Gaming setup help!

M

Mickey28

Member
Hiya I'm building a PC for myself, going to be used for gaming, want to get into more AAA games and want the computer to last me a good few years.
For my budget I do want to try and stick around the £1500 mark.
My main monitor is BenQ ZOWIE XL2411P 24 Inch 144Hz 1080p 1ms.

There's no M.2 drive, I already have one with my Windows and some documents on there and hoping I can transfer that over as it shouldn't void my warranty.

Just hoping for any advice that people can give on the setup?

Case
NZXT H511 MID-TOWER GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 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
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Hi Mickey: welcome along.

It looks like a good start, but there are a couple of changes I'd suggest. Your graphics card is probably overkill (depending on what games you're looking at); your power supply is fine but an upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea; and your case really isn't the best in terms of airflow/cooling. Your CPU may also be slightly overkill; not by any means a bad thing, but perhaps more demanding than is necessary.

Questions, then:
  1. What M.2 drive(s) will you be installing? What you're doing sounds fine, but if it's an older M.2 drive it might not be the best plan.
  2. What games will you be playing?
Finally, could you provide the configuration link as it helps us suggest changes?
 
M

Mickey28

Member
sck451 said:
Hi Mickey: welcome along.

It looks like a good start, but there are a couple of changes I'd suggest. Your graphics card is probably overkill (depending on what games you're looking at); your power supply is fine but an upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea; and your case really isn't the best in terms of airflow/cooling. Your CPU may also be slightly overkill; not by any means a bad thing, but perhaps more demanding than is necessary.

Questions, then:
  1. What M.2 drive(s) will you be installing? What you're doing sounds fine, but if it's an older M.2 drive it might not be the best plan.
  2. What games will you be playing?
Finally, could you provide the configuration link as it helps us suggest changes?
Click to expand...
Hiya thanks for the reply, the reasoning behind it being a bit overkill is cause I want it to last quite a while, keeping up with the modern games as well as being able to stream them. I want to try out Cyberpunk and Horizon Zero Dawn. I'm currently playing Valorant the most though.

My M.2 drive that I currently have installed is a Crucial P2 CT250P2SSD8 250GB

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/vtbbrYapSN/
 
Last edited:
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
OK: looking at that I'd definitely want to add a second SSD: 250GB is just about OK as the operating system boot drive, but you won't have any room for games, and games increasingly like fast storage (and will do so more and more). In an ideal world, I'd suggest you get two new M.2 drives: one that's faster than your existing Crucial P2 as a 500GB boot drive, and a second 1TB just for games. I'd then get an USB SSD enclosure and use your existing drive as an external drive. Of course, you can make these changes down the road (I did that myself last month), so for now I'd just suggest the 1TB one: transfer the Crucial P2 for now, but look to upgrade it (ideally to a PCIe 4.0 drive like the Samsung 980 Pro) down the road. It's easy to do yourself.

With all that said, I probably would want to do a fresh installation of Windows. Your old one will probably work, especially once drivers are downloaded, but it would definitely be nicer to start from scratch.

Here's what I'd suggest. The games you're talking about are quite demanding, so the 3060Ti isn't ridiculous for the top end of 1080p gaming. The 5800X again is ideal, not so much for the streaming (the Nvenc encoder will happily take care of that for you while barely touching the CPU).

However, you can't really get them both into a £1500 budget. This is as close as I can get (and I'm still not thrilled about the CPU cooler: I would definitely consider upgrading it).

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 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
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 15 to 18 working days
Price: £1,641.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/7DrtZWBABY/
 
M

Mickey28

Member
Thank you for the help. Just a few questions:

So when it comes to your storage ideas here's what I'm picking up, correct me if I'm wrong.
Keep my current Crucial P2 as my boot drive for Windows, but upgrade it to a faster drive when possible such as the 'Samsung 980 Pro' that you mentioned?
Use that second 1TB M.2 that you recommended as my game storage drive.
Then what would my 2TB hard drive be used for? Just everything else such as applications, documents, pictures, videos etc. I surprisingly keep my current PC quite clean and it's not very full up so it'll be a while before I even reach 2TB with such small files.

I do like the case that you recommended and I assume this case is much better for airflow?

Finally, you mentioned wanting to change the CPU cooler, what would you recommend for this build? Cause I may be able to work my budget around it a little bit.
 
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Mickey28 said:
Thank you for the help. Just a few questions:

So when it comes to your storage ideas here's what I'm picking up, correct me if I'm wrong.
Keep my current Crucial P2 as my boot drive for Windows, but upgrade it to a faster drive when possible such as the 'Samsung 980 Pro' that you mentioned?
Use that second 1TB M.2 that you recommended as my game storage drive.
Then what would my 2TB hard drive be used for? Just everything else such as applications, documents, pictures, videos etc. I surprisingly keep my current PC quite clean and it's not very full up so it'll be a while before I even reach 2TB with such small files.

I do like the case that you recommended and I assume this case is much better for airflow?

Finally, you mentioned wanting to change the CPU cooler, what would you recommend for this build? Cause I may be able to work my budget around it a little bit.
Click to expand...
Hi Mate to help out

The 2TB HDD is for generally storage that doesn't need load times, like videos, photos, etc. If you feel you don't need it you can leave it out. I'm a person who keeps very little in personal storage so I don't use large HDD's

The case @sck451 selected is much better, in fact it's probably the best case it's price range by a decent margin. The NZXT case you selected looks great but it's actually a terrible case. No real airflow through it and it's basically an oven

The 5800x is a very hot CPU so the Liquid Lite 240 is generally considered the minimum you want for it. I'd personally recommend the Corsair H115i Elite Capellix which is more expensive but it's a better piece of kit. I have a Liquid Lite 240 myself though and it's effective and reliable so it wouldn't be a bad choice it's just the budget option. Anything less than that I wouldn't trust
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I'd echo everything @Steveyg says there.

You probably want applications on the main boot drive, but games will definitely benefit from being on a secondary drive. I also use my secondary drive for things like documents, mainly because I like how quick searching is on an SSD. The hard drive sounds like it might be non-essential to you, but it is very cheap for a lot of space, silent when it's not in use, and actually one of the harder components to add after the fact (not difficult, just harder than most others), so I would keep it in.

Just one note on storage: it probably will come with a test installation of Windows on the SSD. You can just wipe this when you install the one you already have. You'll probably just need to choose which drive to boot from in the BIOS after you install it.

And yes, any of the Corsair coolers (H100i or H115i preferably, the Capellix models ideally) would be fine for that CPU.

If you can afford all this, it's going to be an awesome machine for you!
 
M

Mickey28

Member
Thank you both so much for the help.

I'm going to be keeping the 2TB hard drive cause as @sck451 it's very cheap for a lot of space if it's ever needed. Which I could use this for some video projects I may have for work.

Another thing with the build is the Corsair H115i Elite Capellix is currently out of stock until September, now you see I'm quite impatient and wondering if the Corsair H115i Pro XT is a suitable substitute. If so this is the full setup I am looking at now:


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PRO XT 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
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT 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
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 15 to 18 working days
Price: £1,697.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8UAmsYBq44/
 
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Yeah the H115i Pro XT is also excellent the Elite Capellix comes with the Corsair Commander which is a £50 piece of kit and why it's such a good deal.

The Corsair Commander is a hub that can control all your fans and RGB in one place, it's super useful. It's not necessary it's just a really nice piece of QOL kit
 
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