4090 Build: Is this okay?

[Bmic209]

(Original post - obsolete)

 

[Bmic209]

Hello all! I'm planning to get a new 4090 build to take full advantage of my 4k monitor and finally get Ray-tracing. However, I'm not the most technically minded (outside of a lot of Google searches), so I'd appreciate a once-over before I order.

It's going to be for purely gaming use, including VR (outside of everyday daily use, eg, word processing) - I'm mainly looking for longevity rather than having to regularly upgrade (maybe 5-7 years), and I'm not planning on overclocking or anything like that. The monitor I'm using is an AOC U28G2XU/BK (4K 144hz). Budget wise, I'd prefer not to go much higher than £4200 if possible.

Here's what I'm currently planning on going with - I've annotated any particular concerns:

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE (Heard this case has good airflow, and I like the aesthetics, but please let me know if you think I should use something else. Also, would I benefit from any extra fans?)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700K (3.4GHz) 36MB Cache (I would have gone for a 13900, but someone on the forums mentioned that would be overkill. Still, I am going for longevity, so if you think a 13900 would be better in the long term, please let me know)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready (What I'm least sure about - I know very little about motherboards. Is this one okay? Should I go up to a Z790? Like I mentioned, I'm not planning on overclocking)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (The configurator tells me that 1200W would be unnecessary, but someone on the forum mentioned it might be safer for a 4090 - what do you all think?)
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (Is this one okay?)
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 (Probably a stupid question that's gonna out me as an idiot, but here goes - I connect my computer to the internet via ethernet, as our wifi's a little spotty - I'm not going to need a different network card, am I? I checked and it looks like an ethernet port is included with the motherboard, but I just want to be absolutely sure. Again, feel free to call me stupid for asking this 😅)
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
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £3,913.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/kg9H!4hdQp/


Thank you everyone in advance!

 

[sck451]

Yes, it's a good start, but I'd personally make some changes to get the best value for money (though that's not really a concept compatible with 4090s -- if you buy one you have to accept that you're getting poor value for money!)

Honestly you could probably spend maybe £1000 less and still have a very adequate 4K gaming experience, but this is the up-to-date option with full bells and whistles!

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE Superior case allowing better cooling
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16-Core Processor i7-13700K (3.4GHz) 36MB Cache Agreed that the 13700K is all you could possibly want
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready This is sufficient. The Z790 might be a hair better, but the Strix option is out of stock
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6000MB/W) Boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W) Second drive (this is overkill for a second drive, and you would actually need to ask PCS not to install Windows on this drive but on the other one: I'd actually personally go for something a touch slower)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET There's an argument for more than 1000W, but this should be sufficient
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler Superior 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
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £3,661.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z790-ddr5-pc/55sV75x2BK/

 

[sck451]

The other option (which I'd personally prefer) would be an AMD build, which would be similar in performance now, but would offer way more in terms of future upgrades:

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz-5.6GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-E GAMING WIFI (WIFI 6E, DDR5, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) Slightly more modest storage to bring the cost a bit closer to the Intel version!
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro 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
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £3,721.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/c0ywyez4Pv/

 

[Bmic209]

Yes, it's a good start, but I'd personally make some changes to get the best value for money (though that's not really a concept compatible with 4090s -- if you buy one you have to accept that you're getting poor value for money!)

Yeah, I've been saving for this for a while, so that I could go all out 😅 (Esp. since I use VR - want all the power I can get)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll probably go for the AMD build - I'm not really planning to do upgrades, but better safe than sorry!

I do have a couple of quick questions - since it's now an option, should I go for the 6000mhz ram instead of the 5600mhz? Also, wanted to ask why you suggested two SSDs instead of one big one? I'd gone for the 4TB Firecuda 'cause I'd heard good things about the Firecuda and I'm a bit of a compulsive installer - I tend to have a lot of games installed at once that I flit between. Maybe two 2TB Firecudas instead? Like I mentioned, I have a £4200 budget, so I can stretch a little bit more.

Thanks again!

 

[sck451]

Yeah, I've been saving for this for a while, so that I could go all out 😅 (Esp. since I use VR - want all the power I can get)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll probably go for the AMD build - I'm not really planning to do upgrades, but better safe than sorry!

I do have a couple of quick questions - since it's now an option, should I go for the 6000mhz ram instead of the 5600mhz? Also, wanted to ask why you suggested two SSDs instead of one big one? I'd gone for the 4TB Firecuda 'cause I'd heard good things about the Firecuda and I'm a bit of a compulsive installer - I tend to have a lot of games installed at once that I flit between. Maybe two 2TB Firecudas instead? Like I mentioned, I have a £4200 budget, so I can stretch a little bit more.

Thanks again!

For VR, yes, I can understand wanting all the power you can possibly fit into the build.

Yes, upgrading the RAM would give a relatively small but genuine difference. Probably a good shout.

The ideal is to separate out different types of files. OS files should go on one drive, and game files on a different one. This is for several reasons:

• Drive speed is much more important for the OS than it is for games, so you can have a super-fast primary drive and a slower secondary drive and save some money for the same capacity and essentially the same performance.
• You now have two different "lanes" to transfer data on, so parallel tasks will theoretically work faster. It is very unlikely that you will ever notice this, however, in a real-world desktop situation.
• You can reinstall Windows and not touch your game files. This saves loads of downloading time. Can you imagine redownloading 4TB of games when you reinstall Windows?!

I would go with a very fast boot drive, either a 500GB 980 Pro/Firecuda 530, or a 1TB Firecuda 530/990. Personally I'd be inclined towards the 1TB Firecuda for your purposes and budget.

Then for a second drive, you could go for a 4TB Firecuda. That seems a bit bonkers to me, but if you're willing to accept that it's not value for money... My personal choice would be to go for a much more moderate drive like a 2TB Solidigm, and leave yourself the option of a future upgrade by adding extra drives if you find you need it. To me that would be a more reasonable way to spend the money!

The potential future upgrades would be a CPU upgrade in two or three years' time, perhaps to a future 9900X or whatever naming scheme AMD settles on. That might offer very significant boosts in performance, so I'd see it as a good shout to make it possible, even if you see it as unlikely.

 

[Bmic209]

Okay, got it! The main reason I wanted both SSDs to be fast was some games on the consoles are starting to take advantage of NVMEs so I wanted to future proof a bit.

Just a couple more quick questions that just occurred to me - should I add a Support Bracket? It's just I understand the 4090 is very beefy, so I want to make sure there aren't any issues.

And should I add any extra fans? I only ask because my last computer had some heat issues which I'd prefer to avoid.

Edit: Just noticed your intel build had the Support Bracket, so I assume you meant for the AMD build to have it too.

 

[sck451]

Okay, got it! The main reason I wanted both SSDs to be fast was some games on the consoles are starting to take advantage of NVMEs so I wanted to future proof a bit.

Just a couple more quick questions that just occurred to me - should I add a Support Bracket? It's just I understand the 4090 is very beefy, so I want to make sure there aren't any issues.

And should I add any extra fans? I only ask because my last computer had some heat issues which I'd prefer to avoid.

The support bracket is probably wise, even if not technically essential.

You could add extra fans. You will have two on the AIO and two on the case; those on the case aren't the greatest fans and they're not RGB if you care about that! All the good fans (the Corsair ones) are out of stock right now, though...

 

[Bmic209]

You could add extra fans. You will have two on the AIO and two on the case; those on the case aren't the greatest fans and they're not RGB if you care about that! All the good fans (the Corsair ones) are out of stock right now, though...

So 4 extra fans? It looks like the 4x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit (£78) is in stock (and no, I don't care all that much about RGB)

One last thing about the more reasonable SSD options suggested - they're both NVMEs, so if I later down the line I wanted to upgrade from the 2tb Solidigm to something larger and faster, would it be a simple job of removing it and replacing it with the new one?

Sorry for all the picky questions, it's just I'm a nervy fellow and I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes!

 

[TonyCarter]

The Asus ROG STRIX X670E-E has 4 x m.2 slots, so you wouldn't even need to remove any that are in the original build!

 

[Bmic209]

The Asus ROG STRIX X670E-E has 4 x m.2 slots, so you wouldn't even need to remove any that are in the original build!

Oh, woops! Could've sworn when checking earlier that it only said 2 M.2 slots, but yes, you're quite right!

 

[sck451]

Oh, woops! Could've sworn when checking earlier that it only said 2 M.2 slots, but yes, you're quite right!

The configuration tool only allows two, but it has four slots. And yes, that's what I would do: have a healthy lot now and add more in the free slots if it turns out to be needed. It's a really easy job these days.

 

[Bmic209]

Alright then, in that case, this should be my full build - as one final check, does this all look okay, no issues? (Will have to wait until the 4x Corsair fans are in stock, will add them then then if you think that's a good idea)

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12 Core CPU (4.7GHz-5.6GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-E GAMING WIFI (WIFI 6E, DDR5, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro 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
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 - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £3,783.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

 

[Bmic209]

Sorry to bring this thread back up, but whilst the fans are in stock now, the case isn't. Do you have another case you'd recommend, or should I wait for the 5000D to come back in to stock again?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Sorry to bring this thread back up, but whilst the fans are in stock now, the case isn't. Do you have another case you'd recommend, or should I wait for the 5000D to come back in to stock again?

You can order a case from elsewhere and have it shipped to PCS to build in, it sounds like a pain but really isn't, it's just a case of putting PCS as the delivery address and the PCS order number as well, all details are outlined before you order

 

[Bmic209]

It won't let me proceed with the configuration unless I've chosen a case, preventing me from ordering.

EDIT: Woops, wait sorry, my poor observation skills strike again, found the send your own case option, sorry to bother you!

 

[SpyderTracks]

It won't let me proceed with the configuration unless I've chosen a case, preventing me from ordering.

EDIT: Woops, wait sorry, my poor observation skills strike again, found the send your own case option, sorry to bother you!

Don't worry, takes a bit of getting used to.

 

[Bmic209]

Alright, brilliant, all ordered, thank you all very much for your help!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Alright, brilliant, all ordered, thank you all very much for your help!

Awesome, great stuff