Low graphics build

[Diem]

Hi,

My current PCS build is finally giving up the ghost - it's done 12 years so I think it's time . Learning lessons from my time with it, I'll not be touching the CPU or PSU for upgrades, and probably only the GPU when it fails.

Gaming will be mainly strategy - Football Manager, the various Paradox titles (CK3, EUIV), Civilization and the like. Consequently I think this means I don't need a top end GPU, but a good CPU will be useful. I also don't want / need any RGB; boring and quiet are what I'm looking for. I have a console for more graphically intensive gaming (although I'm awful at FPS so generally play sports titles)

Monitor is currently a Benq EW2440 so I'll be looking to upgrade that. Target budget probably £2k including the monitor, although I can flex that by a couple of hundred if needed.

Currently running Windows 10 so can look to transfer the license over.

Based on the advice (particularly here and here, but more widely from other threads) I've come up with the below. I wonder if it's overdone on the PSU and cooling. I don't anticipate my usage patterns changing, however I may upgrade to a current gen console so a monitor recommendation at the 1440 level would be useful. In which case, does that affect the PC's output if I have a too-underpowered GPU? Or could it just output at a 1080p level quite happily?

Thanks for your advice.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Eight Core CPU (4.5GHz-5.4GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H100x RGB ELITE HIGH 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,367.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/!SuuBcygHB/

 

[Scott]

I would spend a bit more on the system overall, Better CPU & GPU. The 7800X3D is the gaming chip to get. It'll do well with the likes of FM24 as it'll use more cores for the databases nowadays. Using the second drive for the game storage itself will help also.

FM doesn't use a lot of GPU power but if you're going to be opting for 1440p you want to have a decent level of performance there so that you're not short. The 7800XT is the entry for this sort of resolution, you can get good value for 7900GRE but it's a bit more money.

As long as you're not looking to buy a top tier GPU down the line the 750w RME is a better option than the 1000w RMX. The 1200w Shift would be the best of both worlds, it's just unfortunate they've not got more ATX3.x PSU's available.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H100x RGB ELITE HIGH 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,667.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/ZCayzAfSJf/

 

[Diem]

Thanks both.

No, I’m not going to be needing a higher level GPU.

Having work done on the house at the moment so will hold off buying for a short while, but this gives me a solid idea of what to get when I’m ready. Might check back at that time in case things have changed.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks both.

No, I’m not going to be needing a higher level GPU.

Having work done on the house at the moment so will hold off buying for a short while, but this gives me a solid idea of what to get when I’m ready. Might check back at that time in case things have changed.

The 9800X3D could launch at any time which may or may not change things so do check back nearer the time you're thinking about buying.

The 9000 series so far have been quite a big let down, but there are rumours that the 9000 series X3D chips aren't limited in Frequency like previous generations were, so it's possible the 9800X3D may be quite an impressive chip.

There will also be new motherboard hitting in the next few weeks, they wouldn't be suitable for this build as the prices are exorbitant, but it may well start to push pricing down on the current gen motherboards.

So there could be quite a shift in pricing and / or design within the coming months.

Hope the House work goes smoothly

 

[Diem]

So there could be quite a shift in pricing and / or design within the coming months.

Hope the House work goes smoothly

Thanks will keep an eye on that.

And we decided to convert the loft rather than move house, jury still out on which would have been less stressful 🤣

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks will keep an eye on that.

And we decided to convert the loft rather than move house, jury still out on which would have been less stressful 🤣

Be well worth it when it's done, there's something really special about loft conversions, who's going to be getting it, the adults or the kids?

 

[Diem]

Be well worth it when it's done, there's something really special about loft conversions, who's going to be getting it, the adults or the kids?

The adults (as decreed by the other half - personally I'd have stuck my son up there to insulate his noisy gaming from the rest of the house!)

 

[Diem]

Given the availability and prices of GPUs at the moment I'm mulling over purchasing the GPU separately when prices drop.

Would the (say) X870 Eagle accept (with significant disdain) my old GTX1050Ti as a short term measure?

I appreciate that's like putting a Ferrari engine into a 2CV so it will bottleneck in terms of performance (to put it mildly), but will it cause practical issues in terms of stability?

I'm rubbish at spending money so may yet just wait until January. 😁

 

[SpyderTracks]

Given the availability and prices of GPUs at the moment I'm mulling over purchasing the GPU separately when prices drop.

Would the (say) X870 Eagle accept (with significant disdain) my old GTX1050Ti as a short term measure?

I appreciate that's like putting a Ferrari engine into a 2CV so it will bottleneck in terms of performance (to put it mildly), but will it cause practical issues in terms of stability?

I'm rubbish at spending money so may yet just wait until January. 😁

Yes, would support it fine. PCIe is backwards compatible, so any generation PCIe card will be supported.

I'm running a GTX1080 (same generation) in my X670e system without any issues currently until the next gen GPU's are released.

BTW, the next gen GPU's are being announced at CES in first week of january, and normally they beat the tier above, so a 4080 would be outperformed by a 5070 for instance, so you pay far less for more performance.

I wouldn't buy a current gen card as they're really under provisioned with VRAM really up to the 4070ti Super, below that, they're either baseline for 1080p or under provisioned, except the 16Gb model of the 4060ti but that's stupidly overpriced as it is.

 

[Diem]

Thanks.

Food for thought!