New PC being built now.

[howardtaylor158]

Hi guys,

My name is Howard and I am 70 years young, married, and a retired (Pensioner) ex University IT Consultant after being employed as an RPG, Cobol and Basic programmer and a massive PC user.

I use Office 365 (Outlook, Excel, Publisher), Cyberlink Power Director 17 64bit for Video Editing and Games such as all of the Microsoft Flight Simulators (waiting for FS 2020 to be released), all of the Assassins Creed series and of course, all of the Tombraiders including Rise of the Tombraider, currently playing Elite Dangerous for the past 5 years, I don't know if that information helps.

Any suggestions for this build please, I think I have most of what I want is within my budget, but any further suggestions i.e for future upgrades, addons, enhancements would be appreciated. This is my 2nd PC from PCSpecialist, my old PCSpecialist PC has been great for the past 6 years.

Currently being built - Ordered 04/01/2020

Case: FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)

Motherboard: ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0)

CPU: Overclocked AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6 Core (3.8GHz @ up to 4.3GHz)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 2018 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

Memory: 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)

PSU: CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD ULTRA QUIET

Sound: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Graphics Card: 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP VR Ready

Networking: WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0

Drive C: 1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W) Partitoned (C: 500Gb Windows 10 Pro - D: 500Gb - Data Drive)

Drive E: 1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W) Partitioned (E: 1Tb - Video Storage Drive)

To be taken out of my Old PC and installed on my New PC

Monitor: AOC 27” Q2778VQE (2560x1440)

Keyboard: Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 - Basic Mouse V.2

Drive F: Samsung 860 EVO SSD 500GB (Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Old PC Drive)

Drive G: Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB (Backup Drive 1)

Drive H: Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB (Backup Drive 2)

Drive I: DVD-RW Drive

Drive J: BLU-RAY RW Drive

Monitor: AOC 27” Q2778VQE (2560x1440)

Keyboard: Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 - Basic Mouse V.2

WEB Camera: Logitech C920 HD

Joystick: Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X (Used for Flight Sim and Elite Dangerous)

Tobii 4C Eye Tracking Device (Used for Flight Sim and Elite Dangerous)

 

[Rakk]

What will you be using the PC for? And what is your budget?
32Gb of RAM is quite a lot unless you have a specific use for it.

Also note that a lot of cases will not have enough spaces for all those drives you've specified you're going to add (most don't have space for DVD/CD drives anymore), the case you have chosen has: 2 x 3.5"/2.5" bays and 2 x 2.5" bays

 

[Scott]

I would cancel that build to be honest. There are better options that can be selected for the budget.

The ROG Strix isn't worth it IMO, it's a good motherboard but a bit wasted unless there is a specific need. The standard ASUS 570 is a great board.
Overclocking a Ryzen CPU will often be detrimental to performance due to the way boost clocks are generated with AMD chips. It's the lowest performing core that your clock will be set to, with the highest performing core the aforementioned boost figure. Leaving the AMD chips alone is always best.
The H60 Cooler is not a good choice at all. The air coolers are more fitting but if you want an AIO cooler then the 240 Coolermaster offering is great value. If you want corsair the H100x would have you more than covered.
32GB of RAM is most likely a waste of money. 16GB will most likely see you through to the next system. We've just gotten past the 8GB recommendation stage for gaming/general use.
750W TXm PSU I would switch out with the RMx if that's the level you are after. The TXm 550 would likely have you covered. It would be either that or the RMx750 for me (runs passive/silent most of the time).
The storage is pretty OTT IMO, conventional drives would be best for backup as they are cheap and hold masses more storage. There's no need for any particular speed. Also, cloud storage is massively favoured for things that matter. Partitioning fast M2 drives is a little pointless IMO as there is only one I/O channel to use at any one time anyway. Of course that's all a matter of taste so completely up to yourself

If you are super serious about flight sims then the Intel offerings would be worth a look. They don't have the same flexibility or ecosystem longevity as the AMD but simming requires high frequency over core grunt. It was one of the deciding factors in my current build as I love ALL simulation and VR, etc.

 

[howardtaylor158]

What will you be using the PC for? And what is your budget?
32Gb of RAM is quite a lot unless you have a specific use for it.

Also note that a lot of cases will not have enough spaces for all those drives you've specified you're going to add (most don't have space for DVD/CD drives anymore), the case you have chosen has: 2 x 3.5"/2.5" bays and 2 x 2.5" bays

Firstly I do quite a lot of Video editing (Family Holiday videos) these are all HD and a few in 3D, I have a Panasonic device that fits on to my Video Camera that enables 3D filming mode. I have 3 Samsung EVO 500Gb SSD Drives so should have a spare bay after they are fitted. On the Case there are 2 5.5" Bays 1 for the DVD-RW and 1 for the BLURAY RW this was one of the reasons for buying this case. I play top rated Games and Simulators and I have some hobby Design Work.

 

[Oussebon]

I think I'd agree with the recommendation to cancel, based on that, and then reconsider alternatives.

 

[howardtaylor158]

I would cancel that build to be honest. There are better options that can be selected for the budget.

The ROG Strix isn't worth it IMO, it's a good motherboard but a bit wasted unless there is a specific need. The standard ASUS 570 is a great board.
Overclocking a Ryzen CPU will often be detrimental to performance due to the way boost clocks are generated with AMD chips. It's the lowest performing core that your clock will be set to, with the highest performing core the aforementioned boost figure. Leaving the AMD chips alone is always best.
The H60 Cooler is not a good choice at all. The air coolers are more fitting but if you want an AIO cooler then the 240 Coolermaster offering is great value. If you want corsair the H100x would have you more than covered.
32GB of RAM is most likely a waste of money. 16GB will most likely see you through to the next system. We've just gotten past the 8GB recommendation stage for gaming/general use.
750W TXm PSU I would switch out with the RMx if that's the level you are after. The TXm 550 would likely have you covered. It would be either that or the RMx750 for me (runs passive/silent most of the time).
The storage is pretty OTT IMO, conventional drives would be best for backup as they are cheap and hold masses more storage. There's no need for any particular speed. Also, cloud storage is massively favoured for things that matter. Partitioning fast M2 drives is a little pointless IMO as there is only one I/O channel to use at any one time anyway. Of course that's all a matter of taste so completely up to yourself

If you are super serious about flight sims then the Intel offerings would be worth a look. They don't have the same flexibility or ecosystem longevity as the AMD but simming requires high frequency over core grunt. It was one of the deciding factors in my current build as I love ALL simulation and VR, etc.

I won't be doing any overclocking, never have, never will. I picked the PSU purely because I prefer overkill rather than getting caught out in 2 to 3 or more years, my old system had 550w PSU and I was advised t5hat this new pc should have a 600w or 650w so to be certain I went for 750w I was tinkering with the idea of getting 1000w, this will be my last PC purchase. My previous PC lasted 6 years and played every flight sim I through at it without any problems and operated smoothly due tp my GTX 970 GPU the video rendering was taking longer and longer. But thankyou for your suggestions.

 

[Scott]

I won't be doing any overclocking, never have, never will. I picked the PSU purely because I prefer overkill rather than getting caught out in 2 to 3 or more years, my old system had 550w PSU and I was advised t5hat this new pc should have a 600w or 650w so to be certain I went for 750w I was tinkering with the idea of getting 1000w, this will be my last PC purchase. My previous PC lasted 6 years and played every flight sim I through at it without any problems and operated smoothly due tp my GTX 970 GPU the video rendering was taking longer and longer. But thankyou for your suggestions.

You have chosen an overclocked build.... hence my overclock comment. It's not a good selection.

750w for your selections is overkill. Who advised that the PC should have 600-650? 550w from a TXm has you covered, if you definitely want 750w then the RMx is a no-brainer as it's a better PSU and can run silent.

Microsoft Flight Simulator would run on an etcha sketch.... GPU wise, it's the CPU that it struggles with...... especially with addon's, scenery and shadows all at their maximum. It's poorly optimised for multi-core and depends on high frequency CPUs to run well. This is the only reason to consider Intel, for everything else you have mentioned AMD is king. It just depends which takes priority with your build.

It would appear your mind is made up though so I will leave you to it. It's a good system regardless and will bring many years of enjoyment. Our suggestions are merely there for advisement on the best strategy and value for your money.

 

[VenatoS]

I'd get the H100 as the H60 is a bit of a pointless cooler in my opinion.
For the PSU i'd get the RMx 750W or even a 850W.
Would of gone with a more powerful CPU as well if its in your price range.

 

[Oussebon]

I won't be doing any overclocking, never have, never will.

You are buying an overclocked system though:

CPU: Overclocked AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6 Core (3.8GHz @ up to 4.3GHz)

And I agree that you oughtn't to in this instance.

You're overspending on the motherboard - and not in the way of "you should always get a good motherboard!" but you're paying for features you don't need, while robbing the system of other things you would benefit from.

The H60 cooler is poor value in that it delivers poor bang for buck versus the alternatives on offer. A good cooler matters as the cooler the CPU, the higher it will boost its own frequencies.

The OP doesn't need an 850W PSU, but the RMx series (750W) is a good buy. Overpurchasing on the PSU wattage massively is one of those myths that just won't die.

And thew GPU looks excessive versus the CPU for video editing and flight sims. More reasonable for AC:OD and SOTTR, if those were the sole use of the system, but they're not.

In any event, the R5 3600x isn't worth buying versus, well, anything else.

 

[howardtaylor158]

You have chosen an overclocked build.... hence my overclock comment. It's not a good selection.

750w for your selections is overkill. Who advised that the PC should have 600-650? 550w from a TXm has you covered, if you definitely want 750w then the RMx is a no-brainer as it's a better PSU and can run silent.

Microsoft Flight Simulator would run on an etcha sketch.... GPU wise, it's the CPU that it struggles with...... especially with addon's, scenery and shadows all at their maximum. It's poorly optimised for multi-core and depends on high frequency CPUs to run well. This is the only reason to consider Intel, for everything else you have mentioned AMD is king. It just depends which takes priority with your build.

It would appear your mind is made up though so I will leave you to it. It's a good system regardless and will bring many years of enjoyment. Our suggestions are merely there for advisement on the best strategy and value for your money.

Thanks for your suggestions, the Ryzen 5 3600 is recommended by most PC builders on Youtube but with a slight increase in speed for the X version it is factory overclocked so I work on the assumption AMD know what they are doing, I was thinking Intel 7 or 9 at the beginning because of my previous CPU which was the Intel I7 CPU 890 2.3 on an Asus P7H55-m/USB3 mobo with 2 SATA 6 ports and I eventually fitted HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866Mhz and it is still working but with occasional problems, like drives suddenly not working until a re-boot which I presume is a BIOS problem (No new Bios update from Asus in more than 4 years cuurent Bios 1105) the advice for the PSU came from a number of Simmers like me on-line who suggested I up the wattage on my PSU, one said 600w another suggested 650w to future proof, they may have been wrong but I'm not a builder of PCs. I ran the first Microsoft Flight Simulator on a BBC Model B many, many years ago, it worked but you had to tinker with it the same in the 80's and 90's the new MS FS 2020 will not require discs with scenery as all this will be streamed in real time for a true VFR experience This new build was never about the money though, nobody knows everything about every different component in a PC so I must go with the best guess and advice I can get I don't doubt that I may have to replace the PSU, CPU and M/B in a year or two and if so I will take your advice on-board and get an RM PSU, a better CPU and maybe stay with 32Gb Ram maybe even reduce it back to 16Gb but it was suggested I get 32Gb or even 64Gb to cover my Video Editing and 3D House Design requirements which I was told smooths out and speeds up these types of programs, they also require lots of RAM.

But really, thankyou for your advice you seem to know your stuff, If I had contacted you before I started to build I probably would have used your suggestions in my new PC.

 

[Scott]

PSU manufacturer A does not equal PSU manufacturer B. I frequent a number of Simming forums and I wouldn't recommend building to information garnered from them to be honest. A corsair PSU with 550W stamped on the side will put out what it says on the tin. A £20 750W PSU dusted off the bottom shelf of PC world won't get close to its sticker. A lot of recommendations come from presuming certain things are created equal, they almost always aren't.

Anyway, I could write a book here so I'll just segue........

I still think you are misunderstanding the overclocking element of what we are saying....

At the top of this website there are a few links. One says "Configure a custom PC" another says "Configure Overclocked PCs".

Overclocking is great to get the most from Intel systems, it is not recommended in the slightest for AMD due to the way their boosting technology works.

Here is a randomly generated NON overclocked 3600X build...

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/mXaA4tuw0u/


Here is a randomly generated Overclocked 3600X build.....

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-overclocked/E2J!Pza0Xf/


Note that they both use the "factory overclocked" 3600X The overclocked element of your build is PCS tinkering with the clocks to get the most stable frequency across all of the cores. This will be to the detriment of the frequency of the CPU as it will be based on the LEAST effective core rather than the most effective core.

The difference between the 3600 and the 3600X isn't "factory overclocking" as such. It's a better binned chip which means that boost frequencies will be higher at the top end and the frequency of the lower end can be increased slightly due to a more efficient TDP.

 

[howardtaylor158]

O.K my PC is now 5 days into the build stage could I now change the processor to an Intel or is it too late to change it? and which high performing unclocked CPU would you recommend? I may also drop PSU down to 650w RMs as per your suggestion I know you advised 550W but I would prefer something higher.

 

[Rakk]

To change between an AMD and Intel you would have to cancel and re-order, you would a different motherboard as well.

In general if you are keeping on the same configurator you can amend as long as it's not 'ready for Dispatch', but you Intel and AMD use completely different configurators (the configurators are based on the type of motehrboard), so you can't change from AMD to Intel without cancelling and re-ordeirng

 

[SpyderTracks]

O.K my PC is now 5 days into the build stage could I now change the processor to an Intel or is it too late to change it? and which high performing unclocked CPU would you recommend? I may also drop PSU down to 650w RMs as per your suggestion I know you advised 550W but I would prefer something higher.

Just to verify, you don't NEED to order an overclocked build, and there's not particularly any benefit to getting an overclocked Intel build vs a non overclocked AMD build. IMHO a non overclocked AMD build is the best option.

AMD's auto boosting technology is just so good, that there's not really much extra that you can get out of manually overclocking.

The point is that you've ordered an Overclocked AMD, and that's not a good option. Just a normally clocked AMD 3600 would be the optimum choice.

 

[howardtaylor158]

I have contacted PCSpecialist and they are willing to change the overclocked Ryzen 5 3600X to a none overclocked Ryzen 5 3600X. But the PSU 650w RM is not listed and would not fit in my case (PCSpecialist have informed me).

Thanks again for your help.