Gaming build for 4k (res not cash haha)

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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!

 

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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

 

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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

 

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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.

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

Now I'm starting to remember why I didn't like upgrading my PC when I used to game

 

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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)

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