1st time PC build 2k budget

[hanwim]

Hello all!

I am in the processing of selecting my first PC to be built, I have only bought off the shelf before. I am a casual gamer and also would hope to do a small amount of creative things on this PC, does this build look okay or does anyone have any advice? This has come to about £1900

Many thanks!

Case
PCS AEGIS BLACK ARGB MID TOWER CASE
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Six Core CPU (3.9GHz-5.4GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR5 3600MHz CL40 (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
16GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti VENTUS 2X BLACK OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND APPLICATION
LED Lighting
2 x 35cm Corsair LS350 Aurora RGB Light Strips
Extra Case Fans
3 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
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 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
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[TonyCarter]

What monitor are you pairing this with for gaming?

What sort of ‘creative uses’ specifically?

What is the split between gaming and creativity?

It would also help us if you could add the config link from the bottom of the ‘post your spec to forum’ page…

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

When creating a forum post looking to discuss a PC spec there's a really simple way to post the spec in question here. IF YOU HAVEN'T ORDERED ONE YET AND ARE LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON A BUILD follow this step. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY ORDERED AND ARE ASKED FOR SPECS follow the next post. Click the...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

There are some areas that could be significantly tweaked :

• Go for 2x16gb @ 6000mhz RAM, as 4x8gb @ 3600mhz will cripple the system
• Try to stick to one brand of fans/RGB to avoid having to run multiple, possibly conflicting control software
• remove Norton as it‘s no better than malware
• Windows 11 Pro is only necessary if you’re using more than 128gb of RAM, need BitLocker, or advanced virtualisation
• PCS branded components are budget options, so where feasible we’d recommend an alternative
• Most cases come with an exhaust fan, so the Thermaltake one is surplus

 

[hanwim]

What monitor are you pairing this with for gaming?

What sort of ‘creative uses’ specifically?

What is the split between gaming and creativity?

It would also help us if you could add the config link from the bottom of the ‘post your spec to forum’ page…

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

When creating a forum post looking to discuss a PC spec there's a really simple way to post the spec in question here. IF YOU HAVEN'T ORDERED ONE YET AND ARE LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON A BUILD follow this step. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY ORDERED AND ARE ASKED FOR SPECS follow the next post. Click the...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

There are some areas that could be significantly tweaked :

• Go for 2x16gb @ 6000mhz RAM, as 4x8gb @ 3600mhz will cripple the system
• Try to stick to one brand of fans/RGB to avoid having to run multiple, possibly conflicting control software
• remove Norton as it‘s no better than malware
• Windows 11 Pro is only necessary if you’re using more than 128gb of RAM, need BitLocker, or advanced virtualisation
• PCS branded components are budget options, so where feasible we’d recommend an alternative
• Most cases come with an exhaust fan, so the Thermaltake one is surplus

Hi Tony,

Thanks so much for this info, I have 2x hp v24i fhd monitors but can upgrade these if necessary. I would mostly use it for gaming but I have made YouTube videos before so would potentially be interested in that in the future. I think I have made the suggested changes, here is the info inc the config link. If there is anything I’ve not changed but should have please let me know!

Case
be quiet! SHADOW BASE 800 FX GAMING CASE
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Six Core CPU (3.9GHz-5.4GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR5 4800MHz CL40 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti VENTUS 2X BLACK OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND APPLICATION
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
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/G9qCdeP56m/

 

[TonyCarter]

Tweaked it a little more to get you a better gaming CPU, with higher core count too for any of your productivity work that scales with cores (like video editing).

Those monitors are not really gaming monitors (only 75hz max), so if you plan to stay at 1080p you’d want to add/swap in a high refresh gaming monitor (can’t help there as I’m on a wide 1440p OLED). We’d recommend moving up to 1440p, but of course that this would require a bigger budget to upgrade the GPU, PSU and monitor.

Case
be quiet! SHADOW BASE 800 FX GAMING CASE - quite an expensive case, but the choices are a bit limited at the moment, so have left this
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) - 1080p gaming is more CPU intensive than higher resolutions (where the GPU becomes the bottleneck), so this is the 2nd best gaming CPU on the market
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870 EAGLE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7) - better value motherboard, same specs, to free up budget for the better CPU and RAM
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL36 (2 x 16GB) - sweet spot for AM5 CPUs, c.10% faster than 4800mhz
Graphics Card
16GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti VENTUS 2X BLACK OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) - split the drives so that the primary is just for Windows, apps and game launchers
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W) - secondary drive for game installs (maybe video projects)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD - higher quality, newer ATX3.1 spec, headroom for upgrade to a 1440p level GPU in a few year’s time
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - very good cooler, no change
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING - pre-applied paste on the Corsair cooler is better
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
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £2,006.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/gYHj0wMYG4/

 

[hanwim]

Tweaked it a little more to get you a better gaming CPU, with higher core count too for any of your productivity work that scales with cores (like video editing).

Those monitors are not really gaming monitors (only 75hz max), so if you plan to stay at 1080p you’d want to add/swap in a high refresh gaming monitor (can’t help there as I’m on a wide 1440p OLED). We’d recommend moving up to 1440p, but of course that this would require a bigger budget to upgrade the GPU, PSU and monitor.

Case
be quiet! SHADOW BASE 800 FX GAMING CASE - quite an expensive case, but the choices are a bit limited at the moment, so have left this
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) - 1080p gaming is more CPU intensive than higher resolutions (where the GPU becomes the bottleneck), so this is the 2nd best gaming CPU on the market
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870 EAGLE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7) - better value motherboard, same specs, to free up budget for the better CPU and RAM
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL36 (2 x 16GB) - sweet spot for AM5 CPUs, c.10% faster than 4800mhz
Graphics Card
16GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti VENTUS 2X BLACK OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) - split the drives so that the primary is just for Windows, apps and game launchers
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W) - secondary drive for game installs (maybe video projects)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD - higher quality, newer ATX3.1 spec, headroom for upgrade to a 1440p level GPU in a few year’s time
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - very good cooler, no change
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING - pre-applied paste on the Corsair cooler is better
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
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £2,006.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/gYHj0wMYG4/

This has been SO helpful- I was really intimidated to configure a PC as was worried about getting something wrong- will apply your changes and proceed, thank you so much!!