New to Custom Builds and would apreciate any constuctive comments

[Roberttonkiss874]

Hi as the title says I am new to the world of custom building or rather having a custom build built for me. I am not necessarrily a hardcore gamer,but I do play mostly upper end games requring a good graphics card and do a fair bit of web serfing. My computers up till now have generally been of midrange cost off the shelf buys, (my biggest mistake in the past was to buy a totally un-upgradeable system with its own crappy built in graphics chip and for some reason no slot for inserting a graphics card), with the occasional upgrade usually to ram or graphics card. After my last off the shelf purchace which was admittedly higher end midrange, i.e. just under £1000 though this was at least 4/5 years ago as its 4th gen i7 chipset will indicate, I am again on the hunt for a new system. Looking to futureproof my purchace as much as possible I was finding most of the off the shelf higher end systems were leaving me feeling there is something lacking and it was a gaming friend of mine who suggested I consider custom build after we realised that my current comp would have required a totoal rebuild anyway to bring it up to scratch. One of main things I've discovered during my research is the explosion in the SSD area of storage which looks to revolutionise the operating systems speed. After reading several articles I was confused as to why other than cost of larger M.2 SSD devices why upper price bracket systems are not using these larger sized SSDs more often as part of thier selling point as most of the articles seem to recommend getting as large as you can afford M.2SSD into your system with a HHDto store data i.e. photos etc that you dont need often. Again as I am trying to future proof the system without totally breaking the bank I decided to go for one of the lower end of the new RTX graphics card (they at least I can uprgrade relatively easily). So heres the latest build I've created, any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Case	CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700K (3.8GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z490 UD (LGA1200, USB 3.2, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)	32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive	2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	2TB 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 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans	NONE
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking	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	Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus	BullGuard™ Internet Security - 3 User, 1 Year
Browser	Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)

 

[SpyderTracks]

What monitor are you pairing it with? What make and model?

What’s your max budget?

Intel are a poor choice these days, AMD are far better.

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

The monitor is an Acer S271HL was bought only about 3 or 4 years ago was actually bought when my partner who is no compter expert went out and bought a 4K monitor as a xmas present without checking if it would be compatible with the system as it was then. As to AMD vs Intel I have always had Intel systems and have never really been au fae with the workings of the AMD side. Although as I've said I enjoyy playing games I certainly dont count myself a computer expert. the max budget I would like to keep to is about £2000 max which is in part why atthis point ive not considered a new monitor

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

yeah sorry if there was a misunderstanding it was bought when i had to return a 4k model that my partner bought

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

So do you not recommend going over 512GB on the PCS PCIe M.2 SSD generally or is it the current cost benifit ratio as I said after reading several article which I admit may have been possibly biased in promoting the use of larger PCS PCIe M.2's to getting the largest you can afford. Or is it just a case of after having it for the main operating system and perhaps a few other regularly used programs the speed advantage over a HHD is not really worth the expense, I initialy considered also opting for a adding optane memory but if i consider an AMD chipset that wnt be an option.

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Another question I have with regard to my build is about the PSU initially when I was trying to design a build i was opting for 750watt PSUs when I went to saving the build it was suggesting I had the system well over powered for my reuirements, so I reduced the PSU but kept a good 100 Watt margin. I noticed in your builds you have used large a large PSU I assume this is to account for anticipated increase in power requirement by future upgrades

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

The "You have more power than you need" message appears on about 99% of our spec builds. Whilst sometimes we recommend higher for the upgrade headroom, it is usually because we are recommending better PSUs...so, in the spec I posted above, it was because of the RmX PSU rather than the wattage...the RMxs are much better than the TxMs. The RMx is more efficient, is modular versus semi-modular (fewer wires and easier to add/remove hardware) and they are much quieter as the fan on it only runs when the system is under high load (don't get me wrong, the TxM is a very capable PSU, I have one myself, but the RMx is another level and, if budget allows, is always the one to aim for)

Thanks that seems pretty good advice as it pretty much reflected my original thoughts about going for a more efficient power unit even if its a little overpowered. Plus it seems to me if you're not maxing out a component repetedly it will last better.

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

have made some alterations to the original specs I posted for your consideration, think I’ll stick with Intel as I’m more familiar with it though god knows why

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700K (3.8GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z490 UD (LGA1200, USB 3.2, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Promotional Item
Get Death Stranding on PC with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!

 

[SpyderTracks]

think I’ll stick with Intel as I’m more familiar with it though god knows why

Sorry to press it in, but that's a really really bad idea. You won't know any difference between the computer functioning if it's intel or AMD, it's not as if you have to change how you use the computer or windows will look different.

BUT you'll have ooodles more performance, and less massive security floors.

We can't stress this strongly enough. The argument "I'm used to Intel" just doesn't make any sense, it's a CPU.

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Sorry to press it in, but that's a really really bad idea. You won't know any difference between the computer functioning if it's intel or AMD, it's not as if you have to change how you use the computer or windows will look different.

BUT you'll have ooodles more performance, and less massive security floors.

We can't stress this strongly enough. The argument "I'm used to Intel" just doesn't make any sense, it's a CPU.

Hmmm guess that’s me back to the drawing board, though I suppose this was the whole idea of putting my builds up for scrutiny before I actually ordered as I think I’ve already stated I’m willing to go up to my maximum of £2K for the Desktop build alone I’ve taken on board earlier comments about upgrading to a 1440 monitor and will upgrade that in due course but I think I can afford that as an extra expense in the next few months. I think part of my problem with AMD is that I remember when it was considered as the poor mans version of the intel chipsets and I keep thinking of it more like a Mac/Microsoft thing so perhaps I should take a serious look at the AMD chipsets.I am right in thinking the Ryzen is the current AMD series of chips and I take it it’s similar to the i3-9‘s the higher the number indicates low end- higher end chipsets

 

[SpyderTracks]

I am right in thinking the Ryzen is the current AMD series of chips and I take it it’s similar to the i3-9‘s the higher the number indicates low end- higher end chipsets

Current AMD's are the Ryzen 3000 series, the lowest we would consider for any build would be the 3300x which is 4 cores 8 threads for extreme budget builds, up to the 3950x which is 16 cores 32 threads. But for gaming, you really won't benefit from anything over the 3700x, although we often spec the 3800x just because it's financially not much of an increase.

For anything over 1080p, the load is transferred away from the CPU to the GPU, so you'll find very little performance increase between the £100 3300x and the £500 10900k, we tend to spec the 3600x as it's the best balance between performance and cost in a pure gaming scenario. If you want to max your budget further then I'd suggest this:


Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB 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 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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™
Monitor
MSI 27" Optix MAG272CQR - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £2,010.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/9HhrZG4Bdn/


And then pair it with a 1440 Ultrawide monitor which is 3440 x 1440, so essentially 1.5 x 1440p on the horizontal and 1 x on the vertical. It's a much more immersive experience for any game:

Box Ltd

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Current AMD's are the Ryzen 3000 series, the lowest we would consider for any build would be the 3300x which is 4 cores 8 threads for extreme budget builds, up to the 3950x which is 16 cores 32 threads. But for gaming, you really won't benefit from anything over the 3700x, although we often spec the 3800x just because it's financially not much of an increase.

For anything over 1080p, the load is transferred away from the CPU to the GPU, so you'll find very little performance increase between the £100 3300x and the £500 10900k, we tend to spec the 3600x as it's the best balance between performance and cost in a pure gaming scenario. If you want to max your budget further then I'd suggest this:


Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB 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 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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™
Monitor
MSI 27" Optix MAG272CQR - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £2,010.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/9HhrZG4Bdn/


And then pair it with a 1440 Ultrawide monitor which is 3440 x 1440, so essentially 1.5 x 1440p on the horizontal and 1 x on the vertical. It's a much more immersive experience for any game:

Box Ltd

Thanks so going up to the Ryzen 7 unless I was using it for some intensely insane multi tasking use would essentially be a waste of money, I predominantly use my computer for gaming with some net surfing and occasional use for word processing for courses I do for work. Also I noticed you haven’t included any extra cooling fans and have gone with the standard AMD CPU cooler rather than water cooling is this purely out of cost considerations. I was going to consider a water cooling system for the CPU but have been a bit conflicted on that issue after reading several articles and seeing various u-tube videos saying some non water fan coolers are actually performing as well as water cooled systems. I’m not particular about the system looks flashy I just want it to run well and preferably quietly.
Oh by the way your recommended monitor appears to be currently unavailabl, but that wouldn’t matter too much as I would be happy making that purchase separately

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Ah correction I see I was looking at the wrong MSI 27 inch lol it’s important to make sure all the numbers and letters match up 🤗

 

[SpyderTracks]

@SpyderTracks I am going to assume that you didn't plan to recommend 2 monitors for that spec? You recommended the Ultrawide but there is also a monitor included in the spec

Yes, you’re right, missed that, can remove the one in the spec

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Right think we may be getting to down to a more finalised build version, just a couple of connected question I think in all of your builds you have stuck with the stock fans for cooling the CPUs, I had originally planned on including a water cooled unit but your builds has made me wonder if this is required or even desirable, I’m not looking for anything that is especially flashy but want what will do the job so if incorporating a water cooled system is better and improves the performance I’ll be all for it. Also adding extra fans are they needed my feelings are much the same on these at the moment if they are going to improve performance I’m more than happy to add extra fans but I don’t need them to make a flashy looking system and am happy to be guided on wether to add extra fans at this point

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Water cooling: The 3600 chip doesn't need water cooling or any other cooler for that matter as the stock fan does an excellent job of keeping things cool. Only time we usually recommend it is if ultra-quiet is needed. I have the 3600 with a stock fan and I have no temperature issues, even when I am running the fan at minimum.

Extra fans: The Lian Li case has good airflow so it should be good as is. The extra fans that PCS uses, while decent for moving air, tend to be quite noisy as they are cheap fans. My advice would be: See how it goes...if you find temps are a little higher than preferred, then buy good fans such as Corsairs or Noctuas, something like that...depending on the fan, they will be quiet as well as good air movers

Thanks for the advice. For quietness would you go for the Noctas cpu airfan as noisy fans have been a definite issue driving me nuts with my current computer for the last 12-18 months for anything using even a modicum decent graphics usage. Now whilst I realise most of the noise has probably come from an overworked gpu (sorry can’t remember the model) I am determined to keep fan whine to a minimum as I have tinnitus as a result of an operation a few years ago with high pitched noises aggravating it. For that reason would you replace the existing case fans say with the Corsair fans you suggested

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Thanks and yes my plan is to buy a ultrawide 32/35 inch curved monitor if I can fit it into my alcove I have my computer in if not it will be at least a 27inch 1440p which I do know will fit especially as the build is coming well under my original £2K for the basic build without the monitor to be factored in.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks and yes my plan is to buy a ultrawide 32/35 inch curved monitor if I can fit it into my alcove I have my computer in if not it will be at least a 27inch 1440p which I do know will fit especially as the build is coming well under my original £2K for the basic build without the monitor to be factored in.

If you’re going for only 1440p then there’s no need for the 2080 super, you can drop down to the 2070 super. Either way it will give the same performance as the monitor would be the bottleneck.

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

An other what may seem a stupid question Ive noticed you all recommend 16Gb RAM as an optimal amounnt of RAM for a gaming setup and understand more than this is just a waste, the question as most motherboards seem to have a 4 RAM slot availability is it better to have 4x4Gb ram cards as opposed to 2x8Gb cards surely the 4 smaller cards offer more channels for the CPU to work off as I say this may be a stupid question but in the dim and distant past i do seem to remember being told by a salesperson that Ram had to be installed in pairs and in equal amounts

 

[Roberttonkiss874]

Have had to do abit browsing to find this its not a ultrawide but what are your thoughts on this for the monitor

Samsung LC32JG50QQUXEN 32" Curved Gaming Monitor - WQHD 2560x1440, 144Hz, 2x HDMI, DisplayPort