Not sure about Motherboard choice

[DJG]

Hi everyone, preparing to buy a gaming desktop and I've got the following

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz CL40 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7600 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 x DP
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
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
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
External Hard Drive
4TB Seagate Expansion External HDD, USB 3.0, Black
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm PCS Black Case Fan
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
Firefox™
Surge Protection
6 Socket 2m Surge Protector
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 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: £2,105.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/WnEXB8YkTw/

I'm pretty happy with most of the specs but I'm not sure how to choose a motherboard, I don't really know anything about them and just picked one that seemed suitable for the other components. Can anyone see anything wrong here? My budget was £2k so slightly over but I can stretch it a bit, would be nice to get it lower if possible though. Thanks in advance

 

[Scoped Badger]

Which monitor will you be pairing the build with?

 

[DJG]

One I haven't bought yet but probably 1440p. I would add one to the order but I need a touchscreen one and PCS don't seem to do them.

 

[SpyderTracks]

One I haven't bought yet but probably 1440p. I would add one to the order but I need a touchscreen one and PCS don't seem to do them.

Touch screen gaming monitors don't exist I don't believe.

What's your budget for the monitor?

 

[Ekans2011]

I'm pretty happy with most of the specs but I'm not sure how to choose a motherboard, I don't really know anything about them and just picked one that seemed suitable for the other components. Can anyone see anything wrong here? My budget was £2k so slightly over but I can stretch it a bit, would be nice to get it lower if possible though. Thanks in advance

Several areas of the build are subpar for a decent 1440p gaming system: 5200MHz RAM is quite slow, the GPU is barely adequate for a 1080p PC, the cooler is simply insufficient for a 9800X3D, and the 850W PSU leaves little room for future upgrades.

One I haven't bought yet but probably 1440p. I would add one to the order but I need a touchscreen one and PCS don't seem to do them.

I honestly don't know of a suitable touchscreen monitor for a gaming PC. What's your budget for the monitor?

 

[DJG]

Having the touchscreen is more important to me than whether it counts as a gaming monitor by whatever metric that is judged here. The real question was about the motherboard, which is the bit I don't understand.

How have you judged the cooler insufficient? As far as I can tell it's rated for the max TDP of the processor. (Genuine question if it looks like it's not)

 

[SpyderTracks]

Having the touchscreen is more important to me than whether it counts as a gaming monitor by whatever metric that is judged here. The real question was about the motherboard, which is the bit I don't understand.

It's not just the motherboard though.

We need to know what monitor you're using as that will dictate the GPU.

But the rest of the build is not suitable either, the system needs to balance all the way through, otherwise doesn't matter how much you spend, you'll only get the performance of the weakest component.

If you're just getting a basic touchscreen monitor without variable refresh rate and stuck at 60Hz, it will be a very poor experience, screen tearing will be unavoidable among other issues like serious ghosting etc. 60Hz these days would not be considered high enough for games.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7442752744504446254

 

[DJG]

Yeah I understand that so I guess the answer is I haven't actually picked a monitor yet but it needs to be touchscreen. Budget is up to £400 I suppose. I would like to know what 'touchscreen gaming monitors don't exist' means though, you can get a 27inch 100hz 1440p touchscreen monitor on amazon for £200 right now, does that not count?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yeah I understand that so I guess the answer is I haven't actually picked a monitor yet but it needs to be touchscreen. Budget is up to £400 I suppose. I would like to know what 'touchscreen gaming monitors don't exist' means though, you can get a 27inch 100hz 1440p touchscreen monitor on amazon for £200 right now, does that not count?

As already asked, without a link we have no idea what this monitor is.

Forgove me for questioning, but there’s no such thing as touchscreen gaming. The reason I say that is perhaps you’re wanting touchscreen for windows control but not gaming itself in which case it would make far more sense to have a dual monitor setup with a decent primary gaming monitor and a secondary touchscreen

If we understand your requirements better we can advise better

 

[DJG]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pisichen-T...=27+touch+screen+monitor,computers,175&sr=1-3 this is the monitor I was on about, not necessarily the one I would get. I realise now I probably should have picked one before starting this thread but it's too late now. You're right that most games do not support touch but I can't really fit a multiple monitor setup and I need the touchscreen for other things I would use the machine for

 

[Ekans2011]

How have you judged the cooler insufficient? As far as I can tell it's rated for the max TDP of the processor. (Genuine question if it looks like it's not)

TDP is nothing; it is simply marketing, comparable to fuel consumption in cars; the 9800X3D has a maximum power draw of 160W, and the unknown PCS-branded cooler is utterly incapable of cooling that chip.
A 9800X3D requires at least a Premium 240mm AIO (such as Corsair) or a premium air cooler (such as Noctua), which is not available on PCS.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Review - The Best Gaming Processor

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D establishes AMD as the leader in gaming performance. This Zen 5-based X3D chip is not only fast, it also comes with full support for overclocking. Besides gaming, application performance is considerably improved over the 7800X3D, but that comes at a price.

www.techpowerup.com

you can get a 27inch 100hz 1440p touchscreen monitor on amazon for £200 right now, does that not count?

That's not suitable for gaming: the minimum recommended refresh rate for gaming is now 144/165Hz.
The response time is also important: 3-5ms is very high for gaming purposes.

 

[Ekans2011]

I need the touchscreen for other things I would use the machine for

I'd suggest taking a look at this thread and adding relevant information to get the best advise for your needs.

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

 

[SpyderTracks]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pisichen-Touchscreen-2560x1440-10-Point-Computer/dp/B0DMFDZNB4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3SNCNYHMPEBHB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ETAbLSmpvGVnO1B9J4CNToAVUZjIydToSxzbKZocsS9GUK01Xu8g63-WxGo431Mj6R4HqKL3xDtyUh4s0pTSPBMlUhaPlgxxxS3utUTFoVqFxVf7hYIkfVYQ1e1UEeDzFH2vp7UCWlNzN1YQjaO3wyJ_viyyVQeWE70mGw-fhRK7-dd9fMzoECmNWrS1WokiqrwTDQtEmL5swcEeQJZ8M6F9Pbgef8dFtfLraq-EFhHs9nUgOjVhs4jK6VnYKlSAkfzrFlm_UUTgYl6SKZfIeP2tv8veWDODEYb5EP4fOPpkzCwWhX4RcG8hJFAIiQrlJ9TF8NZtLJtUg-sZrV7MLbtSNs0Z7ozl9CLG4kYSRr4.0gCtToSMCyh3APq9-GfdmNePbwoOnxAuewlTduUqN7o&dib_tag=se&keywords=27+touch+screen+monitor&qid=1741201007&s=computers&sprefix=27+touch+screen+monitor,computers,175&sr=1-3 this is the monitor I was on about, not necessarily the one I would get. I realise now I probably should have picked one before starting this thread but it's too late now. You're right that most games do not support touch but I can't really fit a multiple monitor setup and I need the touchscreen for other things I would use the machine for

The monitor doesn't support variable refresh rate either so wouldn't be very good for gaming generally, it's more suited to video playback and general windows navigation touch.

As @Ekans2011 has linked above, if you can answer the questions, we need to understand things better to be able to give suitable advice.