Thinking about a desktop

[PhilHibbs]

I’ve been gaming on laptops for 20 years (Rock, Kobalt, PCSpecialist), but I think it might be time to settle down with a desktop.

Any thoughts on this spec, is there anything that is overpriced or excessive compared to the rest of the list, or anything missing?

PULSE SUPREME
Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE - WHITE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME X870-P WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5600MHz CL40 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
2TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND APPLICATION
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Monitor
AOC 27" Q27G2E/BK - 2560 x 1440, 155HZ, 1MS, HDMI
Monitor
MSI 27" PRO MP275Q - 2560 x 1440, 1 Ms, 100Hz
Keyboard & Mouse
PCSpecialist GS-813 RGB GAMING KEYBOARD & MOUSE BUNDLE
Speakers
Razer Leviathan V2 X Soundbar
Price: £2,525.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/z0SKM9RcRy/

CPU is probably overkill.

 

[PhilHibbs]

The build is a little unbalanced, some areas could be better but that would depend on the budgetary room.

Is it just for gaming or any other uses?

What is the reasoning for the 2 1440p monitors? If it's one for gaming and one for other things, the second monitor doesn't need to be a 1440p one. You also might get better value by buying from elsewhere

Mostly gaming, some amateur graphics work playing around with some very large image files in GIMP & Paint Shop. Good point on the second monitor - it only saves £50 but I'll bear it in mind, and I'll look around as PCS's selection does seem a bit limited as well.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Balanced a few things out, removed the monitors. If you are retiring your current laptop, you could transfer the Windows licence to the new PC, install Windows yourself and save well over £100

I'm keeping the laptop, I visit friends regularly for the weekend, playing computer games and roleplaying games, so I want to keep the portability. I'll stick with Lian Li case, as they aren't made in China, unless you know a good reason to avoid them. I know I can't avoid Chinese parts entirely, but I'm trying to.

 

[PhilHibbs]

So lets go through this in detail...
Motherboard: slight upgrade. +£23.
1st M.2: half size. -£34. Just for O/S. Fair enough, just have to be careful what I install where.
PSU: upgrade, +£45. Reliability? Lower noise? Future expandability?
Cooling: big upgrade, +£86. Sounds cool!

That just about covers it? Better core components and cooling? Sounds reasonable, only £120 more. I don't know anything about cooling systems. Thanks a lot! Time to do some research on monitors.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Looks like the 24GB RX7900XTX has disappeared. I was thinking of that as an option.

 

[PhilHibbs]

The extra cost wouldn't have been worth it as it's a 4k GPU and you are looking at 1440p. Could make an argument for the 7900 XT though

Why do they not tell you that in the pick list?

I just watched that Monitors Unboxed video in the monitors forum sticky... so it looks like I need to up my budget a little! Lots to think about.

 

[TonyCarter]

Why do they not tell you that in the pick list?

I just watched that Monitors Unboxed video in the monitors forum sticky... so it looks like I need to up my budget a little! Lots to think about.

Probably because they expect potential custom build customers to have some interest in PC components and research what's suitable for themselves...and if they can't/won't then that's where the forum comes in

 

[PhilHibbs]

I'm sorely tempted to stretch to an OLED screen, I play a lot of Elite and so the blackness of space and the sharp contrast against fine bright UI elements is important.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'm sorely tempted to stretch to an OLED screen, I play a lot of Elite and so the blackness of space and the sharp contrast against fine bright UI elements is important.

OLED really is in a league of its own with regards to contrast ratio and HDR performance. It’s leaps better

 

[PhilHibbs]

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/xsy9RGvmaY/

Those links have a limited life don't they! It now goes to a 2GB Geforce 710 with 8GB of 4800MHz RAM! I guess if the exact item is no longer in the configurator then it just picks the first item in the list.