Mid-range gaming spec opinions

[meatybeetroot]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to upgrade my existing PCS to something that will fulfill the following main use cases for the next 4-5 years:

* Running the latest games - RPGs with a smattering of FPSs for the most part. I'm not necessarily looking to ramp up the resolution to the max but I'd like to run at a "high" resolution at a decent frame rate.
* Photo-editing - again, it doesn't have to be super-responsive but enough to comfortably edit my DSLR RAWs

My peripherals are kept to a minimum - USB gaming mouse and keyboard along with a single 4K monitor.

I've attached the spec below. It's "upper mid" components that I've aimed for mostly with an eye on future proofing for at least the next 5 years. The things I'm not certain about are:

1. Is there any sign of bottlenecking? I've done a little research which seems to suggest that the CPU and GPU are reasonable match. Any thoughts?
2. Is the case a good match? Again, to my eye it looks a good match for a mid-range rig like this but am interested in more thoughts.
3. Are the cooling and power selections going to do the job given the other components?
4. Is anything over-specced for the use case?

Any other observations or recommendations would be gratefully received too. Thanks in advance folks! On to the spec...

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700K (Up to 5.0GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ASUS Xonar SE 5.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
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

 

[Tron1982]

Hello,

I'm clearly not the best to help with desktop, but there is some things I can say for sure before more competent member forum step in ^^
So, to begin with your spec, what's your budget ?

Then, don't buy this desktop as the CPU is clearly not good, I mean, it's a 2 generation old CPU and so, a big bottleneck ...
Plus, nowadays, AMD is a little ahead Intel, so, you should go for it.
Your ram is too slow, the power supply is a little bit to "small" i think, and i'm not sure you need soundcard.

And my knowledge stop here, so i'll wait for another member to step in ^^

 

[TonyCarter]

From what you've posted, I assume you're replacing your existing PCS machine and not upgrading it then?

If this is a new build, can you post the full config (all the way down to the price and config link) using the 'post to forum' button after you click 'proceed' on the config page...along with your max budget so that we know what we're working to.

I would say that the RTX4070 is not a 4k GPU though - for that you would need a RTX4080 or 7900XTX.

 

[meatybeetroot]

Thanks folks.

Yes, sorry the term "upgrading" is misleading - I mean replacing.

Annoyingly, I've just gone back to me quote and it's already disappeared which is odd given that they're supposed to last for 5 days - maybe there some promotion that has expired... Anyway, I'll post the full quote when I have time to build it up again this evening.

With regards the RTX4070, thanks for that. This article backs up your assertion: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-review/6. So, basically I could use it for 4k gaming but I'd need to expect to compromise a bit on settings. That might be a compromise I'm willing to accept given the price difference of upgrading but I'll dig into it more.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks folks.

Yes, sorry the term "upgrading" is misleading - I mean replacing.

Annoyingly, I've just gone back to me quote and it's already disappeared which is odd given that they're supposed to last for 5 days - maybe there some promotion that has expired... Anyway, I'll post the full quote when I have time to build it up again this evening.

With regards the RTX4070, thanks for that. This article backs up your assertion: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-review/6. So, basically I could use it for 4k gaming but I'd need to expect to compromise a bit on settings. That might be a compromise I'm willing to accept given the price difference of upgrading but I'll dig into it more.

At 4k though, you'd have to disable any Ray Tracing, so it wouldn't make any sense to go with the 4070 over the 7800xt which is a stronger card in rasturisation while being cheaper.

But I'd agree though, neither is very optimal for 4k. I'd be looking towards the 7900xt which has come down in price quite substantially.

 

[meatybeetroot]

Cheers @SpyderTracks - I'll definitely research into that card for my spec this evening!

 

[meatybeetroot]

Oh and to answer the question asked further up: the budget I'm looking at is around £2000 for the entire rig.

 

[sck451]

When you say the entire rig, can I presume you mean the PC? Nothing else you need to buy? E.g. you already have the monitor?

I'd be looking at something like this:

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) Good gaming CPU (the 7800X3D would be ideal, but especially at 4K there's unlikely to be a significant difference)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
20GB AMD RADEON™ RX 7900 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12 Probably the best value for 4K gaming
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) Boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) Games drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Plenty of PSU capacity to spare
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
DeepCool AK620 ZERO DARK High-Performance Dual Tower CPU Cooler Sufficient for the 7700/7800X3D
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED If you're upgrading from an existing PC, you can transfer Windows and save £100ish
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
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 5 to 7 working days
Price: £1,949.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/aaxmYm2kF9/

 

[meatybeetroot]

Ah... that spec has given me plenty of food for thought; thanks @sck451! The AMD options you give weren't ones I had considered yet. Good point on the Windows license too - sadly, I'll need to get a new Windows license I think as the old PC is going to get redeployed elsewhere in the house I suspect.

The AMD 7 7700 is an interesting choice in that build - it feels like where the biggest compromise is being made to fit within the budget right? i.e. for a such a gaming rig, go for the best graphics card that can be reasonably expected within such a budget, fast memory and compromise a little on the CPU. Would that sound like a reasonable observation?

 

[sck451]

The AMD 7 7700 is an interesting choice in that build - it feels like where the biggest compromise is being made to fit within the budget right? i.e. for a such a gaming rig, go for the best graphics card that can be reasonably expected within such a budget, fast memory and compromise a little on the CPU. Would that sound like a reasonable observation?

I wouldn't call the 7700 a compromise CPU choice. It's just a point where you are going to get less benefit compared to a stronger GPU when you're gaming at 4K. At 1080p in high-refresh-rate scenarios, a faster CPU (i.e. the 7800X3D) would gain you significant performance. At 4K, when the framerate will never be nearly that high, you will see much less dependance on CPU performance.

If you had an extra £140 to chuck at the build, sure, the 7800X3D is amazing. But it realistically isn't necessary for your use.

 

[meatybeetroot]

Thanks for that; I see what you're saying. I'm certainly leaning towards an AMD build now very similar to what you've suggested. The one question left is whether I chuck that extra money at the 7800X3D after all. You make a good argument against it though. Hmm......

 

[sck451]

The key thing is that a CPU provides information to the GPU, which gives you your frames. The number of frames the CPU can provide information for is (essentially) constant across different resolutions. The GPU takes as many of these packets of information as it can and makes frames out of them, which are sent to the monitor. This is enormously affected by resolution, often scaling linearly.

So, for example, let's imagine a game where our CPU can provide 120FPS. Our GPU can output 140FPS at 1080p, 100FPS at 1440p, and 60FPS at 4K. At 1080p, the GPU is limited by the CPU's performance; this is a "bottleneck". At the other resolutions it is not. This is why a CPU performance is less important when it comes to 4K gaming.

Now, the counter-argument is future-proofing. A game released in 2027 might well be more CPU-intensive -- or indeed you might take up a more CPU-intensive game in the future yourself, or you might get a graphics card upgrade which can do way, way more frames. There it's possible that you'll find yourself limited by the CPU if you go for a weaker option (all things are relative -- the 7700 is a great chip). But then you could have saved your £140 and spend it on an upgrade to a better CPU than either option on the table today when it will actually benefit you.

Either chip is fine; I'd be likely to go for the 7700, but if you went for the 7800X3D, I don't think anyone on earth would think you absurdly foolish.

 

[meatybeetroot]

Your arguments make sense; thanks for laying them out so clearly. I'm leaning more towards the 7700 as, if I'm honest with myself for my use cases, it should be plenty for a good few years.

Thanks again!

 

[meatybeetroot]

Something I might consider as a compromise to my spending self is a small upgrade to the 7700X (£40 more) but we'll see. I've read reviews that suggests that runs a little hot; so perhaps it's not worth the "upgrade" from the 7700.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Something I might consider as a compromise to my spending self is a small upgrade to the 7700X (£40 more) but we'll see. I've read reviews that suggests that runs a little hot; so perhaps it's not worth the "upgrade" from the 7700.

7700x is the older model that was replaced by the 7700, the 7700 is the same chip, just optimised further and far more efficient, the 7700x is a downgrade, not an upgrade.

 

[meatybeetroot]

Ah thanks, that's a no-brainer then!