New PC Time (Pre Build)
Discussion
After 14 yrs my PC is starting to get a little slow and long in the tooth, and I've started looking for a replacement.
i considered self build, but it's not really something i feel confident in doing and I found i was tying myself in knots trying to match / understand the components.
I'm looking for a machine, that will last me as long as possible - with the occasional graphics card upgrade. Ideally to use as a work pc but also for gaming. Ive quite a broad set of tastes from DCS (want to try MFS) to the usual run n gun games.
As this will be a longer term buy - i've budgeted 2K. No need for monitors etc. (maybe VR in the future)
Any suggestions on what to aim for ? i think 32gb would be a minimum ?
i considered self build, but it's not really something i feel confident in doing and I found i was tying myself in knots trying to match / understand the components.
I'm looking for a machine, that will last me as long as possible - with the occasional graphics card upgrade. Ideally to use as a work pc but also for gaming. Ive quite a broad set of tastes from DCS (want to try MFS) to the usual run n gun games.
As this will be a longer term buy - i've budgeted 2K. No need for monitors etc. (maybe VR in the future)
Any suggestions on what to aim for ? i think 32gb would be a minimum ?
At least an i9 or Ryzen 9, 16GB, NVMe SSD, and 500W, plus the graphics card.
I would first go play with the Dell Alienware configurator and see where that gets you
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/gaming/alienware-deskto...
I would first go play with the Dell Alienware configurator and see where that gets you
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/gaming/alienware-deskto...
Just a word of warning about 'built to order' sites if not inclined to get your hands dirty.
Might have just got unlucky, but I recently bought a custom built PC and wouldn't do it again. Took weeks longer than the estimate for them to build it, and I ended up having to replace a faulty component and sort out the wiring management myself, as returning was a massive faff for minor stuff.
And as you say, ensuring that all the components play nicely together in an optimised way, is a minefield. Different motherboards, CPU, PSU requirements..... if doing it again, personally I'd buy a system with a combination of components that is sold in volume.
In terms of GPU I'm told that 3060 Ti is a good entry point if you want to play VR in future. About 500 is a fair price for that component.
If I wasn't so deep in sunk costs, game peripherals and spare monitors, I would have bought an imac!
Might have just got unlucky, but I recently bought a custom built PC and wouldn't do it again. Took weeks longer than the estimate for them to build it, and I ended up having to replace a faulty component and sort out the wiring management myself, as returning was a massive faff for minor stuff.
And as you say, ensuring that all the components play nicely together in an optimised way, is a minefield. Different motherboards, CPU, PSU requirements..... if doing it again, personally I'd buy a system with a combination of components that is sold in volume.
In terms of GPU I'm told that 3060 Ti is a good entry point if you want to play VR in future. About 500 is a fair price for that component.
If I wasn't so deep in sunk costs, game peripherals and spare monitors, I would have bought an imac!
grumbledoak said:
At least an i9 or Ryzen 9, 16GB, NVMe SSD, and 500W, plus the graphics card.
I would first go play with the Dell Alienware configurator and see where that gets you
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/gaming/alienware-deskto...
Yes, use it to spec up a system if you must, but please, do not buy an Alienware if you don't want lots of heat & throttling from their crap components and airflow.I would first go play with the Dell Alienware configurator and see where that gets you
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/gaming/alienware-deskto...
Have a watch of this youtube review (from a well-respected channel - Gamers Nexus)...
https://youtu.be/8ulhFi5N2hc
What size/resolution monitors are you expecting to use, as a build based for a 240hz 1080p monitor will/may be different to a build for 144hz 4k.
All of the builders/system integrators have been having problems with build times due to supply shortages. I was 'lucky' in that I only had to wait 3 months...and even then I swapped out my preferred GPU to a RTX3070 just to get the computer before my 3 week Christmas break. I eventually swapped it out for a RTX3080Ti FE when one became available at RRP.
I'd just use one/multiple of the builder/integrator websites to price up similar builds (and if they have a forum, post your build there and ask for advice). Anything above a Ryzen 5600X will need a decent cooler - all-in-one water cooler is my preference, but there are some great air coolers...assuming the case has enough airflow in the first place...so don't cheap out on a case just to save £30.
Overclockers
Scan
PCSpecialist
AWD IT
CyberPowerSystems
Gladiator
Chillblast
etc.
Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 24th August 13:26
Avoid OEMs like Dell / Alienware. Build quality is crap, parts are hard to source and change.
Go with the likes of Scan, PC Specialist, OCUK etc etc. Better build quality, use off the self part (so easier to upgrade) and tend to be a bit cheaper.
32GB would be enough. Get a m.2 drive (PCIe 4.0 is best with the incoming Direct Storage tech from MS).
i7/Ryzen 7 would be a starting point. May not need a i9/Ryzen as the money would be better invested in a higher spec GPU.
GPU get the highest spec your budget allows, if gaming it will give you the biggest perf increase.
Go with the likes of Scan, PC Specialist, OCUK etc etc. Better build quality, use off the self part (so easier to upgrade) and tend to be a bit cheaper.
32GB would be enough. Get a m.2 drive (PCIe 4.0 is best with the incoming Direct Storage tech from MS).
i7/Ryzen 7 would be a starting point. May not need a i9/Ryzen as the money would be better invested in a higher spec GPU.
GPU get the highest spec your budget allows, if gaming it will give you the biggest perf increase.
lizardbrain said:
If I wasn't so deep in sunk costs, game peripherals and spare monitors, I would have bought an imac!
Well, if you bought the PC to play AAA games, then the iMac probably wouldn't have been much use.I have been a Mac fan & user for over 30 years (currently have a 4k i7 iMac, 5k i7 iMac, i5 Mac Mini, M1 Mac Mini, old MacPro) but have a new Ryzen 7 / 3080Ti gaming rig.
mmm-five said:
Yes, use it to spec up a system if you must, but please, do not buy an Alienware if you don't want lots of heat & throttling from their crap components and airflow.
Agreed. No need to buy it from them. Handy to get a vague spec.https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/ can help with selecting compatible parts for a self build.
Thanks for the quick replies.. I had found Gladitor and built the following :
PROCESSOR (CPU): AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6 Core
GRAPHICS CARD: GeForce AMPERE RTX 3070 Ti 8GB
MEMORY (RAM): 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
STORAGE DRIVE(S): 2TB SATA III Hard Disk and 256 GB M.2 NVME SSD
MOTHERBOARD: MSI AMD B550 MAG TOMAHAWK ATX
POWER SUPPLY: 850W 80+ Gold
CASE: CiT Crossfire ARGB Tempered Glass
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10 Home
COOLING : Corsair Hydro H100X Watercooler
comes in at £1899.41 inc. VAT
PROCESSOR (CPU): AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6 Core
GRAPHICS CARD: GeForce AMPERE RTX 3070 Ti 8GB
MEMORY (RAM): 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
STORAGE DRIVE(S): 2TB SATA III Hard Disk and 256 GB M.2 NVME SSD
MOTHERBOARD: MSI AMD B550 MAG TOMAHAWK ATX
POWER SUPPLY: 850W 80+ Gold
CASE: CiT Crossfire ARGB Tempered Glass
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10 Home
COOLING : Corsair Hydro H100X Watercooler
comes in at £1899.41 inc. VAT
oldskoolgent said:
Thanks for the quick replies.. I had found Gladitor and built the following :
PROCESSOR (CPU): AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6 Core
GRAPHICS CARD: GeForce AMPERE RTX 3070 Ti 8GB
MEMORY (RAM): 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
STORAGE DRIVE(S): 2TB SATA III Hard Disk and 256 GB M.2 NVME SSD
MOTHERBOARD: MSI AMD B550 MAG TOMAHAWK ATX
POWER SUPPLY: 850W 80+ Gold
CASE: CiT Crossfire ARGB Tempered Glass
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10 Home
COOLING : Corsair Hydro H100X Watercooler
comes in at £1899.41 inc. VAT
I believe the Corsair Hydro H100X Watercooler is the older model which had some issues with a noisy pump, so I'd recommend the later H100i RGB Pro or a H100i Elite Capellix version of the same.PROCESSOR (CPU): AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6 Core
GRAPHICS CARD: GeForce AMPERE RTX 3070 Ti 8GB
MEMORY (RAM): 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
STORAGE DRIVE(S): 2TB SATA III Hard Disk and 256 GB M.2 NVME SSD
MOTHERBOARD: MSI AMD B550 MAG TOMAHAWK ATX
POWER SUPPLY: 850W 80+ Gold
CASE: CiT Crossfire ARGB Tempered Glass
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10 Home
COOLING : Corsair Hydro H100X Watercooler
comes in at £1899.41 inc. VAT
Also, what speed is the M.2 (the basic option on the Gladiator is not particularly fast), and are you going to store your massive MSFS game files on the HDD or expect them to fit on the M2?
Solid build apart from the storage. Ditch the hard drive and up-spec the M2 to at least 1TB, preferably 2. Yes it's a bit more expensive but there is no point in having a spinny disk these days, and 256GB for your primary drive is just too small.
2 x M.2 drives would be ideal, if a bit pricey. 1TB for OS/apps and 2TB for games/other stuff will see you right for some years. Also, with that motherboard make sure your primary drive supports PCIe4.0. That lot will definitely push you over your £2k budget mind, but that's that budgets are for
That aside, not much to dislike about the build.
2 x M.2 drives would be ideal, if a bit pricey. 1TB for OS/apps and 2TB for games/other stuff will see you right for some years. Also, with that motherboard make sure your primary drive supports PCIe4.0. That lot will definitely push you over your £2k budget mind, but that's that budgets are for
That aside, not much to dislike about the build.
mmm-five said:
Yes, use it to spec up a system if you must, but please, do not buy an Alienware if you don't want lots of heat & throttling from their crap components and airflow.
Have a watch of this youtube review (from a well-respected channel - Gamers Nexus)...
https://youtu.be/8ulhFi5N2hc
What size/resolution monitors are you expecting to use, as a build based for a 240hz 1080p monitor will/may be different to a build for 144hz 4k.
All of the builders/system integrators have been having problems with build times due to supply shortages. I was 'lucky' in that I only had to wait 3 months...and even then I swapped out my preferred GPU to a RTX3070 just to get the computer before my 3 week Christmas break. I eventually swapped it out for a RTX3080Ti FE when one became available at RRP.
I'd just use one/multiple of the builder/integrator websites to price up similar builds (and if they have a forum, post your build there and ask for advice). Anything above a Ryzen 5600X will need a decent cooler - all-in-one water cooler is my preference, but there are some great air coolers...assuming the case has enough airflow in the first place...so don't cheap out on a case just to save £30.
Overclockers
Scan
PCSpecialist
AWD IT
CyberPowerSystems
Gladiator
Chillblast
etc.
Interesting as I've got an Alienware M15 R4 & i suffer with no heat issues or throttling, in fact it's blown my mind how fast & solid the machine is & this from a laptop.Have a watch of this youtube review (from a well-respected channel - Gamers Nexus)...
https://youtu.be/8ulhFi5N2hc
What size/resolution monitors are you expecting to use, as a build based for a 240hz 1080p monitor will/may be different to a build for 144hz 4k.
All of the builders/system integrators have been having problems with build times due to supply shortages. I was 'lucky' in that I only had to wait 3 months...and even then I swapped out my preferred GPU to a RTX3070 just to get the computer before my 3 week Christmas break. I eventually swapped it out for a RTX3080Ti FE when one became available at RRP.
I'd just use one/multiple of the builder/integrator websites to price up similar builds (and if they have a forum, post your build there and ask for advice). Anything above a Ryzen 5600X will need a decent cooler - all-in-one water cooler is my preference, but there are some great air coolers...assuming the case has enough airflow in the first place...so don't cheap out on a case just to save £30.
Overclockers
Scan
PCSpecialist
AWD IT
CyberPowerSystems
Gladiator
Chillblast
etc.
Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 24th August 13:26
Perhaps their Gaming laptops don't suffer in the same way the PC's do (although that would be weird when you mention heat).
w8pmc said:
Interesting as I've got an Alienware M15 R4 & i suffer with no heat issues or throttling, in fact it's blown my mind how fast & solid the machine is & this from a laptop.
Perhaps their Gaming laptops don't suffer in the same way the PC's do (although that would be weird when you mention heat).
Laptops are different, as all the components are designed with lower power and heat specs...just look at the power draw for a laptop RTX3080 (which is only a RTX3060 equivalent card @ 90-115w TDP) vs a desktop RTX3080 (300w+ TDP).Perhaps their Gaming laptops don't suffer in the same way the PC's do (although that would be weird when you mention heat).
ok now you picked my curiosity on build vs pre build. Using the gladiator guid and pcpart picker i seem to have saved around a grand ???
PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/RPTZVc
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£243.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£158.70 @ Technextday)
Storage: Crucial MX300 1.05 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£289.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£125.15 @ Newegg UK)
Total: £1092.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-24 15:10 BST+0100
PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/RPTZVc
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£243.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£158.70 @ Technextday)
Storage: Crucial MX300 1.05 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£289.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£125.15 @ Newegg UK)
Total: £1092.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-24 15:10 BST+0100
oldskoolgent said:
ok now you picked my curiosity on build vs pre build. Using the gladiator guid and pcpart picker i seem to have saved around a grand ???
PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/RPTZVc
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£243.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£158.70 @ Technextday)
Storage: Crucial MX300 1.05 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£289.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£125.15 @ Newegg UK)
Total: £1092.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-24 15:10 BST+0100
No price on the GPU or PSU or one of the M.2 drives means you haven't got a complete system. The problem is sourcing a GPU at the moment. Systems integrators or the OEMs like Dell and HP have access to GPUs that you can't buy separately yourself except at vastly inflated prices.PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/RPTZVc
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£243.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£158.70 @ Technextday)
Storage: Crucial MX300 1.05 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£289.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£125.15 @ Newegg UK)
Total: £1092.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-24 15:10 BST+0100
Whilst I wouldn't recommend the latest dell chassis - Dell outlet does have some reasonably spec'ced systems.
oldskoolgent said:
ok now you picked my curiosity on build vs pre build. Using the gladiator guid and pcpart picker i seem to have saved around a grand ???
PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/RPTZVc
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£243.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£158.70 @ Technextday)
Storage: Crucial MX300 1.05 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£289.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£125.15 @ Newegg UK)
Total: £1092.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-24 15:10 BST+0100
No you haven't.PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/RPTZVc
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£243.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£158.70 @ Technextday)
Storage: Crucial MX300 1.05 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£289.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£125.15 @ Newegg UK)
Total: £1092.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-24 15:10 BST+0100
The parts that are not available do not have a price attached to them. You need to manually add in the price you think you'll pay for them (the GPU, PSU & smaller SSD prices are missing).
w8pmc said:
Interesting as I've got an Alienware M15 R4 & i suffer with no heat issues or throttling, in fact it's blown my mind how fast & solid the machine is & this from a laptop.
Perhaps their Gaming laptops don't suffer in the same way the PC's do (although that would be weird when you mention heat).
Desktop Quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ulhFi5N2hcPerhaps their Gaming laptops don't suffer in the same way the PC's do (although that would be weird when you mention heat).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ulhFi5N2hc
Laptops are a bit different.
mmm-five said:
Laptops are different, as all the components are designed with lower power and heat specs...just look at the power draw for a laptop RTX3080 (which is only a RTX3060 equivalent card @ 90-115w TDP) vs a desktop RTX3080 (300w+ TDP).
Makes sense.Was torn between PC & Lappy, but portability was a bigger draw so could CoD when travelling
This Alienware smashes Cold War on it's 4k in-built screen. Back exits do get very warm when pushing on, but nothing onerous.
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