Double checking

S

SpookyEllie

Member
I'm finally replacing my ~7 year old build. Think I'm fairly happy with this setup but I'd like a sanity check. My maing goal is something that can run things at max settings for 2-3 years, after that I don't mind as long as it will keep running things "well" for a long time. I have a 2TB hybrid storage drive I'll be popping in, hence just the single drive on the list. I've been with Intel/Nvidia my whole life, so haven't looked too carefully at the AMD offerings, but let me know if there's a better AMD version of what I'm looking at. The main changes I'm considering is swapping the i9-14900K for the i7-14700K and potentially moving to one of the other Samsung M.2s, I'm not sure how notable the upgrade to the 990 is.

Main uses: Gaming, I'm not too into competitive multiplayer so very refresh rates etc don't matter to me much. I have a quest 1 and use it occasionally. Lots of streaming.
Max Budget: £2,500, though the closer to £2,000 the better (and will give me more to spend on a monitor).
Monitor: It will either be a budget 4k monitor or a decent 1440 one, but I haven't done my research or budgetting to decide properly, ideally sub £500.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Promotional Item
Get Alan Wake 2 with Select GeForce RTX 40 Series!
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24-Core Processor i9-14900K (Up to 6.0GHz) 36MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z790-P (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - 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
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H100x RGB ELITE 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
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 [KUK-00003]
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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/qG!arCzFpX/
 
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I wouldn't recommend any of the 14th gen Intel chips to anyone, they are awful mate. Just read some reviews or watch some reviewers takes. They are pretty terrible on every measurable front

You can see our thread on it here

Intel 14th Gen

So they've been officially announced, with release date of October 17th and with"AI Overclocking" up to the same 6GHz From what I'm hearing, it's pretty much zero performance bump, all that's happened is they've increased frames per watt so they run cooler, which is definitely a good thing and...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
 
T

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Pre-builts (not just PCS, but almost everyone) tend to keep the price down by splashing out on key components such as CPU and GPU, and 'skimp' on other components, such as:
  • a 240mm PCS AIO which won't even cool a 14900k adequately
  • a PSU offering no headroom for upgrades
  • sub-optimal RAM speeds, sub-optimal large & single SSD instead of a small & fast boot drive and larger storage drive
  • a motherboard that may not handle the power/heat requirements of the 14900k
  • and in this specific case, the GPU is not really suitable if you're doing VR as you'd want an Nvidia GPU for that
 
S

SpookyEllie

Member
Steveyg said:
I wouldn't recommend any of the 14th gen Intel chips to anyone, they are awful mate. Just read some reviews or watch some reviewers takes. They are pretty terrible on every measurable front

You can see our thread on it here

Intel 14th Gen

So they've been officially announced, with release date of October 17th and with"AI Overclocking" up to the same 6GHz From what I'm hearing, it's pretty much zero performance bump, all that's happened is they've increased frames per watt so they run cooler, which is definitely a good thing and...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
Click to expand...
Huh, from what I'd seen the main issue is that they're not a huge upgrade over the 13th gen, is it even worse than that? The main reason I'd went for it was that the selection of 13th gen chips on here is pretty low, it seems like I'd be choosing between the 13900F or KS, and the KS is far more expensive than the 14th gen chips. On the i7 front all that's stocked here is the 700F or 700, none of the K options. Are the 14th gens really "worse" or are they just disappointing as a release, the thread you linked isn't clear on that. Thank you btw!
 
S

SpookyEllie

Member
TonyCarter said:
Pre-builts (not just PCS, but almost everyone) tend to keep the price down by splashing out on key components such as CPU and GPU, and 'skimp' on other components, such as:
  • a 240mm PCS AIO which won't even cool a 14900k adequately
  • a PSU offering no headroom for upgrades
  • sub-optimal RAM speeds, sub-optimal large & single SSD instead of a small & fast boot drive and larger storage drive
  • a motherboard that may not handle the power/heat requirements of the 14900k
  • and in this specific case, the GPU is not really suitable if you're doing VR as you'd want an Nvidia GPU for that
Click to expand...
The cooler was my main worry here, good to know! Honestly I don't have much intention to upgrade, have an extra drive for storage already, and VR is just a bonus, I like my headset standalone currently. Do you think this motherboard is a problem though? It's the same one I was planning to go for anyway, nothing I could see in terms of the specs implied it wasn't able for the 14900. Thank you btw!
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
SpookyEllie said:
Huh, from what I'd seen the main issue is that they're not a huge upgrade over the 13th gen, is it even worse than that? The main reason I'd went for it was that the selection of 13th gen chips on here is pretty low, it seems like I'd be choosing between the 13900F or KS, and the KS is far more expensive than the 14th gen chips. On the i7 front all that's stocked here is the 700F or 700, none of the K options. Are the 14th gens really "worse" or are they just disappointing as a release, the thread you linked isn't clear on that. Thank you btw!
Click to expand...
If you look through the reviews linked above, it's clearly outlined, they're terrible chips.
 
S

SpookyEllie

Member
This is a redo of this post, after everyone told me to run from Intel 14th gen. I'll repeat what I had there:
I'm finally replacing my ~7 year old build. Think I'm fairly happy with this setup but I'd like a sanity check. My main goal is something that can run things at max settings for 2-3 years, after that I don't mind as long as it will keep running things "well" for a long time. I have a 2TB hybrid storage drive I'll be popping in, hence just the single drive on the list. I'm considering moving to one of the other Samsung M.2s, I'm not sure how notable the upgrade to the 990 is. I have no intention to upgrade this machine, at least for a very long time.

Main uses: Gaming, I'm not too into competitive multiplayer so very refresh rates etc don't matter to me much. I have a quest 1 and use it occasionally, but being able to use it connected to my desktop isn't a priority. Lots of streaming.
Max Budget: £2,500, though the closer to £2,000 the better (and will give me more to spend on a monitor).
Monitor: Undecided on 4k 1440 but it will likely be around £500, more if I can get the price of the PC lower. I haven't done my research or budgetting to decide on a model yet.


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Promotional Item
Get Alan Wake 2 with Select GeForce RTX 40 Series!
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB 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 NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - 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
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H100x RGB ELITE 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
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 [KUK-00003]
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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
Price: £2,305.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/eu95BMGx8j/
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Here's where I'd start looking. Personally I'd be inclined towards the 1440p range for a display: perhaps even the 1440p ultrawide range. (Did someone say AW3423DWF at £190 off?)

This saves money. You could realistically save more if you can transfer the Windows licence, or if you don't go with massive cooling overkill. (The 7800X3D is absurdly efficient and can easily be cooled by a simple air cooler...)

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) No point in the 7950X3D for a pure gaming system: it gains nothing
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6) Better motherboard
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) Fast boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) Large fast games drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Better power supply: the minimum I'd want for the 4070 Ti, and room for future upgrades as well
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 Better cooling/RGB control than the H100x -- though any AIO like this is massive overkill for the very efficient 7800X3D
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 [KUK-00003] If you're retiring the old PC, you may be able to transfer the Windows licence and save £100ish
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 - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £2,218.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/rvpEzfkZPF/
 
S

SpookyEllie

Member
sck451 said:
Here's where I'd start looking. Personally I'd be inclined towards the 1440p range for a display: perhaps even the 1440p ultrawide range. (Did someone say AW3423DWF at £190 off?)

This saves money. You could realistically save more if you can transfer the Windows licence, or if you don't go with massive cooling overkill. (The 7800X3D is absurdly efficient and can easily be cooled by a simple air cooler...)

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) No point in the 7950X3D for a pure gaming system: it gains nothing
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6) Better motherboard
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) Fast boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) Large fast games drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Better power supply: the minimum I'd want for the 4070 Ti, and room for future upgrades as well
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 Better cooling/RGB control than the H100x -- though any AIO like this is massive overkill for the very efficient 7800X3D
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 [KUK-00003] If you're retiring the old PC, you may be able to transfer the Windows licence and save £100ish
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 - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £2,218.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/rvpEzfkZPF/
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, this is brilliant! I don't care about RGB control at all tbh, so am I better off sticking with the 100x? Or maybe go for something more basic? Other than that this has now become my pref build! Gives me a fair bit more wiggle room for a fancy monitor too :)
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
SpookyEllie said:
Thank you so much, this is brilliant! I don't care about RGB control at all tbh, so am I better off sticking with the 100x? Or maybe go for something more basic? Other than that this has now become my pref build! Gives me a fair bit more wiggle room for a fancy monitor too :)
Click to expand...
The H100x has just as much RGB, but it's more fiddly to control.

The FrostFlow 150 is honestly probably enough for the 7800X3D, or the FrostFlow 200 to be on the safer side if you don't mind the look. Getting a good AIO would be amazing but it's not strictly speaking necessary. The pity is that there's nothing I'd want to recommend between the cheap air coolers and the expensive Corsair AIOs...
 
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