Gaming PC Advice

[TopeConHilo]

Hello all!

About 3 and a half years ago this community really helped me put together the perfect PC for my needs and as I have been saving for a short while I've decided to treat myself and have a look into buying a new PC and would really appreciate it if I could get some advice on a build I have put together please.

Having taken all of the helpful advise from the 'Desktop Building Guide' thread on board, I have put together the below spec.

I am an avid gamer, with my time mainly spent on Football Manager 2023 and Warzone, but I also occasionally like to get stuck into newer single player games and would very much like a PC capable of playing Starfield and making the most of the visual goodness we’re all expecting from it.

I am also due to start a Football Manager online game with friends which I will be required to stream - so ideally the PC would be capable of doing so, should the budget allow.

The monitor I currently have is an MSI 27” 144hz 1440p. I worry the below build I have put together perhaps unnecessarily dips it’s toe into the realms of 4K, and if that’s the case (and if any of it is unnecessary) then I am obviously happy to scale back my requirements.

My budget is around £2k-£2.5k.

Thank you all once again in advance.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 14-Core Processor i5-13600K (Up to 5.1GHz) 24MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI (DDR5, LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK H150i RGB 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
ONBOARD 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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 9 to 12 working days
Price: £2,271.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/BuUWnBe0rt/

 

[TonyCarter]

What are the specs of the machine you‘re replacing?

If the PC was well configured/specced 3 years ago, then you may get away with just a GPU upgrade.

 

[TopeConHilo]

What are the specs of the machine you‘re replacing?

If the PC was well configured/specced 3 years ago, then you may get away with just a GPU upgrade.

Here is the PC I bought in 2020;

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/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 RGB PRO 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 ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 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)
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 [KK3-00002]

 

[sck451]

That PC could 100% be upgraded. You could plausibly upgrade the CPU to the 5800X3D, which would be a significant benefit in some situations. You would also need a better CPU cooler. A good air cooler would be enough for gaming purposes.

The graphics is a bit of a challenge because the TX650m, while a solid power supply, won't accommodate the top end cards. I think the best options would be a 4070 or a 6700 XT, both of which would be a decent step up on a 2070 Super. The former is much more expensive, though performance is quite similar.

If you want something more powerful than that, you'd have to upgrade the power supply as well. This is a bit of a faff and I'd only do it if you're relatively confident working inside a PC.

Personally my approach would be to upgrade the graphics card first, then if you need extra CPU power to upgrade CPU and cooling. You might also consider installing more SSD storage at that point. I certainly would not be buying a whole new PC to replace one that has years more life in it.

 

[TonyCarter]

I think the PSU is going to limit your upgrade options, as it’s not powerful enough for the beefier/newer GPUs…including the 4070Ti (which would be perfect for 1440p)…but the AMD 6800XT might be possible and easily give you >50% more FPS than your current 2070 Super at 1440p (game dependent of course).

You could upgrade the CPU to the 5800x3D, but you’d need a beefier cooler to handle the heat it produces, and you could put a much more modern/faster m.2 SSD (up to 4x faster) in there as your boot drive (keeping the ADATA one fire games storage).

My PC is from about the same time (same case too), and I went with a 1000W PSU specifically for future upgrades, and now have a superb RTX4090 in there (which can consume over 400W on it’s own).

 

[TonyCarter]

Bugger, too slow

 

[Scott]

As above, that's an upgradable build for sure. The 5800X3D is most definitely an upgrade I would recommend, especially for the likes of Footy manager. It would need a decent cooler but as suggested, a good aircooler would do the job to save hassle. Something decent like the Deepcool AK620 has you covered, if you want to spend more then Noctua would be up there but by that point an entry level Deepcool 240mm AIO or Corsair H100i would be close to budget.

To get the frames pushed more for 1440p I think the 6700XTwould be the best bang for buck. You have the power requirements covered. The 6800XT would be a good shout too but it's a fair bit more expensive. Still covered with power requirements though. There are Nvidia options too as the lower end cards at least have reasonable power draw.

A dedicated M2 drive for the OS would be nice too. Surprised this wasn't recommended at the time

 

[Steveyg]

Yeah to echo everyone else your base is still very good, a higher wattage PSU and a 5800X3D would see you gaming for many many years without issue

 

[TopeConHilo]

First of all, thank you to all of you for your valued input - you've given me food for thought for sure.

It's encouraging to hear that upgrading components rather than outright buying a brand new PC is an option for me, as I presume this will be a far cheaper option.

Whilst I am not a complete technophobe, I have never dabbled in PC building before and I am willing to give it a try but am concerned about any repercussions and any potential unfixable damage I may cause to any current or new components. I'm sure I can find good 'How To's' on YouTube?

So if upgrading is the route to go down, these are the components I am looking at, based on all recommendations; (Any issues here?)

- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
- 4070 Ti (If upgrading PSU to 1000w, which I'm leaning towards), 6800XT (If sticking with current 650w)
- Corsair iCue H100i (Compatible with above new CPU?)
- 1000w PSU (Any recommendations please, to avoid potential hardware conflicts?)
- Faster m.2 SSD (As above, any recommendations please? Does this just come down to budget to determine how fast you want it to be?)

Would I be good to go sticking with my current motherboard and RAM with the above options?

Once again, I would just like to give my thanks for all the help. When making sizable purchases such as a PC/PC components, it's obviously important to get it right, and it's nice to have the comfort blanket of you guys being nice enough to help (Just like in 2020!) and the same again here.

 

[Steveyg]

Yeah you can order these things from PCS too mate, if you go to your order page and scroll to the bottom there is a button for buying upgrades for the order. These items should be listed there

As for the parts themselves Corsair RMx tends to be the go to we recommend on the PSU. It's just a very very high quality component with a very good and very long warranty that's reasonably priced so we recommend them a lot

Any M.2 that offers 7000+ speeds would do the job. The SOLIDIM P44+ is at a very good price from PCS and it's an excellent piece of kit

H100i is perfectly capable of handling the 5800X3D

As for the installation, the PSU is the hardest and longest part but it's more tedious than difficult. It just takes a long time, so just watch some videos read the instructions and follow any guides you can find. It's a fairly simple process if you follow the instructions but just takes a few hours. Just be careful removing cables from the motherboard and plugging in the new cables, you don't want to damage any pins so smooth but firm is usually my mantra

The CPU installation is the only place where there should be any risk, just be really really careful around the pins of the CPU itself. Make sure it's the right orientation for the socket (There are arrows on the both the CPU and the socket to line it up) Place gently into the socket then the lever to close the socket should fix it into place. After that it's just installing the cooler, the Corsair coolers come with preapplied thermal paste so you just remove the sticker and place it straight onto the CPU, makes it really simple to install. Watch some videos on how to tighten the CPU cooler, you want to screw it down in a star pattern but it's easier demonstrated than explained and there's tonnes of videos

 

[TonyCarter]

You may have to ensure the BIOS is up to date to support the 5800x3D CPU...and this needs to be done before you put the new CPU in or it may not POST.

You may be out of warranty, so no permission needed from PCS to update the BIOS if that's the case.

 

[TopeConHilo]

I had no idea you could upgrade an previous order, thank you for pointing that out Stevey.

These are what I've selected to upgrade to;
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2
CORSAIR 1000W RMX SERIES
CORSAIR H100I ELITE RGB CPU COOLER
12GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti OC EDITION (There were a few 4070 Ti's to choose from, is there a "correct" one? Also, pop up is saying this card is too big for my case, is there an alternative?)

I saw that there was an option for PC Specialist to do the upgrades, so I might talk to them and see what the expected turnaround time is, as what's an extra £69 when you have already laid out so much? At least then there is a bit more piece of mind that everything is done correctly.

Still undecided on whether to do it myself or not, but thank you for the heads up on the BIOS, will definitely look into that should I decide to install the components myself.

 

[SpyderTracks]

12GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti OC EDITION (There were a few 4070 Ti's to choose from, is there a "correct" one? Also, pop up is saying this card is too big for my case, is there an alternative?)

The iCue 220T can hold a max GPU length of 300mm assuming there's no front mounted radiator. The Case does support a 240mm radiator on the roof, so the H100i would be able to fit up there (assuming no conflict with RAM)

The Asus Tuf 3070ti is 305mm long which is why it won't fit.

But you should be able to drop down to the standard 4070ti, that may squeeze in. If it's still failing in the upgrade menu, give PCS a call, there are definitely cards out there smaller than 300mm, it's weather they currently have any in stock or not.

 

[Steveyg]

I had no idea you could upgrade an previous order, thank you for pointing that out Stevey.

These are what I've selected to upgrade to;
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2
CORSAIR 1000W RMX SERIES
CORSAIR H100I ELITE RGB CPU COOLER
12GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti OC EDITION (There were a few 4070 Ti's to choose from, is there a "correct" one? Also, pop up is saying this card is too big for my case, is there an alternative?)

I saw that there was an option for PC Specialist to do the upgrades, so I might talk to them and see what the expected turnaround time is, as what's an extra £69 when you have already laid out so much? At least then there is a bit more piece of mind that everything is done correctly.

Still undecided on whether to do it myself or not, but thank you for the heads up on the BIOS, will definitely look into that should I decide to install the components myself.

We like to encourage DIY but then again we are enthusiasts who enjoy tinkering and changing builds so I get the option for PCS to do this for you is attractive. It would certainly give piece of mind but doing it yourself will give you both confidence and understanding of how these things are compiled together, it's like big Lego when building, it also gives you the feeling of confidence of upgrading later down the line which helps prolong the life of any build but hey it's up to you mate at the end of the day there's no wrong way just do what you're comfortable with

Personally I wouldn't recommend the ASUS 4070Ti simply because of the cost, the performance difference over other brands is marginal but you'll be paying an absolute premium for it. By selected the generic option it just means you'll accept any card they have that's currently in stock. Usually Zotac or Pallit

Sizing is another issue altogether but picking up the phone to PCS they should be able to help guide you there

 

[TonyCarter]

The H100i fits fine into the roof of the iCUE 200T (that's where it is in mine), standard iCUE case fans are in the font

I also managed to squeeze in an RTX4090...but only the Founder's Edition (at 305mm) as everything else was too long...the end of my GPU is only 10mm away from the middle-front fan...but I really wouldn't want to be any closer, and have even thought about removing the middle fan completely

 

[Scott]

The H100i fits fine into the roof of the iCUE 200T (that's where it is in mine), standard iCUE case fans are in the font

I also managed to squeeze in an RTX4090...but only the Founder's Edition (at 305mm) as everything else was too long...the end of my GPU is only 10mm away from the middle-front fan...but I really wouldn't want to be any closer, and have even thought about removing the middle fan completely

The RGB RAM is likely the issue though. Do you think you would be able to fit a higher profile RAM stick in your setup?

I remember when the RGB Ram was first introduced it caused no end of hassle with it's size being so much bigger. It took a while to realise and change the configurator so customers were being contacted left and right as we kept recommending the H100i

 

[TonyCarter]

The RGB RAM is likely the issue though. Do you think you would be able to fit a higher profile RAM stick in your setup?

I remember when the RGB Ram was first introduced it caused no end of hassle with it's size being so much bigger. It took a while to realise and change the configurator so customers were being contacted left and right as we kept recommending the H100i

I don't think it would fit...and was pointed out in the configurator when I did mine. There was no option to front-mount the AIO, so it was either RGB RAM or AIO...not both.

We just need to get some decent passive cooler cases in the configurator

 

[TopeConHilo]

The iCue 220T can hold a max GPU length of 300mm assuming there's no front mounted radiator. The Case does support a 240mm radiator on the roof, so the H100i would be able to fit up there (assuming no conflict with RAM)

The Asus Tuf 3070ti is 305mm long which is why it won't fit.

But you should be able to drop down to the standard 4070ti, that may squeeze in. If it's still failing in the upgrade menu, give PCS a call, there are definitely cards out there smaller than 300mm, it's weather they currently have any in stock or not.

Understood, thank you.

Is there a way to determine whether there would be any conflicts with RAM before installation?

If I upgrade my m2 SSD Drive, is it easy enough to transfer anything currently on my SSD across? No issues with keeping the OS?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Is there a way to determine whether there would be any conflicts with RAM before installation?

You can check measurements in the case.

If I upgrade my m2 SSD Drive, is it easy enough to transfer anything currently on my SSD across? No issues with keeping the OS?

You shouldn't have any data on the c drive, if you have just kobe it to the data drive.

You can clone the current c drive but a clean install will probably take less time and should be done about once a year anyway.

 

[TopeConHilo]

You can check measurements in the case.



You shouldn't have any data on the c drive, if you have just kobe it to the data drive.

You can clone the current c drive but a clean install will probably take less time and should be done about once a year anyway.

Oh my, really?

My C drive (SSD) is currently half full and my D drive (HDD) is basically empty.