Gaming PC build - In pre-production

[KippleKat]

As I've been waiting a long time for my computer due to availability of the GPU and CPU I thought I'd share my build for opinions.

• My max budget is £1800
• I'm going to be using this computer for gaming and photo editing only, I have another computer I use for work etc.
• I don't have a monitor for it yet as I haven't decided on what type of monitor I would like. I'm currently reviewing various 4K monitors and I'm open to suggestions based on my build
• I know the case is budget. I've read reviews on the case and actually feel it's reasonable for me as I don't have room for a huge case

Case	CIT PYRO RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard	ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)	32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive	512GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive	4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader	USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply	CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting	50cm ARGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans	2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
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

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/pzRttMVGyX/

 

[Stephen M]

Change to faster RAM as AMD CPUs work better with fastest RAM available.

 

[Tom_P]

Can you update with the editable link for the build?

Ahead of that a few suggestions:

• X570 board would be preferred over the B550 for that level of CPU.
• As Stephen M said, faster RAM would be better - min 3200MHz, or 3600MHz preferred.
• An M.2 drive as your primary / OS drive would be faster than the SSD.
• For cooling, the Corsair H100i / H115i (the 115 is larger) would be preferred. I believe these come with good quality thermal paste, so the Arctic paste can be taken off.
• The PSU seems low for this - a 750W RMx would be more appropriate, or an 850W would be better still.

With the case, by the time you've added in the fans, I would really suggest spending an extra few £ to get a higher quality case and send it in. Take out the extra case fans and (unless you really want it) the RGB strip and invest in e.g. a Fractal Meshify / Corsair 275r Airflow / Fractal Focus G, which will come with more fans of higher quality than the PCS add-on ones. You can send your own case in if the options in the configurator don't meet your requirements, PCS sales staff are really helpful with that (I've done it myself).

Depending on your main use, the CPU / GPU balance looks a bit off - you've got a 12 core CPU with a lower-end (in the context of the 30-series anyway) GPU - if you're using this for primarily gaming, I'd suggest taking the CPU down (e.g. 5700) and the GPU up (e.g. 3070), particularly if you want to go 4k - the 3060Ti is more appropriate at the 1440p range. Although if your specific use case benefits from / needs the multi-threaded performance for photo editing then that makes sense - I'll admit I'm not up to speed with requirements for that use case.

 

[KippleKat]

Change to faster RAM as AMD CPUs work better with fastest RAM available.

Thanks, which speed would you recommend?

 

[KippleKat]

Can you update with the editable link for the build?

Ahead of that a few suggestions:

• X570 board would be preferred over the B550 for that level of CPU.
• As Stephen M said, faster RAM would be better - min 3200MHz, or 3600MHz preferred.
• An M.2 drive as your primary / OS drive would be faster than the SSD.
• For cooling, the Corsair H100i / H115i (the 115 is larger) would be preferred. I believe these come with good quality thermal paste, so the Arctic paste can be taken off.
• The PSU seems low for this - a 750W RMx would be more appropriate, or an 850W would be better still.

With the case, by the time you've added in the fans, I would really suggest spending an extra few £ to get a higher quality case and send it in. Take out the extra case fans and (unless you really want it) the RGB strip and invest in e.g. a Fractal Meshify / Corsair 275r Airflow / Fractal Focus G, which will come with more fans of higher quality than the PCS add-on ones. You can send your own case in if the options in the configurator don't meet your requirements, PCS sales staff are really helpful with that (I've done it myself).

Depending on your main use, the CPU / GPU balance looks a bit off - you've got a 12 core CPU with a lower-end (in the context of the 30-series anyway) GPU - if you're using this for primarily gaming, I'd suggest taking the CPU down (e.g. 5700) and the GPU up (e.g. 3070), particularly if you want to go 4k - the 3060Ti is more appropriate at the 1440p range. Although if your specific use case benefits from / needs the multi-threaded performance for photo editing then that makes sense - I'll admit I'm not up to speed with requirements for that use case.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try to update with the editable link.

In terms of the power supply I actually did originally select an 850W, but then I got the message telling me it was too high powered for my build so reduced it down. I'm not sure why PCS tell you the power consumption if it's not suitable, is there any extra information behind the reasoning?

I'll take a look at the pricing in terms of adjusting the other items. I'm reluctant to downgrade my CPU as I want to future proof the computer so that I don't have to upgrade it again in a few years. I read a lot of comparison reviews on the GPUs and in my opinion the lower end 3060Ti is suitable for the type of gaming I do and my budget, the others were going out of my price range. I'm not 100% sold on what monitor I'll end up using and maybe 1440p range is actually fine as I'm not likely to go with a massive screen due to workstation space. But all good advice.

 

[MrWilson]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try to update with the editable link.

In terms of the power supply I actually did originally select an 850W, but then I got the message telling me it was too high powered for my build so reduced it down. I'm not sure why PCS tell you the power consumption if it's not suitable, is there any extra information behind the reasoning?

I'll take a look at the pricing in terms of adjusting the other items. I'm reluctant to downgrade my CPU as I want to future proof the computer so that I don't have to upgrade it again in a few years. I read a lot of comparison reviews on the GPUs and in my opinion the lower end 3060Ti is suitable for the type of gaming I do and my budget, the others were going out of my price range. I'm not 100% sold on what monitor I'll end up using and maybe 1440p range is actually fine as I'm not likely to go with a massive screen due to workstation space. But all good advice.

We spec higher wattage PSUs to go with futureproofing your device. A good build should last 7-10 years, with the only upgrades you should need will be the GPU.
GPUs become more power hungry with each generation so adding a beefier PSU is there to account for those future upgrades. It also means that it spends less time running at max load, which is when the most wear and tear occurs.
1440p is probably the way to go, unless you're specifically editing 4k photos. You'll need to up the GPU for 4k gaming, and a decent 4k monitor will set you back £750+.
Happy to recommend some 1440p monitors if you let us know your budget and what size you want.

 

[MrWilson]

Also, what are your space requirements for the case?
Looked up the CIT PYRO dimensions which are 430 x 210 x 330
How much bigger can we go? I'm not suggesting a full-tower case, but even something like the 4000D (453mm x 230mm x 466mm) will have much better airflow and will look after your components.

 

[KippleKat]

Also, what are your space requirements for the case?
Looked up the CIT PYRO dimensions which are 430 x 210 x 330
How much bigger can we go? I'm not suggesting a full-tower case, but even something like the 4000D (453mm x 230mm x 466mm) will have much better airflow and will look after your components.

Thanks for the advice. That makes sense, I want to future proof as much as possible within my budget so I'll upgrade the power supply. I think everyone has made some good points so I'll look at swapping some things around.

In terms of the case I will change to CORSAIR SPEC-04 TEMPERED GLASS MID TOWER GAMING CASE - BLACK/RED as I like the look of that one better than the 4000D and it's a similar size and will fit in my workstation

Monitor wise I'm going to ideally be looking for a 27" monitor. I've been reading a lot of reviews online about the differences between 1440p and 4k and I'm starting to think that unless I'm going to get a much larger screen and edit in 4K then I won't be needing it. Like you say maybe that GPU isn't the right one for 4k, I was mainly interested in it having the ray tracing to be honest.

 

[MrWilson]

So I'll give you 2 27 inch 1440p monitors for consideration.

The Samsung G5 gets you on the board and is a good entry level 1440p at £300. It has quite an aggressive curve which takes a bit of adjustment, but has Freesync, HDR10 support and a fast response time for gaming.

Samsung 27" Odyssey G5 LC27G55TQWUXEN 2560x1440 VA 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Premium Curved Widescreen Gami

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 144HZ, FreeSync Premium, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 4500:1, Panel Type VA, Curved 1000R

www.overclockers.co.uk

Then we have the ASUS VG27AQ. This is more of a premium model, which comes with a flat IPS panel, which may be easier to use for editing purposes. Again, HDR10 support, 165hz refresh rate, fast response time. This should cover all your needs, but will set you back around £460.

ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ 27" 2560x1440 IPS 165Hz 1ms FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 165Hz, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 1000:1, Panel Type IPS, 2 Year Warranty

www.overclockers.co.uk

 

[Martinr36]

So I'll give you 2 27 inch 1440p monitors for consideration.

The Samsung G5 gets you on the board and is a good entry level 1440p at £300. It has quite an aggressive curve which takes a bit of adjustment, but has Freesync, HDR10 support and a fast response time for gaming.

Samsung 27" Odyssey G5 LC27G55TQWUXEN 2560x1440 VA 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Premium Curved Widescreen Gami

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 144HZ, FreeSync Premium, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 4500:1, Panel Type VA, Curved 1000R

www.overclockers.co.uk

Then we have the ASUS VG27AQ. This is more of a premium model, which comes with a flat IPS panel, which may be easier to use for editing purposes. Again, HDR10 support, 165hz refresh rate, fast response time. This should cover all your needs, but will set you back around £460.

ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ 27" 2560x1440 IPS 165Hz 1ms FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 165Hz, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 1000:1, Panel Type IPS, 2 Year Warranty

www.overclockers.co.uk

@KippleKat the Samsung G5 that @MrWilson suggested is a nice bit of kit, and was my introduction to curved screens, I got used to it fairly quickly and do use it when editing video as well as for gaming

 

[KippleKat]

So I'll give you 2 27 inch 1440p monitors for consideration.

The Samsung G5 gets you on the board and is a good entry level 1440p at £300. It has quite an aggressive curve which takes a bit of adjustment, but has Freesync, HDR10 support and a fast response time for gaming.

Samsung 27" Odyssey G5 LC27G55TQWUXEN 2560x1440 VA 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Premium Curved Widescreen Gami

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 144HZ, FreeSync Premium, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 4500:1, Panel Type VA, Curved 1000R

www.overclockers.co.uk

Then we have the ASUS VG27AQ. This is more of a premium model, which comes with a flat IPS panel, which may be easier to use for editing purposes. Again, HDR10 support, 165hz refresh rate, fast response time. This should cover all your needs, but will set you back around £460.

ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ 27" 2560x1440 IPS 165Hz 1ms FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 165Hz, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 1000:1, Panel Type IPS, 2 Year Warranty

www.overclockers.co.uk

Thanks for those, both look pretty good. I'll add them to my monitor bookmarks wish list to have a proper read about them later. My maximum budget for a decent monitor was £400 but I'm not ruling out spending more if it gives me a noticeable difference. At the moment I just have my Lenovo ThinkVision for work, which really isn't going to work for any of the things my new PC will be doing.

I'm going to amend my build based on everyone's suggestions after reading up on some more bits. The suggestions make sense and even looking back at my CPU I think I can revisit looking at the 3900X based on the type of things I'm actually going to be using it for.

 

[Stephen M]

I would get the fastest RAM on offer.

Agree with above posts about future proofing and PSU etc. In case you did not know already, PCS have an open case policy which means you can work on your machine without voiding the warranty.

With that in mind you could go for best possible GPU, CPU and stuff which is is most costly to replace and add other things, storage more RAM later. If you have budget issues, 16 GB of the fastest RAM would do for now and you could add another 16 later on, as long as it is the same type that will be fine. Also go for Silver Warranty if you have not already, for a fiver it is worth it.

 

[Tom_P]

So I'll give you 2 27 inch 1440p monitors for consideration.

The Samsung G5 gets you on the board and is a good entry level 1440p at £300. It has quite an aggressive curve which takes a bit of adjustment, but has Freesync, HDR10 support and a fast response time for gaming.

Samsung 27" Odyssey G5 LC27G55TQWUXEN 2560x1440 VA 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Premium Curved Widescreen Gami

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 144HZ, FreeSync Premium, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 4500:1, Panel Type VA, Curved 1000R

www.overclockers.co.uk

Then we have the ASUS VG27AQ. This is more of a premium model, which comes with a flat IPS panel, which may be easier to use for editing purposes. Again, HDR10 support, 165hz refresh rate, fast response time. This should cover all your needs, but will set you back around £460.

ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ 27" 2560x1440 IPS 165Hz 1ms FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor

Display Resolution 2560x1440, Display Size 27", Refresh Rate 165Hz, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible, 1ms Response Time, Contrast Ratio 1000:1, Panel Type IPS, 2 Year Warranty

www.overclockers.co.uk

To add to this, I've got an LG Ultragear 27" IPS 1440p (27GL850-B) - picked it up around £340 a few months ago from Curry's, although I think it was on sale. 144Hz, FreeSync / G-Sync compatible - again has HDR 10, been a good screen for me so far.

 

[MrWilson]

To add to this, I've got an LG Ultragear 27" IPS 1440p (27GL850-B) - picked it up around £340 a few months ago from Curry's, although I think it was on sale. 144Hz, FreeSync / G-Sync compatible - again has HDR 10, been a good screen for me so far.

The LG is another great monitor. If you got it for £340 that's a steal, it normally sits around the £450 mark, similar to the VG27AQ.

 

[KippleKat]

I would get the fastest RAM on offer.

Agree with above posts about future proofing and PSU etc. In case you did not know already, PCS have an open case policy which means you can work on your machine without voiding the warranty.

With that in mind you could go for best possible GPU, CPU and stuff which is is most costly to replace and add other things, storage more RAM later. If you have budget issues, 16 GB of the fastest RAM would do for now and you could add another 16 later on, as long as it is the same type that will be fine. Also go for Silver Warranty if you have not already, for a fiver it is worth it.

Thank you for the suggestions

 

[KippleKat]

To add to this, I've got an LG Ultragear 27" IPS 1440p (27GL850-B) - picked it up around £340 a few months ago from Curry's, although I think it was on sale. 144Hz, FreeSync / G-Sync compatible - again has HDR 10, been a good screen for me so far.

That's a good price, I'll keep that one in mind too. I'm going to have to do a list of the ones I like that suit my budget and then whittle it down via reviews and comparison I think