Desktop for games

[mipsman]

I have used laptops from PC Specialist but these are coming to the end of their life now. So I thought I would look into getting a gaming PC. This is the spec I have generated. The budget is about £2.4k but doesn't include a monitors, which would be purchased later. I will re-use an old Acer monitor initially and get a new monitor later. I have a "clicky" keyboard and wireless mouse I will continue to use.

If anyone has any thoughts I would be grateful.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Promotional Item
Buy select GeForce RTX 40 Series*, get Star Wars: Outlaws
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 20-Core Processor i7-14700F (Up to 5.4GHz) 33MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z790-F GAMING WIFI II (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB 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
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i 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 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 Standard Warranty (6 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days

 

[sck451]

I would not buy that system, or really anything much like it.

First, I'd decide what you're spending on a display. In your shoes, I'd aim for 1440p, which you can do really well at this budget. There are options between £220 and £600 that would be ideal for you. But you have to settle on what resolution and refresh rate you're aiming at before you configure the PC, as it needs to be a good match or you'll be wasting money.

So presuming you get a 1440p build, you can get one quite a bit cheaper and get the PC and monitor now, or get the PC and the monitor in, say, a couple of months. Anything else would be a massive waste.

Here's a PC that would leave you the budget for the monitor;

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12 Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.4GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5) Actually you should get the 7800X3D (out of stock for three weeks), or to save money the 7700. All of these are better than any Intel choice.
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) All the memory you need for gaming
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR A really good 1440p option, or you can go for the 4070 Ti Super if you want to push the budget all the way
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) Boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) Games drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Really good 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 Plenty of cooling for any of the above CPUs
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
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 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,993.00 including VAT and Delivery £2001 with the 7800X3D
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/ZA242FPdJv/

 

[mipsman]

Thank you. I generated a new AMD system quote based on your reply, but I have changed the GPU for the 4070 TI Super and the data (secondary) drive for a 1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD. The 750W PSU may be overpowered with the suggested Motherboard so I am contemplating changing to the ASUS TUF X670E-PLUS WIFI to give more scope for future upgrades - I am looking at reviews now.

I will also look into a 1440p monitor to suit my budget.

 

[FigmentOfYourImagination]

Thank you. I generated a new AMD system quote based on your reply, but I have changed the GPU for the 4070 TI Super and the data (secondary) drive for a 1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD. The 750W PSU may be overpowered with the suggested Motherboard so I am contemplating changing to the ASUS TUF X670E-PLUS WIFI to give more scope for future upgrades - I am looking at reviews now.

I will also look into a 1440p monitor to suit my budget.

For gaming, you aren't going to get any noticeable benefit (maybe a game will load 1 second quicker) from switching the second drive to the P44...you end up losing 1TB of storage to save £27. Given game sizes these days and how quickly even a 2TB drive can fill up (excluding small games, I have 14 "big" titles on my game drive and they have filled up 1.5TB. It's up to you but, for £27, 1TB of storage is an absolute steal.

Not sure where you got the PSU being overpowered for the motherboard. The configurator is probably telling you that the PSU is higher than needed...but that doesn't account for future upgrades. Personally, I'd be going for the 1000w one to cover any GPU upgrade down the road. The motherboard suggested is perfectly fine for your uses

 

[mipsman]

Thank you.

I switched the Secondary drive to 2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD for an extra £27.

It was the configurator warning about the PSU size and price of overdoing it. I am looking at switching the 750RMe to the 850RMx to have more headroom for future upgrades. The configurator warns me but I assume I can ignore it.

This is what I have now.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
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 X670E-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
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)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx 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 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 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 3 to 5 working days

 

[SpyderTracks]

The configurator warns me but I assume I can ignore it.

It's amazing how many people mis read that notification, it's not warning against anything, it's merely stating the bare minimum you can get away with, it's only relevant to people building an extremely basic system on a bare bones budget.

It's not relevant for a gaming system, certainly not factoring in things like transient spikes and future requirements.

An 850w PSU will limit future upgradeablility on the GPU front, for a barebones allowance of any GPU upgrade, you'd want 1000w, for comfort you'd want 1200W

 

[TonyCarter]

Also, in the world of ATX2.4 and ATX3.1 PSUs, the naming of the 750RMe and the 850RM can be confusing...as the 750W RMe model is the newer ATX3.1, so has a higher peak power rating than the 850W RM model.

I can't wait for PCS to move over to all ATX3.1 models, as it will make it much simpler to recommend based on just power then!

 

[mipsman]

Thank you SpyderTracks and TonyCarter.

The 1000W RMx pushes me over-budget but I'm not likely to upgrade my GPU anytime soon. I will go back to the 750W RMe for ATX3.1 and higher peak power.

I agree, the naming is quite confusing. But also the PCS configurator doesn't include all options - there is no 850W RMe listed for example.

 

[Scott]

I would advise against this. Nvidia recommend an 850w PSU to be ideal for the 4070Ti, this is with the ATX3.1 context considered. With an older PSU you would want 1000w to be safe.

Purchasing a high end gaming PC without wanting to upgrade the GPU is very unwise. The whole point is to get a system that can upgrade over time without having to re-purchase a new PC each time. The above has 10 years in it with 2 GPU upgrades through time. You want these covered by the PSU through that time.

I recommend the 1200w PSU more often than not. Not due to the requirement of the power, but it's the only option available higher than 750w that's ATX3.1 for the moment. The new PSUs are coming though.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I never understand what people mean when they say they have no plans to upgrade the GPU and can only assume they’ve not owned a gaming pc before, you can’t avoid upgrading the GPU, it will be the first bottleneck no matter what you do, in 2 years that card will no longer be able to play newer games at that same resolution without reducing settings further and further to the point you then have to reduce resolution etc.

GPU upgrade isn’t an option, it’s an essential part of a custom pc, otherwise you may as well just get a console

 

[mipsman]

Thanks everyone for all the amazing advice - the 1200RMx Shift it is then . (I checked the side connections should be OK in the 5000X case).

Here is the updated spec:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Promotional Item
Buy select GeForce RTX 40 Series*, get Star Wars: Outlaws
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12 Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.4GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
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)
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 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 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 3 to 5 working days
Price: £2,422.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Scott]

Looks good. Hold off for the 7800X3D though, by that time you might get lucky and find the ATX3.1 PSUs available too