New Gaming PC £2.5k-£3k Budget

Wizzleteeth · 26 Mar 2019 at 13:13

Hi guys. Hoping somebody could spec me a new gaming PC as I am finally ready to take the plunge. The main thing I’m undecided on is monitor. I am wanting to game at 1440p/144Hz but the release of the Acer Nitro XV273K has me wondering if I should stretch for that for a bit of 4K action? Does the Nitro perform as well at 1440p as a top end 1440p monitor? I was set on the Asus PG2792Q before I seen the Nitro.

I am thinking probably a 2080 ti but I have no idea about mobo, CPU and RAM. If anyone could point me in the right direction with regards to these it would be much appreciated!

I already have the following:

SSD’s/HDD
Dark Rock Pro 4
Windows licence
Keyboard and mouse

Would be looking for a cheap case and a modular PSU. If I could keep the price towards £2.5k I’d be happy but could stretch to around £3k if it’s really going to make a difference.

Any advice is appreciated.

EsaT · 26 Mar 2019 at 15:18

4K is extremely demanding for graphics card in heavier games and will stay that way for still some time.
2560x1440 is sweet spot, and runs without paying arm, both legs and half the internal organs for something which is overpriced for bang per buck.
Instead of giving more performance per price Nvidia has been just pumping consumer's butt... er prices upward.

Also with Nvidia finally removing that disaple AdaptiveSync bit from drivers there's no sense to pay Nvidia's G-Sync tax to be locked into being their slave.
After many years long resource starvation AMD is finally bringing new high end GPU architecture in maybe next winter and also Intel is joining discrete GPU competition next year.
That along with new manufacturing node maturing for those new architectures should finally bring proper performance and price competition inside year or two.

And CPU wise would be best to wait for summer and release of Zen2 Ryzens for vastly improved bang per buck.
Because right now choise is "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" with Intel using small advantage as justification for raping and robbing consumers.
(usually it's the prostitute who gets paid, in case of big corporations it's otherway)

9900K's processing power quite likely becomes available for sub £250 and 12 cores/24 threads for hundred more.
While 9900K's price can well get 16 cores/32 threads monster, shredding 9900K (or what's left after 12c/24t model) to pieces and peeing on its grave.
Though unlike Intel changing CPU sockets just for the fun of screwing consumer to butt, AMD offers way to avoid eternal damnation and Zen2 Ryzens will fit to current motherboards after BIOS update.

And case is PC part with potential to longest usable life (mine approaching 11 years) so it shouldn't be chosen just for the cheapest price.
Especially if at the same time paying luxury/scam level prices for something, which doesn't hold its value more than year or two, or not even that.

Similarly top level PSU will still be good when even successors of luxury CPU or GPU is getting old/obsolete.
(up to 12 year warranty tells about designed usage life)

So what kind case you're after?
Gamer bling bling RGB ADHD, or classy stylish look?
Any size limits and what about noise level?

orbitalwalsh · 26 Mar 2019 at 15:35

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming OC 11264MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £1,099.99
1 x Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £419.99
1 x Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite Intel Z390 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £179.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK16GX4M2D30= £98.99
1 x Seasonic Focus Plus 750W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £104.99
1 x Acer Nitro XV273K 27" 3840x2160 IPS 4K UHD 144Hz FreeSync/G-Sync Widescreen LED Gaming Monitor= £899.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 275R Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black Tempered Glass (CC-9011132-WW)= £79.99

Total: £2,904.75 (includes shipping: £20.82)

Nothing fancy...

Wizzleteeth · 26 Mar 2019 at 15:54

Oof that’s a lot of info. Thanks for the response though.

My idea with 4K and the flexibility of the Nitro is that I could run some older games at 4K and decent refresh rate and newer games could be run at 1440p/144Hz. It is still a lot of money to fork out on a monitor in my opinion but I’m hoping once I buy this system I won’t need to upgrade anything for a long long time.

I agree with you on the GPU and CPU monopoly that is going on but unfortunately I have found myself in a position where I’m willing to just pay the asking price in order to upgrade, I’ve been overworked for months now so I’m just trying to ignore the fact that these prices are way inflated!

The reason I’m not too fussed about type of case is that it will be under my desk and out of sight so no need for anything flashy. I already have a decent case but most of my old system will be given to a friend as he is stuck with only consoles at this point.

For me the quieter and least power-consuming the better.

Wizzleteeth · 26 Mar 2019 at 15:56

Thanks Orbital, this is exactly what I’m looking for.

What is your opinion on the Acer Nitro? Is it worth the extra cash over just getting a good 1440p/144Hz monitor?

orbitalwalsh · 26 Mar 2019 at 16:29

Wizzleteeth said:
Thanks Orbital, this is exactly what I’m looking for.

What is your opinion on the Acer Nitro? Is it worth the extra cash over just getting a good 1440p/144Hz monitor?

I know a special being that does...
@Quartz

In theory, you could also play at 1440p or 4k with that monitor .
I have 1440p 144hz Aorus monitor and sometimes game at 1080p with Ray Tracing on (rtx 2080)

Recommend Corsair 275Q or base 601 or phanteks 600s - non window versions. If out of site, least will be super quiet !!

Quartz · 26 Mar 2019 at 16:42

orbitalwalsh said:
I know a special being that does...
@Quartz

Did someone ring?

Yup, the Acer Nitro 4K is very nice indeed.

Wizzleteeth · 26 Mar 2019 at 18:15

Ha I had noticed Quartz was a Nitro appreciator in a few other threads. I do have a backlog of older games I have been saving until I upgrade, so I’m sure the 4k resolution would be great for that, but I’m also getting quite in to Apex Legends and looks like I’ll be playing it a lot in the near future, amongst other newer titles, would the Nitro stand up to a good 1440p monitor if the system can’t handle newer games at 4k?

orbitalwalsh · 26 Mar 2019 at 19:29

Wizzleteeth said:
Ha I had noticed Quartz was a Nitro appreciator in a few other threads. I do have a backlog of older games I have been saving until I upgrade, so I’m sure the 4k resolution would be great for that, but I’m also getting quite in to Apex Legends and looks like I’ll be playing it a lot in the near future, amongst other newer titles, would the Nitro stand up to a good 1440p monitor if the system can’t handle newer games at 4k?

Looking forward to Catching&C games remastered In 1440/4k !!!

Wizzleteeth · 26 Mar 2019 at 20:28

I wasn’t even aware of C&C Remastered, although I’d prefer Generals was remastered over the originals...

Hey Orbital, would an i9 be fine for that mobo? I know it’s overkill but when I’m already forking out £2.9k another eighty quid wouldn’t be missed

lee32uk · 27 Mar 2019 at 11:56

Wizzleteeth said:
Hey Orbital, would an i9 be fine for that mobo? I know it’s overkill but when I’m already forking out £2.9k another eighty quid wouldn’t be missed

On the Aorus Elite board ? Yep it will be fine.

orbitalwalsh · 27 Mar 2019 at 12:49

Wizzleteeth said:
I wasn’t even aware of C&C Remastered, although I’d prefer Generals was remastered over the originals...

Hey Orbital, would an i9 be fine for that mobo? I know it’s overkill but when I’m already forking out £2.9k another eighty quid wouldn’t be missed

lee32uk said:
On the Aorus Elite board ? Yep it will be fine.

this ^^^^

vrm set up is 12+1 - they use lessor mosfet units then Aorus Master flagship with is 12+2, but actually able to handle more amps.... just a bit hotter and less efficient. Still be able to handle AVX workloads at 5ghz just fine.... but dont think you'd be doing that

if you want to counter the balance.... Grab Gigabyte Gaming X for £140 - 10 phase set up and lessor Sound qualit but handles the 9900k just fine and saves some cash for it

bit baised towards Corsair for PSU currently due to customer service recently and rep support from @CorsairChris

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...lar-power-supply-cp-9020179-uk-ca-23w-cs.html

though bit more costly then Focus and slightly bigger with 135mm fan vs 120mm

wesley · 27 Mar 2019 at 20:24

i wouldnt get the acer nitro monitor, many bad reviews on rain forest site. £900 is too much

orbitalwalsh · 28 Mar 2019 at 08:45

wesley said:
i wouldnt get the acer nitro monitor, many bad reviews on rain forest site. £900 is too much

Ah, what's reviews saying ?

If looking at 1440p, would rate the Aorus 1440p Freesync. Works with G-sync and been doing very well in reviews and sold out a few times in here

wesley · 28 Mar 2019 at 10:33

orbitalwalsh said:
Ah, what's reviews saying ?

If looking at 1440p, would rate the Aorus 1440p Freesync. Works with G-sync and been doing very well in reviews and sold out a few times in here

Mainly about the bad backlight bleed. They may have bad batch but I wouldn't pay £900 to find out if it's good or bad one. Too much

Wizzleteeth · 31 Mar 2019 at 20:50

Cheers for the advice everyone. Went with orbital’s build but with i9 instead of i7. Will hopefully keep me entertained for many years to come!

Thanks again

orbitalwalsh · 1 Apr 2019 at 09:02

Wizzleteeth said:
Cheers for the advice everyone. Went with orbital’s build but with i9 instead of i7. Will hopefully keep me entertained for many years to come!

Thanks again

get some snaps up and tell us how you got on

CorsairChris · 10 Apr 2019 at 09:15

Looks like a quality build, look forward to seeing the pictures!