[SOLVED] Sanity check before purchasing full PC ?

[kpgigov]

Hello guys,

A friend of mine asked me if I will sell my PC to him and I will use the cache cash to fund a new one - yes I know, not the best of times but I think that sell to purchase ratio is mitigating this a lot

So this is what I have in mind, any suggestions and advises are welcomed.

P.S.
I don't like Gigabyte Mobos but the one that I have listed was significantly less expensive then the other options
I have never used a liquid cooler before and I'm a bit scared of the unknown any advises or caveats that I need to know.
Not sure if it's worth spending 150EU more for the 12GB version of the GPU, but I plan to change my system for at least 4 years and I want to move to 4K, without carying for FPS above 60

CPU	Intel Core i5-12600KF
Memory	Corsair VENGEANCE LPX 16GB
Storage	Samsung 980 PRO 1TB M.2 (MZ-V8P1T0BW)
	Seagate BarraCuda 3.5 2TB
PSU	Seasonic FOCUS PLUS 850W Gold
Cooler	ARCTIC Liquid Freezer 280 II AiO
Case	Corsair 4000D Airflow
MoBo	GIGABYTE B660 GAMING X AX
GPU	3080 12GB, currenty considering EVGA FTW3 Ultra as it's discounted

 

[Vic 40]

If you want to use the pc for longer switch to the 12700(f), more threads and hardly worth overclocking this one imo.
If the money is there would i also start with 32gb of ram.

There are some reviews by Hardware Unboxed about these B660 boards, look them up and see how the Gigabyte does, there might be a beter option.
https://www.google.com/search?clien...&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tpsf=opnabc

 

[Aeacus]

Intel Core i5-12600KF

While the K-suffix means you can OC your CPU, the F-suffix means that your CPU doesn't have iGPU and you have to have dedicated GPU to run your PC. Inel F-suffix CPUs are poor, since when you have GPU issues, you can't hook your monitor to your MoBo, to continue using your PC (except for heavy gaming).

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer 280 II AiO

One of the best AIOs currently on the market. However, as far as AIOs vs air coolers go, you won't gain any cooling performance if you go with AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by ambient air.
For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm. Smaller rads: 120mm and 140mm are almost always outperformed by mid-sized air coolers. Single slot rads are good in mini-ITX builds where you don't have enough CPU cooler clearance to install mid-sized CPU air cooler.

Here are the positive sides of both (air and AIO) CPU cooling methods;

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
CPU cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues*
no CPU clearance issues
CPU takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output (about 30 mins)
* on some cases, top mounted rad can give RAM clearance issues

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs,
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.

Seagate BarraCuda 3.5 2TB

HDDs, while cheap, are very slow. Here, i suggest that you look towards 2.5" SSD for data storage. E.g Samsung 870 Evo 2TB (that i use), or Crucial MX500 1TB (have that also).

To balance things out, you could switch your 980 Pro 1TB to 970 Evo Plus 2TB. Slightly less performance but double the storage and could be cheaper as well, whereby enough funds are freed to put 2.5" SSD in place of HDD.

Corsair VENGEANCE LPX 16GB

While 16GB is norm today, for longevity, i'd also look towards 32GB.

 

[kpgigov]

While the K-suffix means you can OC your CPU, the F-suffix means that your CPU doesn't have iGPU and you have to have dedicated GPU to run your PC. Inel F-suffix CPUs are poor, since when you have GPU issues, you can't hook your monitor to your MoBo, to continue using your PC (except for heavy gaming).



One of the best AIOs currently on the market. However, as far as AIOs vs air coolers go, you won't gain any cooling performance if you go with AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by ambient air.
For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm. Smaller rads: 120mm and 140mm are almost always outperformed by mid-sized air coolers. Single slot rads are good in mini-ITX builds where you don't have enough CPU cooler clearance to install mid-sized CPU air cooler.

Here are the positive sides of both (air and AIO) CPU cooling methods;

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
CPU cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues*
no CPU clearance issues
CPU takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output (about 30 mins)
* on some cases, top mounted rad can give RAM clearance issues

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs,
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.



HDDs, while cheap, are very slow. Here, i suggest that you look towards 2.5" SSD for data storage. E.g Samsung 870 Evo 2TB (that i use), or Crucial MX500 1TB (have that also).

To balance things out, you could switch your 980 Pro 1TB to 970 Evo Plus 2TB. Slightly less performance but double the storage and could be cheaper as well, whereby enough funds are freed to put 2.5" SSD in place of HDD.



While 16GB is norm today, for longevity, i'd also look towards 32GB.

First, huge thanks for the advice. I would go with Scythe Fuma or Dark Rock Pro as air cooler.
On the subject of cooling, any feedback on the fans that come with the Corsair case as I plan to by 3 more to have 3 in the front for intake and 2 at the back for exhaust

On the memory side of things I can always by two more dimms of 8GB each and increase it.

On the storage side I use my HDD for music, pictures and movies and I haven't had any issues so far I do not see a reason to keep cold storage on a SSD but I get your point.

 

[Aeacus]

On the subject of cooling, any feedback on the fans that come with the Corsair case as I plan to by 3 more to have 3 in the front for intake and 2 at the back for exhaust

For the most of the times, the stock fans coming with the case, are cheap and poor fans. Only on rare instances (some Phanteks cases), the stock fan is any good.

Now, 4000D comes with two 120mm no-model fans, running 1200 RPM,
specs: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-|-Parts/4000D-4000D-Airflow-120mm-3-pin-Fan,-Black,-1200-RPM/p/CC-8900456

GamersNexus found the stock fan setup relatively good,
review:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYsOmJ9X7Ow


Now, front of the 4000D can take 3x 120mm or 2x 140mm. I don't know what kind of fans you plan to buy, but getting a match is hard, especially when you go with illuminated fans.

Here, i suggest that you buy 140mm fans instead, since 140mm fan, will move more air and does it more quietly, than same spec 120mm fan.
And if you populate all possible fan mounts, you can run your fans overall slower, thus reducing fan noise, while still keeping good airflow. E.g this is what i've done with 3 of my PCs. For example, my Skylake build has: 1x 120mm bottom intake, 2x 140mm front intake, 3x 140mm top exhaust and 1x 140mm rear exhaust. (Full specs with pics in my sig.) Since i have that many high-end fans, i can run them ~1000 RPM, while maintaining good airflow, no noise and negative pressure for optimal cooling.

 

[kpgigov]

For the most of the times, the stock fans coming with the case, are cheap and poor fans. Only on rare instances (some Phanteks cases), the stock fan is any good.

Now, 4000D comes with two 120mm no-model fans, running 1200 RPM,
specs: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-|-Parts/4000D-4000D-Airflow-120mm-3-pin-Fan,-Black,-1200-RPM/p/CC-8900456

GamersNexus found the stock fan setup relatively good,
review:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYsOmJ9X7Ow


Now, front of the 4000D can take 3x 120mm or 2x 140mm. I don't know what kind of fans you plan to buy, but getting a match is hard, especially when you go with illuminated fans.

Here, i suggest that you buy 140mm fans instead, since 140mm fan, will move more air and does it more quietly, than same spec 120mm fan.
And if you populate all possible fan mounts, you can run your fans overall slower, thus reducing fan noise, while still keeping good airflow. E.g this is what i've done with 3 of my PCs. For example, my Skylake build has: 1x 120mm bottom intake, 2x 140mm front intake, 3x 140mm top exhaust and 1x 140mm rear exhaust. (Full specs with pics in my sig.) Since i have that many high-end fans, i can run them ~1000 RPM, while maintaining good airflow, no noise and negative pressure for optimal cooling.

I was planning to buy the same ones as the bundled model to have 5 identical fans. I do not want RGB.

I agree that 140 are better and in my current build with fractal design r5 I have 140mm fans but as the GPU price is quite high I don't want to discard the stock ones and this is why I was thinking of adding extra of the same ones

 

[Aeacus]

of the same ones

Do you have the performance specs of stock fans? Since without that, there's no telling if the fans are actually good.

What i found about them, is that they are 120mm and 1200 RPM. 1200 RPM isn't much for 120mm fan. And if we take Noctua NF-S12A as an example,
specs: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-s12a-pwm/specification
Which too is 120mm, 1200 RPM fan, then that fan is capable of 63.2 CFM airflow and 1.19 mmH2O static pressure. Now, the stock Corsair fan is nowhere near the performance level of what Noctua offers us, so, this stock fan is most likely considerably less.

For comparison, the 120mm fans that i have in my Skylake and Haswell builds, have 75 CFM airflow, 4.2 mmH2O static pressure, 2400 RPM, 4-pin PWM, mag-lev bearing fans. Corsair ML120 Pro LED. Red ones in Skylake and blue ones in Haswell. <- These are one of the best 120mm fans out there, in terms of performance, and with virtually unlimited lifespan. Only Delta industrial fans are better in terms of performance.

So, if you trust the no-name stock fans, sure, you can go for more. I, in the other hand, would replace them.