Gaming build for 4k (res not cash haha)

Deception

Deception

Deception

Soldato
Joined
23 Apr 2006
Posts
6,494
Location
Nottingham
Hi everyone,

Looking at getting the Mrs a 4k gaming rig so she can play her favourite games like Anno 1800, Planet Zoo and everyone building game she likes (has been pestering me for a 4k monitor, but I know this current PC wont be able to handle it).

I've been out of the game way too long to know what's good these days. I can probably stretch to £3k for a PC and then I need to look at a monitor unless anyone has an idea on that too, that would be great.

Thanks!
 
I was originally looking at the AMD 5900X, but with Alderlake now out, it looks like that has a good boost and comes in cheaper. Would I be better off going with DDR5 or DDR4 RAM? Also, what GPU would be ok, I was thinking anything from a 3080 upwards?

Thanks
 
Looking at the configurator, I was wondering if something like this would be ok or a bit overkill:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Gaming Zirconium Ice - Intel Core i7 12700KF, GeForce RTX 3000 Series Gaming PC = £3,163.97
    • Memory:Team Group Night Hawk RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - RGB Black (TF1D
    • Primary M.2 Solid State Drive:Samsung 980 Pro 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
    • Secondary M.2 Solid State Drive:Unwanted
    • Primary 2.5" Solid State Drive:TeamGroup 1TB Vulcan G SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 3D NAND Solid State Drive
    • Operating System:Unwanted
    • Security Software:Unwanted
    • Processor:Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.60GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - OEM
    • Graphics Card:*Build Stock* Asus GeForce RTX 3080 ROG Strix Gaming OC White Edition 10GB GDDR6X Graphics Card
Total: £3,178.07 (includes shipping: £14.10)​
​

I was wondering if it was worth changing the 3080 to a Ti (can't see it as an option with that build) or is that enough to tide the other-half over :D
 
The PC you have put together above it excellent in everyway. For the amount of money it costs it should be. I am not sure if OCUK colour match all the components for the all over white aestetic but I hope they do. The only problem I have with that build is that they use the XL case , it is an excellent case but it is very large and designed for full water cooling loops, with it being so large it will look kind of empty with so little in it. They could put the same components in the O11 Dynamic or O11 Mini and would be a smaller case overall and look better because it would not look so empty. Adding extra fans would help to fill it and make it look better but still the smaller case is a better option.

You are aiming for 4k gaming and the 3080/3080ti/3090 stretch their lead over the other cards at that res so it is hard to find other systems in the configurator that also have a 3080 or better and save you money on what you have put together.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Gaming Khopesh - Ryzen 5900X, GeForce RTX Gaming PC = £2,868.91
    • Memory:Crucial Ballistix RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C16 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit
    • Processor:*Build Stock* AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Twelve Core 4.8GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Tray
    • Graphics Card:*Build Stock* MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X 10GB GDDR6X Graphics Card
    • Primary Solid State Drive:WD Black SN850 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T1X0E)
    • Primary 2.5" Solid State Drive:TeamGroup 1TB Vulcan G SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 3D NAND Solid State Drive
    • Secondary 2.5" Solid State Drive :Unwanted
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 Home Advanced - Systems
    • Security Software:**Special Offer** Bullguard Internet Security - Anti-Virus and Security - 1 Year 3 PC
Total: £2,883.01 (includes shipping: £14.10)
​

This is an equivalent Ryzen build that is a little cheaper but not much. If you went for this route you would want to ring up and get them to change the PSU to a 80 plus Gold unit from a more highly regarded brand.

Edit-

Monitors - Not my area of expertise at all. Because the good woman is looking to play slower paced strategy games you could go for a 55" LG C1 OLED TV. Not sure if the desk you are putting it on is large enough but is an option. Hopefully someone else can let you know what the better monitors are. You may want to help them out by letting them know what sort of size you are aiming for with the monitor.
 
Another thing to consider. Intel 12th gen apparently has some issues with games that have Denuvo DRM. They are being patched and sorted out but that is mainly only for Win 11 and the Win 10 fixes will lag behind by a fair few months. I do not know if any of the games she plays will be effected but something you should be aware of.
 
Haz123 said:
Another thing to consider. Intel 12th gen apparently has some issues with games that have Denuvo DRM. They are being patched and sorted out but that is mainly only for Win 11 and the Win 10 fixes will lag behind by a fair few months. I do not know if any of the games she plays will be effected but something you should be aware of.
Click to expand...
Apparently msi has done a bios tweak which you can enable legacy mode in windows to disable those little cores.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....der-lakes-biggest-drawbacks-with-a-bios-tweak
 
You don't need a highend system for those games even at 4k, as they are quite playable at 25-30fps.

For example I can put planet coaster on and play quite nicely at 4k at circa 12fps on a 4650 APU, this is not as terrible as it sounds in this style of game, I've not tried Anno but can certainly see what level it plays at and how it feels, but that's how light these titles are, so GPU can be scaled down. I did used to play Anno on my laptop with a HD650 but that was only 1080p and had bells and whistlkes off, where as the AMD APU can run with most on and just scaled back AA.

So it might be the case her current machines GPU could be up for it depending on what it is and you can avoid the current silly pricing of GPUs.

An average system for those titles at 4k would set you back ~1k. on the monitor front due to many static GUI elements avoid OLED entirely but decide a size you are comfortable with, if she has good eyes or is close to screen 4k @32" might be fine but me personally prefer at least 40" so I don't have to use GUI scaling wasting screen realestate when playing such titles.
 
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sandys said:
You don't need a highend system for those games even at 4k, as they are quite playable at 25-30fps.

For example I can put planet coaster on and play quite nicely at 4k at circa 12fps on a 4650 APU, this is not as terrible as it sounds in this style of game, I've not tried Anno but can certainly see what level it plays at and how it feels, but that's how light these titles are, so GPU can be scaled down. I did used to play Anno on my laptop with a HD650 but that was only 1080p and had bells and whistlkes off, where as the AMD APU can run with most on and just scaled back AA.

So it might be the case her current machines GPU could be up for it depending on what it is and you can avoid the current silly pricing of GPUs.

An average system for those titles at 4k would set you back ~1k. on the monitor front due to many static GUI elements avoid OLED entirely but decide a size you are comfortable with, if she has good eyes or is close to screen 4k @32" might be fine but me personally prefer at least 40" so I don't have to use GUI scaling wasting screen realestate when playing such titles.
Click to expand...

In terms of her current machine:

I7 6700K
32GB DDR4 RAM
1070 GPU

It starts to struggle after a lot of stuff is placed on the map (have told her to build smaller cities haha) and this is gaming at 1080. I've turned down the graphic settings, but she seems to want all the eyecandy.

In terms of monitors, she is playing on my old 24" BenchQ XL24020T. I would probably look at a 28" as I think a 32" might be a little too big for her.

@Haz123 Thanks for the machine spec. I was originally looking at the AMD, then came on here and saw people talking about Alderlake and thought I'd wait a little longer for it to come out and see what it's like :D

Now I'm starting to remember why I didn't like upgrading my PC when I used to game :cry:
 
You could sell the current system above and build your own. Not too hard with standard air coolers or AIO. Or even reuse some components in the new build

Look for good deals around Black Friday then wrap up all the individual components for Christmas. The Mrs would think you had been the best partner ever by buying her loads of large presents and imagine her joy when she removed the wrapper to find a 80plus Gold PSU ;).

By Boxing Day, once you had built the PC , you could use it to visit divorcelawyersforcluelesshusbands.noob. You may need their services.
 
Deception said:
It starts to struggle after a lot of stuff is placed on the map (have told her to build smaller cities haha) and this is gaming at 1080. I've turned down the graphic settings, but she seems to want all the eyecandy.
Click to expand...

I have a an OC'd 5950x and 3080Ti and you are still looking at 30-60fps @ 4k with all bells and whistles on on a big world, and despite the extra fps the gameplay experience is not really improved over my 1080Ti, yes OK scrolling is smoother, big whup, the new system uses a few 100w more power for meh improvement.

Generally it's a CPU/RAM performance limit, so alderlake and your 1070 might provide a surprising performance uplift but really some of the graphics setting offer very little for big performance hit so would suggest looking at optimization guides.

Deception said:
In terms of monitors, she is playing on my old 24" BenchQ XL24020T. I would probably look at a 28" as I think a 32" might be a little too big for her.
Click to expand...

a 28" 4k will have very small pixels with 100% scaling. And you want 100% scaling to make used of real estate a 4k screen can give you in RTS for GUI elements etc, once you start to use scaling you turn that 4k screen into something akin to a 1440p screen, particulalry at windows default option when you have a small 4k which is something like 300 (can't remember now, it was so long ago)
 
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sandys said:
I have a an OC'd 5950x and 3080Ti and you are still looking at 30-60fps @ 4k with all bells and whistles on on a big world, and despite the extra fps the gameplay experience is not really improved over my 1080Ti, yes OK scrolling is smoother, big whup, the new system uses a few 100w more power for meh improvement.

Generally it's a CPU/RAM performance limit, so alderlake and your 1070 might provide a surprising performance uplift but really some of the graphics setting offer very little for big performance hit so would suggest looking at optimization guides.



a 28" 4k will have very small pixels with 100% scaling. And you want 100% scaling to make used of real estate a 4k screen can give you in RTS for GUI elements etc, once you start to use scaling you turn that 4k screen into something akin to a 1440p screen, particulalry at windows default option when you have a small 4k which is something like 300 (can't remember now, it was so long ago)
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for testing the game out on your machine, its really appreciated. I haven't done any gaming in over 10yrs when 120hz and SSDs just became a thing haha.

In terms of the monitor size itself, what would be the ideal res as if I needed to get a bigger one, I could probably stretch.. Happy wife.. n all that :D
 
There is so much choice in the type of monitors these days it is impossible to say what the best is. Do you need 4k sharpness , do you want an ultrawide, do you want a curved monitor , do you need super high refresh rate etc etc.

Taking another websites advice on the best monitors-

4k - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...-hdr400-widescreen-gaming-moni-mo-00q-gi.html

34" ultrawide - LG 34GP83A-B

Those are 2 I would personally consider along with the Samsung G9 Neo but that one is a risk. Having used a 34" curved Ultrawide for past few years I could never go back to a smaller monitor.

HUB best 4K monitor review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTlflVrhmzE
 
Haz123 said:
You could sell the current system above and build your own. Not too hard with standard air coolers or AIO. Or even reuse some components in the new build

Look for good deals around Black Friday then wrap up all the individual components for Christmas. The Mrs would think you had been the best partner ever by buying her loads of large presents and imagine her joy when she removed the wrapper to find a 80plus Gold PSU ;).

By Boxing Day, once you had built the PC , you could use it to visit divorcelawyersforcluelesshusbands.noob. You may need their services.
Click to expand...
:cry::cry::cry:
 
My son loves planet coaster. it's just been taken off gamepass I think, so may have to buy it for him

If you went self build, below would be along the lines Haz123 mentioned with standard 011d rather than the XL. Build includes the extra fans as well as the aio so the glass box doesn't look so empty. You could try out your current gpu to see if the new cpu gives a good uplift, or get a new one after..3080ti's around £1350/£1400 online. I put the SN570 in there as it's the new version of the SN550(£69), but type of nvme is personal choice, SN750 £114, SN850 £150 odd

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,411.99 (includes shipping: £13.20)
​
 
Deception said:
Thanks a lot for testing the game out on your machine, its really appreciated. I haven't done any gaming in over 10yrs when 120hz and SSDs just became a thing haha.

In terms of the monitor size itself, what would be the ideal res as if I needed to get a bigger one, I could probably stretch.. Happy wife.. n all that :D
Click to expand...

No worries, that performance was in reference to Anno 1800, and was no issue as I actually play those games though just realize you said planet zoo not coaster, I would assume quite similar loading though.

Hard to recommend what sort of resolution and screen size will work for someone as it's all down to your personal preferences and what you are comfortable with, for me anything over 140dpi starts to become a challenge for text legibility as the screen is almost a metre away and I'm an old man, so I might need to use dpi scaling in that scenario.

I use a 43" 4K screen and a 38" 3840x1600 screen these are in the 100-110dpi range, I can use these without scaling at that distance comfortably. If I was closer to the screen I could get away with less, I have a 14" 1080p second screen which is 160dpi and that is fine for me sat in front of my keyboard less than half distance from my main screen, a 32inch 4k at this distance would be fine for me but not when positioned where I'd want my main screen.
 
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by the way, a nvidia gpu drop just happened in europe so may get the same over here in the next couple of days..you may have a chance at getting a3000 series gpu at msrp then..download telegram, join fepartalert and fingers crossed...they've had 3080ti and 3090 in drop, so talking £1049 for the 3080ti and £1399 for 3090....and a 3080
 
Deception said:
In terms of her current machine:

I7 6700K
32GB DDR4 RAM
1070 GPU

It starts to struggle after a lot of stuff is placed on the map (have told her to build smaller cities haha) and this is gaming at 1080. I've turned down the graphic settings, but she seems to want all the eyecandy.

In terms of monitors, she is playing on my old 24" BenchQ XL24020T. I would probably look at a 28" as I think a 32" might be a little too big for her.

@Haz123 Thanks for the machine spec. I was originally looking at the AMD, then came on here and saw people talking about Alderlake and thought I'd wait a little longer for it to come out and see what it's like :D

Now I'm starting to remember why I didn't like upgrading my PC when I used to game :cry:
Click to expand...
That was exact same as my previous rig! I could play BF4 at 4K, but BF5 was no good at ultra settings, FS2020 was stuffed as well, partly with only 4 cores, but 1070 didn't have enough grunt. 10 cores and 3080 is a world of difference.
BTW, I like 32in at 4K, but wish I had more than 60hz ... mind you its 5 years old now ;)
 
Just a word of advice, I have a 5900x and am suffering what seems to be a fairly common problem. Random restarts. Not OC'd everything default. It's really annoying and I am thinking of getting rid and going back to my 3900x
 
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