First Gaming PC

[bumblegames]

I'm in the process of building my first gaming PC with PCS and I'm not sure whether to go for the NVDIA RTX 2060 or GTX 3060/TI. I initially wanted to keep my budget between £700 and £1200 but I'm willing to stretch to £1500 if I'll be getting better value for my money. The main games I'll be playing on it are The Sims series, GTA V and Cyberpunk 2077. My question is, do you think the 3060 is worth the price difference and waiting for?

Edit: I don't know what monitor I'll be using yet as I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for. Apologies for not being able to elaborate, I have read the desktop building guide on here but apart from that, I'm totally new to this. Regarding my budget, I would rather keep it under 1k but I know that's probably unrealistic so I'm going to say £1200 ideally but as I said before, I'm willing to stretch a few hundred pounds more if necessary.

 

[Areeb]

What monitor will you be using and what resolution are you planning to play at?

 

[Martinr36]

I suggest you take a read of this

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[Citrus_9]

I'm in the process of building my first gaming PC with PCS and I'm not sure whether to go for the NVDIA RTX 2060 or GTX 3060/TI. I initially wanted to keep my budget between £700 and £1200 but I'm willing to stretch to £1500 if I'll be getting better value for my money. The main games I'll be playing on it are The Sims series, GTA V and Cyberpunk 2077. My question is, do you think the 3060 is worth the price difference and waiting for?

We can't answer to this question without knowing your budget, monitor and reason for PC use. Please read the link, provided above and amend.

 

[bumblegames]

What monitor will you be using and what resolution are you planning to play at?

I don't know yet as I thought I'd have to figure out the PC specs first. I don't know much about resolutions either but I'm hoping to play my games on medium/high graphics at least. Either 1440p or whatever is considered the middleground.

 

[JUNI0R]

I'm in the process of building my first gaming PC with PCS and I'm not sure whether to go for the NVDIA RTX 2060 or GTX 3060/TI. I initially wanted to keep my budget between £700 and £1200 but I'm willing to stretch to £1500 if I'll be getting better value for my money. The main games I'll be playing on it are The Sims series, GTA V and Cyberpunk 2077. My question is, do you think the 3060 is worth the price difference and waiting for?

Edit: I don't know what monitor I'll be using yet as I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for. Apologies for not being able to elaborate, I have read the desktop building guide on here but apart from that, I'm totally new to this. Regarding my budget, I would rather keep it under 1k but I know that's probably unrealistic so I'm going to say £1200 ideally but as I said before, I'm willing to stretch a few hundred pounds more if necessary.

I personally feel that the 3060TI is a great value card but looking at what you'll be playing I think a 2060S will do for now. I've added a 1TB SSD for Windows, your applications and games, then a 2TB HDD for general files. The 750W should give you some wiggle room for upgrades in the future, should you decide to upgrade, the wifi card comes with wifi and bluetooth for only a £1 more than the wifi version of the motherboard (effectively paying £1 for BT) and the silver warranty is a no brainer for £5

As a monitor to pair with this I'd recommend a Samsung G5 . It's a 1440p, 144hz curved 27 inch monitor for only £300 it's a favourite in this forum.

With regards to the 3060TI wait times have reduced and I believe it's around 25-30 working days as of now. You could upgrade to it for an extra £100 or so which may future proof your build a little more but as I'm already above your budget I thought I'd hand that decision to you. Due to the pandemic, supply is low and demand is high so prices are through the roof. If you're able to wait a few months, prices will fall and you might be able to get one in said budget


Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
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Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,392.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/NcwjmmUsQB/

 

[MrWilson]

At this point the 2060 Super is more of a high end 1080p card than a 1440p card.
Using Hardware Unboxed Cyberpunk Benchmarks at 1440p even on medium settings the 2060 Super only managed to average 53fps, whereas the 3060ti managed a much more respectable 71. 60fps is considered the minimum standard for non competitive titles these days and unless you’re planning to play older titles in my opinion the 2060 Super doesn’t cut it as a 1440p GPU.

 

[bumblegames]

I personally feel that the 3060TI is a great value card but looking at what you'll be playing I think a 2060S will do for now. I've added a 1TB SSD for Windows, your applications and games, then a 2TB HDD for general files. The 750W should give you some wiggle room for upgrades in the future, should you decide to upgrade, the wifi card comes with wifi and bluetooth for only a £1 more than the wifi version of the motherboard (effectively paying £1 for BT) and the silver warranty is a no brainer for £5

As a monitor to pair with this I'd recommend a Samsung G5 . It's a 1440p, 144hz curved 27 inch monitor for only £300 it's a favourite in this forum.

With regards to the 3060TI wait times have reduced and I believe it's around 25-30 working days as of now. You could upgrade to it for an extra £100 or so which may future proof your build a little more but as I'm already above your budget I thought I'd hand that decision to you. Due to the pandemic, supply is low and demand is high so prices are through the roof. If you're able to wait a few months, prices will fall and you might be able to get one in said budget


Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
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Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
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NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
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 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,392.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/NcwjmmUsQB/

Thanks for your help! I think I'm going to go for the 3060 Ti. Would it be possible to switch the case for a slightly cheaper one or is it neccessary? Same goes for the Wifi card.

Edit: I'm also wanting a DVD drive so I can play The Sims 2 and any other old games I come across that are unavailable digitally. Is there an affordable case that's suitable for this or will I be better off getting an external USB drive?

 

[Resistance100]

Thanks for your help! I think I'm going to go for the 3060 Ti. Would it be possible to switch the case for a slightly cheaper one or is it neccessary? Same goes for the Wifi card.

If you plan on using wifi often I wouldn't recommend downgrading card. If the £11 you would save you end up with far worse wifi performance (no 5ghz support) and lose Bluetooth as well

 

[bumblegames]

Thank you for all of your responses. I've actually decided to go for lower end specs and just upgrade the ones I can when needed. Regarding monitors, am I supposed to be looking for one with a specific refresh rate?

 

[MrWilson]

A 144hz refresh rate is the gold standard these days. Something like this forum favourite AOC monitor will do the job nicely.

AOC Gaming 24G2U -24 Inch FHD Monitor, 144Hz, 1ms, IPS, AMD FreeSync, Ergonomic stand, Speakers, USB Hub, Low input lag (1920x1080 @ 144Hz, 250cd/m², HDMI/DP/VGA/USB 3.0): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy AOC Gaming 24G2U -24 Inch FHD Monitor, 144Hz, 1ms, IPS, AMD FreeSync, Ergonomic stand, Speakers, USB Hub, Low input lag (1920x1080 @ 144Hz, 250cd/m², HDMI/DP/VGA/USB 3.0) at Amazon UK. Free delivery and return on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[bumblegames]

Update: Here are the current specs. My main priority is to be able to run GTA smoothly with medium/high graphics on a 1080p 144hz monitor. As previously stated, I play a few other games although nothing as demanding apart from The Sims series (2, 3 and 4 along with DLC) which I imagine requires a fair amount of storage space. A USB disk drive is included for The Sims 2 and any other old games that are unavailable digitally, I would prefer it to be built in but I'm having issues choosing a suitable case for this.

I'm aiming for a futureproof but affordable build with a maximum budget of £1500. Since most graphics cards are out of stock, I'm hoping prices will go down by the time I go to order. That being said, I'm still not 100% sure what the best GPU for me would be. I'm also looking into the AMD offerings but I haven't seen much of a discussion surrounding them. Further advice would be greatly appreciated.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
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BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
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Keyboard & Mouse
PCS BK110 USB KEYBOARD
Mouse Pad
PCS Mouse Mat
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 10 to 12 working days

Price: £1,178.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Resistance100]

Given the games you are playing that build will be fine and provide you an upgrade path along the way.

The only thing you will need to change is the ram. Want to be aiming for at least 3200mhz with AMD CPU's to get the most out of them

Given the lack of 1080p GPU's at the moment you can look at the AMD 5500XT which will also be fine but they have a history of poor driver updates. The ideal card if you will be playing newer games in the future at 1080p will be the RTX 3060 which is available for pre-order no

 

[bumblegames]

Given the games you are playing that build will be fine and provide you an upgrade path along the way.

The only thing you will need to change is the ram. Want to be aiming for at least 3200mhz with AMD CPU's to get the most out of them

Given the lack of 1080p GPU's at the moment you can look at the AMD 5500XT which will also be fine but they have a history of poor driver updates. The ideal card if you will be playing newer games in the future at 1080p will be the RTX 3060 which is available for pre-order no

Thank you. I'll definitely do that. As for the GPU, I think I'm going to wait until my next pay day and see what's available at the time.

 

[Resistance100]

Thank you. I'll definitely do that. As for the GPU, I think I'm going to wait until my next pay day and see what's available at the time.

If you can wait it should be for the best. Prices should go down a bit in time as well as stock becomes more available

 

[bumblegames]

A 144hz refresh rate is the gold standard these days. Something like this forum favourite AOC monitor will do the job nicely.

AOC Gaming 24G2U -24 Inch FHD Monitor, 144Hz, 1ms, IPS, AMD FreeSync, Ergonomic stand, Speakers, USB Hub, Low input lag (1920x1080 @ 144Hz, 250cd/m², HDMI/DP/VGA/USB 3.0): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy AOC Gaming 24G2U -24 Inch FHD Monitor, 144Hz, 1ms, IPS, AMD FreeSync, Ergonomic stand, Speakers, USB Hub, Low input lag (1920x1080 @ 144Hz, 250cd/m², HDMI/DP/VGA/USB 3.0) at Amazon UK. Free delivery and return on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Thank you for the recommendation. I'll keep it in mind!

 

[bumblegames]

Update: I've just seen that some graphics cards are back in stock. Although prices haven't gone down yet, I'm considering ordering now because of the stock issues and the fact I'm having problems (mainly lag) running GTA on my laptop which I've been playing a lot lately.

I'd be grateful if any of you could answer these questions first. I'm thinking about ordering the 1660 Super but I was wondering if there is a big difference between this and the 1660 Ti, especially regarding VR games? I don't have a VR headset as of now but I might get an Oculus in the future. I'd also like to know what the best substitution for the 750W RMx PSU would be seeing as it's out of stock.

Finally, do I need a G-Sync compatible monitor to get the best out of a NVIDIA GPU?

 

[JUNI0R]

Update: I've just seen that some graphics cards are back in stock. Although prices haven't gone down yet, I'm considering ordering now because of the stock issues and the fact I'm having issues running GTA on my laptop which I've been playing a lot lately.

I'd be grateful if any of you could answer these questions first. I'm thinking about ordering the 1660 Super but I was wondering if there is a big difference between this and the 1660 Ti, especially regarding VR games? I don't have a VR headset as of now but I might get one in the future. I'd also like to know what the best substitution for the 750W RMx PSU would be seeing as it's out of stock.

Finally, do I need a G-Sync compatible monitor to get the best out of a NVIDIA GPU?

This article will show you lots of benchmarks of how the 1660 Super and 1660TI compare (take the actual FPS with a grain of salt, they ramp up all the settings to the highest getting something that realisitcally not may people use).

I wouldn't recommend a 1660 Super or TI for VR, it'll be an absolute throw up fest if it's even capable of running it. If you'd like to run VR comfortably, you'll want to look at a 3070. Although as you don't already own VR, you could get the 1660 Super now (a great little card btw) and then upgrade when the time comes for VR when the prices are back to normal.

A subtitute for the 750RMx would be the 850RMx which is only £4 more expensive.

And yes, for the best performance from an NVIDIA GPU, you'll want a G-Sync monitor, but the one Mr Wilson has recommended will still be a great experience on the 1660 Super

 

[bumblegames]

This article will show you lots of benchmarks of how the 1660 Super and 1660TI compare (take the actual FPS with a grain of salt, they ramp up all the settings to the highest getting something that realisitcally not may people use).

I wouldn't recommend a 1660 Super or TI for VR, it'll be an absolute throw up fest if it's even capable of running it. If you'd like to run VR comfortably, you'll want to look at a 3070. Although as you don't already own VR, you could get the 1660 Super now (a great little card btw) and then upgrade when the time comes for VR when the prices are back to normal.

A subtitute for the 750RMx would be the 850RMx which is only £4 more expensive.

And yes, for the best performance from an NVIDIA GPU, you'll want a G-Sync monitor, but the one Mr Wilson has recommended will still be a great experience on the 1660 Super

Thanks for clarifying. I have seen others say anything below a 2060 isn't ideal for VR but then PCS says the 1660 cards are VR Ready so I wanted to double check. I haven't found enough VR games I want to play to justify getting an Oculus yet so it will definitely be a while. Would I have a better experience running an AMD GPU with AMD FreeSync than a NVIDIA GPU or does it not matter too much?

 

[bumblegames]

Here are my updated specs. I'm looking at the 1650 Super too but I'm unsure of whether this can deliver decent fps on medium/high graphics settings. I'm also considering having a 2TB HDD instead of 1TB although I'm not totally clued up on drive types and how they differ from one another yet. Is this a suitable build for 1080p 144hz gaming with a decent upgrade path? I can't see myself going any higher than an RTX 3070 in the future but you never know.

Apologies for all the questions. I just want to be 100% sure I'm buying the correct system for my purposes. Thanks again everyone.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
PCS BK110 USB KEYBOARD
Mouse Pad
PCS Mouse Mat
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 14 to 16 working days
Price: £1,242.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/RyH2cZKGHZ/