New rig from scratch - deffo need some help :)

Biggilus

Biggilus

Biggilus

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So my current rig is an i3 4690K and RX480. Old but still fairly decent at 1080p. Building a new setup and a lot has changed in those years with undervolting sounding like its the new overclocking, all sorts of talk I see about PCIe and lane sharing on some boards (still don't get what this means overall). Price isn't a huge factor for me and can go above what I priced up below:

1 X Asus ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard - £379.99
SKU: MB-6J7-AS
1 X Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XT Gaming 20GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £829.99
SKU: GX-3A2-SP
1 X AMD Radeon™ Get The Game Bundle - The Last of Us™ Part I - £0.00
SKU: XX-03D-AM
1 X Corsair Vengeance EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK32GX5M2D6000Z36) - £149.99
SKU: MY-4DF-CS
1 X Corsair RMx Series RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (CP-9020199-UK) - £129.95
SKU: CA-266-CS
2 X Crucial P5P 2TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 3D NAND NVMe Solid State Drive - £179.99
SKU: HD-075-CR
1 X Phanteks NV7 D-RGB with Front and Side Glass Panels Full Tower Case - Black - £199.99
SKU: CA-0BQ-PT
Grand Total: £2,049.89

But deffo want some advice/input on the above for my needs 90% gaming at 1440p (will want to go 4k but don't think that's worth unless I grab a 4090 and expensive monitor).

CPU - Preordered a 7800X3D three hours after going on sale so have plenty of time to sort out these other bits I need.
GPU - Did intend to go for a 6800XT but after watching a Hardware Unboxed vid it seems the 7900XT is better £/performance (just about). Did think about hitting up a 7900XTX which isn't out of the equation too. Happy to look at nVidia but AMD seems cheaper as usual. Main toughts on this is to upgrade eventually to full RT at 4k in a few years time.
Motherboard - is that too excessive in terms of "futureproof" features? Seems like a lot for a mobo but I know AM5 ones are priced a lot higher than usual.
Storage - Guess my situation would be one fast one slow(er) like I have now (SSD and HDD) but happy to have two fast if price is negligible.
Cooling - always gone for air cooling but happy to give water cooling a try if its a lot more beneficial for AM5 - how many more fans/things would I need?
Case - Not a fan of multicoolour RGB (despite the fact full RGB makes things run 10-15% better) but I have seen some sexy two tone setups like white and red. But would adding this significantly alter the price?
PSU - Not much to say but a quiet one that covers the needs of the above is grand.

Would love input, thoughts and recommendations :)
 
Amazing thanks for the info. Don't think I'lll ever need to add on to that so a micro ATX should suffice - never considered this.
Never done liquid cooling before, is it a pain to setup? Guessing I'll be fine with a YT vid or two.
Love how an XTX is therre and the overrall price iss very simillar too. Should see me through quite a while

Ty :)
 
Sweet thanks for the input. Your sentence regarding the storage all went over my head though!
Cooling wise I'd like a quiet setup so assume water is better for that?

Last thing I need to decide on is gpu. Love the fact you two priced up a system fir the same as what I did and got a 7900xtx in there but the sheer gall to spank £1k on a gpu just doesn't sit right with me. May opt for a 6800xt and upgrade when RT can be done well at 1440p at least and maybe 4k (nonono 4090 just no lol)
 
I know it seems silly when I write it down, probably will end up with the £1k card as my budget isn't set in stone. Just got to suck it up that current times makes it super pricey.

So if I went air cooling, I'd need a decent CPU heatsink and a bunch of 140mm fans? Three front and three back/top?
 
Oh yea not looking for totally silent, just don't want it sounding like a hair dryer is inside the thing at half load. I remmeber I had an AMD GPU years ago a HD 6870 or something that jesus that thing got loud.
 
tamzzy said:
my arctic aio is pretty silent :)


your budget is £2.5K so that's the best combination for the budget
of course if you want best value...then you're well past the value curve
Click to expand...
This got me thinking, where do yoou see the payoff for performance/price? I totally get I'm on the pricey end with all the new kit, but an alternative I was thinking aboout was a 5800x3d on AM4 tech.
 
tamzzy said:
£1.5k


nah, that's old tech and not worth investing in.
the only use for the 5800x3d is for AM4 users to upgrade to...not to buy new
5800x3d+b550+32gb ddr4 = 300+110+80 = £490
7600x+b650+32gb ddr5 = 240+180+140 = £560
if you're already spending that much, might as well pay the extra £70 and get a platform with an upgrade path

This is what I would get if I were in the market for a new PC now
Cooler is just a placeholder for the Thermalright coolers available elsewhere

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £1,508.87 (includes delivery: £11.99)​

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Click to expand...
This setup looks tasty too. Coming from an i5 4960k at 3.5ghz and rx 480 8gb, I'm assuming the experience with the above kit would be astronomical despite being mid range by today's standards. And now I'm wondering if it's worth the extra £1k if the difference isn't notable between the above and the more pricey system.

I'll order all the pieces once the 7800x3d ships, or may go with the above and hold out for the 8xxxx3d. Prices of these bits may well go down by the time the 7800x3d is back in stock at ocuk.

Appreciate your input and ideas.
 
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be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W ATX 3.1 80 Plus Gold Power Supply
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Lian Li Lancool 205M Mesh Micro-ATX PC Case Black
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Helpful breakdown - interesting coisting it all up for £/fps but does have merit.
Fairly set on the 7800x3d but still in two minds about a gpu; either 6800xt as a placeholder for next year/later this year or the 7900xtx for maybe 4 or 5 years would be my thoughts. Even thinking of a 4080 as I've seen these down to £1100, just a few quid more than a 7900xtx. Both don't seeem partiuclarly great value but nothing does on the gpu scene for now.
 
I'm actually surprised how well my rx480 and i5 4960k (at stock 3.5ghz) have lasted. RDR2 was a bit pants but Res Evil 7 and 8 were >120fps most of the time along with Fallen Order (but noticeable stutter). All 1080p of course.

Hopefully all the components take a bit of a nose dive over the next couple of months as I don't see myself getting in early for a 7800x3d - and all the advice and recommendations here have made me 90% sure on a new setup now :)
 
Tetras said:
Since you lasted this long with a 480, I think I'd go for the 6800 XT. You can also get a 6800 under £500, which would be my choice. A 6800/6800 XT should be good for 1440p/60 without ray tracing for 2-3 years, at which point I think DLSS/FSR & ray tracing will have matured and be baked in without being borderline usable like they are now.
Click to expand...
Exactly what I'm thinking - next gen or two will hopefully make ray tracing a standard on both platforms - 4k 120hz full RT I'm hopeful for :D
 
Tetras said:
Alternative build with a Phanteks case:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail - £439.99
AMD Radeon™ Get The Game Bundle - The Last of Us™ Part I - £0.00
Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard - £237.95
TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G6000HC38ADC01) - £128.98

Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £1,079.99

2 X WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3X0E) - £136.99

Phanteks Eclipse P600S Glass Silent Midi Tower Case - Black - £152.99
Phanteks M25 140mm PWM High-Airflow Chassis Fan - Black - £9.95
be quiet! Pure Loop 240 Performance CPU Water Cooler - 240mm - £89.99
be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W ATX 3.0 80 Plus Gold Power Supply - £124.99

Grand Total: £2,550.80 (includes delivery charge, £11.99)



Motherboard: I've chosen one with 3 M.2 (one is PCI-E 5.0) and a PCI-E 4.0 graphics slot. I don't think PCI-E 5.0 graphics is worth it, since a PCI-E 4.0 4090 only loses a few percent in a PCI-E 3.0 board.
Storage: a higher-end drive with DRAM for the OS isn't a bad idea, but I've chosen two SN770, they're TLC with decent endurance (1200 TBW), though no DRAM.
Cooling: if going air, I'd get this, but I've chosen a 240mm cooler to be installed in the roof.
Case: I don't think this case (NV7) comes with any pre-installed fans, I've switched to the P600S which is semi-silence oriented and comes with 3 140mm fans.
Click to expand...
Hello again..!

Quick look at cases and the Phanteks P600S you've mentioned seems good enough (actual case will be hidden so no big fuss about how it looks). Says it has 2 front and 1 rear pre installed with extra space. Is that optimal setup? Or should it be equal in and out? Thinking of having 3 front and the 1 rear / 2 roof for exit flow.
Does this have any bearing on my (probable) choice for aircooling the CPU with a thermalright peerless that seems to be on everyone's wish list these days.
Finally (for now) I see on ocuk cooling exists for memory, GPU, other bits not just the CPU - any of these necessary or just for custom builds?
 
Regarding the type of cooling I thought of air as that's what I've got experience with and there's hype around that thermalright one. Really should try something new like that AIO (what's this mean BTW?) you selected.
 
Didn't expect the 78000X3D to be shipped so soon but it has - so time to finalise this! So I'm quite set on all of this but as it shows I'm in two minds about the 6800XT or 6950XT, and also the case. Quite like the white aesthetic of the P600S and G500A but would I need a white PSU and white AIO? I'm thinking I would but this limits which of those are available. The Liquid Freezer II AIO scored best on some review video I saw recently but not seen it in white. I've seen other AIOs in white and so long as they're not worlds apart I imagine that'd suffice ssaw a Coolermaster one also a Corsair, names you can trust..? Opted for a 1000W PSU as the current GPU will be replaced in 18/24 months time and want some space to wiggle power wise incase the next one is a power hungry beast. Again not many white PSUs! Am I overthinking the need for white components? Originally I was going to tuck the system behind a set of drawers out of sight, but now part of me wants it sitting sideways on this white bookshelf next to me.
Probably fussing far too much about aesthetics. But this is the basket for now:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £2,131.78 (includes delivery: £16.00)​

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Edited basket​

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Sheesh good spot that wasn't meant to be the micro motherboard! I see what you mean with the PSU largely being hidden, didn't figure that out in my head by the pics :/ Will have another looksie for a PSU with a 10 year warranty. Sure 850W will do even for a new card further down the line (I hope, the 1000W range seems limited).
Just never done RGB before so until I have a crack I'll not know what I like. I'll check out the white GPUs but reckon I'll stick with a 6800XT no matter the colour.
Think the G500A is appealing more at the mo, is able to fit the 360mm AIOs too, like the PL360 Flux White which seems good but pricey at £190ish.

Edited the basket above for more whiteness.
 
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Yea I remember that air cooler you suggested, only reason I want to go AIO is that I've never done it before. Not too fussed about PSU as you point out it will mostly be hidden, but 850 is what I'll aim for as you say, to cover future choices (hopefully).
Guessing a 240mm radiator will be slightly quieter than a 360mm too purely due to one less fan?
 
Not to worry, sure won't make any real overall impact once I'm immersed in whatever I'm playing as it is. Again thanks for all the input and suggestions - certainly steered me clear of some foolish errors!

Hopefully ordering everything over the next couple of days.
 
mark43 said:
I think in theory 360 can be quieter as those fans aren't having to work as hard. I kinda feel 360 looks a bit better as well if you've got a large case with space for them.
Click to expand...
Think now it comes down to which white one performs well!
Lian Li galahad is taking first place at the mo and is only 240mm. Will have a 3rd white 140mm for the roof to sit next to it which will look a touch different but sure will be OK (or I'll get the 360mm one..)
Will do more homework on AIOs later. Once I've found a decent white one I'll probably change my mind entirely and get the gunmetal grey P600s!
 
Switched to a Lian Li case and AIO and 99% sure this is what I'm after:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £2,273.84 (includes delivery: £11.98)​



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PSU white model is elsewhere but being white not mandatory (sought advice over on the PSU forum too).
Will likely add some Lian Li case mod bits and pieces in the near future too.

Big hugs to all for helping and advising! Will return with pics in the next few weeks once it's all sorted and running!
 
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut High Performance Thermal Paste - 5.5g / 1.5 ml
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Lian Li Lancool III RGB Full Tower PC Case - White
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AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail
CP-3DT-AM
£500 (incl. VAT)
£350 (incl. VAT)
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czhogbJ.jpeg
 
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So big thanks to everyone here! You guys made the process so much more amazing with all the help and answered queries

No monitor attached yet as it took waaaay longer than I expected but powered on first go (hoping it POSTs, will find out tomorrow)

Ik4RxHi
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Wheee

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And I still suck at trying to insert images onto posts
 
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