Hi there - help needed on a new gaming desktop build

[samfel]

Hello - first time poster and far from an expert, so go easy on me!

First up, let me explain what I'm after from this PC:

1. I want a powerful gaming PC, but I'll also be using it for standard office/home use
2. I also want this thing to be future-proofed for at least a few years. I'd like to be able to play top-spec games on high settings for a decent while.

So far, so typical. The trouble is:

1. I understand vaguely what I'm doing when it comes to choosing GPU, CPU, RAM etc... but when it comes to motherboards, sound cards, cooling, fans etc I'm completely out of my depth
2. The custom builder on the site doesn't give you compatibility checks in real-time, meaning I only found out parts didn't work together at the end of the build process. Since it didn't tell me which parts to choose to resolve the compatibility issues, I pretty much had to go with random picks - principally on motherboard.
3. I'm also conscious that I may be overspending on things like cooling, fans, power and so on - obviously I want the PC to be powerful, efficient and well cooled, but there's no sense paying more than I need to.

So... hopefully you knowledgeable folk can point out any areas where I need more, or where I've gone dramatically overboard.

Thanks in advance! The spec is as follows (please let me know if I need to post any other details):

Case InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard Gigabyte AORUS Z270X-Gaming 7 : ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card 4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 550 - HDMI, DP, DVI - DX® 12
2nd Graphics Card 4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 550 - HDMI, DP, DVI - DX® 12
1st Hard Disk NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive 512GB WD Black™ M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 2050MB/s R | 800MB/s W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans 2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card ASUS Xonar DSX - Bring Hi-Fi spirit to your Music, Movie & Games
Wireless/Wired Networking WIRELESS 802.11 AC1200 867Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB 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 DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser Google Chrome™
Monitor IIYAMA X2783HSU-B1 27" AMVA+ LED WIDESCREEN, 1920x1080


P.S. I'll be dual-screening, but I've already got the 2nd screen from my old PC.

Thanks again!

EDIT: P.P.S. - forgot to mention. This comes in at £1,864. I wasn't planning to spend more than £1,500 to be honest, although I'm comfortable up to around £1,800. I definitely don't want to go any higher than this though; I doubt there's any need to go higher anyway.

 

[samfel]

*SORRY FOR DOUBLE POST - tried to edit the previous one and it's deleted the whole article*

[Repeated details removed]

 

[Rakk]

*SORRY FOR DOUBLE POST - tried to edit the previous one and it's deleted the whole article*

[Repeated details removed]

It was just awaiting approval
When you are new to the forums your posts are often put into the moderation queue which means they can't be seen til approved by a mod and this also applies to edits of previously approved posts, when it does that it makes it seem like its disappeared. It's visible again now

 

[samfel]

Thanks for resolving the double post issue, Rakk

One final note - I'm planning to have my old 1TB Western Digital HDD installed in the new machine. Presumably PC Specialist will do this for me as part of the new build, although I'm not sure where I'd add that onto the order. The old machine was also a PC Specialist custom build, although it was back in 2011 so the spec has been lost from my account on here.

 

[keynes]

The ram is excessive for gaming and general use. You are getting 2 weak GPUs when you could get a much better single GPU like a gtx 1070/1080. Any motherboard will do for your intended use so you could downgrade and I would suggest going for the Samsung M2 SSD as they are faster than the one you chosen.

 

[samfel]

Noted - thank you keynes!

So will a single 8GB GPU always be better than two 4GB ones? I sort of assumed having two would "spread the load", but that probably just shows my naivete.

As for motherboard - from memory, I had to upgrade it in order to fit in the better sound card. This was one area where I did have to pick at random, I don't really have any idea what a more expensive motherboard offers.

I'll go for the Samsung SSD for sure - thanks for that. Presumably it's more expensive but if I'm dropping to 16GB RAM then that'll offset the cost nicely.

Would dropping to 16GB RAM affect the future-proofing of this machine? I suppose I could presumably just replace it myself at a later date if necessary.

 

[Rakk]

One final note - I'm planning to have my old 1TB Western Digital HDD installed in the new machine. Presumably PC Specialist will do this for me as part of the new build, although I'm not sure where I'd add that onto the order.

No they won't, you can just add it to the machine when you get it though. It's dead easy to do and if you need help you can just ask us on the forums for help, or check out youtube as I suspect there's numerous clips showing how to add one.

The old machine was also a PC Specialist custom build, although it was back in 2011 so the spec has been lost from my account on here.

It should still be there, my account still shows all my orders (2007,2010,2013, 2016 and a few bits and pieces in between) - I suspect you're just using a different email

 

[samfel]

Fair enough - no idea what my previous login details were in that case, but to be fair I don't think it's really worth the bother of trying to dig out the old spec, since an upgrade on this scale would be no cheaper than just building a new PC from scratch.

 

[Oussebon]

So will a single 8GB GPU always be better than two 4GB ones? I sort of assumed having two would "spread the load", but that probably just shows my naivete.

The GB of a GPU have relatively little to do with its performance - see: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...-Hardware-FAQs&p=397288&viewfull=1#post397288 for a few notes

Also, many games don't run well with multiple GPUs.

As for motherboard - from memory, I had to upgrade it in order to fit in the better sound card. This was one area where I did have to pick at random, I don't really have any idea what a more expensive motherboard offers.

Part of that is because you had 2 GPUs. 1 GPU = more PCIe slots free. The AORUS is very expensive. It's headline feature, in my opinion, is Thunderbolt. If you don't need that, get something cheaper like the Z270E. The Z270 is already very expensive and has a lot of features bit is £50 or so cheaper than the AORUS.

Modern motherboards have pretty respectable onboard sound. I'd certainly suggest auditioning it before buying a separate sound card, DAC, etc.

I'll go for the Samsung SSD for sure - thanks for that. Presumably it's more expensive but if I'm dropping to 16GB RAM then that'll offset the cost nicely.

Agreed

Would dropping to 16GB RAM affect the future-proofing of this machine? I suppose I could presumably just replace it myself at a later date if necessary.

Lack of crystal ball notwithstanding, the answer would be a resounding no. There is very little difference between 8gb and 16gb RAM in gaming as things stand. By the time we need more than 16gb (or even have any benefit from more than 16gb at all) for gaming, the 7700k will be long obsolete and the performance bottleneck anyway... we'll probably be using GDDR5 RAM, wearing bacofoil suits and driving hovercars, etc...
see: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...-Hardware-FAQs&p=397286&viewfull=1#post397286

And if I'm wrong the mobo has 2 vacant slots for you to add in more RAM.

If you were going for the £1850 mark as per the spec above, and you were sure you were happy with that monitor, I'd say:


Case
GAME MAX FALCON BLACK GAMING CASE (RGB LED)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-7700k Quad Core (4.20GHz @ up to 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GB, WiFi - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1900MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
1x 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB 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 DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
IIYAMA X2783HSU-B1 27" AMVA+ LED WIDESCREEN, 1920x1080
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 12 to 14 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,841.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z270-overclocked/Ay67u3cMRa/

You could slice the price down to £1774 at a stroke by swapping the SSD to the Samsung 850 Evo from the HDD menu. The 960 Evo is very nice, but expensive. While the WD Black's performance is pretty disappointing and it's still £30 more than the 850 Evo.

 

[samfel]

That's brilliant, thank you Oussebon. What a brilliant community this seems to be - no snarkiness, just plain old informative helpfulness. Much appreciated.

I'll have a look when I'm home from work but in theory your recommendation looks perfect. You're happy that there would be no cooling/power issues? I know I'm probably being overly cautious but I just pause for thought a bit when there's higher-end options available - this seems like a high-end machine to me so I assumed it'd need fairly robust power and cooling.

Finally - yep, happy with the monitor. My current monitor is the 24" version and I'm happy to go with what I know, especially since I won't be going over 1080p and I'm not big on twitchy multiplayer shooters.

 

[Oussebon]

Some people find 1080p to not look great stretched across 27". Obviously not everyone or else there wouldn't be so many of them. But I mention it just in case.

The system should be fine for cooling even with the OC. PCS will test the system before sending it out, and you should of course do likewise when it arrives to make sure all's well after transit. And depending on the model of GPU they use in your build, you may end up deciding you want to set a custom GPU fan curve to help maintain your boost clocks. But I can't see the temps being a problem. You don't have to go far on the forums to find similar systems people have ordered and had no issues with.

I'd probably go for the £5 warranty upgrade for the extra carriage costs cover, given the small % that £5 is of ~£1850

 

[samfel]

Great. Thanks very much for your help!

 

[samfel]

Appreciate I'm reviving a dead thread here, but just thought I'd drop a quick line to say thank you for the spec suggestion Oussebon. I ordered the PC you suggested and it's an absolute beast. Love it!

 

[Oussebon]

Great to hear all is well with the system and it's living up to expectations

If you're ever so inclined you could always do a review and some photos here: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?15-Show-off-your-new-PC-Laptop! though there's no pressure ofc!