PC & monitor for 1440p gaming - £3000 budget

[greengrog]

Hello,
I'd like to configure a PC for gaming on a 1440p 165hz monitor (shown below)
My budget is around £3000, this must include monitor, keyboard and mouse.
I may upgrade to a more powerful GPU in future, which is why I have added an 850W PSU

I'd be interested on getting thoughts on the system below:

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY 2 LIGHT TEMPERED GLASS
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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 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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
MSI 27" Optix MAG272CQR - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Cynosa V2 Gaming Keyboard
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Basilisk X Hyperspeed Wireless Mouse
Mouse Pad
Razer Goliathus Chroma Gaming Mouse Mat - Medium

Price: £3,024.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[MrWilson]

Hi there,

A very solid start here, got a few questions for you to help us optimise your budget.

Any uses besides gaming? e.g Streaming, Editing, Rendering

Are you getting this PC on finance? If not I would recommend getting a monitor elsewhere as you will be able to get a better monitor for a better price elsewhere.

Please could you add the configuration link so it's easier for us to make edits.

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

When creating a forum post looking to discuss a PC spec there's a really simple way to post the spec in question here. IF YOU HAVEN'T ORDERED ONE YET AND ARE LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON A BUILD follow this step. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY ORDERED AND ARE ASKED FOR SPECS follow the next post. Click the...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[B4zookaw]

The artic compound is probably not required as the H150i will come pre-pasted. It might be better to have two SSD drives, one fast 500gb for OS and the 2tb for games, storage, etc.

And speaking of OS, I’d go for Windows 10 and then upgrade to 11 once it’s more stable.

 

[greengrog]

Hello,

Thanks for your replies.

Here is the link:
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/nCT!Xjaj4s/

To be honest, it's for a friend, he's only gaming, nothing else.

It will be on finance, I will mention the monitor but I think he wants it all to come at the same time.

That's a good point about the Paste and a second SSD. So he can stick with the 2TB samsung 970 NVME and then add a 500gb 2.5" SSD?

I will also mention Windows 10.

Is everything else Good?

Thanks very much

 

[Bigfoot]

Hello,

Thanks for your replies.

Here is the link:
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/nCT!Xjaj4s/

To be honest, it's for a friend, he's only gaming, nothing else.

It will be on finance, I will mention the monitor but I think he wants it all to come at the same time.

That's a good point about the Paste and a second SSD. So he can stick with the 2TB samsung 970 NVME and then add a 500gb 2.5" SSD?

I will also mention Windows 10.

Is everything else Good?

Thanks very much

You want the 500MB to be as fast as possible, so a Gen 4 NVME (Samsung 980 Pro or Firecuda 530). This drive is solely for Windows and applications. Games would go on the larger NVME drive, which can be a bit slower without impacting performance. The Gen 4 drive would be about 12x the speed of a 2.5” SATA SSD.

 

[sck451]

There are many better displays than that one. Most of them are quite poor value right now, except what's arguably the best 1440p monitor in the 144-180Hz range, the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD, which Amazon are selling for £400 down from £500. It's a real pity to spend all that money on a PC and end up with a somewhat substandard monitor.

 

[greengrog]

Thanks for the replies, I'll tell my friend