Spec check for a beginner

[M_Howard]

**NEW SPEC FURTHER DOWN**
Hi Everyone,

This is my first time getting into PC gaming and would love some advice on my chosen spec.

I'm moving from console (Xbox One X) to PC and will be largely playing Elite Dangerous but I am fond of the odd role playing game. I'll be using a MSI Curved Optix G24 to begin with but will likely move up to a larger screen size.

Any advice would be really helpful

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2: DDR4, USB 3.2, Wi-Fi - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm RGB LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
2.5G ETHERNET PCI-EXPRESS CARD (10/100/1000M/2.5G) (1 x RJ45)
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
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

 

[Martinr36]

Hang tight till the 15th when a whole new generation of hardware with way better bang for the buck goes on pre order for release on 27th, also give this a read

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[M_Howard]

Thanks for getting back so quickly. The monitor is a MSI Optix G24C. Resolution is 19201 x 1080 and a refresh rate of 144Hz. The PC will mostly be used for gaming. As mentioned above, games like Elite Dangerous will be the usual.

I'll definitely wait for the 15th as advised.

Thanks again.

 

[M_Howard]

Hi,

I am looking to get a gaming PC as I move away from consoles. This is the first time I have invested in one so I would massively appreciate some feedback on this. I've stuck the details around monitor, uses and budget below. As far as I can tell, this will give me the solid 1440p gaming experience I'm after.

Monitor
MSI 27" Optix G271CQP - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz

Uses
Elite Dangerous : Odyssey
MS Flight Simulator
Cyperpunk 2077

Budget
This build at £1957 including chair and monitor is pretty much maxed out.


Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
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
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
Norton 360 For Gamers: 1 User, 3 Devices - 1 Year Subscription
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Monitor
MSI 27" Optix G271CQP - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz
Gaming Chair
GT Omega PRO Racing Office Chair - Black Next Blue Leather
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: £1,957.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[SimonPeters116]

Ditch the Norton AV. It's a CPU hog. If it's installed, which this will be, even uninstalling it leaves traces everywhere. Windows Defender is as good as any other AV and comes built into Windows, free. I use Malwarebytes free as my backup AV and run a scan every other week. It's found nothing.
If you were thinking of the Norton Gamers bit. Nvidia cards come with Nvidia Experience software. That will optimise your games to your machine and graphics card, for free also. It will keep your Nvidia drivers updated too.

If you can, change your RAM. 2 sticks are better than one and 2666MHz isn't optimum. It's dual channel, which means it spreads the read/write to RAM over two channels. Restricting it to one channel means it can only read/write at half speed, even though there's 32GB for it to write too. 3000 or 3200 is the sweet spot for DDR4, any faster than that, costs are higher but read/write doesn't escalate at the same rate.
I think 2 x 8GB of 3000MHz would be ok, 2 x 16GB of 3000MHz if you're certain you need that much RAM.
Try it with 2 x 8 if you're not sure, you can always get another 2 x 8 matching sticks later.

I'm not certain of this bit. I think the FrostFlow 100 is a fairly old cooling system, and so has an older spec pump, which is relatively noisy.
The Corsair 115 cooler is newer and quieter, and comes with its own thermal compound ready applied. Check the price too. But no thermal paste, Corsair cooler instead, it should be about the same. And if I'm wrong about this, someone will tell me, and you.

 

[JUNI0R]

Hi,

I am looking to get a gaming PC as I move away from consoles. This is the first time I have invested in one so I would massively appreciate some feedback on this. I've stuck the details around monitor, uses and budget below. As far as I can tell, this will give me the solid 1440p gaming experience I'm after.

Monitor
MSI 27" Optix G271CQP - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz

Uses
Elite Dangerous : Odyssey
MS Flight Simulator
Cyperpunk 2077

Budget
This build at £1957 including chair and monitor is pretty much maxed out.


Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
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
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
Norton 360 For Gamers: 1 User, 3 Devices - 1 Year Subscription
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Monitor
MSI 27" Optix G271CQP - 2560 x 1440, 1MS, 165Hz
Gaming Chair
GT Omega PRO Racing Office Chair - Black Next Blue Leather
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: £1,957.00 including VAT and Delivery

Heya, Couple of changes to make here- below is what I'd suggest. A few other points first

Monitor: The MSI monitor you have in your spec is now unavailable from PCS. I'd recommend this Dell S2721DGFA

Chair: Gaming Chairs look cool but your back will pay for them long term- I'd recommend finding good a decent ergonomic chair for the same money- your back will thank you!

On the build- we've saved a bit but the monitor is slightly more expensive so it'll end up coming out about £15 more if my math is correct

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE Cheaper case with better airflow
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.4GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4) Similar performance to the 5600X for quite a considerable saving
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) As @SimonPeters116 has mentioned, you'll want 2 sticks and fast RAM, especially for AMD, this 3200mhz kit will be ideal
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2200 MB/W) Would opt for a smaller dedicated OS drive then have the 1TB dedicated for games
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET upped by 100W to improve future upgradability- could theoretically get a 3080 on this PSU which would be a huuge upgrade
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD) Think this is where @SimonPeters116 may be getting a little confused- FF100 is a tower cooler so doesn't have a pump and not really comparable to a Corsair Capellix AIO. The 5600 isn't a thermally demanding CPU so this unit will do the job just fine! (80, 100, 150 and 200 are air. 120, 240 and 360 are liquid)
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
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
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001] A few £ cheaper than W11 for some reason- can upgrade to W11 for free on arrival
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 Dump the anti Virus, Windows Defender is perfectly good these days
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: £1,455.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/s90zqDD!p3/

 

[SimonPeters116]

Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD) Think this is where @SimonPeters116 may be getting a little confused- FF100 is a tower cooler so doesn't have a pump and not really comparable to a Corsair Capellix AIO. The 5600 isn't a thermally demanding CPU so this unit will do the job just fine! (80, 100, 150 and 200 are air. 120, 240 and 360 are liquid)

Ahh! I knew there was something. Thanks for catching it

 

[M_Howard]

Thanks Both for getting back to me. Very much appeciated.