New PC & Laptop

[WAWAW1867]

Hi Guys, thanks for looking.

Been a while, but that time again, with a little difference, this time it is a PC & Laptop, I still know nothing about choosing a PC spec, & even less about a Laptop.
For PC, I would like one that does everything, stop laughing , I know there’s no such thing, but can I get anywhere close? If not, here are some usages & hopes.

PC Use - Definites
Will be using 2 Monitors (See further down), 3 if possible?

Lots of large Excel documents & Lots of Web pages open at the same time (My old one now freezes or crashes, not every time, but a few times)

Streaming TV – Films – Live Stuff, will be watching on one and working on another or 2 if possible?

Video Editing – Adobe Premiere Pro mainly but I have access to other similar programmes, but I will not be using all of the features, it will only be light stuff, but would like it to be able to do more advanced stuff if needed, nowhere near Pro.

Photo Editing – As above

PC Use - Would likes
Gaming (Light for now) – I would like it to run decent games, don’t know anything about FPS or changing any other settings, but it would be nice to have it if they want to learn how to play better games later, I am trying to future proof the PC for a 10 year old, for a few years.

I am guessing I don’t need a better Monitor yet?
Running 3 old Monitors, which I don’t know if I need an upgrade because I read you say bottlenecks, or will be okay with my minimal games usage?
Monitor 1 + Samsung S24B350H – LED TN+Film – Full HD 1920 x 1080 – 16.9 – 2ms 250 cd/m2 1000:1 – 30w
Monitor 2 + Dell 1908FPc 19” – 1280 x 1024
Monitor 3 + Dell E173F?? or E172F?? 17” LCD TFT VGA 250 cd/m2 & Contrast 450:1, Resolution 1280 x 1024, Refresh rate 76 Hz

Even though it would be great to have the best Monitors going, with my eyes it wouldn’t matter as long as everything runs/plays okay (I keep reading about bottlenecks on here), I already watch & edit 4k content on both of them now & they run okayish, so I am thinking my new one will be even better and faster, it will be me that is using the PC the vast majority of the time.

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) + The "Have It All CPU" Efficient, Fast for Gaming, Strong in Content Creation, was how someone described it in another thread.
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E) + Excellent Motherboard, as described in another thread.
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)+ Would I need 64 & should I use all lanes as that is what I’ve read before?
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) + Could change to 512GB, but some programmes do auto install here.
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) + Is it better to have another fast drive as a 2nd one
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) + I might be able to delete this one.
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET + Ultra Top End PSU for future proofing
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 200 Series High Performance CPU Cooler + Not bothered about liquid cooling unless ZERO maintenance, EVER.
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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Home Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £2,817.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/4Wdq59au0c/

Budget, £2,500 ish – This one is £2,817



LAPTOP
Laptop is mainly for Her Who Must Be Obeyed, but I will use it when I want, er when she lets me
Laptop Use

Slim & light 16” preferably, but 17” at a push if slim & light.

As the PC above, but do not expect the same performance as the PC.

My problem with choosing a Laptop spec, is that everybody says choose AMD for a PC, but why is there not much choice for AMD in a Laptop?

Should I look in Currys or something like that for a pre-built AMD, or is Intel better for a Laptop?

Or even is the PCS Intel ones better than AMD? confused.com

I know you can’t give advice on none PCS builds, but surely you can say which option to go for?

Budget, I presume because the usage is similar to the PC one, that it is going to be somewhere just less than the PC? but I don’t really know until you shove me in the correct direction?

Sorry for the long post, but couldn’t cut it short, in fact I think I may have missed things.


Thanks & Regards

Mark

 

[WAWAW1867]

Hiya

With no comments, i am assuming i have got things wrong with the layout of my questions?

Any chance someone can lead me in the right direction please.


Thanks & Regards

Mark

 

[Scott]

No everything is covered brilliantly, just the odd thread flies under the radar. I've been crazy busy the last couple of weeks so haven't been hitting as many specs as I could.

The budget is certainly there to do it all but it all really hangs on your video editing. I don't know if the 7950X3D is the best option for your uses. The 7800X3D would be very powerful, the best for gaming, and require zero configuration for switching between tasks. Most of the heavy lifting can be passed over to the GPU now for example.

If encoding time is paramount then the 16 core may be worth it, but if it's a hobbyist level then the 7800X3D would be more than enough (it's where I went). Less complicated, less cooling, etc.... but obviously less powerful.

There's no need for that level of GPU with gaming but you could use it handily with the video editing. Again it'll depend on what level of editing you're looking for and how paramount the encoding time is. What resolution and size of files are you working with, what sort of effects are you looking to adopt?

With laptops it's nice to have an AMD but it's not overly important as you're not going to be upgrading the CPU anyway. You don't need to worry so much a bout the future module nature of a laptop like you do with a desktop.

 

[WAWAW1867]

Thanks Scott, i didn't mean to rush anybody, just thought i had it wrong.

To simplify things, hopefully.

I will never use anywhere near the full performance of the Video or Photo editing or Gaming, they are just a hobbyist level, low level.
The Videos & Photos will be Weddings, Birthdays & the like, also trying to convert older Videos, but not as a job, gaming will be very low standard to begin with.

I chose the 7950X3D because, as stated above it was, The "Have It All CPU" Efficient, Fast for Gaming, Strong in Content Creation, was how someone described it in another thread, so thought it would be better for the large Excel and Web Page usage, which will be the predominant usage.

Also i am a bit weird in that i would like to have the specs in place, for "IF" i want to do anything else, don't ask what because i don't even know yet.

The Laptop will be another "IF", because that will just be on an odd occasion if i fancy sitting with the wife and i need to do the large Excel and Web Page stuff, i suppose i do not need it for the Video and Photo editing, but would like it to be able to do some gaming learning with the Grandchild.

Sorry if that didn't simplify things

I will try and have a better look again tonight

Thanks again for looking

Regards

Mark

 

[Scott]

I think your mindset is absolutely right, but I think you're over-shooting with your requirements. The 7950X3D is absolutely the have it all CPU, but it's having it all at a much higher level than any typical user would ever need.

I've personally got the 7800X3D and I'm a bit of a power user. I don't do anything to any professional level, but I dabble in absolutely everything. The chip is more than enough to do any hobbyist level of anything with and it's by far the simplest plug in and go setup. The 7950X3D isn't any better for gaming or any single threaded tasks, it only comes into it's own when absolutely hammering multi-threaded tasks (none of which you will ever likely need). Even if you did get involved with a more power hungry task, all you would add is time rather than ability.

I genuinely think the 7800X3D is the perfect chip for you. The 4070Ti Super is massive overkill also, but I do like that card as it offers excellent performance and ticks all the boxes. I would strongly suggest you compromise on the chip while still allowing over-spending on the GPU to cover absolutely every base.

I'm guessing your happy with the blacked out look and aren't looking for any RGB fanciness?

The below gets you closer to your budget by increasing some items where they were lacking, and decreasing others where they were OTT.

Windows & Programs on the primary drive. Don't worry about main programs installing on the primary drive there's loads of space. The key is to make sure the games install on the 2TB drive. I've left a 1TB third drive in there for cache purposes. I don't think you will need this but even just a bit of spare fast storage is nice to have.

I prefer premium cooling for premium builds. You could lower the PSU to the 1000w offering too, but the Shift does have ATX3.0 which is nice to have.

Just to add, there are many over spends in this build still. They are luxuries and nice to haves though, this is the sort of build I would personally like to have and my current build (as seen in my spec) is actually quite similar.

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB 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
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
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £2,603.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/4w4eXnV8bb/

 

[SpyderTracks]

I would also recommend that the 7800x3d is remarkably powerful for multithreaded loads. I was initially considering the 7950x3d just for Plex transcoding and gaming, but there was absolutely no need for it, the 7800x3d is insanely powerful across the board. I’ve never once got close to using its full capabilities.

 

[WAWAW1867]

Brilliant Scott, Thank You

I will have a better look when not on my phone.

Thanks for your input Spider.

Regards

Mark

 

[WAWAW1867]

Oops, i forgot the Laptop.

Should I start a new thread for that, or would it be okay on here?

Regards

Mark

 

[Scott]

Fine here, what's the budget for the laptop?

 

[WAWAW1867]

Cheers Scott

This is where I am unsure what to say to you.

I could say the same budget as the PC, but think that would be overkill, so I will say £2,000 but would prefer cheaper if possible

The Laptop will be for the missus mainly, she wants slim and light, preferably 16" for just ordinary stuff, but I would like it to still do all the large Excel & Web Page stuff with ease, also the gaming part for the Grandchild.

Any chance of a bit of guidance, sorry.

Regards

Mark

 

[Scott]

Cheers Scott

This is where I am unsure what to say to you.

I could say the same budget as the PC, but think that would be overkill, so I will say £2,000 but would prefer cheaper if possible

The Laptop will be for the missus mainly, she wants slim and light, preferably 16" for just ordinary stuff, but I would like it to still do all the large Excel & Web Page stuff with ease, also the gaming part for the Grandchild.

Any chance of a bit of guidance, sorry.

Regards

Mark

What are the chances of you wanting to use them both for the same purpose at the same time?

The reason I ask this is you could go for a super-slim/light/typical laptop and use remote connection to the desktop for the more powerful stuff. At the moment my PC is not connected to anything other than my TV in one of my rooms. Most of the time I use remote streaming from my less powerful laptop to carry out the power uses remotely. When in this way, you wouldn't know you weren't connected to the PC directly. Gaming etc is all handled by the PC but transmitted to the laptop for playing etc.

The only catch is that you couldn't do any heavy tasks on both the Laptop and the PC at the same time, as the Laptop would only have the power to do the typical things that laptops do.

On the flip side, a £2k gaming laptop is never going to be slim, light or particularly quiet.

 

[WAWAW1867]

Cheers

Just to clarify, I am not bothered about a gaming laptop, just a laptop that will play games, if that makes sense.

Predominately it will be a standalone laptop which I can do the large Excel documents and lots of Web pages at once.

Thanks

Regards

Mark

 

[Scott]

In that case there are a number of options, but unfortunately none of them are perfect.

I wouldn't dream of spending £2k on a non-gaming laptop, it's a huge waste of cash. Around £1-1.3k is the target I would aim at even with a healthy budget. You could get something that ticks the boxes for around £700 though so it's really up to yourself where you want to go.

The considerations are off the shelf vs custom. For off the shelf I like what ASUS is bringing to the table just now with there good OLED screens etc. The Vivobook Pro range with OLED screens really stick out for me. The catch with them is that the RAM options are typically limited to 8 & 16GB without getting into the gaming range. I would aim for an iGPU, but again the options are limited. Anything past a 4050 is a complete waste of cash hence why it's harder to get things spot on.

In the PCS custom laptop range I like the Elimina Pro 16". The benefit here is that it can be completely customised to get the right balance for your uses. The down side is that it will be a bit bigger and bulkier than something sleek off the shelf. This is a lot of laptop for your cash with every other box ticked and a far better storage solution than you would typically get off the shelf. The screen won't be as nice though.

In the thin and light category the Latife Pro is the stand out for me, but the screen is a bit of a let down with only the 1080p options being available. Screens is a real sore point in the laptop ranges for me. I would want a 1440p panel nowadays with fantastic colours (Can't beat OLED).

TL;DR, The world is your oyster. Nothing will tick every box. Don't spend any more than £1300, it's pointless.

Chassis & Display
Elimina Pro Series: 16" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 10 Core Processor 13620H (4.90GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4050 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Elimina Pro Series Integrated 62Wh Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
LIQUID METAL PERFORMANCE COOLING
Sound Card
Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
ELIMINA 16" SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
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
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GM6PD5X (6GB RTX-4050, i7-13620H, DDR5,240Hz QHD)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,195.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/elimina-pro-iii-16/zauds3jF2Y/

 

[WAWAW1867]

Excellent Scott Thanks

Will show it her tonight and see what she says.

Regards

Mark

 

[WAWAW1867]

Hiya Scott

Didn't get in until late, so we didn't discuss anything regarding the laptop.

But on the PC, is there any of the ordinary cooling that would be as good, not keen on the liquid cooling, unless it is maintenance free, forever.

I repeat, unless it is maintenance free, forever

Regards

Mark

 

[Martinr36]

not keen on the liquid cooling, unless it is maintenance free, forever.

I repeat, unless it is maintenance free, forever

AIO coolers are maintenance free, apart from blowing the dust off the fans, as they are sealed units, unlike liquid filled custom loops, which is what folk normally get them mixed up with

 

[WAWAW1867]

Thanks Martin

Regards

Mark

 

[WAWAW1867]

Hi Guys

Regarding the Bluetooth & Wireless

Would there be any benefit to going with a higher product, it is only £6 difference? basic is wifi 6, the other two are 6E wifi.

I have 1GB Fibre to the Home Broadband, coming into an Asus XT9 & 1 wireless node, ZenWifi Mesh system.

Which then goes wirelessly throughout the house, which the Laptop will be using 🤞

So would the Laptop benefit from a higher one?

Thanks

Regards

Mark

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi Guys

Regarding the Bluetooth & Wireless

Would there be any benefit to going with a higher product, it is only £6 difference? basic is wifi 6, the other two are 6E wifi.

I have 1GB Fibre to the Home Broadband, coming into an Asus XT9 & 1 wireless node, ZenWifi Mesh system.

Which then goes wirelessly throughout the house, which the Laptop will be using 🤞

So would the Laptop benefit from a higher one?

Thanks

Regards

Mark

The laptop that @Scott suggested has WiFi 6 which is the same as your WiFi mesh, so you wouldn’t benefit from anything faster.

The bottleneck would be your Internet line anyway.

That being said, it's only a few quid more to up it to 6E, probably worth it really.

 

[WAWAW1867]

Excellent Spider

Thank You

Regards

Mark