PC Guidance

[KP56]

Hello All,

I have been doing research on the forums for a couple months now for my first gaming pc. I have learnt a bit but I am still indecisive and unsure on a few things and was wondering if someone could help with a PC for me.

My budget for the PC is around £1200, and for a monitor I have no set budget yet as I haven't done enough research on what price range I should expect for something that would work well with this PC, if someone could advise me of an expected price range too that would help a lot!

I currently have a LGWEBOS 32" 1080 TV as a monitor and I am looking to get a second monitor with this build. Is my current TV going to be an issue for a good build? I ideally don't want to have to buy two monitors but I would consider it if it would make a huge difference for not too much cost difference.

The goals for this PC are:

To run MMORPGS such as WoW, Path of Exile etc
To run Modded low end games such as Minecraft, Ark, etc
To multitask and use YouTube, Chrome, or Discord while gaming, I would only ever use one of these at a time alongside a game!

I would like to have 16GB Ram and any graphics card that would work well with my monitor if possible

I am not too clued up on all the technical stuff of PC Building so all I am after really is something that will run my games smoothly on higher settings with decent quality graphics

Any advice would be appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[Citrus_9]

For this budget better to stick to 1080p. A monitor you have isn't for gaming and won't give you a nice image output so there're two options: get a new good 1080p monitor for around 250 (Asus TUF 249Q or AOC 24G2U) or save 300-400 more and get a PC with a GPU for 1440p along with a 1440p monitor - it's pricier option, but until you save the extra money PC prices may drop (closer to the end of the year).

This is what I came up with for 1080p for today - a good, strong PC build with a path to upgrade in future.

Case
THERMALTAKE V200 2.0 TEMPERED GLASS RGB EDITION GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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 SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,283.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/yQAgBuJPm7/

 

[KP56]

For this budget better to stick to 1080p. A monitor you have isn't for gaming and won't give you a nice image output so there're two options: get a new good 1080p monitor for around 250 (Asus TUF 249Q or AOC 24G2U) or save 300-400 more and get a PC with a GPU for 1440p along with a 1440p monitor - it's pricier option, but until you save the extra money PC prices may drop (closer to the end of the year).

This is what I came up with for 1080p for today - a good, strong PC build with a path to upgrade in future.

Case
THERMALTAKE V200 2.0 TEMPERED GLASS RGB EDITION GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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 SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,283.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/yQAgBuJPm7/

Thank you for your response, this looks really good!

Should I put a cooler in? I wouldn't mind it bumping the price up a bit just to get that bit of extra safety

Also, when I go to proceed I am prompted with this:

We note that you have selected an M.2/PCI-E SSD drive and a mechanical hard drive under the primary hard disk drive option. Please confirm whether you would like your operating system (OS) to be installed on the SSD drive or on the mechanical hard drive

I assume I want the OS on the SSD?

 

[gohan2091]

Thank you for your response, this looks really good!

Should I put a cooler in? I wouldn't mind it bumping the price up a bit just to get that bit of extra safety

Also, when I go to proceed I am prompted with this:

We note that you have selected an M.2/PCI-E SSD drive and a mechanical hard drive under the primary hard disk drive option. Please confirm whether you would like your operating system (OS) to be installed on the SSD drive or on the mechanical hard drive

I assume I want the OS on the SSD?

Yes you want the OS installed on the M.2 SSD drive as the mechanical hard drive would be where you install your games and personal files. The SSD is going to have a much faster read/write speed.

You could install your games on the SSD too but if you're like me who has hundreds of GB of games, that 500GB SSD is going to be full rather quickly. As far as I am aware, there is not really any speed improvements from running a game from an SSD rather than a mechanical Hard drive. (someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[Muin]

Yes you want the OS installed on the M.2 SSD drive as the mechanical hard drive would be where you install your games and personal files. The SSD is going to have a much faster read/write speed.

You could install your games on the SSD too but if you're like me who has hundreds of GB of games, that 500GB SSD is going to be full rather quickly. As far as I am aware, there is not really any speed improvements from running a game from an SSD rather than a mechanical Hard drive. (someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

Load times of the games will be quicker if installed on the SSD. It is possible to move games between drives and keep the current ones you play installed on the SSD, can be a bit of a faff though. That's what I plan to do though once Bettsie arrives (yes I've named her already).

 

[gohan2091]

Thank you for your response, this looks really good!

Should I put a cooler in? I wouldn't mind it bumping the price up a bit just to get that bit of extra safety

Also, when I go to proceed I am prompted with this:

We note that you have selected an M.2/PCI-E SSD drive and a mechanical hard drive under the primary hard disk drive option. Please confirm whether you would like your operating system (OS) to be installed on the SSD drive or on the mechanical hard drive

I assume I want the OS on the SSD?

Yes you want the OS installed on the M.2 SSD drive as the mechanical hard drive would be where you install your games and personal files. The SSD is going to have a much faster read/write speed.

Load times of the games will be quicker if installed on the SSD. It is possible to move games between drives and keep the current ones you play installed on the SSD, can be a bit of a faff though. That's what I plan to do though once Bettsie arrives (yes I've named her already).

I haven't had a working PC for so long now but when I tested Guild Wars 2 on my SSD and HDD I didn't notice any significant difference. I'll be interested in testing this more once my PC is built and delivered.

 

[Muin]

Seeing the load times of games on my PS5, they definitely load quicker than from a HDD, by a hell of a lot. Not sure if it'd depend on the game but if the PC can read data from a drive faster, the game should load faster.

 

[SpyderTracks]

This is an example of game load times on HDD vs Sata SSD vs M2:

 

[JUNI0R]

Here's my suggestion for your budget. Agree with @Citrus_9 about staying to 1080p at this price point, in normal times you might be able to get 1440p from £1200 but due to the pandemic, prices are sky high so it'll have to be 1080p if you're looking to buy now. I've gone for a more expensive case but it should have much better cooling with the mesh front, then I've gone for a slower but larger 1TB Corsair SSD which will give you a lot more space for your games on SSD. Ideally you'd want to go for a drive for Windows then a drive for your games but at this price point you'd struggle to get that. Otherwise, I believe the two builds are the same.

An AIO isn't totally neseccary for the temps of a 5600X and is more of a luxury if you can fit it in the budget. I seem to remember @sck451 (I believe) saying they top out in the high 70's during long gaming sessions which is perfectly acceptable for a CPU. If you did want to spend the extra I'd recommend the Corsair 240 AIO for £47, that'll have a nice affect on the temps.

This is a bit of an echo from what @Citrus_9 has said but for a 1080p 144hz gaming experience you'll want to spend about £200 on a MSI G241 or AOC 24G2U. The TV you have currently will be fine, but due to it's size 1080p on a 32 inch screen, it will provide quite a blurry image (we normally don't recommend 1080p above 27 inches). Then a few years down the line when you're ready for an upgrade, you can look into the GPU market and look for a 1440p 144hz capable card along with a monitor to suit which will be a great upgrade.

RE: Games on different drives- for Games, you'll want them on an SSD for much improved loading times. Although it seems what sort of SSD they're on doesn't really matter too much. This is a great video worth checking out about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COofLeqk_tM&t

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,268.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Q7sbUCzU7p/

 

[gohan2091]

This is an example of game load times on HDD vs Sata SSD vs M2:

Wow, that opened my eyes. Very interesting. I'm going to have to invest into some sata SSDs for gaming since the difference is huge. PCI-E SSD of course for the main OS.

 

[KP56]

Hi All,

So I have been posting and browsing the forums for a while now, editing this setup and putting off spending money on myself! This is the final 'confirmation' post just to check I've got everything all sorted and pull the trigger on it.

Build:

1) Wireless network card - when I go to put in the £19 one it says the motherboard has one built in so I won't need it... is this true? I will need wireless internet!
2) I am going to get the below build with a AOC 24G2U monitor, I plan to play in a room with low lighting (basically either pitch black or with a lamp on) will this monitor work in these conditions and is the build going to work well with this monitor?

Maintenance:

I am VERY inexperienced with IT and the only reason I want to get an expensive PC is because I want to enjoy playing games well, but my IT skills do concern me. I think I have an idea of the things I will need to maintain with this PC, is there anything I'm missing?

-Update windows and drivers, with a new copy each time so that it can be reverted if needed? Making backups of any saves I have etc
-Cleaning the dust and repasting, will this be a fairly simple process?
-Check temperature sometimes, although I believe I have gone slightly over on cooling just to play things safe

If anyone can give any guidance on any of this before I press the button, please do!


Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
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 14 to 16 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/0mV494MC8U/

 

[Citrus_9]

Hi All,

So I have been posting and browsing the forums for a while now, editing this setup and putting off spending money on myself! This is the final 'confirmation' post just to check I've got everything all sorted and pull the trigger on it.

Build:

1) Wireless network card - when I go to put in the £19 one it says the motherboard has one built in so I won't need it... is this true? I will need wireless internet!
2) I am going to get the below build with a AOC 24G2U monitor, I plan to play in a room with low lighting (basically either pitch black or with a lamp on) will this monitor work in these conditions and is the build going to work well with this monitor?

Maintenance:

I am VERY inexperienced with IT and the only reason I want to get an expensive PC is because I want to enjoy playing games well, but my IT skills do concern me. I think I have an idea of the things I will need to maintain with this PC, is there anything I'm missing?

-Update windows and drivers, with a new copy each time so that it can be reverted if needed? Making backups of any saves I have etc
-Cleaning the dust and repasting, will this be a fairly simple process?
-Check temperature sometimes, although I believe I have gone slightly over on cooling just to play things safe

If anyone can give any guidance on any of this before I press the button, please do!


Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
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 14 to 16 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/0mV494MC8U/

The build is great 👍 Just drop Bullguard antivirus as it makes more troubles which may take hours to fix rather than give any good. Use another alternative antivirus, there are so many better ones, or use a Windows Defender which cones for free with Windows 10.

Chrome? No. It used to be a great browser, but that time is long gone. Greedy Google is using it now for its own profit and it's also using a lot of RAM (so, slowing down your PC). I've just recently started using Microsoft Edge (comes with Windows 10 already) and it's a wonderful browser, Chromium based, so very similar performance and architecture to Chrome.

Regarding temperatures - you can check sometimes if you want - won't be any harm, but I wouldn't overcomplicate this.

Repasting don't need for 5 years easily as long it's not a laptop and CPU is not overclocked - so in your case don't need repasting if you don't change a CPU or cooler. This is assuming you're living not in a tropical or dry hot country and a PC won't be touching a heater.

Your CPU cooler is an air cooler, not liquid based - no maintenance required - hassle free whatsoever as long as it's working (its fan spinning) and CPU temperatures aren't higher than 90-95 Celsius. Closer to 85 constantly is suspicious, but not concerning yet, 90 - you can start wondering, 95 - should raise the questions, 100 - can use instead of a coffee machine and ask for everybody's help to identify the problem in exchange of a home made CPU boiled coffee 😁 ☕

Your motherboard is indeed with a built-in highest standard wifi so don't need an additional wifi card.

Just make sure to attach... wifi antennae from the welcome box screwing into the back of PC case when it arrives. Nearly every week someone is asking for help regarding low internet speeds on a new PC in this forum troubleshooting technical problems thread. And most of the times it's not attached antennae is the problem!

If you have any questions what to start with when a PC arrives, I've dropped a link to another thread where are some good info. Any questions - just ask - there're a lot of people in this forum happy to help.

Your monitor is well balanced with a GPU and CPU, as well as PSU - good job.

To-Do list when PC arrives

With my build currently in the testing stage, it's time to look ahead at its arrival. I'm looking for advice and opinions on what I need to do after I turn it on for the first time. From what I've read on the forum since being here, running Windows update as many times as is needed seems to...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[JUNI0R]

Hi All,

So I have been posting and browsing the forums for a while now, editing this setup and putting off spending money on myself! This is the final 'confirmation' post just to check I've got everything all sorted and pull the trigger on it.

Build:

1) Wireless network card - when I go to put in the £19 one it says the motherboard has one built in so I won't need it... is this true? I will need wireless internet!
2) I am going to get the below build with a AOC 24G2U monitor, I plan to play in a room with low lighting (basically either pitch black or with a lamp on) will this monitor work in these conditions and is the build going to work well with this monitor?

Maintenance:

I am VERY inexperienced with IT and the only reason I want to get an expensive PC is because I want to enjoy playing games well, but my IT skills do concern me. I think I have an idea of the things I will need to maintain with this PC, is there anything I'm missing?

-Update windows and drivers, with a new copy each time so that it can be reverted if needed? Making backups of any saves I have etc
-Cleaning the dust and repasting, will this be a fairly simple process?
-Check temperature sometimes, although I believe I have gone slightly over on cooling just to play things safe

If anyone can give any guidance on any of this before I press the button, please do!


Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
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 14 to 16 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/0mV494MC8U/

This looks like a great build! And it looks like @Citrus_9 has covered pretty much everything! For your monitor, it's a great pairing and will work well with the build. AOC Monitors aren't especially bright, but, in a dark room you shouldn't have any issues

 

[KP56]

Hi All,

I went to buy the build and it advised me that my motherboard was no longer for sale! It looks like I can get an identical one just without the wifi though, should I do this and get the £19 wireless network card? Or should I look for a new motherboard entirely?

Cheers!

 

[JUNI0R]

Hi All,

I went to buy the build and it advised me that my motherboard was no longer for sale! It looks like I can get an identical one just without the wifi though, should I do this and get the £19 wireless network card? Or should I look for a new motherboard entirely?

Cheers!

Yup! That WiFi motherboard actually uses the same tech as the AX200 add in WiFi card, so I’d go for the TUF B550 with the AX200 WiFi card

 

[KP56]

I pulled the trigger, thank you so much for all the help Junior, Citrus, Gohan, Spyder and Muin

Can't wait to get my hands on it!!!!!