Sabre Configuration

[Befuddled]

Hello and good day to you.

I apologise in advance that this post is most likely going to come across as rambling and confused. I've been terribly nervous about going ahead with making this purchase as this is the first time I've managed to save up enough money to get something decent and I want to get it right. I should preface this by saying that I know very little about computers or their individual parts and that I usually stick to pre-built as a result. My budget can extend to around £2200, but I really can't go over that. So far it all comes out to £2142.

What I'm considering is a configuration of the "Gaming Sabre". I've made a few changes that I think look okay:

Intel Core i7-13700F (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail​

Corsair Vengeance 64GB (2X32GB) DDR5 PC5-41600C40 5200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK64GX5M2B5200C40​

Gainward GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Ghost 12GB GDDR6X PCI-Express Graphics Card​

EK Water Blocks EK-Nucleus CR240 Lux D-RGB All In One CPU Water Cooler - Black​

WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E)​

Corsair Force MP600 PRO NH 2TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Solid State Drive (CSSD-F2000GBMP600PNH)​

I believe it doesn't specify the make of the motherboard, nor the make of the psu, just that it's 850w gold rated. I'm hoping what's chosen will be good enough. Having dealt with OC in the past, their systems so far have been decent, so I can only assume I won't have to worry too much about this.

My biggest considerations are longevity (in terms of actual years it may last before something goes catastrophically wrong) and heat. I've had overheating problems in the past with cpus much weaker than this one. I thought sticking with an intel might be better as, according to what I've searched, they seem to produce less heat, but I am concerned about whether the cooler I have chosen will be able to handle it? I've also never had a water cooler before, so a little worried that it might leak, but I've read that the EK-nucleus is a good one?

I think what I'm asking is whether this is a decent enough system? Have I created any bottlenecks or other problems with what I've chosen? Can I trust that the mobo and psu will be of a good make? Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated as I feel a little overwhelmed in general and, frankly, I don't trust my own judgment when it comes to spending this kind of money.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Tetras]

I believe it doesn't specify the make of the motherboard, nor the make of the psu, just that it's 850w gold rated. I'm hoping what's chosen will be good enough.

I would expect OCUK to fit parts that will be sufficient, since they already know what other parts you have chosen and it needs to support.

My biggest considerations are longevity (in terms of actual years it may last before something goes catastrophically wrong) and heat.

Unfortunately it is impossible to say, PC hardware is always a dice roll. It might last 2 years and go pop, or it'll last 15+ until the PC goes to the dump or lives in a box in a garage somewhere.

I'd expect a modern high-end system to give you 3-5 years of trouble free gaming and with past hardware, 5-10 years is not unreasonable to hope for and beyond 10 years most PCs are obsolete as a primary system anyway.

I've had overheating problems in the past with cpus much weaker than this one. I thought sticking with an intel might be better as, according to what I've searched, they seem to produce less heat, but I am concerned about whether the cooler I have chosen will be able to handle it? I've also never had a water cooler before, so a little worried that it might leak, but I've read that the EK-nucleus is a good one?

This is complicated to answer.

ALL modern CPUs run hot, that's a factor of their design because the dies keep getting smaller and packing more in, which makes it harder to get the heat off them, regardless of the quality of whatever cooler you fit.

With Intel CPUs specifically, the i3 and i5 CPUs are generally fine, but the i7 and i9 CPUs can be a struggle to cool (especially to air cool) because of their high power consumption. This is not normally an issue if you're only gaming, providing your motherboard doesn't overclock by default (a lot of boards do), but if you're doing heavily multithreaded work then setting a decent power limit is a very good idea, even if not necessary since they'll throttle themselves.

For this generation, the equivalent AMD CPUs (e.g. Ryzen 7900) also run hot, but since their power consumption is lower, something like the peerless assassin or phantom spirit (~£35) can cool them just fine. To give you an example, TPU's review of the 13700K had average gaming and app power consumption of 88.7 and 133.1, while the 7900 non-X was just 55.9.

You can use a decent air cooler on the 13700F too, the peerless assassin or phantom spirit mentioned previously can handle this CPU, but it'll be hot and you'll need to set a power limit if the board doesn't automatically.

I think what I'm asking is whether this is a decent enough system? Have I created any bottlenecks or other problems with what I've chosen?

What are you using the PC for? If you're gaming at 1080p or 1440p then it is fine, though the 7800X3D is a better gaming CPU.

The memory is a bit slow, but I know you're limited by the options OCUK provide in the configurator.

Can I trust that the mobo and psu will be of a good make?

They should be fine for the warranty (after all, if they're not, OCUK have to replace it), but you could ask that you want the PSU to be a recognised brand/model like Seasonic GX or Corsair RMx.

Another alternative if you want to pick everything, is to build your own spec and ask OCUK to build it.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-13700KF (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6B7-IN) = £349.99
• 1 x MSI B760 Gaming Plus WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37M-MS) = £149.01
• 1 x Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01085) = £179.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Super Twin Edge 12Gb Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-01499) = £548.99
• 1 x MSI SPATIUM M480 Pro 1TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-MSI-00814) = £79.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN580 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-WDC-00541) = £104.99

• 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01991) = £76.99
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-01443) = £66.95
• 1 x Seasonic Focus GX-850 ATX3.0 850W 80 Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-08M-SS) = £139.99

• 1 x Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-Bit DVD - OEM (KW9-00632) (SKU: SW-18J-MS) = £99.94

Total: £1,808.82 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

 

[Befuddled]

Thank you for the reply!

All I really want the system for is gaming. Occasionally I'll use it to stream as I don't have a TV even, but I know that won't tax it at all. The games I tend to play aren't that demanding, but my issue with cheaper systems I have had in the past is that they reach the point of being outdated rather quickly, limiting what I can play. It'll be nice not to have to worry about meeting even the minimum requirements for a change.

Concerning cpu and overheating, I have read that you can undervolt if things get too bad, so I guess that's always an option, provided I feel confident enough to do it. If I choose an i5 I worry about it becoming outdated long before I have a chance to replace it with something better.

Thank you for your suggestions for a build. It looks good and I'm surprised the price is actually lower! I may well go ahead and use that. The one thing I wasn't happy with the configuration options was the limits it placed on what I could have and the lack of picking the actual make for some of the parts.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Tetras is way better with build lists
Than I am
So I won't bother trying lol
But for example ocuk have a bad habit
Of putting kolink psus in their builds
One tetras has chosen will probably still be in warranty
By the time of your next pc build

You could save by getting a windows key online
Though those are a grey area

Don't forget on top of what tetras chose
The fee for ocuk building it
I believe it's £150 plus 4% of total cost of
The components chosen

 

[Tetras]

If I choose an i5 I worry about it becoming outdated long before I have a chance to replace it with something better.

For this generation the i5-K CPUs like 12600K and 13600K are very different CPUs to the i5 non-K like 12400F and 13400F. I think the 12600K and 13600K would still last for the longer-term, but the 12400F will have a shorter life. The i7 isn't a bad investment though, so I'm not telling you to switch.

The games I tend to play aren't that demanding, but my issue with cheaper systems I have had in the past is that they reach the point of being outdated rather quickly, limiting what I can play. It'll be nice not to have to worry about meeting even the minimum requirements for a change.

For non-AAA games at 1080p or 1440p, I think the 4070 Super will last you a long time, 5 years should be plenty doable if the card survives that long. AAA games at the highest settings is a different story.

4K, it will do 60 fps for awhile and modest games should be no problem, but for AAA games at high settings the lifespan will be rather short, just 2-3 years and it'll be struggling.

I'd expect 64GB of memory will last you until you PC is obsolete.

 

[Befuddled]

I checked the final cost and if I calculated it right it should still work out cheaper overall than the original build. Of course, I'm very possibly wrong about that as my mathematical ability is practically nonexistent...Honestly, I'm happy for it to be the same or slightly over provided it works well.

Funny you should mention psus, as part of the reason I wanted more control over the build was because my current system was fitted with a Cougar. When I searched it online to see what was said about it, someone worryingly described it as "garbage tier". As it happens, it's managed to last 6 years with no issues, so I suppose I got lucky. But I would prefer a make known for its quality rather than leaving it to chance.

As for Windows, if I were brave enough I would bit the bullet and give linux a try as I have no trust in Microsoft whatsoever. I am troubled a lot by their copilot.

 

[Befuddled]

For this generation the i5-K CPUs like 12600K and 13600K are very different CPUs to the i5 non-K like 12400F and 13400F. I think the 12600K and 13600K would still last for the longer-term, but the 12400F will have a shorter life. The i7 isn't a bad investment though, so I'm not telling you to switch.


For non-AAA games at 1080p or 1440p, I think the 4070 Super will last you a long time, 5 years should be plenty doable if the card survives that long. AAA games at the highest settings is a different story.

4K, it will do 60 fps for awhile and modest games should be no problem, but for AAA games at high settings the lifespan will be rather short, just 2-3 years and it'll be struggling.

I'd expect 64GB of memory will last you until you PC is obsolete.

I like to play No Man's Sky, which I can run at the moment on my 1050ti, but with mostly lowest everything. I would also like to give Balder's Gate 3 a try too and I know my current card doesn't have a hope of running that without turning it into a slide-show. I am okay with running something at medium or even lower quality as requirements inevitably rise with time, provided I don't have to worry about being able to run it at all. I don't intend to go into VR or anything and AAA games rarely appeal to me, so it sounds like I'm pretty good for a long while.

I'm also really just looking forward to playing something that doesn't look all sludgy and pixelated and like it's surrounded by a sea of fog because my poor gpu can't render distance without having a heart-attack.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

My rough rule of thumb for psus
Nowadays decent psu should have 7 or more years warranty
5 would be borderline for me
Less than 5 unacceptable
Warranty length shows confidence level in their products

 

[Befuddled]

Hello once more, and I was wondering if I could ask for advice again?

I am in the process of ordering your build, Tetras (thank you again!), but have been told that the MSI SPATIUM M480 Pro 1TB SSD PCIe 4.0 is currently out of stock and they have no idea when it will be back in. I've been looking myself for alternatives, but I know very little about SSDs. I have been considering going for the...

Corsair Force MP600R2 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (CSSD-F1000GBMP600R2)​

...it has good reviews, but have no idea if this is an equivalent or an overkill for a drive that will only be used to run the Windows installation?

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

I use a few of these
Is it overkill?
Sort of maybe yes you could get something
Lesser I guess
But it's a small amount of money in the total cost
Of the build and copying between m2 nvme
That's where they really shine
So for the cost involved I would get something like it

WD Black SN850X 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2X0E)

Order WD Black SN850X 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2X0E) now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

 

[Befuddled]

Ah, okay. Then it sounds like it might be alright to stick with the Corsair given that it's only an extra £10 from the WD. As long as I'm not doing something really silly by picking it, then all's good. I also want to future-proof if I can, so I guess it will help with that too.

Thank you very much!

 

[Tetras]

I have been considering going for the...

Corsair Force MP600R2 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (CSSD-F1000GBMP600R2)​

...it has good reviews, but have no idea if this is an equivalent or an overkill for a drive that will only be used to run the Windows installation?

I don't follow Corsair because they have too many models and I can't find the official specs of this one.

Which board are you buying? The heatsink might be a problem if the board already has heatsinks, since it looks very thick/tall.

These are all first tier PCI-E 4.0 drives:
WD SN850X 1TB (£90)
Samsung 980 Pro/990 Pro
Crucial T500 1TB (£88)

Second tier drives:
WD SN770 1TB (£65)
WD SN580 1TB (£65)
Kioxia G2 1TB (£59)

 

[Befuddled]

I'm going for your build, which includes: MSI B760 Gaming Plus WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37M-MS)

 

[Tetras]

I'm going for your build, which includes: MSI B760 Gaming Plus WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37M-MS)

It would fit in the second slot (below the chipset heatsink), but I don't think it would fit in the primary slot (below the CPU socket) because it already has a heatsink.

 

[Befuddled]

Okay, thank you. I think I'd best change then and I'll go with the

Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive​

instead.

Thank you again for your time and advice! It really is appreciated.

 

[Tetras]

Okay, thank you. I think I'd best change then and I'll go with the

Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive​

instead.

That one should be fine.

If OCUK are building it for you then if there's any problems, they'll have to sort it out