Advice please on spec for photo editing, coding and a bit of gaming

M

Me4499

Member
I would be grateful for some advice please, there are a couple of points I am unsure about, the main ones are:
  • Is the Ryzen 5 3600X good enough or should I go up to a Ryzen 7?
  • Does the graphics card ( NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti always come a DisplayPort that supports daisy chaining / Multi-Stream Transport (MST)?
  • Should I swap the motherboard PRIME B550-PLUS for the TUF GAMING B550-PLUS?

Key information:
  • On budget, I'd prefer around £1500 but up to £2000 would be ok
  • I have 2 x Dell U2520D QHD (2560x1920) monitors, 60Hz
  • I use Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for photo editing
  • I do some web development but have a hobby interest in artificial intelligence plus hobby electronics such as Arduino and other stuff with a Raspberry Pi
  • Coding will be using Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, SSMS and various other dev tools
  • On Gaming, two games I'd like to play are Forza Horizon 4 and Subnautica
  • I have picked Windows 10 Pro because I know there are features I want to use
I looked into the daisy chaining on DisplayPort for the graphics card, the generic specs page here:
www.nvidia.com

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 16 Series Graphics Card

Get 1.4X Power Efficiency Over Previous Generation for a Faster, Cooler, Quieter Gaming Experience.
www.nvidia.com
www.nvidia.com

NVIDIA GeForce 10 Series Graphics Cards

Finds specs and features of NVIDIA GeForce 10 series graphics cards.
www.nvidia.com

They suggest that both the 1050 and 1066 have DP 1.4a, it only needs to be DP 1.2 to support daisy chaining, that's according to this page:
www.displayport.org

Driving Multiple Displays from a Single DisplayPort Output - DisplayPort

Some users looking for the best visual experience with DisplayPort 1.2 enabled-products are beginning to take advantage of multi-stream technology – the ability to stream independent video displays from a single desktop or notebook video output. Multi-stream enabled display products, including...
www.displayport.org www.displayport.org

I had picked the two monitors because I am working from home and thankfully my work laptop already supports daisy changing. I picked monitors that have height adjustment as well because I have a standing/sitting desk, it's a lot easier now than before when I put a couple of books under one monitor that didn't have the height adjustment before I got these two monitors :). I have a PS4 and will eventually get a PS5 for my main gaming, this PC will not be for main gaming. I did see a post online about using GTA V to practice self driving using neural networks in Python and using OpenCV for processing the picture, it's here if you are interested:

YouTube playlist - Python Plays: Grand Theft Auto V by sentdex

I saw a build suggestion from AGENTCOOPER on this post:
MID RANGE DESKTOP FOR GENERAL PRODUCTIVITY AND GAMING (£1500ISH) on Dec 18, 2020

That suggested adding the extra storage to split the OS, apps and storage. I see the specs on that post have the motherboard ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi. I've picked the B550-PLUS and separate WiFi. I saw one comment online that the TUF has better audio, though that's not likely to be an issue on either for me and it has WiFi built in. It's not much more expensive so maybe I would be better going for the TUF one.


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Six Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 23 to 25 working days
Price: £1,488.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/kc3FFAw9QY/
 
M

Me4499

Member
I forgot one question:
  • What affect does the number of RAM slots used have? is it better to have 1 x 16 GB RAM or 2 x 8 GB? or doesn't it matter if you are not using all slots?
 
B

Bigfoot

Grand Master
Looking at cpu benchmarks on Puget systems for PS and LR, you would get a significant benefit from picking the 5600X over the 3600X. There are further benefits from moving up to the 5800x or 5900x, but these would increase the cost. Depending on the size of your files, you may benefit from 32GB of RAM, but should should be aiming for 3200MHz or 3600 MHz RAM any way.

You could do with a better PSU to allow upgrading in the future, extending the life of your system - 750 or 850 RMx.
 
M

Me4499

Member
Thanks for the replies so far. I probably would like to go up to the higher Ryzen 5 processor and it sounds fine to up the power supply. The extra RAM would be nice for various things plus I do use virtual machines sometimes for running Linux.

I don't think I would need to go up to the NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 from the NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti, though the Ti has gone out of stock since this morning and I'm sure it won't be long before the 2060 is out of stock too. I think I'm going to have to be patient and wait in queue that's likely got quite a few people ahead of me for the pre-orders.

Though I just found these two threads regarding the processor and RAM:

5950x/3090... 6 BSOD's so far

New PC arrived today, hooray! Unfortunately, I have had probably 5 or 6 BSOD's since I started getting things set up today. Upon scrubbing through the forums I believe maybe this has something to do with RAM? Case: COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH RGB GAMING CASE Processor: (CPU): AMD Ryzen 9...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk

SURVEY for AMD Ryzen users with FOUR RAM Cards

This is not any kind of official PCS survey, it's really just for my own interest - and a little theory I'm trying to get a handle on. If you have a PCS AMD Ryzen build (any model) with FOUR RAM cards installed (any capacity, any speed, any make/model) would you kindly add a post with your CPU...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Though they might be specific situations, there does appear to be quite a lot of talk online of issues with Ryzen 5000 series processors. I had seen comments about issues with the higher seem RAM somewhere recently as well, that's why I had not picked the top speed.

I realised I missed something else I wanted to add for comparison, I'm currently using a laptop with the following spec:

CPU: i7-4700MQ @ 2.4 GHz
RAM: 12 GB PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
1 x 4 GB & 1 x 8 GB (both Samsung)
Model: HP Envy J181NA
GPU: Geforce 840M
GPU Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 4600
HDD (OS & Data): Samsung 840 EVO SSD 500 GB

It has worked well and will probably carry on for a while longer, but I'd like to get to a desktop PC again, it has been many years since I had a desktop PC. I'm sick of the louder fan noise from a laptop and that it's on the desktop next to me instead of under the desk where I'd put the PC.

I'm assuming the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X would still be a good improvement over the i7-4700MQ.
 
M

Me4499

Member
thanks, I see the point in paying the extra. I'm sure it is probably better for components like the CPU and GPU to not be fully maxed out on capacity for hours on end. And I assume it's going to make the system last longer before it needs an upgrade.
 
M

Me4499

Member
Nursemorph said:
I have just had a look and, for only £100 extra (would take you £29 over the £2k), you could put in a 3060Ti which would run games on that monitor with ease, even on very high settings...would even handle a 1440p 144Hz screen. Guess it depends on how much you game etc but the jump from the 2060 to the 3060Ti is far higher than the price difference suggests, not to mention the Ray tracing improvements, DLSS etc. The 3060Ti would give the system far longer longevity before needing to upgrade the GPU given it has only recently released versus the 2 or 3 years old 2060. Just something to consider
Click to expand...

I chose to get the two 60hz 1440p monitors, more for the better productivity of having dual monitors than use for gaming. I only recently purchased though. I see a lot of talk online about the refresh rate of monitors for gaming. I do not plan on replacing the monitors with higher refresh rate monitors, doesn't that mean it would be a bit of waste getting a GPU at the 3060Ti level?

Would the 3060Ti use more power all the time when not gaming than the 2060 or 1660Ti? Though I doubt the amount of power and extra electricity use and cost amount to that much compared to more expensive things to run such as the heating in the house or household appliances.

On the power supply, looking online, it seems a better choice to pick a Corsair 750W RMx over an 850W RM while the 850 RMx is out of stock.

PCS doesn't support proceeding when items are out of stock which is a shame, we cannot create the spec with a link for the forum. We can only do that on items that are for Pre-Order Only.

So the new spec below would drop by £108 to £1903 if I could select:
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!

It has already gone out of stock since yesterday which isn't really very surprising.

Liquid cooling would be something totally new for me as well. I've looked online recently and found comments that it is quite simple to work with these days. I took off the extra USB card too since the better motherboard has one type-c port included.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 23 to 25 working days
Price: £2,011.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/7KefckcJw0/
 
M

Me4499

Member
Thanks for the advice, I've just submitted my order as below. I chose to go for the semi-modular power supply instead of waiting for stock to come back in. Basically I wanted to get this ordered and get into the queue :).

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 22 to 24 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

Price: £1871.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/j0NmfqbeR8/
 
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