Sooo Frustrating

[RichardStevens672]

Hi everybody,
as a noob I'd appreciate some advice/input from you more experienced guys.
This is my first shot with PCS and it all looked fairly straightforward initially, then it began to unravel.....
I have to say from the get-go, I'm not a gamer and the only reason I'm doing this is because my old PC is coming to the end of its days and is not compatible with Windows 11 so I've been forced into this, (Thanks Microsoft)
Looking at the spec below the first thing you'll see the GPU is an entry level job. As I said, I'm not a gamer but I run 2 monitors so I wanted a cheap GPU that would have at least 2 HDMI (or DP) ports and the one chosen seems to fit the bill. No point in throwing £££ at a huge GPU, its just a waste for me, I'd rather spend more on the main system drive, the MoBo and processor.
I use the PC for mainly music, general internet and watching a bit of catchup TV but I had budgetted for a fairly upscale machine that will run smooth and fast for a few years to come.
So heres where I am at the moment:
Case
CORSAIR 4000D RGB AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE - WHITE
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700 Eight Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (AM4, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB ASUS GEFORCE GT 730 - 4 DISPLAY - 4 x HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 ARGB ICE Series High Performance CPU Cooler - WHITE
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2 x 50cm ARGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
2 x PCS ARGB LED Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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

So, it all started to go wrong when I looked at the case and specifically the cooling.

I read somewhere that the Ryzen processors run a tad warm and I know the NVMe drives are certainly pretty toasty (alarmingly so sometimes) so I was concerned about cooling hence I thought I need good airflow as a priority and "yes, let's go with a white case for a change and we can add some RGB"
Initially I looked at the Corsair ICUE system but the case only came with 3 ICUE fans at the front and whilst I would really just need another one at the back and a further one at the rear/top for exhaust I saw they were only available in packs of 3!
Thinking on, it dawned on me that the Asus TUF B550 Plus has its own Aurus RGB system so it seemed a waste to not use it. So bearing in mind that airflow priority I opted for the Corsair 4000D RGB Airflow case. That looks like it comes with 3 RGB fans at the front so just add a couple more 120/140 RGB fans for exhaust, and saves me a few quid on the price of the case.
But PC Specialist only does BLACK fans!!!
Am I missing something? Why does it have to be so tricky?
It really seems if I want all white fans I am forced to ignore the on board RGB of the mobo and pay extra for the ICUE and discard one of the fans. Or failing that, revert to a boring black case
Its really frustrating
Just as an aside. I will be reusing my own existing drives for storage (1x2.5" SSD plus 2x3.5" HDD) so bearing in mind I've opted for a modular PS when I finally place the order will I be able to request the builders to run 4 SATA power cables to the back ready for those drives? I'm sure they will do a great job with the cabling and I don't want to have to unpick it all to get to the PS to add more power feed cables.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated

 

[TonyCarter]

If you're not gaming, then you don't even really need a GPU at all, just use the integrated one in the CPU (of the 7xxx/9xxx CPUs) and compatible motherboard, which will give you 1 HDMI and 1 DP port.

You don't need lots of cooling for general usage, as you won't be hammering the CPU at all.

The 'white' components tend to be shown on the 'white' configurator, as they're usually a premium price...

PCSPECIALIST - White Gaming PCs - Custom Build your Gaming PC

Make a bold statement with a White Gaming PC custom built to your requirements. Configure your White Gaming PC in a few simple steps!

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

But if you can let us know your budget, I'm sure we can build you a more modern, longer lasting build for the same price.

BTW, how big is your 2.5" SATA SSD, if it's less than 1TB, we might as well add a newer, faster secondary m.2 onto the build (probably 8-10x faster).

 

[RichardStevens672]

Hello Martin,
first of all, thanks for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate your advice.
Your response got me thinking and I've re-jigged the spec a bit.
You asked for budget and whilst it is a fairly loosey goosey figure I was thinking about £1000.
I note your comments regarding storage but the way I've arranged things is that most of my data is not on the system drive, its on a Crucial 2.5" SATA SSD and I also have a couple of Western Digital Green 3.5" drives for system images and backup, so I'd like to keep those and have the Samsung 990 Pro NVMe as a new (obviously much faster) system drive. The existing system drive is also a Samsung 2.5" SSD and that'll be relegated to spare in a caddy.
I understand your point regarding my typical usage not flogging the CPU so heat not being an issue but there is also the NVMe drive which runs pretty warm so I'm still a bit windy about cooling (no pun intended). Plus the (cheapo) GPU only has a heatsink, (no integral fans) so a bit of extra breeze passing over that can only help.
With that in mind I had a lightbulb moment in as much as the fact that I was selecting Corsair case was causing complications with the ICUE system so I had a rethink and returned to good old boring black for the case. I chose a Lian Li 205 Mesh C which comes with RGB fans front and rear and I will just add another one for the top/rear which will cover all eventualities.
Strangely the PCS algorhythm checked the spec and came up with the chosen processor not supporting onboard graphics which I dont really understand so I've added a cheapo GPU just to be sure. Previous shots at this didn't flag the onboard graphics as an issue so I might take that up with PCS for clarification.
The only thing I'm not sure about is the RGB management. The Lian Li case comes with its own controller it seems, so will the MoBo Aura controller be redundant again? Will the Lian Li controller also manage the additional PCS RGB case fan and the CPU Cooler fan?
It all comes in under budget even with the GPU so I'd appreciate your comments and/or refinements
Thanks again for your time. £1000 is not a huge pricetag in the overall scheme of things but I still want to get it right and the experience of good folk lke you is invaluable when you've been out of the loop for a long time like me.
Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700 Eight Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (AM4, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB ASUS GEFORCE GT 730 - 4 DISPLAY - 4 x HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 ARGB V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2 x 50cm ARGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
1 x PCS ARGB LED Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

 

[TonyCarter]

In the 5xxx series CPUs, only specific ones have the iGPU (basic integrated graphics), normally noted by an 'G' appended to the CPU name.

However, in the newer 7xxx/9xxxx CPUs, they all (so far) have a basic iGPU (not a gaming one, just for putting the picture on the monitor), and there's also models with the 'G' suffix which have a much better iGPU which would be suitable for very low level gaming.

So there's multiple benefits of going for a newer platform/CPU, as you get the basic iGPU anyway, more efficient CPU, and have a platform that will support upgrades down the line (3/5/7 years).

Unfortunately the config tools are all over the place, and if you don't go into the correct one initially, it will limit your choices.

Here's a white, sub-£1000 build, on the latest platform...

Case
CORSAIR 3500X ARGB TEMPERED GLASS MID-TOWER (WHITE) - white case, with plenty of airflow and decent fans included
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) - this is a very cool/efficient CPU, and this generation are cooler than the 5xxx CPUs
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE (mATX, AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6E) - not much choice in white motherboards, but this is sufficient for your usage, and has WIFI included
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB) KIT - WHITE - 16GB would probably be plenty, but none shown in white
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) - there's not a lot of love on here for the latest Samsung offerings, as they release them with buggy firmware and issues (since fixed, but we've never had a problem with the Solidigms)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - strictly overkill for your usage (and could be trimmed to save some £££), but it's the brand new, more efficient spec and would allow for a proper GPU to be installed if you decided to go gaming
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 ARGB ICE Series High Performance CPU Cooler - WHITE - basic cooler, but plenty for this CPU...next level of cooling would be have to be the Corsair H100i as the PCS liquid coolers are a bit 'budget')
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
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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 - no need, as W11 built-in offering is better, safer, less buggy, and won't bag you for a subscription
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £977.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-white/h4xAZVcZWB/

If you are retiring your old PC, then you may be able to transfer the W10 licence (and upgrade to W11) on the new machine...which would save £1000.

If you did want to trim some of the items on here, you may find there's not a cheaper option in this 'white' configurator, and we'd have to start from scratch with a mixed colour build.

 

[RichardStevens672]

Hello again Tony
thanks again for your work. Unfortunately you missed my remark that I had decided to revert to a black rig after all, it will save me a lot of money.
I was interested in a lot of the components you described and they all made sense (thanks for that btw) but trouble is the Ryzen 7 7700 processor you recommend is not available via the normal configurator, which is a pity. I don't understand how this configurator works, I can't see how a CPU would be available via a white build and not there for a normal build.
Obviously a lot of the components in your specification are white but I don't understand why they have to separate them.
In fact, going into the website its not even straightforward to find a white build option at all unless you know they are under the Luna section.
So I'm back to scratching my head again.
Can you advise if the Ryzen 7 5700 available via the basic configurator is the latest (and therefore cooler running) generation?
I also picked up on your remarks about the Samsung drives. I always had them down as the market leaders when it came to these drives but it seems they are currently out of favour.
I can't find much good info on the SOLIDIGM drive you mention. Would I need to add a heatsink? If I returned to the ASUS B550 Plus Gaming board they are supposed to have heatsinks according to their blurb. (I'm not bothered about the added wifi option, I have an ASUS WiFi6 router and WiFi 6 mesh node and a TP-Link WiFi6 USB Adapter which give me the max D/L speed quoted by Virgin Media so that much at least I can retain)
Thanks again for your ongoing support, really appreciated.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hello again Tony
thanks again for your work. Unfortunately you missed my remark that I had decided to revert to a black rig after all, it will save me a lot of money.
I was interested in a lot of the components you described and they all made sense (thanks for that btw) but trouble is the Ryzen 7 7700 processor you recommend is not available via the normal configurator, which is a pity. I don't understand how this configurator works, I can't see how a CPU would be available via a white build and not there for a normal build.
Obviously a lot of the components in your specification are white but I don't understand why they have to separate them.
In fact, going into the website its not even straightforward to find a white build option at all unless you know they are under the Luna section.
So I'm back to scratching my head again.
Can you advise if the Ryzen 7 5700 available via the basic configurator is the latest (and therefore cooler running) generation?
I also picked up on your remarks about the Samsung drives. I always had them down as the market leaders when it came to these drives but it seems they are currently out of favour.
I can't find much good info on the SOLIDIGM drive you mention. Would I need to add a heatsink? If I returned to the ASUS B550 Plus Gaming board they are supposed to have heatsinks according to their blurb. (I'm not bothered about the added wifi option, I have an ASUS WiFi6 router and WiFi 6 mesh node and a TP-Link WiFi6 USB Adapter which give me the max D/L speed quoted by Virgin Media so that much at least I can retain)
Thanks again for your ongoing support, really appreciated.

7700 is available, you may be on AM4 rather than AM5

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the AMD Am5 PC to your ideal requirements.

PCSpecialist is an award-winning manufacturer of high quality custom PCs & Laptops. Configure the AMD Am5 PC to your ideal requirements.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[TonyCarter]

Do you connect your PC to your router via an ethernet cable then? If so, we can drop the motherboard down a level.

Solidigm was Intel's SSD division, but it was renamed after it was sold to SK Hynix (one of the biggest solid state memory manufacturers).

Solidigm P44 Pro SSD Review: Platinum P41, Take Two (Updated)

More of a good thing

www.tomshardware.com

The 5700 is a 5xxx series Ryzen 7 (i.e. 8-core) CPU, and on the previous motherboard platform (AM4), we're onto 9xxx series now...so the latest & greatest would be the Ryzen 7 9700X, but the Ryzen 7 7700 is on the same (AM5) platform and is completely compatible...just £100 cheaper as the 9700X is new...and benchmarks show it to be anywhere from 20-50% faster than the older 5700X.

Here's a black build with the same level of components...
Case
CORSAIR 3500X ARGB TEMPERED GLASS MID-TOWER (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) - faster than the 5700X, on the latest platform, and more efficient
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0) - wifi-free motherboard, as requested, with big silver metal heat spreader for the SSD in the middle of the motherboard

PRIME B650-PLUS｜Motherboards｜ASUS United Kingdom

ASUS Prime series is expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of AMD and Intel processors. Boasting a robust power design, comprehensive cooling solutions and intelligent tuning options, Prime series motherboards provide daily users and DIY PC builders a range of performance tuning...

www.asus.com

Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) - faster RAM, may give upto 10% more performance in certain operations than 5200MHz
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) - see the link above for review, but the motherboard has an aluminium heat-sink/cover and heat pad to remove heat...but whilst the SSD can get hot, it's not going to affect the ability of the case to cool the CPU one bit (there's no separate GPU creating heat either)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - overkill as said before, but it's on £10/20 less for older, lower-quality power supplies
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler - more than enough for this level of CPU (it's much cooler than the 5700X)
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
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £962.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/HYv4zPxJEe/

 

[Martinr36]

If you are retiring your old PC, then you may be able to transfer the W10 licence (and upgrade to W11) on the new machine...which would save £1000.

Heck @TonyCarter, I hadn't realised W11 had got that pricey 😉😂

 

[HomerJ]

Heck @TonyCarter, I hadn't realised W11 had got that pricey 😉😂

gotta pay for co pilot somehow

 

[TonyCarter]

Heck @TonyCarter, I hadn't realised W11 had got that pricey 😉😂

That’s the premium for the ‘Luna’ version of W11…guaranteed to be telemetry-free, advert-free, data-collection-free, spyware-free, AI-free, Clippy-free, OfficeTrial-free, Bloatware-stub-free, etc.

 

[Martinr36]

gotta pay for co pilot somehow

I sacked it 😂😂😂

 

[HomerJ]

That’s the premium for the ‘Luna’ version of W11…guaranteed to be telemetry-free, advert-free, data-collection-free, spyware-free, AI-free, Clippy-free, OfficeTrial-free, Bloatware-stub-free, etc.

i agree with everything except clippy as thats going too far 😁

 

[RichardStevens672]

7700 is available, you may be on AM4 rather than AM5

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the AMD Am5 PC to your ideal requirements.

PCSpecialist is an award-winning manufacturer of high quality custom PCs & Laptops. Configure the AMD Am5 PC to your ideal requirements.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Thanks for that link! I would never've found my way to the AM5 section. The AM5 option opens up loads of other options. How would I have found my way to the AM5 options? When I go in via configure a pc>Home & Office it only gives me the AM4 Options.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for that link! I would never've found my way to the AM5 section. The AM5 option opens up loads of other options. How would I have found my way to the AM5 options? When I go in via configure a pc>Home & Office it only gives me the AM4 Options.

Generally best not to go via home / gaming and things like that and just go via chipset.

 

[RichardStevens672]

Do you connect your PC to your router via an ethernet cable then? If so, we can drop the motherboard down a level.

Solidigm was Intel's SSD division, but it was renamed after it was sold to SK Hynix (one of the biggest solid state memory manufacturers).

Solidigm P44 Pro SSD Review: Platinum P41, Take Two (Updated)

More of a good thing

www.tomshardware.com

The 5700 is a 5xxx series Ryzen 7 (i.e. 8-core) CPU, and on the previous motherboard platform (AM4), we're onto 9xxx series now...so the latest & greatest would be the Ryzen 7 9700X, but the Ryzen 7 7700 is on the same (AM5) platform and is completely compatible...just £100 cheaper as the 9700X is new...and benchmarks show it to be anywhere from 20-50% faster than the older 5700X.

Here's a black build with the same level of components...
Case
CORSAIR 3500X ARGB TEMPERED GLASS MID-TOWER (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) - faster than the 5700X, on the latest platform, and more efficient
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0) - wifi-free motherboard, as requested, with big silver metal heat spreader for the SSD in the middle of the motherboard

PRIME B650-PLUS｜Motherboards｜ASUS United Kingdom

ASUS Prime series is expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of AMD and Intel processors. Boasting a robust power design, comprehensive cooling solutions and intelligent tuning options, Prime series motherboards provide daily users and DIY PC builders a range of performance tuning...

www.asus.com

Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) - faster RAM, may give upto 10% more performance in certain operations than 5200MHz
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) - see the link above for review, but the motherboard has an aluminium heat-sink/cover and heat pad to remove heat...but whilst the SSD can get hot, it's not going to affect the ability of the case to cool the CPU one bit (there's no separate GPU creating heat either)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - overkill as said before, but it's on £10/20 less for older, lower-quality power supplies
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler - more than enough for this level of CPU (it's much cooler than the 5700X)
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
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £962.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/HYv4zPxJEe/

Hi again Tony and thanks for the work above. I think we are almost there now, just a few comments/tweaks
This is my latest effort



Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE
The case you suggested looked interesting but if you look at the attached pic of how my current (huge Phanteks Enthoo) case sits you can see that a case with cooling on the right face just doesn't work because of the filing cabinet to the right. Also you can see the desk has a back panel (they used to call them "modesty boards") so because the case backs up close to it I've added another exhaust fan to go top/rear to aid airflow.
I looked at the Lian Li above vs the Corsair 4000D Airflow and the Lian Li has 2x140 fans on the front and 1x120 exhaust fan plus an extra USB C vs the Corsair that only comes with2x120 fans on the front. So it was a bit of a no brainer for me unless I'm missing something....
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0)
Great selection from you! I like the included heatsink so that eases my temperature concerns.
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 4800MHz (2 x 16GB) KIT
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
I'd appreciate some more input from you on this. I eally only need 512Gb as I keep most of my data on other drives, but it seems the performance of these units increases with capacity so I'm not sure if going with 512 instead of your recommended 1Tb is shooting myself in the foot. I may just go with the 1Tb option to be sure.
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 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2 x 50cm ARGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
1 x PCS ARGB LED Fan
Extra exhaust (see notes above)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
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

 

[RichardStevens672]

Generally best not to go via home / gaming and things like that and just go via chipset.

Thanks for the tip, I really appreciate your help. Looks like I'm close to a final spec now...

 

[TonyCarter]

There's nothing wrong with the LianLi 205 at all, was my mistake as I thought it was the LianLi Evo case (and aquarium style one) that you'd selected and was trying to get a cheaper version so that the extra budget could be spent elsewhere.

That's the problem with not having the config link to click at the bottom of the build - as it means we have to create on from scratch and you risk missing something our or making a transposition error)

There's not a lot of difference between the 500GB/1TB drive write speeds in real world usage, and the read speeds are the same, so just go with whichever you're more comfortable with.

I'm assuming the extra PCS ARGB fan is to be fitted on the top of the case? 2x140mm is not far off the airflow offered by 3x120mm, so there's plenty of air being drawn into that case. But your old case is 3" deeper/taller than the new one (e.g. 530mm H x 550mm D x 235mm W vs 485mm x 415mm x 215mm), so there shouldn't be any issue with air being blocked from the exhaust fan.

 

[RichardStevens672]

Hi Tony
so I think we are just about there now! I just need to get the £££ together then I'm good to go. I don't know if PCS does any Black Friday deals but as it is so close now I'll sit tight and see if they offer anything then I will press the button.
I'll be sure to report back once I have the new box up and running but again I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you (and everyone else that took the time to help) for your huge input. I certainly couldn't've done it without that.

 

[TonyCarter]

Hi Tony
so I think we are just about there now! I just need to get the £££ together then I'm good to go. I don't know if PCS does any Black Friday deals but as it is so close now I'll sit tight and see if they offer anything then I will press the button.
I'll be sure to report back once I have the new box up and running but again I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you (and everyone else that took the time to help) for your huge input. I certainly couldn't've done it without that.

No, no Black Friday deals, but prices constantly change so you may find the components go up/down a few ££ over the course of a week or two...but you can continue to tweak all the way through to the 'build' stage.