It's Time For A New Machine v2

[Rakk]

So I was looking at getting a new PC in May (see here), however I decided to wait til the release of the AMDs to see what the options would be at that point.

Anyways, I now have a couple of choices.
AMD:
Case
CORSAIR CRYSTAL SERIES 570X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/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
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 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 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,177.00 including VAT and Delivery

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


Or Intel:
Case
CORSAIR CRYSTAL SERIES 570X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 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 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,117.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/Qv8QhMXtp3/


Main uses:
1. Everquest 2 - a game that is going to be 15 years old in November (it's an MMORPG), and clock speed is the key to playing in high quality - my current PC is OC'd to 4.5Ghz and it plays very nicely - apparently according to something I read a while back it runs even better at 5GHz- less FPS issues. Noting that whilst it can use more than one core, the main bulk is on one core - so yeah clock speed - Intel seem to do better at clock speed.
2. VR - currently have a Rift - normally playing Twisted Arrow (a sort of FPS I guess but with a bow and arrow instead of a gun), Skyrim VR, Beat Saber as soon as I see it on sale and a few others that I play intermittently.
3. Visual Studio and SQL server server - not used often but they do get used every so often
4. No streaming - I don't need people to see how bad I am at some of these games

Notes:
Yes I do need 16GB RAM, my normal RAM usages when gaming with EQ2 is about 8-9 GB
I will hopefully be transferring my GTX1070 across (as long as it isn't the culprit for every so often when my PC decides to do an impression of an aircraft carrier and deafens me).
I need a machine with a USB-C port for my USB hub that I use for the Rift - said hub has enough bandwidth for it - the Rift is rather greedy on USB bandwidth - ie. it wants it all .......
I have a retail version of Win Pro on my current machine, it will be moved across
I have 2 mechanical HDD's that will be being moved over, and maybe one SSD (depends what I decide to do with the old PC)
Motherboard: um, no idea - any advice on this is definitely welcome.
Am using 2 monitors (one is 1440p 60Hz, the other is 1080p 60 Hz) or my VR headset. I would use 3 monitors but that would require my house to be about 2 foot longer which still isn't really an option!
Budget - give or take the amounts of the machines above with a little wiggle room.

Clock speed thoughts:
I decided not to get the Intel OC'd if I do go for that as PCS will only OC to 5Ghz yet it can seemingly turbo itself to 4.9 anyways - may try to OC it myself at some point - with a friends help (he's OC'd many before)
Not sure on the overclockability of the AMD - but it is lower in speed.

So yeah, any thoughts or ideas would be useful
I'm not sure whether its worth going for the very slightly more expensive AMD or not (the builds are supposed to be the same for everything except CPU and motherboard)

 

[Scott]

I don't think hyperthreading will make much difference to your uses but the higher frequency definitely will. From the benches I've seen, even with the improved AMD IPC, the Intel still comes out on top.

VR will mainly be GPU limited, so this is one of the few occasions where I would say the Intel would be the better choice for your uses.

I don't know if there's enough in it to justify that choice to be honest, that's just gut feel without considering the future of the socket.

I would look at an RMx PSU regardless of which system you choose though.

Just FYI, you will be able to push a single core of the 9700k to at least 5.2ghz if you get around to overclocking. Stable 5.4ghz isn't outwith the realms of possibility but if you want to encroach onto that you're going to need at least the H115i.

 

[Rakk]

VR will mainly be GPU limited, so this is one of the few occasions where I would say the Intel would be the better choice for your uses.

Yeah I was kinda thinking the same thing but wanted other peoples opinions as well in case I was being a moron

I would look at an RMx PSU regardless of which system you choose though.

Out of curiosity, why?
Noting that the lowest RMx is 850W which is way beyond what I need (I know it'll only pull what it needs, but if you're not going to use it why get it )

Just FYI, you will be able to push a single core of the 9700k to at least 5.2ghz if you get around to overclocking. Stable 5.4ghz isn't outwith the realms of possibility but if you want to encroach onto that you're going to need at least the H115i.

The H115i wont fit in a lot of the cases - apparently the radiator is rather large - I know it wont fit in the case I've chosen. But yeah I doubt I'd want to push it that far anyway (ie too much of a coward) so I'm good with the H100x

 

[Scott]

Yeah I was kinda thinking the same thing but wanted other peoples opinions as well in case I was being a moron

​

There isn't a great deal in it but if every little helps then the higher frequency is the way to go. Pre Zen2 release I was having buyers remorse with the 9900k, after.... I'm more than happy. I expected the upper end of Zen2 to be 5Ghz.

​

Out of curiosity, why?
Noting that the lowest RMx is 850W which is way beyond what I need (I know it'll only pull what it needs, but if you're not going to use it why get it )

​

Lowest, I believe, is 750W now. The RMx runs completely silent when not being pushed hard (Around 25% I believe), zero fan speed. It's a better PSU with better components and runs more efficiently. It'll last longer, produce less heat and run quieter. I have the 750 in my system just now. It's gone through 3 systems now. Granted, it's not the RMx, it's the Previous RM generation. They haven't changed it much because it's not broken.

​

The H115i wont fit in a lot of the cases - apparently the radiator is rather large - I know it wont fit in the case I've chosen. But yeah I doubt I'd want to push it that far anyway (ie too much of a coward) so I'm good with the H100x

It is a rather large rad. The H100x will do just fine for stock power, or maybe slightly above for gaming. I went with the H115 Platinum and I've been blown away by how quiet it is thanks to the ML fans on it.

I'm so happy with my current chassis setup that I'm fairly confident that my next upgrade, or maybe 2, will be board/chip/RAM upgrades.

 

[Oussebon]

The 3800x doesn't appear worth the price difference over the 3700x. But in any event for your specific uses, Intel is the way to go.

That said, the 9700k is the same architecture as the 6600k. Have you considered just manually OCing your 6600k that bit further?

Agreed with the RMx recommendation. They were doing the 750W one, but checking now in the Intel configurator it seems to be AWOL. That said, there's still an argument for the 850W PSU. I have the RM850i and I don't think it's even turned its fan on, other than when I pressed the test button. So it's been literally silent with an OCed 3770k and 970.

 

[Rakk]

That said, the 9700k is the same architecture as the 6600k. Have you considered just manually OCing your 6600k that bit further?

When I ordered it initially, I ordered it OC'd - the configurator said upto 4.6 however I don't think they could get it stable at 4.6 even after a few days - they could only get it stable at 4.5 so I have a feeling I got let down by the silicon lottery - it probably could be raised higher but certainly not with my current knowledge of OC'ing (ie. virtually none)

So I spoke to PCS this morning and I have a new quote (with an RMx PSU that they nicely manually added to my quote)
Case
CORSAIR CRYSTAL SERIES 570X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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 RMx SERIES™ 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
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 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 3 to 5 working days
Promotional Item
Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Price: £1,124.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/sR7ctxWavR/

(note: the link isn't exactly correct as the RMx isn't on the configurator, which makes it go a bit funny)
Changing to the RMx changed the price from 1109 to 1124 (something had obviously dropped in price since Wednesday).

So yeah any more opinions/thoughts?

 

[Scott]

Looks ideal to me. I don't understand why they don't add the lower wattage RMx PSUs as a default option. They would be the go-to for most consumers.

 

[Rakk]

And one final query I thought about, since I may be OC'ing it at some point (only simple OC'ing it must be said - no voltage changes or anything complicated like that - mainly cos I have no idea about it), would it be worth getting the upgraded thermal paste? Or is the normal paste likely to be fine - I'm only asking cos I'm sure at some point recently-ish I saw someone say that the normal paste for the Corsair AIO's would be perfectly fine for it, but that could just be me imagining that comment

 

[Scott]

Corsair paste is really good, no need to upgrade. It's pre applied also which does away with any questionable paste jobs.

I'm running an OC on a 9900k with the stock corsair paste. Ran 5.4Ghz on it at one point too and it held up fine so you've got nothing to worry about.

 

[SpyderTracks]

And one final query I thought about, since I may be OC'ing it at some point (only simple OC'ing it must be said - no voltage changes or anything complicated like that - mainly cos I have no idea about it), would it be worth getting the upgraded thermal paste? Or is the normal paste likely to be fine - I'm only asking cos I'm sure at some point recently-ish I saw someone say that the normal paste for the Corsair AIO's would be perfectly fine for it, but that could just be me imagining that comment

The included paste on the Corsair aio’s Is very good, I would say it would be fine for a normal overclock

 

[SpyderTracks]

Corsair paste is really good, no need to upgrade. It's pre applied also which does away with any questionable paste jobs.

I'm running an OC on a 9900k with the stock corsair paste. Ran 5.4Ghz on it at one point too and it held up fine so you've got nothing to worry about.

5.4??? That’s impressive!

 

[Rakk]

Thanks guys - now to go chase down my wallet that seems to be attempting to run away

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks guys - now to go chase down my wallet that seems to be attempting to run away

Hope you find it, haven't seen mine for a few months now, think it's done a runner!

 

[Oussebon]

5.4GHz sounds like a golden chip tbh! But WRT Rakk's build, a bit of an OC should be more than possible and pretty straightforward. And I'm sure there will be guides online for OCing the 9700k with a modest bump in voltage too.

 

[Scott]

I only did it for a brief period to see what it could do. I wouldn't say it's a golden chip though, I've seen higher....... it's synthetic though as it was only for benchmarking/showing off. It'll happily sit at 5.2 all day long though.

5.4 run... 10th overall now. I was 1st for a brief spell.

I scored 27 353 in Fire Strike

Intel Core i9-9900K Processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 x 1, 16384 MB, 64-bit Windows 10}

www.3dmark.com

 

[Rakk]

Well it has been ordered - even though it did involve talking to the credit card company - something about it being different to what I normally put on said card lol (which admittedly is mostly supermarket, pub and amazon stuff).
My F5 key on my keyboard at work may take a bit of a hammering once its Monday

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well it has been ordered - even though it did involve talking to the credit card company - something about it being different to what I normally put on said card lol (which admittedly is mostly supermarket, pub and amazon stuff).
My F5 key on my keyboard at work may take a bit of a hammering once its Monday

Wahey! Congratulations!

 

[Rakk]

Well I think my F5 key on my keyboard is suffering!
But as a bonus, this is its current status:

It went into build yesterday afternoon so I'm hoping it was being tested overnight.

So yeah, my poor F5 key is taking the brunt of my impatience - I think I'm getting less patient as I'm getting older

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well I think my F5 key on my keyboard is suffering!
But as a bonus, this is its current status:
View attachment 13697
It went into build yesterday afternoon so I'm hoping it was being tested overnight.

So yeah, my poor F5 key is taking the brunt of my impatience - I think I'm getting less patient as I'm getting older

They seem to be very quick atm with builds, fingers crossed it’s despatched soon!

 

[Rakk]

They seem to be very quick atm with builds, fingers crossed it’s despatched soon!

Well I have already told my boss that'll I'll need to work from home one day this week whilst waiting for a delivery
Cos let's face it I'm not having it delivered to work - for a start I can't park close to work, and secondly I'd have to wrestle the box into my small car.