Gaming and Business Dual monitor setup for £2.5k

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rockymoghal

Active member
Hi everyone,

Been a long time since I've posted on here. Bought my first gaming pc from here nearly 4 years ago so I know this is the best place to ask for advice. I am currently looking to revamp my business desktop setup. I was looking to get a desktop, mouse, keyboard and dual monitor bundle for about 2.5k. This is the max budget and it may be that it can all fit below this. My absolute key thing is that I want a desktop that is easily upgradeable (e.g. storage, RAM and GPU) but if the computer can last 3/4 without upgrading then I will be happy. My main tasks are:

Heavy photo editing (Photoshop and lightroom)
Video editing at times ( Adobe premier elements and VEGAS movie studio)
Basic business tasks ( web browsing, multitasking, Microsoft office etc.)
A lot of social media work (advertising and promoting a company)
Occasional gaming (RDR2, COD, FIFA)

I know I've probably missed out some information so please ask me if necessary. Thanks again for the advice in the past and I hope you guys can help.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Maybe something like:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet 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
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 [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® Office® 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 12 to 13 working days
Price: £1,705.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/effPBzcuW6/


R7 3700x is a very capable CPU for all those tasks.
X570 motherboard will support future upgrades including Zen 3 CPUs, should you decide you want one, and PCIe 4.0 SSDs and GPUs
RTX 2060 Super should do very well in PS, video editing, and of course gaming at 1440p resolution.
The Fractal R6 is an excellent case and has plenty of room for storage upgrades.
Edit: 2 SSDs - 1st for Windows, programs, 2nd as a scratch drive for photo editing. You may also want another SSD instead of that 3TB HDD so you can store the photo library / project files on it.

For monitors - for gaming you'd want a 1440p 144hz monitor, and given the photo editing you'd want it to be IPS. See:

Gaming Monitors Guide

The monitor is probably the most important component in any gaming build – it defines how you experience games and the hardware the PC should have. Overlooking the monitor can be the single biggest bottleneck to your gaming experience. With recent monitor and graphics card launches, and wider...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
Price range ~£400-550.

And for your 2nd monitor, it doesn't need to be 144hz or have any other gaming features. The iiyama Prolite XUB2792QSU-B1 (~£280) is an excellent 1440p 60/75hz IPS monitor.

For any cash left over, you could consider the R9 3900x, especially for video editing. That's another £160 over the R7, but gives you 50% more cores and threads.
 
R

rockymoghal

Active member
Thank you @Oussebon. You really are a credit to the forum. Makes things so much easier in terms of making things match and helping me understand what works. A few questions if you don't mind

1. Would there any significant advantage of getting the RTX 2070 Super? Apparently the performance is worth the upgrade but I'm not sure.

2. The video editing would be very basic so if the criteria was just photo editing and gaming would the build still be the same?

3. Would there be any advantage of getting an ultrawide monitor instead of a dual monitor setup? The dual monitor setup was more for productivity so trying to make a decision about which route to take.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
You're too kind :)

1) - Maybe. 'worth' is a bit subjective as it depends on how much you'd miss that extra ~£100, but the 2070 Super could improve performance in Adobe workloads and would certainly give a more luxurious 1440p gaming experience.

2) Yes - and it would arguably not be worth the R9 3900x

That said, while the R7 3800x is almost never, ever, ever worth it over the R7 3700x, for Photoshop it apparently may have a decent performance lead over the 3700x
www.pugetsystems.com

Photoshop CPU Roundup: AMD Ryzen 3rd Gen, AMD Threadripper 2, Intel 9th Gen, Intel X-series

AMD's new Ryzen 3rd generation processors have arrived and shaken up the dynamic between Intel and AMD in many workloads. But how well do they handle heavy Photoshop workloads compared to the AMD Threadripper, Intel 9th Gen, and Intel X-series CPUs?
www.pugetsystems.com www.pugetsystems.com
This is a slightly older benchmark though and there have been improvements to things like thread scheduling in Windows since then, which could have affected the results.

The newer benchmarks don't know the 3700x unfortunately, only the 3800x:
www.pugetsystems.com

Photoshop CPU performance: Intel Core X-10000 vs AMD Threadripper 3rd Gen

Photoshop typically doesn't require a HEDT processor, but with Intel drastically reducing the price of their new X-series CPUs and AMD greatly improving single threaded performance in their 3rd Gen Threadripper CPUs, is this finally going to change?
www.pugetsystems.com www.pugetsystems.com

3) That depends on you, and your workloads. I know some people in digital publishing who check vast numbers of images against a catalogue that would strongly prefer 2 monitors to 1 ultrawide for instance. Very generically, I'd usually favour 2 monitors for productivity.
 
R

rockymoghal

Active member
Thanks for the quick reply. I think I will go for the 2070 Super as it will still be within budget. The R7 3800x also seems worth the upgrade so that's another yes.

In terms of a monitor, if I go for a main 27 inch gaming monitor and a side work monitor, is there a particular one you would suggest. I have been looking at the Asus 27VGAQ but not sure if it's the best option. Any advice on what dual monitor setup would you recommend?
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I think that Asus would be more than fine. The ideal for me would be the LG 27GL850-B but sourcing it within the UK is nigh on impossible. A few EU dealers might have it.

To be honest, anything on the list is going to be more than fine and likely a large upgrade over your existing ones.

As for the secondary monitor, that iiyama I mentioned is great. Or something like the Dell Ultrasharp U2719D

Dell U2719D Review | PC Monitors

A review of the Dell U2719D. A 27" WQHD member of the UltraSharp series with full ergonomic flexibility and slim bezels.
pcmonitors.info
 
R

rockymoghal

Active member
Hello again,

Apologies for bumping an old thread but need some updated help.

I bought the original rig with the Asus monitor and it is smashing it. I now need a similar build for my sister. Budget is £2000 for everything (PC, monitor, keyboard and mouse). Looking to spend around £300-400 on the monitor which leaves around £1600 for the PC. Would be used for similar things as mentioned above apart from the video editing. That would be occasional rather than key focus. Any advice would be appreciated and thank you again for the help so far.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
rockymoghal said:
Hello again,

Apologies for bumping an old thread but need some updated help.

I bought the original rig with the Asus monitor and it is smashing it. I now need a similar build for my sister. Budget is £2000 for everything (PC, monitor, keyboard and mouse). Looking to spend around £300-400 on the monitor which leaves around £1600 for the PC. Would be used for similar things as mentioned above apart from the video editing. That would be occasional rather than key focus. Any advice would be appreciated and thank you again for the help so far.
Click to expand...
You're in luck, there's a crazy good deal going on at the moment for a 1440p 144Hz system with a seriously powerful processor in it that will take anything you throw at it. It's £1800 worth of kit going for £1500, it's called the Inferno L2 here:

PCSPECIALIST - Custom Computers and Laptops Built to Order

PCSpecialist is a manufacturer of high quality custom computers and laptops. Configure your ideal computer in just a few simple steps with a broad range available.
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk

That leaves £500 squiddlies for a pretty serious monitor, This Asus comes extremely highly rated and this seller is selling about £50 cheaper than anywhere else.... it includes HDR10 and GSync which makes it a very very nice monitor and won RTINGS review as best 1440p 144Hz monitor around at the moment:

www.scan.co.uk

ASUS 27" Quad HD 165Hz Adaptive/EMLB/G-Sync HDR IPS Gaming Monitor (2021)

Buy from Scan - 27" ASUS VG27AQ Monitor, IPS, 2560x1440, 165Hz, 1ms, Adaptive Sync, HDR10, 1000:1, 350cd/m², HDMI/DP, G-SYNC Compatible
www.scan.co.uk www.scan.co.uk

www.rtings.com

The 3 Best 1440p 144Hz Monitors - Spring 2024: Reviews

The best 1440p 144Hz monitor we've tested is the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF, an ultrawide monitor with a 3440x1440 resolution. As a QD-OLED it has a near-infinite contrast ratio, so perfect, deep blacks are displayed next to bright highlights, and it gets bright enough for small highlights to pop.
www.rtings.com www.rtings.com
 
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