Gaming PC advice

[FuriousD]

Good evening,

My current PC Specialist Desktop is coming up for 4 1/2 years old so I figure its time for a new one. I have a budget of between £1500 - £2000 (inc VAT). Peripherals are not required but my monitor does run at 4k.

A lot of the games I enjoy playing are not necessarily GPU intensive but they can be quite CPU intensive. Ideally I'd like to go down the AMD Ryzen route. From the little bit of reading / research I've done it seems to have the edge over Intel when it comes to price versus performance, although I am willing to be told otherwise.

Other than that I'm very open to suggestions so have at it.

My thanks in advance.

 

[Steveyg]

I'll put something together here for you mate, can you let me know the exact model of your monitor though? I'd need to know the refresh rate too to determine which GPU to select but let's see what I can do

 

[Steveyg]

I would go in this direction mate

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING WIFI (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro 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)
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 10/11 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: £2,024.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/yCehT7AKbn/

 

[FuriousD]

Thanks for the assistance Steveyg. A couple of questions however.

1) Why such a high PSU? Is that because the 3070 is quite power hungry?
2) What is your opinion on changing the CPU to a Ryzen 9 or is the difference negligible?
3) Would I get away with changing the GPU to the Radeon 6700XT?
3) Why that particular case? Is it just personal preference or is it because it has good air flow / cooling ?

Again, thanks for the advice / suggestions.

I don't plan to order until next payday so plenty of time to iron out the smaller details

 

[Steveyg]

With prices fluctuating so much you're better repricing everything again when it comes time to order. Sometimes you can get more for your money

As for your questions

1) Nvidia recommend a minimum of 750W for the 3070 and it's important to select a PSU not based on what's required now but what we may need in future. GPU's are becoming more and more power hungry and I predict it's a trend that'll get worse later. Also having overhead on the PSU will help it run quieter and cooler

2) The Ryzen 5900x is undoubtedly better but it would also be best paired with a better motherboard further driving costs up. It didn't fit in the budget currently

3) I wouldn't select any AMD GPU over Nvidia at the minute, AMD are closing the gap for sure but Nvidia are still offering the better product. I personally wouldn't go with the 6700xt over the 3070 no

4) The 4000D is one of the best cases on the market at this price point. Generally it's the go for me in most situations it's just a really good piece of kit for space and airflow. Plus I think it looks great but there are alternatives if you prefer another case

 

[SpyderTracks]

Woah, if you're current build is only 4 years old, there's no point in replacing it, just upgrade it unless it was poorly configured?

 

[B4zookaw]

2) The Ryzen 5900x is undoubtedly better but it would also be best paired with a better motherboard further driving costs up. It didn't fit in the budget currently

I've a 5900X on a Strix B550, my research on X570 v B550 was that the X570 only held an advantage if you were looking to do serious overclocking or wanted a second pci-e 4.0 SSD. So I wouldn't rule out a 5900X on a cheaper B550 MB as an option.

 

[FuriousD]

I thank you all for your responses / information / advice.

@SpyderTracks - I think I am at the limits of what I can achieve with my current Desktop. The MOBO can only take DDR3 RAM for example. I also sort of broke the Liquid Cooler...but we won't go into that :/

@IRLRobinS - When I had a little play myself with the customisation options I actually had a 5900X and the B550-F MOBO so maybe I'm not as daft as I look.

@Steveyg - Thanks for the info, particularly about the 3070 v 6700Xt.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I think I am at the limits of what I can achieve with my current Desktop. The MOBO can only take DDR3 RAM for example. I also sort of broke the Liquid Cooler...but we won't go into that :/

DDR3 won't be a bottleneck for gaming though for a long time to come, that's my point. I'm still on a gen 4 device and max out my monitor in games.

What performance issues are you having specifically? It may be a software issue that can easily be corrected rather than a hardware limitation issue.

 

[FuriousD]

DDR3 won't be a bottleneck for gaming though for a long time to come, that's my point. I'm still on a gen 4 device and max out my monitor in games.

What performance issues are you having specifically? It may be a software issue that can easily be corrected rather than a hardware limitation issue.

I wouldn't say I'm actually suffering from any performance issues tbh. I just thought it was time for a change and because of the age of my current set-up I was limited too what I can actually do. I can't actually remember my original login for PC Specialist or I'd post the build. I'm at work just now but when I get home I'll run CPU-Z and post the spec (to the best of my abilities).

 

[SpyderTracks]

I wouldn't say I'm actually suffering from any performance issues tbh. I just thought it was time for a change and because of the age of my current set-up I was limited too what I can actually do. I can't actually remember my original login for PC Specialist or I'd post the build. I'm at work just now but when I get home I'll run CPU-Z and post the spec (to the best of my abilities).

You would need to access your PCS account, just reset the password. We won't be able to offer advice without that I'm afraid as no way to verify it's a PCS system. Worst comes to the worst you'll need to contact PCS to get the account recovered.

But a PC (so long as properly designed) will last 7 to 10 years with a couple of upgrades, there's no particular benefit of replacing before then, kind of defeats the point of a going pc.

 

[FuriousD]

Spoke to a fella from PCS on the phone, got my old account sorted. Turns out my PC is actually 8 years old...bugger me.

Specs are

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB (Special!!)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
Memory (RAM)
8GB HyperX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - (Special Offer!)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE 3.5" SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H80i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Internet Explorer (Windows 7 & 8 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 10 to 12 working days

The only changes to this are a new GPU which I'm fairly sure is a ZOTAC Nvidia GTX 1070 and I now have Windows 10 :|

 

[Steveyg]

Yeah that build is showing it's age now, got a good run out of it though and it's clearly well put together

 

[FuriousD]

Yeah that build is showing it's age now, got a good run out of it though and it's clearly well put together

So are we thinking a new build would be a better option overall?

 

[Steveyg]

So are we thinking a new build would be a better option overall?

In my opinion yes

 

[FuriousD]

In my opinion yes

Ah well, she's served me well.

This may not be the right place to ask but with the issues with GPU availability do we know what the rough lead time is on the 3070's?

 

[Steveyg]

Ah well, she's served me well.

This may not be the right place to ask but with the issues with GPU availability do we know what the rough lead time is on the 3070's?

It seems like all builds are taking around 20-25 working days at the minute regardless of GPU selected so it seems that PCS have a steady but slow supply

 

[FuriousD]

It seems like all builds are taking around 20-25 working days at the minute regardless of GPU selected so it seems that PCS have a steady but slow supply

Thank you

 

[Salmon Fisher]

Pfftt! I've just ordered my new PC, my current 'rig' is rocking a core 2 duo! Now that's old!

 

[DarTon]

You might want to also consider the Intel Alder-Lake 12700 (non K version) as an alternative to the 5800X. A broadly identical spec, except for switching the CPU and motherboard, is around £30 more expensive. Initial reviews are showing the 12700 is sort of in between the 5800X and 5900X in terms of performance.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700 (2.1GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro 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)
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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 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: £2,052.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/mcnAJVr6Fg/