Liquid cooling Build

[Crispy01]

Hi guys,
I am looking to trade in my laptop for a proper desktop, as I will soon have my desk space available again and I am having issues with my current laptop.

I was wondering if anyone could give the below build a once-over, and maybe give some advice. I have made some expensive and stupid mistakes with builds in the past, and I don't want to repeat them.

I was also looking at liquid cooling, which I have not had experience with before, as I am having lots of issues with overheating and thermal throttling with my current laptop (I know this isn't nearly as much as an issue with a desktop, but I am still wary) and I am interested in how quiet the build could be. But I am worrying that it might be a bit overboard and a waste of time and money when its not needed.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.


Case
CORSAIR 175R RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700KF (Up to 5.4GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI (DDR5, LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
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
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
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
Firefox™
Monitor
CoolerMaster GA271 27" VA Monitor - 2560x1440, 1MS, 100Hz
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 7 to 10 working days
Price: £1,816.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Martinr36]

I suggest you give this a good read and answer the questions it raises, and if you can add the configuration link for the above it would be very helpful as that does need some adjustments

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

 

[Crispy01]

I suggest you give this a good read and answer the questions it raises, and if you can add the configuration link for the above it would be very helpful as that does need some adjustments

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

Sorry, my bad, was getting ahead of myself jumping into the building.
Altered the build somewhat also based on another pinned post here.

I would like this for gaming, VR is planned in the future, but not just yet. I do very much want it to be 2k resolution, hence the monitor, but I am not fussed about the refresh rate, really. I don't expect or really care about anything about 60fps anyway, but I just want my games to be smooth and reliable. My current issue is a game can go from anywhere between 20fps and 80fps, and alternates quickly and wildly due to thermal throttling, so want to avoid that.
My main thing I am unsure about is the liquid cooling - as I said above, I have no real experience with it, so not sure whether its worth it for my build, and I am so out of the game with Desktops, I am not even sure if the fans, sound and cooling for air cooling would be fine or not.

My budget can't go much higher than the current one, but if you have any suggestions still let me know, even if it increases the cost, and I can see about saving a month or two more.

Case
CORSAIR 175R RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (WIFI 6E, DDR5, PCIe 5.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
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
Firefox™
Monitor
CoolerMaster GA271 27" VA Monitor - 2560x1440, 1MS, 100Hz
Monitor Cables
1 x 1.8 METRE GOLD PLATED V2.1 Certified HDMI CABLE
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 7 to 10 working days
Price: £1,954.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Bn7cY!x!mP/

 

[Scott]

For 1440p (2k is 1080p) including a monitor, I think you're going to need to save a bit more unfortunately. The budget isn't really there to have a build that's well rounded. Components have become so expensive now and the GPU market is just bonkers.

If it wasn't for the VR aspirations you could save a few ££ or get far better performance for your £ by going with AMD for the GPU. Unfortunately they still haven't cracked the VR limitations with the drivers as yet.

I've removed the Monitor & the HDMI cable. You would want a better monitor and to budget around £275 for a 1440p gaming monitor. With the HDMI cable you don't need anything particularly fancy at that length. I would probably opt for a Displayport cable over HDMI anyway.

The rest has been tweaked around still choosing the 3060Ti but with future upgrades in mind. The 3060Ti will run 1440p to what you're looking for (60fps) but it'll barely get you in the door of a decent VR experience so it may be worthwhile putting that aspiration on hold and opting for an AMD alternative until you want to go for VR.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI (DDR5, PCIe 5.0) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/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, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H100i ELITE RGB 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
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
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
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 7 to 10 working days
Price: £1,914.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/EPdkEkDhrJ/

 

[Crispy01]

For 1440p (2k is 1080p) including a monitor, I think you're going to need to save a bit more unfortunately. The budget isn't really there to have a build that's well rounded. Components have become so expensive now and the GPU market is just bonkers.

If it wasn't for the VR aspirations you could save a few ££ or get far better performance for your £ by going with AMD for the GPU. Unfortunately they still haven't cracked the VR limitations with the drivers as yet.

I've removed the Monitor & the HDMI cable. You would want a better monitor and to budget around £275 for a 1440p gaming monitor. With the HDMI cable you don't need anything particularly fancy at that length. I would probably opt for a Displayport cable over HDMI anyway.

The rest has been tweaked around still choosing the 3060Ti but with future upgrades in mind. The 3060Ti will run 1440p to what you're looking for (60fps) but it'll barely get you in the door of a decent VR experience so it may be worthwhile putting that aspiration on hold and opting for an AMD alternative until you want to go for VR.

Thanks for the advice. I would be very willing to drop the VR and Nvidia to be honest. VR is a bit away in my future anyway and if I get desperate, I could always get one of those standalone ones like the Pico or Quest.

Do you have any further advice on a decent AMD GPU? To be perfectly honest the only reason I really went for the Nvidia option was because I at least know roughly how they compare with one another, but with AMD I have no clue.
Also, are CPU Liquid coolers worth the cost and risk of leakage over fans? Its been a while since I had a desktop, but with my previous laptops, the CPU being thermal throttled was a major issue, so I am trying to avoid this in any future desktops.

Thanks

 

[Scott]

With AMD the 2 obvious considerations are the 6750XT and the 6950XT. The 6950XT is really good value for what you're getting but it puts you quite a bit above your budget. The 6750XT is similar cash to the 3060Ti but more comparable with the 3070 in performance, so you get a bit more juice. If you can push the boat out the 6950XT is more comparable with with the 3080/3090, so a fair performance jump.

With AIOs you've nothing to worry about. I've never heard of any premium AIO leaking and I've never had an issue with any Corsair myself previously. I had one running for 10 years in my own rig, it's still going strong in my Dads. There are numerous members with similar stories.