1440p build, solid case

[snakefood]

Hi guys,

Time has come round and I need to upgrade my daughters rig as it's running Win10, and the board won't do 11. This is a gaming machine but nothing massively high end, 1440p at reasonable spec should sufficce well, but I don't mind investing to get a few years from it.

I was looking at the pre built options, but as they all have see thru panels and rgb's, a solid case was the preferred option so looks like I'm building it again. Guess I'll get some better hardware for a cost saving anyway.

Budget wise somewhere around £1000-1200 I'd guess should do this nicely, if I can save some, win.

Could I get some build options please, KB & mouse not needed, but will need a copy of 11.

Case won't need an optical drive, so sizing is mmostly going to be determined by GPU?

Intel / AMD I wouldn't know which is the better for this spec range.

Many thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[Tetras]

Could I get some build options please, KB & mouse not needed, but will need a copy of 11.

Is a monitor needed?

 

[snakefood]

Is a monitor needed?

If I could within budget, but if not no drama I wasn't expecting to

 

[Tetras]

If I could within budget, but if not no drama I wasn't expecting to

This is a gaming machine but nothing massively high end, 1440p at reasonable spec

Budget wise somewhere around £1000-1200

Here's a spec including monitor, but it doesn't have the OS. Are you planning to keep hold of the old PC? If not, you could try using the Windows 10 install in the new PC and then upgrade to Windows 11 if you're able to retain the activation/license.

You can still install Windows 11 without a key, but you'll have a watermark in the bottom right corner and it can't be customised (desktop background, colours, etc).

Picking a case without RGB or glass panels is tricky. I don't know how good the observatory is, so you might want to shop around. There's a b-grade Phanteks P200 which was tempting for this build, but would have needed an ITX motherboard.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Cooler Master 27" GA2711 2560x1440 IPS 100Hz 1ms A-Sync Widescreen Gaming Monitor (SKU: MON-ASU-02557) = £108.95

• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69Y-IN) = £170.00
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 DS3H AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03572) = £124.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Vulcan 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C36 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLBD532G5600HC36BDC01) (SKU: MY-0BB-TG) = £79.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £529.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-NVI-03769) = £0.00
• 1 x Team Group MP44L 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03128) = £50.00
• 1 x Kolink Observatory HF Mesh PWM Midi Tower Case - Black (SKU: CAS-KLK-01625) = £42.94
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming 750W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-061-AS) = £79.99

• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £22.99

Total: £1,217.83 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

 

[Craig_d1]

am5 build, leaving upgrade options down the line. Not putting a screen on as ideally i would want one with 144hz or higher, unless you plug it into an oled tv where the 120hz countered by instant pixel response
if you can stretch to a 2tb ssd, even better as games are getting large...seeing as for your daughter gone for some rgb...white might be nicer also, but there's a white tax to contend with...shop around..seen the cpu cheaper or 7600x similar price with free delivery

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Antec C3 ARGB Midi Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-02727) = £79.99
• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 A-RGB 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02418) = £29.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £164.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming 850W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-060-AS) = £89.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMH32GX5M2B6000Z30K) (SKU: MY-4DU-CS) = £109.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £179.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £529.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-NVI-03769) = £0.00
• 1 x Team Group G50 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03131) = £47.99

Total: £1,232.92 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[snakefood]

seeing as for your daughter gone for some rgb...white might be nicer also, but there's a white tax to contend with.

Hey, thanks for the build option, but as per my post, a solid case was requested. The last build I did for here was complete custom rgb, this time she's asked for a solid case. Only just seeing now that solid cases are really not all that common. Appreciate the AMD option, gives me a good idea of what I might be looking at.

Here's a spec including monitor, but it doesn't have the OS. Are you planning to keep hold of the old PC?

Many thanks, I can't really salvage anything from the last build tho, as it's used on a daily basis.

 

[mickyflinn]

Hey, thanks for the build option, but as per my post, a solid case was requested.

Take a look at the be quiet pure base 500/600 and fractal range they do solid cases.

 

[Craig_d1]

Hey, thanks for the build option, but as per my post, a solid case was requested. The last build I did for here was complete custom rgb, this time she's asked for a solid case. Only just seeing now that solid cases are really not all that common. Appreciate the AMD option, gives me a good idea of what I might be looking at.



Many thanks, I can't really salvage anything from the last build tho, as it's used on a daily basis.

sorry, missed that bit

below with a pop air...bumbed up the ssd to 2tb as on offer, but can put back to 1tb and save a bit

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £22.99
• 1 x Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-KNG-03705) = £99.95
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming 850W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-060-AS) = £89.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £529.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-NVI-03769) = £0.00
• 1 x Team Group G50 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03132) = £87.95
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £179.99
• 1 x Fractal Design Pop Air Mid Tower Case - Black Solid (SKU: CA-0A4-FD) = £79.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £164.99

Total: £1,255.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Craig_d1]

you could go something lime the lian li A£ mATX case.. below. just off out..need to check clearance for air cooler..does fit an atx psu...and comes with no fans, so would need to buy some...but just an idea if you prefer the smaller look


My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £22.99
• 1 x Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-KNG-03705) = £99.95
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming 850W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-060-AS) = £89.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £529.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-NVI-03769) = £0.00
• 1 x Team Group G50 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03132) = £87.95
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £179.99
• 1 x Lian Li A3 mATX MD Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02630) = £79.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B650M Gaming X AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BG-GI) = £149.99

Total: £1,240.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[snakefood]

you could go something lime the lian li A£ mATX case.. below. just off out..need to check clearance for air cooler..does fit an atx psu...and comes with no fans, so would need to buy some...but just an idea if you prefer the smaller look


My basket at OcUK:

• Total: £1,240.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Hi,

I would actually love to do a Lian Li build as I've always held their cases in high regard, but I think this one might be a bit on the small side - will check if a 4070 will fit.

Quite suprised they don't seem to offfer any closed cases now.

 

[Tetras]

I would actually love to do a Lian Li build as I've always held their cases in high regard, but I think this one might be a bit on the small side - will check if a 4070 will fit.

Zotac's twin edge fits no problem in that case, the freezer 36 is fine too.

 

[Craig_d1]

Hi,

I would actually love to do a Lian Li build as I've always held their cases in high regard, but I think this one might be a bit on the small side - will check if a 4070 will fit.

Quite suprised they don't seem to offfer any closed cases now.

gpu max length 415mm..it'll fit a strix 4090 no problem. new case designed for bigger gpu's

 

[snakefood]

Morning all,

Pay day's approaching, so thought I'd get the build in a basket to see how close I get to budget - turns out, not very lol. A few items were still on pre-order, and there's a couple of decent discounts running, so upgrading to raptor only added £20, and 6GHz ram was pretty cheap as well.

So looks like I'll end up about £400 over budget, once I factor in the cost of a copy of Win11, that does include a nice screen tho. Please take a look at the below list, see if there any easy swap outs we could make, at this budget to offer any improvements?

I'm thinking this should easily do quite well for a 5+ year rig?

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6KD-AS) = £149.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO/XMP 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRS-00996) = £82.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £499.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-NVI-03769) = £0.00
• 1 x Crucial T700 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen5 M.2 Solid State Drive (CT1000T700SSD3) (SKU: HD-07C-CR) = £143.99
• 1 x Corsair RMe Series RM850e Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply v2 (CP-9020263-UK) (SKU: CA-27N-CS) = £94.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-13400 (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BC-IN) = £199.99
• 1 x Intel Holiday Bundle - Assassin's Creed Shadows + Ubisoft Plus (SKU: DIG-INT-03637) = £0.00
• 1 x Acer 27" Nitro VG272UV3bmiipx 2560x1440 IPS 180Hz 0.5ms FreeSync Widescreen Gami (SKU: MON-ACR-01463) = £149.99
• 1 x be quiet Silent Base 802 Midi Tower Case - Black (SKU: CA-146-BQ) = £139.99
• 3 x be quiet Pure Wings 3 140mm PWM Fan (SKU: COO-BEQ-01131) = £9.95
• 2 x Phanteks Y-cable for 4-pin PWM Fan (SKU: CB-000-PT) = £2.59
• 1 x Kolink 4-Pin PWM Extension 30 cm - black (SKU: CB-00A-KK) = £2.00
• 1 x Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE Dual Tower CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02723) = £36.94

Total: £1,535.89 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[freddie64]

That NVME drive is Gen5, but the motherboard takes Gen4. (pci-e 5 is for GPU only)

Swap for either of these 1TB or 2TB drives. (or both )

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01089) = £58.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01090) = £99.95

Total: £162.94 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

Do you need the extra fans? Case comes with 3 x 140mm fans included and should be sufficient.

 

[snakefood]

That NVME drive is Gen5, but the motherboard takes Gen4. (pci-e 5 is for GPU only)

Swap for either of these 1TB or 2TB drives. (or both )

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01089) = £58.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01090) = £99.95

Total: £162.94 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

Do you need the extra fans? Case comes with 3 x 140mm fans included and should be sufficient.

I was thinking of adding the three fans up top, thinking more fans would run slower = quieter?
Cheers for the PCI info, I indeed thought it was for m2 support.

 

[freddie64]

I was thinking of adding the three fans up top, thinking more fans would run slower = quieter?
Cheers for the PCI info, I indeed thought it was for m2 support.

Possibly with the fans, but it might disrupt the airflow and make it less efficent.

I would try with only the supplied fans (2 in the front and 1 in the back) and use the blanking plate on the roof of the case.

If it does not cool enough, swap to the vented roof plate. If still not good enough, then think about adding fans.

 

[snakefood]

Possibly with the fans, but it might disrupt the airflow and make it less efficent.

I would try with only the supplied fans (2 in the front and 1 in the back) and use the blanking plate on the roof of the case.

If it does not cool enough, swap to the vented roof plate. If still not good enough, then think about adding fans.

Many thanks, those couple of savings will pay for a copy of 11 home.

 

[snakefood]

Just adding a new link here in case the basket empties before Friday

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6KD-AS) = £149.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO/XMP 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRS-00996) = £82.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £499.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Indiana Jones and The Great Circle Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-NVI-03769) = £0.00
• 1 x Corsair RMe Series RM850e Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply v2 (CP-9020263-UK) (SKU: CA-27N-CS) = £94.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-13400 (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BC-IN) = £200.00
• 1 x Intel Holiday Bundle - Assassin's Creed Shadows + Ubisoft Plus (SKU: DIG-INT-03637) = £0.00
• 1 x Acer 27" Nitro VG272UV3bmiipx 2560x1440 IPS 180Hz 0.5ms FreeSync Widescreen Gami (SKU: MON-ACR-01463) = £149.98
• 1 x be quiet Silent Base 802 Midi Tower Case - Black (SKU: CA-146-BQ) = £140.00
• 1 x Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE Dual Tower CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02723) = £36.94
• 1 x Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01089) = £59.00

Total: £1,413.88 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Gilbert89]

Many thanks, those couple of savings will pay for a copy of 11 home.

If you have a USB Storage Drive - You can download via Microsoft a Windows 11 Installation Tools which allows you to boot from the USB Drive and Install Windows.

You can also use Windows Un-Activated losing some customisation such as Task Bar, Desktop Wallpaper etc.

But if you want an activated copy then Activations Keys can be bought online (I recently paid £9.99) but did have to activate via their automated phone call process but for 10 minutes of my time I saved a chunk of money.

Some keys depending where from will work without the phone call method.

 

[snakefood]

If you have a USB Storage Drive - You can download via Microsoft a Windows 11 Installation Tools which allows you to boot from the USB Drive and Install Windows.

You can also use Windows Un-Activated losing some customisation such as Task Bar, Desktop Wallpaper etc.

But if you want an activated copy then Activations Keys can be bought online (I recently paid £9.99) but did have to activate via their automated phone call process but for 10 minutes of my time I saved a chunk of money.

Some keys depending where from will work without the phone call method.

Cheers, I'm aware of the digital version of Windows, was planning on purchasing this direct from MS tho, just to save any possible issues with authentication in the future.