Thoughts on tweaking a Corsair iCUE please

K

KDC

Member
Hi everyone,
I wondered if I could ask for some critique on the system below? This will be my first proper dedicated gaming PC (I have seen the light after many years!)
My monitor is the Dell Alienware 34 inch AW3423DW curved QD-OLED.
I will be using the system only for gaming. I do not need it for productivity. I will likely play a wide range of titles including strategy games such as Sid Meier’s Civ - I believe some titles such as this one benefit from a better CPU and are less GPU dependent. However I will also be playing titles such as Cyberpunk. Competitive esports not really my thing though although might play casually from time to time.
I was really toying with the idea of a 4090 but from watching the benchmarks, I am happy to give up the frame rate difference between the 4080 and 4090 for the savings.
My ideal budget is around £3500 for the PC. I love the Corsair iCUE design and aesthetic so would be keen to keep that feel and RGB.
Thanks for your help! :)

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24-Core Processor i9-13900K (3.0GHz) 36MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z790-F GAMING WIFI (DDR5, LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR FORCE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 4950 MB/R, 4000 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W 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
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £3,415.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/nMrcKa!0NT/
 
T

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I think most people on here would suggest waiting until the X3D AMD (7900X3D would be my choice) chips come out, as that will give a much better gaming performance than the lava hot 13900...plus you'll get a couple more generations of AMD chip out of their latest motherboard/platform.

But if you want to stick to Intel, then I'd go down to the 13700 as there's nothing in it between them in gaming and you'd save £200.

Same goes for the RAM, as unless you've got a specific need for 64GB, then you may as well go for 32GB of the 6000MHz stuff and save £100...giving your FPS a potential boost too through the faster RAM.

I'd also put in a faster SSD for your OS (maybe a 500GB) and a secondary one for your game storage, as it keeps the large game files away from the OS drive, so if you have an issue in Windows you can simply wipe & reinstall without worrying about reinstalling all your games.

If you were to stay Intel, then I'd be going for something like this...

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700 (Up to 5.2 GHz) 30MB Cache - very little / zero difference in gaming
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z790-F GAMING WIFI (DDR5, LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) - unless you KNOW you need 64GB, then less but faster is better
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 - HDMI, DP, LHR - 4090 would push this to £3650, so stayed with the 4080
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W) - VERY fast boot/apps drive, and stops game loads interfering with system operations
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) - fast secondary SSSD, which keeps game installs safe
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W 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
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT RGB CPU 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 & 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 - no need, Microsoft security is as good, if not better, and doesn't put crap all over the system
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - 1 year Collect & Return for £5, vs the standard 1 Month
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 15 working days
Price: £3,171.00 including VAT and Delivery - £329 under budget...sorry ;)

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/haEzKRxzPN/
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
@TonyCarter I think you want the 13700K not the 13700? But I fully agree with everything else, especially the "waiting for the 7900X3D" (or equally the 7800X3D as there's no need for anything but gaming...) part.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
TonyCarter said:
Yes, keep forgetting which is WITH the iGPU!
Click to expand...
They both are. But the non-K has lower clocks, lower power draw (well, a little lower) and somewhat reduced performance. It actually differs depending on the motherboard. (Basically, Intel is a mess.)
 
K

KDC

Member
Thank you both for your replies - very much appreciated!
I have to say when I was researching some of the components and watching youtube builds, I was impressed by the 5800X3D performance for gaming, so completely appreciate it makes sense to wait for the 7900X3D. I suppose if I have waited this long I might as well wait a little bit longer if I am going to part with so much money for a system.

Thank you ++ on the recommendations for optimising the SSD.

I’ll keep myself occupied for the next fortnight or so.. :)
 
K

KDC

Member
Hello again everyone,
So the 7950X3D is out and whilst the reviews are not groundbreaking, I think i still want to go with it. (I think the 5800x3d was, and still is so good at gaming performance so expectations were high). I have tweaked the build as below. Very grateful for thoughts.. Still aiming to pair this build with the AW3423DWF QD-OLED.

In considering this build, can I ask for your thoughts on the GPU choice.. I have this strange feeling of missing out by not going with Nvidia but in reality is raytracing that good? Can I expect reliability with the 7900 XTX?
Also… am I going OTT with the fans? :LOL: hoping for a cool but quiet build - sick of my ps4 sounding like an aircraft engine.

Budget roughly £3.5k but happy to go £100-£200 over this. Thank you again for your expertise and consideration! Hoping to buy this asap :D

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB w/3D V-Cache/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (WIFI 6E, DDR5, PCIe 5.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7900 XTX - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W 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
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
4x 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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £3,497.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/f9PGAcznAc/
 
Last edited:
K

KDC

Member
Hoping to go for this maybe this evening but would definitely value and appreciate any final advice :)
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I think you're overspending on a few areas. In all of them it's possible to make the argument, but even at your budget I don't think they're value.
  • The motherboard. The Strix board is great but the Tuf is sufficient. The Strix board has all the connectivity anyone could want though, so it's got a decent argument in its favour.
  • The 990Pro isn't great value for money. At the top end I'd go for a Firecuda 530; more likely I'd go for a cheaper secondary drive, or increase to the 2TB Solidigm drive.
  • The fans are overkill. Between the case fans and the cooler fans, you'll have plenty. If you want more RGB I'd suggest changing the case to the 5000X.
 
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