Advice on PC

[LeoCartwright]

Hi. I’m pretty new to making pcs and was just wondering if this build is decent enough to run demanding games fast as well as act as a decent work station for university work and music.
I really wouldn’t want to spend anymore than around £1.300
Thanks

 

[AgentCooper]

Hi Leo, if you could post your spec to the forum using the method below it’ll be a lot easier for people to give it the once over 👍

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

Just a first note, if you've been provided this link, don't amend your first post as it won't update the queue, please add an additional comment to the thread, that way it will go back to the front of the queue. Otherwise we don't know it's been updated. When creating a forum post looking to...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[LeoCartwright]

Will do thanks a lot. Sorry I have no idea what I’m doing.

 

[LeoCartwright]

Hi. Posted before but havd screenshot instead of giving clear specs. Looking for a pc to decently run all games at high quality and also allow me to smoothly do my university work and music. Just wondering if this would be a decent build. Also unsure if everything I need is actually there so any input would be very appreciated.
Thanks
Leo

Case
THERMALTAKE V200 2.0 TEMPERED GLASS RGB EDITION GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700F (2.9GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B460-PLUS: ATX, LGA1200, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1500MB/sR | 1000MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 2018 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ASUS STRIX Raid DLX 7.1 PCIe sound card
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/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
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
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 13 to 15 working days
Price: £1,576.00 including VAT and Delivery

Moo

 

[AgentCooper]

Will do thanks a lot. Sorry I have no idea what I’m doing.

No apology necessary, buddy. It’s just a bit easier on the eye using that method and allows people to tweak configurations using the unique URL 👍

 

[LeoCartwright]

No apology necessary, buddy. It’s just a bit easier on the eye using that method and allows people to tweak configurations using the unique URL 👍

Ok I’ve reposted it on the forums. I’m on mobile right now so it just let me copy and paste it. 👍🏼

 

[AgentCooper]

Brilliant, ta. So... you say it’s for uni work and music, what exactly will that involve? If you could also let us know if there’ll be any other uses (gaming, streaming, etc) and what make and model of monitor you’ve got that’d be helpful. And lastly... your budget, just so we know what we’ve got to work with 👍

 

[LeoCartwright]

My uni work will be mainly just be office 365 stuff. I do music production at uni so this and Fl Studios and pro tools. As well as this yes gaming. I’m looking to make this my main gaming unit instead of getting the ps5. Would this be possible?
I have an acer monitor and right now my budget is like 1.6k.

 

[AgentCooper]

@SpyderTracks, how would you feel about taking a look at this? As my music production is limited to using Cubase to make my one man band a reality, you might have a bit more insight 🙂👍

 

[LeoCartwright]

Thanks bro. How about it terms of gaming though. Would this be feasible? Really appreciate it.

 

[AgentCooper]

Thanks bro. How about it terms of gaming though. Would this be feasible? Really appreciate it.

We’ll be able to spec you a decent gaming system for that, although you’re likely to be recommended to go for an AMD build over Intel for many reasons.

Your monitor, do you know the resolution and refresh rate? If not, find us the model number and we’ll be able to match a GPU for it 👍

 

[SpyderTracks]

An AMD build would be far far better.

What monitor are you pairing it with, what resolution and refresh rate or make and model if you're unsure?

What's your max budget? There are a lot of GPU's out of stock at the moment or waiting for newer models to be released which is causing delays generally.

 

[LeoCartwright]

I’m honestly thinking of getting a new monitor anyways but I’ll find out for you. I know this maybe a very broad question but why would I choose AMD over Intel?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I’m honestly thinking of getting a new monitor anyways but I’ll find out for you. I know this maybe a very broad question but why would I choose AMD over Intel?

Intel are now years out of date, they’re expensive, perform poorly, have less features and are riddles with security issues:

AMD Vs Intel

So some of you aren't aware of the reasons why so many people are heading away from Intel to AMD, so thought it would be important to lay that out for people to refer back to. A lot of you will go to cpubenchmark or userbenchmark to find performance metrics for CPU's. These sites are complete...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[LeoCartwright]

Ah ok I appreciate that. So within my price range what is a decent amd cpu which will run games fast?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Ah ok I appreciate that. So within my price range what is a decent amd cpu which will run games fast?

So stocks are generally low at the moment, I have a feeling there will be a lot of new cases and possibly motherboards hitting the configurators soon, so keep an eye out and see if anything crops up that you may prefer. I've had to make sacrifices because of this which I'll highlight:

Case
NZXT H511 MID-TOWER GAMING CASE (WHITE)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4) 5800x would be preferable but takes it over budget with current options
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready! Wanted the Asus Prime B550 Plus but out of stock until early Jan
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB) High speeds work best for audio
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP Very capable 1440p 144Hz GPU
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE Basic Data drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W) Fast main drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Would prefer 750W but out of stock
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED You'll be able to get a discounted license from Uni, much better than paying full cost, speak with your IT department, quite often it's free while you're a student
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 13 to 15 working days
Price: £1,326.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/BR6PmNcY0H/

 

[SpyderTracks]

BTW, if you're doing audio work, you don't want a gaming soundcard, you want a proper audio one. I'd highly recommend Andertons, I've been using them for years and they're extremely good.

I have a fairly budget audio USB soundcard which is the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 and it's fantastic, but another very good budget make are the Focusrite line. An Audio interface goes from a basic that supports one input and mic, up to multiple inputs, price going up as it goes.

USB Audio Interfaces - Andertons Music Co.

Start recording today with a USB audio interface from Andertons. Widely compatible, it's a staple for your studio. Now with 0% finance and free delivery.

www.andertons.co.uk

The added advantage of the B550 motherboards that we've recommended is they have one internal thunderbolt header which you can add a modular Thunderbolt 3 card to here:

ASUS ThunderboltEX 3 Internal PCI-e Thunderbolt Controller Card

40Gbps for faster transfers, 1 x Thunderbolt™ 3 Port, 1 x Reversible USB 3.1 Type C, 1 x DisplayPort 1.2

www.overclockers.co.uk

Thunderbolt is extremely handy, especially with audio work, you'll find a lot of basic tech now uses it, so that's an upgrade you may wish to add in the future.

 

[LeoCartwright]

That is extremely handy thank you very much

 

[LeoCartwright]

And if I could ask for one more bit of info 😂 in terms on fans a cooling. What would be best for cooling as well as quietness? A problem with my old pc was the loudness of the fans and all the inner workings of it.

 

[AgentCooper]

And if I could ask for one more bit of info 😂 in terms on fans a cooling. What would be best for cooling as well as quietness? A problem with my old pc was the loudness of the fans and all the inner workings of it.

The bundled AMD cooler is very good and not too noisy. If you're after something extremely quiet you might want to check out the Noctua fan cooler, or go the AIO liquid cooling route. Costs can jump up quite a bit though...