Gaming PC spec check (Minecraft mainly)

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EdwCom

Member
Advice is greatly appreciated.

I've basically taken the Minecraft Elite recommendation, but increased CPU to 5600X, Memory to (2 x 8GB) and Processor Cooling to Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan. My monitor choice is based on size and availability.

Is my spec acceptable? Is this overkill or not?

Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H V2: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.2 Gen 1, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
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 [KK3-00027]
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Monitor
IIYAMA X2481HS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI 1920x1080
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 12 to 14 working days

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-home-office/u8efMNECQ0/
 
D

DarTon

Well-known member
Hi. Welcome to the forum.

It might be useful to know what your budget is. I would say you can do a bit better than this for the money you are spending. I'm seeing your build come in at £1,081. It has slow RAM, poor motherboard, too small a SSD, an office CV PSU which is too small and the wifi card is prior gen.

I'm seeing your build at £1,081 but for £1,096 the build below is better. Both builds have some major compromises given the budget. I'd also question whether you should buy another monitor elsewhere.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE - Much better airflow case with 3 fans
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache - Equivalent performance to 5600X but cheaper
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 (rev. 1.0) : LGA1700, DDR4, USB 3.2 - B660 board is vastly better than A320M
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) - Fast RAM
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI - Really want a 1660 Super but that blows the budget and for Minecraft this is ok
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) - We'd prefer two drives, for OS and games, but at this budget a single SSD is best
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - TXm is better than CV. I'd prefer 750W PSU for upgradeability but for budget reasons keep this
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler - Simple tower cooler is more than adequate
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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 - Modern wifi6 card
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 [KK3-00027]
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
Monitor
IIYAMA X2481HS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI 1920x1080
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - £5 for a silver warranty is good value
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,096.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/z96tUhn6t3/
 
D

DarkyDankness

Member
i may not be able to add much on terms of what an ideal build will be for you but minecraft, especially if youre looking to mod, youll need more ram and fast ram at that. Especially since java hogs ram!
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I couldn't recommend getting that monitor. It's really not going to be a good experience: it's only 75Hz and as a VA panel I wouldn't expect it to have great colour accuracy either. For just a little more you can get decent displays like the AOC 24G2U, the MSI G241 or the Gigabyte G24F. Buying an office display for a gaming system feels like a bad choice.
 
E

EdwCom

Member
DarTon said:
Hi. Welcome to the forum.

It might be useful to know what your budget is. I would say you can do a bit better than this for the money you are spending. I'm seeing your build come in at £1,081. It has slow RAM, poor motherboard, too small a SSD, an office CV PSU which is too small and the wifi card is prior gen.

I'm seeing your build at £1,081 but for £1,096 the build below is better. Both builds have some major compromises given the budget. I'd also question whether you should buy another monitor elsewhere.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE - Much better airflow case with 3 fans
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache - Equivalent performance to 5600X but cheaper
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 (rev. 1.0) : LGA1700, DDR4, USB 3.2 - B660 board is vastly better than A320M
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) - Fast RAM
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI - Really want a 1660 Super but that blows the budget and for Minecraft this is ok
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) - We'd prefer two drives, for OS and games, but at this budget a single SSD is best
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - TXm is better than CV. I'd prefer 750W PSU for upgradeability but for budget reasons keep this
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler - Simple tower cooler is more than adequate
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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 - Modern wifi6 card
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 [KK3-00027]
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
Monitor
IIYAMA X2481HS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI 1920x1080
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - £5 for a silver warranty is good value
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,096.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/z96tUhn6t3/
Click to expand...

Thank you for your time and suggestion for my spec. It's been massively helpful. I'm a life-long Mac user, and custom PCs is a whole new level of complexity to which I've never had to give much thought.

I'm also removing my original monitor and will find myself an appropriate gaming one as suggested by @sck451.

I'm also going to up the RAM to 32GB. As for budget, I'm aiming for around the £1000 mark, but it little over is fine. This will be my son's gaming machine, and owning a PC will be a whole learning process itself.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
EdwCom said:
Thank you for your time and suggestion for my spec. It's been massively helpful. I'm a life-long Mac user, and custom PCs is a whole new level of complexity to which I've never had to give much thought.

I'm also removing my original monitor and will find myself an appropriate gaming one as suggested by @sck451.

I'm also going to up the RAM to 32GB. As for budget, I'm aiming for around the £1000 mark, but it little over is fine. This will be my son's gaming machine, and owning a PC will be a whole learning process itself.

Thanks again for the replies.
Click to expand...
Do you mean going up to 32GB on @DarTon's build? It won't do any harm, but it probably won't offer much benefit either. More RAM in itself won't make your PC faster: it's only when you need more than you have that you get a speed advantage. For most gaming systems, more than 16GB is unnecessary. If it turns out to be necessary, it's a very easy upgrade later on. So it's not where I'd suggest spending that money right now!
 
E

EdwCom

Member
Oh, I see. Right now my spec is based on @DanTon's recommendation above, keeping RAM at 16GB. I've swapped the monitor for AOC 24G2U and PCspecialist PROCEED button recommended changing the power supply CORSAIR 550W to the CORSAIR 450W.

Ram 32GB is overkill for now. As you say, can also add more later if needed.

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
EdwCom said:
Oh, I see. Right now my spec is based on @DanTon's recommendation above, keeping RAM at 16GB. I've swapped the monitor for AOC 24G2U and PCspecialist PROCEED button recommended changing the power supply CORSAIR 550W to the CORSAIR 450W.

Ram 32GB is overkill for now. As you say, can also add more later if needed.

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
Click to expand...
The power supply isn't a change I'd recommend. The CV will be fine, but it is a much lesser unit than the TX550m. If you would like your PC to be upgradable in a few years' time, I'd suggest going for more power than you strictly speaking need.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
sck451 said:
The power supply isn't a change I'd recommend. The CV will be fine, but it is a much lesser unit than the TX550m. If you would like your PC to be upgradable in a few years' time, I'd suggest going for more power than you strictly speaking need.
Click to expand...
Aside from this, if you look at the price difference, even at this level of budget, it's fairly minute.
 
E

EdwCom

Member
Any final advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm not a PC user, but I find myself building a machine for my son. I've basically taken the Minecraft Elite recommendation and via interactions with amazing forum contributions from @DarTon, @DarkyDankness, @sck451 and @SpyderTracks I've built the following spec.

Could someone have a quick glance over and check I've not done anything daft before I press the purchase button.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 (rev. 1.0) : LGA1700, DDR4, USB 3.2
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid 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
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 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
Monitor
AOC 24G2U 24" 144Hz Gaming Monitor - DP
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 8 to 10 working days
Price: £1,097.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/SCdsDsvha4/


Started my investigation here https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/gaming-pc-spec-check-minecraft-mainly.87793/
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I would try and hold off for the ASUS B660, the Gigabyte offerings aren't the best unfortunately.

For the PSU you want the TXm option, rather than the CV.
 
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