Is this right for me?

KP56

Member
Hi All,

Really new to PC tech and I'm not very savvy with the parts/building so was looking for some guidance please :)

Here is the one I had in mind:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
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
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 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 15 to 18 working days
Price: £1,058.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/HNZaS8R8vD/

I have a budget of £1000-£1250 and the games I want to play are

World of Warcraft with multiple addons/overlays,
Big minecraft modpacks for LAN games (not fussed about shaders if that makes any odds) and other modded low end games i.e. Terraria, Ark)
CCGs, mostly hearthstone (although I know it doesn't take much to run that)

I would like to multitask on these using 2 monitors - one for games and one for youtube on the side whilst playing (although this would mostly be during CCGs not during MMOs, I'd probably use spotify instead during those)

The questions I have are below:

1) My budget - am I being too optimistic for my budget or am I possibly even being overkill? I have no idea where the sweet spot price brackets are for my ideals
2) Internet - I have the router downstairs and it isn't easy to have it up in my room logistically to plug via ethernet - what is the best alternative? Or is ethernet kind of necessary for the MMORPGs? Is a relaying router effective?
3) Maintaining - From the research I have done I need to clean dust and update drivers reguarly which seems straight forward, is there anything else I need to do to look after it? And with updating I saw someone in a forum was saving each copy of a windows update seperately so they could reverse if they needed to or something?
4) SSD - Is this the right one?
5) I have a surge protected 4 plug extension lead, it's not fancy at all and I probably got it from a random supermarket, will this be good enough?
6) Monitors - right now I have a LG webOS TV LF630V - 1080p. I am happy to use this as either the primary or secondary monitor and buy the other respectively, or buy two new ones outside of this budget if it is recommended. Does this monitor do the job well enough in regards to any delay? Is 1080p bad?
7) Speakers - I'm not a sound enthusiast so can anyone recommend some cheap speakers that are good quality but don't have to be insane quality and high priced, preferably at most £50 or so

Sorry it is quite a big post, any help is appreciated.

Cheers!
 

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Just a couple things glaring one being the PSU, for that build I wouldn't go less than 650W I would even encourage 750W for potential future upgrades

Secondly the Ram I would up to 3200Mhz, just with the Ryzen Processors they like to have really fast ram to work efficiently and to their best ability

Third I would change the Frostflow cooler, by all accounts they just aren't that good. I have the Coolermaster Master Liquid Lite 240 and I would recommend that

As for the rest of your queries:
1) budget wise your talking around £900-£1200 for entry level 1080p. Then around £1300-£1500 for 1440p
2) relaying routers can work you can always talk to your ISP about moving the router for you. I always get mine installed at my computer desk
3) just keep her clean and dust free and get into the habit of checking for driver updates on the Nvidia webset about once a month and you'll be fine. Unless there's something vitally important on the computer there really shouldn't be many issues and with any vitally import just make multiple backups. Worst case you have to reset the computer and start from scratch but that's easy done these days
4) SSD is fine but I'd say go with an M2 + SSD combo as opposed to SSD+HDD, just better and faster
5) as long as it's surge protected should do the job
6) honestly not super clued into the monitor game but for playing MMO's high refresh rates aren't exactly needed
7) any old speaker will do the job if your not too fussed on quality. I usually go with basic cheap speakers and a really good headset for when I want to enjoy sound quality

Hopefully this has some useful info
 
Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
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 [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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 15 to 18 working days
Price: £1,309.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Zn6FPCYXCe/

I've made a few tweeks and gone slightly over but the above system will give you greater performance and will also last you longer as all you'll need to do in the future is upgrade the GPU if you go for newer games down the line.

The 5600x is far better than the 3600x, you want an M.2 drive for your OS and i've upped the wifi card as well which supports 5GHz as well


--


I use this speaker. For £20-25 you cant go wrong for just normal sound
 

KP56

Member
Just a couple things glaring one being the PSU, for that build I wouldn't go less than 650W I would even encourage 750W for potential future upgrades

Secondly the Ram I would up to 3200Mhz, just with the Ryzen Processors they like to have really fast ram to work efficiently and to their best ability

Third I would change the Frostflow cooler, by all accounts they just aren't that good. I have the Coolermaster Master Liquid Lite 240 and I would recommend that

As for the rest of your queries:
1) budget wise your talking around £900-£1200 for entry level 1080p. Then around £1300-£1500 for 1440p
2) relaying routers can work you can always talk to your ISP about moving the router for you. I always get mine installed at my computer desk
3) just keep her clean and dust free and get into the habit of checking for driver updates on the Nvidia webset about once a month and you'll be fine. Unless there's something vitally important on the computer there really shouldn't be many issues and with any vitally import just make multiple backups. Worst case you have to reset the computer and start from scratch but that's easy done these days
4) SSD is fine but I'd say go with an M2 + SSD combo as opposed to SSD+HDD, just better and faster
5) as long as it's surge protected should do the job
6) honestly not super clued into the monitor game but for playing MMO's high refresh rates aren't exactly needed
7) any old speaker will do the job if your not too fussed on quality. I usually go with basic cheap speakers and a really good headset for when I want to enjoy sound quality

Hopefully this has some useful info
Thanks for this, really helpful and I have made the adjustments - the RAM actually turned out cheaper for some reason too!

What games would need a high refresh rate? Is that more for Mobas or standard RPGs? Pretty on the fence about just getting better monitors because I will want them soon anyway as mine is getting pretty outdated

Cheers :D
 

KP56

Member
Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
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 [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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 15 to 18 working days
Price: £1,309.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Zn6FPCYXCe/

I've made a few tweeks and gone slightly over but the above system will give you greater performance and will also last you longer as all you'll need to do in the future is upgrade the GPU if you go for newer games down the line.

The 5600x is far better than the 3600x, you want an M.2 drive for your OS and i've upped the wifi card as well which supports 5GHz as well


--


I use this speaker. For £20-25 you cant go wrong for just normal sound
Thanks for this - I am unsure about a couple things though

How come you chose standard cooling? Is it good enough?

For the wifi card- what does this actually do? Does it relay the existing wifi I have from downstairs or is it a new wifi source or something else? Sorry if it's stupid of me haha!
 

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Thanks for this, really helpful and I have made the adjustments - the RAM actually turned out cheaper for some reason too!

What games would need a high refresh rate? Is that more for Mobas or standard RPGs? Pretty on the fence about just getting better monitors because I will want them soon anyway as mine is getting pretty outdated

Cheers :D
Hi Refresh rates generally favour high paced games like shooters in particular. RPG's any old 5ms will do the job.

I'd say MOBA's may benefit but I don't play them personally.
 
Thanks for this - I am unsure about a couple things though

How come you chose standard cooling? Is it good enough?

For the wifi card- what does this actually do? Does it relay the existing wifi I have from downstairs or is it a new wifi source or something else? Sorry if it's stupid of me haha!
The standard cooling is fine for the 5600x however if budget increases its the one area i would improve as i like to go overkill in that department. But unless you plan on putting the computer over heavy load for a decent amount of time the standard cooler is fine for AMD.

The wifi card just allows the PC to connect to the PC via wi-fi :). You want one which can support 5ghz as well mind as the 2.4 ghz channel gets busy as most devises tend to contact using that channel so you won't get the best wifi speeds. The one i selected gives you bluetooth connectivity as a bonus.
 
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