Help me pick a PC

Dayve

Well-known member
My current one (in my signature) is still working fine but it is 3 and a half years old now and it might be time to retire it as a spare and upgrade. Plus at this age you never know when they could decide to drop dead on you and I don't want that to happen the day Bannerlord releases after I waited 8 years for it, know what I mean?

Thoughts on this one? https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/view/Vortex-RL/

I'm no expert in these things but it looks good to me and the price is fine. I COULD spend a little more if I had to but I'd rather not unless I have to. For example, would it be worth upgrading the i5 2.9 GHZ processor to an i5 3.7 GHz processor? 2.9 seems low compared to what I have now. HD and SSD sizes are fine for my needs so those don't need to be raised or lowered. I can lose the LED lights because those just don't matter to me at all.

For an extra £40-ish I could up the graphics card to a 6GB GEFORCE RTX 2060, is that something that might be worth doing, or would the performance upgrade be so small as to be un-noticeable?

Thanks in advance for the help!
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
This presumes you are looking to game at a 1080P resolution with moderate/high FPS. Note, you could save £100 if you're willing to transfer your Windows license...

Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB 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 Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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]
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
Google Chrome™
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 9 to 11 working days
Price: £985.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/RDXJfAQE6t/
 

Dayve

Well-known member
That looks good too. Yeah, I do my gaming at 1080p and 60 FPS. I don't mind turning graphics down to high and medium, it's the 60 FPS that matters most to me. I've never used an AMD processor though.

So the one you linked... is it a lot better than the one I liked or about the same but cheaper?

Also transferring the Windows 10 code... I intent to keep my old PC as a spare, where would that leave me should my new be out of action for a week or more if something needs replacing? Would I not be able to use Windows 10 on my old PC?
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Everything in the pc you listed is inferior to what I selected with the exception of the gpu.... which is the same. Intel just has a price premium.

Not sure how it would go with the license but I know you get trial privileges so i wouldnt be too worried 😁
 

Dayve

Well-known member
Everything in the pc you listed is inferior to what I selected with the exception of the gpu.... which is the same. Intel just has a price premium.

Not sure how it would go with the license but I know you get trial privileges so i wouldnt be too worried 😁

Alright then, thanks my dude. Unless somebody has any objections to that build I'll order it in the next few days (probably Monday when I can get to the bank and put some cash in there).
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Alright then, thanks my dude. Unless somebody has any objections to that build I'll order it in the next few days (probably Monday when I can get to the bank and put some cash in there).
Looks sweet, @Scott does very good builds!

I think you’re getting the order in just at the right time, think we’re about to see price increases and stock shortages due to corona
 

Dayve

Well-known member
Looks sweet, @Scott does very good builds!

I think you’re getting the order in just at the right time, think we’re about to see price increases and stock shortages due to corona

Hmm, I hadn't considered potential gaming-related coronavirus issues. I'll definitely get it ordered on Monday.

I was mostly worried about my current one (which is 3 years and 4 months old) deciding to die on me in the coming weeks as all the great games I'm looking forward to start coming out. I have this vision of me downloading Bannerlord, finally, after having it on my wishlist since 2016, and just as I begin playing it my PC dies of old age and I have to wait 10+ days for a new one to arrive from pcspecialist :ROFLMAO:

This happened before with a PC that was a few years old. I had stomach surgery and could barely walk for like 2 weeks afterwards. Despite the pain I was actually looking forward to two whole weeks of sitting on my backside surfing the internet and playing games. I got home from the hospital, sat down, turned on my PC and... green and purple psychadelic blobs all over the screen. Graphics card died. I almost cried.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Hmm, I hadn't considered potential gaming-related coronavirus issues. I'll definitely get it ordered on Monday.

I was mostly worried about my current one (which is 3 years and 4 months old) deciding to die on me in the coming weeks as all the great games I'm looking forward to start coming out. I have this vision of me downloading Bannerlord, finally, after having it on my wishlist since 2016, and just as I begin playing it my PC dies of old age and I have to wait 10+ days for a new one to arrive from pcspecialist :ROFLMAO:

This happened before with a PC that was a few years old. I had stomach surgery and could barely walk for like 2 weeks afterwards. Despite the pain I was actually looking forward to two whole weeks of sitting on my backside surfing the internet and playing games. I got home from the hospital, sat down, turned on my PC and... green and purple psychadelic blobs all over the screen. Graphics card died. I almost cried.
A PC should happily go on for about 7 years with the occasional update of GPU and drives. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your current PC, has a lot of life left in it.
 

Dayve

Well-known member
A PC should happily go on for about 7 years with the occasional update of GPU and drives. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your current PC, has a lot of life left in it.

Yes but the paranoia!

Seriously though... my PC's get used for 12 hours a day. Not just left switched on, actually used for 12 hours per day. My PC's age faster than a normal person's PC.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Yes but the paranoia!
If I were you, I'd stick with the current build and just upgrade the GPU. It's crazy updating the entire build at this point, just wasting half the lifetime of the machine and replacing it with the same gaming experience, just doesn't make sense.

Instead, update the GPU to something halfway decent and buy a 1440p 144Hz monitor, will be a much better purchase for a superior performing machine.
 

Dayve

Well-known member
If I were you, I'd stick with the current build and just upgrade the GPU. It's crazy updating the entire build at this point, just wasting half the lifetime of the machine and replacing it with the same gaming experience, just doesn't make sense.

Instead, update the GPU to something halfway decent and buy a 1440p 144Hz monitor, will be a much better purchase for a superior performing machine.

I dunno... my main problem is that I don't have a spare anymore. I gave it away to someone in need (the one in my sig, the "previous PCS PC"). I always like to have a spare for emergencies. I'm an addict you see.

How much would you say I'd need to spend for something that's an upgrade to this one (as opposed to spending a grand for something that's essentially the same)?
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
I dunno... my main problem is that I don't have a spare anymore. I gave it away to someone in need (the one in my sig, the "previous PCS PC"). I always like to have a spare for emergencies. I'm an addict you see.

How much would you say I'd need to spend for something that's an upgrade to this one (as opposed to spending a grand for something that's essentially the same)?
£1500 would get you a good 1440p capable PC, then about £400 for a 1440p monitor.

But again, I can't stress it enough, there's nothing wrong with your current PC, it will happily go on for years.

When a computer "fails" it's only a singular component that's faulty, and troubleshooting will narrow the fault to just replace that one component.

TBH, if you're just fully replacing the PC early because you're worried about failure, it completely defeats the object of having a PC in the first place, the whole point is that they're modular and easily repairable and upgradeable.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Just looking at your current PC. That's a beauty of a system and completely agree it should have tonnes of life in it. For gaming you're looking at a GPU upgrade. You could easily just drop a 2070 Super in there and have a 1440p gaming monster as suggested.
 

Dayve

Well-known member
Alright, you have convinced me. So what graphics card would you recommend then as an upgrade? I'll probably only buy one if the games I'm waiting for (Bannerlord, RE3 remake, Final Fantasy 7 remake, couple others) don't perform well on the current loadout I have. I'm not so bothered about 1440p, 1080p is perfectly fine for me.
 

Dayve

Well-known member
1660 Super would be my choice.

Alright, I'm sure you're getting bored of me by now but there are a lot of different brands. Could you give me a link to the most suitable one for the rest of my rig? (I promise I'll learn about this eventually so I can do it myself lol).
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Alright, I'm sure you're getting bored of me by now but there are a lot of different brands. Could you give me a link to the most suitable one for the rest of my rig? (I promise I'll learn about this eventually so I can do it myself lol).
They’re essentially all the same, just different brands but they all perform very much the same.

do you appreciate what different resolutions do for the experience? 1440p compared to 1080p is night and day. 1080p is a 20 year old resolution and totally dead now.
 

Dayve

Well-known member
They’re essentially all the same, just different brands but they all perform very much the same.

do you appreciate what different resolutions do for the experience? 1440p compared to 1080p is night and day. 1080p is a 20 year old resolution and totally dead now.

Would the card you recommended do 1440p? 1080 is one of those things I've been using for so long that it's just normal to me now. I can't imagine anything else. But since I'm not buying a whole new machine I may as well spend the money on giving it a try.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Would the card you recommended do 1440p? 1080 is one of those things I've been using for so long that it's just normal to me now. I can't imagine anything else. But since I'm not buying a whole new machine I may as well spend the money on giving it a try.
No, you’d need a 2070 super for 1440p
 

Dayve

Well-known member
No, you’d need a 2070 super for 1440p

I see. I dunno if 1440 would be entirely worth it for me. I may get some value out of it for the new games I'll play, but I do spend a lot of time playing very old (15+ years) games, or grand strategy games such as Crusader Kings where graphics aren't really the point of the game.

You know the "previous PCS PC" in my signature? You know what I mostly did for that PC until I got this current one? Played World of Warcraft. Not even the up-to-date WoW, the old, classic WoW that would run on a 1970's calculator. I didn't do it on purpose, I just happened to try out a private server and got addicted to classic WoW again soon after buying it.

So I dunno if it would be worth it. Maybe when 1440p is an obsolete resolution that nobody uses anymore... maybe that'll be the time when I start using it. :ROFLMAO:
 
Top