Spec advice

[felhfornow]

Hi everyone, I'll be getting my first custom desktop for my bday/xmas this year and would like some advice. My mum said the budget is £600 and I've gotten a £603 w/ VAT quote, I'm also trying to save up a little to see if I can raise the budget a bit.

For peripherals I'm planning on using monitors and keyboards we already have or just getting proper cheap ones - no clue what the spec on the monitors are, they're a few years old and should work. I'm not aiming for 40mhz 100k resolution monitors or whatever the current best stuff out there is right now

I'll be using the PC primarily for gaming and schoolwork (I'm doing a digital production course so thats programming, researching, etc). I play pretty simple games like Stardew Valley usually but will be buying games on the level of RDR 2 & MGRR for the PC. I want to connect my iPad to the computer as well. I also plan on getting into modding, game dev, and downloading lots of media (books, movies, etc), and using the PC as a space heater because the internet says they're good at heating rooms, if that affects anything.

I've read it's better to invest in the good stuff from the start but again my budget is 600. I plan on upgrading the PC later on, though I am pretty clumsy, so if anyone knows the pros and cons of that I'd like to hear it.

Here is my spec:
Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 3 4300G Quad Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.8GHz-4.0GHz/4MB CACHE/AM4)

Motherboard
GIGABYTE A520M K V2: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.2, 6GB/s

Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (1 x 16GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 730 - DVI, HDMI, VGA

1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3200 MB/R, 2700 MB/W)

1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE

Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY

Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

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 6E AX210 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 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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License

Browser
Firefox™

Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days

QTY 1
£502.50 ex VAT
£603.00 inc VAT and Delivery
Current estimated lead time: 9 to 12 working days.

Thanks, Fel

edit forgot to add reconfig link, here

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the AMD Am4 Home Office to your ideal requirements.

PCSpecialist is an award-winning manufacturer of high quality custom PCs & Laptops. Configure the AMD Am4 Home Office to your ideal requirements.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[sck451]

First things first, a PC for this budget is not going to be the best value for money. You have to cut corners and it ends up less than I'd want to recommend.

That said, it can be done, and you can get a lot better than this. Here's the system I'd recommend for just a tiny bit more:

Case
PCS SPECTRUM G ARGB MID TOWER CASE (PWM) Significantly better case
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4) Much better CPU, especially for gaming
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550M DS3H: DDR4, USB 3.2, RGB
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) Dual channel RAM
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW) Better storage approach (easy to add more later as an upgrade)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY Gives room for a decent graphics upgrade with a dedicated GPU in the future
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD) Adequate cooling (the stock cooler is really on the limit)
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 6E AX210 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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 9 to 12 working days
Price: £628.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/jBQJzKYg3t/

 

[felhfornow]

First things first, a PC for this budget is not going to be the best value for money. You have to cut corners and it ends up less than I'd want to recommend.

That said, it can be done, and you can get a lot better than this. Here's the system I'd recommend for just a tiny bit more:

Thanks! An extra 30 quid for a better spec is fine by me - is there any particular reason the 2x8gb ram is better than the 1x16gb ram (im v new to this stuff sorry if thats a silly question)? I chose the 1x16 because it was a bit cheaper, but if splitting it is better i dont mind spending a few extra quid

 

[sck451]

Thanks! An extra 30 quid for a better spec is fine by me - is there any particular reason the 2x8gb ram is better than the 1x16gb ram (im v new to this stuff sorry if thats a silly question)? I chose the 1x16 because it was a bit cheaper, but if splitting it is better i dont mind spending a few extra quid

Yes. RAM works better when it's in dual channel: i.e. when there are two parallel paths data can take to get between the CPU and the system memory. It increases the bandwidth and the performance. (Note that this does not extend further on standard consumer motherboards: quad and octa channel RAM exist, but not in the world of regular gaming PCs.)

 

[felhfornow]

First things first, a PC for this budget is not going to be the best value for money. You have to cut corners and it ends up less than I'd want to recommend.

That said, it can be done, and you can get a lot better than this. Here's the system I'd recommend for just a tiny bit more:

Case
PCS SPECTRUM G ARGB MID TOWER CASE (PWM) Significantly better case
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4) Much better CPU, especially for gaming
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550M DS3H: DDR4, USB 3.2, RGB
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) Dual channel RAM
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW) Better storage approach (easy to add more later as an upgrade)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY Gives room for a decent graphics upgrade with a dedicated GPU in the future
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD) Adequate cooling (the stock cooler is really on the limit)
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 6E AX210 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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 9 to 12 working days
Price: £628.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/jBQJzKYg3t/

Hi, sorry to bother you - I was checking the spec to see if the prices have changed and the case you recommended doesn't seem to be available anymore? Clicking on the link leads to no case selected, and I can't find the one listen anywhere. Is the PCS PRISM TG BLACK ARGB case a good enough equivalent? It has the same no. of fans and looks similar enough, but icr if its a similar price (me and my awful memory). I hope I'm not just being an idiot and getting confused over a name change or something;;

 

[sck451]

Hi, sorry to bother you - I was checking the spec to see if the prices have changed and the case you recommended doesn't seem to be available anymore? Clicking on the link leads to no case selected, and I can't find the one listen anywhere. Is the PCS PRISM TG BLACK ARGB case a good enough equivalent? It has the same no. of fans and looks similar enough, but icr if its a similar price (me and my awful memory). I hope I'm not just being an idiot and getting confused over a name change or something;;

I'd recommend the Lian Li Lancool 205 or the Corsair 4000D Airflow. The Corsair 3000D Airflow is also an option, but it's not the best case. NB that if you want the 4000D, you should also upgrade the motherboard to the Gaming X so that the front USB-C port works.

 

[felhfornow]

I posted my first attempt at a custom spec a few weeks ago (and got some lovely help from sck451!) and figured I'd post my current spec and maybe get a few extra opinions

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 : DDR4, USB 3.2 - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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 6E AX210 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £619.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8xgA6cB2ME/

Main uses for the pc:
- School work (Programming (mainly Python), researching, etc)
- Gaming (The games I play will range between Stardew Valley to MGSV/RDR2 in terms of how 'intense' theyd be)
- Watching movies and shows (Going to get an external dvd drive to burn and watch dvds with, as well as just storing media on the pc itself)
(Modding and making games as well if that affects anything)

My budget is ~600, currently trying to save up to try and maybe try to get an extra storage drive or decent GPU in there

This is the monitor I'll be using: https://www.box.co.uk/Samsung-C24F390FHR-24-Full-HD-VA-Curved_3574030.html

Some brief googling told me the motherboard I'm going for had an integrated graphics card - the motherboard and cpu both have an integrated gpu, on top of the graphics accelerator, giving me three gpus total. How would this affect gaming/streaming shows/etc? The config gives you the option for multiple GPUs so I reached the obvious conclusion of more gpu = more games, but I'm not exactly sure how it would all work together.

Thanks all

 

[sck451]

I posted my first attempt at a custom spec a few weeks ago (and got some lovely help from sck451!) and figured I'd post my current spec and maybe get a few extra opinions

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 : DDR4, USB 3.2 - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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 6E AX210 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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £619.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8xgA6cB2ME/

Main uses for the pc:
- School work (Programming (mainly Python), researching, etc)
- Gaming (The games I play will range between Stardew Valley to MGSV/RDR2 in terms of how 'intense' theyd be)
- Watching movies and shows (Going to get an external dvd drive to burn and watch dvds with, as well as just storing media on the pc itself)
(Modding and making games as well if that affects anything)

My budget is ~600, currently trying to save up to try and maybe try to get an extra storage drive or decent GPU in there

This is the monitor I'll be using: https://www.box.co.uk/Samsung-C24F390FHR-24-Full-HD-VA-Curved_3574030.html

Some brief googling told me the motherboard I'm going for had an integrated graphics card - the motherboard and cpu both have an integrated gpu, on top of the graphics accelerator, giving me three gpus total. How would this affect gaming/streaming shows/etc? The config gives you the option for multiple GPUs so I reached the obvious conclusion of more gpu = more games, but I'm not exactly sure how it would all work together.

Thanks all

The motherboard supports CPUs that have integrated graphics; it doesn't have any of its own. The "integrated graphics" option means "use the CPU's graphics chip, not a discrete one". So you have one GPU in that build. The good news is that this is the number you want: very few use cases use more than one; certainly no games do!

 

[felhfornow]

I was wondering about storage drives - if I'm planning on getting another 1tb ssd ASAP, is it worth partitioning the current drive beyond giving the OS its own section, and if it is, how should I divide it up? I've read that SSD slows down as it fills up and partitioning might help with that, as well as protecting data in case of a crash. Right now I'm with 80gb for OS, 460gb for work stuff, and 460gb for games - should I give games a bit more? A lot of the ones I want are 20gb+ just to install :/

 

[sck451]

I was wondering about storage drives - if I'm planning on getting another 1tb ssd ASAP, is it worth partitioning the current drive beyond giving the OS its own section, and if it is, how should I divide it up? I've read that SSD slows down as it fills up and partitioning might help with that, as well as protecting data in case of a crash. Right now I'm with 80gb for OS, 460gb for work stuff, and 460gb for games - should I give games a bit more? A lot of the ones I want are 20gb+ just to install :/

No, don't partition it. While you are right that a full SSD is slower, partitioning has no benefit (other than organisation) on an SSD. It also won't help with data security: only a proper backup solution does that. You'd do much better getting a separate drive to put games on, whether from PCS or one you fit yourself afterwards. A decent 1TB drive is in the region of £40 (or a 2TB around £80) and is a very easy upgrade if you want to do it yourself in a few months.

 

[felhfornow]

my budget might increase soon (CTF letter came and i remembered it was a thing), by around 300, max 400. ive tried to adjust my chosen spec accordingly but some extra opinions cant hurt (esp because its a lot of money to be spending) - does this look good?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G Eight Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 (AM4, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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 6E AX210 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 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
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £942.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/FzyV5N5mN4/

 

[SpyderTracks]

my budget might increase soon (CTF letter came and i remembered it was a thing), by around 300, max 400. ive tried to adjust my chosen spec accordingly but some extra opinions cant hurt (esp because its a lot of money to be spending) - does this look good?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G Eight Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 (AM4, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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 6E AX210 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 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
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £942.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/FzyV5N5mN4/

Wait until you know what your budget is.

 

[sck451]

Also you should definitely not buy that system: it's really suboptimal and you can do much better. When you know what you can spend let us know and we can find you something much better.

 

[felhfornow]

I've been thinking about it and decided to use the full 400 from the CTF for the pc, giving me a 1k budget.

some more questions i have:
1. one thing thats become very clear recently is how bad the wifi is in my room so I was thinking of getting a signal booster/router, but I wasn't sure if that would affect what network/wifi card the spec should have, and if it was better to get a router through PCS or from a different place.

2. i have two very fluffy, very friendly cats that love to sleep on warm places where people are guaranteed to walk past and pet them, that also shed an absurd amount of fur. a pc tower in my room sounds perfect for them and i wouldnt mind them being there, but how would that affect maintaining the pc? i know you have to get dust off the fans fairly often, but not sure how fur would affect that beyond 'more often' or if its even something to worry about

thanks all, cant put into words how much easier this all is with the forums

 

[sck451]

£1k is definitely an achievable budget and you can get way more PC for it.

First, the WiFi. I'd consider exploring powerline networking. This uses a plug socket to connect the PC to the internet. I've never used it myself, but by all accounts it's a decent solution if your WiFi is dodgy.

As for the cats, that's really not ideal. Getting cat fur in your PC is a nightmare for cooling. If it's unavoidable, I'd put some kind of shelf over the PC (maybe even just a wooden board) so the fur doesn't get in. Fur in the PC will prevent it cooling properly, and would mean you'd be constantly cleaning it.

Here's the system I'd recommend for £1k:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Eight Core CPU (3.4GHz-4.6GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4) Upgraded CPU
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550M DS3H (mATX, DDR4, AM4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12 Much superior graphics card (the 6650 XT would be ideal, but adds £59)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY I'd rather the higher-quality 750W one, but at this budget it's not practicable
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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 6E AX210 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 As above, I'd consider a solution other than WiFi
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 6 working days
Price: £988.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/xqRDnqRM8X/

 

[felhfornow]

Looked a bit into powerline stuff and I don't think it would work for me, from what i could understand from here https://shorturl.at/crsLV - no plugs available near the router, which is a shame because the idea of electric wifi is cool. I'll probably just get a wifi extender and use ethernet

 

[TonyCarter]

Looked a bit into powerline stuff and I don't think it would work for me, from what i could understand from here https://shorturl.at/crsLV - no plugs available near the router, which is a shame because the idea of electric wifi is cool. I'll probably just get a wifi extender and use ethernet

What's the router plugged into?

You can get powerline adapters that have a pass-through power socket.

 

[felhfornow]

ill have to check when i get home. might have misremembered some stuff sorry 🙃

 

[felhfornow]

update should be able to set up the powerline stuff with some better cable management in the living room

 

[felhfornow]

read in a different thread about gigabyte motherboards being a bit sketchy (https://shorturl.at/iuKPV), so i was wondering about the asus ones - from what i can see they're a little bit more expensive but not sure how theyd affect anything else. if i swapped out the gigabyte b550 gaming x v2 for the asus tuf gaming b550-plus would that cause me any issues beyond what the configurator says about the usb-c port? the slight difference in price isnt a problem

thanks all