AMD PC for guitar amp modelling and recording/ gaming

[Steve91]

Hello all, I hope you're doing well.

I'd love to invite some feedback on the following spec for the uses specified in the post title. My main use will be Neural DSP guitar amp simulators and recording, hence why I feel like a CPU with a good amount of cores may be preferable. I use my PS5 for most of my gaming, but would like to play some PC exclusives if I fancy it. I also want a general purpose, decent desktop, after years of using a laptop (a brilliant PCS one).

Budget would be £1500 maximum.
Intended resolution monitor will be QHD (1440p/1600p)- possibly high refresh.
I also would like to use the latest platform with DDR5, regardless of whether it's AMD or Intel, but with mid-range specs, as seen below.

I've highlighted some areas where I have concerns, and am happy to be redirected to Intel if necessary.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look and feedback! The spec is below:

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE Do I need extra case fans, or will these be sufficient?
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) The 7700X is far more power hungry, with limited performance gain.
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready! Would you upgrade this motherboard to the B650 TUF gaming? I am not interested in overclocking the CPU.
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 8GB) I feel the 16GB is enough for my needs- would you recommend staying with dual channel? Single channel 16GB is a fair amount cheaper, and I may add another 16GB in future.
Graphics Card
10GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12 I feel that this card toes a nice line between price and performance- I would prefer an RTX 4050/60, but these are unfortunately not out yet.
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Wanted a PSU above my current needs for future headroom.
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD) I will not be overclocking- is there any need for anything more expensive?
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND Is this needed? I hear that the new Ryzen chips have decent thermal paste already?
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Of course!
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,436.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/phG67MgRNu/

 

[Steve91]

Not so subtle bump- I’ll only do this once, don’t worry! Genuinely looking to make a new purchase.

Many thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Not so subtle bump- I’ll only do this once, don’t worry! Genuinely looking to make a new purchase.

Many thanks.

Don't worry, bumping is fully condoned, sometimes tickets get missed.

For your kind of usage, I'd suggest the Fractal Pop Silent (£75) or Fractal Define 7 (£140). These are designed for lower noise and still managing good thermal performance, would make a marked improvement to this kind of build.

CPU, perfect, both for performance for audio, but also, just as importantly, it's incredibly efficient, so leads to lesser noise from the cooler and better airflow through the case.

Motherboard, I would personally upgrade to the Tuf, it's just a much more robust board for the longevity perspective.

RAM: Try for 6000MHz which is the sweetspot for DDR5 currently. (Roughly equivalent to DDR4 3600MHz) You definitely want 2 DIMMS for dual channel.

Regarding drives, you really want to split the drives for best performance and management, so dedicated OS / DAW drive, then dedicated gaming drive, then dedicated libraries / plugins drive (if you use that side of it)

Drop the Norton trial, it's a pain to uninstall and Norton is awful anyway these days, Windows Defender is just as good as any paid solution, but uses far less resources.

So with a bit of rejigging, this is what we end up with, sorry, £2 over budget!

Case
FRACTAL POP SILENT CASE TG (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR FORCE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 4950 MB/R, 4000 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,502.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/hZevVt6XUD/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Have sent you a PM also

 

[Steve91]

Brilliant feedback, thanks so much. I've done some thinking, and I'm considering going with a more airflow-orientated case, just in case I gravitate more towards games and heavier workloads; thank you for the case recommendation though, and I enjoyed reading up on them. You may think I'm way off with this one and I'd completely understand, but I'm moving towards the Corsair 5000D- I just love the idea of a large full tower with ample room for anything, with loads of space for components to breathe; space isn't an issue on the desk. I also agree about the RAM changes (shame there's no 16gb 6000mhz option) and storage changes. The motherboard upgrade is a rather hefty price increase, but probably worth it in the long term. If I could just ask, could I get away with a smaller drive for my OS?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Brilliant feedback, thanks so much. I've done some thinking, and I'm considering going with a more airflow-orientated case, just in case I gravitate more towards games and heavier workloads; thank you for the case recommendation though, and I enjoyed reading up on them. You may think I'm way off with this one and I'd completely understand, but I'm moving towards the Corsair 5000D- I just love the idea of a large full tower with ample room for anything, with loads of space for components to breathe; space isn't an issue on the desk. I also agree about the RAM changes (shame there's no 16gb 6000mhz option) and storage changes. The motherboard upgrade is a rather hefty price increase, but probably worth it in the long term. If I could just ask, could I get away with a smaller drive for my OS?

The Corsair 5000D is a premium case, it's a fantastic all rounder, and would suit the build really well, it's also great aesthetics.

I'm a huge case person, I always go totally overboard both in size and looks, but it's such an important part of the build that often gets overlooks. I applaud you for your choice.

If I could just ask, could I get away with a smaller drive for my OS?

Yes, absolutely, if you don't need that much space, I purely added it as a lot of DAWS and plugin suites these days happily go over 500Gb.

But yes, 500Gb would be about the minimum you want to go for programs and windows.

 

[Steve91]

Thanks again Spyder- do you know if the 7700 comes with the stock cooler separate to the PC? I would have loved to use the stock cooler in the spec, as I've heard it's pretty good. Is the Frostflow 100 going to keep the 7700 cool enough during gaming? I won't be overclocking, and will be running stock settings!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks again Spyder- do you know if the 7700 comes with the stock cooler separate to the PC? I would have loved to use the stock cooler in the spec, as I've heard it's pretty good. Is the Frostflow 100 going to keep the 7700 cool enough during gaming? I won't be overclocking, and will be running stock settings!

I think if you were to buy retail it would, but PCS don't get retail parts as they're an OEM supplier, and they don't list any stock coolers for the Ryzens. But it may be worth giving them a call to query it as perhaps they have some around.

 

[Steve91]

SpyderTracks- thanks so much for the advice. I've ordered the PC as below! £1526 in total- really excited to receive this. Feel free to let me know if you see any glaring changes I should make! I think the cooler will be enough for gaming too? I'll post some pics and do a mini-review when it's here.

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
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 RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
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
2 DAY DELIVERY TO CHANNEL ISLANDS
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 15 working days
Promotional Item
Get Last of Us: Part 1 when you buy select AMD Radeon™ RX graphic cards!
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[SpyderTracks]

Looks spot on, and you get an awesome game as a freebie with the GPU to get you started!

 

[Steve91]

Haha yeah- cheers! Shame I finished TLOU remake on PS5 a couple of months ago- I'll use it as a benchmark game.
Now the hunt for a 1440p monitor begins...

 

[SpyderTracks]

Haha yeah- cheers! Shame I finished TLOU remake on PS5 a couple of months ago- I'll use it as a benchmark game.
Now the hunt for a 1440p monitor begins...

If you need any help with the monitor, let us know. There are so many new ones that have hit the market since CES in January, it's a really good time to buy one.

 

[Steve91]

Thanks- will do!
I've got to say that I'm really pleased with the GPU choice. AMD offer such superior value at the moment in the GPU market. Also, the RX 6700 is £11 more expensive than the RX 6600, which is clearly worth spending the extra for. It also performs similar to the RTX 3060Ti whilst being around £100 cheaper. The step up to the 6700XT is a massive price difference as well, and not worth it I feel.

EDIT: Watched quite a few benchmarks, and it seems that in fact the RTX3060ti has a bit of an advantage in a few games, but I guess that depends on optimisation for Nvidia versus AMD. The RX 6700 often comfortably beats the RTX 3060 however, which is £70 more expensive.

 

[Steve91]

Why is there a £120 difference between the RX6700 and RTX 3060Ti in the pre-sale configurator, but when I want to amend my order in pre production, the price difference is only £60 to change from the RX6700 to the 3060Ti? I'm not complaining, but it seems odd!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Why is there a £120 difference between the RX6700 and RTX 3060Ti in the pre-sale configurator, but when I want to amend my order in pre production, the price difference is only £60 to change from the RX6700 to the 3060Ti? I'm not complaining, but it seems odd!

Prices can massively fluctuate, on a weekly basis, so the difference on the quote will be tied to the time you ordered, so it will have raised or lowered in that time.

PCS are pretty good at adjusting pricing regularly based on market trends which can be a good thing and a bad one. Although often, even when prices increase, PCS will remain surprisingly competitive compared to retail costs. Not always the case, but often.

 

[Steve91]

Thanks Spyder, it's £50 to change to the RTX 3060Ti, I'm definitely doing that now. Seems worth it to me.
I opened up the pre-sale configurator just now and can confirm there's a £120 difference between the cards, but 60 quid if I amend my order.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks Spyder, it's £50 to change to the RTX 3060Ti, I'm definitely doing that now. Seems worth it to me.

I would say it's worth it, the 3060ti is a really good 1440p all rounder and will offer the benefit of some Ray Tracing, but more importantly DLSS performance which is quite valuable.

 

[Steve91]

Yeah I've paid the difference, my only slight concern was the 8GB VRAM, but I don't think that will matter at 1440p.
Really got to try and stay away from the amend order page now.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yeah I've paid the difference, my only slight concern was the 8GB VRAM, but I don't think that will matter at 1440p.
Really got to try and stay away from the amend order page now.

Don't worry at all, it's plenty at 1440p.

 

[Steve91]

Happy to make a new post for this if necessary- but I’m looking at monitors.
1440p with a budget of £350 max.

LG 27GN800-B is one I’m looking at- £284 on Amazon at the moment. Any thoughts on this or alternatives?​

Thanks!

EDIT: Reviews say the stand is awful and contrast ratio is poor. Not getting this one, so open to suggestions! Thanks so much.