Spec, but I have some questions

[RandomDave]

I bought a gaming laptop from PCS and that lasted me almost 7 years. I'm looking at getting a new desktop that lasts a similiar amount of time. The current spec is:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-7820X Eight Core (3.60GHz @ up to 4.6GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E GAMING: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, WIFI - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 3.5" SSHD - UP TO 5X FASTER THAN HDD!
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) 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 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence

Note, I already have a graphics card I want to use, but it raises questions about the case.

Some questions:
1) I have a Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti Liquid Cooled Graphics Card, and I need a case that I can install it in. It includes a 120mm fan. I chose a case that has space for multiple extra fans, but I'm not sure how to request that a fan slot that is usuable (in terms of reach) by the graphics card be left available? Especially since I have a Corsair H80i water cooling for the CPU selected as well.
2) I assume I have all the required power connections to support the Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti (it's new, I haven't installed it before)? The instructions just indicate 2 power connectors are required (apparently 8-pin and 6-pin (one each) PCIe plugs)
3) I chose a 750W power supply, as I would like the option to go SLI at some point in the future. Not sure 750W is enough for SLI? Some Internet research indicates it should be, but I have no experience.
4) Not sure SLI is actually possible (with the same card) as the CPU has on 28 PCIe lanes and so wouldn't support a x16/x16 configuration. Unclear to me is a x8/x8 would be a problem or not with the 1080 Ti? Again, some Internet research indicates it should be (perhaps depending on output resolution and freq required), however the spec (http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/hydro-gfx-gtx-1080-ti-liquid-cooled-graphics-card) indicates the card needs PCIe x16 config. Don't particularly want to spend the extra money for the i9 with its 40 PCIe lanes.
5) I have selected the "10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)" LAN option which states no Wifi, but the ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E says it comes with Wifi (see https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-X299-E-GAMING/specifications/). I want Wifi and Bluetooth support.
6) I have selected the standard USB connections option, although I need a USB Type-C connector, again the ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E specs indicates it comes with a Type-C connector, so I assume that will be available even though I didn't explicitly the select the USB option for a Type-C connector?

Thanks for any help

 

[Oussebon]

Is this just for gaming, will you be being anything else with it, and what's your budget?

 

[Stephen M]

As you have a very fast m2 SSD you do not need the hybrid drive, they only have a small SSD cache and you will not see any advantage over a standard 7200rpm HDD which will be cheaper.

 

[RandomDave]

Is this just for gaming, will you be being anything else with it, and what's your budget?

Gaming drives the majority of the requirements, but I'll use it for anything and everything. Probably dev work and running VMs are the other resource intensive things I might use it for. Budget is around £2k.

 

[Scott]

I bought a gaming laptop from PCS and that lasted me almost 7 years. I'm looking at getting a new desktop that lasts a similiar amount of time. The current spec is:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-7820X Eight Core (3.60GHz @ up to 4.6GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E GAMING: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, WIFI - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 3.5" SSHD - UP TO 5X FASTER THAN HDD!
M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) 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 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence

Note, I already have a graphics card I want to use, but it raises questions about the case.

Some questions:
1) I have a Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti Liquid Cooled Graphics Card, and I need a case that I can install it in. It includes a 120mm fan. I chose a case that has space for multiple extra fans, but I'm not sure how to request that a fan slot that is usuable (in terms of reach) by the graphics card be left available? Especially since I have a Corsair H80i water cooling for the CPU selected as well.
2) I assume I have all the required power connections to support the Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti (it's new, I haven't installed it before)? The instructions just indicate 2 power connectors are required (apparently 8-pin and 6-pin (one each) PCIe plugs)
3) I chose a 750W power supply, as I would like the option to go SLI at some point in the future. Not sure 750W is enough for SLI? Some Internet research indicates it should be, but I have no experience.
4) Not sure SLI is actually possible (with the same card) as the CPU has on 28 PCIe lanes and so wouldn't support a x16/x16 configuration. Unclear to me is a x8/x8 would be a problem or not with the 1080 Ti? Again, some Internet research indicates it should be (perhaps depending on output resolution and freq required), however the spec (http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/hydro-gfx-gtx-1080-ti-liquid-cooled-graphics-card) indicates the card needs PCIe x16 config. Don't particularly want to spend the extra money for the i9 with its 40 PCIe lanes.
5) I have selected the "10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)" LAN option which states no Wifi, but the ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E says it comes with Wifi (see https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-X299-E-GAMING/specifications/). I want Wifi and Bluetooth support.
6) I have selected the standard USB connections option, although I need a USB Type-C connector, again the ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E specs indicates it comes with a Type-C connector, so I assume that will be available even though I didn't explicitly the select the USB option for a Type-C connector?

Thanks for any help

I would go with something a bit bigger than the 200R if you can. The Carbide Air 540/740 would be the best options IMO, that CPU runs toasty and with SLI being an idea of the future you want the ultimate flow. If that's not ideal for you then something like the Define S or R5 would be good.

The H80i probably isn't going to have you covered with an overclocked 7820x. It's my choice of CPU at the moment but I got a H115i to make sure I'm ready for it. Overclocked it puts out some serious heat. High end closed liquid cooling is pretty much a necessity. If you give them a call you can discuss fan positioning etc though.

The PSUs provided by PCS are all good quality/brand. There are some nice to have's but they will all have you covered for your GPU.

I would recommend the 850w PSU as a minimum, in fact in your position I would probably go up to 1000w to make sure all avenues are covered. The CPU eats wattage overclocked and the GPUs will require a LOT of juice when being pushed.

No need to worry about PCi lanes. GPUs haven't gotten close to using up the bandwidth of 8 lanes yet never mind 16. The difference is pretty much negligible between 8x and 16x lanes.

I don't know if the X299-E has bluetooth or not but bluetooth can be added with a £3 USB module from a well known auction site so I wouldn't worry about that.

You will be fine with the USB connections on the motherboard.


As Oussebon has hinted at, this is a rather serious spec of machine. A 7700k would be significantly cheaper and offer very comparable gaming performance, often better with single thread games (the majority). The i7 will handle most software demands adequately but if you want serious multi-thread horsepower then the 7820x is a great choice (It's my choice also). Make sure you're going to be using the oomph and are happy to pay the difference. A 7700k build would be significantly less.

Oh, hybrid drives... as stated... are pointless. Just get the standard storage drive

 

[Oussebon]

I'd agree with the above.

1000W PSU is likely a good idea, especially given how much GTX 1080 tis can use plus the 7820k

If your VM and development needs are quite modest I'd still put in a bid for the 7700k, since the 7820k is a bit of a monster, has less gaming performance, guzzles power, and could probably roast a chicken in your PC case. Likewise, 32gb RAM is excessive for gaming - not futureproof, just a waste of cash. But if you want the extra performance for the VMs, and will be running quite a few, then it's not a bad choice and the RAM may be appropriate.

Why Windows 10 Pro? If you don't need specific features it has vs Home, you could stick with Home. The PM961 is cheaper than the SM961 but pretty near as fast. That could shave ~£50 off.