Advice please (If a PCspecialist staff member can reply or a experienced member)

[Arkamedix]

I want to build a new system and i have a few requirements that the new system needs to have:

1. The case:
- Dual chamber case (i don't want the PSU to be in the same chamber with the rest of the system)
- No RGB at all ( i like playing in dark and i hate having those lights flickering in my face all the time)
- Preferable a big case that doesn't have issues to fit a 40 series GPU
- Magnetic air filters for easy clean + (it's optional,but preferable) a case with easy way to open/close (preferable no screws)
- A case with good airflow and possibility to add as many fans possible to facilitate that airlflow
I am also open to a single chamber case, but it needs to be full tower and have excellent airflow and room for fans

2. The PSU:
- Minim 850W gold or better if it is recommended (even if it is a bit overkill, i prefer more than less)

3. The CPU:
- Choice between Ryzen 9 79503D or Intel I9 13900k (both are similar price)
- Also Ryzen 7 78003D is quite a good competitor with the two above, especially that from what i've seen in some videos and reviews/benchmarks, it outperforms the two in gaming and it's 200£ cheaper
- CPU water cooler which would be the best option for these two CPU's
Here is also a debatable topic because of bottleneck with the other components (especially GPU) so a advice is well received regarding this part

4. The GPU:
- 4070 Ti because i don't plan 4k gaming, i plan 2k and i also want to keep my budget bellow 1000£ for the video card so this one is the only option
- I was thinking about AMD GPU's, but they have quite a lot of issues, especially regarding drivers and software and underperform because of that

5. The Ram and Storage:
- 32Gb DDR5 (maybe some 6000Mhz that works with the CPU and GPU)
- I was thinking on two m2 of 2TB each (C, the system+programs/games on one m2 and D the second m2, as storage)

6: A motherboard that is compatible with all the components above and offers the best performance/symbiosis

So what help/advice i need? xD

I need if someone can present me a case that fits my criteria. I found one which almost meets them (NZT H6) but i don't trust so much the side fans, i would prefer frontal and also i don't like it so much. I've looked at many videos on Youtube and i can't find a case that i like. Maybe someone knows about a "hidden gem" case that i didn't found yet.
Advice regarding CPU-GPU-RAM performance and "symbiosis". From what little research i did, it seems there are performance drops (bottleneck) depending the components you use. Apparently some AMD CPU's have issues with some Nvidia cards. It's a lot to research so someone who already has the knowledge in this topic would help a lot.
I am planing to use dual monitor setup and i already have a brand new LG UltraGear 32" 2k 1ms IPS monitor and i am not decided if i should buy another one identical or swap to two 27" better monitors? Will 2x 32" monitors put too much strain on the GPU and the system? Should i go on two 27" monitors?

There is one condition regarding this build: NO ASUS components in it.
I bought last year in march a prebuilt ASUS system (my old PC broke up, wanted to change fast and i rushed with the available money i had then) and now it broke again. I bought it from Currys and i didn't payed attention to the warranty (which was for only one year) and the fan of the video card died. The system was a Ryzen 7 5800x, RTX 3060, 16 GB of ram and 2TB m2. It was a very low quality build, a case without fans, basic stock cooler, etc. In pictures it looked very different from what i got. I called around 15 PC repair shops in my city and also around my area (including Taunton) and every repair shop refused to change the fan. They said they won't touch GPU's without giving a reason (why you have a PC repair shop and you are not able to change a fan then, i don't know).
Only one shop out of 15 agreed to change it, but they asked me 200£ for that. Well a new 3060 is 230£...so obviously i refused. That would be a waste of money. I wasted 1700£ on a crap prebuilt system and now i should consider myself lucky if i can get a 200-300£ from selling the rest of components.
Because of this epic failure with this system, i will never buy any ASUS component.

I am willing to spend a max 3000£ for the system(without monitors), obviously the cheaper it is the better. I already saved 1700£, but because Christmas is coming and i will have some spending to do with my family, i plan to buy this system in January/February.
I plan to buy the entire system from PCspecialist because a friend recommended it to me, but i need more information about the warranty at PCspecialist and how it works. If i buy a system do i get for the whole system the warranty or for each component? If for each component, how many months/years is it? What options are after the warranty expires? Does PCspecialist do good cable management? (ASUS did a crap one, all cables hanging around the CPU and GPU).
My friend built a good gaming PC last year with PCspecialist and he is very happy about it so i trust his judgement.

In the screenshot is a example, a preview of the build i want to make (ignore the case) and it cost 2600£. So there is still 400£ left to improve the system or maybe there are cheaper options/ideas.

I thank you in advance for your time and effort to reply to my post.

 

[SpyderTracks]

(which was for only one year) and the fan of the video card died.

Was that your first pc that died per chance?

Why didn’t you just RMA the GPU? Any GPU is normally at least 2 years warranty but ASUS are normally 3 certainly not one.

If you’re expecting non asus parts will avoid failure, I’m afraid that’s not how PC components work, there’s absolutely no way to be 100% sure that a part isn’t defective out of the factory without it being in stress real world usage. All manufacturers can do is put them through known stress scenarios for a set period of time and if they pass they’re ready for market. They have no way of testing your precise loads, and it could be that specific load or the environment that leads to triggering the faulty part.

You have rather specific requirements, certainly the “no asus parts” is going to be extremely difficult. But ASUS are generally more reliable than others, not less

 

[Arkamedix]

Was that your first pc that died per chance?

It was a ASUS G15 AMD desktop. I've looked now and the only variant left on sale (a bit different) is the Intel version of this desktop. In the screen is the system i bought.
I know that non-Asus parts can fail also, but that's not the reason i don't want Asus parts in my system.
The reason is because i've realised what a crap and cheap build the G15 system was, how little care they put to build that system and how it was built and designed to scam people with no PC knowledge or people like me who rush and buy it without making any research. For 1700£ they didn't even bother to put a 2£ crap fan in the front at least. And lucky that AMD stock fans are better now, because they didn't even bother to put a decent 20-25£ CPU cooler. The system was constantly at 80-85 ° celsius, which is almost the max heat limit, even when idle or doing light tasks like browsing or watching youtube/netflix. It was so poorly optimised and bad build that i am shocked it survived a year and 6 months. The system has extremely bad reviews and everyone complained how bad it was built.
Ahh and one more thing, i don't know why, but i suspect the system is hardware locked. I tried to put my old 1080 Ti on it and it doesn't want to accept it. I also tried with a GTX 980 SC and refuses it also. The GPU lights work, so it's getting power, but it's not reacting at all. The monitor shows "No Signal", the GPU fans try to spin, they start making half rotation, then they stop, it starts again try push rotation is stops again and so on, repeats the same process every 5-10 seconds. I never encountered such a issue for a GPU to not work. And as a side note, both old GPU's work on my secondary old system, so it's not the GPU's.
Also i thought it's a incompatibility issue with the rest of components (having a recent generation CPU,etc) but it's not the case. We tried the 980 on my friend's PC who has a similar system (he has 5800 3D CPU) and it worked.
So because how careless and what a mockery of system they build, i don't want to buy any ASUS product. Also they have huge dramas on internet regarding their customer support, warranty issues where they refuse to repair parts even when they are in the warranty period, release systems and parts that they know are broken from factory or untested, etc. If you check on youtube all the big channels (Gamers Nexus, JaysTwoCents, etc) complained about Asus. I've lost my trust in ASUS and i don't want to endorse (spend my hard earned money) on a company that doesn't even care about me as a customer.

Why didn’t you just RMA the GPU? Any GPU is normally at least 2 years warranty but ASUS are normally 3 certainly not one.

I contacted Currys (went to their shop myself to speak with them personally) and they said that they can't do nothing anymore once the warranty expired. I asked them if the parts have individual warranty and they said no, that the 1 year warranty is for the whole system. They recommended me to go to a repair shop and try fix it and when so many repair shops refused to repair it, a friend of mine offered to try change the fan himself (he has a bit more hardware knowledge and he knows how to change parts and do easy fixes like changing a fan). So now we already opened the card and we ordered a fan from Ebay and we wait for it to arrive. I didn't knew about this RMA thing until now (when i checked it while replying to you). Now it's a bit too late, the card is already opened so even if i try to RMA it, i think ASUS will refuse it.
See? This is the problem...the way how companies treat customers and how they don't care for them. Instead to properly advise me as you did, they didn't bother. Why would they bother now, once the warranty expired and they literally have no responsibilities? Why would they bother to give me a advice on how to fix my issue when the easy way is just tell the customer to F off and get rid of him?

You have rather specific requirements, certainly the “no asus parts” is going to be extremely difficult. But ASUS are generally more reliable than others, not less

Well the only parts that can be ASUS are the motherboard and the GPU and i think there are plenty of other options for that. I am in no rush to build this system. Now i will take my time, do research and wait until i find the components to build it. But my decision remains, NO ASUS parts.

 

[TonyCarter]

I agree with the comments on pre-built and the tendency for them to be 'over-hyped' vs what you actually get. It's also easy to say that a PC enthusiast should have enough knowledge to know to ask lots of questions before buying a pre-built...but a non-enthusiast would not know what to ask and will simply look for a known level of CPU and GPU; maybe a certain amount of RAM (but not understanding what the impacts of different speeds/timings can have on performance); maybe a certain size SSD (but now knowing the difference between a m.2 NVME and aSATA drive, and their relative speeds); once you get to motherboards there's no way a 'normal' customer will understand why they should pay £50 more for better VRMs, power stages, PCIe versions, USB versions, etc.

The only 2 motherboard options with PCS are Asus and Gigabyte...and I don't want to be putting words into anyone's mouths, I think everyone on here would recommend Asus over Gigabyte.

If you're not happy with either of those, then PCS is probably not the PC builder that you need.

 

[SpyderTracks]

It was a ASUS G15 AMD desktop. I've looked now and the only variant left on sale (a bit different) is the Intel version of this desktop. In the screen is the system i bought.
I know that non-Asus parts can fail also, but that's not the reason i don't want Asus parts in my system.
The reason is because i've realised what a crap and cheap build the G15 system was, how little care they put to build that system and how it was built and designed to scam people with no PC knowledge or people like me who rush and buy it without making any research. For 1700£ they didn't even bother to put a 2£ crap fan in the front at least. And lucky that AMD stock fans are better now, because they didn't even bother to put a decent 20-25£ CPU cooler. The system was constantly at 80-85 ° celsius, which is almost the max heat limit, even when idle or doing light tasks like browsing or watching youtube/netflix. It was so poorly optimised and bad build that i am shocked it survived a year and 6 months. The system has extremely bad reviews and everyone complained how bad it was built.
Ahh and one more thing, i don't know why, but i suspect the system is hardware locked. I tried to put my old 1080 Ti on it and it doesn't want to accept it. I also tried with a GTX 980 SC and refuses it also. The GPU lights work, so it's getting power, but it's not reacting at all. The monitor shows "No Signal", the GPU fans try to spin, they start making half rotation, then they stop, it starts again try push rotation is stops again and so on, repeats the same process every 5-10 seconds. I never encountered such a issue for a GPU to not work. And as a side note, both old GPU's work on my secondary old system, so it's not the GPU's.
Also i thought it's a incompatibility issue with the rest of components (having a recent generation CPU,etc) but it's not the case. We tried the 980 on my friend's PC who has a similar system (he has 5800 3D CPU) and it worked.
So because how careless and what a mockery of system they build, i don't want to buy any ASUS product. Also they have huge dramas on internet regarding their customer support, warranty issues where they refuse to repair parts even when they are in the warranty period, release systems and parts that they know are broken from factory or untested, etc. If you check on youtube all the big channels (Gamers Nexus, JaysTwoCents, etc) complained about Asus. I've lost my trust in ASUS and i don't want to endorse (spend my hard earned money) on a company that doesn't even care about me as a customer.

I contacted Currys (went to their shop myself to speak with them personally) and they said that they can't do nothing anymore once the warranty expired. I asked them if the parts have individual warranty and they said no, that the 1 year warranty is for the whole system. They recommended me to go to a repair shop and try fix it and when so many repair shops refused to repair it, a friend of mine offered to try change the fan himself (he has a bit more hardware knowledge and he knows how to change parts and do easy fixes like changing a fan). So now we already opened the card and we ordered a fan from Ebay and we wait for it to arrive. I didn't knew about this RMA thing until now (when i checked it while replying to you). Now it's a bit too late, the card is already opened so even if i try to RMA it, i think ASUS will refuse it.
See? This is the problem...the way how companies treat customers and how they don't care for them. Instead to properly advise me as you did, they didn't bother. Why would they bother now, once the warranty expired and they literally have no responsibilities? Why would they bother to give me a advice on how to fix my issue when the easy way is just tell the customer to F off and get rid of him?


Well the only parts that can be ASUS are the motherboard and the GPU and i think there are plenty of other options for that. I am in no rush to build this system. Now i will take my time, do research and wait until i find the components to build it. But my decision remains, NO ASUS parts.

I’m sorry to say, but this all down to not understanding the world of pc tech.

The GPU warranty would be direct with ASUS, it’s completely separate from where you bought it which has a different warranty.

So you could easily just get the card replaced for free at any time during the manufacturers warranty period.

85c is nowhere near thermal limits and is actually quite respectable on a cpu. On a gpu if it’s hitting those temps you’d just apply an undervolt

On a gpu, it’s around the target temp, so would be expected on a prebuilt.

Pre builts are always limited, anyone who knows pc hardware would never buy one, but they are cheaper than a custom build for the same specs.

But most of the components PCS use are ASUS if you check, and there’s only one case that fits your requirements.

Also, 2 monitors doesn’t exist in gaming as the central view would be between the bezels. So it’s either super wide or ultrawide.

My advice is, learn about architecture, and if you’re requirements really are that fixed, then building your own is going to be the only solution really

 

[Arkamedix]

The only 2 motherboard options with PCS are Asus and Gigabyte...and I don't want to be putting words into anyone's mouths, I think everyone on here would recommend Asus over Gigabyte.

If you would please elaborate the reason why Asus is better than Gigabyte?
And i would be happy with Gigabyte, i had in the past this brand and it was ok.

I’m sorry to say, but this all down to not understanding the world of pc tech.

Well that's why i came here to ask for advices. I am not claiming to be a pc expert, i think my understanding is between basic and medium level, so obviously i can learn a lot.

The GPU warranty would be direct with ASUS, it’s completely separate from where you bought it which has a different warranty.

So you could easily just get the card replaced for free at any time during the manufacturers warranty period.

Well because i was misinformed by Currys and i already opened the card, is there a way to still try to even bother to contact Asus? Or now is too late?

85c is nowhere near thermal limits and is actually quite respectable on a cpu. On a gpu if it’s hitting those temps you’d just apply an undervolt

On a gpu, it’s around the target temp, so would be expected on a prebuilt.

Those where idle and browsing temps (which are above the normal expectation on a system like this). While gaming they where around 90-95, which is almost the top limit, at least according to the internet. Also for the GPU (3060) it is advised to be bellow 80-85 to not wear the fans, which is exactly what i did.

Pre builts are always limited, anyone who knows pc hardware would never buy one, but they are cheaper than a custom build for the same specs.

Actually i think not. Or at least my system was not cheaper. The only reason i bought it was because the previous PC died and it was already too old and i wanted to change it fast so i took this new PC with credit from Currys. When i was looking at the exact same components it was 250£ cheaper to buy, but because i was taken by surprise and didn't had all the money to build it i was forced to take it with credit.

But most of the components PCS use are ASUS if you check, and there’s only one case that fits your requirements.

What case is that?

Also, 2 monitors doesn’t exist in gaming as the central view would be between the bezels. So it’s either super wide or ultrawide.

Ahhh sorry i forgot to detail the monitor story: so i am a mmorpg player (games like World of Warcraft, FF14,etc) and there are a lot of "dead times" where i do casual things like daily quests, mine farming, pet battles, waiting in ques, etc and the reason of the second monitor is not to play on it, is to watch videos and browse during those "dead times" . So my plan is to play on one monitor and use the second for browsing/watch videos.

My advice is, learn about architecture, and if you’re requirements really are that fixed, then building your own is going to be the only solution really

Not to be rude or something, but i thought the purpose of this forum is for people to ask help and advices and the people with knowledge to teach/help/advise what to do/buy/etc. If i am advised to start leaning to become a PC expert, then what is the purpose of this forum section? If that's the case, i will retire from this forum and look for advices somewhere else.
I asked a few simple questions: some case names that maybe i don't know about and maybe suit my condition (not to mention i said above i am open to the idea of a single chamber case if it is proven to have good airflow); compatibility between GPU-CPU-RAM and which option to chose to not bottleneck the system; if two monitors affect the system performance and what is advised for this topic.
And i don't think "my requirements" are so fixed that because i don't want any ASUS component i can't build a system. And speaking of ASUS there can be only 2 ASUS components in a system: motherboard and GPU. Because anything else (even if i want to be ASUS) can not be: ram (no ASUS), m2 (no ASUS), CPU (no ASUS), PSU (no ASUS), etc. So it starts to kinda bother me this "push" for ASUS and the claim that without ASUS i can't build a PC or it's very hard. What you wanna say that there are no other options for GPU and motherboard except ASUS?
I don't mean any disrespect, but what is so hard for someone to say : "listen here is X, Y, Z case, take a look at them see if you like" or " i would advice X cpu with Y gpu and Z ram because of that and that" ?

 

[brigil]

I don’t know enough about PCs to comment on build. Nor am I a lawyer! But on Curry’s and warranty, is it worth a go reminding them of your basic consumer rights under Sale of Goods act? I wouldn’t expect a new PC to fail in 18 months and as Curry’s are the retailer would think it’s their problem rather than mine. If you go down that line you may need an independent expert to confirm that the Gpu shouldn’t fail that quickly but then you could pursue Currys for repair, and if not repairable refund. But also looks like at 18 months you could go to asus also. That 2 year warranty certainly suggests ASUs don’t believe their gpu should fail that quickly , pretty much making your case.

Your consumer rights when buying goods | Consumer Council Advice Directory

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 deals with your rights when buying goods after October 2015.

advice.consumercouncil.org.uk

 

[SpyderTracks]

I don’t know enough about PCs to comment on build. Nor am I a lawyer! But on Curry’s and warranty, is it worth a go reminding them of your basic consumer rights under Sale of Goods act? I wouldn’t expect a new PC to fail in 18 months and as Curry’s are the retailer would think it’s their problem rather than mine. If you go down that line you may need an independent expert to confirm that the Gpu shouldn’t fail that quickly but then you could pursue Currys for repair, and if not repairable refund. But also looks like at 18 months you could go to asus also. That 2 year warranty certainly suggests ASUs don’t believe their gpu should fail that quickly , pretty much making your case.

Your consumer rights when buying goods | Consumer Council Advice Directory

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 deals with your rights when buying goods after October 2015.

advice.consumercouncil.org.uk

It's a little different with PC hardware.

You've basically got 2 warranties.

The 1st is with the place you bought it from, they didn't make the product, they have no power over weather it's fit for purpose, you are basically paying them to oversee fixes for a term agreed when you purchase the system. So this would be PCS / Curry's etc. In this case it was a 1 year warranty with Curry's.

Once that expires or even before then if you choose, the main warranty is with the manufacturer, in this case Asus. Any manufacturer have warranty periods on parts that they are bound to honour. And certainly in the UK, manufacturers warranties tend to be well covered, Asus can take a bit longer than others, but they invariably will see you right.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Not to be rude or something, but i thought the purpose of this forum is for people to ask help and advices and the people with knowledge to teach/help/advise what to do/buy/etc.

It is, but only on PCSpecialist systems, it's a closed forum for advice on the systems that PCS supply. If you look at their parts list, the RAM, the PSUs etc are all Asus, likely fans too. You've set out very particular requirements that I don't think PCS can support.

And i don't think "my requirements" are so fixed that because i don't want any ASUS component i can't build a system. And speaking of ASUS there can be only 2 ASUS components in a system: motherboard and GPU

That's not possible on a PCSpecialist system, that's the point, the RAM and PSU and likely cooler would all be Asus as well.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well because i was misinformed by Currys and i already opened the card, is there a way to still try to even bother to contact Asus? Or now is too late?

It's only too late when the warranty has expired, you're covered up to that point. So long as you haven't damaged it while tinkering with it, just reassemble it as it was and start an RMA

 

[brigil]

Issue isn’t warranty, it’s your rights on any purchase, including PCs. Apologies it is now the Consumer Rights Act not Sale of goods but it covers you for goods that are of ‘unsatisfactory quality’ (which would be the argument in this case) and the claim is against the retailer, not anyone else. The retailer can offer a repair first before refund though. If curry’s argue the gpu is still under warranty therefore go to ASUs that may be different.
Guide here, including draft letters https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act-aKJYx8n5KiSl

 

[brigil]

‘Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are against the retailer – the company that sold you the product – not the manufacturer, so you must take any claim to the retailer.’ This is an independent right to a warranty. Shops often try to wriggle out of it and divert you to the manufacturer but it’s on them. The only complicating thing here is there is a warranty on that one part, which may mean you can go to ASUS but I suspect Curry’s should be doing that for OP.
Second bit is durability which also isn’t warranty dependent so if a GPU should last 2 years, and fails in 18 months it’s still back to Currys again from Which

• Satisfactory quality: Goods shouldn't be faulty or damaged when you receive them. You should ask what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question. For example, bargain-bucket products won’t be held to as high standards as luxury goods.

One aspect of a product being of satisfactory quality is durability, in other words how long it lasts.

Durability takes into account many different factors like product type, brand reputation, price point and how it is advertised. For example you're unlikely to be able to claim a cheap kettle that's stopped working after four years isn't durable. Whereas a more premium and expensive kettle that's been well looked after and has stopped working after 14 months could be considered to not be durable, and therefore not of satisfactory quality

 

[SpyderTracks]

Issue isn’t warranty, it’s your rights on any purchase, including PCs. Apologies it is now the Consumer Rights Act not Sale of goods but it covers you for goods that are of ‘unsatisfactory quality’ (which would be the argument in this case) and the claim is against the retailer, not anyone else. The retailer can offer a repair first before refund though. If curry’s argue the gpu is still under warranty therefore go to ASUs that may be different.
Guide here, including draft letters https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act-aKJYx8n5KiSl

This is wholly accurate, I was mistaken, apologies to @brigil . According to the which guideline:

You have up to six years to take a claim to the small claims court for faulty goods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five years in Scotland.

This doesn't mean that a product has to last six years - just that you have this length of time in which to make a claim if a retailer refuses to repair or replace a faulty product.

Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Which?

The Consumer Rights Act protects you in almost all purchases you make. Here we explain what it means when buying goods or services

www.which.co.uk

 

[brigil]

Full disclosure. I’m currently banned from a major high street watch retailer for pointing these rights out.