Was the Eclipse R70i deal for £2099 worth it?

[Neverstopfig]

You guys seems so knowledgeable and as this is a completely new endeavor for me i wanted some advice on whether i got a good deal or not. I think the CPU,GPU memory and SSD card are very good but have concerns about the case, motherboard and cooling based on some other threads ive read on here.

Went for a prebuilt as i wouldnt feel confident building it myself and with £140 off and the CPU and GPU i was looking for it seems like a good deal?

Case
PCS SPECTRUM II ARGB MID TOWER CASE (PWM)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) (B)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB MSI GEFORCE RTX 5070 Ti SHADOW 3X OC - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 990 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe 4.0 & 5.0 NVMe (up to 7250MB/R, 6300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Edit : This is the monitor ive bought to go with it - AOC Q27G3XMN/BK Quad HD 27" VA Mini LED Gaming Monitor - Black (1440p)



Thank you in advance, any help is appreciated.

 

[TonyCarter]

As with any pre-built, you get the named ‘halo’ components CPU and GPU, but you get short-changed on the rest.

PCS don’t offer ‘build your own’ PCs anyway…you just pick the budget/compinents/spec and they build it for you.

In this case:

• the PSU is the bare minimum for that GPU (but luckily it’s paired with a 120w AMD CPU not a 250-300w Intel i9)
• the cooler is a budget PCS model
• the case is a budget PCS model
• one step above entry-level B850 motherboard
• single, poor reputation (of late) SSD

The PSU and case are the main components that will confound any significant GPU upgrade down the line, and the cooler may not have the best longevity.

 

[TonyCarter]

Just had a check on the configurator, and that build is coming out at about £2250…so the £150 off is accurate.

A similar build with longevity in mind is about £150 more again…so about £2400 for a 1000W PSU, a much better Corsair 4000 Frame case, 3TB of storage (in 1TB + 2TB config), and a much better Corsair Nautilus AIO.

But if the budget is £2000-£2100 not £2400, then corners have to be cut somewhere…otherwise I’d have an M3 Touring and not a 335D Touring 😁

 

[Neverstopfig]

Would you suggest cancelling the order and customising the build to improve the parts you mentioned above. £2099 is a lot of money but I will happily pay to improve the PC so it has better longevity.

 

[TonyCarter]

Would you suggest cancelling the order and customising the build to improve the parts you mentioned above. £2099 is a lot of money but I will happily pay to improve the PC so it has better longevity.

If you’ve got the extra budget, then yes…in my opinion.

I’ll post the config I tried…

 

[TonyCarter]

Case
CORSAIR FRAME 4000D RS ARGB MODULAR - highly configurable & customisable case, with good quality Corsair fans
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B850 AORUS ELITE WIFI 7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7) - higher level B850 motherboard, for slightly less £
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB PALIT GEFORCE RTX 5070 Ti GAMINGPRO - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW) - primary drive for Windows, apps, games launchers
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W) - secondary drive for game installs (so you don’t have to download everything again in the event of a Windows corruption / rebuild / drive failure)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD - more efficient at your current power requirements, but headroom for next couple of generations of beefier GPUs too
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR NAUTILUS 240 RS ARGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - more dependable cooler, with fans matching those in the case
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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)
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
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
Google Chrome™
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £2,429.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/46Qf8MuMb0/

 

[TonyCarter]

BTW, that’s a good choice on the monitor. You’d have to spend more than double to get an equivalent OLED for any significant image improvement.

 

[Neverstopfig]

Thank you so much for your help. Can I just clarify, will the “cheapness” of some of the parts impact performance of the PC, or is it simply a matter of not being able to upgrade in the future to their aforementioned constraints.

I’m so grateful for your help.

 

[Neverstopfig]

And theoretically could I buy a new case, PSU and cooling in a few years and simply upgrade the parts myself if and when I decide I want a better GPU/CPU

 

[TonyCarter]

Thank you so much for your help. Can I just clarify, will the “cheapness” of some of the parts impact performance of the PC, or is it simply a matter of not being able to upgrade in the future to their aforementioned constraints.

I’m so grateful for your help.

The budget nature of some cooling parts (case & cooler) can have 2 main effects.

1. Less efficient cooling, so CPU & GPU may not reach peak speeds during heavy gaming
2. Less reliable components are more prone to early failure

The PSU is really to ensure there’s enough headroom for GPU power spikes, and so that it operates in its most efficient range (40-60%). Above this the heat created will increase, the fan will come on more often and add to the overall noise levels (assuming the RMe even has a zero-RPM mode). The higher power/level PSUs also have more power lanes to allow for beefier GPUs that may require multiple power connections.

 

[TonyCarter]

And theoretically could I buy a new case, PSU and cooling in a few years and simply upgrade the parts myself if and when I decide I want a better GPU/CPU

Yes, of course. But it would involve a complete rebuild if you replace the case, and more or less a strip-down to replace the PSU du3 to all the cable management and potential for different cable types.

CPU is about the easiest, as it just involves removing the cooler and CPU, the reversing that process…taking care with thermal paste/sheet application.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yes, of course. But it would involve a complete rebuild if you replace the case, and more or less a strip-down to replace the PSU du3 to all the cable management and potential for different cable types.

CPU is about the easiest, as it just involves removing the cooler and CPU, the reversing that process…taking care with thermal paste/sheet application.

Just following on from this, it also means you’ll be doubling up on several components unnecessarily. So you may see the system as good value at £2100, but because of the need to replace most of the platform for a simple GPU upgrade, the cost is actually significantly more, plus it’s likely until it’s ipgraded due to poor airflow from a substandard case and CPU cooler, you’d never get expected performance anyway.

So you are in reality paying a lot more for substantially less

This is the thing with budget oriented builds, people tend to look at their current requirements rather than the 10 year timeframe the system should last for. Most of the time, cutting corners actually significantly increases costs, doesn’t reduce them