Linux development/gaming desktop for ~£1500, any suggestions?

Grinty

Bronze Level Poster
Hello everyone.

My laptop (bought from PCS something like 8 years ago) has finally met its match. I'm using it for a mix of development and gaming and it seems that 8GB of RAM just doesn't cut it in 2020 for either task. I don't need the portability of a laptop any more so I'm looking for a desktop build, but since it's been nearly a decade since I last bought a computer I'm in need of some advice.

What I want:
- Budget of around £1500. Not a hard limit but I don't want to go way over this figure.
- CPU that will handle building big software projects, so lots of cores for parallel work and a good turbo speed for the rest.
- At least 32GB of RAM.
- Graphics card that will support VR gaming when I get around to buying a headset.
- At least 1TB of SSD storage. It would be nice to have a separate SSD for the OS too.
- Since I've been using a laptop to-date, I'll also need a monitor. A single 1080p one will do for now but I'll eventually extend this to 2 or 3, possibly at 1440p.
- I'll be running Linux, so I don't need an OS licence.
- Scope for upgrading CPU, RAM, GPU, etc in 3-5 years' time would be a big plus.

What I've come up with (and would welcome suggestions on):
Case
CORSAIR SPEC-DELTA RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 590 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
2x 50cm RGB LED Strip
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Monitor
IIYAMA G2730HSU-B1 27" Gaming Monitor
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® K120 USB KEYBOARD
Mouse
LOGITECH® OPTICAL USB MOUSE
Surge Protection
6 Socket 2m Surge Protector
Cable Management
3 x PCS 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Price: £1,513.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/N7XUSEc4FW/
 

Grinty

Bronze Level Poster
After reading some of the advice on other threads here I decided to go with this review PC instead: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configure-review/348/

It's only got 16GB of RAM but I thought I'd see how it goes because it's such a good deal on that CPU/GPU combination and I can always add more RAM if I really need it. I went with the IIYAMA ProLite B2791QSU-B1 27" WQHD because I was already overbudget and would rather have 1440p resolution than 144Hz refresh rate.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
After reading some of the advice on other threads here I decided to go with this review PC instead: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configure-review/348/

It's only got 16GB of RAM but I thought I'd see how it goes because it's such a good deal on that CPU/GPU combination and I can always add more RAM if I really need it. I went with the IIYAMA ProLite B2791QSU-B1 27" WQHD because I was already overbudget and would rather have 1440p resolution than 144Hz refresh rate.
Sorry, not sure how we missed this.

You've made a great choice, that PC is impossible to beat at the cost, it's £1800 worth for £1500 and the CPU is an absolute monster and the RTX2070 will pair well with introductory VR.

Like you said, even though it's only got 16Gb RAM, if you do find you need more, you can just add another 2 x 8Gb sticks yourself without affecting warranty. You can order more RAM through the upgrades section on your main PCS account if you want to make sure they're matched correctly. PCS prices are very competitive.

All in all, excellent choice and sorry we didn't get to you before you made your choice, but looks like you did fine on your own :)
 
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