Gaming + VMs

[Toby_3087]

Hi there,

I would really appreciate some comments on the spec below.

Use: Aimed mostly at gaming but probably general use too. At the moment I'm mostly playing Apex, but I play lots of different games. I'm expecting high but not ultra graphics (see monitor spec below) on top tier games for at least a couple of years. I'll also likely host VMs from time to time - I like to be able to assign CPU and RAM to them without needing to restrict my other activities.
Lifetime: I'm expecting to need a GPU update in roughly 3 years time, but I'm hoping that the rest of the components should provide me with a decent experience for 5/6 years or so.
Monitor: I'm planning on getting a 1440p 144hz 1ms g-sync compatible monitor in the near future. Just want to sort the rig first. I will almost certainly have a second monitor that's a standard 1080p 60hz one.
Budget: Flexible but definitely under £2000 (still ignoring the monitor).
Processor: Also considering the i5-9600K (3.7GHz). Leaning towards this i7 though, as I feel the processor is the one of the least likely components for me to upgrade. Got my last rig with an i7 9 years ago and I haven't upgraded it
PSU: I've gone for 550W so I can potentially upgrade my GPU in roughly 3 years time and not have to worry about PSU.
Processor Cooling: How is this looking? I was also considering the Noctua NH-U14S, as I'd heard great things (ability and durability). Thoughts? If I upgrade my GPU in 3 or so years (probably to something mid-range for the time), am I likely to need more cooling than what I've chosen? And same question for if I went with the Noctua.
Sound: You'll notice I've opted for quiet processor cooling and a quiet PSU fan. This isn't super important to me, but I like the idea of it. Do you think it's worth it? Will the standard case fans end up being loud regardless? I don't want to throw money away...
Mobo: Seems good to me but I don't know much about them and I haven't poured over reviews or anything :S
Sanity check: Does this rig make sense? Am I missing something? I have keyboard, mouse, HDD storage and speakers sorted already.

Case
CORSAIR CRYSTAL SERIES 460X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Price: £1,688.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/qv0apsbpNT/

 

[Wildcard]

Are you sure 500GB storage will do you? My main gaming machine has/had 500GB without any VMs, plus I have 120GB SSD as temp drive, and I constantly had to uninstall stuff, so my new machine (should arrive tomorrow yay) will have 2TB.

I would recommend replacing the 500GB 970Evo with a 1TB Adata 6000 Pro. It's probably the same price if not cheaper, and outside of sequential read/write the difference between those two isn't too big. (See my tests here https://www.pcspecialist.ie/forums/threads/review-recoil-iii-gtx-ordering-process-ssds.63232/)

 

[Wildcard]

I just read that you have a HDD lying around that you plan to use. Maybe I'm just telling you something you know already but in this day and age, putting anything other than data (music, films, pictures, office stuff) on a HDD is frustrating to say the least. If you plan on putting your VMs on the HDD and using the 970 for your system and games, you will end up pulling your hair out whenever you start a VM because you are not used to how atrociously slow HDDs are anymore. That's why I'd recommend going with a slightly slower but cheaper SSD that can take all your system/programs/VMs. If you need more than 1TB you could even go for a 2TB Intel 660p. (yes, they're even slower than the ADATA, but they're still massively faster than SATA SSDs which are massively faster than HDDs, and they are very cheap for the capacity they offer)

 

[Scott]

I've put the budget to good use. You can save money, but the below is pretty much no compromise. It depends on how much of the VM side of things you want to take advantage of.

Define S case. Really good case with excellent cooling, space and well built. If you like the RGB, stick with the one you have chosen. It's an excellent case also. Just went for better value/aimed at being silent.
9700k to make the most of gaming, it'll do well with VM but if you're serious.... you may want to look at a 3900X AMD build.
32GB of RAM, drop this to 16GB if your VM use is minimal and you won't be allocating a lot of it.
I've swapped out the Motherboard, AORUS pro is better for the cash
I've upped the GPU, this will sail through 1440p for the foreseeable. 1440p 144hz will need a bit of grunt.
1TB M2 drive, same money as the 512gb 970 equivalent. Very fast drive and great value.
850W RMX PSU, this is silent most of the time. It's not about the power, it's the efficiency and quality.
H100X, I wouldn't recommend this cooler now that the H100 RGB Platinum is being offered, I've just selected it as a placeholder until the RGB is back in stock. If you can hold off for it coming in (mid Oct) do so. ML fans, runs almost silent most of the time.

The rest is pretty much as you had it.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 14 working days
Price: £1,953.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/zT3qZ3xquS/

 

[Toby_3087]

Thanks for the feedback both of you.

My VM usage will be relatively light and won't require much disk space. I also have an SSD that I can stick in for tier 2 VMs/games. So it's tempting, but I think I will drop back to a 500GB M.2 and 16GB of RAM.

I like the Define S tho - definitely gonna switch to that. Still deciding about the 2070 super and the RGB H100.

 

[Oussebon]

Processor: Also considering the i5-9600K (3.7GHz). Leaning towards this i7 though, as I feel the processor is the one of the least likely components for me to upgrade. Got my last rig with an i7 9 years ago and I haven't upgraded it

i7 and i5 don't really signify anything specific any more.

If you decide to stick with the i7 to max out gaming performance as far as possible, that's a choice.

The alternative wouldn't be an i5 but an AMD R5 3600 based build. Very close to the i5s in gaming performance, and the additional threads are likely to make them more futureproof. And the X570 platform is more futureproof too.