New build advice for someone out of touch.

[C_House]

Hi all,

After nearly 7 flawless years of owning a PCS machine the time has come to upgrade. I am, however, completely out of touch with the latest components/tech and seeking some advice on builds for my requirements.

My budget would be between £1000-£1200 including a Windows licence. I will use my current monitor for the time being and then upgrade to a new one in maybe 6 months time so I would like the PC to be suitable for a monitor budget of around £250-£400.

I mostly play World of Warcraft so would like to run that on fairly high/max settings and I also play games such as GTA V, Kingdom Come Deliverance, The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk, Skyrim and FIFA 22. Whilst I'm not looking for super high-end specs I would like a decent level of performance for playing some newer games over the coming years if my budget allows it. If there is a large difference to be made by slightly exceeding my budget I would also be open to any suggestions.

I only use my PC for gaming and watching videos/streams so have no requirements for photo/video editing etc.

Finally, I'm very conscious of over spending and exceeding my actual needs so any advice would be most appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Steveyg]

Hi mate, unfortunately you're looking to buy at one of the worst possible times. Prices on hardware have never been higher so £1200 just doesn't go very far unfortunately. I'm guessing with your monitor budget you're looking to get into 1440p so I'll put together what I consider to be a decent and balanced 1440p to give you an idea of how much they cost now.

 

[Steveyg]

Yeah we can cut corners and shave costs here and there but it'll be at the cost of the longevity of the build unfortunately

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/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 iCUE H100i 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 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
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,742.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/DKxvhp8Rbp/

 

[C_House]

Hi mate, unfortunately you're looking to buy at one of the worst possible times. Prices on hardware have never been higher so £1200 just doesn't go very far unfortunately. I'm guessing with your monitor budget you're looking to get into 1440p so I'll put together what I consider to be a decent and balanced 1440p to give you an idea of how much they cost now.

Thanks for that Steveyg. I've been browsing other posts and come up with this:

Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z690-P D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1800MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,265.00 including VAT and Delivery

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


Any thoughts on this for my requirements? Could I trim a few things back or maybe slightly improve it? This is really as much as I would be willing to spend but always open for suggestions.

Many thanks.

 

[sck451]

It's possible to trim it down. The problem is that you're talking about buying a display in the 1440p category, and you just can't stretch to that in your budget. Here's the minimum viable PC. I can't say I'd order it myself, but it would be totally adequate for 1080p gaming. Upgrading it to do 1440p, though? Not likely...

To make this a 1440p-ready PC comes to around £1450 (with a 3060 Ti and a 750W PSU).

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE Good budget case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache Good lower-end CPU
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B660-PLUS D4 (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready! Adequate motherboard
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12 Relatively cheap 1080p-class GPU
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W) Good SSD
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET The minimum power supply I'd even consider, and personally I'd suggest going at least 750W. I just upgraded my power supply and it's possible, but a bit of a faff
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler Adequate 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027] Can you transfer your Windows licence across? Would save £90ish
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
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,122.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/amu3rDhsjk/

 

[Scott]

Thanks for that Steveyg. I've been browsing other posts and come up with this:

Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z690-P D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1800MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,265.00 including VAT and Delivery

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


Any thoughts on this for my requirements? Could I trim a few things back or maybe slightly improve it? This is really as much as I would be willing to spend but always open for suggestions.

Many thanks.

Just for my own clarity, can you provide any links to the posts that you saw that proposed those specs? Specifically relating to the case, motherboard & the PSU.

The reason I ask is that these changes seriously compromise the longevity, performance & reliability of the system so it would be good to know who would propose these as a good selection.

 

[C_House]

Just for my own clarity, can you provide any links to the posts that you saw that proposed those specs? Specifically relating to the case, motherboard & the PSU.

The reason I ask is that these changes seriously compromise the longevity, performance & reliability of the system so it would be good to know who would propose these as a good selection.

The case was something I selected myself as a slightly cheaper option but I am now seeing many people are suggesting the 'LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE'. Is the case I selected a particularly poor one?

The motherboard I selected after reading the Z690 was a good option that ticked every box on a (I think was your?) sticky thread so changed it to get a general opinion on the change. I have very little knowledge of motherboards and compatibility so any advice is appreciated there.
EDIT: After checking again I may have selected a different Z690 than you suggested in your sticky thread so my mistake there.

As for the PSU, I initially had a 750W selected but during the 'checkout' process of putting the build together I had a PCS notification telling me I didn't need it and 550W would suffice.

 

[sck451]

The case was something I selected myself as a slightly cheaper option but I am now seeing many people are suggesting the 'LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE'. Is the case I selected a particularly poor one?

The motherboard I selected after reading the Z690 was a good option that ticked every box on a (I think was your?) sticky thread so changed it to get a general opinion on the change. I have very little knowledge of motherboards and compatibility so any advice is appreciated there.
EDIT: After checking again I may have selected a different Z690 than you suggested in your sticky thread so my mistake there.

As for the PSU, I initially had a 750W selected but during the 'checkout' process of putting the build together I had a PCS notification telling me I didn't need it and 550W would suffice.

So just to address these points.

For the case, you want something with good airflow, because airflow means cooling and cooling means performance. You also want something with controllable, good quality fans for the sake of quietness. The Spectrum is OK, but not amazing. The Lian Li is a really good budget option, while also being quite attractive, for not much more money. Definitely money well spent.

For the motherboard, Z690 is the chipset -- it refers to the way the motherboard manages all the various components. You probably don't need to worry too much about the specific details of how this works, but it's all around online if you're interested. The main choices are Z690 or B660: the former is technically the top-tier one, with the latter the mid-tier one. Motherboard manufacturers then have their own tiers of performance for each of these, so for Asus the Prime is their lowest tier, with Tuf being the next step up (and Strix being the step above that). This mostly refers to a few features that can vary (e.g. connectivity with USB/Thunderbolt/ethernet), but also to the power delivery and cooling, with the higher tier the better. (Overclocking is also a Z690-only thing, but overclocking makes little sense these days.) All things considered a mid-tier B660 is probably a better bet than a bottom-tier Z690 for most purposes.

With the power supply, you ideally want more capacity than you need, which makes for more efficient and quiet operation and gives you capacity for future upgrades. 750W is really the minimum I'd consider; personally I'd much prefer 750W or 850W, even though 550W would be adequate for now. Here's the thread about my PSU upgrade experience in case it's of interest.

 

[Scott]

The case was something I selected myself as a slightly cheaper option but I am now seeing many people are suggesting the 'LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE'. Is the case I selected a particularly poor one?

The motherboard I selected after reading the Z690 was a good option that ticked every box on a (I think was your?) sticky thread so changed it to get a general opinion on the change. I have very little knowledge of motherboards and compatibility so any advice is appreciated there.
EDIT: After checking again I may have selected a different Z690 than you suggested in your sticky thread so my mistake there.

As for the PSU, I initially had a 750W selected but during the 'checkout' process of putting the build together I had a PCS notification telling me I didn't need it and 550W would suffice.

Really appreciate that, thanks.

It's quite easy to come to those sort of conclusions, I was just a little concerned that they were actually being offered as solid advice as we would typically avoid them.

The summary above from @sck451 is bang on. With regards to the motherboard specifically, the TUF is the lowest offering I would consider as the Prime is actually very budget. The only reason we typically recommend the Z690 is due to such a small difference in cost with the B660. If the B660 TUF was better value it would fit the bill very nicely. Again, I would tend to avoid the Prime offering as it's fairly low end feature wise.