UPDATED!!!! Hi everyone from a lurker!! who's looking to buy a Gaming/Home office Desktop very soon.

[kevbry]

Hi everyone... been lurking on this site for about 3 Months now and wanting to buy a new Desktop PC for Home Office and a bit of Gaming again...been awhile since I had one (2008) from Cyberpower and sold it off around 2014... Now I'm looking to get back into some mild gaming and self employed so Microsoft office/Windows Pro will be wanted too. Iv'e read lots of great advice from members helping newbies spec their new PC and over the next week or so I will be doing the same..
Was going to buy earlier but waited for the latest release from AMD as advised on here and just waiting to see what happens after 23rd July on the 2080 Super release to see if prices drop a little on 2060 2060 Super 2070 2070 Super lol

UPDATED!!! Now Finally Ready to order.. Oussebon and everyone who commented...anything I should change from your suggestions 3 months ago???

 

[SlimCini]

Budget? Monitor required?

 

[kevbry]

Hi Budget will be around £2000 and then buy the monitor separately I think.. I know by reading the threads about peoples specs that I need a 144mhz? 1440? G Sync? and 27" is the biggest I can fit on table... so spec of PC has to do the monitor proud lol... I also need Keyboard & Mouse but not a dedicated gaming Keyboard or Mouse as I'm not that dedicated into games lol... Wireless as it's positioned in a different room and have Virginmedias top internet package so we get around 385 mbps wireless... also not wanting any flashing lights or anything like that at my age (58)... also has to be as quiet as possible as in a sitting room..

 

[SlimCini]

Hi Budget will be around £2000 and then buy the monitor separately I think.. I know by reading the threads about peoples specs that I need a 144mhz? 1440? G Sync? and 27" is the biggest I can fit on table... so spec of PC has to do the monitor proud lol... I also need Keyboard & Mouse but not a dedicated gaming Keyboard or Mouse as I'm not that dedicated into games lol... Wireless as it's positioned in a different room and have Virginmedias top internet package so we get around 385 mbps wireless... also not wanting any flashing lights or anything like that at my age (58)... also has to be as quiet as possible as in a sitting room..

Maybe something like below. BUT swap the 2080 for a 2080 super when they're released tomorrow at hopefully similar price points to the current 2080. You could get a smaller SSD and cheaper cooler without compromising to save some money but with £2k you should probably get things that are worthwhile. Not really an expert on cases so just chose one at an £80 budget. And add in whatever keyboard and mouse you want.

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Six Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte X570 GAMING X: ATX (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!

Get Control & Wolfenstein: Young Blood w/ select GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
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 [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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,914.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/2arQyK0cJG/

 

[kevbry]

Hi thanks for this gives me a good base to start looking..... will probably, later on this week post a thread asking for suggestions to what Ive managed to configure before placing my order..

 

[Oussebon]

The above's a solid spec. I'd make just a few comments, pending Kevbry's further post with a firmed-up prospective spec.

RTX 2080 Super is out - modest performance bump for currently about the same price.

R5 3600x isn't worth £40 over the 3600 non-x. The performance is almost identical.

The X570-PLUS is now only £13 more than the Gaming X, but actually has USB 3.2 Gen 2. Unlike the Gaming X which apparently doesn't even though PCS say it does?

I'm not wholly convinced I'd pay £70 going from 3200MHz RAM to 3600MHz RAM, even with Zen 2.

If one were buying a 3600x and 3600MHz RAM, one might as well just buy an R7 3700x and 3200MHz RAM. Though the R5 3600 and 3200MHz seems to be a lot better bang for buck than either.

 

[kevbry]

The above's a solid spec. I'd make just a few comments, pending Kevbry's further post with a firmed-up prospective spec.

RTX 2080 Super is out - modest performance bump for currently about the same price.

R5 3600x isn't worth £40 over the 3600 non-x. The performance is almost identical.

The X570-PLUS is now only £13 more than the Gaming X, but actually has USB 3.2 Gen 2. Unlike the Gaming X which apparently doesn't even though PCS say it does?

I'm not wholly convinced I'd pay £70 going from 3200MHz RAM to 3600MHz RAM, even with Zen 2.

If one were buying a 3600x and 3600MHz RAM, one might as well just buy an R7 3700x and 3200MHz RAM. Though the R5 3600 and 3200MHz seems to be a lot better bang for buck than either.

Thanks Oussebon
Iv'e read a lot of your posts regarding advising people of their specific build and learned a lot from reading them and will roughly spec my build from this advice ...could you recommend a quiet case and what cooling I would need.. and how do people play games now No CD? I did join Steam 2007 and looking at the few games I have they are dated lol.. is there another way to buy games now instead of CD/DVD?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks Oussebon
Iv'e read a lot of your posts regarding advising people of their specific build and learned a lot from reading them and will roughly spec my build from this advice ...could you recommend a quiet case and what cooling I would need.. and how do people play games now No CD? I did join Steam 2007 and looking at the few games I have they are dated lol.. is there another way to buy games now instead of CD/DVD?

You can redeem your physical game codes on Steam and transfer it to a digital license, then just install it through Steam. The added benefit of this is that it will patch the games so that they run perfectly on Windows 10 without having to fiddle around with mods or updates etc.

Just go to Games/Activate a Product on Steam and enter the license code.

 

[kevbry]

You can redeem your physical game codes on Steam and transfer it to a digital license, then just install it through Steam. The added benefit of this is that it will patch the games so that they run perfectly on Windows 10 without having to fiddle around with mods or updates etc.

Just go to Games/Activate a Product on Steam and enter the license code.

Thanks SPYDERTRACKS

seems simple enough.... so no CD/DVD writer option needed lol

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks SPYDERTRACKS

seems simple enough.... so no CD/DVD writer option needed lol

Some games codes won't be accepted on Steam so import them first and then if you have any that can't be transferred you can always buy an external DVD writer for not very much, everywhere sells them like amazon.

 

[Oussebon]

Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and you have to buy a USB DVD drive from Amazon for £15-20 after you get the PC.

You say:

I'm looking to get back into some mild gaming

Hi Budget will be around £2000 and then buy the monitor separately I think.. I know by reading the threads about peoples specs that I need a 144mhz? 1440? G Sync? and 27"

I'm not really convinced you should spend £2000 on the PC.

The below would be generously more than adequate for 1440p gaming:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (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 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

Get Control & Wolfenstein: Young Blood w/ select GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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 [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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,528.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Based on Slimcini's build above, but with the case, CPU cooler, and PSU geared towards quiet. The Fractal R6 also has space for internal DVD drives, and by hiding the drive behind a noise-dampened front door helps minimise noise from the DVD whirring away in the drive

Honestly I think anything over the 2060 Super is probably poor use of cash for your uses. Since the 2060 Super will handle most modern demanding titles on "ultra" at 1440p without a sweat (and bear in mind often you wouldn't actually turn up all settings to ultra anyway). A 2080 costs getting on for twice as much as a 2060 Super, for an extra ~25% performance.

Maybe go with the 2060 Super now, and re-evaluate in a couple of years. When hopefully the high end GPU market isn't so damn stale, and the monitor market has been shaken up a bit (hopefully..)

 

[Oussebon]

As for MS Office, would OpenOffice do the trick for you? https://www.openoffice.org/
Thunderbird is a powerful, free email client.

 

[kevbry]

Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and you have to buy a USB DVD drive from Amazon for £15-20 after you get the PC.

You say:





I'm not really convinced you should spend £2000 on the PC.

The below would be generously more than adequate for 1440p gaming:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (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 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

Get Control & Wolfenstein: Young Blood w/ select GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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 [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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,528.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Based on Slimcini's build above, but with the case, CPU cooler, and PSU geared towards quiet. The Fractal R6 also has space for internal DVD drives, and by hiding the drive behind a noise-dampened front door helps minimise noise from the DVD whirring away in the drive

Honestly I think anything over the 2060 Super is probably poor use of cash for your uses. Since the 2060 Super will handle most modern demanding titles on "ultra" at 1440p without a sweat (and bear in mind often you wouldn't actually turn up all settings to ultra anyway). A 2080 costs getting on for twice as much as a 2060 Super, for an extra ~25% performance.

Maybe go with the 2060 Super now, and re-evaluate in a couple of years. When hopefully the high end GPU market isn't so damn stale, and the monitor market has been shaken up a bit (hopefully..)

Hi Oussebon

that seems perfect sense mate... do I need a better wireless card for Virginmedia as get 385mbps wireless speeds and PC will be in a different room to router?...and what Monitor would you recommend for this PC? as this g sync free sync stuff means nothing to me lol
as for Microsoft Office i do have many documents saved on my laptop MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) so was just keeping everything the same to transfer over

 

[Oussebon]

Oops, sorry, I forgot the wifi card. Long day doesn't really cover it My spec has no wifi card, so add the AC1200 wifi card

what Monitor would you recommend for this PC? as this g sync free sync stuff means nothing to me lol

gsync and freesync are both forms of adaptive sync. Adaptive sync matches your monitor's refresh rate to the GPU's framerate, to help get rid of stuttering and tearing.

Gsync is a proprietary Nvidia tech that works through a specific chip being built into the monitor. Freesync is an AMD branding for adaptive sync.

gsync is Nvidia exclusive because of that hardware. Freesync used to be only for AMD cards because Nvidia didn't support it. However, Nvidia recently saw the way the wind was blowing and began supporting it on their more recent GPUs. You need to manually switch it on, and some monitors or specific games don't necessarily play nice, but it basically just works in most cases.

Nvidia have also coined the term 'Gsync compatible' which means it's a Freesync monitor that they have verified works out of the box with Nvidia GPUs and meets certain criteria.

So: Gsync, gsync compatible, and freesync.

You could look at the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD-EK for a 1440p 144hz IPS gsync compatible display. Circa £520
Or a less expensive monitor, with a TN panel, and gsync is the Dell S2716DG

LG are also releasing the 27GL850 in August I believe, which looks quite interesting. I'll be following reviews closely.

 

[kevbry]

Oops, sorry, I forgot the wifi card. Long day doesn't really cover it My spec has no wifi card, so add the AC1200 wifi card

gsync and freesync are both forms of adaptive sync. Adaptive sync matches your monitor's refresh rate to the GPU's framerate, to help get rid of stuttering and tearing.

Gsync is a proprietary Nvidia tech that works through a specific chip being built into the monitor. Freesync is an AMD branding for adaptive sync.

gsync is Nvidia exclusive because of that hardware. Freesync used to be only for AMD cards because Nvidia didn't support it. However, Nvidia recently saw the way the wind was blowing and began supporting it on their more recent GPUs. You need to manually switch it on, and some monitors or specific games don't necessarily play nice, but it basically just works in most cases.

Nvidia have also coined the term 'Gsync compatible' which means it's a Freesync monitor that they have verified works out of the box with Nvidia GPUs and meets certain criteria.

So: Gsync, gsync compatible, and freesync.

You could look at the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD-EK for a 1440p 144hz IPS gsync compatible display. Circa £520
Or a less expensive monitor, with a TN panel, and gsync is the Dell S2716DG

LG are also releasing the 27GL850 in August I believe, which looks quite interesting. I'll be following reviews closely.

Hi thanks for this explanation... I will save this configuration and order end of next week... going on Holiday for a week so don't want to order now incase it arrives between 2nd - 9th August while I'm away lol...

 

[Oussebon]

Do check in again before ordering in case prices have changed on specific components. Have a good holiday!

 

[kevbry]

Do check in again before ordering in case prices have changed on specific components. Have a good holiday!

Thanks will do although I'm tempted to order now as it states 3-5 working days so order Wednesday Thursday Friday then Monday Tuesday come Wednesday morning would be good lol

 

[Oussebon]

If you need it to not be dispatched before a given date, you could always phone PCS and ask if they can oblige. Take the order but not start building until X.

Some people have been getting systems in less than the ETA recently

 

[Durin_VII]

Nvidia have also coined the term 'Gsync compatible' which means it's a Freesync monitor that they have verified works out of the box with Nvidia GPUs and meets certain criteria.

So: Gsync, gsync compatible, and freesync.

There's also the community projects to work out an unofficial list of Gsync compatible monitors

-> GSYNC

Since Nvidia only said less than two dozen or so "passed". Plenty of other options seem to do quite well.

 

[kevbry]

If you need it to not be dispatched before a given date, you could always phone PCS and ask if they can oblige. Take the order but not start building until X.

Some people have been getting systems in less than the ETA recently

Well you have saved me a lot of money so I might pay the £59 for 3 day service... Ive changed to the 1200 router and is it cheaper to go ahead and buy MS Office for £122 on here or wait till 30 day trial over and buy it then? as i have been using my Sons works MS Office and want to purchase my own copy..