£2,000 budget for high end professional machine - Need Advice

[Dean_Moriarty]

Hi all,

I'm currently looking to purchase a new PC with the following considerations:

• High end professional work in a multitasking environment that requires a large amount of RAM (>32GB) + good CPU (esp for single core)
• At least one fast SSD over 1TB in size
• Light to medium gaming for strategy / simulation titles (I have a console for AAA games)
• A small form factor is a must (Mini tower would be ideal, but open to other suggestions)
• Windows 11 Pro, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and >6 USB 3 / USB C
• Ability to support two 4K displays (easy to meet)
• Long term use without getting too loud / hot
• I have a stretch budget of £2,500 if needed

I'm conscious the below is overkill but this is what I built to meet the budget I have. However, I have some concerns around the cooling of this system (There isn't an option to upgrade the cooler further) and I'm sure that there are ways to reconfigure / create a new build that would better match my requirements within the budget.

I'd appreciate any advice on how to build something within the requirements above.

Case
THERMALTAKE CORE V1 GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700 (Up to 5.2 GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B660-I GAMING WIFI (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
96GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 48GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Price: £2,000.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-sff-gaming/jGZPs7dq7Z/

 

[Scott]

I would strongly advise against a SFF system. They aren't ideal for anything even remotely high end. First draft below. Covers all your requirements.

With the budget in mind it may be worthwhile looking at an AM5 build. You would get a much more future proof system where you could upgrade the CPU. If it's going to be a one and done build, the below has you covered. You may want to consider the 13900K but you would likely need more cooling to take that chip on.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700K (3.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B760-PLUS D4 (LGA1700, PCIe5.0, USB 3.2)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200Mhz (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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 H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series 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
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 Professional 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
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 16 working days
Price: £1,947.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/4yCG!K9BJC/