Help on build

[woodyus]

Hi All,

I am looking at moving from using a laptop to a desktop PC. I will be looking to use the PC for 2 main purposes. 1 development work (mobile app development) with the potential of needing to run virtual devices. 2. gaming, I am more interested in games such as highly modded Minecraft or City Skylines than the latest AAA games however.

My budget is between £1000 and £1500. I have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. (Monitor is a Acer KG271)

I have had a look at the configuration tool on the site but soon realised my knowledge is no where near what I'd need to know what to get. Any help would be greatly appreciated. (I am not even sure if the monitor is good enough or would need upgrading?)

Thanks All

 

[UKJLo]

Hi there,

That's a nice budget to have, you can definitely splash out a bit on some nice things!
Below is a good starting point.. Good CPU for compiling code, fast boot M.2 drive, 1TB storage drive and a fairly decent GPU that should handle those games absolutely fine!

You can customize it if you like RGB lights etc... Case is a personal choice (to some extent)

The Cooler could be upgraded to the H115i if you wanted it packed with RGB too!

Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - 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 SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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
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 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
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 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
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 Standard Warranty (1 Month 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: £1,339.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/dbfPemeW83/

 

[kelstu]

Its worth doing the Silver Warranty for the extra £5

 

[woodyus]

Thank you for the starting place and the tip on warranty. I’ll have a look into this.

 

[UKJLo]

No worries @woodyus

Just post here if you have any questions!... Time for a beer!

 

[woodyus]

Hi All,

I previously posted on the forums to get an idea for spec on a new PC build I am coming to the point of ordering now and looking into each part of the suggested build from a user on here (https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/help-on-build.67071/post-463051). They said I should get a modular 750 power supply. If I take my quote through on to the till it warns me however that I only need a 450 power supply.

I have no real knowledge on what I am getting here, should I just downgrade it to a 450 power supply as suggested by PC specialists OR am I getting something else with a 'modular' or 'semi-modular' power supply. I can see that the 750 one selected in the link is the first 'modular' option available.

Thanks Guys

 

[woodyus]

Thanks for the explanation that makes a lot of sense and yes I can see the benefit to a modular owner supply.
I’ll probably like you suggest stick with the suggestion above.

 

[woodyus]

Hi Again,

I am going to order now in the next few days and I have been tinkering with the advised spec above because my budget has gone up slightly. I wanted to check if this spec seems ok or if there is anything unbalanced about it?

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERCASE SL600M GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/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
Corsair H115i PRO 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 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
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 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Speakers
Creative A250 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
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 13 to 15 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Nf6GtbPGqb/

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'd up to the next wifi card as that one is very old and doesn't support newer connections.

But other than that, looks sweet.

 

[woodyus]

Thanks Spyder I will make that change!

 

[woodyus]

Hi guys,

I ordered this system and am currently waiting for it to be built and delivered.

I have a question though. My daughter's have just started suggesting they would like to create content for you tube at some point. My question is in future will the ordered pc be able to handle capture of game play and light video editing?

I have no knowledge of this area. They are still to young for this at the moment but it would be good to know if this was an option in the future without another new pc.

Thanks everyone.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi guys,

I ordered this system and am currently waiting for it to be built and delivered.

I have a question though. My daughter's have just started suggesting they would like to create content for you tube at some point. My question is in future will the ordered pc be able to handle capture of game play and light video editing?

I have no knowledge of this area. They are still to young for this at the moment but it would be good to know if this was an option in the future without another new pc.

Thanks everyone.

Absolutely, the 3800x is very capable for multithreaded workloads which both streaming and video editing are, and the 32Gb RAM will be ample.

In game, you'd need about 16Gb RAM to cope with the gaming (that's absolute top end requirement) so you'd have the further 16Gb spare to be used for streaming or capturing. You can use nvidia Shadowplay to stream direct to youtube or twitch or wherever:

ShadowPlay | Record & Capture Your PC Game Moments

GeForce Experience ShadowPlay lets you record and capture your best PC gaming moments. Stream via Twitch, Facebook Live and YouTube.

www.nvidia.com

 

[woodyus]

Great thanks again, that’s good to know!

I will take a look at the link.

 

[woodyus]

Just a quick note to say thanks all, my new build arrived this morning (I'm writing this response from it!).

I have been mega impressed with the process with PCS ordered this machine 13 days ago and they managed to keep to there quoted times even with a double bank holiday in that period!

As to the system itself I love it it looks awesome and runs like a dream so far. And is unbelievably quiet which I wasn't expecting.

I'll probably post a review when I had it for a while and been able to test it out properly.

Very very impressed though! Thanks again for everyone who helped spec out the build!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just a quick note to say thanks all, my new build arrived this morning (I'm writing this response from it!).

I have been mega impressed with the process with PCS ordered this machine 13 days ago and they managed to keep to there quoted times even with a double bank holiday in that period!

As to the system itself I love it it looks awesome and runs like a dream so far. And is unbelievably quiet which I wasn't expecting.

I'll probably post a review when I had it for a while and been able to test it out properly.

Very very impressed though! Thanks again for everyone who helped spec out the build!

Wow, that's pretty fast considering everything that's going on, really pleased you got it ok.

If you've got any issues or questions, always feel free to give us a shout, always happy to try and help out.

 

[woodyus]

Hello again,

I’m looking for some advice before getting in touch with PCS.

Since running the machine for a day and a bit I noticed some issues, windows blue screened a couple of times trying to update the graphics drivers and I have been getting constant error access violation errors when playing java minecraft which has been crashing the game randomly.

looking at the causes of this online the obvious solution was a bad install of java I tried a reinstall of this to no effect. Following the trail along the other suggestion was bad ram being a problem. With a suggestion of running memtest86.

I am now doing this, it is currently running its first pass and has found 16 errors and is only upto test 10.

Is this a safe indication that the memory is faulty or are a number of errors ok? I will leave the test to run till completion but should I do anything else before contacting PCS for help in this?

Thanks again

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hello again,

I’m looking for some advice before getting in touch with PCS.

Since running the machine for a day and a bit I noticed some issues, windows blue screened a couple of times trying to update the graphics drivers and I have been getting constant error access violation errors when playing java minecraft which has been crashing the game randomly.

looking at the causes of this online the obvious solution was a bad install of java I tried a reinstall of this to no effect. Following the trail along the other suggestion was bad ram being a problem. With a suggestion of running memtest86.

I am now doing this, it is currently running its first pass and has found 16 errors and is only upto test 10.

Is this a safe indication that the memory is faulty or are a number of errors ok? I will leave the test to run till completion but should I do anything else before contacting PCS for help in this?

Thanks again

Well diagnosed. Is windows registering the correct amount of RAM? If so then it's definitely inserted properly and does indeed point to a bad stick. I would contact PCS first thing Monday and they'll likely just post you a replacement pair for you to fit yourself.

 

[woodyus]

Well diagnosed. Is windows registering the correct amount of RAM? If so then it's definitely inserted properly and does indeed point to a bad stick. I would contact PCS first thing Monday and they'll likely just post you a replacement pair for you to fit yourself.

Thanks Spyder I will do that. Yes the correct amount of RAM is showing and the test result came back as a fail (38/48 pass rate) All fails were in tests 1, 10 and 13 (I don't know the significance of this..)

Also I will stop using the PC now until this is sorted, but just to check is that necessary or can I still use it whilst waiting for replacement RAM?

 

[woodyus]

Very very strange.

I did what you suggested and called PCS today to ask about the memory issue and before they would proceed any further they asked me to do some further trouble shooting to try to find out which memory stick was bad.

1. To do this I tested both memory sticks individually in Memtest86. Strangely it passed 1 full run through for each stick.
2. 
   
3. So to further try it (I guessed it may be the MB dimm slot not the memory) I reversed the 2 rams sticks from there original position. This also passed a full run through.
4. 
   
5. At this point I was perplexed and so swapped the ram sticks back again so it was the original config and again this passed a full run through.

Additionally I loaded windows and the trouble java game that was crashing constantly on start up. That has been running for over 30 minutes with no issues.

Anyway just thought I'd ask on here is there an explanation for this? Do you know any reason why this first failure would have happened but be fixed by taking out and putting back in again?

I also asked this question back to PCS as although everything is OK now I don't want the problem to recur down the line.. (is that possible?)

Thanks again.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Very very strange.

I did what you suggested and called PCS today to ask about the memory issue and before they would proceed any further they asked me to do some further trouble shooting to try to find out which memory stick was bad.

1. To do this I tested both memory sticks individually in Memtest86. Strangely it passed 1 full run through for each stick.
2. 
   
3. So to further try it (I guessed it may be the MB dimm slot not the memory) I reversed the 2 rams sticks from there original position. This also passed a full run through.
4. 
   
5. At this point I was perplexed and so swapped the ram sticks back again so it was the original config and again this passed a full run through.

Additionally I loaded windows and the trouble java game that was crashing constantly on start up. That has been running for over 30 minutes with no issues.

Anyway just thought I'd ask on here is there an explanation for this? Do you know any reason why this first failure would have happened but be fixed by taking out and putting back in again?

I also asked this question back to PCS as although everything is OK now I don't want the problem to recur down the line.. (is that possible?)

Thanks again.

The only thing I can think is that one or both of the DIMMS wasn't properly inserted and moving it put it in properly.

They wouldn't pass at all if there was a defect on the memory so once it's working it's very unlikely it would suddenly revert back to being a problem.