Possible first build

[Gibb0_]

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 GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
3x PCS ARGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
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 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
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 - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days
Price: £1,953.00 including VAT and Delivery

Purpose:gaming
Budget: no more than £2000
Monitor:1440p 144hz

Wondering about pcs frostflow Air cooler and power supply as well as if it is worth upgrading the motherboard to the strix b550-F gaming.

 

[JUNI0R]

That build is quite over the top for 1440 144hz. A 3070 will do fine, and you could even get away with a 3060TI. We generally don't recommend the PCS coolers, so I've gone for the cooler Master Master Liquid 240 AIO. The only difference between the TUF and the STRIX is that the STRIX has one more M.2 port, a slightly different audio chipset and it's slightly more money. I've kept with the B550 and I'd keep it this way unless you'd like to change it for asethetic reasons

Changes:
3080 to 3070 (it'll be more than powerful enough, and the wait is 1-2 months instead of 4)
Changed storage to have a 500GB Gen 4 NVME M.2 for windows, a 1tb SSD for games and other applications and a 2tb for general file storage
Changed to the RMx PSU as it's a higher quality unit and upped the wattage by 100W
Changed CPU cooler to a Cooler Master Master Liquid 240
Upgraded the wifi card to 2nd one for 2.4 and 5ghz wifi as well as bluetooth
Removed the anti-virus, it's known to cause issues
Added the silver warranty, woth the £5 for sure

If you plan on streaming the games you play, you could change the CPU to a Ryzen 7 5800X, the motherboard to a TUF X570 and I'd suggest upgrading the AIO to a H100i but that does take you £50 over the budget if you keep the 4000D case and £80 if you wait for the 465X to come into stock. Again, I'd only suggest if you plan to stream as the extra cores will be helpful.

Also on case choice, I saw you had some PCS RGB fans fitted, as you now have an AIO these won't fit, but if you were looking for some RGB you could wait for the Corsair 465X a very popular case with RGB fans included (to find out when it's back you'll have to call PCS)Alternatively, you could go for a cheaper case in the form of the 220T or a much more expensive choice of a 680X or 5000D SE

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 GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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
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 (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
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days
Price: £1,788.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8RUvMFyAS4/

 

[MrWilson]

This build puts you closer to the 2k mark. With that you get an 8-core CPU which will nail any 1440p title you throw at it, as well as give you the option to stream later down. Motherboard upgraded to the TUF x570 to complement it.
I'm a big fan of the Focus G case. It has fantastic performance for its pricepoint, has a little RGB on its front fans and combined with the AIO cooler will do a solid job of looking after your components.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/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 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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
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 (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
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days
Price: £1,994.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/tNgx34V4rH/

 

[Gibb0_]

That build is quite over the top for 1440 144hz. A 3070 will do fine, and you could even get away with a 3060TI. We generally don't recommend the PCS coolers, so I've gone for the cooler Master Master Liquid 240 AIO. The only difference between the TUF and the STRIX is that the STRIX has one more M.2 port, a slightly different audio chipset and it's slightly more money. I've kept with the B550 and I'd keep it this way unless you'd like to change it for asethetic reasons

Changes:
3080 to 3070 (it'll be more than powerful enough, and the wait is 1-2 months instead of 4)
Changed storage to have a 500GB Gen 4 NVME M.2 for windows, a 1tb SSD for games and other applications and a 2tb for general file storage
Changed to the RMx PSU as it's a higher quality unit and upped the wattage by 100W
Changed CPU cooler to a Cooler Master Master Liquid 240
Upgraded the wifi card to 2nd one for 2.4 and 5ghz wifi as well as bluetooth
Removed the anti-virus, it's known to cause issues
Added the silver warranty, woth the £5 for sure

If you plan on streaming the games you play, you could change the CPU to a Ryzen 7 5800X, the motherboard to a TUF X570 and I'd suggest upgrading the AIO to a H100i but that does take you £50 over the budget if you keep the 4000D case and £80 if you wait for the 465X to come into stock. Again, I'd only suggest if you plan to stream as the extra cores will be helpful.

Also on case choice, I saw you had some PCS RGB fans fitted, as you now have an AIO these won't fit, but if you were looking for some RGB you could wait for the Corsair 465X a very popular case with RGB fans included (to find out when it's back you'll have to call PCS)Alternatively, you could go for a cheaper case in the form of the 220T or a much more expensive choice of a 680X or 5000D SE

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 GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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
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 (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
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 18 working days
Price: £1,788.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8RUvMFyAS4/

Are watercoolers necessary? I know about how water is better at transferring heat but what is the sort of risk if leakage?

 

[Steveyg]

Are watercoolers necessary? I know about how water is better at transferring heat but what is the sort of risk if leakage?

With closed loop systems the risk of leakage is actually very small, I'd recommend keeping a close eye on it the first time you boot the computer and the first time you run it under heavy load but after that with no leakage they should be golden for the foreseeable

 

[Martinr36]

And AIO coolers which are sealed units don't container water, they contain a special non conductive coolant

 

[Scott]

With the computing age, running air cooled would be like running an air cooled car engine IMO. Little chance of a modern car engine springing a coolant leak without a front end impact

 

[Martinr36]

With the computing age, running air cooled would be like running an air cooled car engine IMO. Little chance of a modern car engine springing a coolant leak without a front end impact

@Scott Not the best analogy, as mentioned air cool engines and performance and Porsche 911 Turbo springs to mind..........

 

[Scott]

@Scott Not the best analogy, as mentioned air cool engines and performance and Porsche 911 Turbo springs to mind..........

Back in the 90s when air cooling in PCs was the best option

 

[Ash_]

If you want RGB with that case, you have a few options...

Install the fans yourself.
Get the 5000X RGB (slightly bigger.

For this budget, i wouldn’t get a B550 board

 

[Martinr36]

Back in the 90s when air cooling in PCs was the best option

Lol, yeah, I've got a CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler in my 2 year old PCS desktop & wonder about changing it sometimes

 

[Scott]

Lol, yeah, I've got a CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler in my 2 year old PCS desktop & wonder about changing it sometimes

If it ain't broke.... don't fix it

You will gain from having a water cooler on there, but will it be noticeable with your uses? If the hassle of changing it is outweighed by the potential gains then it's a good investment and a great learning opportunity.

 

[JUNI0R]

Lol, yeah, I've got a CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler in my 2 year old PCS desktop & wonder about changing it sometimes

We have the exact same CPU and CPU cooler setup 😂 Works a treat for me, especially compared to the stock cooler.

If it ain't broke.... don't fix it

You will gain from having a water cooler on there, but will it be noticeable with your uses? If the hassle of changing it is outweighed by the potential gains then it's a good investment and a great learning opportunity.

Exactly! I also watched an LTT video that showed a top end Noctua air cooler vs some of the Corsair AIO's and the differences were surprisingly similar, hense the reason I saved a vew quid and went for the air cooler!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23vjWtUpItk&t

 

[AgentCooper]

The problem with a lot of those type of videos is that they'll be in a 'test bench' scenario, which doesn't actually give an accurate reflection of real world usage.

 

[Scott]

We have the exact same CPU and CPU cooler setup 😂 Works a treat for me, especially compared to the stock cooler.


Exactly! I also watched an LTT video that showed a top end Noctua air cooler vs some of the Corsair AIO's and the differences were surprisingly similar, hense the reason I saved a vew quid and went for the air cooler!

I take real issue with that video and always have done. It's not a true reflection of the differences. It stinks a bit of being underhanded to be honest as every system he has and deals with, including giveaways, has watercoolers on there.

To add to that, the Noctua is a real beast of a cooler. Most air coolers are more about the badge than the performance. Stock coolers are fine IMO, if I wanted performance it would have to be water.

 

[JUNI0R]

I take real issue with that video and always have done. It's not a true reflection of the differences. It stinks a bit of being underhanded to be honest as every system he has and deals with, including giveaways, has watercoolers on there.

To add to that, the Noctua is a real beast of a cooler. Most air coolers are more about the badge than the performance. Stock coolers are fine IMO, if I wanted performance it would have to be water.

Fair enough that all makes sense. I'll stop recommending it as a video to watch 😂

I've seen a 10-15 degree difference in my CPU temps since upgrading and I'm happy enough with that. I'm sure an AIO would've done better but really I was just looking for something to take that bit off the top so it wasn't running at super high temps under load and worried about my CPU

 

[Scott]

The problem with a lot of those type of videos is that they'll be in a 'test bench' scenario, which doesn't actually give an accurate reflection of real world usage.

That one is worse IMO. This one does do all the proper test parameters the way I would like to do it, but they do it over the shortest time.

If they ran any of those systems at max for an hour or 2, the Noctua would be waving the white flag.

 

[Ash_]

I thought Noctua’s air coolers were well ahead of other one? I’ve heard if you want a quiet build, the Noctua will easily keep up with a H100i set to quiet, but under heavy load, the AIO’s run the show

 

[Gibb0_]

If you want RGB with that case, you have a few options...

Install the fans yourself.
Get the 5000X RGB (slightly bigger.

For this budget, i wouldn’t get a B550 board

Why not the B550?

 

[Ash_]

Why not the B550?

It’s a budget board with less features. If you were on a budget of less than £1500 i’d perhaps suggest, but for £2000... you should really be getting an X570