Prebuilt system - advice please!

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 10:16

Thanks guys. 32” I think is way too big for how close I’ll be too it based on where in the house it’ll be set up!

divergent · 20 Jun 2019 at 10:20

I've bought AOC before too. Great value for money and no complaints!
Definitely think about a 27" 1440p. I went from a 24" 1080p to 27" 1440p and it was a great upgrade!

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 10:25

Great, thanks!

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 13:49

I presume the cooler that comes with the 2600x is sufficient and I don’t need to buy another? Ta

Plec · 20 Jun 2019 at 13:54

BA757 said:
I presume the cooler that comes with the 2600x is sufficient and I don’t need to buy another? Ta

If you're not clocking the Wraith Spire is fine. You can add a 120mm cooler for approx £20 if noise is factor but the reality is, if the primary use is gaming, the GPU fan will drown out all other noise when it's taxed.

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 14:06

Fab, thanks Plec I’ll stick with the wraith and can upgrade in future should it be necessary.

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 14:07

Really appreciate all the advice. Going to try and come up with a complete shopping list for the build tonight and will post on here so that if I’ve made any horrendous errors in selection it can be put right

Plec · 20 Jun 2019 at 16:15

OK, recent update regarding price drops for Zen+ - the 2000 series:

Journey said:
I am sure you'll be interested to hear, that competition at that end of the market is going to get weirder too, since from the info I have been given the 2700X is going to be <£199, the 2700 <£159 and the 2600 <£109, with the 2600x <£129, should see the prices from 1st July or maybe a day or two before apparently.

Reading the above - if accurate (never any guarantees) - after the 1st of JUly there will be a significant drop in the pricing of the 2600X. Something to consider...

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 18:09

Thanks for that. Might be worth waiting to see what happens. Is it worth the extra for the 2700x over the 2600x for my purposes?

Plec · 20 Jun 2019 at 18:32

BA757 said:
Thanks for that. Might be worth waiting to see what happens. Is it worth the extra for the 2700x over the 2600x for my purposes?

It will have its uses in some games and increasingly so in the next few years with bigger games - but the 2600X will still be very capable until ZEN 2 upgrade.

You have to consider your budget - you have a board you could drop in a Zen 2 when needed and you need a monitor to compliment your now very competent system. You could offset the price drop towards a better monitor as a 2600X coupled with a VEGA 56 will be no slouch...

BA757 · 20 Jun 2019 at 18:39

Sounds good to me, I’ll divert the extra cash towards the monitor!

divergent · 21 Jun 2019 at 09:30

BA757 said:
Sounds good to me, I’ll divert the extra cash towards the monitor!

Yea I'd also do what @Plec says. The 2600 is a good match with a 580 GPU.

BA757 · 21 Jun 2019 at 14:11

Right, almost ready to pull the trigger lads. Here’s what’s ‘in the basket’

MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon
Ryzen 2600X
HyperX Predator 16GB DDR4
Sapphire Radeon Vega 56 Pulse
Bitfenix Whisper 650W
WD Blue 1TB SSD

So I think all I’m missing is case and monitor. Price comes out at c. £900 before case. Any odds and sods I’m missing or that I’ll need for assembly beyond screwdriver and cable ties?

And can anyone recommend a case that is fairly minimalist and preferably not have a window on the side or loads of bright lights? Was looking at the Corsair Carbide 275Q.

Also where best to buy Win10?

Thanks all for your really great help and advice

BA757 · 21 Jun 2019 at 14:19

Also what’s the scoop with curved vs flat monitors - is one type better than the other for gaming or largely irrelevant? I’m pushing the boat out on monitor to up to £300 and don’t know whether to go 24 or 27 and flat or curved, there’s a few options in this price range and bamboozled by choice!

tamzzy · 21 Jun 2019 at 14:30

BA757 said:
Also where best to buy Win10?

grey keys can be had for a fiver.
just google: windows 10 cd key

BA757 said:
MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon
Ryzen 2600X
HyperX Predator 16GB DDR4
Sapphire Radeon Vega 56 Pulse
Bitfenix Whisper 650W
WD Blue 1TB SSD

looks good.
only thing that is the kicker is that ryzen 3000 series literally about to be launched in shy over 2 weeks...and intel possibly dropping their prices by 10-15%...

BA757 said:
And can anyone recommend a case that is fairly minimalist and preferably not have a window on the side or loads of bright lights?

unfortunately gone are the days of minimalistic cases.
a decent case that i'd recommend is the phanteks p350x - but it'll have a tempered glass side window. rgb leds are tastefully done though...so not to OTT or garish.

Plec said:
For example, you can pick up this AOC for ~£200. It's an IPS 1440p panel and 32" (nuts value) and forum member @tamzzy - whose very savvy with component investment (i.e. won't spend if can be avoided ) - recommends them so much he bought two of them. AOC have a decent warranty and great pixel policy too.

haha indeed. but their RMA services do need a kick up the backside though...just stand firm on your demands and they'll cave in.

BA757 said:
Also what’s the scoop with curved vs flat monitors - is one type better than the other for gaming or largely irrelevant? I’m pushing the boat out on monitor to up to £300 and don’t know whether to go 24 or 27 and flat or curved, there’s a few options in this price range and bamboozled by choice!

to be honest. the AOC Q3279VWFD8 is the best bang/buck for a larger sized monitor.
you cannot get a 1440p, 75hz, IPS, freesync either in 27" or 32" guises for anywhere near that sort of money...
curve vs flat...curved screens are all hype if you asked me...

BA757 · 21 Jun 2019 at 14:34

Thanks! 32 is way too big for how close I’m gonna be to the screen I think

Thoughts on this one? Or should I be looking at IPS instead of TN?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...-widescreen-led-gaming-monitor-mo-048-ao.html

tamzzy · 21 Jun 2019 at 14:44

BA757 said:
Thanks! 32 is way too big for how close I’m gonna be to the screen I think

it isn't. i own two! and use it on a desk.

most people get used to the size and actually prefer it once they get used to it.

BA757 said:
Or should I be looking at IPS instead of TN?

IPS: better colours, better viewing angles, slower (compared to TN) pixel response - but not too terrible to cause ghosting, unlike VA panels.
TN: faster pixel response, poorer (compared to IPS) colurs and viewing angles

having owned TN, IPS and VA panels...
TN - best for fast paced games
IPS - best all rounder
VA - movies (unless getting a high end, expensive panel)

BA757 · 21 Jun 2019 at 14:54

Thanks, sounds like IPS is right for me then based on that. I’ll go for 27” I think, the desk is small and narrow and I just can’t see a 32” screen feeling right!

So what I’m after is a 3480x2160 27” IPS monitor for £300.

I found the AOC U2777PQU for that sort of money, good bet?

tamzzy · 21 Jun 2019 at 15:01

BA757 said:
3480x2160

4k is basically unusable at 27 inch.
i had a 28" 4k monitor and had to use scaling...which made having the increased pixel density pointless.
also you'd need a decent graphics card to drive that resolution unless you turn the resolution down...which then makes having a 4k monitor...you guessed it...pointless. lol

either get a 1080p screen or a 1440p screen.
4k isn't worth it except for a few niche uses...and even then, the minimum acceptable screen size is usually >40"

BA757 · 21 Jun 2019 at 15:06

tamzzy said:
4k is basically unusable at 27 inch.
i had a 28" 4k monitor and had to use scaling...which made having the increased pixel density pointless.
also you'd need a decent graphics card to drive that resolution unless you turn the resolution down...which then makes having a 4k monitor...you guessed it...pointless. lol

either get a 1080p screen or a 1440p screen.
4k isn't worth it except for a few niche uses...and even then, the minimum acceptable screen size is usually >40"

Yep clocked my mistake as soon as I read your reply, 1440 is what I was wanting!

Any chance you can link me something decent in my budget. There’s just SO many models that I’m struggling to keep track of things!