Advice with new PC

[AngBea]

Hi
I am looking to replace my old desktop this month. I want to keep two of the components (if it's considered worthwhile) and install them in the new box.
I have these:

NVidia GEFORE GT 730
TP Link AX3000 Wifi/BT

Ideally I'd like something smaller than my current box which is 48cm by 43cm by 20cm. Small form factor would be great.
I already have two HDMI monitors, keyboard, mouse and KVM.

I need to keep the old PC running while I set up the new one because have a lot of software to install and configure which will take some time.

I am not interested in gaming. My primary needs are development work with Visual Studio, SQL server and PostgreSQL.
I'll need VM's and docker. I also want to run music software (Ableton) and Photoshop with capacity for video editing. But I won't be doing a lot of this.

So, the new box needs to have on board graphics and wifi but support my graphics and wifi cards.

I'll need at least a 1TB SSD for the OS and progs - Win 11 pro, plus another 2TB storage drive. (I already have various USB backup drives)

I'll want a restore image on USB to come with it. I'll need a CD drive but this could be external.

I have a budget up to £1500.
Some pointers would be really useful. I'm well out of touch with hardware now.

I don't really want to have to build it myself.

thanks
Gus

 

[Scott]

I would strongly advise against such a small form factor. You can get a system to meet your needs in a basic fashion within budget. The GT730 and Wifi card will be surplus to requirement though. The onboard GPU and WIFI should meet your needs without too much trouble.

 

[Nursemorph]

This will give a starting point as I am not entirely knowledgeable on all your uses. I've put WIn 11 in as you said you need to be running both machines. Case-wise, I've selected one which is the same size as your current box...as mentioned above, SFF isn't the way to go unless absolutely necessary as you end up getting less for the same price as SFF brings a premium. Anyway, as I said, this spec is a starting point for more knowledgeable people to work from:

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12 Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.4GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL40 (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT 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
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 11 Professional Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
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 6 to 8 working days
Price: £1,544.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/rfhAFYJBv3/

 

[AngBea]

Great, that's very helpful guys. I'll ditch the small FF idea then. Good to know.
Thanks for the detailed starter spec @Nursemorph . That looks really good.
I have done some research and it looks like with your suggested config it would still be worth using my graphics and wifi cards as they are still better than the on board options. I can push up to £2k if need be so I can play around.

 

[Nursemorph]

Wi-Fi: Far as I can tell, you Wi-Fi card is version 6 whereas the one with the motherboard will be Wi-Fi 7 so it's a newer version.

Wi-Fi 6E vs Wi-Fi 7: What’s the difference?

Wi-Fi 6E was a big upgrade but Wi-Fi 7 is even more impressive

www.tomsguide.com

Regarding the 730 vs the iGPU: I'm not entirely convinced that a 10 year old GPU is better than a new iGPU but I can't find any specific information on how good the iGPU is. If your budget can be increased, then it may be worth looking at putting in a newer GPU..that would need advise from someone else though as I only really know the best ones for gaming uses

 

[SpyderTracks]

The GT730 was awful even when it was brand new, it would be destroyed by modern integrated graphics

And yes, your WiFi card is older and weaker than this one

 

[AngBea]

Many thanks guys, I expect you are correct with the graphics card. Could anyone recommend a better graphics card for that config that would keep it under £2k? Bear in mind that I need two HDMI ports (another reason the GT 730 is useful).

I am not sure about the wifi though. I asked Copilot out of curiosity and got this:
"The TP-Link AX3000 can still provide a number of benefits over the onboard Wi-Fi of the ASUS TUF X870-Plus:

• Stronger Signal and Coverage: The AX3000 with its advanced antennas and Beamforming technology will likely give you better signal strength and coverage throughout your home.
• Higher Speeds: While both support Wi-Fi 6, the dedicated hardware in the AX3000 might deliver better real-world performance, especially if you have multiple devices connected.
• Reliability: Dedicated routers often handle network traffic more effectively than integrated solutions, which can result in fewer interruptions and a more stable connection.

In short, even with Wi-Fi 6, your TP-Link AX3000 could provide a better and more reliable connection, making it worthwhile to install."

But AI is often totally wrong, so no idea really here. My router is Wifi 6 so I wouldn't be able to take advantage of 7 for some time. Also the AX3000 comes with an external arial which really helps since I live in a town house over four floors and I can't plug into the router and the arial really helps amplify the signal.

I've tweaked the config and added in a 16GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7600 XT plus a few other tweaks. How does this look?

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE - WHITE
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12 Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.4GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL40 (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7600 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CX SERIES™ CX-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT 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
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 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 6 to 8 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
Price: £1,994.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

 

[Scott]

Some changes are fine, some not so fine. If you have the Wifi card and feel it suits your needs better then feel free to add it, it won't do any harm. Just be sure to disable the on-board. I still think the on-board is better, the on-board graphics would certainly cover your needs. I believe the motherboard selected has HDMI out and DP out, so you would be able to have 2 outputs.

Including a GPU I would look far lower end than the 7600XT, that's a proper gaming card. The 6500 has you more than covered for your needs and connections. I've made some changes that I would recommend below, it's similar money thanks to the savings on the GPU. It's a better system all round though and with it being an E chipset, you won't be losing any connectivity by adding the wifi card.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE - WHITE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12 Core CPU (4.4GHz-5.6GHz/76MB 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 CL40 (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
4GB ASROCK RADEON™ RX 6500 XT PHANTOM GAMING D - HDMI, 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
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
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
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 240 RX 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
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 6 to 8 working days
Price: £1,948.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/zJBTXVUH7a/

 

[AngBea]

Nice! thanks so much @Scott. That's great. It looks like the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE offers the option of an external antenna so I could either just use mine and forgot the AX3000 or buy a new antenna.

There's a PC repair shop near me that takes old components to build PC's for charity so I might be best off giving them the old cards.

I'll leave it for a while to see if anyone else chimes in with more but hope to order over the weekend.

 

[TonyCarter]

It's not clear to me (or the AI I think) as to whether this is a basic PCIe add-in card, or a full-blown mains-powered router with wifi.

There's a router specifically names the AX3000, and there are multiple routers that have AX3000 specs, and there are a couple of add-in cards that are AX3000 spec but called something different (i.e. Archer TX55E and Archer TX3000E).

AX3000 Dual Band Gigabit Wi-Fi 6 Router

AX3000 Dual Band Gigabit Wi-Fi 6 Router

www.tp-link.com

AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 PCIe Adapter

Utilizing the Wi-Fi 6 foundation, Archer TX3000E, is designed to liberate your gaming from cables and fully optimize your gameplay.

www.tp-link.com

AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 PCIe Adapter

Utilizing the Wi-Fi 6 foundation, Archer TX55E, is designed to liberate your gaming from cables and fully optimize your gameplay.

www.tp-link.com

 

[AngBea]

Yeah, @TonyCarter , I think the AI is talking about the router and not the PCI card. Mine is this one:

AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 PCIe Adapter

Utilizing the Wi-Fi 6 foundation, Archer TX3000E, is designed to liberate your gaming from cables and fully optimize your gameplay.

www.tp-link.com

It works great but as others have said the on board tech on the new motherboard is likely to be just as good, likely better and is Wifi 7 ready.

 

[TonyCarter]

All the motherboard wifi solutions come with external antenna(ae/s) anyway.

 

[AngBea]

So here's the latest spec. I decided on a 1TB disk for the OS and other programs. I am already pushing my 512gb ssd on my old PC with the software I have.

I went for a slightly higher wattage power supply because I am under the impression this might give more headroom for future upgrades and also that this might run efficiently without being stressed. Is this reasonable?

Finally, would it be a good idea to add an additional fan or two?

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE - WHITE
Promotional Item
Get a discount code for 20% off select peripherals at Corsair.com
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12 Core CPU (4.4GHz-5.6GHz/76MB 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 CL40 (2 x 32GB) KIT
Graphics Card
4GB ASROCK RADEON™ RX 6500 XT PHANTOM GAMING D - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
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
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid 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
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 11 Professional Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
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 6 to 8 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
Price: £1,910.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/D2uScHTv0U/

 

[Scott]

If you're pushing 500gb on the primary drive at the moment I would suggest that you're mis-using it. OS and Programs will never get close to that sort of utilisation, it's only when you start to store games or large working files that this becomes the case...... which is exactly what you want to avoid.

Having a 500GB drive is deliberately limiting to promote good storage habits. You actually don't want to get past 50% utilisation in order to keep the speeds at their optimum. Anything else you want on the other drive so that you can do 2 things at once (OS tasks and your user tasks) independently.

Up to yourself of course, my primary drive is 1TB and currently sitting at 175gb of usage with 64GB of RAM in place. I keep it as trim as I possibly can to keep it running optimum.

 

[AngBea]

That's good advice @Scott. Thanks. My main drive is a mess and really wants a rebuild. You are most certainly right. Good practice to keep it under control. It's like having a bigger garage. Instead of having a clear out you just stick more stuff in it because you can.

 

[Scott]

That's good advice @Scott. Thanks. My main drive is a mess and really wants a rebuild. You are most certainly right. Good practice to keep it under control. It's like having a bigger garage. Instead of having a clear out you just stick more stuff in it because you can.

Exactamundo

I was terrible years ago. The only reason I have a 1TB drive just now is that the 500GB version wasn't as good as a performer and I wanted top speeds for the primary so had to opt for the 1TB. It's a complete waste of space but that's just the way of it

 

[AngBea]

It's easily done because space is so cheap these days! I figure why not? It's only a little more expensive. Like RAM. I used to manage a Sun workstation back in the early 90's at UCL. We needed more RAM. I bought 8mb and it was something like £500 if I recall correctly.

 

[Scott]

Absolutely, but try to stick to the other drives for it being cheap. With the primary the trade of with using it is performance. Always want that drive running optimally.

 

[Nursemorph]

I would stick with the drives Scott put in his spec...Samsungs have a history in recent times of having quiestionable reliability...whilst they are better, you can get similar performance for less. If you go with the 1TB P44 as the primary (assuming you decide to stick with 1TB) and put in a 2TB P41+, you get 1TB extra storage for £12 more than the 2 Samsung drives

 

[SpyderTracks]

The 990 Pros are quite poor compared to previous Samsungs, were regularly having people with failed ones whereas zero failed with SolidGM