New PC Worries

[Googer]

Over the years I have bought a lot of equipment from PCS and am about to get a fairly high spec gaming PC. My big, big worry is that I will now need to get liquid cooling, probably the Corsair H100i. The H100i certainly has impressive cooling capabilities, but my worries centre on leaks. Transporting the system from PCS to my home, moving the unit around the house, setting it up, etc seems like a recipe for disaster with liquid on-board. Will future general upgrades eg sound card, SSD’s be possible? Another concern is the life of the H100i system. Online sources state a life of 3 to 5 years. In 5 years’ time I will be over 80 and unable to do an upgrade. Will this mean I will have to spend another £3,500 on a new rig? How often will I need to change the on-board liquid, monthly, quarterly, annually?

The key components on my system will be:

Asus ROG STRIX Z790-F Motherboard; Intel i7-14700k; Asus TUF GeForce RTX 4080 GPU; 32Gb DDR5 5600MHz RAM; Corsair iCue H100i Elite Capellix XT; 4Tb Corsair Core XT MP600 SSD

Consequently any leak would ruin all of these components and be an expensive repair.

Can anyone who has had liquid cooling offer any reassurances that my worries are ill founded.

 

[TonyCarter]

There's different levels of 'liquid' cooling.

The Corsair AIO coolers have sealed, self-contained loop/radiator of non-conductive liquid. It shouldn't/doesn't leak and doesn't need any maintenance. It usually only cools the CPU...

The more complicated liquid cooling, is a custom liquid loop, where you have lots of flexible/hard tubes cooling plates to each component that requires cooling. It has a a liquid reservoir open to the air, which does need maintenance (maybe one a year). These are more expensive, but look much prettier in high-end builds...but tend to be for show or overclocking builds...

 

[Martinr36]

if in the very rare case the Corsair iCue H100i Elite Capellix XT were to spring a leak it would just make a mess as the coolant is non conductive

 

[TonyCarter]

It may help if you post your full spec from your configuration page...

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

When creating a forum post looking to discuss a PC spec there's a really simple way to post the spec in question here. IF YOU HAVEN'T ORDERED ONE YET AND ARE LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON A BUILD follow this step. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY ORDERED AND ARE ASKED FOR SPECS follow the next post. Click the...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

...and let us know what you're going to be using it for (details we require in the post below), as Intel CPUs have quite a narrow use case for recommending them...and they require more/better cooling...

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

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[Googer]

My last desktop from PCS was around 8 years ago and is now starting to show its age. After a lot of changes to my spec the end result is below. It will be used for 85% gaming, typically looter/shooters like Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, etc. The remaining 15% is M/S Office and watching videos eg YouTube. The Asus monitor shown below has a Refresh rate of 165Hz. This compares with my current Benq monitor of around 40 to 50Hz. The proposed Asus monitor is to, hopefully, give justice the the RTX 4080 grahics card. Two features took a lot of time to select. Initially I wanted an Intel i7-13700k as this has a good gaming pedigree. Recently PCS has stopped selling this option. The i9's are a little too expensive and a bit hot. My remaining options were the i7-12700 or the i7-14700. I opted for the i7-14700k but I know little about this processor or whether it's suitable for gaming. My second dilemma was the CPU cooling. I've always been nervous of liquid cooling but the i7-14700k seems just over the edge for air cooling. I opted for the Corsair iCue H100i Capellix Elite XT liquid cooler. I'm more or less at the top of my budget but at least this spec gives me options to upgrade to an i9 processor in the future.
Thoughts and comments on the spec would be appreciated.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 20-Core Processor i7-14700K (Up to 5.6GHz) 33MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z790-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4080 OC EDITION - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/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 H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
1 x PCS ARGB LED Fan
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy Rx
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 [KUK-00003]
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Google Chrome™
Monitor
ASUS TUF GAMING VG249Q1A 24"
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 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: £3,381.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-overclocked/JQqKQEHpaf/

 

[SpyderTracks]

The 4080 is a 4k card, it would be totally limited on that monitor. A suitable monitor for the 4080 costs about £600 for entry level upwards

But we could rebalance it to include a suitable monitor at the same say £3,350 budget?

But overall, and AMD build would give more performance and be generally better all round.

 

[Googer]

The 4080 is a 4k card, it would be totally limited on that monitor. A suitable monitor for the 4080 costs about £600 for entry level upwards

But we could rebalance it to include a suitable monitor at the same say £3,350 budget?

But overall, and AMD build would give more performance and be generally better all round.

Thanks. I would struggle to put an AMD spec together as I've been Intel since the days of the IBM486. Could you give me some help? What monitor would you recommend I look at? I have limited space on my desk and could possibly squeeze a sightly bigger monitor in. Would the 27" Asus 279Q1A be better? Is there a 24" minitor that could handle 4K? Is it possible to switch between 4K and 1080 resolutions?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks. I would struggle to put an AMD spec together as I've been Intel since the days of the IBM486. Could you give me some help? What monitor would you recommend I look at? I have limited space on my desk and could possibly squeeze a sightly bigger monitor in. Would the 27" Asus 279Q1A be better? Is there a 24" minitor that could handle 4K? Is it possible to switch between 4K and 1080 resolutions?

As you step up resolution, so the size increases because you're seeing a lot more information. If you think of it that 4k has room for 4 x 1080p screens in each corner, that gives you some idea of what resolution means. So 4k at 24", you wouldn't be able to make anything out because it would be too small.

1080p is 24" optimally
1440p is 27"
4k is 32" and upwards

But the size of the monitor shouldn't matter on a desk, with a modern setup to accommodate the larger sizes, you'd use a desk mount, so it takes up no room on the desk.

Would the 27" Asus 279Q1A be better?

This is still a 1080p monitor.

If you wanted to stick to 1080p, there's no requirement for such a high end build, it would be any better than say a £1500 pc

But 1080p is extremely poor by modern standards, 1440p is really the baseline now especially when you have an available budget.

 

[Googer]

I was about to place my PC order when I noticed the price difference with the RTX 4080 Graphics Cards. What is the difference between the Asus TUF GeForce RTX 4080 OC Edition and the Nvidia equivalents (Palit or Zotac branded) as there is a £227 price difference between them.

 

[Martinr36]

you get virtually no difference in paying the extra, maybe a couple of fps

 

[SpyderTracks]

It's literally branding, that's what the extra is for, Asus has a strong following who will only ever buy Asus despite the increase in cost. It's the equivalent of buying a really nice shirt from a decent professional brand, or paying and extra £200 for a Gucci label.

 

[Googer]

My 1440p monitor has HDMI 2.0 and Display Port 1.4 so when I connect to my PC’s RTX 4080 which has HDMI 2.1 and Display Port 1.4a I presume the HDMI difference would limit my refresh rate to 144Hz. However my monitor can go to a refresh rate of 280Hz so if I connect the monitor display port to the RTX 4080 display port would this allow me to reach the higher refresh rate? If yes do I still need to connect the HDMI cable or do I play games with only the display port connection?

 

[SpyderTracks]

My 1440p monitor has HDMI 2.0 and Display Port 1.4 so when I connect to my PC’s RTX 4080 which has HDMI 2.1 and Display Port 1.4a I presume the HDMI difference would limit my refresh rate to 144Hz. However my monitor can go to a refresh rate of 280Hz so if I connect the monitor display port to the RTX 4080 display port would this allow me to reach the higher refresh rate? If yes do I still need to connect the HDMI cable or do I play games with only the display port connection?

What make and model monitor is it?

For PCs you always use display port, HDMI is more for consoles and audio visual setups, that’s why there are 3dp ports and only one HDMI

DP can handle that refresh fine.

 

[Googer]

Thanks. The monitor is a 27" 1440p Alienware AW2723DF.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks. The monitor is a 27" 1440p Alienware AW2723DF.

So yes, to reach full refresh, you’d have to use DP. But as default you should always use DP on a pc monitor anyway, certainly for gaming setups.

 

[Googer]

With an i7-14700k, 32Gb RAM running on an Asus Z790-F Motherboard, would a RTX 4070Ti be best when running on a 1440p monitor. The RTX 4080 looks nice but it's so expensive. Over the next year I am probably using this set up on 70% gaming, 18% text/web browsing, 12% watching videos.

 

[SpyderTracks]

With an i7-14700k, 32Gb RAM running on an Asus Z790-F Motherboard, would a RTX 4070Ti be best when running on a 1440p monitor. The RTX 4080 looks nice but it's so expensive. Over the next year I am probably using this set up on 70% gaming, 18% text/web browsing, 12% watching videos.

Intel would never be suggested as a platform these days

But it's not really possible to comment on the above, it's all about the system as a whole.

 

[stegor]

With an i7-14700k, 32Gb RAM running on an Asus Z790-F Motherboard, would a RTX 4070Ti be best when running on a 1440p monitor. The RTX 4080 looks nice but it's so expensive. Over the next year I am probably using this set up on 70% gaming, 18% text/web browsing, 12% watching videos.

Watch this and then redo as an AMD build. Intel so called 14th gen is just a complete rip-off.

 

[Googer]

For several weeks I have been building an Intel based system on the PCS website. Several comments have come back that an AMD system would be better. Below is my first attempt at an AMD system in around 50 years. My usage is circa 70% gaming, 18% text/web browsing and 12% watching videos. The monitor is a 27" 1440p and has a refresh rate of 240Hz.
I have a couple of questions:
a) Is liquid cooling the way to go (Corsair iCue H100i as the PCS website doesn't have any air coolers
b) Would a RTX 4070 Ti work OK on an AMD motherboard?
c) Would the DDR 5600MHz RAM work OK on an AMD motherboard?
The possible spec is below. Comments welcome.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER 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 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti OC EDITION - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/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 H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
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 [KUK-00003]
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 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: £2,658.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/bW0mNfjyQa/

 

[sck451]

Yes, for your budget I'd go with an AIO. It's not strictly speaking necessary: the 7800X3D is very efficient and can live with a cheap air cooler, but it's best to spend a little more on strong cooling.

The 4070 Ti would work fine, but I think you can do better...

The 5600MHz RAM would work fine, but again I think you can do better.

I would re-work your spec to get a much stronger graphics card, along with faster memory, and save on motherboard and manufacturer of graphics card. I'd also adjust your storage to have a dedicated fast boot drive and I'd go with more PSU capacity.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
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 CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx 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 H100i 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 [KUK-00003]
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 Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 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: £2,656.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/y0Xdv2zeS7/