First serious desktop, help?

[TheGaelicBrit]

I ordered a low-mid Laptop to handle gaming from PCS 5 years ago now; feels like a different lifetime. I, admittedly, know how to use computers but not how a lot of them work, orrr really how to handle them without videos and guides. But after extensive use, this thing is barely holding together; My bad, I know.


So I'm biting the bullet and upgrading to a proper desktop, I've been going over YouTube channels (I'm sure folks here will know them) and looking at advice from mods here in the forums and put together this rig. But I need any advice on where I should cut back, consider different options or will there be compatibility issues. Thanks for the help.

Budget - I am aiming to keep it between £1500 - £1800 (AFTER VAT!) if I can, 2k is the hard cap of this and the more south the better

Monitor - Right now I do not have one, what is left over from my budget will be used to add one to my order. Advice on which to pick out would be appreciated.

Uses - Gaming and Streaming; Strategy games (Total War, Civilization etc) RPG: The Witcher 3, Dragon Quest 11, Dragon Age: Inquisition. And some light Apex Legends on the side, for personal playing.


(Current price: £1,692.00 including VAT and Delivery)
Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERCASE H500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-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
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 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
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
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 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 Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

 

[Martinr36]

Ok will thi8s be used for anything other than gaming, such as streaming or editing videos, can you also please post the configuration link that you'll find at the bottom of that spec as this needs some work doing on it

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/C38UYJcDX2/

 

[Martinr36]

Ok this a nice 1440p system that should you nicely paired with a samsung Odyssey G5

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERCASE H500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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
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)
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 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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £1,783.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/fTKu8WaRuY/

Samsung Odyssey G5 27" WQHD HDR10 VA FreeSync 144Hz | Box.co.uk

www.box.co.uk

 

[Steveyg]

Solid build by Martin, only thing I'd suggest if you can find the extra £25 go for the 980 Pro M2 SSD as opposed to the 970 Pro M2 SSD. Just faster is all

 

[Martinr36]

Solid build by Martin, only thing I'd suggest if you can find the extra £25 go for the 980 Pro M2 SSD as opposed to the 970 Pro M2 SSD. Just faster is all

yeah i had the 980 in originally, but thought i might be getting a bit tight on the budget so changed to the 970

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

I can definitely try and squeeze it in, for sure. Really the buffer between the 1800 and the 2k max cap is for the monitor. And to try and keep it reasonable. If I go too much 'little more here, little more there' I've hit almost 2500 before and that'll set me back more then I have saved up.

I can definitely drop the extra for the 980 Pro though. This looks real nice, thanks for the help.

This'll be my first time going AMD for CPU, but I just hear right now it's just the better option of the two.

 

[Steveyg]

CPU wise yes it's no competition. GPU wise I think Nvidia are still out in front but AMD have closed the gap massively with the past two gens of cards

 

[Martinr36]

I can definitely try and squeeze it in, for sure. Really the buffer between the 1800 and the 2k max cap is for the monitor. And to try and keep it reasonable. If I go too much 'little more here, little more there' I've hit almost 2500 before and that'll set me back more then I have saved up.

I can definitely drop the extra for the 980 Pro though. This looks real nice, thanks for the help.

This'll be my first time going AMD for CPU, but I just hear right now it's just the better option of the two.

You're welcome, when i was speccing it i was thinking about £300 for monitor, which is round the figure that the G5 sits, and take it from me gaming on that monitor is really nice.

The reason i put the 6700xt in is that the best nvidia card for 1440p is the 3060TI which is out of stock with no indication of when it's going to be back in stock

 

[Steveyg]

You're welcome, when i was speccing it i was thinking about £300 for monitor, which is round the figure that the G5 sits, and take it from me gaming on that monitor is really nice

And me I've got one too it's great

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

It does look like a heck of a monitor, for sure. I'll definitely keep an eye on it and hold on to the leftover of my budget, get the rest together and plum for the G5.

I do gotta ask why the change from the Nvidia to AMD GPU? I know both are pretty scarce giving the whole situation right now. I'm not saying I disagree, just curious.

 

[Steveyg]

It does look like a heck of a monitor, for sure. I'll definitely keep an eye on it and hold on to the leftover of my budget, get the rest together and plum for the G5.

I do gotta ask why the change from the Nvidia to AMD GPU? I know both are pretty scarce giving the whole situation right now. I'm not saying I disagree, just curious.

AMD GPU is 1440p whereas the 2060 is only 1080p

If you wanted to go Nvidia and didn't mind waiting, I can personally recommend the 3060Ti. Don't know when they'll have stock again though

If you wanted top end 1440p you could smash your budget and go for a 3070

 

[Martinr36]

It does look like a heck of a monitor, for sure. I'll definitely keep an eye on it and hold on to the leftover of my budget, get the rest together and plum for the G5.

I do gotta ask why the change from the Nvidia to AMD GPU? I know both are pretty scarce giving the whole situation right now. I'm not saying I disagree, just curious.

See my edit above, basically the normal 1440p card from Nvidia is the 3060 Ti and it isn't available on the configurator

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

Ahhh I see.

You can tell I've been a low-budget gamer for a while, I'm not clued in on the 1080-1440p stuff. I'll be glad to have something that'll run. This is my first step up to something a bit more heavyweight.

 

[Steveyg]

Ahhh I see.

You can tell I've been a low-budget gamer for a while, I'm not clued in on the 1080-1440p stuff. I'll just like to have something that'll run. This is my first step up to something a bit more heavyweight.

Well any questions fire away mate, this is honestly the first generation where the jump to 1440p and even 4K is possible. With affordable GPU's and Monitors that don't cost your first born child. Hasn't really been a thing before now

Think of it this way though 1080p is about to be obsolete

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

Obsolete? Oof.. alright, do not ask me what I'm using right now then or you might cry. Let's just say I'll be going up like.. 3 generations of GPU with this.

The power supply seems quite a leap up too, is the jump from 550 to 850W necessary?

 

[Martinr36]

Obsolete? Oof.. alright, do not ask me what I'm using right now then or you might cry. Let's just say I'll be going up like.. 3 generations of GPU with this.

The power supply seems quite a leap up too, is the jump from 550 to 850W necessary?

The reason for the 850W PSU is to give you head room for upgrading GPU's etc during the life of the PC, which should be 7-10 years with just a couple of GPU upgrades in that time

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

The reason for the 850W PSU is to give you head room for upgrading GPU's etc during the life of the PC, which should be 7-10 years with just a couple of GPU upgrades in that time

Ahh, okay, that's why I went 550 rather then the 450 the guide was initially suggesting, but yeah I see what you mean, it'd be used up quick with newer GPUs right?

Oh and which of the SSDs should I put the OS on? The 980 Pro?

 

[Martinr36]

yeah the OS will go on the 980 Pro as that is the fastest drive.

The other reason for that PSU is the fans on it don't actually kick in till it's running at about 80% of its rating as it doesn't need them till then

 

[TheGaelicBrit]

Alright, thanks a lot. I think that just about does it. This is looking pretty awesome and I'm excited for this thing. Thank you Martin, I appreciate all the help.