Gaming PC advice for an amateur

[SammySix86]

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.

Thanks! That helps a lot!

 

[SammySix86]

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.

It's solely for gaming my friend, my Dad was taking a look at the build out of curiosity as he uses his for music, it's not something I have any interest in though.

 

[SammySix86]

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.

That is a big pull tbf, snappy loads are a dream.

 

[SammySix86]

Hi All! So after 'the boss's' birthday and our holiday booked for next year I am now in a position to revisit the world of selfish purchases
That said I'd love to recap on the latest hardware ahead of a potential order TODAY! How I've dreamt of this moment...

As I say, I will be using it for Flight Sim (on high end graphics), Rome II, Civ 6, CKIII, Football Manager, Valheim etc. The most taxing being Flight Sim but I wouldn't want to limit it to this, I'd like to future proof to a reasonable degree for games due out within a similar graphics range to above titles, a budget of £1,800-£2,000 is my playing field, I look forward to your ever helpful comments, builds and suggestions!
Sam

 

[sck451]

I guess the previous questions still apply and need checking: what monitor do you have? If it's still the 1080p 60Hz thing, the first priority is upgrading that, then getting a build to match. A 1440p build should be possible within £2000.

 

[SammySix86]

I guess the previous questions still apply and need checking: what monitor do you have? If it's still the 1080p 60Hz thing, the first priority is upgrading that, then getting a build to match. A 1440p build should be possible within £2000.

Thanks, I'm now working with the AOC Gaming 24G2U -24 Inch FHD Monitor, 144Hz, 1ms following Agent Cooper's recommendation so all set on that front. Yes, the previous q's still apply, the range of my gaming hasn't changed much but I'd like to have a pretty powerful rig around the £1,800 mark (preferable). £2,000 is the max

 

[sck451]

It's almost a pity you've gone for that monitor: you probably could have had a superior 1440p experience, but no matter: we can do an awesome build to match that display.

Here would be a very strong option with Intel's 12th generation, which is new since you first had this conversation:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600KF (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/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
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 (Windows 10 Only)
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
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £1,838.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/yhd5xW7JTb/

You could build something similarly strong with an AMD 5600X system at a similar price, or go up to the 12700KF or 5800X for under £2000 for a small improvement. Any of these will do a very good of what you're using the system for.

Or, if you're not going to be ordering until the new year, there could well be new AMD chips that will change the performance tables all over again...

 

[SammySix86]

It's almost a pity you've gone for that monitor: you probably could have had a superior 1440p experience, but no matter: we can do an awesome build to match that display.

Here would be a very strong option with Intel's 12th generation, which is new since you first had this conversation:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600KF (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/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
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 (Windows 10 Only)
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
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £1,838.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/yhd5xW7JTb/

You could build something similarly strong with an AMD 5600X system at a similar price, or go up to the 12700KF or 5800X for under £2000 for a small improvement. Any of these will do a very good of what you're using the system for.

Or, if you're not going to be ordering until the new year, there could well be new AMD chips that will change the performance tables all over again...

Thank you, kindly! I can always upgrade my monitor in due course, but I'm so far behind the times on hardware (embarrassingly so) that this upgrade will be like going from a car that struggles to get up a hill, to a nice posh newen with all the trimmings!

 

[SammySix86]

It's almost a pity you've gone for that monitor: you probably could have had a superior 1440p experience, but no matter: we can do an awesome build to match that display.

Here would be a very strong option with Intel's 12th generation, which is new since you first had this conversation:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600KF (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/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
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 (Windows 10 Only)
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
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £1,838.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/yhd5xW7JTb/

You could build something similarly strong with an AMD 5600X system at a similar price, or go up to the 12700KF or 5800X for under £2000 for a small improvement. Any of these will do a very good of what you're using the system for.

Or, if you're not going to be ordering until the new year, there could well be new AMD chips that will change the performance tables all over again...

Further question before I proceed, previous specs have suggested i-9, but you've suggested i-5, presumably i-9 is higher spec, why wouldn't/shouldn't I need i-9 and what are the differences? Forgive my naivety.

 

[sck451]

Further question before I proceed, previous specs have suggested i-9, but you've suggested i-5, presumably i-9 is higher spec, why wouldn't/shouldn't I need i-9 and what are the differences? Forgive my naivety.

It's a question of price to performance. The 12600 is the best option for value for money. You get a little less performance than with the i7-12700K or the i9-12900K (or the KF variants) but to my mind that money is better spent on a solid foundation for the build. If you want to push it closer to £2k, go for the i7 option.

 

[SammySix86]

I went for it mate! Nearly 1 year I've been looking forward to ordering.

A big thanks to @AgentCooper for the advice earlier this year too. Nearly 8 years after my last order, it helped me understand a lot more how the horizon has changed.

Here she is...

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700KF (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.0 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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
Google Chrome™
Headsets
CoolerMaster CH321 Gaming Headset

It's a question of price to performance. The 12600 is the best option for value for money. You get a little less performance than with the i7-12700K or the i9-12900K (or the KF variants) but to my mind that money is better spent on a solid foundation for the build. If you want to push it closer to £2k, go for the i7 option.

 

[sck451]

Awesome. Pictures would be great when it comes. By the way, I'd reconsider that USB card: you already have 12 USB ports – do you really need two more taking up space in the case?

 

[SammySix86]

Awesome. Pictures would be great when it comes. By the way, I'd reconsider that USB card: you already have 12 USB ports – do you really need two more taking up space in the case?

Holy smokes, this is a perfect exhibit of how dismal my knowledge can be! Where does/would it show how many USB ports I have? I will remove it if that's the case.

 

[Martinr36]

Holy smokes, this is a perfect exhibit of how dismal my knowledge can be! Where does/would it show how many USB ports I have? I will remove it if that's the case.

On the motherboard and case descriptions

 

[SammySix86]

So, just a very quick enquiry ahead of receiving my new rig in another week or so all being well! It’s has been recommended I install my OS (along with MS Office, my antivirus and other typical programs etc.) on to the smaller of my drives, and install only my games and my pictures/files on to the larger drive. Is it literally a case of creating a path and selecting said path upon install or is it more in-depth than this? Thanks in advance.

 

[Martinr36]

Ok so ordered it with an OS so PCS will have set that up on the smallest fastest drive, so you just need to run the OOBE, then install ALL updates, rebooting and rechecking when necessary until no more updates are found (This includes optional updates), then download and install your GPU drivers from the Nvidia site, no need to worry about antivirus, windows defender is built in

 

[SammySix86]

Ok so ordered it with an OS so PCS will have set that up on the smallest fastest drive, so you just need to run the OOBE, then install ALL updates, rebooting and rechecking when necessary until no more updates are found (This includes optional updates), then download and install your GPU drivers from the Nvidia site, no need to worry about antivirus, windows defender is built in

Thanks, so then after which I should install my games via a new path (the larger of the two drives)?

 

[Martinr36]

Thanks, so then after which I should install my games via a new path (the larger of the two drives)?

Yeah once you've got windows configured and GPU sorted then you can sort your games onto the larger drive

 

[SammySix86]

So it appears that minus any issues with quality testing, I am looking good to receive my first new rig in 8 years this week. I’ve been eyeing up a new machine for nearly 9 months and with the generous help of the PCS community it’s so close I can almost touch it! I’ve mopped up on the Steam sale in preparation!

To build on my now simmering buzz what are your new machine rituals/processes? The boss is with her mother this weekend too, so it’ll be a full weekend of getting familiar with this little beast!

Look forward to your comments!


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700KF (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
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
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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.0 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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
Google Chrome™
Headsets
CoolerMaster CH321 Gaming Headset

 

[Steveyg]

There's a thread with a to do list mate that's very useful

To-Do list when PC arrives (updated)

Taking inspiration from @FishyFrags, I have tried to update and condense the original thread here into something a bit more manageable, I have put this thread here as the original was in "general guides" which I cannot post new threads in and the original thread is now locked. By all means move...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk