Gaming PC Spec

[Tash]

I'm looking for advice on a new gaming PC. It's for 1440p gaming, not going to go higher in the near future, but I want to be able to max out the settings within that. I need lots of storage space for video etc, I'll be running a lot of applications at once, space isn't an issue case wise, quiet would be nice, but not at the expense of cool. I'd rather not go much over £2k, but can go up to £2.5k for a good enough reason.

Any advice?

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

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Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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 H115i PRO Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
Genuine 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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Price: £2,052.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Oussebon]

What monitor are you gaming on? (refresh rate? adaptive sync?)

I'll be running a lot of applications at once

What are we talking about here? discord, spotify, etc while gaming? Streaming to Twitch? Rendering video while gaming?

How urgent is the purchase?

 

[Tash]

Not streaming/rendering. Browsers with a lot of tabs going, open and/or MS office with multiple documents, discord and sometimes other messaging/comms software, maybe a music player. Tends to be things taking up memory rather than CPU/GPU.

Not urgent urgent, but I'd like to have it by mid July.

 

[Tash]

Sorry, forgot to add the monitor. It's an ASUS PB278, 59Hz, no adaptive sync etc.

 

[Oussebon]

I would suggest waiting for AMD's Zen 2 CPUs to be out then (they release 7th July). They may offer a performance advantage over Intel, or should certainly close any performance gap as exists rights down, but will definitely offer newer features including PCIe 4.0 on the motherboard.

Worth giving yourself the choice, and since mid-July is the target that should still work since you were planning on going with fast track anyway.

 

[Tash]

I hadn't realised there was something new and interesting coming soon. And I admit I have bad memories of AMD and default to Intel a bit, despite knowing that's not how things are these days! The end of July wouldn't be the end of the world, so I'll have a look what people are saying once they've been out a week or two and decide then. Thanks!

 

[Oussebon]

Cool, keep us posted.

Incidentally, AMD are also expected to announce their Navi GPUs in a few hours at their E3 event.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT picture and specs leaked | VideoCardz.com

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It won't dethrone Nvidia's Turning top end GPUs in gaming, but may rival the 2070 or beat it. Waiting for Navi specifically isn't necessarily something I'd advocate. But more options are always good, and if they happen to be out and available by 7th July like Zen 2, at least there's more choice on the field. Also rumours are that Nvidia will respond with a minor refresh of its GPU lineup, giving a bit more performance at each price point. Again not groundbreaking, but a possible side-benefit of the Zen 2 wait

 

[Scott]

AMD/Zen2 is going to be the best bang for buck for your particular usage.

Intel has the higher frequencies regardless, which can be really good for certain scenarios. However, gaming at 1440p there is going to be very little difference between AMD/Intel. It'll be a couple of FPS and more than likely unnoticeable. However, when it comes to multi-core grunt the Zen2 is (likely) to run away with the crown here. You've got 8c/16t in a similar bracket to the 9700k which only has 8c/8t and is hampered by security glitches very likely to impact overall performance.

Even completely disregarding the Zen2 release I would be looking at a 2700x max for your usage, could likely get away with the 2600x with the applications you have mentioned.

I don't think the 2070 is the ideal choice though. It's a MONSTER card, but it's a lot of cash to be overpowering 1440p but not quite there for 4k. I would either save and go with the 2060 or throw caution to the wind with the 2080. 2080 will absolutely smash 1440p and give you the option of 4k should you decide to go down that route.

 

[Oussebon]

080 will absolutely smash 1440p and give you the option of 4k should you decide to go down that route.

Given the monitor, I might be tempted to advocate RTX 2060 + monitor upgrade to one with adaptive sync instead.

Agreed with the comment on the 2070. It's ~50% more cash for 10-15% more performance versus the 2060, and just not a terribly inspiring product.

 

[Scott]

It's a strange product. It's so good on paper, really cracking card. But its position in ideal resolution makes it a poor choice for the money