Gaming PC advice for an amateur

[SammySix86]

Hi All, I wanted to post this to gather your knowledge and experience, whilst I am not a hardcore gamer I want to get a new machine to stand up to the next few years with no qualms (minus extremely demanding and high end graphics etc), my current machine is as follows and ordered in 2015!

As you'll see, very dated and runs the below at a decent performance;

CPU - Intel i5-3570 3.4GHZ
MB - ASUSTEK P8H61
RAM - 8GB
GPU - GeFORCE GTX 750 TI

I only plan on having one very demanding game once I order, but wanted your valued advice, experience, what I can expect in comparison with my old rig, should I change my below spec etc.

Your positive thoughts in general please!

GAMES I PLAY FOLLOWED BY WHAT I PLAN TO PLAY

Football Manager 2021
Civ VI
Total War series
Crusader Kings III
SWTOR

Flight Sim 2020
Valheim
Among others


WHAT I AM LOOKING TO BUY, INCLUDING FUTURE PROOFING FOR A FEW YEARS.

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 GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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 H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 16 to 19 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

Price: £1,924.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Bigfoot]

What is your budget and what monitor will you be using (make and model or resolution and refresh rate)? Please provide the unique configuration link, as there are a few areas where this build can be improved once we know your monitor.

 

[SammySix86]

What is your budget and what monitor will you be using (make and model or resolution and refresh rate)? Please provide the unique configuration link, as there are a few areas where this build can be improved once we know your monitor.

Hi Bigfoot, thanks for the response. I will be using an ACER K272HL on 1920x1080 res. Sorry I don't have the unique config link. My budget is £1,500-£1,900 which comes to around £50-£60 a month.

 

[AgentCooper]

You’re definitely overspending on the GPU, your monitor at 1080p 60Hz will totally bottleneck it. It’d be a wise move to spec yourself a higher end 1080p system that you can then use as a base to upgrade over the years when you’re ready to go 1440p/4K.

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
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
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
Corsair 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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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
Firefox™
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 16 to 19 working days
Price: £1,774.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

 

[SammySix86]

What is your budget and what monitor will you be using (make and model or resolution and refresh rate)? Please provide the unique configuration link, as there are a few areas where this build can be improved once we know your monitor.

Also, my refresh rate is 60Hz, guessing that's pretty poor?

 

[SammySix86]

You’re definitely overspending on the GPU, your monitor at 1080p 60Hz will totally bottleneck it. It’d be a wise move to spec yourself a higher end 1080p system that you can then use as a base to upgrade over the years when you’re ready to go 1440p/4K.

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
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
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
Corsair 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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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
Firefox™
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 16 to 19 working days
Price: £1,774.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Thanks for this, my concern (admittedly in my limited knowledge) being that the 6GB 2060 GPU is being reported online as pretty low key now and I really wanted to enjoy a mid-range performance from Flight Sim? How would ity stand up to the rigors of good graphics settings on FS2020?

 

[AgentCooper]

Thanks for this, my concern (admittedly in my limited knowledge) being that the 6GB 2060 GPU is being reported online as pretty low key now and I really wanted to enjoy a mid-range performance from Flight Sim? How would ity stand up to the rigors of good graphics settings on FS2020?

There’s a case for subbing in the 3060 instead, that’s the top end of the 1080p cards. But promise me you’ll get a new monitor soon! This AOC screen is great value for 1080p gaming, 144Hz and IPS panel.

 

[SammySix86]

There’s a case for subbing in the 3060 instead, that’s the top end of the 1080p cards. But promise me you’ll get a new monitor soon! This AOC screen is great value for 1080p gaming, 144Hz and IPS panel.

Really appreciate the heads up with the monitor. In fact, I've just ordered it now in prep for my new rig!

As for the argument with GPU's, I am looking at the difference between the 6GB RTX 2060 and the 8GB RTX 2060S, it does seem better value for money but taking money out the equation (just for now), how much of a wow factor would the latter be in comparison to the cheaper GPU? I know my new rig will definitely be a wow factor in comparison to what I have now, but I would hate to spend that much min total to only be short £100 or so of an even larger improvement? Saying that if you don't believe I would benefit from such a jump in spec then let me know again after taking in to consideration what I wish to play etc. I believe only Flight Sim would be demanding, the rest are quite low demand titles.

 

[AgentCooper]

I imagine if you’re pushing for higher graphical settings with a 2060 it’s likely to hover around 30-40 frames per second. Flight Sim is a game that seems to like cores and VRAM. The 2060 Super would undoubtedly net you better performance… and the 3060 is currently only eight pounds more expensive than that card. With 12GB of VRAM on board, it’s by far the superior GPU.

If you’re planning on spending a lot of time with Flight Sim the jump would probably be worth it. If it’s something you’re only occasionally dipping into, perhaps not so much. I think it’s going to be a judgement call on your part 🙂👍

 

[CMP01]

I saw Total War games mentioned, of which I have much experience. For the latter of those (Rome 2/Attila on at least) an m.2 or SSD for game installs is crucial to mitigate the lengthy load times, from minutes to seconds, and will help with any other games, now and later. Also, given install sizes these days, a 1Tb one is a safe bet for at least a handful of games on.
On the GPU side the 3060 is the best call among others mentioned here (2060/2060S) for 1080p while also allowing to stretch to higher refresh/fps than 60 or so and/or stretch to 1440p. The 2060 is in the same league as the 1070 imo, and my 1070 gets tested hard with Warhammer 2, Troy and especially Three Kingdoms (which has been used as a system stress tester by some reviewers) all cutting very close to the VRAM limit for ultra at 1080p (the 2060 has somewhat faster VRAM but 25% less of it) With Warhammer 3 on the way and Creative Assembly both lacking on the optimisation front and needlessly pushing the envelope with each new title I doubt they won't get more testing going forward.

 

[SammySix86]

I saw Total War games mentioned, of which I have much experience. For the latter of those (Rome 2/Attila on at least) an m.2 or SSD for game installs is crucial to mitigate the lengthy load times, from minutes to seconds, and will help with any other games, now and later. Also, given install sizes these days, a 1Tb one is a safe bet for at least a handful of games on.
On the GPU side the 3060 is the best call among others mentioned here (2060/2060S) for 1080p while also allowing to stretch to higher refresh/fps than 60 or so and/or stretch to 1440p. The 2060 is in the same league as the 1070 imo, and my 1070 gets tested hard with Warhammer 2, Troy and especially Three Kingdoms (which has been used as a system stress tester by some reviewers) all cutting very close to the VRAM limit for ultra at 1080p (the 2060 has somewhat faster VRAM but 25% less of it) With Warhammer 3 on the way and Creative Assembly both lacking on the optimisation front and needlessly pushing the envelope with each new title I doubt they won't get more testing going forward.

Thanks, really appreciate the input.

 

[SammySix86]

Hi Guys & Gals!

After a good month or so of weighing up my options with the forum and the sales teams advice, I think I have narrowed down my build to the below (I think this link works!). Any tips or suggestions welcome!

I am going overkill on some tech just to future proof in advance as the below titles will be the most common use;

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-am4-gen3-pc/2121840/

Flight Sim 2020
Football Manager 2021
Civ VI
Crusader Kings III
Oddworld
SW:TOR
Total War Series

among future sims/strategies that I will want to run at high end settings.

Look forward to your words of advice!

 

[AgentCooper]

That's just a link to the main configuration page, unfortunately. If you copy and paste the whole spec over (including the re-configuration link) it'll be a lot easier for us to cast our eyes over. Ta!

 

[SammySix86]

That's just a link to the main configuration page, unfortunately. If you copy and paste the whole spec over (including the re-configuration link) it'll be a lot easier for us to cast our eyes over. Ta!

Cheers Coop!

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/cPS82KKf3!/

I believe this will do the trick! BTW I am now on my new monitor, I am already seeing incredible improvements in definition, and not even on games!

 

[AgentCooper]

So the budget's gone up to around £2000? You can have some fun with that kind of money but the build could be better balanced. If you're still on a 1080p monitor the 3070Ti is wasted. Change that to the far more appropriate 3060 and you've got cash to redistribute and bolster the rest of the system. The X570 motherboard is better suited to the higher core processor, the RAM frequency needs to go up a little for best effect. Storage options could be improved a bit. PSU would be better as an RMx model, fully modular and semi-passive, these units are bomb-proof. The H100X is also an older model with no software integration so the H100i is where it's at, especially with the 5800X being a bit of a hot potato. And the silver warranty for an extra fiver... that's just good sense

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)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
Corsair H100i 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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,023.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

 

[SammySix86]

So the budget's gone up to around £2000? You can have some fun with that kind of money but the build could be better balanced. If you're still on a 1080p monitor the 3070Ti is wasted. Change that to the far more appropriate 3060 and you've got cash to redistribute and bolster the rest of the system. The X570 motherboard is better suited to the higher core processor, the RAM frequency needs to go up a little for best effect. Storage options could be improved a bit. PSU would be better as an RMx model, fully modular and semi-passive, these units are bomb-proof. The H100X is also an older model with no software integration so the H100i is where it's at, especially with the 5800X being a bit of a hot potato. And the silver warranty for an extra fiver... that's just good sense

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)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
Corsair H100i 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
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,023.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Thanks again, always a well-informed view!

A quick question, my Dad works a lot on music processing PC's so a lot of the spec is similar in terms of power and processing, but he couldn't understand why the below was required/suggested. As I mentioned before I'm lost at sea in this area, but knowing SSD is preferable to HDD why would you recommend a HDD as the 1st Storage Drive? Would the OS be installed on the 500GB SSD? If not where and why?

Thanks in advance.

1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)

 

[AgentCooper]

Okie dokie… so you’ve got your first M.2 drive there, the 500GB Firecuda. This is a Gen 4 NVMe drive, if you look at the read/write speeds it is blazingly fast. Keep just your OS and programs on there and you have a system with an incredibly fast boot time and very snappy in its day to day actions.

The second M.2 is the 1TB Intel. These aren’t quite as fast but still much quicker than your average SSD. This would be where you’d want your games installed, the difference in loading times between this and a HDD are ridiculous.

The added bonus of the above configuration is that if you need to do a clean install for any reason (virus, corrupt files etc) you don’t lose EVERYTHING. Your games are all safe on that second M.2 drive.

Now, the HDD would be the place to keep files where the medium of storage doesn’t have any benefit of a faster read time. Music, videos etc. It’s also a good drive to keep any on board backups on.

 

[Mashup47]

Thanks again, always a well-informed view!

A quick question, my Dad works a lot on music processing PC's so a lot of the spec is similar in terms of power and processing, but he couldn't understand why the below was required/suggested. As I mentioned before I'm lost at sea in this area, but knowing SSD is preferable to HDD why would you recommend a HDD as the 1st Storage Drive? Would the OS be installed on the 500GB SSD? If not where and why?

Thanks in advance.

1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)

Question do you intend on using your computer for music production as well? The reason I ask is that some music production software work's best with intel.

yea your dad is right to be confused. I would lean more to storage size rather then 7000mb/sec speed you only need these if your moving a lot of large 12gb+ file's. But for music production and Gaming they are overkill.
when I do music setup's I like to have the os on one driver ie 1tb ssd and have the music being recorded on to a nmve drive, I have moved away from using HDD as there is a chance of it causing interference with recording.

 

[Bigfoot]

Gen 4 m.2 drives make a huge difference in boot speed and help Windows to run fast. SATA SSDs are much slower and not much cheaper.

 

[AgentCooper]

Question do you intend on using your computer for music production as well? The reason I ask is that some music production software work's best with intel.

yea your dad is right to be confused. I would lean more to storage size rather then 7000mb/sec speed you only need these if your moving a lot of large 12gb+ file's. But for music production and Gaming they are overkill.
when I do music setup's I like to have the os on one driver ie 1tb ssd and have the music being recorded on to a nmve drive, I have moved away from using HDD as there is a chance of it causing interference with recording.

OP has stated that it’s a gaming build, you’re in danger of pulling the thread a little off track here. It’d be wise to hold off discussing what drives would be useful in a music production system until they’ve answered your first question.