New Gaming PC

[Gary S]

So I got this for sim racing mainly. I play Assetto Corsa Competizione and have a 3880*1440p 144hz display. I have a second 1080p 60hz screenthat I use for timing data etc, which I could run from my CPU display ports maybe, or the GTX 1080 from my old system?
I want to try and get as close as I can to max settings while getting at least a solid 120 fps, and I have some more questions on moving the SDD and HDD onto my new machine when it gets here.
I was also conscious of having sufficient cooling in the case and trying to future proof myself to a degree.
I've put way more money than I wanted to into the build below, but I'd rather deal with the pain now, than kick myself for months and years later with a PC that was built with too many compromises, when my requirements were/are specifically gaming.

Also, the programs and stuff on my bricked computer, how do I use those/transfer them to the new machine? I have never moved stuff in this manner before - if it is even possible or advised. I don't think I have anything that cannot be downloaded again anyway.

Anyway, is the build below good for my intended use?
Although I work in software, I am a bit out of the loop when it comes to hardware.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
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 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

 

[JUNI0R]

So I got this for sim racing mainly. I play Assetto Corsa Competizione and have a 3880*1440p 144hz display. I have a second 1080p 60hz screenthat I use for timing data etc, which I could run from my CPU display ports maybe, or the GTX 1080 from my old system?
I want to try and get as close as I can to max settings while getting at least a solid 120 fps, and I have some more questions on moving the SDD and HDD onto my new machine when it gets here.
I was also conscious of having sufficient cooling in the case and trying to future proof myself to a degree.
I've put way more money than I wanted to into the build below, but I'd rather deal with the pain now, than kick myself for months and years later with a PC that was built with too many compromises, when my requirements were/are specifically gaming.

Also, the programs and stuff on my bricked computer, how do I use those/transfer them to the new machine? I have never moved stuff in this manner before - if it is even possible or advised. I don't think I have anything that cannot be downloaded again anyway.

Anyway, is the build below good for my intended use?
Although I work in software, I am a bit out of the loop when it comes to hardware.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
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 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

What a beast! Although I would personally make some tweaks. The 3090 is really a workstation card and not a card I'd recommend for gaming, especially at £800 more than the 3080. For 3440x1440 something like the 3070TI would be more than capable for your uses. The Corsair AIO's come with high quality thermal paste pre-applied so the MX-4 wouldn't be a necessary move. I'd also put some of that money saved into a different storage setup.

If you provide us with your budget and the configuration link, we'll be happy to make a few adjustments!

 

[Bigfoot]

Also, do you really need Windows professional? You probably don’t need the extra fans with the case fans for input and the AIO fans for extract.

 

[Gary S]

Hi, my new pc is specced with the corsair hl150 capellix. What I want to ask is, are the lga 1700 cooler plates now coming fitted on such machines. Not the adapter only plates, as I believe the adler Lake chip is larger, requiring a new cooler plate, not just an adapter kit (although i know these are available too).

So I am wondering if pc specialist are shipping fully updated cooler plates on 12th gen cpu setups?

Thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi, my new pc is specced with the corsair hl150 capellix. What I want to ask is, are the lga 1700 cooler plates now coming fitted on such machines. Not the adapter only plates, as I believe the adler Lake chip is larger, requiring a new cooler plate, not just an adapter kit (although i know these are available too).

So I am wondering if pc specialist are shipping fully updated cooler plates on 12th gen cpu setups?

Thanks.

It's only the Corsair Elite LCD plates that are fully compatible, otherwise it's just a mod kit.

 

[Gary S]

It's only the Corsair Elite LCD plates that are fully compatible, otherwise it's just a mod kit.

Thanks for that info. So can I call pc specialist and get them to upgrade to the proper plate. I don't like the idea of a new machine going together with a "make it fit mod kit". If rather have the exact and correct fitting.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for that info. So can I call pc specialist and get them to upgrade to the proper plate. I don't like the idea of a new machine going together with a "make it fit mod kit". If rather have the exact and correct fitting.

They don't currently stock the Corsair Elites. I'm not even sure UK stocks are live yet.

 

[Gary S]

They don't currently stock the Corsair Elites. I'm not even sure UK stocks are live yet.

OK cool. Am I right in thinking that the face plate won't fit over the entire body of the cpu. I know it will be close enough, but not perfect (kind of).
Will this impact cooling. I'm guessing yes.?

 

[SpyderTracks]

OK cool. Am I right in thinking that the face plate won't fit over the entire body of the cpu. I know it will be close enough, but not perfect (kind of).
Will this impact cooling. I'm guessing yes.?

The general feeling is that it's best to avoid mod kits as they've been found not to have great contact with the CPU die.

 

[Gary S]

The general feeling is that it's best to avoid mod kits as they've been found not to have great contact with the CPU die.

Thanks for this info. I did read somewhere that the alder lake chip was 7.5mm longer or something. That got me thinking about the need for new coolers instead of botch make it work kits. Given the cost of the overall build is over 4.5k...i may wait for the correct cooler.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for this info. I did read somewhere that the alder lake chip was 7.5mm longer or something. That got me thinking about the need for new coolers instead of botch make it work kits. Given the cost of the overall build is over 4.5k...i may wait for the correct cooler.

They shouldn't be long, basically as soon as general UK stock availability hits, then PCS should have stocks as they're a Corsair partner.

Also, the new Elites come with a new 170i model which is 3 x 140mm 420mm radiator which is what I'd personally want on the 12900k, it's expensive but quite impressive cooler.

 

[Gary S]

They shouldn't be long, basically as soon as general UK stock availability hits, then PCS should have stocks as they're a Corsair partner.

Also, the new Elites come with a new 170i model which is 3 x 140mm 420mm radiator which is what I'd personally want on the 12900k, it's expensive but quite impressive cooler.

Is that on their corsair elite 150 icue cooling setup. Sorry for the silly questions. This is the first pc that I haven't bought off the shelf, and with speccing it myself, I'm learning a tonne, and also worrying over stuff like this.
I couldn't see the 170i option for mine, it doesn't show as an option on the amend order selection.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Is that on their corsair elite 150 icue cooling setup. Sorry for the silly questions. This is the first pc that I haven't bought off the shelf, and with speccing it myself, I'm learning a tonne, and also worrying over stuff like this.
I couldn't see the 170i option for mine, it doesn't show as an option on the amend order selection.

No, it's the new Elite LCD H170i, PCS don't stock it yet, they don't have any of the new Elites as yet.

iCUE ELITE LCD Display Liquid CPU Cooler

The CORSAIR iCUE H170i ELITE LCD Display Liquid CPU Cooler delivers powerful, customized cooling for the most ambitious PC builds, with a personalized LCD screen and three cutting-edge CORSAIR ML140 RGB ELITE PWM fans.

www.corsair.com

 

[Gary S]

So I have been making changes all along. Orginally went with a load of corsair cappelix parts, cooler, rgb fans, corsair 5000x case and then jumped between a 3090 (Zotac I assume) and a strix 3080ti.
Then I decided to ditch the corsair stuff, and "downgrade" the motherboard from the Asus Rog Maximus Hero to the Rog Strix Mobo, and with the freed up budget, lob a Asus Strix 3090 in there. I still went for a 360mm AIO, I should still have some nice RGB going on, and in theory, the new TD500 mesh case, should flow more air compared to the 5000x corsair (giving consideration to the cpu/gpu combo).

Anyway, "new" and I (want to believe) think, final spec is below. If I should change anything, I have maybe 72 hours - as I think it should be getting closer to build day....(hopefully).

Use case is gaming on sim racing (max settings and trying to drive a 3440x1440p screen, with scope to go to a 5120*1440p in the future. Target frame rates are 120+. If I get 144hz (monitor limit) I would be over the moon.
I'd also like to get back into maybe, some flight sim, and venture into the world of FPS games too.

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
Asus Rog Strix 24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 360 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x PCS ARGB LED Fan
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
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
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 16 working days
Promotional Item
Get Guardians of the Galaxy with select GeForce RTX™ 30 Series GPUs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[Gary S]

Hi All

I am just wondering in practical terms, what the difference is between the following 2 boards:

ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI​

ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI​

I note there is a decent price jump on them, but I am of the opinion that they are both OK for gaming.
There will be a Asus 3090 card and 12900k CPU, 32G DDR5 ram in the build. So, are the boards above both going to perform equally, or is there one thing that is standing out as a big selling point on the Hero board, that I am missing?