[SOLVED] Gaming PC Build Advice

[misbis]

Hi All,

Would appreciate opions on the below gaming build for AAA titles and looking to have something that is future proof (as much as possible) for new releases over the next 6-7 years.

Processor:Intel i9 11900F Eight Core 2.5GHz
Graphics Card:Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
Memory:Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB 3600Mhz DDR4 RGB RAM
Hard Drive:2TB Hard Drive
Solid State Drive:1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
WiFi:600Mbps USB Wireless Network Adaptor
Motherboard:Intel MSI MAG Torpedo
Power Supply:700W 85+ Gold Rated PSU
Operating System:Windows 10 Home
Lighting:Neon DRGB Lighting Strip
Fans:Mirage 120mm ARGB Fans x5
Case😛hanteks P500 Air Black
CPU Cooler:Mirage 240mm ARGB AIO Water Cooler
Cable:White PSU Cable Kit

 

[Zerk2012]

Hi All,

Would appreciate opions on the below gaming build for AAA titles and looking to have something that is future proof (as much as possible) for new releases over the next 6-7 years.

Processor:Intel i9 11900F Eight Core 2.5GHz
Graphics Card:Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
Memory:Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB 3600Mhz DDR4 RGB RAM
Hard Drive:2TB Hard Drive
Solid State Drive:1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
WiFi:600Mbps USB Wireless Network Adaptor
Motherboard:Intel MSI MAG Torpedo
Power Supply:700W 85+ Gold Rated PSU
Operating System:Windows 10 Home
Lighting:Neon DRGB Lighting Strip
Fans:Mirage 120mm ARGB Fans x5
Case😛hanteks P500 Air Black
CPU Cooler:Mirage 240mm ARGB AIO Water Cooler
Cable:White PSU Cable Kit

Your slacking some on the power supply for a 3080ti you need to get a good 850 watt at least.

 

[--SID--]

Intel i9 11900F

i7-11700 is better bang for buck.

1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive

Brand and model?

Intel MSI MAG Torpedo

What chipset?

700W 85+ Gold Rated

Seems not very reliable. What's the brand and model?

 

[avg9956]

Power Supply:700W 85+ Gold Rated PSU

I'd change it to 1000W PSU, that way you have more headroom. Also consider you shouldn't be running more than 80% of constant load.
The 3080Ti has very high transient spikes, up to 489W
I have a 3080Ti myself and this gpu really needs a quality PSU else it can result in damage.

 

[Flayed]

I would go with 140mm fans and an AIO cooler with 140mm fans

 

[logainofhades]

Alder lake releases tomorrow, so it is probably a good idea to wait. If you don't want to, then I would suggest going with a 10850k, if you want a long term Intel CPU. It is a better all around performer, and cheaper. Otherwise, I would look at an R7 5800x. The 11th gen 8 cores are not very good CPU's, compared to 10th gen, and Zen 3. Definitely agree on getting a much better PSU.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n0_UcBxnpk

 

[geofelt]

How soon do you need to buy?
With Intel alder lake releasing tomorrow, I would look at that before I decided.
What is your budget?

On your proposed build, I have some thoughts:

a) If you can, buy the i9-11900K which includes integrated graphics. It is most helpful for testing or, if you should have a graphics card problem.

b) 3080ti is wonderful if you can buy one.

c) On drives, I would start with a 2tb ssd and defer on the hard drive until you need the space. Samsung of any kind is good for reliability and performance.

d) USB wifi adapters are often deficient on range. Buy a motherboard with included wifi or use a wifi adapter card.

e) 700W is not enough. 850w at least, perhaps more for the long run.
Modern graphics cards can have high power spikes.
Buy only a quality psu that can deliver advertised power. Look for one with a 7 to 10 year warranty.

f) I am no fan of RGB, I find it distracting.

g) Nice case. For best airflow, buy the mesh version and plan on three 140mm front intakes and one 140mm exhaust. Some 140's will be included.
You need good airflow ver the motherboard and graphics card.

h) Your aio will not likely last your 6-7 years. Air eventually intrudes and the unit needs to be replaced. A top air cooler will cool equally well, be quieter, more reliable, and will not leak. I use a noctua NH-D15s with my 11900KF and never see high temperatures,
Noctua has extensive suitability charts for processors and motherboards.
Here is the one for the 11900K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i9-11900KF-1289

i) Unless the white cables are supplied by the maker of the psu, reconsider.

But, when all is said and done, your best pick is likely the upcoming I5-12600K which beats out the ii900K in single thread performance. Single thread performance is most important for games.
Z690 motherboards can come in variants using DDR4 or DDR5 It remains to be seen if DDR5 confers any real benefits, at least initially.

 

[misbis]

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. Re: 700W PSU I thought this would be the case so will definitely look to upgrade to 850/1000 and points noted on warranty.

Re: parts that don’t have a brand specified - I’ve been in contact with the company in question and their response was that they cannot guarantee brand due to the ‘volatility of market and supply’.. I guess this is not great.

Re: when do I need to purchase - it’s going to be a Christmas present for my son and given the semi-conductor shortage, wanted to get my order in ASAP. If the alder lake is released tomorrow, when would this likely land with suppliers and do we already know about performance / price etc?

 

[geofelt]

Sounds like you are planning on buying a pre-built of some kind.
That is ok if you or your son have no computer knowledge at all.
Pre-builts are not designed to be updated.
They will use inferior components, particularly in the psu department.
If there is a problem, it is a pain to ship the whole thing back for repairs.

I might suggest that the knowledge you gain and satisfaction from assembling a pc yourself is priceless. If you have a solid parts list the process is actually easy. Look at some videos.
The key component in short supply will be the video card.

You can perhaps use a local shop to assemble, using your parts.
Microcenter will do this also.

 

[avg9956]

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. Re: 700W PSU I thought this would be the case so will definitely look to upgrade to 850/1000 and points noted on warranty.

Re: parts that don’t have a brand specified - I’ve been in contact with the company in question and their response was that they cannot guarantee brand due to the ‘volatility of market and supply’.. I guess this is not great.

I would definitely swap that generic PSU out as soon as possible. Don't go gaming right away with AAA titles with the 3080 Ti because at defaults, its set to 100% power limit. It would be such a waste if the GPU died to an unworthy, cheap PSU.

 

[misbis]

Hi All,

Have looked into the 12th gen intel processors and sounds like a big leap forward from 11th gen, so I’m inclined to go for that from a current performance and longeavity perspective.
I’ve decided not to purchase from the previous provider - wasn’t happy that I could not get the exact parts specified and them putting in a below requirement PSU worried me that they don’t know what they are doing.

I’ve now spec’d up the below on PC Specialist.

Questions:
Should I consider downgrading GPU to:
3080Ti (£390 saving)
3080 (£811 saving)

I’m going to opt to save OS on the SSD - presuming this speeds up processing for some tasks? But will it take up too much space and maybe I need a 2TB SSD?

The case comes as standard with 3 x Corsair 120 at the front and then I added the 240 CPU cooler. This only left me with one space - presumably this is for the exhaust - the 120 Thermaltake was the only real option for this. Is this ok or given the build I have gone with should I choose a larger case with even more fans? (On this site, there were no options for 140’s)

The motherboard I selected has WiFi - will this be ok for gaming?

I went for 1000W PSU based on the comments as I’d rather have more room for manoeuvre here - assuming it won’t cause any issues over 850W

Any other comments highly appreciated!!

Showing Quote Reference 2227278
Case	COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard	ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)	32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive	2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply	CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting	50cm RGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans	1x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fan
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card	10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]

 

[misbis]

Hi All,

Have looked into the 12th gen intel processors and sounds like a big leap forward from 11th gen, so I’m inclined to go for that from a current performance and longeavity perspective.
I’ve decided not to purchase from the previous provider - wasn’t happy that I could not get the exact parts specified and them putting in a below requirement PSU worried me that they don’t know what they are doing.

I’ve now spec’d up the below on PC Specialist.

Questions:
Should I consider downgrading GPU to:
3080Ti (£390 saving)
3080 (£811 saving)

I’m going to opt to save OS on the SSD - presuming this speeds up processing for some tasks? But will it take up too much space and maybe I need a 2TB SSD?

The case comes as standard with 3 x Corsair 120 at the front and then I added the 240 CPU cooler. This only left me with one space - presumably this is for the exhaust - the 120 Thermaltake was the only real option for this. Is this ok or given the build I have gone with should I choose a larger case with even more fans? (On this site, there were no options for 140’s)

The motherboard I selected has WiFi - will this be ok for gaming?

I went for 1000W PSU based on the comments as I’d rather have more room for manoeuvre here - assuming it won’t cause any issues over 850W

Any other comments highly appreciated!!

Showing Quote Reference 2227278
Case	COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard	ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)	32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive	2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply	CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting	50cm RGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans	1x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fan
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card	10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]

 

[avg9956]

The motherboard I selected has WiFi - will this be ok for gaming?

Yes. Motherboards with "Wifi" affix usually come with optional external antennas that you connect at the rear, I/O side to allow your motherboard to connect to WiFi.
Personally I only find use for this if you somehow cannot route an ethernet cable from your modem to your PC due to physical constraints like walls/roofing and you have no permits to route cables through (such as you're in a dormitory or condominium).

Gaming capacity isn't really determined by motherboard alone, but more on other components such as CPU/GPU/RAM.

The case has good air flow as reviewed by Gamer's nexus

Is this ok or given the build I have gone with should I choose a larger case with even more fans?

It would be up to you if you want to go for a larger case (such as a full tower like I did), but these larger cases weigh much heavier and often times are big that you must always place them on the floor. Laying them flat is a must to install components with ease., but they do offer a ton more room to maneuver. A mid tower on the other hand allows you more mobility.

 

[misbis]

Yes. Motherboards with "Wifi" affix usually come with optional external antennas that you connect at the rear, I/O side to allow your motherboard to connect to WiFi.
Personally I only find use for this if you somehow cannot route an ethernet cable from your modem to your PC due to physical constraints like walls/roofing and you have no permits to route cables through (such as you're in a dormitory or condominium).

Gaming capacity isn't really determined by motherboard alone, but more on other components such as CPU/GPU/RAM.

The case has good air flow as reviewed by Gamer's nexus



It would be up to you if you want to go for a larger case (such as a full tower like I did), but these larger cases weigh much heavier and often times are big that you must always place them on the floor. Laying them flat is a must to install components with ease., but they do offer a ton more room to maneuver. A mid tower on the other hand allows you more mobility.

Thanks for the comments. General thoughts on the build and whether I should downgrade the GPU to save a few £?