High end gaming PC - please sanity check spec

[Stevewtw]

Couple of things to mention about this order:
1) I'm going to send in my own case in - Lian Li PC-O11DW
2) The cooler is going to be swapped out for a NZXT Kraken X73. I'm just waiting for a quote from them
3) As I've got an ASUS 3080 requested, I'm assuming the order will be fullfilled sometime in November
4) Once AMD announce their new CPUs next week, I aim to change my CPU to the most appropriate new AMD one
5) I know I should wait for the AMD announcement but I wanted to get into the queue for the 3080 as soon as possible.

I would really appreciate your thougths on the spec. Also is it worth going for an overclocked version? I'm going to use the PC for sim racing on a service called iRacing.com for which single core speed is very important.

Case
Send In Your Own Case
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6 Core (3.8GHz @ up to 4.3GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
10GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP
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 SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Blue/Black
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 120 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ FX OEM
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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 (Windows 10 Only)
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 9 to 11 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-overclocked/TVaz4sX0mN/

 

[Stevewtw]

Thanks for your advice. My error with the 3090 comment as it's actually a 3080 I'm planning to order.
The sound card is to power some vibration transducers for my racing rig.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The sound card is to power some vibration transducers for my racing rig.

Sorry, can you clarify on this? What exactly are vibration transducers and how does a sound card connect to them?

 

[Stevewtw]

I have just had a quick search. From what I understand, the system uses audio transducers to simulate car movement etc (basically, uses the bass) rather than physical means such as the Rumblepads in a console controller

That's exacly right, the sim reads the telemetry data from the wheel on the car and sends a signal to the sound card. This allows you to 'feel' every bump in the road, get a sensation of the engine throttle and even give you a jolt when you crash!

This will give you a good idea of how it works

 

[Scott]

Still shouldn't need a soundcard for that. Most of the ones I've dealt with use an external amp etc and actually connect via USB.

The build is very strange IMO. It doesn't seem very well thought out, with more preference to selecting high end options than marrying up a consistent build.

 

[Stevewtw]

Still shouldn't need a soundcard for that. Most of the ones I've dealt with use an external amp etc and actually connect via USB.

The build is very strange IMO. It doesn't seem very well thought out, with more preference to selecting high end options than marrying up a consistent build.

You're right, the sound card is not a necessity but for the cost (£28), it's useful to have a decicated option as the system I use, still requires front/rear/left/right sound output (not USB) to run 4 transducers which is set up for pedals / seat / left car / right car vibrations.

I'm more concerned about your comment about the build not being very well thought out. Do you have any recommendations for changes please? This is my first AMD build so your advice would be appreciated

 

[Scott]

What is your budget? Is it purely for gaming? What monitors are you pairing with? Any VR in mind?

You are getting zero benefit from a sound card. The on-board audio does everything you could wish for and doesn't have the downfall of filling up a PCIe slot. I honestly wouldn't even consider adding a sound card, even if it was free.

 

[Stevewtw]

What is your budget? Is it purely for gaming? What monitors are you pairing with? Any VR in mind?

You are getting zero benefit from a sound card. The on-board audio does everything you could wish for and doesn't have the downfall of filling up a PCIe slot. I honestly wouldn't even consider adding a sound card, even if it was free.

My budget is £2750. The PC will be used 90% of the time to play a simulation / game called iRacing.com. I use the Valve Index VR headset most of the time but I also have a triple 1080 monitor set up. I have a HP Reverb G2 headset on order which has a significantly higher resolution. VR is very CPU hungry with iRacing.com. The PC will also be used to control a motion rig from www.simrig.se

I understand your comments on the soundcard and it's a good idea to free up a PCIe slot.

 

[Scott]

My budget is £2750. The PC will be used 90% of the time to play a simulation / game called iRacing.com. I use the Valve Index VR headset most of the time but I also have a triple 1080 monitor set up. I have a HP Reverb G2 headset on order which has a significantly higher resolution. VR is very CPU hungry with iRacing.com. The PC will also be used to control a motion rig from www.simrig.se

I understand your comments on the soundcard and it's a good idea to free up a PCIe slot.

I'm very familiar with all of your uses as this is exactly what I have, although my simrig isn't from Simrig

Surprised that you're switching to the Reverb over the Index, they are effectively the same other than the Index having the better FOV. The Reverb obviously has higher resolution but I don't think this is something that's a limiting factor nowadays. The games aren't quite there to make use of the resolution, although the hardware is now getting there (3080).

I would hold off for the next gen 8C16T chip from AMD, whichever the successor is to the 3800XT would be my choice, possibly the 3900XT though depending what it looks like. You don't want a 6c12t chip anywhere near your uses, this is a very poor choice.

GPU I would have the 3080, no doubt.

RAM you want 2x16GB of the fastest RAM you can get. I think that's the 3200Mhz offering on PCS.

For the cooler you will want the H115i RGB Platinum. I wouldn't have the Kraken personally.

You're storage choices are very extreme. I can get behind the crazy fast OS drive but the game drive doesn't need to be anywhere near as quick. It'll make no odds, even for your games. I would save a ton and go with a far more value M2 NVMe drive for the game drive.

 

[Stevewtw]

Thanks for the feedback Scott

The main reason for ordering the HP Reverb G2 is for the resolution upgrade. I tried the original HP Reverb and the resolution is much better than the Value. I just couldn't stand the terrible sound / software IPD adjustment and Windows Mixed Reality setup so I switched to the Value. 90Hz is enough with VR if you want to have some eye candy switched on so I'm not worried about having a lower refresh rate.

Regarding holding off on the AMD CPU, you're absolutely right. By the time the GPU is available to ship in Nov, I'm guessing/hoping that the newer AMD CPU options will be available in the PCS configurator. The main reason for the order now is to get my spot in the 6+ weeks queue for the GPU.

Storage prices don't seem make a huge difference if I select a cheaper option. I don't really needs masses of storage so I could actually get rid of the second SSD. However, I'm guessing I will be playing with the amazing new Microsoft Flight Sim sometime soon and it's good to have the option.

 

[Scott]

Must admit I'm really surprised by your findings. I went from the Vive to the Index and the upgrade was night and day thanks mostly to the peripheral vision increase. This, for me, is far and away the most important thing for Sim Racing and Flight Simming. I would jump to the Reverb in a heartbeat if the FOV was better than the Index.

I almost went for the Pimax purely because of the insane FOV, but I couldn't go with the down-sides.

 

[Stevewtw]

Let's see what happens - I'll still have my Valve Index when the HP G2 arrives so I'll be able to make a better choice/comparison then. This is interesting...

]

 

[Scott]

I was just about to post this from him....

Note, that my entire point is regarding the FOV. For any type of game other than simming, the visuals are the most important. If I wasn't a simmer I would be going for the best visuals, with racing though..... it has to be FOV, it's so important for racing to be able to see the mirrors without head turns etc.

If it wasn't important, simmers would race on one screen

 

[SpyderTracks]

Let's see what happens - I'll still have my Valve Index when the HP G2 arrives so I'll be able to make a better choice/comparison then. This is interesting...

]

I must say, this G2 is extremely enticing from a visuals standpoint paired with quite exceptional value!

 

[Stevewtw]

Thanks I think you have a preference for a higher FOV and I prefer to have a higher resolution. It's all about the higher quality visuals for me and if you need a higher field of view, just turn your head. In sim racing, I think it matters even more because you're mostly looking straight ahead for various points of reference next to the track (for braking etc).