I NEED YOU! : £4000 Gaming & Workstation PC Build Support

Seventh

Seventh

Seventh

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1 Apr 2020
Posts
13
Hey all,

I am looking to upgrade a 5-year old desktop to a more current and dare I say "Future-proof" machine and I would like to enlist the expertise of the OCUK forums to guide this process!

I am going with AMD for the CPU and Nvidia for the GPU with the aim of attaining fast Photoshop & Premiere Pro multitasking as well as gaming performance and upgradeability as I have a PC workbench on order to test and build additional PCs for friends.

The current spec list I have going is as follows, including a few peripherals that also needed updates:

PC Build:

* AMD Ryzen 3950x
* Nvidia RTX 2080TI Founders Edition
* X570 Gigabyte Aorus Master WiFi Motherboard
* Seagate 3TB Barracuda HDD 3.5" 7200rpm 256mb Cache
* Corsair MP510 NVMe M.2 SSD (Boot Drive & AAA Game Storage alongside Adobe File Storage)
* G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB (2x16gb) DDR4 3600mhz CL16 RAM
* Corsair RM750x Fully Modular 80 PLus Gold Certified PSU
* Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic Razer Edition
* Corsair QL120 Fans & Core Module (x6 Units)
* NZXT Z73 LCD AIO 360mm with 3x 120mm PWN Fans (Included).

Peripherals:

* Logitech G502 Hero White Edition Wired Mouse
* Secretlab Omega Cookies & Cream Edition
* Gigabyte Aorus FI27Q IPS Gaming Monitor

This build all in comes to around £4200 Total including the required Peripherals at current p,rices not including any promotions or discounts.

This is the build I am aiming for. I am going to be purchasing during one of the annual promotional windows where either retailer' are offering seasonal discounts or new hardware is about to come through, bringing existing prices down to compensate.

Is there anywhere I can save money for similar performance?
Are there better alternative parts for the aspects I have listed here?
What recommendations would you have for changes to be made?

I truly believe OCUK has the expertise to help me out here and I would be grateful for any and all input provided by the community. Yes, of course, the build will be published here when it is ordered and put together by myself!

For those interested, the build this new one would supersede is as follow:

Existing Build:

* CPU: Intel I5-4690k
* GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960
* RAM: 8GB
* MOBO: ASUS H81

Not sure on full spec gives you an idea the jump i am looking to invest into. XD


Thanks all and have a great day!
 
Last edited:
Thank you, Bongo, for your research into the needs outlined and provided a really comprehensive response.

Threadripper was definitely a route I had not considered due to its workstation orientation. However, perhaps I am swinging more in favour of the gaming side as opposed to the workstation side as I should be.

I am very much a fan of subdued builds with minimalistic design inspiration. I am going for a "Blackout" Design Inspiration after having compared across the RGB cost to performance compared to similar performing non-rgb components. Sure, it will not look as good on Instagram or just sat within the workstation but then again, the performance will be streaks ahead with a Threadripper build as you have outlined compared to the 3950x.

I do not entirely understand the Threadripper line of CPU'. Can someone with the knowledge here provide me a TLDR on their range that I can use to perform deeper research?

Thanks all so far!
 
So what I can deduce, assuming that TR means Threadripper. Is that the 2080ti should be dropped for whatever GPU' come out next or simply downgraded to another GPU within Nvidia' current lineup, or to invest in whatever AMD brings to the GPU market given their current strong performance in the CPU space.

Sorry I am still a bit confused on that particular point @sideways14a
 
Does anyone know of any good videos benchmarking the threadripper against Intel competing CPU' and AMD' lower range of CPU' such as the 3900x / 3950x etc.

Cheers all so far!
 
Alrighty, all! Thank you for all your responses thus far, if anyone wishes to chime in with their views and opinions on this build then please do so. I have all notifications on for this thread as it updates and will do my best to reply to all of those that contribute.

Potentially could be called the "Black Pearl"? Just an idea I have been toying with having a complete blacked out system with subtle black RGB elements.

Interesting possibilities at play here, I will keep the thread updated.

Thanks all so far!
 
Alright. I have had a look over the Threadripper. I think Ryzen, in the form of the 3950x or whatever comes next generation if that comes by the time I decide to purchase will be the chipset I go for. TR seems very professional workstation focused whereas my build I believe is much more enthusiast based as things sit.

Eventually I may see the complete value in TR but cannot really justify it now. Holding back on the GPU is an excellent idea, as such, I'll keep tabs on the next set of GPU' released and make a decision then.

Keep the info coming guys!
 
November/December 2020 is the timeframe I am looking at for purchase primarily because:

1. Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Christmas Deals normally provide the best window for discounting on PC parts.
2. Nvidia at that point should have released their new GPU' providing a choice and price vs performance argument for both the existing GPU selection and their new selection against AMD' new and existing GPU' as well.
3. Also, saving up £3-4k for just a PC does take time as such, I am tempering my expectations accordingly to avoid disappointing myself with an unrealistic timescale.

I hope this provides clarity @Journey to the questions you raised in your previous post.
 
@wookiee87 Thank you for your insight. I think I am going with the mainstream socket. It will probably be the 3950x given the price to performance of the chipset as well as the additional funds that could be ploughed into a higher spec GPU - As you say, potentially Titan Class of Nvidia' next set.

I think the storage does need to be looked at potentially 3 drives is what I am looking at now having done further research.

* 2 SSD' with 2TB capacity each. (PSD & Premiere Pro Files / Standard File Storage etc.)
* 1 NVmE M.2 SSD with 1-2TB capacity (AAA Games / OS Boot Drive/ Anything else necessitating fast access and read/write speeds - Corsair' MP510 Drive offers excellent Price to Performance in this space however the 970 Evo Plus will be considered given its hefty expense).

This will prevent, as you say potential storage bottlenecking whilst also providing 5TB+ of minimum 550mb read and write speeds for storage access.

If anyone has any further insight on the build I posted at the top of the thread please get involved!
 
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