Advice on PC build please.

H

Havoc

Member
Morning All,

So this is my first time configuring a PC. I've done a fair amount of research and spoken to people regarding their own build specs, but I am by no means an expert and would like those with undoubtedly more knowledge to just cast their eye over this.
This will mainly be used for gaming, streaming and possibly some video editing, although editing is less likely. Budget is under £2k for the full setup ideally, although could move over that if necessary. I've included what I believe would be a suitable monitor for what I need, but obviously if there is something more suited I bow to your superior knowledge. Thanks for your time.

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G Eight Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 80 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Monitor
AOC 24G2U 24" 144Hz Gaming Monitor - DP
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 8 to 11 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/T!Ah2TFbwA/
 
D

DarTon

Well-known member
Welcome.

You say your budget is £2k but the machine you've specced above I'm seeing at £1,748, including the monitor. Are you willing to spend up to the full £2k or would you prefer to come in below that?

The reason I ask is that, for a 1080p system, you probably don't need to spend £2k. If you want to go for a 1440p system, then £2k, including a monitor, is probably not easily doable given you'd need to spend £300 on the monitor and want a 3060Ti type GPU. 1440p would be much nicer from a gaming perspective but you don't want to overspend for the sake of it.
 
H

Havoc

Member
DarTon said:
Welcome.

You say your budget is £2k but the machine you've specced above I'm seeing at £1,748, including the monitor. Are you willing to spend up to the full £2k or would you prefer to come in below that?

The reason I ask is that, for a 1080p system, you probably don't need to spend £2k. If you want to go for a 1440p system, then £2k, including a monitor, is probably not easily doable given you'd need to spend £300 on the monitor and want a 3060Ti type GPU. 1440p would be much nicer from a gaming perspective but you don't want to overspend for the sake of it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your response.
Ideally I'd like to come in below the £2k if I can and as you suggest, the 1440 would likely be significantly more although much better for gaming.
Coming from console (I know swearing, sorry) having a decent spec PC to run 1080 would be head and shoulders above what i currently have. I'd like to have something that's fit for purpose at a high end graphic setting on most games with the capability of streaming at the same time without too much reduction in performance, but also having the potential for upgrades In the future as required.
 
D

DarTon

Well-known member
Ok so on the AMD platform, I'd say this is a very decently specced 1080p system.
It's £1,627 so adding in £150-200 for a very good 24" 1080p monitor, you are looking at about £1,800.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE - Probably best airflow case for the money; if you prefer your case that is fine
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4) - The 5700G is not an ideal CPU to choose for systems with a discrete GPU. In single core terms the 5600X is faster than the 5700G and only 5% slower in multi core terms.
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR - This is top of the range for 1080p gaming
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W) - Uber fast M2 PCIe4 SSD for OS/main programs
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW) - Fast M2 PCIe3 SSD for games/data
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - PSU sized for 1440p card at later date
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition - Small incremental upgrade over stock 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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - Silver warranty for £5 is good value
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 11 working days
Price: £1,627.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/0nE7XWsSgD/


If you exchange the 3060 for a 3060Ti then the price moves to £1,702. Add in £300 for a monitor and you can squeeze in at £2k.
 
G

gigachip

Member
Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X570S AORUS PRO AX: ATX (USB 3.2 Gen 1, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX, WI-FI) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W 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 RGB V3 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)
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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
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
Monitor
AOC 24G2U 24" 144Hz Gaming Monitor - DP
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 8 to 11 working days
Price: £1,899.00 including VAT and Delivery

With a 2k budget, others may well reconfigure your spec better than I, but if it were me, I'd opt for 5600x onto Gigabyte Auorus Pro (superb mb). Remove the wifi card as not needed. Win 10 as 11 has known issues. Remove Bull AV as this is.. well... a load of bull. Upgrade the CPU cooler to the frostflow 100. Just my view on it. Others, I am sure may well improve on that.
 
D

DarTon

Well-known member
On the Intel platform using the 12400F (flat to marginally worse performance than 5600X) then we can bring you in somewhat cheaper

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660-PLUS WIFI D4: ATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - 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
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 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
Firefox™
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 8 to 11 working days
Price: £1,535.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/2!hJ6Z!fj3/

With a 3060Ti this is £1,612 so you can definately squeeze in for a 1440p system under £2k.

For a 10 core 12600KF system, you'd need a better cooler and possibly a motherboard upgrade. I reckon that system comes in at about £1,800 + monitor. So £2,100.
 
H

Havoc

Member
Guys, thank you so much for taking the time to look over this.
At least I know I'm not a million miles off and you've given me some options to take into account before I hit the button.

Thanks guys
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I'd fully endorse @DarTon's build, except that I'd go for 1440p and the 3060 Ti and you can shave off a bit more by going slightly less extreme on the storage. I don't think a 12400F and a Samsung 980 Pro is a good balance cost-wise! You'll be quite happy with a 670p as a boot drive and the PCS own-brand M.2 drive for games.

For monitors, the obvious recommendation is the Gigabyte M27Q or the Dell S2721DGF, both for just over £300. You can get a VA panel for less, but it's not great value-for-money these days.

Here's the build I'd recommend. At this price, you definitely don't want to be looking at 1080p now.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660-PLUS WIFI D4: ATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 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
Firefox™
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 8 to 11 working days
Price: £1,542.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/FEEKfkFrNP/
 
H

Havoc

Member
@sck451 thanks for your input. I am now thinking the ti may be the better way to go, don't want to be want to be in a situation where I wish I'd have gone for more at the start, and I appreciate the suggestions on storage and monitors also.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
DarTon said:
@sck451. Ok I'll meet you in the middle with a Seagate Firecuda 520 ....
Click to expand...
Yeah, not a bad shout. I think, though, that I'd be more interested in going for a 12600 upgrade than an SSD upgrade, all other things being equal, given the kind of budget we're working at.
 
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