hz/4k sprinkled on the top. With budget up to £4000 for the PC itself.

Main monitor for this will be the Asus XG27AQM (27 inch, 1440p with OC up to 270hz) which I already have.

As for the 4k monitor - I haven't bought anything yet as I don't desperately need a 4k monitor to start with; budget for this would be up to £850-£900. I'm not 100% set on anything yet so I'd love to hear some advice from you but I have been mainly considering Gigabyte M28U and the LG27GP950-B.

Specs with some additional comments in red below.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700KF (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache - Originally went with the K but I don't see myself needing integrated graphics, let me know if there would be any issue with this.
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB) - Might get 'roasted' for this as I know how people currently feel about DDR5 - aka not worth the ridiculous price difference with almost no performance gains... ESPECIALLY in gaming.. but I unfortunately want to squeeze out anything I can whilst making future upgrades as easy as possible. Hence why I'm more than willing to bet on the DDR5!
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR - Here I'm considering getting a Strix card, from what I've researched PCS supplies mainly Palit or Zotac cards and I know few people that had some bad experiences with 30 series cards from those 2 suppliers. Might be an outlier but I've not heard any complaints on the web about the Strix cards except the obvious price difference for minimum performance difference.
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W) - Boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W) - Main storage for games etc.
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - Went with the 1000W PSU to leave some space for future upgrades, let me know if I should stick with it!
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Black - Once again, aesthetic, I might drop these and order myself a set of Lian Li Strimmer cables for maximum bling - I wish that PCS would start supplying these for freaks like myself that love to look at their rigs!
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler - Mainly aesthetic, PC will be chilling on a separate desk and I like my setup to have some bling. I also might throw in some additional fans - let me know if there would by any problem with that below please!
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING - Not worth getting the other thermal paste, right? From what I've seen on here people say that Corsair AIO's come with a pre applied paste and scraping it to replace it might just create more problems down the line.
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003] - This will be Windows 10, forgot to change it and I've noticed only just now, I also need to double check if I have a spare licence key lying around...
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - Extra £5 for 6 months worth of parts? Sign me up... I guess?
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £3,211.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-ddr5-pc/6wgM75zPtw/

 

[B4zookaw]

It's always nice to see a poster having taken the time to read the FAQ and guides and post a well thought out spec along with their requirements

 

[Steveyg]

Solid build mate well done, I still wouldn't go with DDR5 yet personally but hey if you want to I'd not begrudge it

 

[robin h 25]

As for the 4k monitor - I haven't bought anything yet as I don't desperately need a 4k monitor to start with; budget for this would be up to £850-£900. I'm not 100% set on anything yet so I'd love to hear some advice from you but I have been mainly considering Gigabyte M28U and the LG27GP950-B.

Those two monitors are almost the same in specs and performance,

The upside to the Gigabyte M28U...
It's about £100 cheaper than the LG27GP950,
It's has a slightly quicker response time over the LG but i don't think you'll notice it, It will be almost like trying to tell or see the difference between 60fps and 61fps.

The upside to the LG27GP950...
It has better colour accuracy over the Gigabyte M28U,
It has better HDR, HDR 600 over the M28U's HDR 400,

The Gigabyte M28U will always be recommended at this price point but it will be down to personal preference on which you choose and if it worth the £100 difference.

 

[Scott]

You've selected the 12GB 3080 option which isn't at all worth it for gaming. If the money is there to edge out the performance then the 3080Ti might be worth a punt. I personally wouldn't, as I'd have my eye on the 4080 as a replacement once available.

If you absolutely want to stay on the cutting edge going forward then I would probably think about the 1200w PSU, just to keep every option covered. The next generation of GPUs are going to be hungry.

So, TLDR..... 1200w PSU & switch the GPU out for the 10GB 3080 (or Strix). I would actually get the Strix in your shoes, it's a very good card when you don't mind the additional outlay. Worth it..... probably not, but it has its merits.

 

[pcadviceneeded2022]

Solid build mate well done, I still wouldn't go with DDR5 yet personally but hey if you want to I'd not begrudge it

Thank you for the input! I really do understand your point of view. It's a much better bang for a buck to just get DDR4 at the moment since DDR5 is still pretty new. That being said, I want to squeeze as much performance and have a wider field of upgrades ahead of me. I will give some thought to it though!

Those two monitors are almost the same in specs and performance,

The upside to the Gigabyte M28U...
It's about £100 cheaper than the LG27GP950,
It's has a slightly quicker response time over the LG but i don't think you'll notice it, It will be almost like trying to tell or see the difference between 60fps and 61fps.

The upside to the LG27GP950...
It has better colour accuracy over the Gigabyte M28U,
It has better HDR, HDR 600 over the M28U's HDR 400,

The Gigabyte M28U will always be recommended at this price point but it will be down to personal preference on which you choose and if it worth the £100 difference.

Interesting points! Thank you for taking your time to give me some pros and cons for both of these, really appreciate it! Like I said, I'm not really in a rush to get the 4k monitor so I will more likely wait couple weeks and research some more. Regardless, thank you

You've selected the 12GB 3080 option which isn't at all worth it for gaming. If the money is there to edge out the performance then the 3080Ti might be worth a punt. I personally wouldn't, as I'd have my eye on the 4080 as a replacement once available.

If you absolutely want to stay on the cutting edge going forward then I would probably think about the 1200w PSU, just to keep every option covered. The next generation of GPUs are going to be hungry.

So, TLDR..... 1200w PSU & switch the GPU out for the 10GB 3080 (or Strix). I would actually get the Strix in your shoes, it's a very good card when you don't mind the additional outlay. Worth it..... probably not, but it has its merits.

Really insightful information here, thank you! I think I will end up getting the Strix 3080 and either a 1000w or a 1200w PSU.

If I do end up getting a 1200w PSU, which one of these 2 would you recommend?

Once again, thank you all for your time!

 

[Steveyg]

Thank you for the input! I really do understand your point of view. It's a much better bang for a buck to just get DDR4 at the moment since DDR5 is still pretty new. That being said, I want to squeeze as much performance and have a wider field of upgrades ahead of me. I will give some thought to it though!

Just on this mate there is no guarantee that the motherboard you select will be compatible with future DDR5 advancements. We seen it in the earlier days of DDR4 when the new early adopters motherboards couldn't support the higher speeds and lower latencies of the new speeds they were pushing

That's why I say it's not worth it to jump into DDR5 just now. Performance really isn't there to justify cost but more important it's not really securing a future platform either

 

[Scott]

Thank you for the input! I really do understand your point of view. It's a much better bang for a buck to just get DDR4 at the moment since DDR5 is still pretty new. That being said, I want to squeeze as much performance and have a wider field of upgrades ahead of me. I will give some thought to it though!



Interesting points! Thank you for taking your time to give me some pros and cons for both of these, really appreciate it! Like I said, I'm not really in a rush to get the 4k monitor so I will more likely wait couple weeks and research some more. Regardless, thank you


Really insightful information here, thank you! I think I will end up getting the Strix 3080 and either a 1000w or a 1200w PSU.

If I do end up getting a 1200w PSU, which one of these 2 would you recommend?

View attachment 33403

Once again, thank you all for your time!

In your shoes I would go with the HXi. It can then be monitored in Windows etc. For the sake of £25 I think it's worth having and costing that, than not having and regretting it.

 

[pcadviceneeded2022]

One more small question regarding the mobo. Would it be worth throwing more money at the screen to get the ROG Maximus instead?

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the build and will order soon. Thanks you all!

 

[SpyderTracks]

One more small question regarding the mobo. Would it be worth throwing more money at the screen to get the ROG Maximus instead?

View attachment 33415

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the build and will order soon. Thanks you all!

No benefit with the 12700kf, I would put more money into the screen personally, will net better results.