New PC Build

[Crewman]

Unable to post my specs as it says my selected graphics card and case are out of stock (says until 1st April) and won't let me past the "Proceed" stage.
However a couple of questions.
I already have a new 500 Gb Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe M.2 SSD which I want to put into the first M.2 slot. I'm transferring W10 from my current PC and intend to order an additional 1Tb PCS M.2 card for the build. The configurator won't let me put this in the second M.2 slot leaving the first free but had an online chat with Tove who said to put the 1 Tb in the first slot and request the builder to put in the second during the build.
My questions are how do PCS then test the system and when I receive it will I be able to install my M.2 card in first slot and use the flash drive that I downloaded Windows on from MS to get the system up and running. Wondering if I'm missing anything here and hope this makes sense.
PS Present PC bought from PCS 11 years ago and still going strong.

 

[JUNI0R]

Unable to post my specs as it says my selected graphics card and case are out of stock (says until 1st April) and won't let me past the "Proceed" stage.
However a couple of questions.
I already have a new 500 Gb Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe M.2 SSD which I want to put into the first M.2 slot. I'm transferring W10 from my current PC and intend to order an additional 1Tb PCS M.2 card for the build. The configurator won't let me put this in the second M.2 slot leaving the first free but had an online chat with Tove who said to put the 1 Tb in the first slot and request the builder to put in the second during the build.
My questions are how do PCS then test the system and when I receive it will I be able to install my M.2 card in first slot and use the flash drive that I downloaded Windows on from MS to get the system up and running. Wondering if I'm missing anything here and hope this makes sense.
PS Present PC bought from PCS 11 years ago and still going strong.

If you select the "I already have a graphics card" option at the bottom it should let you post the rest of the spec then you could tell us what GPU you plan to use. If you'd like other advice on the build we'd need your budget, monitor info and use case. Also, considering how volatile the pricing is for PC components are right now, I'd suggest waiting until said graphics card is actually in stock and configuring then. I watched a £1,300 build turn into a £1,400 build overnight so just about anything could happen in 2 weeks.

For the SSD, once you've placed the order, you can either call up or use the live chat feature and request to have have a note put on your order for the builder to put the PCS SSD into the 2nd motherboard slot.

PCS will test the PC with a scaled down version of Windows on the PCS SSD that should NOT be used. Once it arrives, I'd recommend uninstalling this copy, installing your Samsung SSD and going through the procedure of installing Windows on the correct drive by creating the installation media for Windows on a USB.

I hope this cleared some things up, if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'm sure I or many other members would be happy to assist. Also, happy to hear about the old PCS PC!

 

[Crewman]

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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
Firefox™
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 10 to 12 working days

Thank you for the advice. I've had to say already have graphics card but will be ordering the 3060Ti ( I know about the wait times). Also had to put Corsair 5000D as case but will be ordering the 4000D. I was going to wait to order but if the lead time is possibly 40 or more working days that's over 2 months and as there's no guarantee prices will come down I thought I may(just may) order now. I realise 850W power supply is overkill but just thinking ahead on upgrades and budget isn't a problem within reason. Presently using a Dell S2721DS monitor. Although not a big gamer I just wanted a system like my last one that should last several years.

 

[JUNI0R]

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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
Firefox™
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 10 to 12 working days

Thank you for the advice. I've had to say already have graphics card but will be ordering the 3060Ti ( I know about the wait times). Also had to put Corsair 5000D as case but will be ordering the 4000D. I was going to wait to order but if the lead time is possibly 40 or more working days that's over 2 months and as there's no guarantee prices will come down I thought I may(just may) order now. I realise 850W power supply is overkill but just thinking ahead on upgrades and budget isn't a problem within reason. Presently using a Dell S2721DS monitor. Although not a big gamer I just wanted a system like my last one that should last several years.

This looks like a great build to me! The 850W PSU isn't overkill if you're thinking ahead and it's a great decision to invest now. I could see that the Motherboard could be considered overkill. The B550 is what we normally recommend for the Ryzen 5 5600X, but if a Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 will be installed in the future, it could also be seen as another future proofing move. Same with the 3060TI, with a 1440p 75hz monitor, you'd likely get away with a 3060 if you were to tweak the settings a little. Although to guarantee you'll get all 75hz, you could go with the 60TI. Here are some benchmarks for the 3060 and 3060TI, worth noting that for these they ramp up all the settings to the highest so these are the 'worst' framerates you'd see and I'm sure you could drastically increase them by turning down a few settings

 

[Citrus_9]

OP mentioned will install a second M.2. In this case best to keep an X570 motherboard, as it has both NVMe Gen 4 while B550 NVMe is 1 x Gen 4 and 1 x Gen 3. A price difference between them is currently good and if it stays same, then x570 would be worth considering.

 

[NoddyPirate]

OP mentioned will install a second M.2. In this case best to keep an X570 motherboard, as it has both NVMe Gen 4 while B550 NVMe is 1 x Gen 4 and 1 x Gen 3. A price difference between them is currently good and if it stays same, then x570 would be worth considering.

True - but the PCS M.2 is way below PCIe 4.0 speeds anyway so it won't be throttled......

 

[Deleted member 17413]

And you can drop the extra case fans, unlikely to need them at this stage anyway and the case comes with a new fan type, airguide ones, which seem to be promising. They arent out on the market just yet but would likely be soon and its worth getting decent fans rather than cheap ones.

If you want a rear fan straight off, I think @nursemorph found a close match in another thread, SP Pro? Im not sure.... but failing that something like a ML120 which will be very quiet and an exccellent exhaust fan.

 

[Citrus_9]

True - but the PCS M.2 is way below PCIe 4.0 speeds anyway so it won't be throttled......

Definitely agree, but I was more thinking in future - if an OP keeps a PC longer than 5 years (which is most likely), I assume will want to change an M.2 SSD to a faster one as at the time their prices will be much better (logically thinking, based on the idea that technologies and PC components getting more powerful/faster and more affordable). Getting a motherboard isn't an easy task, especially when there're so many of them... Thanks PCS for at least having a limited choice - it makes a decision easier. When choosing a motherboard, need to think what components will be in the PC after 3, 5 and 7 years, what PC will be used for... It helps to assess if important is to save extra 50-80 money from a motherboard, compromising speeds. For me personally the hardest decisions are: storage, PC case, motherboard.

 

[NoddyPirate]

Definitely agree, but I was more thinking in future - if an OP keeps a PC longer than 5 years (which is most likely), I assume will want to change an M.2 SSD to a faster one as at the time their prices will be much better (logically thinking, based on the idea that technologies and PC components getting more powerful/faster and more affordable). Getting a motherboard isn't an easy task, especially when there're so many of them... Thanks PCS for at least having a limited choice - it makes a decision easier. When choosing a motherboard, need to think what components will be in the PC after 3, 5 and 7 years, what PC will be used for... It helps to assess how important is to save extra 50-80 money from a motherboard, compromising speeds. For me personally the hardest decisions are: storage, PC case, motherboard.

Yep - 100% with you on all that Citrus.

You see I'm an optimist at heart and I therefore like to try to extract some pleasure from less than ideal situations. This is why I have a PCS M.2 in my current build: In a few years when I upgrade the drive in my second PCIe 3.0 only M.2 slot - I will be able to amost double my current R/W speeds - whereas you will be stuck with your 7,500 MB/s and see no % improvement at all!

I do agree with all you say though of course - part of me I am sure is just playing devils avocado here - but for those on a budget I would rather see them maximise their value in terms of capacity first as this would otherwise pose a false economy if they need to change the drive early because of a lack of room.

If the OP can afford a 570 board without compromising some other aspect of what he needs now, then certainly they should do it. If however they are budget limited, I would personally be quite satisfied that they will retain the PCIe 4.0 speed in the M.2_1 slot with the 550 board in any case - which is the most important for the OS in particular.

The OP already has a Samsung 970 he intends to use - which is also sees sub PCIe 4.0 speeds. He would therefore need to upgrade both of his M.2 drives to make full use of the 570. Needing to change two drives to justify the motherboard upgrade might be a lot to ask possibly and perhaps a bit of a false economy. The OP can answer that best perhaps....

(EDIT - Upgarding the existing 970 to a fast PCIe 4.0 compatible M.2 like a 980 perhaps and moving the 970 the second M.2 slot would be a great upgrade later actually - a bit of juggling required to move the data around but perfectly doable. And would make even the 550 board feel like an entirely new beast in a few years!)

 

[Crewman]

Many thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. I will get get rid of the extra fan for now.
Quick question - even though the 4000D and 3060Ti aren't in stock at the moment and I'm prepared to wait, the site would not let me through to the order page. Do you have to do what I've done above and then send a separate email/chat message with what you really want to go to the next stage? Can't see why they won't let you just order having given you the warning.

 

[NoddyPirate]

I'm fairly sure you can order whatever is available - and then after ordering go straight back in an amend your order - it should then list everything including out of stock items.

When I did this during my order - the case I initially wanted went out of stock just before I ordered so it didn't show as an option - but going back in after ordering I could select it and it then took me to a page which showed the stock levels for my amendments - green, amber and red - for in stock, limited stock, and out of stock - with a warning saying that my order could be delayed.

While this worked for me (multiple times!!! ) I don't know if that functionality is still there - but I expect it is.....

 

[Crewman]

"Part of the reason why I went for a ROG STRIX X570 was to get a front USB-C. It's sort of ridiculous but I had to be certain since otherwise the front port on my Corsair case would have been useless. Even the TUF X570 GAMING Plus doesn't seem to have a front USB-C: https://www.asus.com/microsite/motherboard/AMD-X570/doc/ASUS_X570_Full_Specs.pdf"

So I now have a bit of a dilemma. Above copied from Darton's post on another thread (thanks for info). My spec includes the 4000D case and the TUF X570-Plus Gaming so the USB-C on the front of the case will be useless.

So do I change to the Rog Strix TUF X570-F gaming (which has it) or change the case to one without USB-C? Don't mind the extra £60 cost of the motherboard it's the practicalities.

Also suggestions on what case?

 

[Crewman]

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2, PCIe, NVMe (upto 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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
Firefox™
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 10 to 12 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/UUBa9asz0z/

So thinking of changing case to a Fractal Define 7. As mentioned earlier in the thread I already have a Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVME M.2 which the OS will go on. Any thoughts on the case as I'm happy with the rest of the build again as discussed earlier in the thread.

 

[NoddyPirate]

So do I change to the Rog Strix TUF X570-F gaming (which has it) or change the case to one without USB-C?

This seems to suggest that you might not actually need to the USB-C front port? My OCD would dislike having a port on my system that served no function, so I know where you might be coming from.

So do you really need the fron USB-C? If not, then all is well really?

That chart is a great find by @DarTon I must say - it feels a little like a missing link in the configurator for PCS - but I guess they can't have every possible angle covered. Originally I had wanted a case - which came with a front USB-C too - which I didn't actually care about - but which it turns out my Motherboard wouldn't have supported either.....