New spec time

Kaeo

Kaeo

Kaeo

Associate
Joined
7 Mar 2011
Posts
1,371
Location
Edinburgh
So it's been a rather long time since I last built a PC.

My current rig is as follows :-

i5-2500k
MSI p67a-gd65
XFX 850W Black Edition
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gbs
Samsung 500GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gbs
Asus Radeon RX VEGA 64 ROG Strix OC 8GB
Hazro HZ27WC 8-Bit 27" LED Widescreen

Now, obviously this setup has been great for some time. The monitor is getting a bit flickery, which I've deduced is the power supply. So this has been a great excuse to do a huge upgrade.

So far I've bought a 2TB sabrent rocket and one of these :-

LG 34GK950F 34" 3440x1440 NANO IPS FreeSync 2 HDR 144Hz 1ms Curved Widescreen LED Monitor

Now I just need the rest of the PC to go with it. I should state early, this is purely for gaming and other general stuff. No video editing or such like. Budget I'd say around 2k-3k not including the above. Can stretch for something special. I want this to last about 7 years, same as last time. I have an antec 1200 case which I absolutely hate, and will be self building, so any case ideas would be welcome too. Cheers.
 
So will you be reusing the GPU from your current build? Could also use the SSD storage for OS..

For a Budget of 2-3k your gonna be able to go all out and replace the GPU, do you have any preferences ie Intel, Nvidia etc
 
With that kind of budget i would be thinking of the 3900x - heck if you want to streach it for something special then get the 3950 and bask in the glow from the fastest desktop cpu ever.
 
Hey Kaeo,

As you are focusing i went with the i9-9900k over Ryzen.

Here is what i came up with.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £2,260.63 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
​

Its not including a case as i find its more personal preference, feel free to let me know if you have any questions or want an opinion on anything else.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the replies. The Vega 64 isn't cutting it as far as the new monitor goes. I have no preferences brand wise, just want to be able to run any games at as close to max settings as possible without going too crazy. I'm happy to reuse parts if they're gonna be fine.

Am I right in saying the 9900ks is a binned 9900k?
 
This would be my suggestion. I appreciate that @Josh.B has provided an Intel option, but you can't upgrade from the Intel when they release the new CPUs. The AM4 platform has an option to upgrade to Zen3:
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £2,179.62 (includes shipping: £14.70)​
​
 
Hmm thanks. Lots to think on. I have a monitor and M2 ssd that don't need to be counted in the budget, if that helps.
 
Kaeo said:
Hmm thanks. Lots to think on. I have a monitor and M2 ssd that don't need to be counted in the budget, if that helps.
Click to expand...

Ahh nice, that would leave room for a 2080Ti:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,911.00 (includes shipping: £11.10)​
​
 
 
Kaeo said:
I want this to last about 7 years, same as last time.
Click to expand...

You see the issue saying this right? The current PC landscape only stagnated due to lack of competition. So future proofing isn't something you can guarantee while there this much 'innovation' especially in the CPU space.

My honest advice is spend less, and buy twice at 40-60% way through the life of the system so between years 3-4. You'll likely still get 95%+ of the performance you would now, but in 3-4 years time you'll be getting 150-200% or more depending on how things change in that time.

Going with a cheap R5 3600X, and 16GB of decent RAM on a B450 board will leave you plenty of budget for the GPU side of things which is where you'll notice the real performance increase, rather that a few percent from a CPU costing 80-150% more, on a board that will be useless as soon as you buy it. If you did go for the Z390 build then I wouldn't bother with an expensive board, and anything above a 9700K is money wasted.
 
Journey said:
My honest advice is spend less, and buy twice at 40-60% way through the life of the system so between years 3-4. You'll likely still get 95%+ of the performance you would now, but in 3-4 years time you'll be getting 150-200% or more depending on how things change in that time.
Click to expand...
^ this
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. So many different ideas!

What's the deal with the RAM? B450 boards only support up to 3.4MHZ? What's best for Ryzen? I'm probably looking at the 3700x atm.
 
Kaeo said:
Thanks for all the advice guys. So many different ideas!

What's the deal with the RAM? B450 boards only support up to 3.4MHZ? What's best for Ryzen? I'm probably looking at the 3700x atm.
Click to expand...

The MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX can support faster Ram. The MSI website states 4133MHz although that is probably being a bit optimistic. You don't really need anything faster than 3600MHz. You can buy a 3200MHz kit though and just overclock it. The Crucial Ballistix Sport LT is pretty good for that, but it is still pre-order on here.

A 3700X is probably what I would go with as it is only £81 more than the 3600X and as you have a healthy budget then why not. You could save cash on the gpu if you wanted by going with a 2080/2080 Super.
 
How are you supposed to choose a power supply? It used to be a case of picking a brand you know and making sure there was enough amps on the 12v rail. Now there's 400 to choose from and they all seem the same. Corsair seems to sell 20 that are almost identical. ):

My only real requirements are enough power to run the system and must be fully modular. :(
 
Kaeo said:
How are you supposed to choose a power supply? It used to be a case of picking a brand you know and making sure there was enough amps on the 12v rail. Now there's 400 to choose from and they all seem the same. Corsair seems to sell 20 that are almost identical. ):

My only real requirements are enough power to run the system and must be fully modular. :(
Click to expand...

Reviews are the best way to see if a particular unit is good or bad. For £100 the Leadex is a solid choice.

https://www.kitguru.net/components/...uper-flower-leadex-iii-gold-750w-2019-review/
 
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,706.56 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​

Now to find a case. If you guys see anything obviously wrong or have better ideas, let me know! Thanks. :)

I've had good experiences with kfa2/galax with graphics cards in the past, so I thought I'd go for it. Still not too sure if the MSI Max board is the way to go, but it seems popular around here. I'm using an Antec kuhler on my cpu atm, and I quite like the hassle free all in ones.
 
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