New Gaming Desktop Advice

tylerjp

tylerjp

tylerjp

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Joined
7 Oct 2017
Posts
43
Hi...

So I've posted a couple of times in the past week looking for advice on buying a new system, and i'm ready to buy now as my old desktop has just died.

So, I'm now asking for some recommendations on a new desktop.

Here are my requirements:

1) I want to play games maxed out at highest settings, up to 4K, so for this I am wanting a GTX 1080ti
2) It needs to have 2x HDMI ports for 2 monitors.
3) It also needs to run photoshop very smoothly, as I am a freelance digital artist, so this is very important!
4) I also want it to be future proof... I want to invest in something that is going to last a long time, that I can upgrade when the time comes.
5) And I want it pre-built.... I don't have the knowledge to build it myself!
6) I'm looking at a price of around £2000, ideally less! I'm willing to sacrifice things such as visuals with the case, but would prefer something that is more silent.
7) OH! And it needs to have built in wi-fi


My knowledge of parts is limited, so any suggestions would really be appreciated!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!
 
Last edited:
Hi,

At 4K the CPU isn't so vital, but for photoshop it's fast cores rather than many cores. So right now the i5-8600K fits the bill. For longevity you could go with an i7-8700K if you wanted. However, if main tasks continue to be gaming and photoshop it could be a number of years before the i5 starts to struggle.

With Intel Coffee Lake + Z370 motherboard, you will not be able to upgrade to a future processor except by changing motherboard too. This is something that would be possible with AMD Ryzen and an AM4 motherboard but it is unknown; some might say doubtful, some may be more hopeful; whether future processors for AM4 will surpass Coffee Lake's brute IPC strength. You'll be able to add on a different video card no problem, maybe more RAM (if you don't use all slots), more drives depending on the case and your needs.

Prices being what they are, and your requirements indicating you want solid and quiet stuff, I've put together three specs including i7, i5 and Ryzen 1600X. The latter will perform the same for 4K gaming and be a little slower at photoshop, but is more affordable.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £2,054.00
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​




My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,964.00
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,832.00
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​


You can also look for pre-builds on the website. But if you prefer a custom spec they will also build it. For this, best to contact through the Customer Service forum and ask them for a quote.
 
@tylerjp

The above are solid choices if your happy to watch some YouTube videos or see if OCUk can build

Here's a pre-build - case can be changed but 8th gen i5 8600k Coffee lake and GTX 1080 Ti!!!!!!

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Gaming Gallium Overclocked Gaming PC - Intel Core i5 8600K @ 4.8GHz = £1,937.99
    • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30
    • Graphics Card:Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080Ti Gaming OC BLACK 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card
    • Solid State Drive (Primary):Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
    • Solid State Drive (Secondary):Unwanted
    • Storage Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST2000DM006)
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • Security Software:Bullguard Anti-Virus 2017 - 1 PC 1 Year **Offer Price**
    • Case:phanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass RGB Special Edition - Black/White
    • Lighting:Bitfenix Alchemy 2.0 Magnetic RGB LED Strip - 30cm

Total: £1,952.09
(includes shipping: £14.10)



​
 
Last edited:
shipping puts it just over the £2k mark, but if you lower the 500gb sdd back to its originally spec 250gb then its £39 saving allows you to buy a usb dvd drive to install the windows, that or keep it as it is and just remove the windows option then buy the usb install version separate.

it comes selected with a 1070, but the budget allowed the 1080ti option as it did with the upping to 7700k, its £160 to add 32gb ram option should you need it, so a raised budget or a downgrade somewhere to fit it in.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x Titan Virtual Force VR Gaming PC - Intel Core i5 6600K @ 4.5GHz, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Graphic = £1,987.98
    • Graphics Card:Asus GeForce GTX 1080Ti ROG Strix OC 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card
    • Primary Drive:Samsung 500GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E500B/EU)
    • Secondary Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST2000DM006)
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • LED Lighting:Phanteks RGB LED Strip Starter Kit (PH-LEDKT_CMBO)
    • Case:Phanteks Eclipse P400 Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal Window
    • Virtual Reality Headset:Unwanted
    • Processor:Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz (Kaby Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
    • Memory:Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK16GX4M2A24

Total: £2,002.08
(includes shipping: £14.10)



​


or theres this coffee lake system, again shipping puts it over budget, however there is an Aorus 8gb 580 version for £30 less, wont be as strong as the 1080ti either way, but intel meant to be stronger performers, this is pre-config spec, i didnt alter anything.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Gaming Neon Overclocked Gaming PC - Intel Core i7 8700K @ 4.9GHz = £1,999.99
    • Case:In-Win 805 Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Black
    • Memory:Team Group Night Hawk RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - RGB Black (TF1D4
    • Solid State Drive (Primary):Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
    • Solid State Drive (Secondary):Unwanted
    • Storage Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST3000DM008 )
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • Security Software:Bullguard Anti-Virus 2017 - 1 PC 1 Year **Offer Price**
    • Graphics:PowerColor Radeon RX 580 Red Devil 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Total: £2,014.09
(includes shipping: £14.10)



​


then you got these from AMD side, i chose the 1800x option as it comes with a free nitro chair which might not be needed, but they are expensive seats, so its a bonus or only £69 on top, this build allowed for 32gb ram to be added, also its a vega 64 only for the graphics, this pack also comes with couple cool games aswell.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x Radbox Pro AMD VR Ready Gaming PC - AMD Ryzen 7 1700X, Radeon Vega 64 8GB = £1,947.98
    • Case:In-Win 101 Midi-Tower Case - White Window
    • Graphics:Sapphire Radeon RX VEGA 64 8GB HBM2 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Stand Alone
    • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD432G2
    • CPU:AMD Ryzen 7 1800X WIth Free Nitro Concepts Gaming Chair
    • Primary Solid State Drive:Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
    • Secondary Solid State Drive:Unwanted
    • Storage Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST2000DM006)
    • Sound Card:Unwanted
    • WIFI:Unwanted
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • Security Software:Bullguard Anti-Virus 2017 - 1 PC 1 Year **Offer Price**

Total: £1,962.08
(includes shipping: £14.10)



​


this one also has 32gb ram option, i wouldve chose the 2nd gpu for the sli option, but they are all well over double what the add on cost for the single 1080 which i chose as it is better than the pre-selected 1070, i didnt bother with choosing 1700x or 1800x that both come with the free chair this time(+ £51 for the 1700x ), but if you ever did want to go SLI this system is packed with an 850w power supply so your good to go, this build also allowed a 500gb ssd to be added and staying in budget,

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x Titan Nodachi Overclocked SLI Pro Gaming PC - AMD Ryzen 1700 @ 3.80GHz = £1,977.98
    • Case:Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Glass Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal
    • CPU:AMD Ryzen 7 Eight Core 1700 3.70GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
    • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD432G2
    • Primary Solid State Drive / Hard Drive:Samsung 500GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E500B/EU)
    • Secondary Solid State Drive / Hard Drive:Unwanted
    • Storage Mechanical Hard Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST2000DM006)
    • Optical Drive **Please Check Case Support**:Unwanted
    • Lighting:Unwanted
    • Operating System:Unwanted
    • Build Time:Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days
    • Security Software:Unwanted
    • Graphics card:Asus GeForce GTX 1080 Turbo 8192MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card
    • Graphics card 2 (SLI):Unwanted

Total: £1,992.08
(includes shipping: £14.10)



​
 
Danny75 said:
Hi,

At 4K the CPU isn't so vital, but for photoshop it's fast cores rather than many cores. So right now the i5-8600K fits the bill. For longevity you could go with an i7-8700K if you wanted. However, if main tasks continue to be gaming and photoshop it could be a number of years before the i5 starts to struggle.

With Intel Coffee Lake + Z370 motherboard, you will not be able to upgrade to a future processor except by changing motherboard too. This is something that would be possible with AMD Ryzen and an AM4 motherboard but it is unknown; some might say doubtful, some may be more hopeful; whether future processors for AM4 will surpass Coffee Lake's brute IPC strength. You'll be able to add on a different video card no problem, maybe more RAM (if you don't use all slots), more drives depending on the case and your needs.

Prices being what they are, and your requirements indicating you want solid and quiet stuff, I've put together three specs including i7, i5 and Ryzen 1600X. The latter will perform the same for 4K gaming and be a little slower at photoshop, but is more affordable.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £2,054.00
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​




My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,964.00
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,832.00
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​


You can also look for pre-builds on the website. But if you prefer a custom spec they will also build it. For this, best to contact through the Customer Service forum and ask them for a quote.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for all of those recommendations... Really good of you to take the time to do that. A quick question..... What is the difference between an i5 and an i7?
 
tylerjp said:
Thank you so much for all of those recommendations... Really good of you to take the time to do that. A quick question..... What is the difference between an i5 and an i7?
Click to expand...

i7 is a hyper Thread Enabled i5 basically . New generations have 6 cores each, but the i5 cores process one thread each, the i7 processor 2 threads. Like an artificial core - in a very very quick basic sense . You can gain 30-50+% increase in applications depending on how well it's been coded . Raytracing on CAD, loves threads ! The more the better !
Games now are recommended with at least 4 threads , whether that's by 4 cores that handle a single thread each or 2 cores that can handle 2 threads each. But more cores the better in most recent titles
 
orbitalwalsh said:
i7 is a hyper Thread Enabled i5 basically . New generations have 6 cores each, but the i5 cores process one thread each, the i7 processor 2 threads. Like an artificial core - in a very very quick basic sense . You can gain 30-50+% increase in applications depending on how well it's been coded . Raytracing on CAD, loves threads ! The more the better !
Games now are recommended with at least 4 threads , whether that's by 4 cores that handle a single thread each or 2 cores that can handle 2 threads each. But more cores the better in most recent titles
Click to expand...
great! thanks for that.... sounds like an i7 would be my best choice then,.... especially for the system being future proofed!
 
tylerjp said:
great! thanks for that.... sounds like an i7 would be my best choice then,.... especially for the system being future proofed!
Click to expand...

Careful with words, future proof would mean board can house new gen CPU which it won't. Or have core performance increased /hidden cores unlocked etc etc
But that core is powerful and fast enough to last a long time :)

Just shame it will cost an arm and a leg for an i7 , i5 is value point for gamers
 
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