Quarantine Build

[Joycie]

Hi guys, just looking a bit of help with my build. 7yrs ago I bought a custom gaming laptop from PCS. Back then I was concerned with speed and longevity, and I have to admit that I'm really happy my laptop lasted this long. It was worth the money. But now it's given up the ghost. On to pastures new. I'm looking a gaming desktop with similar requirements. I want it to be fast and future-proofed (as much as possible without going crazy). I take care of all of my devices, so I don't see why I couldn't get 7yrs out of a desktop. 99% of it's usage will be gaming. What type of games? Total war on max settings, Football Manager with several leagues running on high and the new Gears Tactics game (which killed my laptop). Games that I will not play on it are things like First-person shooters, CoD, Fortnite, that whole spiel. I'm a point and click strategy man.
Also, back when I got my laptop all this "1st M.2 SSD Drive" stuff wasn't around. I've tried to educate myself. I obviously choose to put the OS on it, but can I also store games on it too??

So to recap, my needs:
Fast, fast, fast
I'd like to get 5 to 7yrs out of it
Quiet
Keeps Cool (overheating scares me)

Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE - I like that this has removable dust filters, but if there's a smaller, cheaper case that's quiet and good airflow I'd go with that.
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready! - I keep seeing this GPU being recommended by mods in the forums. I feel this would be a good card for future strategy games.
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER - From the forums I keep seeing that the stock AMD cooler is good and shouldn't need another cooler, is this true for this build?
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
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
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND

Price: £1,604.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/5Wxu9S9Yrc/

 

[SpyderTracks]

What monitor are you pairing it with, what resolution and refresh rate or make and model if you’re unsure?

Yes, M2 is definitely the way to go, they’re just normal SSD’s but plug directly into PCIe rather than through SATA so are a lot faster. Idea for gaming would be to have a minimum of 500gb as the OS/game drive (on the same drive).

 

[Joycie]

I'll be using a rinky dink HP 22w Full HD Monitor 60hz (1920 x 1080), while I shop around for a 23"-24" (I prefer smaller screens, I sit very close to it), don't think I'll need 144hz for the types of games I play. Maybe aim for 1080p, 75hz monitor.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'll be using a rinky dink HP 22w Full HD Monitor 60hz (1920 x 1080), while I shop around for a 23"-24" (I prefer smaller screens, I sit very close to it), don't think I'll need 144hz for the types of games I play. Maybe aim for 1080p, 75hz monitor.

You can lower the gpu to the 1660 Super, no benefit to more than that for that resolution and refresh rate.

With the money you’re saving I would invest in the h100i platinum, not that you need it but will be a lot quieter. No need for upgraded paste in that case as the cooler comes pre applied.

Personally I’d up the PSU to 750w as that will support any upgrade in the future and Rmx if budget allows, again a lot quieter.

 

[Joycie]

With your suggestions I'm saving a couple hundred pound, thank you very much sir. What about the case, do you know of any that are smaller but not missing out on that precious airflow?

 

[SpyderTracks]

With your suggestions I'm saving a couple hundred pound, thank you very much sir. What about the case, do you know of any that are smaller but not missing out on that precious airflow?

Without going for a micro build, that is one of the smaller cases actually. I wouldn't recommend going micro with these specs though.