Can you check this gaming PC spec please?

[nfis]

Hi,

Could you let me know if this spec is good please? I expect it should be pretty capable as far as performance goes, but I want to make sure it'll be ok in terms of cooling and other stuff. I've added some extra case fans, but don't know if that is necessary.

It will be primarily used for gaming at 1080p.
Max budget is £2k.

The case is one of the narrowest available on the site as the PC will be slotted into a gap in a computer desk. It'll have little space (less than a cm) at each side, but will have space at the back, above, and at the front.

Thanks.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS 2 ARGB GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 20-Core Processor i7-14700K (Up to 5.6GHz) 33MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B760-PLUS D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 5.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 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
3 x Corsair ICUE LINK QX120 RGB PWM Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 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
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 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 6 working days
Price: £1,934.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/pAEJh5ARNr/

 

[TonyCarter]

Do you have a specific need for an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU?

The Intel would only be recommended for specific use cases in media creation, and is soundly beaten in gaming use cases by the equivalent AMD CPU. Add to that the fact that AMD is on a brand new platform with 2-3 more CPU generations coming before they change it (and Intel is on an end-of-life platform), then the AMD also offers you an upgrade path to a more powerful gaming CPU (or higher core CPU for multimedia uses) in 5 years time.

The AMD vs Nvidia GPU choice will come down to how you're going to use it...and to steal some text from @Scott :

1. AMD offer the best value, FPS per £ in relation to rasterization
2. Nvidia offer the best performance in Ray Tracing
3. AMD give far more vRAM per £, it's becoming more and more important
4. Nvidia win VR performance hands down, AMD just can't seem to get the swing on it

If you're not interested in VR or need the utmost performance in ray-tracing, then AMD will offer you more frames for your money...and you could have the latest & greatest gaming CPU with a better config of storage/power for your budget.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS 2 ARGB GAMING CASE (BLACK) - left this as-is, as there isn't a huge choice of narrow cases
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) - the current daddy of gaming CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6) - better level of motherboard, with built-in wifi
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) - sweet sport for AM5 CPUs
Graphics Card
16GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING - HDMI, DP - DX® 12 - lots of 1080p FPS (assuming your monitor is not a 60hz office monitor) - but would also support a 1440p monitor if you decided you wanted to upgrade
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) - super-fast Windows/apps drive (small to ensure you don't store games on there, and so keeps it operating in it's sweet spot)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) - fast secondary drive, with great endurance for all your game installs
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - about the minimum we'd recommend nowadays, and has room for a CPU/GPU upgrade down the line
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK H100i RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - much better than the PCS tower cooler, and will run quieter with the 7800X3D than the PCS basic tower cooler trying to cool a very hot 14th gen i7
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
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
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 6 working days
Price: £1,964.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/zGE2dPTz0g/

 

[nfis]

Thanks Tony. Not necessarily sold on Intel / Nvidia, we just want something that will deliver a great gaming performance and not require upgrading too soon.

 

[nfis]

Hi,

Could someone advise on the following build please? Budget is £2k max. Will be used for 1080p gaming (with 1440p a future possibility). As well as the spec, I primarily want to make sure the cooling is sufficient (it won't be overclocked). I've added a different CPU cooler (I want to avoid liquid cooling please) and some extra case fans, but not really sure what I'm doing in that regard.

TIA

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS 2 ARGB GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Eight Core CPU (4.5GHz-5.4GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 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 6 working days
Price: £1,952.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[sck451]

I'd go with the system recommended above. You've downgraded CPU, RAM, power supply, storage and cooling, and upgraded the motherboard (which makes no difference to performance) and the graphics card.

If you don't want an AIO (I understand: I don't either, though really they're fine) then that saves some money so you can go for the 4070 Super graphics card. The DeepCool cooler is enough for the 7800X3D in gaming. Might you leave one or two percentage points on the table? Possibly, but you almost certainly won't notice.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS 2 ARGB GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
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
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 6 working days
Price: £1,952.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/FdWappVReR/

 

[nfis]

I'd go with the system recommended above. You've downgraded CPU, RAM, power supply, storage and cooling, and upgraded the motherboard (which makes no difference to performance) and the graphics card.

If you don't want an AIO (I understand: I don't either, though really they're fine) then that saves some money so you can go for the 4070 Super graphics card. The DeepCool cooler is enough for the 7800X3D in gaming. Might you leave one or two percentage points on the table? Possibly, but you almost certainly won't notice.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS 2 ARGB GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK400 Performance CPU Cooler ZERO DARK
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
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
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 6 working days
Price: £1,952.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/FdWappVReR/

Thanks, appreciate the advice.

So no additional case fans (or the Arctic thermal paste) are necessary then?

 

[sck451]

Thanks, appreciate the advice.

So no additional case fans (or the Arctic thermal paste) are necessary then?

Correct. You have ample fans already and the thermal paste will make at most a negligible difference.

 

[Scott]

Can't agree that the AK400 is good enough for a 7800X3D. It'll work too hard to keep the spikes in check for me. If you're not worried about the lost performance I would just opt for the 7700 with that particular cooler. The AK620 would be the minimum for me.

I maxed out a 360mm AIO cooler on the 7800X3D using PBO. Not because the CPU was over-heating, but because it thermal limits very low.

 

[sck451]

Can't agree that the AK400 is good enough for a 7800X3D. It'll work too hard to keep the spikes in check for me. If you're not worried about the lost performance I would just opt for the 7700 with that particular cooler. The AK620 would be the minimum for me.

I maxed out a 360mm AIO cooler on the 7800X3D using PBO. Not because the CPU was over-heating, but because it thermal limits very low.

PBO is overclocking. I would certainly agree the AK400 is not enough for overclocking, but that's true of the 7700 as well. Running at the standard configuration the 7800X3D is very efficient and a good single tower is sufficient. If you're asking more of it, I fully agree it would need more cooling.

 

[Scott]

PBO is overclocking. I would certainly agree the AK400 is not enough for overclocking, but that's true of the 7700 as well. Running at the standard configuration the 7800X3D is very efficient and a good single tower is sufficient. If you're asking more of it, I fully agree it would need more cooling.

It still boosts on it's own without the manual PBO/Line curve optimisation. Most CPUs will hit 5.1-5.2Ghz with appropriate cooling, for short periods. If the cooling stays strong it'll run 5050Mhz all day long. I maxed mine at 5.3GHz continuous with manual tweaks. I think I pushed 5.5Ghz with the cooler maxed, but that was just for funzies.

As much as the AK400 has a 200w number in its name, it struggles to keep a 5600X in check while inside a case. GN did a review of it a while back and it was a decent performer for low end CPUs but that was ran on a bench and not in a case. It still rattled over 80°C in testing (I can't remember the CPU, might have been something like the 3800X as it was a while ago)..... on a test bench, not in a case.

I get that you like air coolers and prefer them to AIOs, in this instance I simply disagree that this is a sound choice. For me the AK620 is the bare minimum, or what's the point in spending the extra money and limiting the performance..

We are both entitled to our opinions without having to argue. The op can decide what fits them best, I just wanted to highlight I don't think it's a good idea and give my reasoning. I've seen 14900Ks with 150 coolers on them so nothing surprises me

 

[Scott]

Found a discussion on Reddit talking about the spikes I mentioned above. It ramps up really fast, and when it does it drops power. The OP in the post is running a Noctua D15s (with additional fan), a far heavier hitter than the AK400.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDHelp/comments/18n0cyx

I can't express how temperature sensitive the chip is. Without the line calibration it also uses more voltage than required for most chips. I run mine with a constant cal on it to also aid the temperatures.

It has a decent thermal limit with all things considered, which the AK400 would probably keep the chip within for safety, but performance I don't think it's close. I noticed performance drops over 70°C. With PBO/Line cal you can aggressively increase this to 80°C but when you do performance falls off a cliff if you go over it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

PBO is overclocking. I would certainly agree the AK400 is not enough for overclocking, but that's true of the 7700 as well. Running at the standard configuration the 7800X3D is very efficient and a good single tower is sufficient. If you're asking more of it, I fully agree it would need more cooling.

We have proved conclusively that the cooling on your setup isn’t sufficient as you’re being thermally limited which we saw once you ramped up fans, temps didn’t go down but boost clocks went higher. There’s still more headroom on that cpu that isn’t being realised because it’s on air.

To me, and I get this is an old school approach, but modern marketing with terms such as “thermal velocity boost” and others where those boosts are only available if you have sufficient headroom, is just a way of disguising that if you’re not hitting those boosts, you’re thermal throttling. That’s the very definition of thermal throttling, reducing boost clocks to maintain thermal thresholds.

Under 100% load, achieving peak temps, there should still be at the very least 5c headroom to the thermal limit. Anything below that and the cooler simply isn’t adequate for that cpu.

 

[sck451]

We have proved conclusively that the cooling on your setup isn’t sufficient as you’re being thermally limited which we saw once you ramped up fans, temps didn’t go down but boost clocks went higher. There’s still more headroom on that gpu that isn’t being realised because it’s on air.

To me, and I get this is an old school approach, but modern marketing with terms such as “thermal velocity boost” and others where those boosts are only available if you have sufficient headroom, is just a way of disguising that if you’re not hitting those boosts, you’re thermal throttling. That’s the very definition of thermal throttling, reducing boost clocks to maintain thermal thresholds.

Under 100% load, achieving peak temps, there should still be at the very least 5c headroom to the thermal limit. Anything below that and the cooler simply isn’t adequate for that cpu.

That was an all core workload, not gaming. They're very different beasts. As above, though, I don't think there's any virtue in debating it further!

 

[nfis]

Thanks for the variety of opinions, but I'm now unsure as to which is correct.

For the record, we won't be overclocking the PC or attempting any methods to boost performance, just running everything on out of the box settings. As long as performance isn't significantly impacted (or too much heat generated), then it's not a problem.

Would the 7700X be a better choice in this case? I assume we can upgrade the processor in a few years with this setup if it's slowing things down?

Or would a 7600x be ok even? The PC will be used almost solely for gaming, not for other tasks, and I've read that the 7600x is almost a match for the 7700x where gaming is concerned.

I presume that with the 7700x or 7600x that I should choose 5200Mhz RAM?

 

[sck451]

Thanks for the variety of opinions, but I'm now unsure as to which is correct.

For the record, we won't be overclocking the PC or attempting any methods to boost performance, just running everything on out of the box settings. As long as performance isn't significantly impacted (or too much heat generated), then it's not a problem.

Would the 7700X be a better choice in this case? I assume we can upgrade the processor in a few years with this setup if it's slowing things down?

Or would a 7600x be ok even? The PC will be used almost solely for gaming, not for other tasks, and I've read that the 7600x is almost a match for the 7700x where gaming is concerned.

I presume that with the 7700x or 7600x that I should choose 5200Mhz RAM?

My suggestion would be to go for the extra cooling of, say, the H100i if you can afford it, just so long as it doesn't require you to compromise elsewhere on places that have a bigger impact on performance than squeezing the last little bit out of a CPU.

I would stick to the 7800X3D if you're able to: it's definitely a better CPU for gaming now and in the longer term than the 7700. The 7700 would be a great "save a bit" option.

In any case, you should choose 6000MHz RAM. That's crucial for getting the most out of Ryzen (actually it's less crucial for the 7800X3D, but really you don't want to compromise on a few quid on RAM when you're buying the best gaming CPU on the planet).