Newbie custom build

[SlateGreyNevus]

Hey folks, this is my first custom build and I don't have loads of technical knowledge. I wanted a machine mainly to handle audio and video for a podcast I host, and general day to day use. I'm not a gamer, or an enthusiast, but appreciate a machine that can handle multiple applications seamlessly.

What are your thoughts on the below spec please?

Case

COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH RGB GAMING CASE​

Processor (CPU)​

Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache​

Motherboard​

ASUS® WS Z390 PRO: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs​

Memory (RAM)​

16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)​

Graphics Card​

6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!​

1st Storage Drive​

2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE​

1st M.2 SSD Drive​

1TB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1800MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)​

Power Supply​

CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY​

Power Cable​

1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)​

Processor Cooling​

Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans​

Thermal Paste​

ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND​

LED Lighting​

50cm Red LED Strip​

Extra Case Fans​

2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)​

Sound Card​

ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)​

Wireless/Wired Networking​

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 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account​

Office Software​

Microsoft® 365 Personal (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)​

Anti-Virus​

BullGuard™ Internet Security - 3 User, 1 Year​

Browser​

Google Chrome™​

 

[AgentCooper]

It may be advisable to consider going for an AMD CPU at this point in time. Please can you let us know your budget and what monitor(s) you'll be using with the build?

 

[Scott]

As above, looks like a very healthy budget for a great system to do exactly what you wish (and more) but AMD would definitely be favoured just now. If you post the above we will get to a perfect system for you

 

[SlateGreyNevus]

Thanks both, my budget is £1750 incl VAT. I've got a HP 24fh as my monitor.

That's interesting about the AMD CPU. My very limited research online suggested AMD were a little behind in terms of technology compared to Intel.

 

[AgentCooper]

AMD are actually regarded to be ahead of the game on Intel at the moment. Intel are using an older architecture and AMD is winning the war on multi-threading, thermal performance and have less security issues. You also seem to pay a premium for the Intel brand name.

I will allow another to do a spec for you as audio/video is not my forte, but I reckon they'll actually be able to save you some money on this one...

 

[Scott]

This is almost £100 over budget but it is quite simply a "have it all" build. It's significantly more powerful than your original selection, will seriously make it look silly at any task. I'm going to follow below with an in-budget build as well...

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz/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 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
50cm ARGB LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Personal (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
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 16 to 18 working days
Price: £1,840.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/vD6kgu73E3/

 

[Scott]

Inside budget with the only performance drop being the GPU. There's really no need to have a more powerful GPU, even for your uses, but it is a nice to have in order to be able to handle any gaming that you decide to do along with any hardware accelerated effects (if you plan to video edit at a higher level). The motherboard I've dropped to the non-STRIX to allow to be inside budget. The main advantage with the STRIX is the active cooling on the VRM. This means that during heavy usage it handles the boost clocks a bit better. You won't really notice any real world difference but it is a nice option to have....

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
50cm ARGB LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Personal (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
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 16 to 18 working days
Price: £1,709.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/pPkCU!8rPJ/


Again, this would make your initial selection look like it was standing still performance wise (save for the GPU).

 

[AgentCooper]

Yep, both of Scott's builds are brilliant, the first in particular is a powerhouse!

You also won't need the extra (noisy) fans that you had on your original spec because he's chosen a cooler that is a beast. And as is often stated on here, don't go for the BullGuard anti-virus. Windows Defender is very good these days so as long as you browse responsibly and have a regular system scan (recommend the free Malwarebytes) you shouldn't run into any trouble.

 

[SlateGreyNevus]

Thanks Scott, that's amazing! I appreciate the feedback as well AGENTCOOPER.​