Lenovo Legion dead. Will build a new PC. Help choosing parts

[Snowdragonfrog]

I bought a Lenovo Legion 5800h, 3080 RTX 16GB, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVME SSD 3 years ago. GPU output died yesterday. No video out via HDMI nor the main display itself.

I live in the UK.

I will sell as not working on ebay. Paid £1,800 for it and I feel totally burnt as spending that much money I would expect it to last a decade, if not more. I'll be lucky if I get £100 for it now.

I think laptops are probably prone to dying fast due to tiny space of the body and components packed tight together with inadequate cooling.

It's been 13 years since I last built a PC. So I am well out of touch with current PC tech.

Budget is about £1,800. Doesn't mean I want to spend all of it. Obviously the less spent the better.

I currently have a P2450H display which is very outdated I know. Would love to get a 1440p slightly bigger display if I could afford it.

I will edit videos for YouTube. Not cinematic pro stuff, just vlogs and screen recordings made using OBS.

I play games like, A Plague Tale, Subnautica, Hitman, Sleeping Dogs, Frostpunk, maybe the new GTA when it comes out, and some triple AAA titles.

I like to play either very high or ultra settings. Usually not much difference visually between very high and ultra.

I do not care about high hz. I do not want to game at higher than 60fps. I do not play competitive FPS so couldn't care less.

What parts should I buy?

Should I reuse the NVME M.2 SSD from my current laptop?

I want the build to be as quiet as possible.

 

[tamzzy]

Should I reuse the NVME M.2 SSD from my current laptop?

these ssds are gen 3 so i would use it as a secondary drive rather than the primary drive

 

[tamzzy]

monitor included

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £399.95
• 1 x Crucial Pro OC 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-02219) = £128.99
• 1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02724) = £29.98
• 1 x WD Black SN7100 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-WDC-04135) = £119.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B850 EAGLE WIFI6E (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03859) = £149.99
• 1 x Kolink Observatory Duo ARGB Midi Tower Case - Black Window (SKU: CA-077-KK) = £49.99
• 1 x Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPR-03983) = £559.99
• 1 x MSI MAG A850GL 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-012-MS) = £95.00
• 1 x MSI 27" MAG 274QF 2560x1440 (WQHD) 180Hz 0.5ms Rapid IPS FreeSync Gaming Monitor (SKU: MON-MSI-05298) = £148.99

Total: £1,682.87 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Tetras]

Budget is about £1,800. Doesn't mean I want to spend all of it. Obviously the less spent the better.

You could drop down to a 9700X, or a 9600X. The X3D does make a big difference in some games and even if you're happy at 60 fps the smoothness can be noticeable.

9070 has a decent chunk lower power consumption than the 9070 XT, which can push the case temp lower. Though, there's nothing to stop you power limiting/undervolting the 9070 XT.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9700X Eight Core 5.50GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-02676) = £269.99
• 1 x Sapphire Nitro+ B850A WiFi 7 (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-SPR-05688) = £157.99
• 1 x PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-PNY-04563) = £109.99
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Reaper 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-PWC-04020) = £499.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Aorus 7300 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-GIG-05732) = £119.99
• 1 x Phanteks XT Silent ATX Case Closed Panel Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-03106) = £77.99
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 1000W 80PLUS Platinum ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02521) = £128.99
• 1 x Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 Dual Tower CPU Cooler -120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02719) = £38.99
• 1 x LG 27" 27GS75Q-B 2560x1440 IPS 180Hz 1ms FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible Widescreen Gaming Monitor (SKU: MON-LGC-02150) = £178.99

Total: £1,582.91 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Snowdragonfrog]

I will review this in more detail later or tomorrow for those that replied. Appreciate the rapid replies. Also are people on this forum only allowed to provide items sold on OCUK's site?

The monitors you both recommend, are they better than my current monitor visually? No point in spending money if its not going to be much better visually.
Won't 1440p make text too small at 27inches?

I also love watching movies and tv shows on my pc.

I think OLED suffers from screen burin in right? so maybe I should get a 2nd monitor OLED for just movie watching and tv shows, but in that case maybe I would be better off just buying a nice big TV and connecting that to the PC for solely watching movies etc?

Also what's with these brands I never heard of before? Thermalright? Sounds like a cheapo brand? What happened to Noctua etc? Phanteks? Those PNY sticks look ugly The Phatneks case probably gets hot being marketed as silent at that price point? Kolink?

Do remember I haven't built a PC for 13 years so.. as I said I'm not up to date on brands and parts.

 

[Space Monkey]

I will review this in more detail later or tomorrow for those that replied. Appreciate the rapid replies. Also are people on this forum only allowed to provide items sold on OCUK's site?

The monitors you both recommend, are they better than my current monitor visually? No point in spending money if its not going to be much better visually. I also love watching movies and tv shows on my pc.

I think OLED suffers from screen burin in right? so maybe I should get a 2nd monitor OLED for just movie watching and tv shows, but in that case maybe I would be better off just buying a nice big TV and connecting that to the PC for solely watching movies etc?

Also what's with these brands I never heard of before? Thermalright? Sounds like a cheapo brand? What happened to Noctua etc? Phanteks? Those PNY sticks look ugly The Phatneks case probably gets hot being marketed as silent at that price point? Kolink?

Do remember I haven't built a PC for 13 years so.. as I said I'm not up to date on brands and parts.

OCUK shop runs and pays for the forums so we're only allowed to link to their own shop, otherwise just list the part name/model if needed?

Thermalright have been around for many years, Kolink I wouldn't touch at all.

 

[tamzzy]

The monitors you both recommend, are they better than my current monitor visually?

yes

Major points for each panel tech
TN = poorest viewing angles, poor colour accuracy, poorer contrast ratio, faster pixel response
VA = poor viewing angles, slowest pixel response leading to smearing esp when FPS drops (personally this is very noticeable to the point i physically get headaches from it, so I've sworn off VA for personal use), better contrast ratio
IPS = good viewing angles, IPS glow esp if using in a darker room, poorest contrast ratio, fast pixel response
OLED = best viewing angles, may suffer from burn in, VRR flicker, purple text fringing when using it for office use (less of an issue with 27 inch 4k OLEDs - larger pixel sizes will have more apparent text fringing), fastest pixel response, best contrast ratio

Thermalright? Sounds like a cheapo brand?

they're cheap, but they're not a cheapo brand and they have been around for longer than 13 years lol. they make high quality stuff at a fraction of the prices noctua are asking
for example the PA120SE i linked is £30 and is within 1-2c of the noctua D15 gen 2 that costs £150!
here is thermalright coolers being discussed on anandtech all the way back in 2010! https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ow-is-now-1-air-cooler.2101719/#post-30372246

Kolink?

Kolink I wouldn't touch at all.

Kolink cases are fine for the price. yes i've used them, so i'm fully speaking from experience
(in fact i have one right beside me now )

The Phatneks case probably gets hot being marketed as silent at that price point?

personally i don't find silent cases all that useful, they're basically a hot box, and yes if you do just consider the case itself, it can be considered silent
but if you consider that the cpu and gpu fans will have to consistently spin at higher revs because the innards are baking
i'm sure a high-airflow case with slow fans would be, in general, equally quiet whilst also having the benefit of having cooler components

 

[Quartz]

maybe the new GTA when it comes out,

If you're serious about this then you may prefer an ultrawide (3440x1440) monitor.

BTW there's a high chance your 3080 is still good so you might save some money there. And you can almost certainly transplant the SSD.

 

[Space Monkey]

If you're serious about this then you may prefer an ultrawide (3440x1440) monitor.

BTW there's a high chance your 3080 is still good so you might save some money there. And you can almost certainly transplant the SSD.

Think he's got a laptop so no GPU

 

[tamzzy]

BTW there's a high chance your 3080 is still good so you might save some money there

it's a laptop, there's not a lot to be saved

edit: beaten

 

[Space Monkey]

yes

Major points for each panel tech
TN = poorest viewing angles, poor colour accuracy, poorer contrast ratio, faster pixel response
VA = poor viewing angles, slowest pixel response leading to smearing esp when FPS drops (personally this is very noticeable to the point i physically get headaches from it, so I've sworn off VA for personal use), better contrast ratio
IPS = good viewing angles, IPS glow esp if using in a darker room, poorest contrast ratio, fast pixel response
OLED = best viewing angles, may suffer from burn in, VRR flicker, purple text fringing when using it for office use (less of an issue with 27 inch 4k OLEDs - larger pixel sizes will have more apparent text fringing), fastest pixel response, best contrast ratio


they're cheap, but they're not a cheapo brand and they have been around for longer than 13 years lol. they make high quality stuff at a fraction of the prices noctua are asking
for example the PA120SE i linked is £30 and is within 1-2c of the noctua D15 gen 2 that costs £150!
here it is being discussed on anandtech in 2010! https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ow-is-now-1-air-cooler.2101719/#post-30372246



Kolink cases are fine for the price. yes i've used them, so i'm fully speaking from experience
(in fact i have one right beside me now )


personally i don't find silent cases all that useful, they're basically a hot box, and yes if you do just consider the case itself, it can be considered silent
but if you consider that the cpu and gpu fans will have to consistently spin at higher revs because the innards are baking
i'm sure a high-airflow case with slow fans would be, in general, equally quiet whilst also having the benefit of having cooler components

I've had a couple of Kolink as well in the past, but I prefer quality cases, the Kolinks were not very good at all

 

[Snowdragonfrog]

yes

Major points for each panel tech
TN = poorest viewing angles, poor colour accuracy, poorer contrast ratio, faster pixel response
VA = poor viewing angles, slowest pixel response leading to smearing esp when FPS drops (personally this is very noticeable to the point i physically get headaches from it, so I've sworn off VA for personal use), better contrast ratio
IPS = good viewing angles, IPS glow esp if using in a darker room, poorest contrast ratio, fast pixel response
OLED = best viewing angles, may suffer from burn in, VRR flicker, purple text fringing when using it for office use (less of an issue with 27 inch 4k OLEDs - larger pixel sizes will have more apparent text fringing), fastest pixel response, best contrast ratio


they're cheap, but they're not a cheapo brand and they have been around for longer than 13 years lol. they make high quality stuff at a fraction of the prices noctua are asking
for example the PA120SE i linked is £30 and is within 1-2c of the noctua D15 gen 2 that costs £150!
here it is being discussed on anandtech in 2010! https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ow-is-now-1-air-cooler.2101719/#post-30372246



Kolink cases are fine for the price. yes i've used them, so i'm fully speaking from experience
(in fact i have one right beside me now )


personally i don't find silent cases all that useful, they're basically a hot box, and yes if you do just consider the case itself, it can be considered silent
but if you consider that the cpu and gpu fans will have to consistently spin at higher revs because the innards are baking
i'm sure a high-airflow case with slow fans would be, in general, equally quiet whilst also having the benefit of having cooler components

So I would notice a significant visual improvement in gaming and movies from my P2450H (TN Panel) to any of the 2 monitors mentioned by the 2 people on here above?
Won't text be too small at 1440p @ 27 inches?

Sorry the profile photos are confusing me. Bizzare that theres the same pics for different people.

Is the Thermalright CPU cooler quiet like the Noctua?

Yeah totally agree with you on silent cases + nice to have a window to see in.

 

[Quartz]

Hopefully a silly question, but have you tried another monitor?

it's a laptop, there's not a lot to be saved

Laptop GPUs are often on MXM modules which can be extracted.

I've had a couple of Kolink as well in the past, but I prefer quality cases, the Kolinks were not very good at all

The Kolink Citadel Mesh is a very good cheap little case.

 

[tamzzy]

I've had a couple of Kolink as well in the past, but I prefer quality cases, the Kolinks were not very good at all

haha maybe it's me and my utilitarianism, i see it as a case, and the only part i touch once built is the power button

Is the Thermalright CPU cooler quiet like the Noctua?

yes
isn't it good when someone has already done the legwork: https://gamersnexus.net/coolers/noc...enchmarks-hbc-lbc-comparison-best-cpu-coolers

 

[Space Monkey]

So I would notice a significant visual improvement in gaming and movies from my P2450H (TN Panel) to any of the 2 monitors mentioned by the 2 people on here above?
Won't text be too small at 1440p @ 27 inches?

Sorry the profile photos are confusing me. Bizzare that theres the same pics for different people.

Is the Thermalright CPU cooler quiet like the Noctua?

Yeah totally agree with you on silent cases + nice to have a window to see in.

I'm terms of image quality IPS wipes the floor with TN screens, I'm currently running 2 x 27" 1440p screens, lovely images, colours etc... And for text if it's too small you can always increase the scaling inside windows

 

[tamzzy]

Laptop GPUs are often on MXM modules which can be extracted.

often is probably not the term i would use
it's pretty rare tbh
the lenovo legion doesnt

 

[Snowdragonfrog]

How is this monitor? https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-3...ync-widescreen-gaming-moni-mon-lgc-03334.html

Worth the money?

 

[Snowdragonfrog]

I'm terms of image quality IPS wipes the floor with TN screens, I'm currently running 2 x 27" 1440p screens, lovely images, colours etc... And for text if it's too small you can always increase the scaling inside windows

Are you scaling? Text size must be TINY at that res and screen size?

 

[Space Monkey]

Are you scaling? Text size must be TINY at that res and screen size?

Can't remember off the top of my head, but I don't think I am, and being a gentleman of the slightly older persuasion my eye sight isn't what it used to be either, it's when you get to 4K at 27" then it's really tiny text!

 

[tamzzy]

Are you scaling? Text size must be TINY at that res and screen size?

it isn't that tiny lol
i'm also using a 27 inch 1440p monitor at standard 100% scaling

27 inch 1440p = 109 ppi (pixels per inch)
24 inch 1080p = 92 ppi