Advice on PC configuration (for both gaming and simulation use)

[nephron]

I've been looking at a configuration for a reasonably chunky (but not top of the line) PC that I would use for playing games like modded Minecraft, modded Factorio, but also more mainstream triple AAA games (Baldur's gate, Cyberpunk etc. ) that I haven't thus far been able to try out with my current gaming laptop.

I also do engineering simulation (CFD/FEA) as a career, so I thought it would be nice to have a processor with a decent core count to support those kinds of applications so I can keep my skills in date outside of work.
My core use case though would be gaming on one monitor (likely 1440p, need to buy separately) while watching Youtube/Twitch or browsing the net on my current 1080p monitor.
Budget would ideally be no more than £2.5k - getting similar performance for £2k would be great though.

My current config I have in mind reaches this, however I'd appreciate others thoughts on finer details like power supply, cooling, and ease of future upgrades. I forsee keeping this computer for atleast 5 years (more like 10), with occasional part upgrades in between as I get more confident in replacing parts and when I see something worthwhile to upgrade to.

I'm likely going to purchase something in the next few months, so any input on whether best to wait either for better parts or price reductions would also be appreciated. Cheers!

Please see below for my current build and unique link for the configurator:


Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX V2 (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
20GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7900 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE LCD XT RGB 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Personal (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
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 3 to 5 working days
Price: £2,363.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/X7Y2rsuyTm/

 

[Scott]

Likely a fair shout for the 7950X3D in this instance. Just to check that the simulation will use the CPU and not the GPU? If it could be GPU based then an Nvidia card would likely be better.

Few tweaks outside it but broadly a top end system. The GPU requires a high end 1440p monitor, no slouch.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
20GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7900 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Personal (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
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 3 to 5 working days
Price: £2,406.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Zer56Fq483/

 

[nephron]

Thank you very much!

Simulation software still predominantly use CPUs, there is more work being done recently by vendors to add GPU support but these are mostly in the commercial software space, which is certainly outside my hobbyist price range (can always do it at work ). I'll likely be looking at open source codes which are slightly less developed, but free.

I wouldn't do simulations at home enough anyway I think to justify a big bump towards NVIDIA GPUs, as the prices these days look eyewatering, and I think I'd prefer the AMD cards to get more VRAM for gaming....

 

[nephron]

Hi again. Been revising the spec again and would be interested if someone can check my logic. New budget is ideally max £2800. I welcome any input on cost optimization or my conclusions.
I have since decided I also want to:

• allow room for myself to safely dual-boot Linux (so 2 OS boot drives plus a main storage drive). both boot drives are 1 TB because for Windows I have noticed some games I play explicitly store saves in AppData (seemly without option to move them out). Linux has different default file system so it seems possible that the Linux boot drive applications would need to be self contained until i get my head around sharing the storage drive with Windows..
• play games with ray-tracing (so going to NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti Super) - I understand 5070/5080 will release in next few months, however they are likely going to be pushing above my budget and in any case a bit lacking in VRAM for the 5070. I am only looking at 1440p gaming since 4K high refresh rate monitors or OLED are atleast 3x the price.
  • For reference, I've recently purchased a second monitor (https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-UltraGear-Response-compatible-DisplayPort/dp/B0D1CFNF6J) which is 1440p with refresh rate of 180 Hz & more than sufficient for my needs at a really good price
• play some of the more heavy modded games like Kerbal Space Program and City Skylines which are known to require >32 GB of ram at times. More Ram would also allow me to run larger models and the price of upgrade from 32 GB to 64 GB is equal to or less than going from a 7800x3d (which is not available) to a 7950x3d. I know AMD mobos don't like 4 sticks so if i think I need the ram I may aswell do it from the start so I'm not left with a spare RAM kit if i upgrade later.
  • One concern I had was around the memory specs at this level. From my discussions with PCS, they claimed 6000 MHz should still be stable but apparently their 2x32 GB stock is CL40.. - reading around, the x3d chips should be far less sensitive to memory latency (https://www.techspot.com/review/2635-ryzen-7950x3d-memory-scaling/) so perhaps this isn't a big issue? Tried asking if PCS could install CL30 kits instead but not had a reply since then.
• bumped up cooler to H115i as I have read around that it's quieter than the H100i for the 7800x3d & not that much more expensive.
• changed motherboard to x870-plus wifi since x670e isnt available in configurator anymore

9800x3d release seems imminent within the next few weeks so I'll likely buy something for around that time. 9700x CPU is placeholder for now.

PS: power supply option seems to sometimes default to 750W in configurator - I am in fact picking the 1200 W power supply.

Please see below for specs and configurator link. Cheers!

Case
CORSAIR 4000D RGB AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.5GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER TRINITY BLACK EDITION - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Family (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
PCSpecialist GS-813 RGB GAMING KEYBOARD & MOUSE BUNDLE
Mouse Pad
SteelSeries QcK MEDIUM Mousepad
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,687.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/PjCubpwUdS/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Linux has different default file system so it seems possible that the Linux boot drive applications would need to be self contained until i get my head around sharing the storage drive with Windows..

This is a very good idea to separate the Linux and Windows boot drives, I've had issues with the Grub Boot manager with Dual booting, and simply selecting the boot drive at the BIOS boot options would be a far better idea to avoid possible issues.

allow room for myself to safely dual-boot Linux (so 2 OS boot drives plus a main storage drive). both boot drives are 1 TB because for Windows I have noticed some games I play explicitly store saves in AppData (seemly without option to move them out).

Yes, this is more and more becoming the case, simulators being the worst offenders often.

But I wouldn't buy anything yet, the 9800X3D is due for release on the 8th November and is looking to absolutely smash anything currently out even in multithreaded workloads.

It would be about the same performance as the 9700X in multithreaded but anywhere up to 30% higher in gaming.

 

[nephron]

This is a very good idea to separate the Linux and Windows boot drives, I've had issues with the Grub Boot manager with Dual booting, and simply selecting the boot drive at the BIOS boot options would be a far better idea to avoid possible issues.


Yes, this is more and more becoming the case, simulators being the worst offenders often.

But I wouldn't buy anything yet, the 9800X3D is due for release on the 8th November and is looking to absolutely smash anything currently out even in multithreaded workloads.

It would be about the same performance as the 9700X in multithreaded but anywhere up to 30% higher in gaming.

Thanks! 9700x definitely a placeholder - waiting for 9800x3d like everyone else...

On the Linux comment, have you had any experience having Linux and Windows (booted off their own separate drives) behave when they both run games off a third drive (not simultaneously obviously)?

I think both OSes can read/write off the default windows file format but linux might not always like nfts?

 

[SpyderTracks]

On the Linux comment, have you had any experience having Linux and Windows (booted off their own separate drives) behave when they both run games off a third drive (not simultaneously obviously)?

On my setup I have one 1Tb ssd currently with 500Gb partition for windows and 500Gb for Linux.

Then I have a second 2Tb SSD with 1 1Tb partition for windows games and one for Linux Games.

Because I’ve completely uninstalled Linux (as first had an Arch installation that was a nightmare to configure) and have reinstalled windows as well, it’s messed up my Grub bootloader And it still has those old boot entries listed which means unless I manually interfere, by default it tried booting into a Linux distro that doesn’t exist and a windows install that’s no longer there 😆). It’s probably really simple to correct, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet

If you had them on separate drives it wouldn’t matter as you could ise the BIOS boot manager.

They both work fine accessing their own respective games, but you couldn’t have one drive serving games on both OS obviously (As it’s a different file system)

I’ve currently left windows installed just while I get familiar with Linux but the end result will be that I’ll fully remove windows entirely.

 

[nephron]

On my setup I have one 1Tb ssd currently with 500Gb partition for windows and 500Gb for Linux.

Then I have a second 2Tb SSD with 1 1Tb partition for windows games and one for Linux Games.

Because I’ve completely uninstalled Linux (as first had an Arch installation that was a nightmare to configure) and have reinstalled windows as well, it’s messed up my Grub bootloader And it still has those old boot entries listed which means unless I manually interfere, by default it tried booting into a Linux distro that doesn’t exist and a windows install that’s no longer there 😆). It’s probably really simple to correct, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet

If you had them on separate drives it wouldn’t matter as you could ise the BIOS boot manager.

They both work fine accessing their own respective games, but you couldn’t have one drive serving games on both OS obviously (As it’s a different file system)

I’ve currently left windows installed just while I get familiar with Linux but the end result will be that I’ll fully remove windows entirely.

Understood and makes sense.

Going back to my specs now since the god CPU has now released with a godly price tag..

I might hold off honestly till the CPU price calms down, by which point the RDNA 4 stuff will be out 🤣...

I saw in another thread a suggestion to get a larger case instead of the 4000D (currently kept as is). Does the same advice ring true here?

My desk shelf is quite space limited & I can't fit something larger than the 4000 D unless I put it on top of the table (less space for monitors and cable nightmares insue..)

Latest specs with x3d below:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D RGB AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER TRINITY BLACK EDITION - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Family (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,832.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/ESW2EV36AR/

 

[nephron]

Any thoughts on the case?

 

[TonyCarter]

Any thoughts on the case?

For this level of build I'd prefer a larger case to support upgradability, airflow, breathing room. 5000D/5000X/6500X/LianLi O11 Evo. The larger GPUs can be a bit close to the bottom/front of the smaller cases, and you have less room behind the motherboard to cable manage.

 

[nephron]

Thanks those were really helpful suggestions!

I've swapped out the P44 drives for Corsair Elites as they looked to be similar in read/write speeds but cheaper. The big 2TB drive is now a P41+.

Any other thoughts with the below build? Hopefully my prior posts have outlined what I'm aiming at - but happy to be challenged if it means I could get better value for money....

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER TRINITY BLACK EDITION - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Family (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,806.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/mHDxUyasnm/

 

[nephron]

Thanks those were really helpful suggestions!

I've swapped out the P44 drives for Corsair Elites as they looked to be similar in read/write speeds but cheaper. The big 2TB drive is now a P41+.

Any other thoughts with the below build? Hopefully my prior posts have outlined what I'm aiming at - but happy to be challenged if it means I could get better value for money....

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER TRINITY BLACK EDITION - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Family (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,806.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/mHDxUyasnm/

I just saw now the corsair 3500x case now available in the configurator - half the price of the 5000x. Would this be an option?

Case
CORSAIR 3500X ARGB TEMPERED GLASS MID-TOWER (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER TRINITY BLACK EDITION - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Family (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,745.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/uQ25q9fNH7/

 

[TonyCarter]

The 3500X should be fine as its size puts it somewhere between the 4000 and 5000 range.

 

[nephron]

Thanks!

Any suggestions for a keyboard & mouse under £100 all together that could go with this build?

My hard requirements:
- drivers and RGB control software (if relevant) must work with both Windows and Linux OS
- full size mechanical keyboard
- mouse should have some programmable buttons and decent DPI (not competitive gaming-grade though)


Nice to haves:
- adjustable RGB (ideally able to customise color across local parts of the keyboard - got a preference for blue but free to pick other colors if i want)

 

[TonyCarter]

Can't comment on the Linux side of things, and I just use a Logitech MX Master mouse on all my computers (Mac and Windows).

I use a Corsair K70 RGB MK2 mechanical keyboard...but that seems to have gone to well over the £100 I bought mine at some years back.

I've just seen that there's an open-source project (OpenLinkHub) on GitHub for Corsair items

iCUE LINK System Hub on Linux

Dear Community, It has been a painful month, from a broken keyboard to broken coffee mugs. After switching everything to Linux, I was faced with the harsh reality of how much Corsair doesn't support Linux at all. I own multiple lineups of Corsair LINK Hub products in machines, some purchased dire...

forum.corsair.com

GitHub - jurkovic-nikola/OpenLinkHub: Open source interface for iCUE LINK Hub and other Corsair AIOs, Hubs for Linux

Open source interface for iCUE LINK Hub and other Corsair AIOs, Hubs for Linux - jurkovic-nikola/OpenLinkHub

github.com

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks!

Any suggestions for a keyboard & mouse under £100 all together that could go with this build?

My hard requirements:
- drivers and RGB control software (if relevant) must work with both Windows and Linux OS
- full size mechanical keyboard
- mouse should have some programmable buttons and decent DPI (not competitive gaming-grade though)


Nice to haves:
- adjustable RGB (ideally able to customise color across local parts of the keyboard - got a preference for blue but free to pick other colors if i want)

For keyboard I would recommend the Keychron V6 which is a full size, but no RGB if you can live with that, but your budget is very restrictive for keyboard and mouse, £100 would more be one component

Keychron V6 QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard (Russian RU Layout)

The V6 is a fully customizable mechanical keyboard ready for any situation. It’s a great option to introduce you to the custom keyboard world. With its full size layout, QMK/VIA support, acoustic silicone pad, and double-shot PBT keycaps, the V6 is designed for ultra typing comfort and boost...

www.keychron.uk

It has both the newer QMK and critically VIA support that most linux distos rely on, there's a good guide here specifically for Keychron keyboards:

Keychron keyboards on Linux + Bluetooth fixes

Keychron keyboards on Linux + Bluetooth fixes. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

gist.github.com

Then for a mouse, again, no RGB, but at the budget, your options are limited.

I'm going to post this as it's on such a good offer (£75 off!!!) and it's a really great mouse, it's currently £70

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/cherry-xtrfy-m42-rgb-wireless-optical-gaming-mouse-black-10264699.html

I'll also post the DeathAdder V2 Wireless as a wireless option currently at £60

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/razer-deathadder-v2-x-hyperspeed-wireless-optical-gaming-mouse-10232242.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=4d7eb93e-055f-499d-8ee5-1cdcc50d67d1&istItemId=prqrllqrx&istBid=t&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~1016+(Shopping+Ads)+Gaming+Accessories+-+PMAX~~Exact~71700000115259419~&mctag=gg_goog_7904&kwid=GOOGLE&device=c&ds_kids=&tgtid=1016+(Shopping+Ads)+Gaming+Accessories+-+PMAX&&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD7JKSKbN5q7vtdlSfOEI_S9KoH7T&gclid=CjwKCAiAudG5BhAREiwAWMlSjLrqLoPZKtvpqBjU9O40Swq7W9lrduPs3l20o3yRutQAoyiPyEMprBoCbJIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I realise those options take you over budget, but think your budget may need a rethink as I think it's asking too much from decent options. Hopefully those suggestions don't take you exorbitantly over and are a possible consideration.

 

[nephron]

Thank you very much for these suggestions and your honest feedback on the budget I initially had in mind. If it means quality then I'd be open to upping the max budget to £150. I wouldn't be comfortable going much beyond that though.

It seems clear I'll have to seriously consider leaving RGB off the table especially for the battery life if looking at the wireless options.

That Keychron keyboard definitely looks interesting & I will keep an eye on that closer to Black Friday. I think the link you passed gives the Russian key format? The UK version seems to go for £80 at a glance.

On the mouse front, I would have initially said the Razer Deathadder looked perfect (far superior battery life to the cherry mouse and slightly cheaper). However after doing some reading,it seems the Linux support from the open source drivers

Support remapping/binding of keys · Issue #2031 · openrazer/openrazer

I found that new Razer Keyboards support remapping/binding of keys. For example you can swap the Y and Z buttons or make the X button send a mouse click. This is stored in the device memory and als...

github.com

doesn't extend to configuring the custom buttons, which would be kind of annoying.

That cherry mouse looks like a very good deal for a RGB mouse, however it doesn't offer adjustable buttons for macros I'd like to play with later.

Would you be able to suggest a non-RGB wireless mouse with adjustable buttons considering the updated budget (assuming the keyboard costs £80 or so)?

Open to wired options too if it keeps closer to that new budget. Cheers!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you very much for these suggestions and your honest feedback on the budget I initially had in mind. If it means quality then I'd be open to upping the max budget to £150. I wouldn't be comfortable going much beyond that though.

It seems clear I'll have to seriously consider leaving RGB off the table especially for the battery life if looking at the wireless options.

That Keychron keyboard definitely looks interesting & I will keep an eye on that closer to Black Friday. I think the link you passed gives the Russian key format? The UK version seems to go for £80 at a glance.

On the mouse front, I would have initially said the Razer Deathadder looked perfect (far superior battery life to the cherry mouse and slightly cheaper). However after doing some reading,it seems the Linux support from the open source drivers

Support remapping/binding of keys · Issue #2031 · openrazer/openrazer

I found that new Razer Keyboards support remapping/binding of keys. For example you can swap the Y and Z buttons or make the X button send a mouse click. This is stored in the device memory and als...

github.com

doesn't extend to configuring the custom buttons, which would be kind of annoying.

That cherry mouse looks like a very good deal for a RGB mouse, however it doesn't offer adjustable buttons for macros I'd like to play with later.

Would you be able to suggest a non-RGB wireless mouse with adjustable buttons considering the updated budget (assuming the keyboard costs £80 or so)?

Open to wired options too if it keeps closer to that new budget. Cheers!

Damn you‘re absolutely right on the keyboard, apologies for that. I found it here for £90 in case interested

Keychron V6 Knob Frosted Black RGB Fullsize ISO UK PBT K Pro Red

Programmable KnobDesigned to enhance your creative workflow, the aluminum rotary encoder allows you to easily customize your favorite keys and macros on the knob through the VIA software.You can easily customize the V6's knob to your desired key or macro commands such as: zooming in/out...

computerorbit.com

On the Razer Mouse programmable buttons there is actually an Open Razer Driver for the main driver

OpenRazer

Open source driver and user-space daemon to control Razer peripherals on GNU/Linux

openrazer.github.io

Then to customise button controls you can use input mapper

GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.

🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices. - sezanzeb/input-remapper

github.com

There is a Reddit thread on Linux favoured mice here with other options:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/18i1lsu

 

[nephron]

Hi again,

It seems like there will be some major tarriffs coming in from the US next year which are likely to affect global PC component prices. So debating whether buying now or waiting for new gen parts to come next year is the best play.

Any thoughts?

 

[TonyCarter]

Hi again,

It seems like there will be some major tarriffs coming in from the US next year which are likely to affect global PC component prices. So debating whether buying now or waiting for new gen parts to come next year is the best play.

Any thoughts?

Surely this would only affect components from or through the US?
Which components in particular are you worried about (the Nvidia GPU is US-made)?

Are you not concerned about the overall 7% reduction in value of the Euro to USD, or the 10% reduction in the value of GBP to USD?