PC Build Advice

Q

quok

Member
Looking to purchase a PC once the new GPUs are come available, having only had a Macbook for many years.

Mainly pushed by Flight Sim 2020, but I'd also like to use it for general gaming. I would also be using it for software development.

I have a pair of Dell 1440p u2713hm which are excellent monitors although they are pretty old at this stage, so I don't think they support modern ultra high refresh rates. Personally I think they're fine for my needs, but I would like the computer to be future proof if I did need to replace them in the next few years.

My budget is about £2500 - £3000. I'd like the machine to be as quiet as possible too. I'm more concerned with titles like Flight Sim having excellent image quality and good load times without any stutters, than I am in playing ultra competitive online games at 240fps or whatever is in fashion these days :) - the other types of games I'd be playing would err more towards RTS and Strategy rather than first person shooters and the like. I'm probably going to get something that's a bit overkill for those uses, but I'd like to know I can depend on it for a long time.
 
AgentCooper

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
Here’s a nice luxurious build for you that would cover you nicely on all bases. I haven’t actually put a GPU in there because you’ll want to be looking at one of the as yet unreleased 3000 series cards, the 3070 would more than cover you...



Case
CORSAIR CRYSTAL SERIES 680X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/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 RGB PLATINUM 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 INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 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)
Home Installation
NONE
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £2,012.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/QZUhVx7Gvq/
 
Q

quok

Member
Thanks for the advice. I will probably go for a 3080 over a 3070, for future proofing. A high spec monitor is something I can definitely consider buying later, but I'd prefer not to be changing out the graphics card myself any time soon.
 
AgentCooper

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
The 3080 will push 4K at around 144Hz or the superwide 1440p at similar. So you’re looking at monitor that will set you back at least a grand. If you’re not planning on upgrading the monitor for at least a year then it’s a bit of a waste of money. You’ll be throttling the system and by that time there’ll be newer and better tech in both monitors and graphics cards. There really is no such thing as future proofing.

Besides, changing a GPU is the easiest upgrade you can do, I can do it and I’m a ham-fisted moron 😁

At the end of the day... it’s your money and you can do what you like. I’m just here to offer advice and play the occasional devil’s advocate 👍
 
Q

quok

Member
AgentCooper said:
The 3080 will push 4K at around 144Hz or the superwide 1440p at similar. So you’re looking at monitor that will set you back at least a grand. If you’re not planning on upgrading the monitor for at least a year then it’s a bit of a waste of money. You’ll be throttling the system and by that time there’ll be newer and better tech in both monitors and graphics cards. There really is no such thing as future proofing.

Besides, changing a GPU is the easiest upgrade you can do, I can do it and I’m a ham-fisted moron 😁

At the end of the day... it’s your money and you can do what you like. I’m just here to offer advice and play the occasional devil’s advocate 👍
Click to expand...


You might be right, but there's only a couple of hundred difference, and the 3080 is due to be available a month sooner than the 3070, which makes a difference when I've got no PC at all right now.
 
AgentCooper

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
quok said:
You might be right, but there's only a couple of hundred difference, and the 3080 is due to be available a month sooner than the 3070, which makes a difference when I've got no PC at all right now.
Click to expand...

Just so you know, if you’re set on going for that card, it’s been highly anticipated and you may well still waiting over a month for one due to demand and existing pre-orders.
 
Q

quok

Member
Yeah I guess we'll see what happens when preorders officially open tomorrow :) thanks for the advice, it's very helpful
 
Q

quok

Member
AgentCooper said:
No worries, do you have any questions regarding the system I specced for you?
Click to expand...

Is there a reason for including both the 2TB and 500GB SSDs? Should I be using one for OS and one for applications?

I noticed that switching from 3200MHz to 3600Mhz RAM (4x8 rather than 2x16) would actually be cheaper. Would that not be better?
 
AgentCooper

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
Yep, PCS normally put the OS on the fastest drive but I’d contact them on live chat and ask them to put it on the smaller Samsung. It’s what I’ve got in mine and the system still loads up within six seconds of powering on. That way you can use the Firecuda for your games and not have to download them all over again should you need to do a clean install of Windows at any point.

(If you’ve got the budget, you could add in the 1TB Firecuda instead of the Samsung for the OS drive and then you’ve got the speediest combo possible)

There’s not a great deal of performance difference between the 3200Hz/3600Hz and you ideally want to keep your RAM down to as few pairs as possible. You could contact PCS and ask if they’ll put 2x16GB 3600Hz in there, they have done that for previous customers 👍
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top