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The PC Building Thread

Coopz said:
Back again thinking about another PC upgrade lol

Whats does everyone think to a 5700XT GFX card with Ryzen 3600 CPU with a MSI Tomahawk MAX B450 board?

Baring in mind this is going from a I5 3570k CPU and GTX 1070 graphics card.
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Depends on what you want to do with it, but I would (and will) personally wait for the new console generation to come out first, and then get a proper GPU whatever that might be at the time.
 
spektarm said:
Depends on what you want to do with it, but I would (and will) personally wait for the new console generation to come out first, and then get a proper GPU whatever that might be at the time.
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Just for gaming.

My current setup is doing alright at present, I can even game at 4k with mostly ultra settings albeit at 40 odd FPS. I don't even really need to upgrade really but I've got an urge to get some newer generation stuff that's futureproof lol.
 
Coopz said:
Just for gaming.

My current setup is doing alright at present, I can even game at 4k with mostly ultra settings albeit at 40 odd FPS. I don't even really need to upgrade really but I've got an urge to get some newer generation stuff that's futureproof lol.
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If it's just for gaming, I would simply wait.

Future proofing is kind of a myth in some ways, especially regarding GPUs, it's just best to upgrade every few years and get some money for your old one on the second hand market.

With the new consoles practically right around the corner, it doesn't make much sense to upgrade your GPU now (especially with an AMD card), because you'd need a new one in a year or so anyway.
 
Processor wise you would definitely notice the difference as the 3600 would be twice as powerful as the 3570.
Processor wise AMD is the way forward now, there is absolutely no reason why anyone building a PC today would choose an Intel.

Graphics card wise you would be looking at a 15-20% increase in performance, which depending on setup isn't really worth it.
As the 1070 should be more than enough to play games @1440 at decent settings, as I used to have one a couple of years ago.

I would wait for GPU at this moment, the RTX 3000 series is coming next June and will no doubt bring a significant performance increase in Ray Tracing, as well as the usual 20% increase in actual graphics performance.

In regards to waiting to see what is in the next gen consoles - I would be incredible surprised if they have a GPU more powerful than a 5700XT in them.
 
I thought the RTX 3000 series is coming around Q4 next year, definitely looking forward to June now if that's the case! :D
 
spektarm said:
I thought the RTX 3000 series is coming around Q4 next year, definitely looking forward to June now if that's the case! :D
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Latest reports suggest Nvidia could be ready to show them off at CES in January, with the cards being launched in June.
Given that Nvidia believe the future is now Ray Tracing after 4K 60FPS has now finally been conquered, they are probably working on getting Ray Tracing working without such a massive hit to GPU performance.

So I reckon there will be more dedicated RTX pipes in the new cards which will could give a 50% Ray Tracing performance increase, and the usual generic 15-20% performance increase in normal games.

I only recently purchased a RTX 2080 Super, so unless there is a massive significant performance upgrade in the RTX 3000 series I will not be investing and will wait for the RTX 4000 series.
 
Hi guys, hopefully some of the experts around here can help with a suggestion.

I am looking into buying a new gaming laptop, which primarily will be used for playing PES (don't play anything else) and video editing 4k videos.

When it comes to PES 2020 and the upcoming titles, I was wondering which would be the best combo:

1. i9-9880h + rtx 2070

or

2. i7-9750 + rtx 2080

or

3. i7-9750 + rtx 2080 max q (although from what I read these max q are not recommended and 2070 would outperform it)

Also will a display with 240hz be more recommended than a 140hz one, would the difference be noticeable?

I am between option 1 and option 2, but not too sure over the years what would serve me better, superior cpu or superior gpu.

Any advice welcomed.

Thanks.
 
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Since you're going to be using it only for PES and video editing, I'd say don't go overboard as you won't need that much horsepower. I can honestly say you're going to be throwing money away if you get a PC with an RTX 2080 just for PES. You would probably get away with a 2060 in PES for at least 2-3 years.

Definitely explore some Ryzen options (haven't been following the laptop market tbh, but you should be able to find Ryzen builds).

I have a 144hz monitor myself, and it sure plays really smoothly, but tbh you don't even need that for PES. Go for 144hz if you find something good, but anything above that should be out of the question imo.

Most importantly for a laptop, look at the build quality and not only the components, look up reviews of the cooling system on Youtube - this is the vital part for me, as powerful GPUs are always going to generate heat.
 
spektarm said:
If it's just for gaming, I would simply wait.

Future proofing is kind of a myth in some ways, especially regarding GPUs, it's just best to upgrade every few years and get some money for your old one on the second hand market.

With the new consoles practically right around the corner, it doesn't make much sense to upgrade your GPU now (especially with an AMD card), because you'd need a new one in a year or so anyway.
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bsmaff said:
Processor wise you would definitely notice the difference as the 3600 would be twice as powerful as the 3570.
Processor wise AMD is the way forward now, there is absolutely no reason why anyone building a PC today would choose an Intel.

Graphics card wise you would be looking at a 15-20% increase in performance, which depending on setup isn't really worth it.
As the 1070 should be more than enough to play games @1440 at decent settings, as I used to have one a couple of years ago.

I would wait for GPU at this moment, the RTX 3000 series is coming next June and will no doubt bring a significant performance increase in Ray Tracing, as well as the usual 20% increase in actual graphics performance.

In regards to waiting to see what is in the next gen consoles - I would be incredible surprised if they have a GPU more powerful than a 5700XT in them.
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Thanks For the heads up guys.

I’ve been so tempted to pull the trigger on this https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...cs-card-gx-1b9-gi.html?campaign=affiliate/tag

But I’m going to hold out for a while now I think after your twos responses.
 
Guys another question, should I still go ahead and get the Ryzen 3600 CPU (maybe even a 3700x) and a MSI Tomahawk MAX B450 board or just wait on that as well?

oh yeah and some 3000+MHz DDR4 (to replace my 1600mhz DDR3)
 
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Coopz said:
Guys another question, should I still go ahead and get the Ryzen 3600 CPU (maybe even a 3700x) and a MSI Tomahawk MAX B450 board or just wait on that as well?

oh yeah and some 3000+MHz DDR4 (to replace my 1600mhz DDR3)
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The AMD processors were released in July..

So you are 5 months through the release cycle, judging by AMD releases it could be July to September before the 4th Gen Ryzen processors are released.
But given the massive performance buffer they have over Intel at the moment, they might delay the 4th Gen.

Also it is a custom 3rd Gen Ryzen which is going to be in the new PS5/Xbox.

Personally myself as well I don't skimp on motherboards, I also buy ones which are better quality.
But more importantly have the better chipset.

The X570 boards have improvements over the B450 and worth the extra investment.
Better VRM's - Better power management and less drop in voltage.
PCIe 4.0 Support - B450 doesn't support PCIe 4.0, although nothing utilises this yet.
Faster memory support - Although again, I don't know anyone who buys the fastest memory available.

There are other advantages, mainly better components in general - And mainly all to do with overclocking.
 
bsmaff said:
The AMD processors were released in July..

So you are 5 months through the release cycle, judging by AMD releases it could be July to September before the 4th Gen Ryzen processors are released.
But given the massive performance buffer they have over Intel at the moment, they might delay the 4th Gen.

Also it is a custom 3rd Gen Ryzen which is going to be in the new PS5/Xbox.

Personally myself as well I don't skimp on motherboards, I also buy ones which are better quality.
But more importantly have the better chipset.

The X570 boards have improvements over the B450 and worth the extra investment.
Better VRM's - Better power management and less drop in voltage.
PCIe 4.0 Support - B450 doesn't support PCIe 4.0, although nothing utilises this yet.
Faster memory support - Although again, I don't know anyone who buys the fastest memory available.

There are other advantages, mainly better components in general - And mainly all to do with overclocking.
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Nice one, I’ll look into that motherboard and if any deals are about.
 
Sorry for necroing, but is there any particular reason why nobody wrote anything in this thread for almost two and a half years?
 
Can only assume that no one has wanted to buy a PC in the past couple of years, or users are asking for advice from other forums.

With build groups on FaceBook and other places to get advice like Overclockers.co.uk forums, it would make sense.
 
bsmaff said:
Can only assume that no one has wanted to buy a PC in the past couple of years, or users are asking for advice from other forums.
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Bought mine in september 2020, and I consider myself lucky to be one of the latest ones to buy an almost decent video card (RX 5700XT) for an almost decent price (440€, a bit inflated but hey) before the market went berserk and prices rocketed past the roof.
After that, well, building a new PC would have probably costed an arm and a leg until not long ago (but we're talking... A month ago maybe?) so I can see why it's been so calm in here: having a brand new gaming PC with a decent video card (as it looks like it was mainly them which were costing way too much) but only one arm remaining to hold the pad isn't good I guess.
 
zlac said:
Sorry for necroing, but is there any particular reason why nobody wrote anything in this thread for almost two and a half years?
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Hopefully it picks up now that GPU prices are kinda going back to normal territory. But I agree and hopefully we get to see some more activity and build set-ups. I'm always looking at parts but really cant seem to justify an upgrade to my 5 year old PC...

bsmaff said:
Here you go images from when I upgraded my PC last November.
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Looks really nice, I have a feeling (I might be mistaken) you had also upgraded in 2020 maybe? When you upgrade you sell the old chips and GPU?
 
Well then, let me start the new "need opinions" season :D

Ryzen/Radeon based rig, mid-range (arguably decent 1440p performance?), baseline list on pcpartpicker
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/c8TQcb

Configuration such as this can be assembled on PcSpecialist.co.uk (plus/minus some vague brandings on GPU front - it literally says only "12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT", actual manufacturer is not mentioned).

I bought my last rig from PcSpecialist.co.uk, way back in 2016, before Brexit. Very positive experience.

Now, almost 6 years later, two or three questions arise:
1. Is the PcSpecialist.co.uk still as good and reliable as it used to be? :)
2. Given the Brexit, can anybody from EU answer these:
a) Is the VAT already included in their price? PcSpecialist web page displays both "with VAT" and "without VAT" prices to be identical??
I'm assuming that this means that they have already applied my local VAT rate for Croatia? Their web site has recognized my country, so again I assume that the conclusion is: mandatory VAT (due to shipping from UK to EU), and already applied. Right? :)
b) What about additional import customs? I know policy and rates may differ from country to country, but if anyone from EU has recently imported PC from UK in general, did you pay additional import customs?


And of course, the most important question - what about the configuration? Multipurpose + gaming, up to 1440p
 
el niche said:
Hopefully it picks up now that GPU prices are kinda going back to normal territory. But I agree and hopefully we get to see some more activity and build set-ups. I'm always looking at parts but really cant seem to justify an upgrade to my 5 year old PC...



Looks really nice, I have a feeling (I might be mistaken) you had also upgraded in 2020 maybe? When you upgrade you sell the old chips and GPU?
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I upgraded the GFX card in 2020.
I normally sell all my stuff on eBay.

I try places like Facebook and Gumtree, but mainly full of people offering half the value it is worth.

I will sell my processor this year and GFX on ebay - I might change mobo, depending on whether DDR5 makes a difference this year.
 
zlac said:
Well then, let me start the new "need opinions" season :D

Ryzen/Radeon based rig, mid-range (arguably decent 1440p performance?), baseline list on pcpartpicker
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/c8TQcb

Configuration such as this can be assembled on PcSpecialist.co.uk (plus/minus some vague brandings on GPU front - it literally says only "12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT", actual manufacturer is not mentioned).

I bought my last rig from PcSpecialist.co.uk, way back in 2016, before Brexit. Very positive experience.

Now, almost 6 years later, two or three questions arise:
1. Is the PcSpecialist.co.uk still as good and reliable as it used to be? :)
2. Given the Brexit, can anybody from EU answer these:
a) Is the VAT already included in their price? PcSpecialist web page displays both "with VAT" and "without VAT" prices to be identical??
I'm assuming that this means that they have already applied my local VAT rate for Croatia? Their web site has recognized my country, so again I assume that the conclusion is: mandatory VAT (due to shipping from UK to EU), and already applied. Right? :)
b) What about additional import customs? I know policy and rates may differ from country to country, but if anyone from EU has recently imported PC from UK in general, did you pay additional import customs?


And of course, the most important question - what about the configuration? Multipurpose + gaming, up to 1440p
Click to expand...

I can't answer any of the questions really.
Don't know anything these days in regards to import taxes due to Brexit - Just they now exist.
Always build my own PC, as pre-builts charge quite a bit of money for systems.

As for building a system Ryzen's aren't so much the better performers anymore.
+ This is not a good time to buy a new system with new AMD processors coming in September and new Intel kit coming in October.
So you will either get better kit for the same money or the kit your buying now for less.
 
Considering a partial upgrade to my current i5-6600K/Z170 PC from 2017.

I already got 3060Ti GPU (running happily within that rig), so as a next step, I'm considering the CPU/MoBo/RAM-side of the story.
Any thoughts on this partial list?
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2sr3bL

Happy to keep all the other components/peripherals (ssd, hdd, monitor, etc.)
 
zlac said:
Considering a partial upgrade to my current i5-6600K/Z170 PC from 2017.

I already got 3060Ti GPU (running happily within that rig), so as a next step, I'm considering the CPU/MoBo/RAM-side of the story.
Any thoughts on this partial list?
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2sr3bL

Happy to keep all the other components/peripherals (ssd, hdd, monitor, etc.)
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I own both that CPU and that motherboard and I am really happy with them. Not sure about the air cooler as this CPU can go hot quickly. I have a Dark Rock Pro 4 and it is pushed at the limit when the cpu is being really busy, which happens rarely (never while gaming). You can always slightly under volt the CPU which will improve temp without affecting much its performances (I use a -0.100 udervolt myself).
I own the 5600 version of the corsair vengeance and I am also happy with it.
As for the PSU I think you can't go wrong with a RMx, but you might want to give yourself extra room for future upgrade with something closer to the 1000.
 
Thanks for the info. You're talking about this Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler?
I could bump PSU to 850W - for 1000W, I don't really see myself getting top notch RTX xx80/xx90 cards in the future
 
Yes, that's the one. It is quite big but for that model of RAM space will be ok (not OK for the RGB version). But you/I will have to remove it to add extra RAM if needed in the future. The fans have the reputation to be a pain in the arse to remove hence why other prefers the Noctua NH-D15 over that one.

​

 
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Was just looking at the video and did notice how it completely covers RAM slots, which I'm not too happy with - if it implies dismantling it simply to reseat/change RAM boards. Thanks for the Noctua alternative
 
zlac said:
Considering a partial upgrade to my current i5-6600K/Z170 PC from 2017.

I already got 3060Ti GPU (running happily within that rig), so as a next step, I'm considering the CPU/MoBo/RAM-side of the story.
Any thoughts on this partial list?
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2sr3bL

Happy to keep all the other components/peripherals (ssd, hdd, monitor, etc.)
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Extremely bad time to be purchasing Intel equipment right now.
New processors are due in October, so you're still paying a premium for 11 month old tech.

Price drops will be incoming for 13th Gen soon, or you wait a month and get the 14th Gen for the same sort of price + a 10-20% performance increase.
As for other components they are all good - although as suggested by Papinho81, I would look at getting either a 850 - 1000W PSU just because you don't need it now but GPU's are always getting more power hungry so even a RTX6600 in a couple of years will probably need a 800W minimum.

CPU fans are all adequate unless you overclock, but Noctua do tend to make the best ones.
 
marion2000 said:
In this moment, this is my pc configuration:
CPU: Intel core i5 9400 f (https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...r-9m-cache-up-to-4-10-ghz/specifications.html)
RAM: 16GB
Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Super (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-gtx-1650-super.c3411)
Motherboard: Gygabyte h310m h2.0 (https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/H310M-H-20-rev-10#kf)
Tips about what is more necessary to upgrade first? I mainly use it for gaming/study, sometimes recording gameplay.
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If you are running games @1080HD then not really much need to upgrade.
The GFX card will probably need updating soon, but given games are built for the lowest domininator (consoles) then if your card is working for most games out this generation there is no reason why it shouldn't last a few more years till you need to upgrade.
Just look at the FPS count and as soon as games stop dropping below 60FPS then look at upgrading the GFX card.
 
Thanks. I seem to have a knack of getting upgrade-happy at the worst possible times :D at least if Intel schedule is concerned.

Regarding cooler - would Noctua NH-D15s be equally recommended as Noctua NH-D15? The "s" version uses only one fan sandwiched between radiators, but it also leaves the RAM slots easily accessible (unlike NH-D15, whose second fan again completely covers RAM slots from above). And the manufacturer itself claims that D15 with 2 fans provides no more than 1-3°C better performance
 
How feasible is it to upgrade an Asus Tuf Gaming Fx504 Laptop processor, from i5 to i7? I bought my Asus laptop about 3 or 4 years ago, and I'd like to upgrade the processor to i7 so that I can play EA Sports 24 and later titles on the PC (even though I have a Switch).

I've read that it's really hard to upgrade laptop processors since they are soldered on the motherboard, but then again, I've seen a very similar model to my laptop, but with an i7 processor here: https://www.asus.com/wa/laptops/for-gaming/tuf-gaming/asus-tuf-gaming-fx504/ so I think it might be possible? Thanks in advance for your help.
 
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