Number of USB ports on new build quote.

[Schaefespeare]

Case
BE QUIET! DARK BASE PRO 900 REV. 2 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs, WIFI - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!

Get Wolfenstein: Young Blood with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 760p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 3230MB/sR | 1625MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i PRO Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Zx 5.1 PCI-E Soundcard
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine 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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE HDMI (M) to DVI (M)
Gaming Chair
GT Omega PRO Racing Office Chair - Black Next White Leather
Speakers
LOGITECH Z506 5.1 SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS - 75W RMS
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

Hi, the above quote only guarantees 6 USB ports of varying Specs (e.g. 3.1, 3.0, 2.0 etc). Because I don't hot-swap my devices and leave them all plugged in, then a total of 6 ports isn't enough for my needs, especially because pretty much every peripheral is USB dependant these days, from cameras, printers, earphones, keyboards to you-name-it. I would like to have the option to buy a USB hub for either internal build or as an external device. What are the odds of that happening ?

 

[Rakk]

If you look at the specs of the motherboard you've chosen here: https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-X299-E-GAMING/specifications/ you can see it has 7 normal USB ports on the back (of varying kinds) and 1 USB-C port there as well - as well as a variety of others on the motherboard - a couple of which would normally be connected to the front of the case - so that'd be 9 normal USB ports for you so far (if I can count correctly ) Different motherboards have different configurations obviously
PCS do also offer the 2 port USB expansion cards in the configurator (though when I needed more I just bought a 4 slot expansion card from Amazon and fitted it myself) so they do have some (limited) options for extra ports.

 

[Oussebon]

The USB ports text is really out of date and PCS should change it. Most modern builds have a lot more.

The amount of USB ports you get depends on the case and the motherboard. For you this means
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C
3 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 type A
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 type A
2 x USB 2.0 type A
at the rear

And
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 type A
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 type A
at the front

Type A = a 'normal' USB port.
USB 3.1 Gen 1 = USB 3.0 (5gbps)

 

[Oussebon]

What is this build for, and what is the budget?

 

[Schaefespeare]

Thanks guys for the prompt info which really puts my mind at ease. I would be using the Rig for all normal stuff like a bit of word-processing, the occassional spreadsheeet, keeping in touch on facebook and general browsing the web, but mainly playing strategy games through steam. My spec is probably over powered for my needs but I'm trying to incorporate some years of anti-obsolessence. The weak points of all Specs/builds always seems to be HDD's in my experience over too many years. Thanks again. My budget is over £3k on this Spec. Nearly forgot I intend to use the HDD as a repository for all my music CD's so I can treat it as a juke-box to play whatever I choose while I'm Gaming and as a library for my collection of photos and other odds and ends.

 

[Rakk]

I would be using the Rig for all normal stuff like a bit of word-processing, the occassional spreadsheeet, keeping in touch on facebook and general browsing the web, but mainly playing strategy games through steam. My spec is probably over powered for my needs but I'm trying to incorporate some years of anti-obsolessence. .

In which case you just do not need the i9-9900k, a i7-9700 would do the same job (for less money). Though as Ousssebon will probably say - if you can wait til the beginning of July as that's when the new AMD Ryzens are coming out and they are supposedly going to be a lot cheaper than the Intels (and be able to do the same job).

 

[Oussebon]

You should drop the RAM to 16gb. There's just no benefit to more than that for gaming, and by the time that games could maybe leverage more, the rest of your PC will be so obsolete that the quantity of RAM won't be an advantage anyway

I'd go with a WD Black SSD or 970 Evo as it's quite a bit faster for little more money.

I'd probably also go with the AORUS Master motherboard as it has even more features than the Z390E and very good VRMs apparently, which I'd consider as a major factor with a CPU like the 9900k.

Most of all I'd suggest waiting for Zen 2 CPUs and the X570 motherboards with PCIe 4.0 that are going on sale on 7th July, especially if futureproofing is one of your main aims.

 

[Oussebon]

Though as Ousssebon will probably say - if you can wait til the beginning of July as that's when the new AMD Ryzens are coming out

 

[Schaefespeare]

Thanks guys, you've been really helpful which is much appreciated but just reminds me of the old meme that the right time to buy a computer is either last year [because you'd have had a years useage from it] or next year [when the hardware will be so much better] but never now LoL Cheers.

 

[Schaefespeare]

one other thing I forgot to mention is that I do play "Galactic Civilizations 3" which can use up to 32Gb and all processor cores depending on the size of map [Galaxy] you choose to play on [and you can choose some very exceptionally large sizes] and the number of opponents you choose to play with. I've never bothered with on-line competition, I'm happier playing against the AI.

 

[Oussebon]

I'd wait 1 month for Zen 2 to be out and then review options.

Do you genuinely play in the kinds of settings as described by the developers here? https://steamcommunity.com/app/226860/discussions/1/1700542968203896907/

 

[Schaefespeare]

I currently have an i7-6700K 4-core processor @4Ghz and 32GB 2400Mhz Ram which is happily coping with all my uses with or without multi-screen multi applications running. When I'm gaming I usually have only MS Media Player running background music rather than the repetitive game score music. So I am not really in any rush for a new Rig, was just curious about the cost of a new one with better specs and to check what was available for a top-end spec. I do use a very large map in GC3 but tend to limit the opponents to between 9 and 14 without any problems. Thanks.

 

[Oussebon]

Going by what the devs said in that post, 32gb RAM is relevant more for ~30+ opponents. Perhaps your next rig would do you fine with 16gb.

 

[Schaefespeare]

I read the whole thread [although I'd seen it before]. My conclusion is that coping with opponents [i.e. Turn-times] is more dependent on the number of processor cores whereas map sizes are definitely dependent on the amount of RAM available. I think the only change I'd make is to the Mobo if there is 1 available with more USB ports [mainly type A] and compatible with the rest of the Spec. I am under the impression that effective and safe processor speeds had plateaued out at ~4Ghz regardless of the number of cores involved but then again I know I'm not up-to-date with current hardware capabilities. What I'd find more useful would be Nvidia to change the air-cooling systems to being water-cooled to keep the increasing amounts of video-RAM cooler, I mean 11Gb on a 2080 board has got to run really hot which is why I wanted extra case fans which even the only full-tower case available couldn't accomodate with the water cooling system I opted for [just cooling the processor or maybe the HDD & SDD as well ?].

 

[Oussebon]

I am under the impression that effective and safe processor speeds had plateaued out at ~4Ghz regardless of the number of cores involved but then again I know I'm not up-to-date with current hardware capabilities. What I'd find more useful would be Nvidia to change the air-cooling systems to being water-cooled to keep the increasing amounts of video-RAM cooler, I mean 11Gb on a 2080 board has got to run really hot

The good news is that you don't need to be concerned about any of that.

Processor speeds above 4GHz are both safe and effective.

Water cooling is expensive and would massively increase the prices of the cards.

And it's not needed.

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The only issue I'd heard of was when EVGA released a version of the 1080 with less than ideal VRM cooling, but that was basically fixed via a BIOS update, with optional additional cooling pads. It was a one-off with a specific card.

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There was an issue with 2080 tis failing (possibly not moreso than other models of GPU, but it certainly got noticed more due to the price tag), and some people were initially pointing the finger at the manufacturer of VRAM i.e. Samsung vs Micron but I think it was established there was nothing in that at all.

It's a non-issue.

Seriously, if you're sinking £2000 into a system, wait a month for Zen 2 and then reconsider your options. You'll have newer benchmarks for Intel systems too, as these are retested against the new competition.

 

[Schaefespeare]

@Oussebon : Thanks again for the interest and advice, and yes I'm going to wait a while. What was a little disconcerting is the issue of the 2080ti Dumping all the heat into the case [as all video cards do] , which gives me the impression that extra case-fans are not a luxury and shouldn't be just a lighting ornamentation but a cooling and heat dissipating necessity. The other potential source of high temperatures is the PSU which needs a powerful extractor fan to the outside of the case, ideally integrated into the PSU, for which I should have checked the spec. when selecting it which I will do to save you from classing me as a complete fool. I just chose it as being the smallest Modular device with enough energy to service all the other components and was surprised it was above the configurator's recommendation.

 

[Schaefespeare]

Oops another source of heat into the case [quite probably situated below the Graphics Cards too].

 

[Oussebon]

Airflow is about more than just MOAR FANS. Many cases do fine with the stock fan config, while AIO water coolers effectively also add more fans to the case and improve airflow.

The other potential source of high temperatures is the PSU which needs a powerful extractor fan to the outside of the case, ideally integrated into the PSU, for which I should have checked the spec.

This also is a non-issue.

PSUs are almost invariably separate to the rest of the airflow of the case, typically drawing air in through a filtered intake on the underside of the PC, and exhausting it immediately out their rear.

PSUs like the RMx series (or its sister model RMi that I have) are sufficiently capable at cooling themselves that they can actually do so under many load conditions without even needing to switch their fans on. I believe the only time my RMi has had to switch the fan on was when I pressed the button to test the fan actually worked. The rest of the time, it chills on passive.

The CPU is a 95W TDP part. The GPU is a ~250W TDP part. Granted TDP especially on CPUs doesn't mean a whole lot these days but under heavy heavy synthetic loads:

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That's what, ~150W for the *CPU, 300W for the GPU (on a pre-overclocked version too) as worst-case scenarios? Other components (storage, RAM, fans, etc) have a fairly trivial power draw. So yeah, 850W is more than enough even with PCS's generous 20% allowance.

 

[Oussebon]

Oops another source of heat into the case [quite probably situated below the Graphics Cards too].

Just to expand on the above, the PSU fan will usually be facing downwards in the case, drawing cool air from outside the case through a filtered vent, and will exhaust this immediately out the back of the PC (without putting any into the case) through the honeycomb grille you can see there.

The airflow system is completely separate to the rest of the case.

 

[Oussebon]

For the case in your spec above, airflow looks like this, with the blue arrows being cool air intake and the red arrows being warmed up air exhausted:

https://www.bequiet.com/en/case/1472 As per the datasheet

Tbh that's what it looks like in most PC cases.

Ofc, that might look a little different if PCS install the radiator and fans at the top as intake rather than exhaust, as can sometimes be their preference I believe. There you'd have cool air coming in from the top, being drawn over the radiator, warmed up, and exhausted out the back of the case.