Please Advise on my new specs

[Blazinby]

Hi All,

long time no post,

I bought my last PC from PC Specialist in 2014, apart from upgrading my GPU from GTX 780 6GB to RTX 2060 Super 8GB no changes in over 9 years!

It has worked like a dream, but, just too old now,

old spec from 27-05-2014 just for the lols

Case COOLERMASTER CM690 III ADVANCED CASE Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache Motherboard ASUS® Z97M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE Change to: ASUS® Z97-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 8GB) Graphics Card 3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready Change to: 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready 2nd Graphics Card NONE 3rd Graphics Card NONE 1st Storage Drive 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW) 2nd Storage Drive 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

I would really appreciate any advice on my choices, PC will be used for Gaming, AutoCAD/ Revit, Office Admin and Presentations. I'm already £1 over my budget but....

Thanks in advance

Blazinby

Tecware QUAD RGB Cube Case - Black
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700 (Up to 5.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI (Mini-ITX, LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB 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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,501.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-sff-gaming/0bAF3SaGEU/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hiya, firstly well done on the old pc lasting that long, sign of a well designed system, really pleased.

Could you include the make and model of the gaming monitor you’re using?

And also the configurable link at the bottom of the quote?

 

[Blazinby]

Hi SpyderTracks ,

thanks for the quick reply, I have edited to include configurable link and my current monitor is

IIyama PL2730Q 1440 75Hz.

Cheers

 

[Steveyg]

The Coolermaster CM690 was such a dope case, I miss mine all the time

 

[Blazinby]

The Coolermaster CM690 was such a dope case, I miss mine all the time

My Wife hated from the moment it arrived, I still love it.

She did suggest if my new one was just a little bigger I could move into it,

 

[Steveyg]

My Wife hated from the moment it arrived, I still love it.

She did suggest if my new one was just a little bigger I could move into it,

It's was so incredibly unnecessarily large but it was great for airflow. Ran an overlocked to hell and back 2500K at 4.6Ghz for so many years without so much as hearing a peep from the thing

It still lives with my mate who decided he would take it when I got my new machine, still tempted to go take it back just to use the case again it was a hideous monstrosity of thing and that's why I love it so much

 

[Blazinby]

Seriously,

I'd love some advice, once in a decade purchase.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. if you can help please do.

I'm about to pull the trigger.

Thank you in advance

 

[SpyderTracks]

Seriously,

I'd love some advice, once in a decade purchase.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. if you can help please do.

I'm about to pull the trigger.

Thank you in advance

Apologies we missed this, is there a particular need for small form factor? Those are quite powerful components to be in such a small chassis, and generally it's never suggested as compromises airflow and upgradeability.

 

[Blazinby]

Hi SpyderTracks,

My better half and I really want something smaller than we already have so I started with the case and used my available budget.

If you could suggest a case that is smaller than the Coolermaster I have I would def look at it.

Sorry for bumping my thread, I hope it didn't come off as rude, seemed ok when I posted after a few beers last night, less so this morning.🙇‍♂️

Thanks for your time.

Blazinby.

 

[Steveyg]

Sorry mate got glaze over my eyes when you mentioned the CM690

I wouldn't go small form factor it's basically a laptop except it has none of the features of a laptop like the portability. They have all the downsides of both laptops and desktops with none of the upsides

So I'll suggest a "smaller" case that's still full ATX so you can still get the benefits of a desktop there

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) - Good processor for CAD/REVIT work, solid performer in this budget
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR - I'd honestly want to recommend something higher but Nvidia want stupid money for their cards at the minute which pushes the budget really hard. The VRAM on this is useful in the likes of REVIT and it has a decent CUDA count so it'll work fine. I have the laptop version in my laptop which works decently well but it's a far cry for the RTX 4000 Quadro in my desktop for the REVIT work
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/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
PCS FrostFlow 200 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,512.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Kuph9hbpPY/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Sorry for bumping my thread, I hope it didn't come off as rude, seemed ok when I posted after a few beers last night, less so this morning.🙇‍♂️

No worries at all, bumping is totally condoned here, we do miss things sometimes. @Steveyg just beat me to it, was just going to say the cooler master dimensions are 507 x 230 x 502 mm.

The corsair 4000d which is a very decent case is 466mm x 230mm x 453mm so it is quite a bit smaller, good 5cm on the depth and height but exactly the same width.

 

[Blazinby]

Hi there,

Thank you both for your help, I have a couple of questions/thoughts:

I'm not the worlds biggest fan of AMD, I had an AMD/ATI system before and didn't love it (I may suffer from Intel bias)

i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700F reasonable?

is it ok to mix my M.2 drives? e.g.

512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (primary) 7000R, 4700W
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (secondary) 3500R, 3200W

Also says I only need 550w power supply, is that a bad idea?

I teach AutoCad and only really use Revit occasionally.

Thank you!

 

[Steveyg]

Hi there,

Thank you both for your help, I have a couple of questions/thoughts:

I'm not the worlds biggest fan of AMD, I had an AMD/ATI system before and didn't love it (I may suffer from Intel bias)

i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700F reasonable?

is it ok to mix my M.2 drives? e.g.

512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (primary) 7000R, 4700W
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (secondary) 3500R, 3200W

Also says I only need 550w power supply, is that a bad idea?

I teach AutoCad and only really use Revit occasionally.

Thank you!

Oh well the 3060 is a great shout for CAD, especially on the 2D side of things. It'll do REVIT fine but on CAD it'll be grand. CAD is still fairly poorly optimised so it's all about single clock speed over core count

On the Intel & AMD front, Intel is basically where AMD where 10 years ago. Making sub par shoddy and quite frankly bad products whereas AMD are the polar opposite. The two companies have effectively switched position in the market in the past 5 or so years

It's very very difficult to recommend an Intel processor these days

Both the 7700 and the 13700 boost their core speeds 5.4Ghz but the 7700 is much much more efficient so in turns it's ALOT easier to cool meaning it'll keep those 5.4Ghz speeds for much longer periods of time, as the 13700 will overheat and throttle itself fairly quickly. It just draws too much power which in turn makes it run much hottter to achieve the same performance, the 7700 is just the better choice of the two for your uses

 

[Blazinby]

Ok,

Only a fool would ask for expert advice and ignore it, AMD it is

is the 7800 better for gaming?

says I only need 550w power (is the 750 better just because of noise?)

Potential new specs


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,530.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/wMHEKr8qhx/

 

[Martinr36]

says I only need 550w power (is the 750 better just because of noise?)

Gives you some extra headroom for future upgrades

 

[SpyderTracks]

Ok,

Only a fool would ask for expert advice and ignore it, AMD it is

is the 7800 better for gaming?

says I only need 550w power (is the 750 better just because of noise?)

Potential new specs


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,530.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/wMHEKr8qhx/

To get that where it needs to be, you’d need a better cooler and PSU so it would cost more.

The system has to balance all the way through, it’s not a case that any component will fit another, as you increase tiers you essentially have to redesign the components around it to fit

But the 7800x3d is the best chip on the market at the moment

 

[Blazinby]

Upgraded cooler and PSU, good enough?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,550.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/vwHu6Bad9f/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Upgraded cooler and PSU, good enough?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS 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 (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,550.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/vwHu6Bad9f/

You really want the 850w PSU as a minimum these days. Modern GPU's can pull up to double their TDP in what's called Transient Spikes, plus you want headroom for upgrades. 750W is just too limiting nowadays.

For the cooler, if you're going for an AIO, you really need the h100i. If going for an air cooler, you need the Frostflow 200. But an AIO will give better performance.

 

[Blazinby]

You really want the 850w PSU as a minimum these days. Modern GPU's can pull up to double their TDP in what's called Transient Spikes, plus you want headroom for upgrades. 750W is just too limiting nowadays.

For the cooler, if you're going for an AIO, you really need the h100i. If going for an air cooler, you need the Frostflow 200. But an AIO will give better performance.

thank you so much for your time and patience, I guess I was just being greedy on my budget. I will go for the 7700

 

[SpyderTracks]

thank you so much for your time and patience, I guess I was just being greedy on my budget. I will go for the 7700

The 7700 is still a fantastic cpu for gaming.