Looking For Some Advice...

[MMBaz]

Hello, all! Hope you are all doing well during these trying times. If it's not too much hassle, I'm looking for feedback and advice on the system I chose and purchased. The system will be used for gaming at 1440p 144Hz, in addition to streaming and audio production. I've been hearing good things about AMD CPU's but I'm too stubborn to make the switch. I'm not going to lie, most of my decision making was primarily based on aesthetics - for which I'm happy to pay a little extra for (Pretty lights). However, I'm hoping I haven't made any mistakes that would cause someone with a greater knowledge to think, "Ha! Stupid". I'm hoping to keep the system for as long as possible and only upgrade either the CPU, GPU or RAM depending on my needs. I read Nvidia recommends a 750w PSU for the RTX 3080 GPU which is why I opted for the 850w (to make sure it will be sufficient enough for the future 4000 series maybe?). So, here it is in all its glory, or stupidity...

(Budget was around 2k)

Case
THERMALTAKE V200 2.0 TEMPERED GLASS RGB EDITION GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel[emoji2400] Core[emoji769] i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700KF (3.8GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS[emoji2400] ROG MAXIMUS XII HERO Wi-Fi (LGA1200, USB 3.2, CrossFireX/SLI) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES[emoji769] MODULAR 80 PLUS[emoji2400] GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
3x PCS ARGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
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
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365[emoji2400] (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft[emoji2400] Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer[emoji2400] Black Widow Elite Gaming Keyboard
Games Controller
Xbox One Controller + Cable for Windows
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 15 working days
Promotional Item
Get Assassin's Creed: Valhalla with select SAMSUNG SSDs!
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[Bigfoot]

Doesn’t choosing Intel make upgrading the CPU in the future quite difficult? (i.e. requires a new motherboard)

 

[MMBaz]

Huh...didn't know PCS did XBOne controllers

I appreciate stubbornness and have no intention of trying to change your mind on buying Intel as it's your money....I would suggest reading this though to give you some insight into why AMD are the logical choice:

AMD Vs Intel

So some of you aren't aware of the reasons why so many people are heading away from Intel to AMD, so thought it would be important to lay that out for people to refer back to. A lot of you will go to cpubenchmark or userbenchmark to find performance metrics for CPU's. These sites are complete...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Thanks for the reply! I had a look at all the info you provided. The new AMD CPU's do sound like the choice I should have made for maximum performance to price ratio. I've had a few problems with AMD in the past, that's why I ended up going for Intel. I knew I was sacrificing a bit of performance for reassurance and I was ok with that. However, I've since found out that the new upcoming range of Intel CPU's will require a different socket (thanks for the heads up BIGFOOT) - meaning I'll most likely need to replace my motherboard if I wanted to upgrade in the future. Finding this out definitely hurt my feelings haha. I most likely wouldn't have spent so much on the Asus Rog Maximus XII Hero if I had known beforehand. I do like the way it looks though, so hopefully the 10700KF will be sufficient for my needs for many years. If not, maybe updating to one of the 10th gen i9's will be enough to tide me over until I really need to upgrade. Does anything else in the build look out of place to you? Would the system be ok if I ever wanted to upgrade my monitor and GPU for 4k gaming at high refresh rates?

Edit: I was happy to find the Xbox Controller in stock as it has always been out of stock when I've checked in the past! Was a nice option, considering most PC enthusiasts consider controllers on PC blasphemous. I plan on hooking up my PC to the TV so it'll be good to sit back and play some single player games with it!

 

[MMBaz]

Doesn’t choosing Intel make upgrading the CPU in the future quite difficult? (i.e. requires a new motherboard)

I’ve just stumbled across a few articles saying they expect intel’s new rocket lake 11th gen CPU’s to be released with backwards compatibility for some pcie 4.0 enabled Z490 boards, which should mean my motherboard will support it. I could have read this wrong so can someone confirm this please?

 

[Martinr36]

Take a read of this link, intel are way behind

AMD Vs Intel

So some of you aren't aware of the reasons why so many people are heading away from Intel to AMD, so thought it would be important to lay that out for people to refer back to. A lot of you will go to cpubenchmark or userbenchmark to find performance metrics for CPU's. These sites are complete...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[MMBaz]

Take a read of this link, intel are way behind

AMD Vs Intel

So some of you aren't aware of the reasons why so many people are heading away from Intel to AMD, so thought it would be important to lay that out for people to refer back to. A lot of you will go to cpubenchmark or userbenchmark to find performance metrics for CPU's. These sites are complete...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Thanks for the link but I’ve read all I can about how AMD have the more powerful CPU’s but what I want to know is if the new 11th gen CPU’s will be compatible with my Z490 motherboard? I’ve been told on multiple occasions that I would never be able to upgrade from a 10th gen CPU without upgrading my motherboard first but I’ve since seen quite a few sources say future intel CPU’s will be backwards compatible. Is this true or am I misinterpreting what I’m reading?