First gaming PC

Watts · Jul 14, 2020

Hello everyone,
I'm close to purchasing my first gaming PC (specs below), I still have to choose a monitor, mouse and keyboard. I'll be using it for gaming, work (windows etc. nothing too in depth) but wanted to get something I'll be able to upgrade in the future - what does everyone / anyone think? Thanks.

Case
PCS 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-10600K (4.1 GHz) 12 MB 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
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
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
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 21 to 23 working days
Price: £1,009.00 including VAT and Delivery

Stephen M · Jul 14, 2020

What is your budget as that will help with suggestions. Firstly, you will get a better system with an AMD CPU, they are currently much better than anything Intel has. For a fiver the Silver Warranty is worth getting.

Watts · Jul 15, 2020

Thanks Stephen and Nursemorph,

Maximum budget £1,500 including monitor, keyboard and mouse. I'm totally open to suggestions on spec.

Thanks so much.

Watts · Jul 15, 2020

Thanks Nursemorph,

Does that hold me in good stead for upgrading in years to come?

Watts · Jul 16, 2020

Thanks again.

Am I being naive to be happy with just a 1080 monitor?

Watts · Jul 16, 2020

Nursemorph said:
Not at all...if you are happy with a 1080p monitor and that level of gaming, then that's fine...after all, only you know what you are happy with or not. We usually advise 1440p purely as games will, naturally, display much better graphics at that level and a lot of people don't realise how much better 1440p is over 1080p or that they don't realise their budget will stretch to accommodate it.

I'm one of those people haha! I suppose if i'm paying for a build that gives results to a 1440 level I should get a monitor to suit. I've been reading about bottlenecking too - is that anything I should worry about? Thanks

Watts · Jul 16, 2020

Thanks.

I've used the bottleneck calculator website and it says that spec above gives 89% bottlenecking as '
Your graphic card is too weak for this processor on 1440p resolution'

I'm not sure how reliable that tool is?

Watts · Jul 16, 2020

Ok great, thanks so much for all your help. I feel the more I learn the more I change my mind but I suppose that's what this forum is all about!

Watts · Jul 16, 2020

So this is my new spec and I'm still open to any suggestions at all (Can I save any money on the case?). I'm happy with getting a 1080 144hz monitor. Thanks

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
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
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 21 to 23 working days
Price: £1,295.00 including VAT and Delivery

Watts · Jul 16, 2020

Thanks again.

It doesn't give me an option for 1660S?

Watts · Jul 18, 2020

Good afternoon everyone, especially @Nursemorph for your prior help.

I've tried to do some more research and have come up with the build below which I'm very open to tweaking of course. Budget is roughly correct and I'll be looking at getting a 1080 144hz monitor - I'm guessing I might be a bit overpowered but looking to the future too (I think haha).

Questions I have are -

Have I picked a good case?
SSD - I store Windows / games on this I believe? Have I picked the right one?

Thanks

Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 22 to 24 working days
Price: £1,235.00 including VAT and Delivery

Watts · Jul 18, 2020

Thanks @Nursemorph

I'm torn between the two! With the 1440p build what sort of rough approx fps would I be looking at? Only reason I was thinking 1080p was to get higher (I'm confusing myself here so apologies if I'm talking rubbish!) & is the 1440p build up-gradable going forward?

Watts · Jul 19, 2020

Thanks @Nursemorph

I think I'm going to stick with going the 1080p / 144hz monitor route to get a decent fps and also save some money. I've come up with the below which I hope gives me that ability plus a road to upgrade in the future. The reason I chose that motherboard is because as I understand it it's more future proof?

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 22 to 24 working days
Price: £1,128.00 including VAT and Delivery

Watts · Jul 19, 2020

So a 650W PSU? and a lesser GPU?

Watts · Jul 19, 2020

Thanks. My thinking was that the 2060 gave me the option to get a 1440 monitor down the line?

First gaming PC

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