First new machine in (nearly) 7 years

[JasonC1782]

(Apologies to ValeImages for plagiarising his thread title)

Long story short, the trusty PCS system I've used since February 2013 is giving up the ghost, and considering how ancient it is in PC terms anyway, it's time to get a new one.

I'm a low demand user, just internet, videos and music mainly with audio editing on Audition being the most intensive thing I do; I'm not much of a gamer, but I'd like a system with a fair bit 'under the hood' capable of running the odd game that does take my fancy - like FS2020, which got me thinking about buying a new system in the first place.

My budget is £1500 as a baseline, going up to £1700 at a push.

Now I'm a real novice when it comes to PC configuration, but with a lot of help from Scott's excellent guide at the top, I've given it my best shot - and my first shot based on people's subsequent recommendations.

Here it is:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB 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
Asus Xonar SE 5.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
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 [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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Price: £1,547.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/TU5!4TjEyU/

Oh, and this is the potential monitor: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-2...-widescreen-led-gaming-monitor-mo-151-lg.html

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

[Scott]

My soul cries when you read my guide and choose that case

I would definitely change the case
I would increase the budget to allow for the 3800XT and the X570 Motherboard, it will make a difference overall
PSU you want a 750W at the moment (The new GPUs are hungry suckers so if you want to upgrade in the future it's best to have this area covered)
You want a Coolermaster 240 cooler on there, or if you are aiming for silent the H115i RGB Platinum
Drop the Sound card, I know you're into audio but if it doesn't have a specific output/port you need then it's pretty much the same level as the on-board card. An external DAC would be far more beneficial.

If you have a PC you're giving up on you can transfer the Windows license to make way for some budget.

The GPU isn't a good purchase right now, the 3070 is out very soon for similar money. I would definitely consider purchasing with a VERY low end GPU right now with a view to purchasing the 3070 once it's available. The 3070 will actually handle 4k gaming, where the 2070 won't.

 

[JasonC1782]

My soul cries when you read my guide and choose that case

I would definitely change the case
I would increase the budget to allow for the 3800XT and the X570 Motherboard, it will make a difference overall
PSU you want a 750W at the moment (The new GPUs are hungry suckers so if you want to upgrade in the future it's best to have this area covered)
You want a Coolermaster 240 cooler on there, or if you are aiming for silent the H115i RGB Platinum
Drop the Sound card, I know you're into audio but if it doesn't have a specific output/port you need then it's pretty much the same level as the on-board card. An external DAC would be far more beneficial.

If you have a PC you're giving up on you can transfer the Windows license to make way for some budget.

The GPU isn't a good purchase right now, the 3070 is out very soon for similar money. I would definitely consider purchasing with a VERY low end GPU right now with a view to purchasing the 3070 once it's available. The 3070 will actually handle 4k gaming, where the 2070 won't.

My bad, I think I ran out of steam at the end of the configuration process and treated the case as a bit of an afterthought.

Regarding the GPU, I don't have to get this system hastily so I can be patient and wait for the 3070 to become available before I get it (providing there aren't any more delays to the release date of October 29th).

Edit: Actually, I've seen someone asking about the 3070 in another thread and the issue is not the release date but how many PCS will get into stock, which I presume is why you can't put a 3070 in your system and pre-order it for the 29th.

I'd like to be able to carry the Windows licence over but I don't think I can because I got it as a free upgrade to my OEM Windows 7 installation, and I read that you can only carry over retail-bought licences (unless anybody knows different?)

Anyway, I've made the changes you've suggested, and here's what we have:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT Eight Core CPU (4.7GHz/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 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - Available for order 29/10/20
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1500MB/sR | 1000MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 [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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Price: £1,830.00 including VAT and Delivery

How does that look?

 

[AgentCooper]

I’d swap out the M.2 drive for the PCS one, there’s issues with the Intel in that it's the limited write capacity that they have. Every SSD drive has a pre-determined "maximum writes" capacity. The Intel ones are around half what other competing brands have.

(Thanks to @Scott for that 😜)

 

[JasonC1782]

I’d swap out the M.2 drive for the PCS one, there’s issues with the Intel in that it's the limited write capacity that they have. Every SSD drive has a pre-determined "maximum writes" capacity. The Intel ones are around half what other competing brands have.

(Thanks to @Scott for that 😜)

OK; to be honest, I wanted the extra capacity of the PCS drive but, ironically, I thought the Intel ones were more reliable.

 

[AgentCooper]

Most people on here have the PCS variant and I’ve never heard a bad word said about it 👍