Mid range gaming pc - spec check

[m_baker55]

Hi folks, looking for some advice on the below build. Bit of background, I have previously ordered from here some 10 years ago and was very happy with what was at the time a higher end setup (and the advice supplied on this forum). Nowadays I do not play as much so although the old kit is now very much struggling, I don't think I can justify going above a mid-ish range setup around £1500 (although I've been tempted to push this a little on the below spec)

I am comfortable with upgrading certain components myself in the future such as RAM, GPU but I don't expect to change CPU, motherboard or anything else for a while. I do not have a decent monitor currently so if you could suggest one with tweaks else where to come to a similar budget that would be appreciated.

Looked through the forum to take on board advice given to others in a similar price range, so hopefully won't have to recommend wholesale changes. Look forward to seeing any tweaks you might suggest.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700KF (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660-PLUS WIFI D4: ATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
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 RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,730.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/8c3hR2J5Jx/

 

[m_baker55]

I don't currently have a suitable monitor, if there's one you can recommend to fit the build that would be great.

I play mostly strategy like EU4 and Total War with RPGs and the occasional AAA thrown in. The latter being particularly difficult on my old computer.

Maybe the CPU is over the top but my thinking was over spec on CPU for longevity whilst RAM and GPU can easily be upgraded down the road. Although if you think I've gone way over the top could potentially save some money for the monitor.

Thanks

 

[Martinr36]

what's the budget for the monitor

 

[m_baker55]

I think somewhere around £150-200, I've not done much research on this area so I'm not sure what sort of price range really fits.

 

[m_baker55]

I've made a few tweaks to get a bit closer to the original £1500 budget and free up some cash for a monitor. Let me know if the changes seem okay or of it would be worth sticking with the original. Also a recommendation on monitor around £150 would be very helpful.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 14-Core Processor i5-13600KF (3.5GHz) 24MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660M-PLUS WIFI D4: mATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
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 TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,587.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/TPFeXME0rU/

 

[m_baker55]

Also, if I were to keep the original spec but swap motherboard and RAM for DDR5 for an extra £200 as per link below. What is the consensus, would this be worth it for a bit more longevity?

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/4vtuDFXE0X/

 

[m_baker55]

Okay so I think I've satisfied myself re DDR4/5 in that 4 is the way to go and will last me for a long time by which point current DDR5 will probably be just as outdated.

This below is my current thinking definitely looking like original budget is going out the window a little especially now I've done some digging on monitors. I'm considering one of the following.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08VH74J71/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0BGC9VRJ9/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Or if I really blow past the budget I've seen a lot of recommendations for this one. Aside from the extra wide, is the extra £200-300 worth it?

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/gigabyte-m34wq-wide-quad-hd-34-ips-lcd-gaming-monitor-black-10235555.html

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700K (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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 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)
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
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,843.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/WvuKr9tFGj/

 

[m_baker55]

Me again, some minor changes pushing budget as far as I can go. Any final changes I should make or good to go?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700K (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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 iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB 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)
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
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,971.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/NDDTu9eFPE/

 

[sck451]

Sorry, I think we discussed monitors elsewhere: apologies for overlooking this and not offering any comments!

I'd honestly buy something quite different. Purely for gaming, the best DDR4 option is the 5800X3D. It is definitely a better performer even than the 13700K and no less upgradable (and it's probably cooler to boot).

This is what I'd buy:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE The only downside is that the front USB-C port won't be working: other case options are available but are more expensive and/or less convenient!
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Eight Core CPU (3.4GHz-4.5GHz/100MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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 iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB 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)
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
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,829.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8drMkBwyAN/

 

[m_baker55]

Thanks for the recommendation. I hadn't properly looked into the AMD CPUs always been team blue in the past. I'll take a closer look probably spend the next few days looking through comparison reviews!

 

[m_baker55]

Following the steer to AMD, I've been waiting to see how the 7800x3d will do like a lot of people.

Ultimately if I went for a build with that I'd be pushing past a £2k budget but would end up with a really strong setup that will last me ages.

See below build, CPU is place holder for the x3d at same price point. Please let me know if there are any tweaks or areas where maybe I've over done it to get closer to £2k. If the build is strong enough at the current price I could see myself just going for it though.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12 Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.4GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6800 XT - 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
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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 iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB 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)
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
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: £2,293.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

 

[m_baker55]

With the release of the 7800x3d finally here, looking for a quick check to see of there are any tweaks that need to be made.

As a refresh this has stretched the 2k budget but I think it's worth the extra. Pairing with a new 1440p 144hz display. Solely for gaming.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER 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 (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) AMD
Graphics Card
16GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6800 XT - 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
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMe 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 iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB 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)
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,358.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/qP5Es2e5rw/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Perfect spec there..nothing we would recommend changing

Fully agree, superb spec, perfectly balanced and strong platform.

 

[m_baker55]

Thanks for the feedback. Apparently the case isn't going to be in stock for a month! Shame, I've looked at some of the other options but I think I'm inclined to wait. Waited a while for x3d anyway and why compromise when spending this much.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for the feedback. Apparently the case isn't going to be in stock for a month! Shame, I've looked at some of the other options but I think I'm inclined to wait. Waited a while for x3d anyway and why compromise when spending this much.

You can order that case from elsewhere and send it in rather than waiting if you like, it sound like a pain, but it's actually very straightforward.

Just purchase on whatever site, add your PCS order number to the delivery address, it gets delivered to PCS and they'll do the build in it.

It gives you the full process when you proceed having selected "have my own case" in the configurator.

May be worth it as I understand the wait may be a little while.