Spec advice sought... paranoid about cooling

[Waldorf28]

Hey folks. My last PC Specialist purchase was 11 years ago back in 2009 and it's finally time to retire the old warhorse.

I have a spec I'm fairly happy with but I've read that these graphics cards run particularly hot. I wonder if someone who knows more about these things than I could comment upon whether the spec below has adequate cooling?

I will not be overclocking.

Tia!

[Edit: I've fiddled about a bit since my initial post and chosen what I think will be a better case]

[Edit again: I followed the excellent Desktop Building Guide from Scott and made my final tweaks. Now I only need you to tell me what an excellent choice I've made since I hit the button and paid the cash. I know the PSU only needed to be a 650W but they were out of stock. The reviews of the case that I've read suggest adequate cooling]

Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 5700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-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
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
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

 

[Waldorf28]

Thanks for your reply!

My intention with the PC is to provide a top range 1080p gaming experience that can be upgraded over time.

Yes I know nVidia cards are usually better but I think in terms of the bang per buck ratio the Radeon is better than an nVidia card at the same cost.

I suppose it's also possible to argue that the drivers are update-able but the metal is fixed.

That's really interesting in terms of the fans.

I think I'm still in the period where changed can be made. Is it definitely the optimal move to remove the fans? I would never of thought of that in a million years!

 

[Dan79]

If your gaming at 1080 you could knock quite a bit off that. Do you stream or do any work that requires that processor?

High end 1080 would only require 3600 (or poss 3300x) and 1660 super.

 

[Waldorf28]

I suppose I'm looking for a degree of future-proofing. My last purchase back in 2009 (!) I made an error with an end of line motherboard and was stuck with the AMD Phenom III even though I was able to upgrade GPU and ram over time.

I'm trying to build something that will see my 14 year old son out of the door in five years time, so although I appreciate it might be a bit overspecced for now I'm hopping it'll remain on the curve for a good while with only minor upgrades.

At the moment I'm constrained to 1080p by the monitor but know that could be upgraded in the future.

What do you think about the cooling profile and the extra fans? Taking fans out seems counter-intuitive but that's why I'm asking the experts!

 

[Dan79]

You have good RAM and motherboard selections. The x570 will take the next line of chips 4000 series and if AMD keep going the way they are perhaps the 5000 too. Getting the cheaper card now and upgrading it when you need too (new nvida card and AMD at the end of the year) and putting the pennies towards that would be better future proofing.

You would also reduce down costs on the cooling as the 3600 wouldnt need it, and could be added if a newer chip needs it when upgraded.

Too many fans usually stops a clear flow of air.

 

[Waldorf28]

Thanks folks.

I suppose my only concern is that essentially this *is* a cheaper case, but if the concensus is remove the extra fans that sounds wise.

 

[Waldorf28]

I've been mulling over the advice received (fan issue in process of being sorted, so thanks!) and it occurs to me that if the rig *is* overspecced for 1080p gaming maybe what I should be doing is buying a 1440p monitor!

Assuming the spec remains as above, would you say I'll get a decent performance on something like an Asus TUF VG32VQ? I note it has Freesynch which will dovetail nicely with the Radeon 5700XT.

I'm not interested in 4k or VR but I can see there may be some wisdom in being a bit more ambitious in terms of resolution.

Advice gratefully received.

 

[stevegardner630]

As an aside, don't get too excited if you are thinking of putting in a Corsair Cooler which are the choice of many experts on here.

Over the last few days every single spec level of their Coolers has gone OOS. ETA's mid-July to mid-August. The PC build page shows 4 of them as available but when you press Proceed they come up with the dreaded ",,,,, is out of stock please choose something else" . Lets hope PCS finds some Corsair stuff hiding away somewhere in the cellar!

Hope you find your preferred cooler - don't hang about - all the disappointed Corsair customers will be on your heels!

 

[Waldorf28]

Thanks. The Coolermaster 240 listed above does not seem to have triggered any OOS messages yet but I live in dread and fear!

This baby needs to be ready for the release of Iron Harvest and the early access of Baldur's Gate 3 .

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks. The Coolermaster 240 listed above does not seem to have triggered any OOS messages yet but I live in dread and fear!

This baby needs to be ready for the release of Iron Harvest and the early access of Baldur's Gate 3 .

The Corsairs are the ultimate, but for that chip the coolermaster will be fine.

 

[Waldorf28]

Turns out that once the Collermaster 240 is fit there isn't actually *room* for the two extra fans anyways so I've had them removed from the order. Am now waiting for it to enter production and furiously researching monitors to make 1440 a reality. Have decided a 32" is probably too big for the room setup since I won't be able to sit far enough away from it. Waiting for the Asus TUF VG27AQ to come back in stock everywhere.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yeah, that monitor is lacking in stocks (Scan "allegedly" have some coming in on the 30th). You may want to consider a different model. There is a TN display (as opposed to IPS) that is essentially the same: ASUS monitor

From what I understand, IPS displays are better if you aren't looking at the screen from straight on and some better colour accuracy but TN models are cheaper and can have less ghosting due to lower response times. I don't entirely fully understand but I did find this good explanation of the differences from someone posting on Tom's Hardware:

"
For the average the difference is as follows:

TN panel monitors:
+ Lower response times (2ms)
+ Lower cost (but 120Hz TN panel monitors are more expensive)
- Poor viewing angles which means as you move around while looking at the screen you will notice color shifting.

IPS panel monitors:
+ Better viewing angles
+ Generally better color accuracy but most people are not concerned with color accuracy. LCD monitors need to be calibrated for color accuracy though. This can be done with additional hardware you must buy. Or by simply "eyeballing" / manaul adjustment; not very accurate though.
- A little more expensive than TN panels to a lot more expensive. "IPS" is a general category and not all IPS panels are equal to each other. The same can be said of TN panel as well though.
- Higher response times. Typically the best response time is 5ms vs 2ms for TN panels.


Lower response times generally means less ghosting, but all LCD panels have at least some level of ghosting. It is simply a limitation of LCD panels in general."

Based on what I have read, although IPS screens are better, TN screens may actually be better for gaming due to the better response times..not 100% sure though so would need @SpyderTracks or @Scott to weigh in

That’s all accurate. I used to always have IPS about 10 years ago, but TN’s are so good these days, it’s really only the viewing angles and sometimes better blacks on IPS.

Both my screens are now TN. I’m not at all bothered about viewing angles as I’m always sat right in front of it or have it angled when in bed.

If you were needing it for photo editing or something that needed accurate colours then IPS is pretty much a must.

 

[Waldorf28]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who offered advice. The PC arrived on Thursday and it runs like a dream. Also picked up an LG UltraGear 27GL850-B when it was on sale at Currys and the two together are just superb.

The Buyers Guide published on these forums saved me a lot of heartache. The PC runs fast and cool. Only problem is I can barely get my son off it to enjoy it myself!

You guys do an excellent job and with your free expertise you make a good company into a great one .