Maximizing my 4K PC budget

[Beez]

Hello all,

I am looking to by a new latest gen' PC but I don't know enough about it all to be honest so am looking for a little advice to make sure I am getting the most value for my money. I have a budget of max 3k.

I am not concerned with RGB lighting and such. I just want a PC to be able to max out all games in 4k for as long as possible; ideally a few years. I have put together a PC build below but I imagine I am overspending in some areas and underspending in others.

For example: Should I go i9 instead of i7 - what is the best DDR5 RAM choice to sync with processor etc - am I going too extreme with a 3080? These are a few of the things that I am trying to figure out but I would appreciate input for all areas of my build.

Many thanks.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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 [KUK-00003]
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
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Promotional Item
Get Dying Light 2 with select Samsung SSDs
Price: £2,959.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Beez]

I am now considering this build.

It will put me £82 quid over my limit with everything else the same as above.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS ELITE AX (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

 

[JUNI0R]

Hello all,

I am looking to by a new latest gen' PC but I don't know enough about it all to be honest so am looking for a little advice to make sure I am getting the most value for my money. I have a budget of max 3k.

I am not concerned with RGB lighting and such. I just want a PC to be able to max out all games in 4k for as long as possible; ideally a few years. I have put together a PC build below but I imagine I am overspending in some areas and underspending in others.

For example: Should I go i9 instead of i7 - what is the best DDR5 RAM choice to sync with processor etc - am I going too extreme with a 3080? These are a few of the things that I am trying to figure out but I would appreciate input for all areas of my build.

Many thanks.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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 [KUK-00003]
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
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Promotional Item
Get Dying Light 2 with select Samsung SSDs
Price: £2,959.00 including VAT and Delivery

Heya! Couple questions first

What refresh rate/ hz is the monitor you're playing/ plan to play on? If you've got a 60hz display, then the 3070 would be ample, if you're looking for 144hz, then the 3080 would be the right choice.

Any reason for DDR5? It currently doesn't offer much performance over DDR4 and if you're looking for value, DDR5 is certainly not that!

Would you be able to provide the re-configurable link for this spec? It should be the green link at the bottom of the forum formatted text page

I'd also encourage a watch of this:

Once we have the above info, we'll be happy to assist!

 

[Beez]

Hello,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I know I should be using a monitor so this will probably make you wonder what I'm doing as I use and LG 4K TV - 49UJ630V to play games on. I believe it is 50hz although I'm not 100% sure. I do have a 1080p Samsung monitor (S24B300HL) but I usually use this as a 2nd monitor to have Netflix on or such like when playing certain games. I use a TV because I like having the large screen size and I am unable to sit close enough to the monitor to utilise it for gaming.

My current PC has a GTX 1080 8GB, an I5-8600k, 16GB of Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz and a Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO. This has lasted me about 3 and half years and I can still play probably 90% of games I own on max 1080p settings and I can get some games to run in 1440p or 4K usually by locking frames to 30 or lowering settings so I still do have a solid rig. I am not unhappy with my current set up but want to make the leap to 4k and be able to maintain that for as long as possible before having to upgrade.

As a side note; I am considering buying a new one a little earlier than planned as my long term friend is in massive amounts of debt and his current PC is o the way out so I am going to donate this one to him (he does not know this yet).

This is the first time I have ever spent over 2k on a PC which is why I am double checking the specs this time. I have bought 3 in my life over the last 15 years approx and upgraded the graphics and RAM a couple of times. I will be paying for this using a interest free credit card that I opened with my bank and paying it off over the next 2 years so will not be looking to upgrade in that time frame for sure.

I just want to make sure I am getting the most for my money and I am happy to max out the 3k limit on the card to do it. This is why I have chosen to go for DDR5 memory as I assume it is the best and I do not want to have to buy a whole new PC in a few years to upgrade to DDR5 although I imagine this is just a matter of buying new RAM down the line?

Hopefully I am not being too much of a mental case.

Here is the link to my configure page which I have tweaked again.

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Thanks again.

 

[Scott]

With your TV in mind and taking into account your hopes and dreams of the future, I would go for this. It's a tiny bit OTT on the CPU & RAM, but this will cover you going forward far into the future. It's a top tier gaming rig overall with more emphesis on the core components than the GPU. The TV doesn't warrant a higher tier of GPU but the PSU is in place should you want to upgrade GPU and the tv/monitor down the line.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 4000X RGB Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
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
Microsoft® Edge
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £2,227.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/sn8zrP2Tv7/

 

[Beez]

Update -my TV is 60hz I believe - I mis typed

 

[Steveyg]

Update -my TV is 60hz I believe - I mis typed

Still a 3070 is more than enough to handle that mate

 

[Beez]

Thank you for your response Scott.

Am I correct in my understanding that I would be able to upgrade to DDR5 RAM on this build later or am I stuck with DDR4 once I make my choice?

Thanks.

 

[Beez]

I figured a 3080 would be overkill for me currently but I selected it simply because I have had the 80 version in all my previous machines although they were not nearly as pricey as this one. And I figured it would last longer before needing to be upgraded. MY GTX1080 is still going strong since I bought it near 3 and a half years ago.

 

[SlimCini]

Bear in mind that PCS currently overcharge by quite a bit on their GPUs... eg that 3070 you have in there adds on ~£730-750 for a 3070 into a PC build. You can buy a new 3070ti for near enough that price on quite a few reputable websites which would get you even more frames at 4k (whereas PCS 3070ti costs ~£900).

 

[Beez]

Bear in mind that PCS currently overcharge by quite a bit on their GPUs... eg that 3070 you have in there adds on ~£730-750 for a 3070 into a PC build. You can buy a new 3070ti for near enough that price on quite a few reputable websites which would get you even more frames at 4k (whereas PCS 3070ti costs ~£900).

I knew I would be paying more overall because I am having it built but did not think it was quite that much more...

 

[Scott]

Thank you for your response Scott.

Am I correct in my understanding that I would be able to upgrade to DDR5 RAM on this build later or am I stuck with DDR4 once I make my choice?

Thanks.

You would be stuck with DDR4. Keep in mind that DDR5 is only just becoming mainstream. DDR3 would never be the bottleneck in a system, even now. By the time DDR4 is even remotely a bottleneck you will be way into the future and no doubt looking at a different system again.

I figured a 3080 would be overkill for me currently but I selected it simply because I have had the 80 version in all my previous machines although they were not nearly as pricey as this one. And I figured it would last longer before needing to be upgraded. MY GTX1080 is still going strong since I bought it near 3 and a half years ago.

The mould was broken with the 3080 to be honest. The pricing mould was broken with the 2080 (a card that I own). The 3080 was a massive step up over the 2080 though. A true leap. The 3070 is easily more powerful than a 1080ti, it's not even close with all the other tech in play.

The 3080 is a 4k 144hz+ card, the 3070 is a 4k 60-100hz card. There's no point in over-shooting here as in a few years you could easily just pop in a GPU upgrade to be off and running at full speed again. Over-spending now, only to not use it... is a waste of cash.

Totally agree with the above regarding pricing btw. The pricing of the GPUs is coming down quite quickly, it's great to see and it means you can pick up a bargain. There's no issue with speccing a system without a GPU and purchasing it yourself. It's one area that I would definitely consider as you'll likely upgrade in the future anyway. The more you save now, the more can be put towards the next order of goodies.

 

[Beez]

You would be stuck with DDR4. Keep in mind that DDR5 is only just becoming mainstream. DDR3 would never be the bottleneck in a system, even now. By the time DDR4 is even remotely a bottleneck you will be way into the future and no doubt looking at a different system again.



The mould was broken with the 3080 to be honest. The pricing mould was broken with the 2080 (a card that I own). The 3080 was a massive step up over the 2080 though. A true leap. The 3070 is easily more powerful than a 1080ti, it's not even close with all the other tech in play.

The 3080 is a 4k 144hz+ card, the 3070 is a 4k 60-100hz card. There's no point in over-shooting here as in a few years you could easily just pop in a GPU upgrade to be off and running at full speed again. Over-spending now, only to not use it... is a waste of cash.

Totally agree with the above regarding pricing btw. The pricing of the GPUs is coming down quite quickly, it's great to see and it means you can pick up a bargain. There's no issue with speccing a system without a GPU and purchasing it yourself. It's one area that I would definitely consider as you'll likely upgrade in the future anyway. The more you save now, the more can be put towards the next order of goodies.

Thank you for the information so far, It has been very helpful. I did buy my last PC here without the GPU (GTX 1080) as I already bought one to go into my machine pre i58600k which had a i74770k but for whatever reasons it just didn't seem to help (I think partly it was just getting old as I had this one for many years also and potential bottleneck issues) so I bought the i5 build from you and put it in that and have been enjoying lovely 1080p gaming since.

I am definitely giving more consideration to go with a DDR4 system instead

 

[Scott]

Thank you for the information so far, It has been very helpful. I did buy my last PC here without the GPU (GTX 1080) as I already bought one to go into my machine pre i58600k which had a i74770k but for whatever reasons it just didn't seem to help (I think partly it was just getting old as I had this one for many years also and potential bottleneck issues) so I bought the i5 build from you and put it in that and have been enjoying lovely 1080p gaming since.

I am definitely giving more consideration to go with a DDR4 system instead

Lets put it this way.... I almost hit the trigger on a 32GB RAM upgrade for my current system. My reasoning was that I planned to take it onto my next build when the next generation comes out from AMD. The only reason I didn't is that I found that AMD is going to be DDR5 only.

If that wasn't the case, I would have happily built my next system with DDR4. I see no issues at all with it. £ for £ DDR4 is significantly better value for money.

 

[Scott]

PS.... none of us work for PCS, we're all just enthusiasts & volunteers. The only people who actually work with the company are Administrators with the "Admin" badges

 

[Beez]

PS.... none of us work for PCS, we're all just enthusiasts & volunteers. The only people who actually work with the company are Administrators with the "Admin" badges

Lol.. Why I came onto the forum and did not contact a sales line or such so I can get some honest opinions on my options.

I work in sales albeit selling beds and furniture but I know what some sales reps can be like - more sales focused than customer focused.

I work on the principal that if I provide the right information and service I'll get the sale. Job done. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble with pointless info.

I am already feeling much more confident about my new PC purchase whatever it ends up being.

Thanks

 

[Beez]

With your TV in mind and taking into account your hopes and dreams of the future, I would go for this. It's a tiny bit OTT on the CPU & RAM, but this will cover you going forward far into the future. It's a top tier gaming rig overall with more emphesis on the core components than the GPU. The TV doesn't warrant a higher tier of GPU but the PSU is in place should you want to upgrade GPU and the tv/monitor down the line.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 4000X RGB Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
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
Microsoft® Edge
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £2,227.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/sn8zrP2Tv7/

Thanks for the build recommendation

 

[Scott]

Lol.. Why I came onto the forum and did not contact a sales line or such so I can get some honest opinions on my options.

I work in sales albeit selling beds and furniture but I know what some sales reps can be like - more sales focused than customer focused.

I work on the principal that if I provide the right information and service I'll get the sale. Job done. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble with pointless info.

I am already feeling much more confident about my new PC purchase whatever it ends up being.

Thanks

Spot on, I always feel the same way and often use the buying a car analogy with regards to where do you seek advice.

The only reason I stated it was when you wrote...

...so I bought the i5 build from you...

It wasn't from me

 

[Beez]

Spot on, I always feel the same way and often use the buying a car analogy with regards to where do you seek advice.

The only reason I stated it was when you wrote...



It wasn't from me

Sorry - was being lazy with my typing and just meant from PSC in general terms

 

[Beez]

You would be stuck with DDR4. Keep in mind that DDR5 is only just becoming mainstream. DDR3 would never be the bottleneck in a system, even now. By the time DDR4 is even remotely a bottleneck you will be way into the future and no doubt looking at a different system again.



The mould was broken with the 3080 to be honest. The pricing mould was broken with the 2080 (a card that I own). The 3080 was a massive step up over the 2080 though. A true leap. The 3070 is easily more powerful than a 1080ti, it's not even close with all the other tech in play.

The 3080 is a 4k 144hz+ card, the 3070 is a 4k 60-100hz card. There's no point in over-shooting here as in a few years you could easily just pop in a GPU upgrade to be off and running at full speed again. Over-spending now, only to not use it... is a waste of cash.

Totally agree with the above regarding pricing btw. The pricing of the GPUs is coming down quite quickly, it's great to see and it means you can pick up a bargain. There's no issue with speccing a system without a GPU and purchasing it yourself. It's one area that I would definitely consider as you'll likely upgrade in the future anyway. The more you save now, the more can be put towards the next order of goodies.

So 3080 would essentially be wasted with my TV and I am not planning on upgrading it anytime soon unless it happens to break but even then I would still have to pay out a much higher price to acquire one with higher refresh rates which I may not want to do either unless I have one the lotto by then of course but then I'd be buying new everything I'm sure.