New to building PC - can someone cast an eye?

VaporKnight · 4 Jun 2025 at 08:46

Hi all, just looking for some help with my build - this will be my first PC (my XPS has finally died and am finally pulling the trigger on a PC). Would really appreciate someone casting an eye on the parts I’ve picked.

If I’ve not been clear enough please let me know!

Purchase Timeframe: 1-2 weeks is fine

Budget: £1700-2000

Usage: Gaming - would like to be able to do 4k with some games, at a good frame rate. Also do quite a lot of photoshop. Other than that, the usual office type stuff.

Preferences: not really, just the best hardware I can get for price that will last several years. Don’t want an ugly machine, but don’t care about a light show

Current Hardware: A Dell XPS 9570 that has been used into the ground

Peripherals: I have a 4k monitor and keyboard/mouse

Special Needs/Requirements: none
Currently I’ve looked on overclockers and settled on this, but being a bit of a noob, would appreciate some learned people having a ganders - really open to tweaks.

1x Fractal Design North Charcoal Black
TG Dark Windowed Mid Tower Case - Black
1x Intel Core i5-14600K (Raptor Lake-S)
Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail
1x MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard
1x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB
(2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38
6000MHz Dual Channel Ki
1x be quiet Light Loop 240 ARGB White High Performance CPU Water Cooler -
240mm
1x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XT Gaming
20GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics
Card
1x Seasonic VERTEX GX-850 850W 80+
Gold Modular Power Supply
1x WD Black SN7100 1TB SSD NVME
M.2 2280 PCle 4.0 Solid State Drive

Total: £1,896.05

Thanks guys!

Gray2233 · 4 Jun 2025 at 11:57

Some of your component choices are out of date or needlessly expensive for what they are, that's a last gen AMD GPU and Intel CPU. Intel's Raptor Lake have problems with degradation over time also, I'd be loathe to recommend one in a new build. I assume you're planning to build this yourself, or are you looking at prebuilds?

Upper end of your budget:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02519) = £104.99
1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Solid Core 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-04544) = £999.95
1 x Gigabyte B850 GAMING X WIFI6E (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03858) = £174.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance 32GB EXPO (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel (SKU: MEM-CRS-02786) = £98.99
1 x Crucial T500 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01090) = £128.99
1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02724) = £29.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £449.98
1 x Montech X3 Mesh Midi-Tower RGB Tempered Glass - Black (SKU: CA-003-MO) = £50.00

Total: £2,049.86 (includes delivery: £11.98)

For gaming at 4K it'll be superior to what you were looking at by a fair margin, you could save money on the CPU by going for a £220 9600 or a higher core count chip like the 9900 assuming Photoshop can make use of it (I've no idea on that front). Higher resolutions tend to favour the GPU more, but there are still some games which heavily favour the extra L3 cache provided by X3D processors even at 4k.

The GPU selected should fit in that case, it might be a little tight.

hornetstinger · 4 Jun 2025 at 12:04

yeah go for something like that, or replace GPU with 9070XT

Is that case glass fronted, I could see airflow being restricted as it has to be drawn through front side vents not directly.

Gray2233 · 4 Jun 2025 at 12:11

hornetstinger said:
yeah go for something like that, or replace GPU with 9070XT

Is that case glass fronted, I could see airflow being restricted as it has to be drawn through front side vents not directly.

I actually thought I'd specified the mesh version so good catch.

Hard to beat for £50, comes with a boatload of fans and excellent airflow but there are some downsides, the review is worth a watch.

hornetstinger · 4 Jun 2025 at 12:14

Just be aware of depth of case also, might not fit the biggest GPU's

Montech X3 Mesh Midi-Tower RGB Tempered Glass - Black

Order Montech X3 Mesh Midi-Tower RGB Tempered Glass - Black now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Probably worth it to bigger case, buy once and if it's a few inches deeper and wider you won't regret it later

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/montech-air-903-max-midi-tower-tempered-glass-black-cas-mon-01229.html

Antec Flux Mid Tower Case - Black

Order Antec Flux Mid Tower Case - Black now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

I'd look into what's the biggest GPU now, see if that fits so you have peace of mind now...even if you aren't going to buy a breezeblock sized GPU. Also same for air cooler HSF, also checkout rad. I'd probably want 420 for future rad expansion for example.

tamzzy · 4 Jun 2025 at 12:20

MATX variation with a 360mm AIO + "fishtank" style case to display all the rgb bling-bling goodness
Change back to the Peerless Assassin 120 if you want to save an extra £20
PSU and case currently out of stock unfortunately - could drop OCUK a call to find out when they will come back in stock

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Asrock B850M-X WiFi R2.0 (Socket AM5) DDR5 mATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASR-05290) = £124.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO/XMP 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRS-00996) = £74.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £449.99
1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Solid Core 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-04544) = £999.95
1 x Lian Li Edge Gold 850W Black Power Supply (SKU: POW-LIA-03764) = £95.98
1 x Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB PCI-e 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SFYRS/2000G) (SKU: STO-KNG-01330) = £125.00
1 x Antec CX600M ARGB M-ATX Mini Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-04160) = £54.94
1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £50.00

Total: £1,975.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)

VaporKnight · 6 Jun 2025 at 17:02

Thanks all for your responses, really appreciate the help

VaporKnight · 6 Jun 2025 at 17:04

tamzzy said:
MATX variation with a 360mm AIO + "fishtank" style case to display all the rgb bling-bling goodness
Change back to the Peerless Assassin 120 if you want to save an extra £20
PSU and case currently out of stock unfortunately - could drop OCUK a call to find out when they will come back in stock

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Asrock B850M-X WiFi R2.0 (Socket AM5) DDR5 mATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASR-05290) = £124.99

1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO/XMP 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRS-00996) = £74.99

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £449.99

1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Solid Core 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-04544) = £999.95

1 x Lian Li Edge Gold 850W Black Power Supply (SKU: POW-LIA-03764) = £95.98

1 x Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB PCI-e 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SFYRS/2000G) (SKU: STO-KNG-01330) = £125.00

1 x Antec CX600M ARGB M-ATX Mini Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-04160) = £54.94

1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £50.00

Total: £1,975.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Thanks again - just a quick q; do you have any other recommendations for PSU and case? Seems like they’re going to be out of stock for a while…

I’m not too bothered about RGB, and would probably prefer something less loud and more sleek if possible.

tamzzy · 6 Jun 2025 at 17:13

VaporKnight said:
Thanks again - just a quick q; do you have any other recommendations for PSU and case? Seems like they’re going to be out of stock for a while…

I’m not too bothered about RGB, and would probably prefer something less loud and more sleek if possible.

challenge accepted

do note that because it is a smaller case, will need a bit of thought and finesse to build. but very smart once all assembled

A3-mATX - LIAN LI is a Leading Provider of PC Cases | Computer Cases

The LIAN LI & DAN Cases A3-mATX is a versatile M-ATX mesh PC case that maintains a minimal chassis size while accommodating large components. Thanks to the relocatable PSU bracket, the A3-mATX empowers you to build a powerful and compact PC system tailored to your needs and preferences...

lian-li.com

the psu will need to be mounted in the F2.5 or F3 location

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02350) = £59.95
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02519) = £104.99

Total: £164.94 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Gray2233 · 6 Jun 2025 at 17:43

I don't think that case comes with any fans, it's probably worth adding at least a couple of Arctic P12's or something.

tamzzy · 6 Jun 2025 at 19:10

Gray2233 said:
I don't think that case comes with any fans, it's probably worth adding at least a couple of Arctic P12's or something.

the 360mm aio will provide 3 fans as exhaust up top

if really wanted, then a couple of slim fans below the gpu to make a bottom-to-top airflow pattern (which incidentally, is how my fan config is set up too :cry:

)

Gray2233 · 6 Jun 2025 at 19:14

tamzzy said:
the 360mm aio will provide 3 fans as exhaust up top

if really wanted, then a couple of slim fans below the gpu to make a bottom-to-top airflow pattern (which incidentally, is how my fan config is set up too )

And I thought I was a tight git!

My basket at OcUK:

2 x Arctic P12 PWM PST Black Fan - 120mm (SKU: FG-04H-AR) = £5.95

Total: £15.90 (includes delivery: £3.99)

hornetstinger · 6 Jun 2025 at 19:15

Gray2233 said:
And I thought I was a tight git!

My basket at OcUK:

2 x Arctic P12 PWM PST Black Fan - 120mm (SKU: FG-04H-AR) = £5.95

Total: £15.90 (includes delivery: £3.99)

Look into some Delta fans, they have a few that are 70db each.

tamzzy · 6 Jun 2025 at 19:18

Gray2233 said:
And I thought I was a tight git!

slim fans would be better for the bottom mount, if intake fans are really wanted

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm (SKU: FG-052-AR) = £5.99

Total: £9.98 (includes delivery: £3.99)

VaporKnight · 12 Jun 2025 at 11:58

tamzzy said:
slim fans would be better for the bottom mount, if intake fans are really wanted

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm (SKU: FG-052-AR) = £5.99

Total: £9.98 (includes delivery: £3.99)

Thanks so much, really appreciate all the help.
Would you recommend 2 of these fans?

tamzzy · 12 Jun 2025 at 12:00

VaporKnight said:
Thanks so much, really appreciate all the help.
Would you recommend 2 of these fans?

only if you're specifically going to build in the lianli A3 i listed above

VaporKnight · 12 Jun 2025 at 12:01

tamzzy said:
only if you're specifically going to build in the lianli A3 i listed above

Think that’s the plan!
Thanks again

tamzzy · 12 Jun 2025 at 12:07

VaporKnight said:
Think that’s the plan!
Thanks again

just for clarity this is the updated build list:
My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £428.99
1 x Asrock B850M-X WiFi R2.0 (Socket AM5) DDR5 mATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASR-05290) = £124.99
1 x PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-PNY-04564) = £77.99
1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Solid Core 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-04544) = £999.95
1 x Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB PCI-e 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SFYRS/2000G) (SKU: STO-KNG-01330) = £124.99
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02519) = £104.99
1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £49.99
1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02350) = £59.95
2 x Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm (SKU: FG-052-AR) = £5.99

Total: £1,983.82 (includes delivery: £0.00)

swapped to cheaper RAM - same timings so no performance loss, just cheaper
motherboard is OOS at OUCK but available elsewhere (and i can see that they're cheaper than ocuk too) - when you buy this elsewhere just make sure you're buying the "R2.0" version, the second revision (ie R2.0) has pcie 5.0 to the pcie slot. the original version doesn't.

mickyflinn · 12 Jun 2025 at 12:16

Get yourself a 1000w + PSU .

Power spikes can be a problem and gives you scope for a more powerful GPU down the line.

tamzzy · 12 Jun 2025 at 12:18

@VaporKnight if you wanted to, you can opt for 3 fans below, something like this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mffpc/comments/1i9z0ns/lian_li_dan_cases_a3_7900xtx_merc_360mm_aio/

(i wouldn't have the rear fan though.)