student working + gaming pc - check these specs!

M

morganmorgan

Member
I am a student, looking to build a PC suitable for work-from-home and gaming. I usually use my PC for between 6-8 hours a day, obviously for the majority of the time that's work... mostly word and number processing NOT video/photo editing or rendering. However I want the computer to also be useable for current-release PC gaming. Right now I have a second-hand gaming computer with monitor so I will be re-using that monitor, unsure of its specs but it is AOC branded. These are the specs of the computer I have been looking at (I am unsure of the suitablity of the motherboard and wireless network card, which I do not really know anything about):

Case
PCS P209 ARGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700F (2.9GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B560-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
512GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 80 V2 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 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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Price: £1,228.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z590-pc/pQ8cQ7HxNv/

Top budget is £1250. I have created this computer in comparison to a ready-built "HP ENVY TE01-1000na Desktop PC, Intel Core i7 Processor, 8GB RAM, 2TB HDD + 256GB SSD" with a GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card. Total cost of that computer is £1,149 if I went for that instead.
Thanks for any help!
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Here's how I'd tweak it. The 2060 is oldish now and the 3060 would be ideal, but for the budget let's stick with this. Better CPU, faster RAM, better power supply, better storage, better motherboard, better cooling, and only just over your budget.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-11400F (2.6GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI: ATX, LGA1200, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB ASUS DUAL GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP, DVI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
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
PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 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
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
Firefox™
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 8 to 11 working days
Price: £1,269.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z590-pc/U6gD!H2QZR/
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Just thought I'd throw in here that the AMD Radeon RX6600 is currently less than both the 2060 (Dual and 12GB) models. Yes you lose some of the NVIDIA features, but the 6600 is pretty much knocking on the door of the 3060 performance wise so I'd reckon would quite happily outperform both cards anyway.

Another point worth making is, if you're not in a particular rush for this build, I'd recommend waiting until PCS adds the B660 boards to the 12th gen configurator. This will bring a 12th gen system within your budget which will give better performance than a 11400F and a way better platform for future upgrades.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z690 UD DDR4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready You could arguably go with a build with this board in it, but it's rather overspecced for the CPU you have so wouldn't make much sense. Dropping to a B660 board once they appear should bring this build nicely into budget
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW) If you're able to spend a bit more cash, the only other upgrade I'd recommend is swapping this to a 1TB to give you proper space for games
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
PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 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 10/11 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 8 to 11 working days
Price: £1,294.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/0Xk0rUQpW9/
 
M

morganmorgan

Member
Thank you so much Junior! Unfortunately I do need a new PC asap as mine is on last legs.

I notice you both selected the ultra quiet power supply over the normal one, is that really worth the investment?
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
morganmorgan said:
Thank you so much Junior! Unfortunately I do need a new PC asap as mine is on last legs.

I notice you both selected the ultra quiet power supply over the normal one, is that really worth the investment?
Click to expand...
"Ultra quiet" is just marketing talk, although it will be quieter. The bit you really want to look at is the CV and TXm. The CV is an entry level 80+ Bronze unit, it'll do the job fine but not a unit I'd actively recommend for someone. The TXm is a higher quality unit that'll be built from better parts, run quieter and more efficently with the higher wattage option we've chosen. This is kind of shown in the manufacturer warranties that Corsair themselves give both units, for the CV, it's 3 years, for the TXm, it's 7.

The other thing is wattage, the 450W will run that system, but it'll be worked pretty hard it's whole life and doesn't leave any space for future upgrades. Being a non-modular PSU, replacing the unit would also be a pain. Compared to 750W which will run much more efficently under less stress and will allow for the option to pop in a new GPU when desired a few years down the line.

I like to think of is that it's similar to a car engine, with the revs being the wattage used and the redline being the maximum wattage. If your revs are always close to the redline, it's bad for the engine and will shorten the life expectency of the engine, or worse, could break it. Where as if revs are low and redline is high then it's much happier. It's the same with the wattage of PSU's really.

The PSU is actually one of the 3 parts to my holy trinity of foundations for a PC (along with case and motherboard) so 1000% worth the investment. Get those three things right off the bat and you've got a solid, upgradable system for years to come. And that's how you over explain why to pick one PSU over another 😂

TL: DR: Yes, it's worth the investment, I'd highly recommend the TXm unit.
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
JUNI0R said:
"Ultra quiet" is just marketing talk, although it will be quieter. The bit you really want to look at is the CV and TXm. The CV is an entry level 80+ Bronze unit, it'll do the job fine but not a unit I'd actively recommend for someone. The TXm is a higher quality unit that'll be built from better parts, run quieter and more efficently with the higher wattage option we've chosen. This is kind of shown in the manufacturer warranties that Corsair themselves give both units, for the CV, it's 3 years, for the TXm, it's 7.

The other thing is wattage, the 450W will run that system, but it'll be worked pretty hard it's whole life and doesn't leave any space for future upgrades. Being a non-modular PSU, replacing the unit would also be a pain. Compared to 750W which will run much more efficently under less stress and will allow for the option to pop in a new GPU when desired a few years down the line.

I like to think of is that it's similar to a car engine, with the revs being the wattage used and the redline being the maximum wattage. If your revs are always close to the redline, it's bad for the engine and will shorten the life expectency of the engine, or worse, could break it. Where as if revs are low and redline is high then it's much happier. It's the same with the wattage of PSU's really.

The PSU is actually one of the 3 parts to my holy trinity of foundations for a PC (along with case and motherboard) so 1000% worth the investment. Get those three things right off the bat and you've got a solid, upgradable system for years to come. And that's how you over explain why to pick one PSU over another 😂

TL: DR: Yes, it's worth the investment, I'd highly recommend the TXm unit.
Click to expand...
Well explained @Steveyg @JUNI0R
 
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