New Year - New PC... Decisions Decisions

[Scott]

It's finally time for a shakeup with my system. I don't really need one to be honest but I want one, who doesn't like shiny new stuff. The catalyst has been the bank of Dad pretty much insisting that I spend some money, who am I to argue. He will get my old system re-vamped for his usage and I will get a brand spanker.

Now, as far as my usage is concerned, I've never once been able to justify my previous PCs so there's no point in starting now. The only real quandary I have is between the i9 and the 2700x I'm really struggling to talk my way out of the i9 even with the savings in mind. I did think about the 9700 but I like the idea of no compromise.

GPU is going to be the RTX2080, I can't stretch to the Ti... even with the bank of Dad. There's just no justification here at all.

My main utilisation is going to be cupboard server (SQL Database driven Kodi throughout the house/tablets/phones/Laptops/etc), video/photo editing workhorse (sporadic, family stuff). As far as gaming is concerned it's all about the VR for me. I enjoy standard gaming from time to time but the sort of stuff I'm into won't push the RTX too hard I don't think. The VR on the other hand I like to try and push as much upscale and effects as I can so I could use the horsepower here. I love FSX and the more modern flight sims so I think the power of the CPU will come in handy here also.

There are some things to keep in mind with regards to the price. I couldn't select a standard cooling option for the Intel build so I've selected the H115 for both offerings. I already have the H115 here to fit so that's going on regardless. I just wanted the cost comparisons to be fair. Another, more important, factor to bare in mind is that I will happily build this system myself if there are savings to be had. With the AMD offering, there are no savings so PCS is a no brainer. With the Intel build the savings are £130 to do it on my own. With that in mind the actual cost difference for the builds, as far as my pocket is concerned, is £195.

In total, the entire system is going to be in the region of £1800-£2k. Is the £200 really worth saving? One thing that is swaying me towards the AMD is the fact that the socket is going to be used in 2019 for the next wave of 7nm chips. Having said that, I've had my current build since circa 2012 so it's not as if I rush out every year for the latest tech.


Suggested AMD Build:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Eight Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.35GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
Gigabyte X470 AORUS Ultra Gaming: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Get an AMP500 Gaming Mousemat w/ select GIGABYTE Motherboards!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 2300MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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
Corsair H115i PRO 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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® Office® 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
Quantity
1

Price £1,123.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/yaKjaA0KyC/




Intel Offering:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i9-9900K Eight Core (3.60GHz @ up to 4.9GHz)
Get Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Get an AMP500 Gaming Mousemat w/ select GIGABYTE Motherboards!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 2300MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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
Corsair H115i PRO 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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® Office® 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 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,441.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-overclocked/nAZZJ7CbCV/


Thoughts, opinions?

 

[Oussebon]

I think the R7 because what's the point of buying a small nuclear reactor that's going to be obsolete half way through next year anyway.

If it was going to dominate for a very long time, then maybe. And it's not just about the money, it just feels spiritually hollow as a product and not something worth buying unless one has very niche uses and needs it for production where time = money.

GPU is going to be the RTX2080, I can't stretch to the Ti... even with the bank of Dad. There's just no justification here at all.

How much are you spending on your RTX 2080? Since they're ~£650+, you can easily get a 2080 ti for £1050, and there's a £318 price difference between the two specs.

I know you said you were only going with a price difference of £195, but I'm not 100% sure you're right about retail pricing of the Ryzen components being no less than ~£1010. By which I mean we can't give advice on self builds, so I can't post a link to explain why I think you're off the mark by a wide margin. But I don't think anyone would want you to get a system based on a false premise(!).

 

[Scott]

I think the R7 because what's the point of buying a small nuclear reactor that's going to be obsolete half way through next year anyway.

If it was going to dominate for a very long time, then maybe. And it's not just about the money, it just feels spiritually hollow as a product and not something worth buying unless one has very niche uses and needs it for production where time = money.

You're pretty much summed up my thinking of the reasons for the R7. I admit though, I'm REALLY drawn to that magic 5GHz figure of the Intel and I do love to play with an OC from time to time. I'm confident I could keep the temps in check with the H115i. For the case I'm between the 540, 740 and R6. Regardless of the choice I'm aiming for cooling and flow rather than silence.

I don't know if 4.35Ghz is going to scratch my itch. As much as it would demolish my current CPU for the odd time I'm using multi-cores, I'm curious how it would stand up to my OC'd 3770k with gaming. It happily runs 4.7GHz+ and if I put on the H115i I think I could eek out 5GHz stable.

How much are you spending on your RTX 2080? Since they're ~£650+, you can easily get a 2080 ti for £1050, and there's a £318 price difference between the two specs.

I know you said you were only going with a price difference of £195, but I'm not 100% sure you're right about retail pricing of the Ryzen components being no less than ~£1010. By which I mean we can't give advice on self builds, so I can't post a link to explain why I think you're off the mark by a wide margin. But I don't think anyone would want you to get a system based on a false premise(!).

The one I'm looking at is around £720. Windforce OC version. Looks the part.

There was a saving from what I could see, it was around £50 though so not quite worth the hassle of a self build etc. However, you are right.... that would be more in line with £250 rather than £195.

Ironically, I can reason the 9900k for £250/£300 in my head more than I can the RTX2080Ti. It's a monster, no doubt, but I just cannot drop £1k on a GPU. £700+ is really pushing it for me, I was all set on the 1080ti just before the RTX launch. The RTX left a lot to be desired but the 2080 still ticks everything that the old Ti did plus a little more.


I could just play the waiting game for Intel's next gen and Ryzen's 7nm

 

[Scott]

Looking here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpEgzO5KQPE

It suggests I should manage 5Ghz all core with the H115i.

That would be fun

 

[Oussebon]

It's not really that much fun as OCs go if you just set all the cores to be the same as single core turbo, which is all 5GHz is.

There'd be more entertainment in buying a G3258 and OCing that to 5GHz

 

[Scott]

Final Decision....

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache
Get Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 2300MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i PRO 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)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month 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
Quantity
1

Price £1,357.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/8URPx70ZgT/



I had to go it alone though as the savings are undeniable at the moment with the retail 9900k being available for less than £500 now. I noticed that the difference between overclocked and pre-overclocked, at least with the 9900k, is £50. Bit more than normal. I already have a 750w RM PSU (passive cooling enabled) so made sense to go it alone really.

Also decided on the Zotac AMP RTX 2080. Seems the best value by quite some way. Thankfully they've got the temps under control, so much so I believe they may be the quietest/coolest card available at the moment.

 

[Oussebon]

You've seen this, right?



https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9-3800x-matisse-listed-with-16-cores-and-125w-tdp

Which if true would be AMD going Hulk Smash all over 9th gen. Equalling frequencies, more cores, and a fairly sizeable IPC gain expected on Zen 2. AMD's keynote at CES is 9th Jan with 7nm announcements expected - though these could just be server parts rather than desktop in the first wave.

Regardless of the leak's veracity, probably worth waiting until 9th Jan before making your final, final choice, just to see what there is to see...

 

[Scott]

Yeah I did see that but I have a feeling the 12/24 would be out of my price range to be honest. I guessed that was the reason for the £140 price drop on the 9900k as well so just went for it

I'll sit the CPU & Board on the return shelf once they arrive just in case though

 

[Oussebon]

Out of your price range? It'd be less than a 9900k... :/

Similar to how the R7 1700 - 1700x doubled the core count over the 7700k for a similar price, with the 1800x coming in a bit above / undercutting HEDT.

Intel fan I guess

 

[Scott]

Out of your price range? It'd be less than a 9900k... :/

Similar to how the R7 1700 - 1700x doubled the core count over the 7700k for a similar price, with the 1800x coming in a bit above / undercutting HEDT.

Intel fan I guess

Really? I had expected TR money. Will be interesting to see then. If it's less than the 9900k it'll be a no brainer for me.

Not particularly an Intel fan, they've just always won the performance war for me. If there's a 12 core 5GHz chip for less than a 9900k I'll be all over it.