AI and Unreal Engine Development PC

[dilne]

Hi, I have recently received a university grant to support me in starting a business. The business is developing AI systems that help in video game development, so I will be using the machine for deep learning (computer vision mainly) and to develop in Unreal Engine. Thanks to the grant my budget ceiling is about £2,750. I have taken a look at the forums desktop building guide etc and I think I have developed a system that will enable Unreal Engine to run well (sufficient CPU, RAM) and deep learning (graphics card with many CUDA cores and memory). I considered the 3080 Ti, but I feel the price increase many not justify its selection. I configured a PC with the Ti, but it resulted in missing out in other important areas for the budget. I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts on the specs I have selected, I'm quite new PC building, although I've researched I'm sure there is something obvious I must have missed.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 4000X RGB Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
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 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 200 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY 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)
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 (Windows 10 Only)
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 16 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £2,496.00 including VAT and Delivery

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


I have selected a 850W PSU as I have read that these graphics cards require 750W minimum, although PCS suggested slightly less.

I have a little bit of money left over, so if there’s any areas you think would be important to improve for my uses I’d appreciate the suggestions.

If it matters, I use a single 1080p display with 120Hz refresh rate that’s a few years old now. The display isn’t so important to me.

Many thanks, your feedback on my specs will really help out with my business!

 

[AgentCooper]

I’ve made a few adjustments that may be worth considering. I’d actually overspec the PSU to factor in any future upgrades and tweak the storage to get an extremely fast NVMe boot drive and a second for your games / protects. Better cooling for the CPU has been added. Ideally I’d like the ROG Strix X570 but it’s currently out of stock. The Strix B550 is a decent alternative. Windows 10 is more stable than 11 right now, you could upgrade later at no additional cost. And a silver warranty for an extra fiver is just good sense 👍

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i 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
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 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
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 13 to 16 working days
Price: £2,688.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

 

[Martinr36]

I’ve made a few adjustments that may be worth considering. I’d actually overspec the PSU to factor in any future upgrades and tweak the storage to get an extremely fast NVMe boot drive and a second for your games / protects. Better cooling for the CPU has been added. Ideally I’d like the ROG Strix X570 but it’s currently out of stock. The Strix B550 is a decent alternative. Windows 10 is more stable than 11 right now, you could upgrade later at no additional cost. And a silver warranty for an extra fiver is just good sense 👍

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i 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
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 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
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 13 to 16 working days
Price: £2,688.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Couldn't have put it better

 

[dilne]

I’ve made a few adjustments that may be worth considering. I’d actually overspec the PSU to factor in any future upgrades and tweak the storage to get an extremely fast NVMe boot drive and a second for your games / protects. Better cooling for the CPU has been added. Ideally I’d like the ROG Strix X570 but it’s currently out of stock. The Strix B550 is a decent alternative. Windows 10 is more stable than 11 right now, you could upgrade later at no additional cost. And a silver warranty for an extra fiver is just good sense 👍

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i 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
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 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
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 13 to 16 working days
Price: £2,688.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Thank you for your feedback and time, it is very much appreciated! I was thinking the same about the ROG Strix X570, many thanks for the alternative suggestion. To be honest I overlooked the M.2 SSD Drives and I certainly shouldn't have! Storage size-wise, before I was happy with the 1TB first drive and 2TB second drive, so rather than the suggestion you have made of two M.2 SSD Drives (500GB & 1TB) and one 2TB HDD, what do you think about a 1TB M.2 SSD Drive and a 2TB HDD? In fact the 1TB M.2 has slightly higher speeds, but what do you think?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you for your feedback and time, it is very much appreciated! I was thinking the same about the ROG Strix X570, many thanks for the alternative suggestion. To be honest I overlooked the M.2 SSD Drives and I certainly shouldn't have! Storage size-wise, before I was happy with the 1TB first drive and 2TB second drive, so rather than the suggestion you have made of two M.2 SSD Drives (500GB & 1TB) and one 2TB HDD, what do you think about a 1TB M.2 SSD Drive and a 2TB HDD? In fact the 1TB M.2 has slightly higher speeds, but what do you think?

It's normally advised that the primary drive is just for OS and programs, you wouldn't hold any data on there as if there are any issues with the OS that lead to requiring a reinstall, you'd lose all that data.

So if you have huge program installations that would require that additional space, then it's going to be worthwhile.

 

[AgentCooper]

Thank you for your feedback and time, it is very much appreciated! I was thinking the same about the ROG Strix X570, many thanks for the alternative suggestion. To be honest I overlooked the M.2 SSD Drives and I certainly shouldn't have! Storage size-wise, before I was happy with the 1TB first drive and 2TB second drive, so rather than the suggestion you have made of two M.2 SSD Drives (500GB & 1TB) and one 2TB HDD, what do you think about a 1TB M.2 SSD Drive and a 2TB HDD? In fact the 1TB M.2 has slightly higher speeds, but what do you think?

You’re welcome, I’m always happy to stick my nose in someone’s build for a critique 😜

I was just about to type a response regarding the storage, but @SpyderTracks has already summed it up nicely.

 

[dilne]

You’re welcome, I’m always happy to stick my nose in someone’s build for a critique 😜

I was just about to type a response regarding the storage, but @SpyderTracks has already summed it up nicely.

Thank you all! I understand about the storage now. My final question is about the cooling, I was hoping to keep-away from a liquid cooled system just because the idea of electricity and liquid scares me! But I trust all of you in suggesting it, but just to reassure me, how important is it for cooling the system? Is it presumably quieter than a fan? Does it require a little bit of regular maintenance from me? Thanks!

PS. there's a fish in the percolator

 

[Martinr36]

The only maintenance an AIO cooler requires is dusting the fans when you dust the rest of the system

 

[SpyderTracks]

I was hoping to keep-away from a liquid cooled system just because the idea of electricity and liquid scares me!

The coolant is non conductive, so it wouldn't cause any damage even if there was a leak, but these coolers these days almost never leak unless there's been obviously forceful damage to the pipes. The worst it would ever do is make a little mess which could be wiped away with a cloth.

But I trust all of you in suggesting it, but just to reassure me, how important is it for cooling the system? Is it presumably quieter than a fan? Does it require a little bit of regular maintenance from me? Thanks!

They're completely closed units so zero maintenance other than the usual case dusting. Also on the higher end chips, they're a minimum requirement these days to maintain optimum boost clocks. Air just can't achieve the temps required for sustained boosts.

 

[AgentCooper]

PS. there's a fish in the percolator

I like this guy.

 

[dilne]

Thank you everyone for your support! As a newbie, I'm really impressed with the kindness and generosity given on these forums! One more thing, are there any case recommendations? I like the look of the case selected and I hear it is quiet and a good cooler, but it turns out this case has a USB-C port on the front that is not necessary given the motherboard doesn't support it (although maybe a different motherboard is a good option), so are there any recommendations for a case?

 

[Martinr36]

I'd stick with the case and not worry about the USB-C port on the front, the other front ports work fine and if you REALLY want there's a USB-C port on the rear which works fine with one of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08XZ9XBBZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1