Any advice on a 3080 gaming build? Thanks!

[MunsterAbu]

Hi,

Any advice on this build would be much appreciated. It is purely for 4k gaming on an LG OLED 120hz HDMI 2.1 TV (with zero productivity stuff). I am a bit flexible on budget.

- All of the benchmarks I see suggest that for 4K gaming, I would see no benefit from going up from i5 to i7 or i9. Would you agree?

- I've read that there is no real benefit yet to DDR5 over DDR4, but I know nothing at all about RAM. (As far as I can see, DDR5 would cost €174 more for 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB))

- I am also clueless about the motherboard, cooler and power supply.

- Storage: the 2 TB M.2 is for games and the 8TB HDD is for media storage.

Thanks!

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z690 UD DDR4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 3000 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W 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 V3 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 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 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 Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: €2,860.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/QZM2WQWP!E/

 

[JUNI0R]

Hi there! We could definietly optimise this build a bit for you

-For a pure gaming build a 6 core (or now 10 core 😂) CPU will do the job perfectly adequately. There will be minor gains, but nothing huge. There is an argument for going 8 core as that's what the new consoles have so more cores will be better optimised in games over the coming years but it's not something I'd specifically worry about now (you can always upgrade!)

-You'd be correct, there currently isn't much (if any) performance improvement between DDR4 and DDR5. As the DDR5 tech matures, I'm sure gaps will increase but at time of writing there's no performance gains to be had. Sadly when buying you need to pick between DDR4 or DDR5 as the two aren't compatible with eachother and with it being a new tech it's incredibly expensive so it'd either be an investment into the new tech or a "there's no performance gain at time of buying, I'll save my money". Going DDR4 will also allow you to pick 16GB of RAM which realistically is all you need for a gaming system currently

-The Z690 UD AC will be an entry level Z690 motherboard. We find the TUF options generally a good balance between price to features/ peformance.

The 12600K doesn't seem espeically hot from the content I've seen on it, so a simple tower cooler should be just fine.

For a 3080 build, I'd recommend at least 850W PSU for extra efficency and quietness from the unit

-Generally it's best for many reasons to split up the storage into multiple drives. The route I generally suggest is a 500GB SSD for Windows and applications, a 1TB SSD for games and a 2TB HDD for bulk file storage so there's never more than about 3.5TB on a system. If you're needing more than that (which seems might be the case) I'd recommend at looking into a NAS or cloud storage.

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE More modern looking and better airflow case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready TUF motherboard mentioned above, has WiFi included
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) 16GB of RAM will be enough for a gaming system aside from select titles
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 Bulk storage drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W) Boot SSD for Windows and Programs
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW) Dedicated Games drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Super large PSU to comfortably handle the 3080
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001] I'd stick to Windows 10 for now and upgrade once all the kinks are ironed out of W11
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 Windows Defender is perfectly fine
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: €2,737.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/m9ZnvDjkwc/

 

[MunsterAbu]

Thanks very much. That is all incredibly helpful info! I'm very happy to go with your recommendations. I have a few follow up questions.

- I like the split storage. I might be tempted to do 500GB boot drive plus 2TB SSD for games (to future-proof as games get bigger and bigger). With a HDD for bulk storage. As a matter of interest, why should there never be more than about 3.5TB on a system?

- For the CPU cooler, is there any argument for stepping up from the 125W TDP to the to the 180W TDP. (The i5 has a Turbo Boost Power (TBP) of 150W but I'm not sure what that means)

- Windows 10 v 11: I have read that Windows 11 is needed to get the best out of the 12th gen CPUs. Also, there is a 2 month wait to get the 3080. Would you still go with Windows 10? If I go with Windows 11, does that mean that the system will be tested with Windows 11 when it's built and is that important?

Thanks again!

 

[JUNI0R]

- I like the split storage. I might be tempted to do 500GB boot drive plus 2TB SSD for games (to future-proof as games get bigger and bigger). With a HDD for bulk storage. As a matter of interest, why should there never be more than about 3.5TB on a system?

2TB SSD is a good idea, games are getting huge now! It's not that there shouldn't be more than 3.5TB of storage on a PC, it just once you're getting into storing that much data, there's realistically more efficent ways to do it. If you did want lots of HDD storage on the PC, I wouldn't go past the 3TB drives, the 5400RPM drives are deathly slow for modern standards and the Iron Wolf pro's are server drives so pretty loud.

- For the CPU cooler, is there any argument for stepping up from the 125W TDP to the to the 180W TDP. (The i5 has a Turbo Boost Power (TBP) of 150W but I'm not sure what that means)

TDP stands for "thermal design power", it basically referrs to how many Watts of heat from a CPU the cooler is designed to dissipate, for that reason, going for the 180W TDP cooler wouldn't be a bad idea.

- Windows 10 v 11: I have read that Windows 11 is needed to get the best out of the 12th gen CPUs. Also, there is a 2 month wait to get the 3080. Would you still go with Windows 10? If I go with Windows 11, does that mean that the system will be tested with Windows 11 when it's built and is that important?

That would be true although from what I've seen, the gains don't currently seem to be huge. Gamer's Nexus have done a video covering it, that, addmitedly, I haven't watched but I'm sure it'll be very informative as GN always are- it'll help base an opinion. You are always able to amend your order before it's built if you'd prefer having W10 on the system instead of W11 or visa versa. You do always have the option of upgrading once you recieve the system too. How their testing works across different OS' I'm not sure, but whatever you pick, it will be shipped with

 

[Ram]

Just a bit of info I found out last month.
With the Corsair MP400 drives the performance varies according to size . The fastest are the 4 & 8TB drives. Followed by the 2TB .
Then the 1TB .
So whatever drives you go for chk performance relative to size .
It's always good to have multiple drives.
If data matters , then a NAS solution is highly recommended. Im a huge fan of Synology ..they used to start at £150 for two bays , the interface is very good and they are well regarded amongst home users and businesses alike.
HTH

 

[Bigfoot]

Just a bit of info I found out last month.
With the Corsair MP400 drives the performance varies according to size . The fastest are the 4 & 8TB drives. Followed by the 2TB .
Then the 1TB .
So whatever drives you go for chk performance relative to size .
It's always good to have multiple drives.
If data matters , then a NAS solution is highly recommended. Im a huge fan of Synology ..they used to start at £150 for two bays , the interface is very good and they are well regarded amongst home users and businesses alike.
HTH

It is normal for the smaller M.2 drives to be slower than the large ones. Corsair MP400 drives don’t have as good write endurance as Intel 670p, Samsung 970 and 980, Firecuda 520 and 530, so we don’t usually recommend them.

 

[MunsterAbu]

Thanks all.

5400RPM drives are deathly slow for modern standards

Is it a good plan to save money by using a 5400RPM drive to store video (including 4K)?

Gamer's Nexus have done a video

Great video. Thanks. (I had watched his CPU review but I hadn't seen that) The result is that in some cases there is no difference and in some cases W10 actually performs better than W11!

chk performance relative to size

Good to know.

Corsair MP400 drives don’t have as good write endurance

Great info.

a NAS solution is highly recommended

I have an old windows gaming machine taht I am using as a media server stuffed full of HDDs. Is there any benefit to getting a NAS instead?

Thanks.

 

[Bigfoot]

You don’t really save any money by going for a large 5400rpm HDD over several smaller 7200rpm drives. The 8TB 5400rpm is £181, while a 2TB 7200rpm drive is less than £50. Any saving will likely be less than £10. The biggest HDD I would go for from the PCS selection is the 3TB Barracuda.