Pre-Production turns 50 today! Any tweaks to my build?

[rouchie]

HJi all,

My prebuild wait turns 50 today - woo hoo! So I thought it would be a good opportunity to review my build and make some tweaks.

Monitor - G7 Samsung

Uses - mainly gaming - playing (from this afternoon!) Mass effect legendary edition, FIFA, Madden Football Manager, PES, Forza, Metro and possibly a bit of MS Flight SIm

Budget - As close to my original spend of £2411 as possible

I have had a bit of a change of heart on a couple of things - not sure I still need 32gb ram and would like a bit more RGB if poss? (I was all for keeping it unlit when I started this jouirney!)

I have a lot of music, and photos and will retain my existing 4gb HDD for that

Spec

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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 H100i RGB PLATINUM 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
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
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 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 10 to 12 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[sck451]

Honestly it looks pretty flawless. If you were to improve anything, I'd suggest it would be the fan situation; the 4000D is pretty sparse on fans. I'd be inclined to order the 3xLL120 set and get PCS to put them in the front of the case instead of the one stock fan. You will probably have to phone up to get this done as I don't think the configurator will let you do it. I have the 275R Airflow (quite similar to the 4000D) with the front fans replaced and it looks great. I did it myself and it wasn't difficult, so you could also consider that.

In terms of adding RGB, that fan idea would accomplish that. You could also change to one of the the Capellix coolers and the RGB RAM. The only thing I'm not sure about here is about the compatibility between the RGB systems in the Capellix cooler and the added fans: I'm sure it's possible (it's Corsair) but it might come at the cost of some horrific cable management (it's Corsair).

Obviously all these options increase the price!

 

[rouchie]

Honestly it looks pretty flawless. If you were to improve anything, I'd suggest it would be the fan situation; the 4000D is pretty sparse on fans. I'd be inclined to order the 3xLL120 set and get PCS to put them in the front of the case instead of the one stock fan. You will probably have to phone up to get this done as I don't think the configurator will let you do it. I have the 275R Airflow (quite similar to the 4000D) with the front fans replaced and it looks great. I did it myself and it wasn't difficult, so you could also consider that.

In terms of adding RGB, that fan idea would accomplish that. You could also change to one of the the Capellix coolers and the RGB RAM. The only thing I'm not sure about here is about the compatibility between the RGB systems in the Capellix cooler and the added fans: I'm sure it's possible (it's Corsair) but it might come at the cost of some horrific cable management (it's Corsair).

Obviously all these options increase the price!

Thanks, I also meant to add I am not 100% sold on liquid cooling as I understand there is an element of maintenance on these and I am a bit nervous of leaks!!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks, I also meant to add I am not 100% sold on liquid cooling as I understand there is an element of maintenance on these and I am a bit nervous of leaks!!

This is a closed loop which is maintenance free.

You're thinking of an open loop which is a whole different kettle of fish.

 

[Steveyg]

Thanks, I also meant to add I am not 100% sold on liquid cooling as I understand there is an element of maintenance on these and I am a bit nervous of leaks!!

Not on the liquid cooler selected. This is closed loop cooler, there is no maintenance involved mate

 

[rouchie]

Not on the liquid cooler selected. This is closed loop cooler, there is no maintenance involved mate

Cheers SteveyG, and SpyderTracks, the liquid cooling solutions are a mystery to me

 

[SpyderTracks]

Cheers SteveyG, and SpyderTracks, the liquid cooling solutions are a mystery to me

AIO are so good these days, they’ve largely replaced the benefits of open looped cooler in most uses. They’re just as effective, cost significantly less and failures are rare these days.

 

[rouchie]

AIO are so good these days, they’ve largely replaced the benefits of open looped cooler in most uses. They’re just as effective, cost significantly less and failures are rare these days.

Thanks again, very reassuring!

Any thoughts on whether I should keep the 32 gb of RAM or drop to 16gb, and what sticks are best for RGB?

 

[CMP01]

Honestly it looks pretty flawless. If you were to improve anything, I'd suggest it would be the fan situation; the 4000D is pretty sparse on fans. I'd be inclined to order the 3xLL120 set and get PCS to put them in the front of the case instead of the one stock fan. You will probably have to phone up to get this done as I don't think the configurator will let you do it. I have the 275R Airflow (quite similar to the 4000D) with the front fans replaced and it looks great. I did it myself and it wasn't difficult, so you could also consider that.

In terms of adding RGB, that fan idea would accomplish that. You could also change to one of the the Capellix coolers and the RGB RAM. The only thing I'm not sure about here is about the compatibility between the RGB systems in the Capellix cooler and the added fans: I'm sure it's possible (it's Corsair) but it might come at the cost of some horrific cable management (it's Corsair).

Obviously all these options increase the price!

I would guess it's a no to more specific/custom fan placement.

This is one of the things I actually emailed and asked about myself, as I'm fussy over the build being as I see it (certainly as this is one I'm not building myself) Almost the same idea too... 4000D Airflow case, H100i Elite Capellix AiO. Would leave 4 fan slots left, if AiO is roof mount as I'd greatly prefer and should fit... 3 front and 1 back. I was even willing to drop the AiO fans in favour of getting 6 LL120's for that and the rest so they all match. Nm the fans that come with the AiO are good un's but not sold individually or as kits... a search found, through a guide on the Corsair forums that the closest one can buy are the SP120 Elite fans (the same forum post was also a great guide to Corsair fans/controllers and how to set them up etc, I can post it here if anybody's interested)

Anyway, was told no can do on the fan fiddling. Decided ok, I'll do that part myself when it comes, wouldn't take long as the AiO's commander core controller is already installed. Possibly 4 SP120 Elites to go around and as good as match the AiO's 2... or maybe just 6 QL120's for the whole thing. Not sure yet but the build is still waiting despite my having no GPU in the build (got that elsewhere due to wait times into July for any 3080/6800XT and up)

 

[CMP01]

Thanks again, very reassuring!

Any thoughts on whether I should keep the 32 gb of RAM or drop to 16gb, and what sticks are best for RGB?

There have been issues with Zen 3 and some RAM configs. Best I can glean is it's mainly certain mobo's that don't play well with 4 RAM slots filled (4x8Gb specifically though that might be just what I saw tried)

In trying to find out more I came across a Gamers Nexus vid on most effective RAM config for 5600X (which I see no reason shouldn't apply to any Zen 3) It seems, from their tests, that IF you can get it to behave 4x8 can give up to 10% better perf in games than 2x8, while 2x16 does a little better overall and is a more stable bet than 4x8.
On the other hand, I have also read that whatever issues may arise with 4 slots filled can be fixed with some diligence etc but how sure that is I don't know.

In my case I don't want gaps between RAM and want a build like those pics you see (who wouldn't when one spends this much though?) For this, 2x16 is my choice plus a dummy RAM/light enhancement kit (around £30-40 depending on where bought) I'm buying to install once my build arrives, it's just the easiest route imo.

 

[sck451]

Yes, I fitted the SP120 Elite fans in my machine as well: a little challenging in cable management, but not awful. I'm not sure how to get the two different fan types to play together, though I'm sure it is possible! If you're fussy about it, I'd definitely rather do it myself.

 

[CMP01]

Yes, I fitted the SP120 Elite fans in my machine as well: a little challenging in cable management, but not awful. I'm not sure how to get the two different fan types to play together, though I'm sure it is possible! If you're fussy about it, I'd definitely rather do it myself.

From what I've seen, mixing Corsair fans is warned against (by Corsair and their mods etc) but can be done. I think it's a question of which kits with which and how one tweaks aso. Personally, I'd just go for all of one kind to save any more issues than I'd have dealing with a new PC anyway. SP120 Elites are probably my first choice for my previous points, and not too pricey either (£15 individually or £55 for a kit of 3 with a controller, which I won't need tbh) but folks will want the best (and I'm no exception) and QL120's will look extra amazing but £175 or so for a full 6 fans while I may only need 4 of the former.

 

[SpyderTracks]

From what I've seen, mixing Corsair fans is warned against (by Corsair and their mods etc) but can be done. I think it's a question of which kits with which and how one tweaks aso. Personally, I'd just go for all of one kind to save any more issues than I'd have dealing with a new PC anyway. SP120 Elites are probably my first choice for my previous points, and not too pricey either (£15 individually or £55 for a kit of 3 with a controller, which I won't need tbh) but folks will want the best (and I'm no exception) and QL120's will look extra amazing but £175 or so for a full 6 fans while I may only need 4 of the former.

The SP120 elites are amazing value for the money.

 

[rouchie]

Hi all, I rang PCS today and updated my order to include the LL120 rgb fans, after the call I thought I would take a look at my order to see how how moch it would cost to make my RAM RGB too (£32 inc VAT) but when I tried to proceed I got this message which was not there for my initial order. I have only added the RGB fans - I will email PCS but wondered if there were any suggestions on what I need to do?

The extra fans thing should be fine as on the call we did agree that the 2 stock fans would come out, so I am assuming having the extra fans is causing the space issue for the GPU. Any suggestions on what case I should switch to? Why would the fans not be compatible with the cooler as they are all corsair?

 

[CMP01]

Hi all, I rang PCS today and updated my order to include the LL120 rgb fans, after the call I thought I would take a look at my order to see how how moch it would cost to make my RAM RGB too (£32 inc VAT) but when I tried to proceed I got this message which was not there for my initial order. I have only added the RGB fans - I will email PCS but wondered if there were any suggestions on what I need to do?
View attachment 26296

Same issue I ran into, same case and fan kit, similar sized AiO (I chose the H100i Capellix one) and both similar length and shorter GPU's.

Basically, the case has 6 fan slots, comes with 2 already and the AiO has 2 and/covers 2 slots. That leaves 2 slots and the fan kit has 3 fans. One too many and they won't wrangle it (or couldn't when I asked two weeks ago anyway)
Also, and this seems to be a newer thing, aside from the fan kit addition flagging the warning for that, I previously had no warning re the GPU being too long... not any of the options whether ref cards or partner ones, lower end or top of line... and that regardless of AiO ordered. Well, in the case of just the fan kit conflict, fair enough. But the others...

Broken as some of the reckoning in that compatibility check may be, the only thing I can suggest (should you feel savvy enough to do so) is drop the fan kit and buy/install your own. Afaik, going by configs before this started flagging and looking at official specs, that ref 3080 should be short enough to fit in there even with fans up front blowing through the AiO (which would be better/ideally placed up top anyway) with there still being room to squeeze the partner model in iirc, though it'd be tighter. The only difference re your screenshot is that for me it didn't identify the AiO specifically as an issue, with or without the GPU figured in. It seemed to be the GPU triggering the warning in my case though, rather than the AiO, at least with the alternate configs I tried to find the cause. As for the GPU being too long, aside from the AiO involvement in that, your choices are either go smaller (which would likely mean lesser so what's the point?) or buy elsewhere, like I had to, a con overall.

Honestly, if I didn't know better I'd guess that these newly found and flagged issues are convenient in mitigating/excusing prolonged build times and queues. Why else would they only become an issue out of the blue days after an order with no flags?
But that'd be crazy, of course.

Seems from this that as well as sourcing and fitting case fans myself, I may be needing to refit the AiO in my build too if your warning is anything to go by. Sigh... more work to do which I ordered a prebuilt to avoid. I'd better order some thermal paste just in case...

 

[rouchie]

Same issue I ran into, same case and fan kit, similar sized AiO (I chose the H100i Capellix one) and both similar length and shorter GPU's.

Basically, the case has 6 fan slots, comes with 2 already and the AiO has 2 and/covers 2 slots. That leaves 2 slots and the fan kit has 3 fans. One too many and they won't wrangle it (or couldn't when I asked two weeks ago anyway)
Also, and this seems to be a newer thing, aside from the fan kit addition flagging the warning for that, I previously had no warning re the GPU being too long... not any of the options whether ref cards or partner ones, lower end or top of line... and that regardless of AiO ordered. Well, in the case of just the fan kit conflict, fair enough. But the others...

Broken as some of the reckoning in that compatibility check may be, the only thing I can suggest (should you feel savvy enough to do so) is drop the fan kit and buy/install your own. Afaik, going by configs before this started flagging and looking at official specs, that ref 3080 should be short enough to fit in there even with fans up front blowing through the AiO (which would be better/ideally placed up top anyway) with there still being room to squeeze the partner model in iirc, though it'd be tighter. The only difference re your screenshot is that for me it didn't identify the AiO specifically as an issue, with or without the GPU figured in. It seemed to be the GPU triggering the warning in my case though, rather than the AiO, at least with the alternate configs I tried to find the cause. As for the GPU being too long, aside from the AiO involvement in that, your choices are either go smaller (which would likely mean lesser so what's the point?) or buy elsewhere, like I had to, a con overall.

Honestly, if I didn't know better I'd guess that these newly found and flagged issues are convenient in mitigating/excusing prolonged build times and queues. Why else would they only become an issue out of the blue days after an order with no flags?
But that'd be crazy, of course.

Seems from this that as well as sourcing and fitting case fans myself, I may be needing to refit the AiO in my build too if your warning is anything to go by. Sigh... more work to do which I ordered a prebuilt to avoid. I'd better order some thermal paste just in case...

Thanks for the reply, I was a litlle annoyed as I did ring it through and she had to check it was ok as well and that was all good. It was only when I thought to see how much it would cost to upgrade the RAM to RGB that I saw the issue pop up! I will wait and see what suggestions I am offered from the guys at PCS, i still have a lengthy wait in front of me so better to iron these things out now than later

 

[sck451]

Once PCS have made a change to your order that can only be done on the phone, you'll probably struggle to use the online configurator tool. I think you'll have to call again!

 

[rouchie]

Once PCS have made a change to your order that can only be done on the phone, you'll probably struggle to use the online configurator tool. I think you'll have to call again!

Thanks, I dropped them an email for now and if I get no response over the next few days will follow up with a call

 

[rouchie]

So it turns out the issue was with trying to add RGB RAM - I have been told my build is fine as it is but I would need to change some components/case if I wanted to switch to RGB RAM, so I think I will leave that as it is for now

Maybve I will start a new thread at 100 days to see if any tweaks are recommended at that stage!!

 

[CMP01]

So it turns out the issue was with trying to add RGB RAM - I have been told my build is fine as it is but I would need to change some components/case if I wanted to switch to RGB RAM, so I think I will leave that as it is for now

Maybve I will start a new thread at 100 days to see if any tweaks are recommended at that stage!!

Hmmm... I don't see how the RGB RAM could flag up as an issue re that 'Checking your specification...' window.

I mean, it wouldn't affect the GPU nor the cooler mentioned in the same paragraph as to affect the GPU the cooler would need to be installed behind the front case fans and so away from the RAM...
It wouldn't affect the next two points either (re case fans)

In fact the only issue I can imagine re RGB (or other taller/heatsink'd RAM kits) would get flagged is if the cooler is roof mounted, which would be away from the GPU (so no issue there)
But a 240mm cooler (as that one is) not only has room in that case above mobo and RAM but can also be offset towards the open side for that reason... to avoid impinging on RAM... in fact, it was one of the design specifics of the 4000/5000 series cases, as this had been an issue previously (as was so in my Corsair 460X case from 5 years ago)
In fact it was researching that which led me to choose the 4000D case for myself, it's right there on their site and in review vids.

Sigh... I dunno what to say or think at this stage tbh. It's as bewilderingly fishy as a south coast derby being played during a tsunami.