High-end gaming PC build advice

[darquill]

Hello friends.

I hope you are all well.

I'm looking to get my next gaming PC after the 8 years of the honourable career of my current one , and I'd like some advice. I kinda know what we are talking about, as I did many builds in the past, but I'm a bit out of touch with the current options.

These are my parameters:

• Budget: ~3000 euros (can be a tad higher if worth it)
• High end, but I don't want to waste money just to have the highest numbered GPU
• As silent as possible.
• Raytracing would be cool
• Wi-Fi 6 and BT
• I don't care about RGB. Build can have lights or not, whatever works best.

So generally speaking I have an idea of what to get, however I'm undecided in a few areas

• AMD vs Intel. I've always had Intel + Nvidia combos. I'm curious to try AMD+Radeon for once. Not a hard constraint though.
• DDR4 or 5? Is 5 worth it, considering future proofing the build as well? I know that going with 5 requires Intel.
• What motherboard to pick other than following the obvious constraints of chipset and RAM type

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Aza]

What monitors are you using, are you intending on replacing or upgrading monitors?
3000 euros is roughly £2500... for that you will be able to build a very nice system and should def be thinking 1440p if you arent already.
From what others have been saying, DDR5 isnt really worth it atm, no massive gains from it where its all pretty new and its very pricey.

Do you do anything other than gaming?
Do you have a Win 10 copy already, so can transfer the licence rather than buying new?

 

[darquill]

What monitors are you using, are you intending on replacing or upgrading monitors?

A cheap ultrawide for now. Yes, I will replace the monitor at some point, but I won't get it initially.

3000 euros is roughly £2500... for that you will be able to build a very nice system and should def be thinking 1440p if you arent already.

Ideally 4k, if possible. I can go a bit higher in the budget if it means I can get more life out of the system.

From what others have been saying, DDR5 isnt really worth it atm, no massive gains from it where its all pretty new and its very pricey.

Yeah, I read that, but for future thinking maybe having the support would be good?

Do you do anything other than gaming?

Game dev as a hobby. Drawing as well.

Do you have a Win 10 copy already, so can transfer the licence rather than buying new?

I'll need a new license because I'm going to keep the old PC alive for a while.


Cheers!

 

[Scott]

Hi there,

It can be done right around the budget you are aiming for, but you would need to wait on the standard 3080 coming into stock. I've selected the Strix model for now. Check on it routinely and if it becomes available, just switch it over in your account before the system is built.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £2,595.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/q4wUnFD69w/

 

[darquill]

Hi there,

Hi! Thanks for the quick reply!

It can be done right around the budget you are aiming for, but you would need to wait on the standard 3080 coming into stock. I've selected the Strix model for now. Check on it routinely and if it becomes available, just switch it over in your account before the system is built.

What's the difference between the strix and the standard?
Also is there a big difference between the 3080 and the 3070 TI?

1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)

Any particular reason for the double SSD HD? Would going just for a larger 980PRO (1TB) be ok in your opinion?

 

[Scott]

Hi! Thanks for the quick reply!


What's the difference between the strix and the standard?
Also is there a big difference between the 3080 and the 3070 TI?

Any particular reason for the double SSD HD? Would going just for a larger 980PRO (1TB) be ok in your opinion?

Strix is a more rugged GPU than you'll get with the standard option. It's technically better but the only real reason to opt for it is availability, as long as you are willing to soak up the additional costs.

There's a fair margin between the 3070Ti and the 3080. The 3070Ti will get you into a reasonable output of 4k but the 3080 is definitely more suitable for higher end FPS when the budget is there. You could opt for the 3070Ti, even for 4k, but you would be more limited in the gaming potential.

It's important to keep the primary drive running swift to keep the performance in play. M2 drives start to suffer from throughput once past the 50% capacity. It's always my recommendation to have the OS and main programs on the primary drive, keeping it as clean as possible, with all other storage files and games being on additional drives. Typically I reserve the 1TB second drive for the game library and fast storage. I would often add another, slower, standard HDD for mass storage. This is down to what you are using the system for though.

It basically means that when/if you need to wipe & restore Windows, you can wipe the drive without fear of losing anything important. Additionally you won't need to re-download all your game library as they will be safe and sound on the secondary drive.

Then there's lane performance. Each drive effectively has it's own channel of communication. Having the games in their own "lane" means that both drives can be working simultaneously with no queueing. This reduces queue time and thus increases performance.

Lastly.... direct drive access is just around the corner. The GPU will link directly with the storage to load in the engine/graphics/etc direct. Having a second drive with exclusive access will also help with the direct drive potential.

 

[darquill]

Hey guys,

I got this build a while ago and it's running perfect.
Now I want to replace my current monitor with a better one.

Any suggestion to take advantage of the build? The use would be gaming, but also development work so I'd like a decent quality panel as well, not just performant. Doesn't have to be necessarily an ultra wide. Ideally a 4k, but 1440p is fine as well.
The budget is <= 1000 euro.

Thank you!

 

[Scott]

Samsung G9 would be a good shout I think.