Building a new gaming PC

[OmaxOG]

Hey, im from UK and currently putting together a build for my new PC. Mainly to be used for gaming (maybe live streaming) and some general multitasking. Possibly 2 monitors in the future. Will be playing at 1080p 120ghz (maybe 1440p in the future).
My Budget is ~£2000, i havent build a pc in about 6 years so im quite rusty with all the latest tech and would appreciate some guidance/advice. I want this PC to last me about 5 years, any more is a plus. Im pretty set on 32gb ram and air cooling + 2tb ssd for storage. Im generally not interested in upgrading as i normally use the pc for about 4-6 years and then get a completely new rig.

Current parts i put together for £1976:

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor
(CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 20-Core Processor i7-14700K (Up to 5.6GHz) 33MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B760M-PLUS WIFI II (mATX, LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER VENTUS 2X OC - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 200 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm PCS Black Case Fan

I think my general concern is if the PCS air cooler would be enough for this spec? There seem to be very limited options for air cooling and i would like to avoid liquid cooling if possible.

Had a few suggestions to use and AMD chip which im not sure about, they are more suitable for air cooling? However the AMD chip (7800x3d) i would consider is out of stock, how ofter do the parts get restcoked?

 

[SpyderTracks]

There seem to be very limited options for air cooling and i would like to avoid liquid cooling if possible.

What are your reasons for this? A lot of people are misinformed about AIOs or get them confused with watercoolers which are an entirely different thing.

Had a few suggestions to use and AMD chip which im not sure about, they are more suitable for air cooling? However the AMD chip (7800x3d) i would consider is out of stock, how ofter do the parts get restcoked?

7800x3d is last generation, Intel are DOA, we’d recommend a current gen AMD

 

[OmaxOG]

Perhaps i have a misconception of liquid/AIO coolers. I dont know much about them and generally think that if something goes wrong with them it could cause bigger problems for the system than if air cooler goes faulty. I suppose im not completely against them, i just wouldnt know what to look at when picking one.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Perhaps i have a misconception of liquid/AIO coolers. I dont know much about them and generally think that if something goes wrong with them it could cause bigger problems for the system than if air cooler goes faulty. I suppose im not completely against them, i just wouldnt know what to look at when picking one.

So yes, that's confusing a custom loop cooler which costs over £500 for the water kit and pumps etc, with a closed loop cooler or AIO which is an entirely sealed unit, doesn't have any liquid in it anyway, so even if it did leak it wouldn't cause any damage, and doesn't require any maintenance.

We would recommend an AIO as they are the minimum to effectively cool modern chips over entry level.

 

[OmaxOG]

Thank you for the clarification. Am i right to assume that CORSAIR ICUE LINK H150i RGB is AIO cooler and i guess the best choice from PCS?

Can i also ask, i read split opinions about having one or two storage devices. Currently im looking at having just one 2tb ssd, would this run well with everything on it or would it cause issues down the line?

 

[TonyCarter]

Thank you for the clarification. Am i right to assume that CORSAIR ICUE LINK H150i RGB is AIO cooler and i guess the best choice from PCS?

Can i also ask, i read split opinions about having one or two storage devices. Currently im looking at having just one 2tb ssd, would this run well with everything on it or would it cause issues down the line?

Best practice is to have multiple drives. This explains the reasoning, and the different scenarios/solutions...

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

 

[OmaxOG]

I have made changes to my build based on the feedback i've been give and now looking at the current specs for £2021:

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER VENTUS 2X OC - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3200 MB/R, 2700 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
480GB KINGSTON A400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive
960GB KINGSTON A400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 450MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK H150i RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit

Some questions about this spec.
Generally does it all go well together?
Motherboard is at a the base level i believe, will it be sufficient long term?
I believe a higher power supply is advised but 750 is already more than this system will pull (~600) according to PCS, will this be good enough?
I selected the best cooler, i guess thats the way to go?
Will the games load times be good with the above storage setup?

Appreciate the help/response.

 

[TonyCarter]

If you could post the whole link, all the way down to the price and config link (see the guide below), I'm sure some kind volunteer will tweak it and give reasons of the changes.

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

Just a first note, if you've been provided this link, don't amend your first post as it won't update the queue, please add an additional comment to the thread, that way it will go back to the front of the queue. Otherwise we don't know it's been updated. When creating a forum post looking to...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

But, and considering you're saying you'll just throw this away when it gets to 5+ years old (not even a GPU upgrade?):

• I'd question the reason for the 2 slow Kingston SATA SSDs instead of much faster (and similarly priced) m.2 SSDs?
• I'd recommend one of the Gigabyte X870 motherboards (the Eagle or the Elite, not the 870E) as they come with wifi7, PCIe5 and USB4/Thunderbolt and are cheaper than the equivalent Asus motherboards
• If you want to match the aesthetic of the front fans, then the 2x140mm H115i AIO would be an alternative (I'd flip between them simply of which is the cheaper)
• You don't need the Arctic paste, as the Corsair AIO has pre-applied paste already

 

[OmaxOG]

I used the storage set up due to motherboard only having 1 m.2 slot, which i thought could be for OS and the other 2 for games/media.
Im not bothered about aesthetic, just want whatever will give good performance for money.
Do you reckon this GPU wont run well for very long (based on the upgrade comment)? I am open to suggestions.

I made some further adjustments https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/fj6uNaHeU8/ - im a slightly over budget now with this and had to use 1tb storage instead of preferred 2tb.

 

[Ekans2011]

I used the storage set up due to motherboard only having 1 m.2 slot, which i thought could be for OS and the other 2 for games/media.
Im not bothered about aesthetic, just want whatever will give good performance for money.
Do you reckon this GPU wont run well for very long (based on the upgrade comment)? I am open to suggestions.

I made some further adjustments https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/fj6uNaHeU8/ - im a slightly over budget now with this and had to use 1tb storage instead of preferred 2tb.

I'd choose something along those lines; it's still a little over budget, but it's worth it because you'll have virtually unlimited room for future upgrades over the course of the system's life cycle.

N.B. I would prefer another motherboard because, according to the test results, the Eagle runs more hotter than any other X870/X870E motherboards. If you have an extra £65 to spend, I would recommend the TUF X870.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870 EAGLE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 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
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/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 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
Firefox™
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,025.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/tkZAvHfa9X/

 

[TonyCarter]

The Asus Prime B650-Plus has 2 m.2 slots, but that's not the only reason for discounting it, as it's also go no wifi and fewer USB headers.

 

[OmaxOG]

I'd choose something along those lines; it's still a little over budget, but it's worth it because you'll have virtually unlimited room for future upgrades over the course of the system's life cycle.

N.B. I would prefer another motherboard because, according to the test results, the Eagle runs more hotter than any other X870/X870E motherboards. If you have an extra £65 to spend, I would recommend the TUF X870.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870 EAGLE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 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
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/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 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
Firefox™
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,025.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/tkZAvHfa9X/

Thank you for your time. I could probably consider the motherboard suggested. I do have a couple of questions for clarification/education

Have no clue about AMD gpu, how does it fair against 4070 super?
512gb for OS drive (i assume) is that not too much?
1200W psu i would think is overkill, can you explain?

 

[TonyCarter]

 

[Ekans2011]

512gb for OS drive (i assume) is that not too much?

Unfortunately, there are no smaller, more reliable solutions; as an OS drive, you'd benefit from a fast Gen4. PCS ones are unknown (most likely Netac) and prone to failure. I'd avoid them.

1200W psu i would think is overkill, can you explain?

It's overkill right now, but you're building the system to last 7-10 years at least. The next generations GPUs are projected to draw significantly more power. Furthermore, that is the only ATX 3.1/3.2 option available on PCS (except for the 750w RMe, which is insufficient for future upgrades).

 

[SpyderTracks]

Another misconception is that some people think the PSU means it's constantly consuming that amount of power, that's not the case, it's just the headroom available.

You're not building the PC to your current requirements, but what may be required in 10 years time, so you provision the PSU to account for upgrades in the future.

 

[OmaxOG]

Unfortunately, there are no smaller, more reliable solutions; as an OS drive, you'd benefit from a fast Gen4. PCS ones are unknown (most likely Netac) and prone to failure. I'd avoid them.


It's overkill right now, but you're building the system to last 7-10 years at least. The next generations GPUs are projected to draw significantly more power. Furthermore, that is the only ATX 3.1/3.2 option available on PCS (except for the 750w RMe, which is insufficient for future upgrades).

Okay, thanks for the explanations, makes sense. Im not generally big on upgrading stuff, usually i run the system for 4-6 years and then build a new one. Would you make any adjustments based on that?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Okay, thanks for the explanations, makes sense. Im not generally big on upgrading stuff, usually i run the system for 4-6 years and then build a new one. Would you make any adjustments based on that?

No, we’d advise you on the sensible way to run a computer.

Absolutely no need to get rid of a PC after 6 years, it’s a massive waste of money and if you’re not upgrading GPU during that time a significant portion of that lifespan would be with pooor performance.

With a properly configured PC, you simply drop in a new GPU every 3 or 4 years and it’s back to cutting edge performance.

Otherwise you may as well get a console which would give better performance for around that period

 

[Ekans2011]

Otherwise you may as well get a console which would give better performance for around that period

100%. I would add that it's substantially less expensive than building a custom PC.

 

[OmaxOG]

I get that, i just didnt have great experience when i put together my first custom PC and not very confident with doing upgrades. So i guess i created this multi year cycle (in my head) for complete upgrade.

With the system proposed above by Ekans2011, how long do you reckon before i would need to consider upgrades and what would be the first parts to potentially upgrade?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I get that, i just didnt have great experience when i put together my first custom PC and not very confident with doing upgrades. So i guess i created this multi year cycle (in my head) for complete upgrade.

With the system proposed above by Ekans2011, how long do you reckon before i would need to consider upgrades and what would be the first parts to potentially upgrade?

If you're uncomfortable doing upgrades yourself, you can pay for PCS to do it, and it doesn't cost much either.

You'd only need to upgrade the GPU during the lifetime of the build, but you'd have the option to upgrade the processor and RAM should you wish to if your needs changed.

But a GPU upgrade is literally just plug and play, there's nothing to it. Takes 10 minutes.