Any advice or tips on this set up

[smallkube]

Hi there,

I'm looking to upgrade from my Asus Rog (i7 4800, gtx 860m) to something that will handle new games, hopefully at 4K through hdmi, and be future proof for a few years.

I've configurated the below at the website but i'm not that good tech wise so any feedback on how this will perform or any pitfalls it might face would be much appreciated.

Chassis & DisplayOctane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 120Hz 90% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk480GB KINGSTON UV400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (550MB/R, 500MB/W)
M.2 SSD Drive1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3000MB/R, 1700MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal PasteEK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND

Thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi there,

I'm looking to upgrade from my Asus Rog (i7 4800, gtx 860m) to something that will handle new games, hopefully at 4K through hdmi, and be future proof for a few years.

I've configurated the below at the website but i'm not that good tech wise so any feedback on how this will perform or any pitfalls it might face would be much appreciated.

Chassis & DisplayOctane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 120Hz 90% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk480GB KINGSTON UV400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (550MB/R, 500MB/W)
M.2 SSD Drive1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3000MB/R, 1700MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal PasteEK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND

Thanks.

What's your max budget? For 4k you really need a 1080ti. The laptop graphics are slightly lower performance than desktop and that would struggle at 4k generally.

 

[Oussebon]

+1 to the above. Also I'd drop the UV400 SSD in favour of a 7200rpm HDD.

1TB should be more than enough for a decent games library, and having an SSD for file storage us poor value.

 

[smallkube]

I've been aiming around £2.5k, 3 would be my absolute maximum. I'm certainly open to suggestions. Thanks.

 

[smallkube]

I will probably drop the UV SSD then. Could I just lift the HDD from my old Asus? It's a 3 year old 7200 HDD.

 

[Oussebon]

As long as it's 7.5 or 9mm 2.5" drive, it should be fine afaik

 

[smallkube]

Hello again,

I've put this together as an alternative. It's a bit pricier with a lower Cpu but has twin graphics, though again lower spec. Again, i'm wondering about pitfalls (temperature, weight, etc), longevity (how future proof) and outputting 4k to my tv. Any and all advice greatfully received. I looked at the twin 1080's and it would push me up to £3500ish. Worth it in terms of my concerns?

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" 120 Hz 90% NTSC Full HD Matte LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Six Core Processor i5-8400 (2.8GHz) 9MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2 x NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DX 12.1, G-SYNC
1st Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3000MB/R, 1700MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x Vortex Series 230W AC Adaptor (for GTX 1070)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options
5 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 3.1 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Elite 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,800 mAh/89.21WH)
Keyboard Language
VORTEX SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Laptop Cooling Stands
CoolerMaster Ergostand III Quiet Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch ()
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Quantity
1

Price £2,812.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/vortexvii-17/CyZ7M4dBb3/

 

[Oussebon]

GTX 1070 SLI (desktop) GPUs are roughly equivalent to a GTX 1080 ti. A 1080 ti is good for 4k gaming in today's games, but has relatively little headroom for the future and in some titles will require carefully managed settings. But, the laptop GTX 1070s are weaker, and there are some games where SLI's benefits really aren't that great, or even where there's no benefit. So you may sometimes find yourself trying to game at 4k on a single Laptop GTX 1070.

The Vortex is pretty huge and heavy, and requires 2 power adapters. How portable do you need the system to be?

 

[smallkube]

It's mainly going to be for home gaming. My old Asus will become my travel kit (for djing) and this new one will simply move around the house with me to wherever i can get away with gaming, ideally plugged into my TV. To be honest, if the 1080 could power 1080 resolution on max settings or 1440 on high, i would happily go with that and the first set up. the dual power is also a bit off putting.

 

[Oussebon]

With you budget I'd suggest getting a desktop PC and using Steam In Home Streaming(which also works with non-steam games) through Steam Link or the Steam client to play the games.

The desktop runs the game, and broadcasts the image to a steam link box or a cheap laptop you take around the house with you, and you control the game using that.

 

[smallkube]

Oh, that sounds interesting. So i could send it to my current Asus? Wow, that's opened up a whole new world of options. I suspect i may be back with more questions... Thanks so much for all your help so far.

 

[Oussebon]

Yes, you could send it to your Asus.

We have a steam link, which is a small computer with steam OS about the size of a portable external hard drive. You connect it to the network, plug it into a monitor, connect a KB+mouse (or controller I guess) and stream your PC's desktop including any games to the monitor or TV you've plugged it into.

You can also stream steam games to another PC with steam installed. So you install the game on your desktop, launch steam on your laptop, and instead of getting the "Play" option on your laptop for a game it says "stream".

Obviously you're streaming video around your home network like this, so you'd need decent wifi or a wired network (powerline adapters may be suitable). There can also be some compression of the video. But other than a few bits of the shadows in Witcher 3 which I could see were a bit more pixelly than normal when stuffing my face right up into the monitor I couldn't really tell the difference.

You'll want to read up on streaming 4k gaming in this way, as I only stream at 1080p. I guess the extra resolution would need more bandwidth.

But it could be a better option than the Vortex, as a desktop PC lets you upgrade GPUs in the future etc.

 

[smallkube]

Hello again,

So, desktops are way more involved than laptops. I spent a long time just looking at boxes.

My thinking is i set this up within reach of my 4k TV and then work out the streaming top my 1080p laptop. i'd like it to be as quiet as poss in case my mrs is nearby but otherwise, same as before. would like good 4k and fairly future proof. Have i done anything stupid or missed anything glaring. Thanks in advance.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - GTX VR Ready!
Get Destiny 2 with select GTX 10 Series GPUs! ** Limited Codes Available **
1st Hard Disk
500GB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 16MB CACHE
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1800MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1900 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 600Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery

 

[Oussebon]

My thinking is i set this up within reach of my 4k TV and then work out the streaming top my 1080p laptop.

Yes, this sounds like a very good way to do it and mostly dodges the bandwidth question.

i'd like it to be as quiet as poss in case my mrs is nearby but otherwise, same as before.

In terms of PCS configs, quiet = Fractal R5 (or Define S) case, Noctua CPU cooler, and RM850x PSU. The Fractal Define series cases have noise dampening material and various other features designed to mitigate noise, while also providing pretty decent cooling. Noctua make some of the most effective and quietest air coolers on the market. The RMx series PSU has a passive mode where it can cool itself without needing to use its fan under many load conditions.

The Air 540 is a really great case, but quiet it isn't.

Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1900 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 600Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD

The Z370E has onboard 867mbps wifi and Bluetooth (4.2?).

If you're happy with that, stick to the onboard wifi. If you want the faster wifi, consider dropping the mobo to the Gigabyte Ultra Gaming. The Ultra Gaming has many of the same features (USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C, SLI support, 2 M.2 slots, etc) as far as I know, just not the wifi. The Ultra does have an extra USB port at the back too.

Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (4 x 8GB)

For gaming 16gb is more than fine. There's very little difference between 8gb and 16gb as it stands. By the time there's a benefit to gaming for more than 16gb, the CPU+ mobo will be so obsolete it won't matter.

You might as well go for the 3200Mhz RAM as the cost difference is low in terms of the overall price, and it can have big gains in some titles.

1st Hard Disk
500GB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 16MB CACHE

The 1TB HDD is only a few £ more and has a large cache, as well as being twice the size.


Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-8700K Six Core (3.7GHz @ up to 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - GTX VR Ready!
--Get Destiny 2 with select GTX 10 Series GPUs! ** Limited Codes Available **
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1800MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
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
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price £2,427.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-overclocked/p9DHEHW6TP/

 

[smallkube]

Hi there. Thanks for all you help. I've just ordered your recommended set up for delivery Saturday. I'm very excited. Thanks again.

 

[Oussebon]

Keep us posted