Mid-High gaming PC recommendations please

J

JMFD

Member
Trying to put together a rig for the first time in a decade! I tend to buy relatively high end, upgrade graphics and/or ram when I need to, but keep the base PC for a long time. (My current PC has a very overclocked first gen i7!)

Uses: Gaming
Budget: No more than 2k, preferably closer to 1.5k
Monitors: Currently dual 1080p, but may be moving to 1440p (sourced elsewhere)

Particularly not sure about the motherboard, or if the jump from Ryzen 5 to higher was worth the cost.
PC tower is kept underneath desk, so don't care about case appearence or RGB case. I added the RGB strip in the build in case this changes, but it's not at all critical.
Will be using existing storage drives.

Current build, based on the Fusion XT prebuild:

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 : DDR4, USB 3.2 - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) (I want the headroom to move to 64 in the future)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM (I still write CDs for the car! If the case is terrible for other reasons, can get an external instead)
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 120 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD) (Only liquid cooler the case liked)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
50cm RGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan
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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
Google Chrome™
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,676.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/xMAaS57p9x/
 
Last edited:
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
JMFD said:
Trying to put together a rig for the first time in a decade! I tend to buy relatively high end, upgrade graphics and/or ram when I need to, but keep the base PC for a long time. (My current PC has a very overclocked first gen i7!)

Uses: Gaming
Budget: No more than 2k, preferably closer to 1.5k
Monitors: Currently dual 1080p, but may be moving to 1440p (sourced elsewhere)

Particularly not sure about the motherboard, or if the jump from Ryzen 5 to higher was worth the cost.
PC tower is kept underneath desk, so don't care about case appearence or RGB case. I added the RGB strip in the build in case this changes, but it's not at all critical.
Will be using existing storage drives.

Current build, based on the Fusion XT prebuild:

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 : DDR4, USB 3.2 - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) (I want the headroom to move to 64 in the future)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM (I still write CDs for the car! If the case is terrible for other reasons, can get an external instead)
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 120 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD) (Only liquid cooler the case liked)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
50cm RGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan
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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
Google Chrome™
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,676.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/xMAaS57p9x/
Click to expand...
Heya! these are the changes I'd recommend assuming you're after 1440p 1444-165hz gaming

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE Corsair 4000D is a fantastic modern high airflow case, if you still need to use DVD's, I'd recommend picking up a USB DVD drive and plugging it when needed.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache If you're looking for future upgradability, intel is your friend here. The current Ryzen platform is at the end of it's life where as Intel will certainly have one more generation on this motherboard
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready Higher end motherboard capable of handling an upgrade
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR The sweetspot for 1440p gaming, don't really think the 70TI is worth the extra
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW) Not sure what your drive situation is so gone for what I'd normally recommend then you can add/ remove what you require/ don't require. This first drive would be for Windows and applications
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) this drive would be for games
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET If you're looking for future upgradability the PSU is also a place where you'd want to look at increasing your spend. The next generations of GPU's are going to be very power hungry so a higher wattage PSU should have you covered for any future upgrades. The RMx is also a higher quality unit
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 200 Series High Performance CPU Cooler This tower cooler should keep the 12600K nice and cool for decent value too. If you wanted an AIO, I'd recommend the H100i PRO XT
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
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
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
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Well worth the fiver
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,904.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/8rfMw9yX6S/
 
J

JMFD

Member
Thanks! I've done my homework a little more and made a couple of tweaks. Being on mobile (my PC is struggling a lot right now!) has dropped the bolding on copy/paste, but I've highlighted changes

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Swapped to a slightly prettier case that seems to be recommended. Will this fit the graphics card, cooler and 3 sata hard drives? (1 SATA SSD + 2 normal SSDs)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600K (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)

Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
Added the Ti back as price difference seems negligible at this range

1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
I have existing storage drives and a Sata ssd.

External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW
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 H100i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
I've had a few too many bad experiences with not liquid cooling! Thanks for the alternate recommendation

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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
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
Google Chrome™
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 4 to 7 working days
Price: £1,981.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/3gc7YVVWky/
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
Is there a reason why you want 32GB RAM? 16GB is pretty much all you would need for gaming, only a couple of specific games actually benefit at all from more than that...perhaps if you could give us some titles for the games you play/genres?

(Just seen you have got a 1000W PSU, I think I was looking at the first post where I saw a 750W)
 
J

JMFD

Member
The 1000 PSU was recommended in the initial reply.

32 ram on the offchance I end up using or for work (possibly machine learning) in future as didn't seem to hit the budget too badly.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I would stick with 500GB for the primary OS. It promotes good housekeeping. You don't want to use the drive past 50% capacity or you will end up with reduced performance. Having 1TB just means that you would have more to backup and keep an eye on if a reformat/wipe was required. We would always recommend using a second drive for fast storage.

With regards to having an SSD etc to add, that's great but it won't be close to the performance of an M2.

My preference is always the 500GB 980 pro as a primary and the 1TB 670 as a secondary.

Budget obviously determines what you do, but this would be the recommendation from me.
 
J

JMFD

Member
Thanks for the recommendations on drives. I've previously chucked games I care about onto the primary drive with the os, files on mechanical drive 1 and backups for this pc and a couple of networked pcs on mechanical drive 2. M2s weren't around when I setup my last pc (first gen i7!)

If I understand the current tech, recommendation is os only on primary m2, games on secondary m2, then the mechanical drive setup I have at the mo?
 
J

JMFD

Member
Last question... I think.. is there a way of letting the builders know I'm adding 2 sata storage drives for the purpose of cable management, or with the modular PSU will it not be an issue? On a prior pc (different store) I ended up destroying some lovely cabling just to install a drive
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
JMFD said:
Last question... I think.. is there a way of letting the builders know I'm adding 2 sata storage drives for the purpose of cable management, or with the modular PSU will it not be an issue? On a prior pc (different store) I ended up destroying some lovely cabling just to install a drive
Click to expand...
With a modular PSU, you'll be able to just add another SATA power lead from the PSU, so even if there aren't spare SATA power connectors available when it arrives, you won't have to touch any of the existing cable management to fit another lead.

All the spare leads will arrive in the welcome box, make sure you keep all of them as you may need them going forward.
 
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