Advice Gaming Desktop/Streaming

[Leeuk13]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a new laptop through PCS (for gaming on the go) and was very happy with the service provided, I am now in the market for a new desktop and will be keeping my business with PCS.
I will be looking to purchase in the next couple of days and wanted some opinions on a few things.

The PC will be used for gaming (Overwatch, WOW, Fortnite, PUBG and a few AAA's). I will also be streaming my content to Twitch. My budget is £1800 - £2000 (inclusive of a decent monitor).

I have had a play about and I think that the below is pretty decent, however I have a few questions;

- The case I have chosen is mainly due do its dimensions. I have a pretty small desk and this case fits in nicely. Is it a good option for a streaming PC/cooling?
- I have no idea what so ever when it comes to PC WIFI cards. Due to my router being in a stupid place I will be using the PC on my wireless network. Is the card I have chosen good or not?
- I also have no idea about Motherboards. Is the one I have chosen good or should I choose a different one?
- Finally, I am struggling to find a decent monitor to keep me within my budget. I'm not sure whether to add one to my order via PCS or go elsewhere. Ideally I want a 1440p G-sync one. (If my budget is pushed to £2000, I have £320 to spend on a monitor).


Case
NZXT S340 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (BLACK/BLUE) ()
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF Z370-PLUS GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

Get The Crew 2 with select NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 1500MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1300 867Mbps/5GHz, 400Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB 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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,680.00 including VAT and delivery


Any help would be appreciated and I thank you in advance.

 

[Oussebon]

1440p 144hz gsync isn't going to happen for £320. I think I saw a 24" 1440p gsync monitor on sale for that one time ever. Otherwise the best you can hope for for a 24" one of those is ~£400, with 27" being ~£500.

The solution would be to go for the Vulkan or Magma deals here:
Vulkan: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configure-review/267/
Magma: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configure-review/259/

They are similar specs with a fixed configuration, and fixed, discounted prices of £1500.

They lack wifi cards by default, but perhaps PCS will agree to add one for the appropriate fee without you losing the discount. Or you can buy and fit your own wifi card / USB wifi adapter / or use homeplugs/powerline adapters.

This should save you ~£150 and let you get a 1440p gsync monitor, while netting you a slightly better spec too.

For streaming, the Magma Pro is probably the better choice, thanks to its additional cores and threads (+2/+4) though the 8700k is a capable streaming CPU. The 8700k would give higher straight gaming performance, though at 1440p in most titles the difference would be negligible.

 

[Leeuk13]

Thanks for taking your time to reply.

I have actually found a 24” 1440p G-sync monitor (AOG AG241QG) on amazon for £399. I think I will snap that up!

That does still leave my original build within the £2000 mark.

The reason I am unable to go with the two builds you suggested is due to the case sizes. I only have W200mm, H490mm, D430mm. That said, is the case I chose, WiFi card and motherboard all sufficient for my needs or would you recommend other picks?

Thanks.

 

[Oussebon]

You're sacrificing a better build and about £200 savings for a smaller case. Could the case not go on the floor?

27" seems to be considered a lot better for 1440p to let you appreciate the pixels more.

 

[Leeuk13]

You're sacrificing a better build and about £200 savings for a smaller case. Could the case not go on the floor?

When you put it like that.... let me see what I can do.

If I am able to go for the bigger case I will certainly look at a bigger monitor.

The Vulkan is pretty much ideal for me aside from the WiFi card. I will speak to PcS to see if popping one into the Vulkan is an option. If not I suppose, as you say, I could just add one my self. Is there a specific one I should be looking to buy?

Thanks for your help. Very helpful!

 

[Leeuk13]

I think I will take your advice and just make the space available for the slightly bigger case. The price and spec are to good to turn down due to a few millimetres!

This is now what I am looking to purchase and will buy a Wifi card separately (still have no idea what Wifi card to buy so any help on that would be appreciated).
Do you think this is a good pick? Thanks.

Case
InWIN 101 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF Z370-PLUS GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

Get The Crew 2 with select NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 1500MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2x 50cm RGB LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB 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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
ASUS PG248Q 24" G-Sync ROG Swift
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,926.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[Oussebon]

I think the spec is balanced, has all the essentials and most of the nice-to-haves.

I believe the ASUS PG248Q 24" G-Sync ROG Swift is 1080p is it not? I'd have probably gone with 1440p 144hz gsync.

As for the wifi card, the AC1200 ought to be fine if PCS are happy to fit that without it costing you the discount. If you have bad wifi signal where the PC is, you could always consider homeplugs / powerline adapters instead.

 

[Leeuk13]

Sorry, I’ve now changed it to the 27” 1440p one (£612) slightly over on my budget but I guess it will be worth it?

PCS checking if they can add the WiFi card for me, I went for AC1300, fingers crossed.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Oussebon]

There's no need to buy the monitor from PCS if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

I posted a few models here in case of interest: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...tly-for-gaming&p=409137&viewfull=1#post409137

I've seen seen the Dell S2716DG for £450 on John Lewis of all places. Spydertracks has this Dell and is very happy with it - it has been recommended to a lot of people on these forums and I can't recall seeing someone unhappy with it.

The AC1300 sounds fine. Pretty sure PCS will fit it as it's not changing a component in the spec, only adding one (that you could order as an upgrade anyway I expect). But if not, you can buy and fit your own or get a USB wifi adapter

 

[Leeuk13]

There's no need to buy the monitor from PCS if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

I've seen seen the Dell S2716DG for £450 on John Lewis of all places. Spydertracks has this Dell and is very happy with it - it has been recommended to a lot of people on these forums and I can't recall seeing someone unhappy with it.

Dell are actually selling that monitor directly from their website for £449. Sounds like a great idea. Thanks very much!

 

[Oussebon]

So are a lot of places it seems... kinda tempted...

 

[Leeuk13]

All ordered!

I ordered the Dell monitor separately so overall came to pretty much £2000. Happy with that!

Case
InWIN 101 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF Z370-PLUS GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 1500MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2x 50cm RGB LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB 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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 8 to 10 working days
Promotional Item
Get The Crew 2 with select NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs!
Quantity
1

Price £1,505.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[Oussebon]

Excellent Let us know how it is when it arrives and you've tested it out, if you have the time ofc!