Top End Gaming / Sim Racing Rig

[Thrasher]

Hey, tinkering with my next PCS build as it's been a few years. Recently landed a new job with a hefty salary increase so I'm looking to treat myself and go all out on this one.
Use case is AAA gaming and sim racing (potentially with VR in the future).

Current displays are :

• 27" 2560x1440 144hz for online FPS / general use etc
• Alienware AW3423DWF 3440x1440 Ultrawide for my sim racing and singleplayer games

I've got a Secretlab sit/stand desk and use the under desk PC mount which has the following case requirements :

​

PC case width: 170 - 300mm (6.7 - 11.8”)​

PC case height: 354 -543mm (14.0 - 21.5”)​

Supports up to 25kg (55.1lbs)​

​

I've been using Fractal cases for the last 10 years or so and would love another Meshify but seems they are not listed right now. Tried to select a Fractal North and got this warning :

The graphics card you have selected has a length of approximately 33cm and the case you have selected can only support graphics cards up to 30cm in length when configured with the CORSAIR ICUE LINK H115i RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER. Please select a different Cooler or alternatively choose a different case.

Only other requirement I can think to add would be that I'd like it to be as quiet as possible without impacting on cooling potential and getting into thermal throttling territory. I was considering a more closed case like a Fractal Define but can only assume the airflow would be heavily impacted. Not overly interested in RGB and how it looks etc as it's under the desk anyway so don't see much of it.

My first spec so far :

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® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB 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 LINK H115i RGB 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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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 - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £3,435.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/yvee3mXv2J/

 

[Scott]

Some good, some bad, some OTT.

I've remedied the 'bad' below. The OTT would be the 4090. I wouldn't recommend this GPU, especially right now with the next gen coming at the end of the year. You're paying almost £600 more than the already inflated 4080 Super (It's over £1k now). The 4080 Super is still a monster card and will handle Sim racing and VR very well. I have the standard 4080 running my Index VR with 144Hz in iRacing for example.

The extra funds would be better kept and put towards the 5080, or whatever it's called, later in the year or next year. This will offer far more performance than the 4090 is giving you right now and when you sell the 4080 Super the net will be very close to zero.

Case
CORSAIR 5000D 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® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
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
4TB CORSAIR MP600 PRO NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6850 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT 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 LINK H115i RGB 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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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 - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £2,835.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/HFg8Kau3zh/

 

[Scott]

Apologies, I just spotted the strict case requirements. The 4000 series is fine, I just chose the 5000 as it's a bit better for the heavy hitting GPUs.

 

[Thrasher]

Cheers, yeah on the 4090 I know it's way overkill and vastly overpriced but thought when I have the budget why not get the best I can. I was wondering whether I should do my "all in" build right now or wait until the 5000 series launches and build it then.

I've got a decent system right now and not in a major rush it's just starting to show it's age on some newer AAA titles.

 

[Scott]

Regardless of affordability, for gaming at least, the 4090 is a complete waste. More than 50% more money for around 5-10% more performance. It genuinely doesn't make sense spending on it.

If going all in right now, I would do so with the 4080 Super as per the above suggestion. I would rarely recommend the xx90 GPU for gaming, but right now it's madness.