1440p High End Gaming Setup

[Permija]

Hello,



I’d love to get your thoughts before I buy the system below. A couple of notes / questions:

• Will be using the below for high-end 1440p gaming. I play a couple of games quite competitively online and FPS / performance matters there
• I know the 50xx GPUs are coming out soon, but to be honest 4090 will be enough for me for the next couple of years, after which I’ll probably upgrade
• I have the following monitor – Alienware AW2723DF – 280Hz
  • www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BHTBK38K
• I know the size of the 2nd SSD might seem small, but to be honest I’m very disciplined with what I save down on my computer and uninstalling stuff I no longer use. On my current system, I don’t think I’ve ever gone past 500GB used
• I use a docking station for peripherals (as I have to switch between personal and professional devices) which needs a USB-C port. I think I chose the right option below to have a USB-C port on the case but great if you can confirm?
• If you have any recommendations to reduce the noise output of this system / fans, please let me know

Thank you very much!



****



Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG XL GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Promotional Item
Buy select GeForce RTX 40 Series*, get Star Wars: Outlaws
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
24GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4090 OC EDITION OG - 2x HDMI, 3x DP
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
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 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
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month 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: £3,557.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/JJSWgwj4Kf/

 

[Ekans2011]

Hello,



I’d love to get your thoughts before I buy the system below. A couple of notes / questions:

• Will be using the below for high-end 1440p gaming. I play a couple of games quite competitively online and FPS / performance matters there
• I know the 50xx GPUs are coming out soon, but to be honest 4090 will be enough for me for the next couple of years, after which I’ll probably upgrade
• I have the following monitor – Alienware AW2723DF – 280Hz
  • www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BHTBK38K
• I know the size of the 2nd SSD might seem small, but to be honest I’m very disciplined with what I save down on my computer and uninstalling stuff I no longer use. On my current system, I don’t think I’ve ever gone past 500GB used
• I use a docking station for peripherals (as I have to switch between personal and professional devices) which needs a USB-C port. I think I chose the right option below to have a USB-C port on the case but great if you can confirm?
• If you have any recommendations to reduce the noise output of this system / fans, please let me know

Thank you very much!



****



Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG XL GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Promotional Item
Buy select GeForce RTX 40 Series*, get Star Wars: Outlaws
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
24GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4090 OC EDITION OG - 2x HDMI, 3x DP
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
1TB CORSAIR ELITE MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6200 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
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month 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: £3,557.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/JJSWgwj4Kf/

What's your max budget? Any reason for 64GB RAM?

PS. That monitor is just decent for gaming, but nothing special; for such level of build, I would have chosen a far better ultrawide OLED monitor.
The 4090 is insanely expensive, and it makes no sense to buy it near the end of the generation, especially with a 1440p resolution.
In my opinion, the 7900XT/4070ti SUPER is a much better option for that resolution.
The second M.2 is where you'll install the games; it doesn't need to be super fast; the 2TB P41+ or 4TB Corsair Core XT would be a better choice.

 

[Permija]

Hey, thanks for the insight.

Max budget - for the desktop, around ~£3.5k

Monitor - I personally really dislike ultrawide monitors. I have a better experience personally with monitors at most 27 inches. Do you have any better 27 inch 1440p monitor suggestions that are at least 240Hz?

GPU - I get your point, and I’ve put in some thought. My personal preference is to go for the 4090 because it will give me a great performance probably for at least the next 3-4 years, after which I will probably upgrade GPUs again. I don’t see much the value in waiting at least a couple of months for the 5090, paying more probably, when the 4090 will do a great job already.
Issue with 4070Ti in my opinion is I will probably need to upgrade it pretty soon over the next 1-1.5 years and then swallow the cost for top end GPU then, which doesn’t make much sense.

RAM - thinking behind 64 GB is just so I don’t have to worry about upgrading this in the near future, and RAM is cheap anyway.

SSD - so are you saying you install games in the second drive and launchers in the first drive? Did not know that was a possibility to be honest.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Monitor - I personally really dislike ultrawide monitors. I have a better experience personally with monitors at most 27 inches. Do you have any better 27 inch 1440p monitor suggestions that are at least 240Hz?

If you can stretch the budget to it (we should be able to take a slice off the PC budget to balance it out if necessary), this is a seriously good 360Hz QD-OLED that's very worth a look at, 27" 1440p currently down to £620

Alienware 27-inch 360Hz QD-OLED Gaming Monitor - AW2725DF | Dell UK

Shop the Alienware 27-inch Gaming Monitor with 360Hz refresh rate, QHD resolution, NVIDIA G-SYNC, AMD FreeSync, and QD-OLED Panel.

www.dell.com

 

[Ekans2011]

Monitor - I personally really dislike ultrawide monitors. I have a better experience personally with monitors at most 27 inches. Do you have any better 27 inch 1440p monitor suggestions that are at least 240Hz?

@SpyderTracks has already replied, suggesting a considerably superior monitor to the one you currently have.
In my opinion, there are two equally good choices at a lower price: AOC and MSI.

1- AOC

AOC Agon 27" AG276QZD2 QD-OLED 2560x1440 240Hz FreeSync 0.03ms Widescreen Gaming Monitor

Order AOC Agon 27" AG276QZD2 QD-OLED 2560x1440 240Hz FreeSync 0.03ms Widescreen Gaming Monitor now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

2- MSI

MSI 26.5" MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2 240Hz OLED Monitor

Buy from Scan - 26.5" MSI MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2 WQHD 240Hz OLED Gaming Monitor, 2560x1440, 0.03ms, DP/HDMI/USB-C

www.scan.co.uk

GPU - I get your point, and I’ve put in some thought. My personal preference is to go for the 4090 because it will give me a great performance probably for at least the next 3-4 years, after which I will probably upgrade GPUs again. I don’t see much the value in waiting at least a couple of months for the 5090, paying more probably, when the 4090 will do a great job already.
Issue with 4070Ti in my opinion is I will probably need to upgrade it pretty soon over the next 1-1.5 years and then swallow the cost for top end GPU then, which doesn’t make much sense.

I have to completely disagree here; no matter what GPU you buy now, it will need to be replaced in a couple of years anyhow.
Technology advances at such a fast rate that it's literally impossible to have something future-proof right now.
In your instance, it's even much worse because you're overspending on a GPU (extremely overkill for your resolution) that will be outperformed in a few months by one that will likely cost half or so. Personally, I think it's nonsense, but if you like it, that's fine by me.

RAM - thinking behind 64 GB is just so I don’t have to worry about upgrading this in the near future, and RAM is cheap anyway.

32GB is a large amount for gaming, unless you intend to play really heavy modded games or extreme simulations such as MSFS.

SSD - so are you saying you install games in the second drive and launchers in the first drive? Did not know that was a possibility to be honest.

This is actually the standard storage configuration.

Why more than one storage drive?

I've been meaning to put something like this together for a while. In recent weeks I've found myself writing this more and more so thought I would just post my thoughts in a thread that I could link to. So the reason for this thread is to try and give insight as to the reasoning behind having...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[SpyderTracks]

The 4090 will be outperformed by the 5080, the top tier 5000 series is set to absolutely destroy even the 5080 by a substantial margin.

I wouldn't be buying a 4080 or 4090 at this late stage as they're stupidly overpriced as no longer being produced, and poor performers compared to what will be available in around 2 months. So a 5080 in 2 months may be around £1200 - 1300 and will outperform what you're proposing for £2000, just makes no sense to buy a current gen card IMHO. The actual value of a 4090 is £1600, they're only 2k because they stopped production and supplies are dwindling, they're not worth that price

I use a docking station for peripherals (as I have to switch between personal and professional devices) which needs a USB-C port. I think I chose the right option below to have a USB-C port on the case but great if you can confirm?

This just pricked up my ears, what docking station is this as I've never heard of a docking station supporting high refresh? What make and model gaming monitor are you currently using? On console or PC?

 

[Permija]

Thank you both for your input! Parking aside the topics above (GPU, RAM, Storage) which come down to personal preference in my opinion, is there anything else I should think about changing?

Also, re the RAM - is 6000MHz the correct frequency to go for?

The 4090 will be outperformed by the 5080, the top tier 5000 series is set to absolutely destroy even the 5080 by a substantial margin.

I wouldn't be buying a 4080 or 4090 at this late stage as they're stupidly overpriced as no longer being produced, and poor performers compared to what will be available in around 2 months. So a 5080 in 2 months may be around £1200 - 1300 and will outperform what you're proposing for £2000, just makes no sense to buy a current gen card IMHO. The actual value of a 4090 is £1600, they're only 2k because they stopped production and supplies are dwindling, they're not worth that price


This just pricked up my ears, what docking station is this as I've never heard of a docking station supporting high refresh? What make and model gaming monitor are you currently using? On console or PC?

Re docking station - I am using this one (www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CKG1FXN) for peripherals only (mouse, keyboard, headset) and will connect the desktop directly to the monitor via DisplayPort. As far as I've seen, most docking stations can only do 4K @ 60Hz / 2k @ 144Hz; so would be a waste to connect the monitor to the docking station.

This is the gaming monitor I currently have - www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BHTBK38K & I only use PC (no console).

 

[Permija]

Hey guys, hope everyone is having a great weekend. I revisited the spec, and think I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the below. I just have one question before I go ahead - I am debating between these 3 cooling options. The price difference is very small - do you have any views on which to go for?

CORSAIR ICUE LINK H115i RGB - £148​

CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT - £155​

CORSAIR ICUE LINK H150i RGB - £168​

Thank you very much!

++++

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG XL GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM DDR5 6400MHz (2 x 16GB) KIT
Graphics Card
24GB GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 4090 WINDFORCE V2 - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 14,500MB/sR, 12,700MB/sW)
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
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month 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
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
Price: £3,683.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/4mwKdn0Gwp/

 

[TonyCarter]

Hey guys, hope everyone is having a great weekend. I revisited the spec, and think I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the below. I just have one question before I go ahead - I am debating between these 3 cooling options. The price difference is very small - do you have any views on which to go for?

CORSAIR ICUE LINK H115i RGB - £148​

CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT - £155​

CORSAIR ICUE LINK H150i RGB - £168​

The main differences are:

1. Size of fans/radiator (H115i = 2x140mm fans and 280mm rad; H150i = 3x120mm fans and 360mm rad)
2. Corsair controller ecosystem, in that the iCUE LINK system has a new connection system & controller which does away with individual RGB/PWM cables and runs everything through a single cable and then connects fan to fan directly
3. LCD screen - PCSpecialist don't currently offer any of the iCUE LINK AIOs with an LCD (but you can install it afterwards if you wish)

For me it would be between the H115i and the H150i versions, and whether 2 larger, or 3 smaller ones fit my aesthetic better. The only other consideration is that in general the H115i will be sightly quieter as the larger fans will run at a slower speed to pull the same amount of air through.

 

[Ekans2011]

Parking aside the topics above (GPU, RAM, Storage) which come down to personal preference in my opinion, is there anything else I should think about changing?

They are not; it's simply a matter of understanding hardware and select components by balancing them each other.
But it's your money, so you can definitely waste it as you like.

I revisited the spec, and think I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the below.

I've previously suggested the most valuable choices for your requirements; I don't understand the point in asking for guidance and then completely ignoring it. I'll bow out.

 

[Scoped Badger]

Given the new Nvidia GPU's that are due in the new year, buying a 4090 now seems like an incredible waste of money.

You'll also not see any benefit from just the one SSD. In fact, it'll reduce performance in the longer term when it fills up.