VR/Sim build

[nemsta]

Hi everyone,
have I made any glaring mistakes or omissions in my build? Any comments appreciated.

The PC will mostly be used for VR gaming and flight sims - MS Flight Simulator, Star Wars Squadrons. I have a Reverb G2 which is infamous for not playing well with AMD motherboards, which is why I went for Intel this time. It also has a punishing 4320x2160 resolution, so I'll need every bit of performance I can get. Having said that, I don't have time or patience for overclocking, and I'd rather have something that just works out of the box.

The budget was £2600.

Case
Send In Your Own Case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-11700K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI: ATX, LGA1200, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/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
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid 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
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 20 to 22 working days
Promotional Item
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Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
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Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z590-pc/v842mqTHrE/

 

[Martinr36]

Take a read of this, especially the AMD v intel section

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[nemsta]

Take a read of this, especially the AMD v intel section

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

As I said:
"I have a Reverb G2 which is infamous for not playing well with AMD motherboards, which is why I went for Intel this time."

 

[SpyderTracks]

As I said:
"I have a Reverb G2 which is infamous for not playing well with AMD motherboards, which is why I went for Intel this time."

The reverb has no issue with AMD boards that I know of unless you have some specific links?

Early AMD BIOSes had USB issues which caused problems for all VR headsets, wasn't limited to the reverb, but that was resolved the beginning of this year with a BIOS update.

 

[nemsta]

https://www.reddit.com/r/HPReverb/comments/njvs0b

AMD admits that there are USB connectivity issues with the X570 and B550 chipsets (seems to happen mostly if you have a PCIe Gen 4 GPU) News

USB (to be more specific seems to happen mostly with USB 2.0, but there are also people having issues with USB 3 etc) has connectiviy/dropout issues on both Ryzen 3000 and Ryzen 5000 CPUs if you have a PCIe Gen 4 GPU with Gen 4 enabled. I'm affected myself: If I connect my peripherals to any USB...

www.resetera.com

It's a bit of a lottery apparently, the bios updates fixed it for some people, for others some workarounds helped, like getting a USB hub - but I'm not interested in debugging my new expensive PC so I thought I'll steer away.

 

[SpyderTracks]

https://www.reddit.com/r/HPReverb/comments/njvs0b

AMD admits that there are USB connectivity issues with the X570 and B550 chipsets (seems to happen mostly if you have a PCIe Gen 4 GPU) News

USB (to be more specific seems to happen mostly with USB 2.0, but there are also people having issues with USB 3 etc) has connectiviy/dropout issues on both Ryzen 3000 and Ryzen 5000 CPUs if you have a PCIe Gen 4 GPU with Gen 4 enabled. I'm affected myself: If I connect my peripherals to any USB...

www.resetera.com

It's a bit of a lottery apparently, the bios updates fixed it for some people, for others some workarounds helped, like getting a USB hub - but I'm not interested in debugging my new expensive PC so I thought I'll steer away.

Yeah, that's purely related to the old USB disconnect issues on the older BIOSes.

The reverb only uses USB for power delivery, it's not any data transmission. They did also used to supply a USB C wall brick to supply power rather than having to use the PC, that is always the recommended way to plug in the USB C.

Either way it works fine on AMD. Those issues were generally a problem on AMD before the BIOS updates, it wasn't anything to do with the Reverb, it was any USB device.

We've got loads of users using the reverb on AMD platform with no issues. So long as you're plugging into the supported USB Chipset then you're fine.

The one person in that reddit thread you linked who said their USB C ports weren't working at all, I guarantee it's purely because they haven't installed the drivers or it's a dud board, but it's nothing to do with incompatibility.

Reddit, while being a very useful tool at times, is unfortunately frequented mainly by people who have zero clue on what they're doing. Unfortunately it leads to a huge amount of disinformation.

This is from HP's dedicated Reddit post and is the guidance that should be followed with any VR headset, it's not particular to the HP

"o The tradeoff is increased power draw; the device can no longer draw enough power over USB-C alone. Reverb G2 will require the included power adapter to be plugged in to the wall to function, and in return you get the best visual experience we can deliver.

· Non-motherboard USB

o This will not be a surprise to VR veterans, we have found a significant number of USB ports that aren’t direct from the CPU/motherboard to cause USB issues on VR headsets. Think PCI add in cards or USB ports on graphics cards. Whatever VR headset you use, we highly suggest using the ports on your motherboard that come from the CPU USB controller."

https://www.reddit.com/r/HPReverb/comments/iz3jj9

 

[nemsta]

Thanks for taking time to reply @SpyderTracks. I agree it's hard to find reliable information on the internet. However, even if you follow the HP official advice you quoted, there are still guys like this:

Updated X570 Pro - USB Not Working with HP Reverb G2

Hello, I've been struggling for over 2 weeks now with my 2021 pc built with USB not recognizing the HP Reverb G2 VR Headset I just got. The headset is acting like is not plugged in at all. No sound, no effect. USB plugs on the MB work with other devices like mouse, webcam, etc but it doesn't...

community.amd.com

In his case, contrary to HP advice, it's the PCI USB card that helped, and only the second one he tried.

Reverb G2, AMD and 7-14 error see inside. I may be able to help you..

Well the Good news is the part came in as HP said it would. the Bad news it is not the right part… It seems HP sent me the Dongle for the 7-14 error when it clearly stated in my case I had the 4-1 error… So I am back on the waiting list with no EDT this time as of yet for the Cable. And the other...

forums.eagle.ru

HP official support was unable to resolve the problem by way of simple advice and had to send the guy the updated cabling (apparently problem specific to Reverb G2 and x570 boards).

All of this is off-putting, and I'd rather make life simpler for myself. Also, unless I'm mistaken, I think the CPU/board choice I've made is reasonable and close in performance to what I could get in the AMD offering (even if slightly more expensive and more power hungry etc.) Please prove me wrong though!

 

[nemsta]

The reverb only uses USB for power delivery, it's not any data transmission. They did also used to supply a USB C wall brick to supply power rather than having to use the PC, that is always the recommended way to plug in the USB C.

The wall brick feeds into a little box on the cable itself actually, and you have to plug in USB to your PC regardless of whether you use the power brick or not.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for taking time to reply @SpyderTracks. I agree it's hard to find reliable information on the internet. However, even if you follow the HP official advice you quoted, there are still guys like this:

Updated X570 Pro - USB Not Working with HP Reverb G2

Hello, I've been struggling for over 2 weeks now with my 2021 pc built with USB not recognizing the HP Reverb G2 VR Headset I just got. The headset is acting like is not plugged in at all. No sound, no effect. USB plugs on the MB work with other devices like mouse, webcam, etc but it doesn't...

community.amd.com

In his case, contrary to HP advice, it's the PCI USB card that helped, and only the second one he tried.

Reverb G2, AMD and 7-14 error see inside. I may be able to help you..

Well the Good news is the part came in as HP said it would. the Bad news it is not the right part… It seems HP sent me the Dongle for the 7-14 error when it clearly stated in my case I had the 4-1 error… So I am back on the waiting list with no EDT this time as of yet for the Cable. And the other...

forums.eagle.ru

HP official support was unable to resolve the problem by way of simple advice and had to send the guy the updated cabling (apparently problem specific to Reverb G2 and x570 boards).

All of this is off-putting, and I'd rather make life simpler for myself. Also, unless I'm mistaken, I think the CPU/board choice I've made is reasonable and close in performance to what I could get in the AMD offering (even if slightly more expensive and more power hungry etc.) Please prove me wrong though!

Using the PC USB's, then you have to use the CPU USB chipset. Every modern motherboard comes with 2 USB controllers, one on the CPU and one off the motherboard. You need to use the CPU connected ports. Again, that's for any VR headset, it's not purely for the Reverb.

That second site you linked is Russian and I'm afraid, any kind of tech support in Russia is woeful so I don't put any relation in that to western support. They will undoubtedly get different hardware in the box as well due to different power supplies.

You will always find problems on the internet if you look for them, but you have to understand that different regions have different hardware, sometimes extremely different due to different regulations and power requirements.

I guarantee it will work fine so long as you're using the correct ports. We've had no one on this forum with any issue.

Search for problems with any headset and you'll find the same kind of issues, it's purely down to people not understanding how to configure their PC's or having a badly configured spec.

 

[nemsta]

That second site you linked is Russian and I'm afraid, any kind of tech support in Russia is woeful so I don't put any relation in that to western support. They will undoubtedly get different hardware in the box as well due to different power supplies.

You will always find problems on the internet if you look for them, but you have to understand that different regions have different hardware, sometimes extremely different due to different regulations and power requirements.

The guy posting was from UK.

Anyway, let's leave the AMD vs Intel aside - do you have any advice on my build if I choose to stick with Intel?

 

[SpyderTracks]

The guy posting was from UK.

Anyway, let's leave the AMD vs Intel aside - do you have any advice on my build if I choose to stick with Intel?

Kinda makes you wonder why he was posting on some unknown Russian site where they don't have any support rather than the HP forums.

We wouldn't advise an intel build at all, aside from the poor performance and lack of connectivity features, they're utterly plagued by security issues that can't be patched. They're also extremely overpriced considering all the above.

 

[nemsta]

Kinda makes you wonder why he was posting on some unknown Russian site where they don't have any support rather than the HP forums.

The site is the official forum of DCS.

 

[nemsta]

Does i7-11700K have poor performance?
What connectivity options does my build lack?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Does i7-11700K have poor performance?
What connectivity options does my build lack?

Yes, it's dreadful in every way, performance, security, thermally, ridiculous power requirements, the motherboards are buggy as hell.

But it's all outlined in the links that @Martinr36 posted, one of these days someone will actually read them before posting their defences of a dead architecture.

 

[nemsta]

defences of a dead architecture

I don't care about architectures, just trying to make a purchase decision...

 

[SpyderTracks]

I don't care about architectures, just trying to make a purchase decision...

At the moment you're choosing a dead platform to avoid a non issue on a far better performing platform for the sake of perhaps having to do some basic troubleshooting.

The decision seems easy.

 

[3qtrsamericano]

£2600 would get you an amazing rig if you just get past the whole wanting to have Intel.

And trust me, if you did run into issues post purchase, the guys here will be of more help than any other blog, forum, Reddit etc ALL PUT TOGETHER.

Just my 2p's worth.

 

[nemsta]

Fair enough, perhaps I had the cost to benefit wrong. I guess I'll risk some troubleshooting and cancel my order
Would you have a spec to suggest for me? Thanks!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Fair enough, perhaps I had the cost to benefit wrong. I guess I'll risk some troubleshooting and cancel my order
Would you have a spec to suggest for me? Thanks!

What's your max budget?

What monitor are you pairing it with? What make and model?

Is it purely for gaming, or any other uses also?

 

[3qtrsamericano]

Fair enough, perhaps I had the cost to benefit wrong. I guess I'll risk some troubleshooting and cancel my order
Would you have a spec to suggest for me? Thanks!

I'm no expert but I'm sure @Martinr36 or @SpyderTracks can recommend something suitable 😁