Gaming PC - 1440p vs graphics card availability

[adskankster]

Hi All,

I'm looking to get a new gaming PC & monitor with a combined budget of about £1600 (can't go much above that really). I have some cheap keyboards/mice I can use for a stop-gap, and I have a wired port, to don't need wifi. Bluetooth is a nice to have, but not a necessity.

I'm coming over from PS4, partly because of the inability to get a PS5 (not only reason), so I'd like a reasonably short wait time - which is obviously an issue at the moment.

I'm probably going vary the games a lot, but one game I'll be playing, at least initially, is No Man's Sky, and I'd prefer to play it on Ultra, if I can. So that's a preferred minimum spec. I think this is quite CPU demanding, so I'd like a reasonably beefy CPU. I may be able to compromise on it, but I don't really want to have to upgrade it for a while, if I can help it.

I want a monitor that's 1440p but it looks like the graphics cards that support that are long wait times? I'd rather get a system soon, so am happy to compromise a bit to start with. So would it be worth while to get a graphics card that doesn't support it, to work with a monitor that does - but can run at 1080p (is that possible?).

I'm happy to upgrade over time (obviously) but probably won't be able to spend more than a couple of hundred over time, and I'd like to get as much life as possible out of what I can get now.

If the budget just isn't up to it now, I'm probaly looking for something that's available/usable now, but with the smoothest upgrade path over the next year or two, when supply issues start to settle down.

Any advice is much appreciated.
Many thanks.

 

[Martinr36]

Hi All,

I'm looking to get a new gaming PC & monitor with a combined budget of about £1600 (can't go much above that really). I have some cheap keyboards/mice I can use for a stop-gap, and I have a wired port, to don't need wifi. Bluetooth is a nice to have, but not a necessity.

I'm coming over from PS4, partly because of the inability to get a PS5 (not only reason), so I'd like a reasonably short wait time - which is obviously an issue at the moment.

I'm probably going vary the games a lot, but one game I'll be playing, at least initially, is No Man's Sky, and I'd prefer to play it on Ultra, if I can. So that's a preferred minimum spec. I think this is quite CPU demanding, so I'd like a reasonably beefy CPU. I may be able to compromise on it, but I don't really want to have to upgrade it for a while, if I can help it.

I want a monitor that's 1440p but it looks like the graphics cards that support that are long wait times? I'd rather get a system soon, so am happy to compromise a bit to start with. So would it be worth while to get a graphics card that doesn't support it, to work with a monitor that does - but can run at 1080p (is that possible?).

I'm happy to upgrade over time (obviously) but probably won't be able to spend more than a couple of hundred over time, and I'd like to get as much life as possible out of what I can get now.

If the budget just isn't up to it now, I'm probaly looking for something that's available/usable now, but with the smoothest upgrade path over the next year or two, when supply issues start to settle down.

Any advice is much appreciated.
Many thanks.

To be completely honest with the way the market is at the moment you're best off leaving your money in the bank as you can't really build a 1440p system with monitor for that, your budget would probably give a nice system but then you'd need another £300 on top for the monitor

 

[adskankster]

To be completely honest with the way the market is at the moment you're best off leaving your money in the bank as you can't really build a 1440p system with monitor for that, your budget would probably give a nice system but then you'd need another £300 on top for the monitor

Thanks for the quick response.

I was a bit worried you'd say that. If I was able to borrow a monitor for a few months (I might be getting a work one for a bit), would it be worth getting the system now, and upgrading the monitor then the extra funds are available? Or just hold tight, generally?

 

[Martinr36]

Thanks for the quick response.

I was a bit worried you'd say that. If I was able to borrow a monitor for a few months (I might be getting a work one for a bit), would it be worth getting the system now, and upgrading the monitor then the extra funds are available? Or just hold tight, generally?

Personally I'd hold tight generally, as at the moment with such a volatile market prices have been known to increase by up to £100 overnight

 

[adskankster]

Okay, thank you.

 

[ColEyt]

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
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 RM SERIES™ 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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 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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,367.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/rr7ZhbhbPf/


Together with this monitor https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082VTRPKJ/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza?th=1 would be approx £1,650, so £50 over your budget. The biggest compromise is the graphics card, which will give you decent 1080p performance and will do 1440p, but probably at low to medium settings at best. Ideally you would want a 3060ti or 6700xt, but that's a minimum of £250 additional cost on the system above. Changing the PSU to a 750txm and the 500gb m.2 drive to the PCS version would reduce the cost by approx £40.

Now depending upon both your own future financial situation and also the price/supply issue of the recommended gpu's for 1440 gaming there may be an argument for getting a 1080p monitor now and then getting a new 1440 monitor when you change your gpu. If you are hoping to get a new gpu within the next 12 months then I'd say bite the bullet and get a 1440 monitor now. If you'd want to replace the gpu within the next 6 months then Martin's suggestion of hanging fire is probably sound advice.

 

[adskankster]

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
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 RM SERIES™ 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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 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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,367.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/rr7ZhbhbPf/


Together with this monitor https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082VTRPKJ/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza?th=1 would be approx £1,650, so £50 over your budget. The biggest compromise is the graphics card, which will give you decent 1080p performance and will do 1440p, but probably at low to medium settings at best. Ideally you would want a 3060ti or 6700xt, but that's a minimum of £250 additional cost on the system above. Changing the PSU to a 750txm and the 500gb m.2 drive to the PCS version would reduce the cost by approx £40.

Now depending upon both your own future financial situation and also the price/supply issue of the recommended gpu's for 1440 gaming there may be an argument for getting a 1080p monitor now and then getting a new 1440 monitor when you change your gpu. If you are hoping to get a new gpu within the next 12 months then I'd say bite the bullet and get a 1440 monitor now. If you'd want to replace the gpu within the next 6 months then Martin's suggestion of hanging fire is probably sound advice.

Thank you, that's very interesting. So the 1660 will do 1440p, but at low settings?
But mainly I'd be looking at 1080 now with "only" the card and monitor (if I don't go for 1440p now) in about a year?

Head says wait, but it's going to be tough waiting, having decided to switch after waiting 5 months previously. So, even if a choice is only slightly less reational, it's going to be hard to resist. Anything I get now will be a noticeable improvement on what I have now.

 

[ColEyt]

Thank you, that's very interesting. So the 1660 will do 1440p, but at low settings?
But mainly I'd be looking at 1080 now with "only" the card and monitor (if I don't go for 1440p now) in about a year?

Head says wait, but it's going to be tough waiting, having decided to switch after waiting 5 months previously. So, even if a choice is only slightly less reational, it's going to be hard to resist. Anything I get now will be a noticeable improvement on what I have now.

I can't speak about the 1660 super from experience, only from what I've read, but this video should give you a good idea of its capabilities.

If you are able to get a 1080 monitor for free from work then I'd probably go for it as that will give you 12 months to save for the gpu and 1440 monitor

 

[Steveyg]

1660 Super is firmly a 1080p card, it won't give any sort of consistent or desirable performance at 1440p

 

[SpyderTracks]

1660 Super is firmly a 1080p card, it won't give any sort of consistent or desirable performance at 1440p

Yes, even for 1080p it's now a mid range card.

 

[adskankster]

Thanks all.

So one option is to hang fire. Another option is to get the above system (or similar) and monitor, and look to upgrade the card in some months time. I know some (many?) would go for the first option, but I want to explore the second fully before rejecting it.

So is whether the second option is vaible, and if so even vaguely sensible?

If it is, and I was to go down that route, what would be the ball park upgrade figure? I know prices are volatile and unpredictable, but any sort of target budget would help. If only give me some sort of timescale over which I'd need to save.

 

[Martinr36]

if you were going to go the second option & go 1440p at the moment the 6700 XT which is the cheapest available 1440p card is at the moment just under £600 and prices aren't going down any time soon, in fact i reckon they could rise

Thanks all.

So one option is to hang fire. Another option is to get the above system (or similar) and monitor, and look to upgrade the card in some months time. I know some (many?) would go for the first option, but I want to explore the second fully before rejecting it.

So is whether the second option is vaible, and if so even vaguely sensible?

If it is, and I was to go down that route, what would be the ball park upgrade figure? I know prices are volatile and unpredictable, but any sort of target budget would help. If only give me some sort of timescale over which I'd need to save.

 

[SpyderTracks]

if you were going to go the second option & go 1440p at the moment the 6700 XT which is the cheapest available 1440p card is at the moment just under £600 and prices aren't going down any time soon, in fact i reckon they could rise

And then an extreme budget monitor would be about £300 with a normal level being about £450

With 1080p screen, a high end monitor would be around £200

 

[ColEyt]

The third option is to go for a 1440 build now and then save for the monitor, which as Spyder says will cost you between £300 and £450 at todays prices, depending upon the specification.

If you replace the 1660 with a 6700xt ( which I know is pre order) and as I am sure many will suggest adding the Coolermaster AIO cooler, then the cost would be £1667, and just use whatever monitor you get from work, whilst you save for a new monitor. Whilst I don't know how much you are able to save per month, a new monitor in 4 to 6 months time would appear feasible

Spoiler: Revised build to include 6700xt and AIO

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
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 RM 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
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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: £1,667.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/kxFFtB4XpC/

 

[Martinr36]

The third option is to go for a 1440 build now and then save for the monitor, which as Spyder says will cost you between £300 and £450 at todays prices, depending upon the specification.

If you replace the 1660 with a 6700xt ( which I know is pre order) and as I am sure many will suggest adding the Coolermaster AIO cooler, then the cost would be £1667, and just use whatever monitor you get from work, whilst you save for a new monitor. Whilst I don't know how much you are able to save per month, a new monitor in 4 to 6 months time would appear feasible

Spoiler: Revised build to include 6700xt and AIO

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
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 RM 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
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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: £1,667.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/kxFFtB4XpC/

good option

 

[SpyderTracks]

The third option is to go for a 1440 build now and then save for the monitor, which as Spyder says will cost you between £300 and £450 at todays prices, depending upon the specification.

If you replace the 1660 with a 6700xt ( which I know is pre order) and as I am sure many will suggest adding the Coolermaster AIO cooler, then the cost would be £1667, and just use whatever monitor you get from work, whilst you save for a new monitor. Whilst I don't know how much you are able to save per month, a new monitor in 4 to 6 months time would appear feasible

Spoiler: Revised build to include 6700xt and AIO

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
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 RM 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
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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: £1,667.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/kxFFtB4XpC/

I would definitely go with this, it's a far better and more future proof option.

Also the RX6700XT while in pre order, is actually being worked really fast, there's a thread on delivery timeframes here averaging around 10 working days so 2 weeks:

12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT

I’m on 8working days and I am now in the building stage 👍

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[adskankster]

I think we have a plan.
I can stretch to that price and will sort out an order over the weekend.

I'll have the work monitor until June 21st (at least), when our office re-opens, so that will give me a couple of months to sort something out.

That's great, thanks all. It's been a really useful exercise as I'm pretty sure I'd not have got to this situation on my own.

This forum was recommended to me by a mate, and I can see why now.

 

[Martinr36]

I think we have a plan.
I can stretch to that price and will sort out an order over the weekend.

I'll have the work monitor until June 21st (at least), when our office re-opens, so that will give me a couple of months to sort something out.

That's great, thanks all. It's been a really useful exercise as I'm pretty sure I'd not have got to this situation on my own.

This forum was recommended to me by a mate, and I can see why now.

Glad we could help

 

[adskankster]

Well, it's here, running well, and I'm posting from it.
Still in the process of setting it up, but thought I'd say thanks again to everyone.