Looking for some advice!

[Dzerx]

Heya all,

I'm in the beginner stages of wanting to upgrade to something better. I had previously bought a custom Desktop from Pcspecialist back in 2019 and had very few issues with it during these few years. With that in mind I plan to order a custom-build sometime soon that should hopefully last me a good 5+ years if not more. My reason for upgrading is merely wanting to get the full extent out of games.

My current setup is an i7-9700K & RTX 2070 Super, 32GB RAM, ROG STRIX Z390-F Gaming.

The above rig has more then had it's worth out of it but I'd like to be able to play with higher detailed graphics and such. With that in mind I'm hopeful to get some advice on where to go forward in terms of specs.

My need: High-end Gaming, general web browsing.
My budget: £3-4,000

I'd like to stick with an Nvidia GPU and Intel CPU rather than AMD as I'm more knowledgeable of the former.
As for cases I've been looking at the 'Corsair iCue 5000X RGB' & 'Hyte Y60'. I'm a sucker for the RGB look and enjoy seeing inside the tower, but other tower recommendations are highly welcomed.
As for other specs I'd like a strong CPU to pair with a 4090 GPU (Though I have seen a lot of people seemingly recommending the 4080 Super over the 4090 lately. Advice on the GPU is also appreciated).

---

As a side question would anyone mind recommending some 4K monitors (price not included in the Desktop budget)? I'm highly anticipating improving from my current 1080p to 4K

 

[TonyCarter]

I think it was the price that put the 4090 out of reach for most specs (and the 4080 at one point) as it is/was around £1700-£2000 (the 4080 was £1200 and the AMD 7900XTX was more powerful in rasterisation, but only cost £1000).

Now that the 4080 Super is out, and the price has dropped to closer to £950 (as has the 7900XTX), it's a toss-up between the 7900XTX and 4080 Super for high 1440/low-4k gaming - and the choice is dependent on whether you're all-in on VR/Ray Tracing (Nvidia) or high raster FPS (AMD).

So it simply comes down to personal preference on GPU.

As for the CPU, I don't think anyone on here would recommend an i7/i9 current gen for any build, as the trade-off in heat & power usage for the same performance (i.e. watt per FPS) is just not worth it. The gaming daddy is the AMD 7800x3D.

But, depending on your PSU (1000w min) and case size, I can't see why you cannot simply put in an RTX4090 - as the CPU has significantly less work to do at 4k than at 1080p.

 

[Scott]

Completely agree. We wouldn't recommend an Intel build at all just now, the trade off just isn't worth it.

What PSU do you currently have in the system? I would personally upgrade the GPU only for now, that would give you years of enjoyment for less than half of the outlay, and is the point of speccing a good desktop to begin with

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'd like to stick with an Nvidia GPU and Intel CPU rather than AMD as I'm more knowledgeable of the former.

And when I see comments like this it’s important to highlight, there’s absolutely no difference between an AMD and Intel CPU in how you use the system, they’re both X86 architectures, so it doesn’t change anything at all really.

What it does do with AMD though is offer better performance at a lower cost plus using significantly less power and therefor running significantly cooler.

With a competing 14900k, unless you had a 420mm radiator on it it will still thermal throttle and you’d never get full performance anyway as a result. Intels just aren’t very good cpus these days.

 

[Dzerx]

Completely agree. We wouldn't recommend an Intel build at all just now, the trade off just isn't worth it.

What PSU do you currently have in the system? I would personally upgrade the GPU only for now, that would give you years of enjoyment for less than half of the outlay, and is the point of speccing a good desktop to begin with

In my current setup I have a 'CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET'

Honestly I was thinking of buying a complete new build rather then upgrading the current - bit of misunderstanding from my wording I think. I'm disabled irl so can't do any upgrades myself due to physical limitations. I'm just unsure what overall specs would be the best go-to build.

As for the comments regarding AMD over Intel I'd be willing to switch if it's the better option 100%.
As I said I have a £3,000-4,000 budget to work with for a new setup.

 

[Scott]

That's fair enough then. The PSU would also need upgraded and while the GPU is a simple swap, the PSU is a bit more fiddly. It allows you to move the PC on complete as well.

For a new build I would 100% be opting for the 7800X3D. Build below, it's completely stacked. The only area I haven't maxed out the potential is the GPU, but that's because the 4090 is too much of a jump in price over the 4080 Super to be considered worth it (IMO). Everything else surrounding the build is up there though.

I've went with a fair whack of RGB as well. Best of all, it didn't even reach into the bottom of the budget

For monitors, I would look to the OLED G9 for the ultimate experience.

49 Inch Odyssey OLED G9 Monitor for Gaming | Samsung UK

Buy the 49" Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 Curved Gaming Monitor LS49CG934SUXXU. Enjoy 0% Finance, Free Delivery & Free Returns at Samsung UK.

www.samsung.com

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR MP600 PRO NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6850 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
ARGB Power Supply Extension Cables
LIAN LI ARGB STRIMER PLUS V2 24-PIN + 12VHPWR CABLE
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT RGB 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
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,938.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/9WD4CNGeSg/

 

[Dzerx]

Oh wow yeah way cheaper then expected honestly, thanks for taking the time to help. As previously stated I want a pc that'll last me a fair good few years and enable high-tier gaming. Would I be right to assume the 'AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D' & '4080 Super GPU' pairing would have no problem running 4K Ultra graphics gaming (for games that allow such anyhow)? Apologies if this is a rather 'noob', or stupid question but best be sure and all that lol.

Also any thoughts on the 'Alienware 32 4K QD-OLED Gaming Monitor, AW3225QF'?

 

[Scott]

There isn't a better option than the 7800X3D just now. My guess is the next thing to beat it is going to be the 8800X3D, which your system will also be compatible with when it comes out.

The 4080 Super is beaten by the 4090, but I don't think you would get enough of a jump in performance to justify the extra £600 or whatever it is, it's not worth it. Far better to save the money now and upgrade the GPU down the line. The GPU is really easy to replace so the system is designed with this intent in mind. The 5080, 6080 or whatever down the line will pop straight in and give a performance boost.

The Alienware is a great panel but I don't think it's anywhere near as good as the G9 I suggested. The G9 is effectively 2 1440p monitors joined side by side for some of the most striking visuals you can get. The OLED version is just the cream of the crop when it comes to colours and blacks. I don't think it can be beat, but you do pay for it. The savings on the system can help alleviate the costs of the monitor.

For 4K OLED I would probably look to this:

MSI 32" MPG 321URX QD-OLED 3840x2160 240Hz 0.03ms A-Sync Gaming Monitor

Order MSI 32" MPG 321URX QD-OLED 3840x2160 240Hz 0.03ms A-Sync Gaming Monitor now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

But I still think the G9 is the better option.

 

[Dzerx]

Thanks for all the advice it's much appreciated!