Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if I could get your opinion on some options I have been reviewing for a new PC. Regarding use case, I work in the medical fields so the main purpose of the computer will be standard productivity work with occasional scientific data management. I also do educational videos and animations so some moderate video editing ability is desired. Given that this is a personal PC, I also want it to be a strong gaming machine, capable of playing titles like cyberpunk 2077 and the FF VII remake.
My current machine is an old clevo laptop with an GTX 880m and Haswell i7; so anything is going to be an upgrade. Unfortunately, the machine broke this week, which places some urgency on the replacement, as I am falling behind in work and research projects without a home machine.
At present I am running 2 fairly unremarkable 27” 1080 monitors. I’d be planning to upgrade to an ultrawide setup and have ordered a midlevel IPS WQHD 144Hz monitor (Gigabyte M34WQ) to test the waters before getting a more expensive monitor if I like the style. I’m expecting that the ultrawide setup will give me the best mix between productivity and immersive gaming. I know that ultrawide gaming has its issues too, mainly in competitive games, but aside from StarCraft I don’t play any competitive titles at a high level.
This machine is going to be a bit of a treat to myself, so I will be splurging a little bit; but I still want to keep everything reasonable when it comes to price/performance. I would be aiming for a budget of ~£2,500. I also realise that now might not be the best time to buy for a higher end machine with the Zen 4 and RTX 4000 series likely incoming, but my hands are tied. Having lost my daily workstation, I need to some new silicon now.
My current choices, and their rationale are as follows:
Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
A decent mid range case that seems to offer good value for money with USB 3.2 front ports and 3 RGB fans. I would happily change this if you had other recommendations. I would strongly favour cases with good airflow, so would prefer a mesh face.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
ASUS® PRIME Z690-P D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
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
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 6 working days
Price: €3,179.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/eCxewpyuhH/
I'd really appreciate any input that anyone has to offer. Thanks!
I was wondering if I could get your opinion on some options I have been reviewing for a new PC. Regarding use case, I work in the medical fields so the main purpose of the computer will be standard productivity work with occasional scientific data management. I also do educational videos and animations so some moderate video editing ability is desired. Given that this is a personal PC, I also want it to be a strong gaming machine, capable of playing titles like cyberpunk 2077 and the FF VII remake.
My current machine is an old clevo laptop with an GTX 880m and Haswell i7; so anything is going to be an upgrade. Unfortunately, the machine broke this week, which places some urgency on the replacement, as I am falling behind in work and research projects without a home machine.
At present I am running 2 fairly unremarkable 27” 1080 monitors. I’d be planning to upgrade to an ultrawide setup and have ordered a midlevel IPS WQHD 144Hz monitor (Gigabyte M34WQ) to test the waters before getting a more expensive monitor if I like the style. I’m expecting that the ultrawide setup will give me the best mix between productivity and immersive gaming. I know that ultrawide gaming has its issues too, mainly in competitive games, but aside from StarCraft I don’t play any competitive titles at a high level.
This machine is going to be a bit of a treat to myself, so I will be splurging a little bit; but I still want to keep everything reasonable when it comes to price/performance. I would be aiming for a budget of ~£2,500. I also realise that now might not be the best time to buy for a higher end machine with the Zen 4 and RTX 4000 series likely incoming, but my hands are tied. Having lost my daily workstation, I need to some new silicon now.
My current choices, and their rationale are as follows:
Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
A decent mid range case that seems to offer good value for money with USB 3.2 front ports and 3 RGB fans. I would happily change this if you had other recommendations. I would strongly favour cases with good airflow, so would prefer a mesh face.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
- Good upper range processor, with the option to overclock (though my understanding is that overclocking may not be wise on 12th gen chips?).
- I think the 12900k would be excessive for my needs.
ASUS® PRIME Z690-P D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
- The "cheapest" of the upper range motherboards. Good list of i/o and 2.5 gbps ethernet along with overclocking possibility.
- I don't think the extra VRM cooling or features of the other motherboards are required for my needs.
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
- I multitask heavily (generally 30 chrome tabs between 2-3 different windows), so I think I would get the benefit of 32GB over 16GB. I upgraded from 16 -> 32 on my old laptop and really noticed the difference.
- I also plan to start using VMs, so the RAM will be useful.
- RGB variant chosen as it was cheaper than the non RBG variant.
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
- I'm really torn about this one.
- As I said I would be looking to run an ultrawide with at least a second monitor. If I like the ultrawide I would plan to upgrade to a more premium version in the coming years, otherwise I will revert back to a dual monitor setup with one 4k gaming monitor and one 4k 60Hz monitor.
- Would a 3070(Ti) be the more appropriate card for this use case, especially since the 4000 series would be out by the time I am upgrading my monitor.
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
- Decent PCIe Gen 4 boot drive
- 2TB should be loads of space
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
- Basic Mechanical HDD to store all the extra nonsense that accumulates with life.
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
- I think that 850w is probably overkill here, but I am thinking of the future and this would give me room to grow into a more expensive graphics card down the line.
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
- Seems like a reliable AIO that would hopefully serve me for years to come.
- I don't really care about RGB for the caprillex or LCD versions.
- The 360mm radiator is likely overkill, but as I said, I am hoping that I will be able to use this AIO in future builds.
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
- Best wireless card for the price.
- Would appreciate any input on this.
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
- Windows professional so that I can run VMs
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
2 - 3 DAY DELIVERY TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 6 working days
Price: €3,179.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/eCxewpyuhH/
I'd really appreciate any input that anyone has to offer. Thanks!
