1st Desktop Ever

[PK11]

Hello everyone.
I'm planning to buy my first PC and I need some helo to build it.
My budget is around 1000GBP(+/- 100), this money needs to cover Desktop (exclude case because got one from a friend) and monitor (not necessarily from this site)
What I expect is a desktop that can run games like World of Tanks, Witcher, Ace Online in high quality and stable 80+ FPS.
On top of that, it would be nice to have one SSD and one big HDD hard drive.
Don't mind any brand any config just want something that can keep running for the next few years.

 

[Oussebon]

What case are you getting from a friend? What model is it?

It will affect what can go inside it

 

[PK11]

that's the thing I don't know what case it is. Got some photos, the brand is "CHIFTEC"
It is quite old I know that but apparently should be fine to fit anything in there. Would be nice to use it and save few £.
But I'm quite noob with PC's so waiting for your advise


PS: don't have access to that case ATM.

 

[Oussebon]

That seems to be a Chiftec BA-01B

It weighs 17.5 kg (just the case, without the components) and it's very large, so the cost of shipping it to PC Specialist for them to build a PC into would east up most if not all of the money you save. Also it lacks a few things that have been mainstream since around 2011 like USB 3.0 ports at the front. And the airflow is geared to keep HDDs cool, as the fan mounts are at the side and blow into the HDD racks, not at the front with a clear run to the graphics card.

It would be great to recycle and to have a contribution from a friend, but I don't think it's the right call here unfortunately.

Possibly something like this:

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 6 to 8 working days
Price: £936.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/E0g5qJm0pq/

Plus a 1080p 144hz monitor with adaptive sync (e.g. Freesync).

E.g. the LG 24GL650-B, £145 on one site. Or for around £160, one with an IPS panel by AOC 24G2U/BK on another site. You can find them via Google Shopping. Or the MSI OPTIX MAG241CPUK which is a VA panel and around £180 at PCS and some other stores.

Be very careful when shopping for monitors. The names are mostly jumbled letters and numbers, where the tiniest difference means a completely different specification. I nearly named a 75hz monitor by mistake above, very easy to do...

The point is, if you are aiming for high framerates, you need a 144hz monitor because otherwise your monitor can't actually display all those extra frames you are having the PC produce

You're welcome to post up a link to a monitor for comments as to how it would go with the system.

As for keyboard and mouse, maybe the Cooler Master Devastator, or whatever you like the look of, on PCS or any other store

if you want to save a few £, buy the system with no HDD. And buy and fit your own HDD purchased from elsewhere. PCS's 2TB and 3TB HDDs are currently relatively expensive. You could save £20-£30 on that.

 

[PK11]

Ok thanks, that's spec look well for me l, it's actually something ppl was recommending to me. But abut case it's is not that heavy I can lift it easily by one hand on one finger

 

[Oussebon]

The only case matching the photos I could find was one that weighs 17.5kg. If the photos are right and I found the right one, then I guess you can lift 17.5kg on one finger!

It's made of steel and is 540mm x 205mm x 650mm (Stand +20mm) - ~17kg sounds about right for that. My PC case is much smaller and is only around 11kg

Chieftec - In This You Can Trust

www.chieftec.eu

But regardless of that, it seems to have poor airflow for a gaming system, lacks USB 3.0, so I wouldn't suggest using it.

It might be good if you were making a home media server with a dozen drives to keep cool, but you don't seem to be doing that

 

[PK11]

Alright then, I've been looking for cases and found some looking good for me.
SilentiumPC Armis AR7
SilentiumPC Armis AR5 TG
Corsair Carbide Series 275R
About Monitor, I'm thinking to go for AOC 24G2U/BK (like u advise), it's one monitor that keeps popping up in every single recommendation or TOP 10, and it looks good too.

About spec.
Isn't ryzen 5 3600X a better option? it's just 50 more but it seems to have more power and graphic card, 1660 ti or Super, on benchmarks TI version look better is it worth?

 

[Oussebon]

The 1660 Super is, effectively, a 1660 ti for less money. Nvidia released it when AMD started releasing their recent lineup of GPUs to help them better compete. So stick with the 1660 Super over the 1660 ti.

The 1660 ti is like 1-2 frames per second faster. The difference between them is tiny. But it costs £40 more. Not remotely worth it

The R5 3600x is similar. One reviewer described it well as "$50 for a letter" - the letter 'x' being the only difference between them. Gaming performance differences are so small you couldn't slide a matchpaper between them.

Until recently the 3600x was being offered with a free game that was worth about £30, making it worth considering if you were going to by the game. But that seems to have stopped (and was only relevant if you were gonna buy that specific game anyway). Stick to the R5 3600, it's the best mid-range gaming CPU around.

I've not looked at reviews for that AOC, but I've always had good experiences with their budget IPS screens so if you're happy with that and how it reviews that sounds like a good option!

The Silentium AR5 looks a bit starved for airflow tbh, only has those tiny bits of mesh on the side. The AR7 might be better though looking at it, it's only on ebay and is around £100 and there are a lot of choices around £100.

Have you seen the Meshify C? Or the Define S? Similar aesthetic, excellent cooling.

 

[PK11]

Well... it's well expensive 0.o I can get AR7 for 56£ in Poland. I'm already stretching my budget so every penny matters

 

[Oussebon]

That's a much more reasonable price! If you are happy with the AR7, and it doesn't cost you too much (how much is it to ship to PCS?) then it looks like a good case:

SilentiumPC Armis AR7 TG RGB Review

The SilentiumPC Armis AR7 TG RGB is the souped-up version of the traditional AR7, with tempered glass, an RGB fan, and RGB LED strips built right into the chassis. With a jam-packed feature set and an interesting price tag, the chassis is an interesting foray into SilentiumPC's design choices.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[PK11]

It just looking good to me and from many reviews is great quality for money.
The question is where I can find all information and costing about sending case to PCS?

 

[Oussebon]

You'd need to ask PC Specialist.

I don't know if PCS provide a collection service for the case or if you just ship it to them with a courier of your choice.

If the store that sells the case ships to the UK, perhaps you can ship it directly to them.

Check with PCS, and let us know what they say

 

[Oussebon]

As an FYI, PCS currently stock the Meshify C, if that's easier than sending in the Silentium. It has excellent cooling, and is a compact case.

 

[PK11]

One more question, what brand is graphic card (Asus or MSI maybe?) And why is so big difference in price between adata and Samsung M2s ? Is it Samsung significant better?

 

[Oussebon]

Palit and Zotac for the GPUs, the exact model can vary

The Samsungs are faster than the SX6000s but for gaming it doesn't matter. Framerate is the same, and loading time would vary by a second at most. They're not worth the money for gaming, when you could spend it on something else.

 

[VenatoS]

One more question, what brand is graphic card (Asus or MSI maybe?) And why is so big difference in price between adata and Samsung M2s ? Is it Samsung significant better?

Just so you are aware, my 1070 Palit (From pcs) failed on me once.
Luckily the process was very easy to get it replaced!

 

[Oussebon]

My Palit from PCS from 2012 is still fine. I've had to RMA one of my EVGA GPUs though.

Small sample sizes!

 

[VenatoS]

My Palit from PCS from 2012 is still fine. I've had to RMA one of my EVGA GPUs though.

Small sample sizes!

There always gonna be a few fails here and there 😳

 

[ubuysa]

Just so you are aware, my 1070 Palit (From pcs) failed on me once.
Luckily the process was very easy to get it replaced!

That's one of the big advantages of buying from PCS, if stuff breaks (and it always will) they don't mess you around they just replace it.

 

[PK11]

So I order that build I get recommend here with some small tweaks and now my question is what monitor,yes I do get some nice options here as well but now I'm questioning myself if is worth to spend so much on 144hz monitor, while I'm not some crazy player or streamer but just casual user, I'm not fan of lol or CS, they are too fast for me. Any reviews or own thoughts about this?