Autistic Adult Who knows nothing

Rawlingo

Member
Hi all,

I am an autistic adult, who is looking at buying a sub £3000 custom gaming PC.

I have configured one over the space of the last few days using AI so while I trust it to explain things to me, I'm also wary of fully trusting it.

I do want to play AAA games and am looking at future proofing as much as possible.

My gaming will be on a TV, which I know isn't ideal and is going to affect various aspects but I'm ok with that.

If there's anyone that can give me some tips on the below I'd be extremely grateful:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 XL BLACK QUIET TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X870-F GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz CL40 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4080 SUPER TRINITY BLACK EDITION - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB 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 H150i ELITE LCD XT RGB 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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £2,903.00 including VAT and Delivery
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Hiya, what make and model TV are you using?

Can you include the configurable link at the bottom of the quote?
 

Rawlingo

Member
No to MSF but yes, I have Sims 4 with around 100GB of mods, which does run on my steam deck so wasn't expecting issues on this build.

Also looking at Final Fantasy Rebirth and Spiderman 2 as I don't have a Playstation so have been waiting for these.

Thanks for the assistance
 

MrWilson

Godlike
Made a couple of tweaks, you can fit the 5080 in there, which will handle the latest and greatest on your 4k 144hz tv. For only about £30 more at the moment it’s worth fitting in.
Took RAM back to 32GB, this will cover your AAA options including mods.
Ideally would put the 9800X3D in there, but it’s about £100 more and isn’t as critical at 4k as it would be in other builds.
Reworked storage so that you have a fast boot drive, and then all your games run on the larger drive. An HDD can always be added later without major difficulty.
The PSU is pushing things a little bit, ideally PCS will get a 1000W ATX3.1 PSU soon as that would be what I would ideally get you for this build to give you some room for a GPU upgrade a few years down the line.
Beyond that, ditched the antivirus and added silver warranty, £5 for that on a £3k build is an easy choice in my book.
If you could manage an extra £1-200 we could up the CPU and PSU.
If you’re not 100% set on that case we could save a bit here as well. While it’s a good case, there are other good options at the cheaper end of the configurator too.
Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 XL BLACK QUIET TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X870-F GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM DDR5 6400MHz CL32 (2 x 16GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 5080 SOLID - 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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
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 H115i 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 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
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £2,952.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/NM4JH0mptZ/
 

Rawlingo

Member
Thank you for this. Honestly, as much as I try and Google to learn about this, it just goes over my head. What about these tweaks?

I upped the graphics card to the 5080, changed the hard drives to the 2 you mentioned, I did change the PSU from 850 to 1000 but I got a pop up message to say that it was overkill, I left the RAM at 64gb because I think I can squeeze that in my budget. I'm not set on that case at all, and would welcome any suggestions, I just know that I need to be wary of something with enough fans/cooling to not overheat.

Anyway, here's what it looks like at current:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 XL BLACK QUIET TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X870-F GAMING 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 ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 5080 SOLID - 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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
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 H115i 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 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
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £2,992.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/ytZVnfkMN9/
 

MrWilson

Godlike
Looking a bit further at this one, for your uses the X870 motherboard isn't giving you extra benefit, so we can save a chunk and go to the B650 motherboard without losing performance.
32GB of RAM will be enough for the forseeable. On the offchance future titles will require over 32GB (which is unlikely based on current console requirements) we would also expect the price of DDR5 RAM to have dropped substantially, so it would just be a case of grabbing another 2 sticks then, although this is unlikely to be neccessary.
These savings have allowed us to upgrade to the 9800X3D, and up the power supply. While the power supply is more than you need for your current system, over the lifetime of your system, which we would hope to make last 8-10 years, you will need a GPU upgrade if you want to keep playing the latest AAA titles, as they will become more demanding over time, so the larger PSU is to allow for that upgraded GPU a few years down the line.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 XL BLACK QUIET TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL36 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 5080 SOLID - 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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i 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 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
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £2,924.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Gz02MFnMf2/
 

Rawlingo

Member
Hey, appreciate you looking into this some more for me.

I guess it's difficult for me to look at cheaper parts and know that they will serve me the same purpose but if I'm not benefitting from the x870 over the B650 then it seems silly to spend unnecessarily on that or the extra RAM. I didn't know if going more expensive was future proofing, if that can be such a thing in pc gaming.

Do you have any suggestions of different cases that would achieve the same purpose as the fractal define 7?
 

MrWilson

Godlike
Do you have any suggestions of different cases that would achieve the same purpose as the fractal define 7?
What led you to choose the Define 7 in the first place?

Was it the quietness aspect, or the aesthetic, or something else?

I have the standard size Define 7 in my own build, and I am a fan of it, but there other case options that might be suitable, depending on what you are looking to get out of the case.
 

Rawlingo

Member
Honestly, chatGPT said it was a good case, lol.

Being quiet is a big factor, and I don't want it to be white, but apart from that,as long as it comes with enough fans in the right places to keep it cool, I'm not particularly fussed.
 

MrWilson

Godlike
If quietness is a factor then I would say stick with the Define 7. Having a solid side panel over the tempered glass most builds have will mean you will be quieter than a lot of the other options PCS offer.
I was looking at the Fractal North and Corsair 5000X as potential alternatives, but they are only available from PCS in white at the moment :ROFLMAO:
 

Rawlingo

Member
I don't know what it is about the white cases, I just don't find them good to look at. I know they've come a long way, but maybe it's having ugly white/grey towers when I was younger 🤣
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Few tweaks that I would put out to consider. Just a change of some options, nothing wrong with either build.

The Define is a quiet case, no doubt..... you'll want airflow as well though. The below option is dual chamber. It's not as inherently quiet but it offers some fantastic airflow throughout which should keep the fans lower. The XL is massive as well, so it's just an option to consider. You wouldn't be wrong with either choice. Don't need a pallet with this either.

For the Motherboard I have gone for the X870E variant, this is a bit more money but I've tweaked other areas you won't really notice to fit it in (case being one).

Storage I've went for a slightly lower speed option on the secondary drive. You won't notice this day to day and makes room for the most important change.

1200w PSU. If you buy this now and spend the extra money, you'll never have to worry about the PSU or power requirements again. The system will only use what is drawn, so if it's 400w.... it's 400w... the key is having the ability to really push the boat out on the GPU down the line should you wish to. The 5090 recommends at least 1000w, with most asking for 1200w for safety. You won't need more than this.

Oh, forgot the modern cooler too. This is just the latest standard of H115i. This is the quietest cooler with this sort of performance. It's an impressive bit of kit (All the H115i's are).

Case
CORSAIR 6500X TEMPERED GLASS MID TOWER DUAL CHAMBER CASE
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 VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL36 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 5080 SOLID - 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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 280 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: £2,900.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/K8tN5VwKxn/
 

Rawlingo

Member
Thanks for looking into this for me Scott and thanks for suggesting a different case.

Can I ask a couple of questions about it so I can understand something things.

What does the X870E give me over the X870?

Is 1 fan on that case sufficient?

You say about having 1200 PSU for the 5090, but did you mean the 5080 or were you thinking of long term if I upgrade to the 5090 from the 5080?

Thanks
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Thanks for looking into this for me Scott and thanks for suggesting a different case.

Can I ask a couple of questions about it so I can understand something things.

What does the X870E give me over the X870?

Is 1 fan on that case sufficient?

You say about having 1200 PSU for the 5090, but did you mean the 5080 or were you thinking of long term if I upgrade to the 5090 from the 5080?

Thanks

The model naming is unfair with this generation of motherboard. The X870 is actually closer in tier to the B650E motherboards, which is a level down. The X870E boards are the genuine top tier chipsets which have more PCIe lanes and don't share as many resources with M2 drives/SATA/etc. If the budget is there it's worthwhile.

With the fans, you will have 1 with the case as standard and 2 in the AIO cooler. It's probably worthwhile getting another 3 pack for intake, but be sure to get the LINK versions so that there is less cabling and configuration. Amended below.

My comment on the PSU was with regards to the tier of card. In order to cover any potential future upgrade, it's better to have the current top tier covered in power requirements. If you got a good deal on a 5090 or even a 6090 down the line, you would need to upgrade the PSU also..... which is a faff as you're replacing most of the cabling and neat wiring. Having it already in place saves a ton of hassle. There's no down side other than the slight higher outlay, it's even more efficient so will save in power usage.

Note, the prices of the GPUs are increasing fast. Just in case you haven't got your order in.

Case
CORSAIR 6500X TEMPERED GLASS MID TOWER DUAL CHAMBER CASE
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 VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL36 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 5080 SOLID 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)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 280 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3 x Corsair ICUE LINK RX120 RGB PWM Fan + Controller Kit
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: £3,005.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/QZU3Q3DNZQ/
 

Rawlingo

Member
Thanks Scott,

So they'll fit the 3 extra fans for me in this setup.

Also I get a message that says:

"Please note that your selected computer case requires two USB 3 headers for all front ports to work. If you select a motherboard with only one USB 3 header, two of your front USB ports will not work."

Is that something I need to amend?

You mention that GPUs are going up quickly, I'm looking at ordering this middle to late next week, should I be ok?

Thanks
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I have a feeling the prices will be up again by then. Demand is high. They've gone up over £100 since yesterday.

The USB3 header thing comes up a lot. I'm not sure what the deal is there as the motherboards should be fine for the selection. You could confirm with PCS through the chat directly.
 
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