New PC advice

[drewbusby]

Morning folks,

After trawling through the forums for a few weeks I'm ready to dip my toe in the water.

I'm looking at a build for work - typically AutoCAD LT for 2D drafting, MS Office - and light gaming - I've not gamed for quite a few years and looking to get back into it. FPS and maybe a driving game or two, for starters.

I have a WIN10 licence that currently runs on a bootcamp drive on my iMAC (late 2014, 5K Retina) that I will transfer over.

My ideal budget is £1,400-£1,700 for the build, excluding the monitor.

I've put together a couple of builds but will start with the monitor and I've look at a couple of options:

Gaming Monitors - Cheap gaming monitor deals | Currys

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www.currys.co.uk

SAMSUNG Odyssey G5 LC32G55TQWUXEN Quad HD 32" Curved LED Gaming Monitor - Black

Quad HD 2560 x 1440p; Refresh rate: 144 Hz; Response time: 1 ms; Input: HDMI / DisplayPort; Can be wall mounted

www.currys.co.uk

Build No. 1:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,536.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/CdQTvPdUFH/


Build No. 2:

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2x 50cm ARGB LED Strip
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
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
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 14 to 17 working days
Promotional Item
Get Far Cry 6 with select Samsung SSDs
Price: £1,606.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/rsc6rXckmh/

With the exception of the Case and RGB these are near identical but was wanting to double check cooling, case fans, monitor compatibility etc. and if I will get the best out of these combinations.

 

[sck451]

Both builds look totally fine. I might suggest a couple of optimisations, however.

With cooling, the standard cooler is fine, but a slight upgrade might well be a benefit. The best budget option right now is probably the Cooler Master Hyper 212, though the PCS air coolers are also pretty good. With storage, I'd suggest that the 970 is overkill for a secondary drive; the Intel 670p is a great drive for about £30 less. With the case, either is fine, but I'd suggest you could look at either the Corsair 465X or the 5000X, both of which are gorgeous airflowy and RGBy cases. Finally, for the sake of £8, why not double the size of the hard drive? You probably don't need 2TB, but it's so little added cost...

Finally, with monitors, they should both be fine. The 3060 Ti isn't ideal for the ultrawide, but it's not bad at all and, so long as you don't put the settings on "ultra" (you shouldn't) then you should be over 100FPS in most games. However, I would not go for the 32" G5 monitor: the 27" is fine, but 32" is on the large size for that resolution. I'd suggest the ASUS Tuf VG27AQ1A for £299 if you want a 1440p monitor (though of your options, I'd go for the AOC you posted before).

Here's the build I'd suggest for you:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,592.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/6zjvJ3!RYk/

 

[drewbusby]

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated! Same to all the other contributors providing advice on all the threads I've read!

I'm gonna go with your suggested build but I do like the clean lines of the 5000X so will plump for that.

The link re. the ultra setting was very informative and as much as I love the look of the AOC I'll take on board your recommendation for the monitor (it'll save a few pennies as well)

Thanks again.

 

[drewbusby]

Morning folks,

So, I never got round to ordering the above setup 😞 due to a little thing called work getting in the way 👎 However with the overtime I’m now able to stretch my budget considerably 😁

The uses haven’t changed but I figure, rightly or wrongly, that i might gain a little bit longevity.

I have a Black Friday purchase monitor

Gaming Monitors - Cheap gaming monitor deals | Currys

Optimise your gaming experience with gaming monitor from Currys. Our exciting collection features monitors with 144hz refresh rates and immersive 4K visuals.

www.currys.co.uk

This is what I’ve opted for.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series 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
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
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
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 13 to 15 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/M0T8NZ475x/

Any advice welcome. Thanks

ps. I’ve went for the windows license for the software support, just in case….

 

[Bigfoot]

Morning folks,

So, I never got round to ordering the above setup 😞 due to a little thing called work getting in the way 👎 However with the overtime I’m now able to stretch my budget considerably 😁

The uses haven’t changed but I figure, rightly or wrongly, that i might gain a little bit longevity.

I have a Black Friday purchase monitor

Gaming Monitors - Cheap gaming monitor deals | Currys

Optimise your gaming experience with gaming monitor from Currys. Our exciting collection features monitors with 144hz refresh rates and immersive 4K visuals.

www.currys.co.uk

This is what I’ve opted for.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series 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
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
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
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 13 to 15 working days
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/M0T8NZ475x/

Any advice welcome. Thanks

ps. I’ve went for the windows license for the software support, just in case….

That is an excellent looking build. You have obviously been researching on the forum and taken note of the advice available. Enjoy!!!!

 

[drewbusby]

Thanks bigfoot, order placed. Now to prepare for the big unboxing..........

 

[drewbusby]

T'was the day before Christmas and I awoke in excited anticipation to be receiving my new computer.....

Sadly when unboxing I noticed a sound coming from the packaging and when removing the plastic packaging it became apparent that one of the side panels had shattered during transit 🙈..... gutted............

I've emailed a picture to PCS and I'm sure it will be resolved in the fullness of time.

Last thing I want to do is spin up the fans and have shards flying all over the place so I'll just have to shut the door of the room so I don't see it every time I walk past.

 

[Bigfoot]

T'was the day before Christmas and I awoke in excited anticipation to be receiving my new computer.....

Sadly when unboxing I noticed a sound coming from the packaging and when removing the plastic packaging it became apparent that one of the side panels had shattered during transit 🙈..... gutted............

I've emailed a picture to PCS and I'm sure it will be resolved in the fullness of time.

Last thing I want to do is spin up the fans and have shards flying all over the place so I'll just have to shut the door of the room so I don't see it every time I walk past.

That is not good news.

 

[drewbusby]

That is not good news.

It’s not the best mate but with everything that’s been going on it’s not worst.

Merry Christmas 🎅

 

[SpyderTracks]

It’s not the best mate but with everything that’s been going on it’s not worst.

Merry Christmas 🎅

It's definitely a shame, but as you say, of the things that could go wrong in delivery it's one of the better ones. PCS will be able to ship a replacement panel.

Was this a present for someone or for yourself?

 

[drewbusby]

It's definitely a shame, but as you say, of the things that could go wrong in delivery it's one of the better ones. PCS will be able to ship a replacement panel.

Was this a present for someone or for yourself?

It was for myself so waiting for a replacement panel is no hassle at all and with the festivities that are going on I'll be a wee bit pre-occupied.

I've got a fair bit of reading of the rest of the forum as well and no doubt I'll be back on after reviewing with questions re. understanding benchmarking, best places to buy games etc. etc.

 

[SpyderTracks]

It was for myself so waiting for a replacement panel is no hassle at all and with the festivities that are going on I'll be a wee bit pre-occupied.

I've got a fair bit of reading of the rest of the forum as well and no doubt I'll be back on after reviewing with questions re. understanding benchmarking, best places to buy games etc. etc.

Fingers crossed they can ship you a replacement panel fairly quickly

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, if you need any help with anything, just give us a shout.

 

[drewbusby]

Will do sir. Merry Christmas.

 

[drewbusby]

Received my new panel today.

Thank you PCS