Looking at new PC but uncertain on what case to buy

[Willow78]

I am looking at replacing my 10 year old PC Specialist desktop PC with 5th Gen i7 and 1080 Ti for a modern system its served me well but I think time has come to replace it I have more or less decided on specs run on a 1440p 27" monitor 144 hz and also have a 4K OLED TV (120hz) My main concern is that I am not certain about which case to get and all the cases seem to have so much glass on them these days which shows long long its been

I am also not certain on what CPU cooler to get as well but I think the one I chose is ok. Yes I have decided on a normal hard drive as well as the ssd's as I use them for storage

Here is the specs I have decided on any help will be appreciated Thanks

Case
PCS LUMIN ARGB MID TOWER CASE (PWM)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 5080 AMP EXTREME INFINITY ULTRA - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe 4.0 & 5.0 NVMe (up to 7250MB/R, 6300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe 4.0 & 5.0 NVMe (up to 7250MB/R, 6300MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 280 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ID-COOLING FROST X45 THERMAL PASTE APPLICATION
Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS TUF GAMING K1 Keyboard
Gaming Chair
PCSpecialist GC-150 GAMING CHAIR
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £3,315.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/TrZUJu5yHQ/

 

[Ekans2011]

What's the purpose of the system? Just gaming? Will you aim for 1440p or 4K? What's your max budget?

 

[Willow78]

gaming mostly, 1440p and 4K as I can switch between monitor and TV

 

[Ekans2011]

gaming mostly, 1440p and 4K as I can switch between monitor and TV

What's the max budget?

 

[Willow78]

Maybe £3400-3500 sorry. I have been looking at cases more of less everything else I have set looking at a higher end motherboard but that is it. May add office 365 as my renewal is this month and they put price up £25 I can get it cheaper with the PC
I am looking at the

THERMALTAKE CERES 350 MX GAMING CASE (BLACK)​

Looks good and it seems I can put a 5090 in it although I am not buying a 5090!

 

[Ekans2011]

Maybe £3400-3500 sorry. I have been looking at cases more of less everything else I have set looking at a higher end motherboard but that is it. May add office 365 as my renewal is this month and they put price up £25 I can get it cheaper with the PC
I am looking at the

THERMALTAKE CERES 350 MX GAMING CASE (BLACK)​

Looks good and it seems I can put a 5090 in it although I am not buying a 5090!

Here's how I'd tweak the above build.

N.B. You would save £110 by transferring your current OS license to the new PC.

Case
LIAN LI O11DYNAMIC EVO RGB GAMING CASE - A better overall case with greater internal space and you can fit 360mm AIO on top.
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7) - Higher-tier MB with a premium chipset.
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2 x 16GB) - 32GB of RAM is sufficient for gaming unless you intend to play heavily modded games or flight simulators.
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 5080 GAMING OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 14,500MB/sR, 12,700MB/sW) - Ultra fast Gen5 OS Drive.
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CRUCIAL T500 GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7400MB/sR, 7000MB/sW) - Very fast Gen4 Games Drive.
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE - Storage Drive (just £30 extra for a higher grade 4TB HDD).
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ ATX 3.1 & 5.1 PCIe MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2 - Higher-tier PSU, the minimum for this level of build.
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - Premium 360mm AIO.
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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 - Any reason for Win Pro?
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
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS TUF GAMING K1 Keyboard
Gaming Chair
PCSpecialist GC-150 GAMING CHAIR
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £3,404.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/yTRazawd6S/

 

[Willow78]

Thanks for the advice been going over it the last few days I am likely to settle on this spec which is most of your recommendations except for the ram (I play a lot of Train Simulators and require a lot of ram due to content, plus getting ready for next gen consoles which will hike up ram requirements so more future proof ish) and the traditional hard drive storage which does not need to be anything fancy

Case
LIAN LI O11DYNAMIC EVO RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 5080 WINDFORCE OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 14,500MB/sR, 12,700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CRUCIAL T500 GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7400MB/sR, 7000MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ ATX 3.1 & 5.1 PCIe MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ID-COOLING FROST X45 THERMAL PASTE APPLICATION
Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS TUF GAMING K1 Keyboard
Gaming Chair
PCSpecialist GC-150 GAMING CHAIR
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SUNDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £3,544.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/sJruDJejZC/

 

[BlessedSquirrel]

I’d drop the paste as the cooler comes pre applied with high quality paste

Whats the reason for windows pro? Are you joining a domain?

 

[Ekans2011]

I'd also limit the Gen5 drive to max 1TB; 2TB is a waste of space (and money) for the OS and Apps.

I'm not an expert (@BlessedSquirrel is), but do you really need a dedicated audio card?

 

[BlessedSquirrel]

I'm not an expert (@BlessedSquirrel is), but do you really need a dedicated audio card?

Missed that, there's almost no reason for that card, it's more from the 90's and 00's totally redundant these days unless it's a very unique use case
I also wouldn't get that gaming chair or keyboard if it were me

 

[Ekans2011]

I also wouldn't get that gaming chair or keyboard if it were me

100% agree.

 

[Willow78]

Thanks for the feedback. While I would like a new chair probably best to buy one seperately.

I have removed the paste the sound card and gone with 1 TB main drive but bumped the traditional drive up to 4GB so its cuts the price down a bit

Case
LIAN LI O11DYNAMIC EVO RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 5080 WINDFORCE OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 14,500MB/sR, 12,700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CRUCIAL T500 GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7400MB/sR, 7000MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ ATX 3.1 & 5.1 PCIe MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS TUF GAMING K1 Keyboard
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SUNDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £3,294.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/vu8tNtK8rM/

 

[Willow78]

I want a new keyboard which is why I added one but seems ok spec now I think

 

[Ekans2011]

I want a new keyboard which is why I added one but seems ok spec now I think

Yes, the Win Pro choice remains unclear, but the build seems to be good.

 

[Willow78]

I have always had the pro versions or ultimate as in Vista!

and just as a laugh here is my current desktop but I did add a 1080 TI and an extra SATA SSD to it!

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® X99-A USB 3.1: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Storage Drive
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
3TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD3003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET 2011/2066 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND APPLICATION
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Zx 5.1 PCI-E Soundcard
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Professional DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NORTON SECURITY 2.0 IN 1 USER, 5 DEVICE CARD - 1 year subscription
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® G105 GAMING KEYBOARD WITH BACKLIGHTING
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Deathadder Chroma Gaming Mouse - 10000dpi
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 6 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-x99-pc/FpzFJtcA2r/

 

[Willow78]

I have had it 10 years this year so served me well!

 

[Ekans2011]

I have always had the pro versions or ultimate as in Vista!

So, transfer your current license to the new system; you don't need to buy a new one...

Transferring digital windows 10 license to new machine

Hi all Quite a few people already have a windows 10 License which they want to transfer over to the new PC. Windows 10 now makes this easy, even if you have an OEM license, you can legitimately turn it into a "digital license" by tying it to your microsoft account, and then transfer it legally...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[Willow78]

I am thinking of keeping the old system as a standby or maybe even selling it. I have ordered the PC tonight.
Thank You for your help its very much appreciated

 

[BlessedSquirrel]

I have always had the pro versions or ultimate as in Vista!

But for what purpose? Since windows 7, pro versions are not like they used to be where they unlocked loads of features, nowadays it’s only beneficial if you’re joining a domain for domain controlled bitlocker and group policy etc.

I want a new keyboard which is why I added one

I would suggest a far better one