Gaming setup mostly for VR

[apothis]

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700KF (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z690 UD (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
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 (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 6 working days
Price: £2,451.00 including VAT and Delivery

Pretty happy with this overall I think, just a question for people who are familiar with the PCS Frostflow AIO coolers, are they really up to the job, despite being so inexpensive, or will I regret not getting a better known brand?

 

[MrWilson]

I wouldn't recommend a DDR5 system, DDR5 is still in its infancy and has yet to be optimised, you're currently paying a large premium on RAM that won't give a performance increase over current DDR4 options.
For a 12th gen Intel CPU and a 3080 GPU I would want at least a 850W PSU, and ideally a 1000W or higher to accommodate an upgrade to a power hungry GPU in the future.
I wouldn't recommend a Frostflow with a 12700KF, I would want a Corsair cooler to look after temps, H115i RGB Pro XT is a good fit, or the Capellix if you want some extra RGB goodness.
Silver warranty for a fiver is also well worth it.

 

[Scott]

Completely agree with the above. I would ditch the Gigabyte motherboard too, personally.

 

[Scott]

Here you go...cheaper as well:

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700KF (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series 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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT 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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
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 3 to 6 working days
Price: £2,276.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/0bzGAptz5J/

Disco!

I would bump the second drive to the 530 Firecuda though. Worth it for direct drive access, hopefully it'll make a big difference to VR experience too (Imagine seamless transitions in VR )

 

[apothis]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice, know its maybe a little early for DDR5, but it seems it might be more sensible for the future, next gen ryzen is going to be ddr5 only I think? Would rather not be stuck with outdated ram in a year or 2, but I'll have a think about it, appreciate the effort for the alternative systems

 

[Steveyg]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice, know its maybe a little early for DDR5, but it seems it might be more sensible for the future, next gen ryzen is going to be ddr5 only I think? Would rather not be stuck with outdated ram in a year or 2, but I'll have a think about it, appreciate the effort for the alternative systems

The problem is there is no guarantee current motherboards will be compatible with the newer versions of DDR5

We seen the same thing happen in DDR4 where people jumped on early but by the time DDR4 became worth having (speed and latency improvements) the motherboards where no longer capable of supporting these new speeds

 

[Martinr36]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice, know its maybe a little early for DDR5, but it seems it might be more sensible for the future, next gen ryzen is going to be ddr5 only I think? Would rather not be stuck with outdated ram in a year or 2, but I'll have a think about it, appreciate the effort for the alternative systems

The chances are that once they sort DDR5 properly, today's boards wont cope with it

 

[Scott]

Historically, first iteration motherboards aren't compatible with the expected stable baseline of RAM.

A very direct and simple example of this is my laptop. It won't support past 2400mhz of DDR4 RAM Which we can now purchase 4000mhz & above).

There needs to be time to mature, it's typically 2 years before the motherboards start to be released past the standards of the readily available RAM options. Check out the expected speed of the RAM on any of the current DDR5 offerings. If it isn't past DDR5-12800 then there's not much point...... as that's where we're heading.

 

[apothis]

Fair enough, I appreciate the advice, I upgrade whole system very rarely (5 yrs +) so thought ddr5 would be a worthwhile step, seems everyone agrees, so I'll have a rethink

 

[Scott]

Very advisable.

I had a quick look there and it seems that 6000 is the norm. That's half the speed that's expected from the potential of DDR5 so I wouldn't touch it.

The other recommendations also apply though, just just the DDR5/4 argument.