The Power PC Thread [f*ck off consoles]

[Crayola]

We can all dream, my mrs just calls me a virgin

 

[Christopher]

Sup. For the first time ever I'll be shunning the new console at launch and going PCMR. Luckily I've got a few mates that are really into it and have agreed to spec/build it within my budget.

We're moving home in January to somewhere with a lot more space and crucially an extra bedroom to convert into a home office/man cave. I'll not be doing the build until January when we're in the new place but I wanted to get other people's input on the spec I've gone with so far... maybe you can offer experience on the parts/suggest alternatives.

I'm a graphic designer, so the PC will be used as much for editing/design work as it is for gaming. This is the main reason I've gone for PC over the Series X, two birds with one stone and all that. Creative Suite uses a lot of RAM, so I've added 32GB as a minimum really, plus gone over on the GPU. As far as looks go, I don't mind the odd bit of RGB but I'm mostly wanting it to be super clean and stealthy. (The £389 price for the 2070 is in there since we found one pretty cheaply that wasn't listed on PCPP)

Cheers.

 

[Crayola]

Possibly get a beefier PSU so you have a bit of headroom if you decide to upgrade anything and normal RAM

RGB RAM is for kids and kiddy touchers

 

[Christopher]

Possibly get a beefier PSU so you have a bit of headroom if you decide to upgrade anything and normal RAM

RGB RAM is for kids and kiddy touchers

Yeah, that's fair on both counts. I'm keeping the RAM though. 👀

 

[boultonn]

Looks a very good spec, pretty similar to mine except I went Intel with 16GB and a mix of SSD and HDD.
The 2070 super is a great card and has coped with every reasonable demand I have made of it, seems to cheerfully handle all games at 1440p, ultra settings at around 60fps.

 

[Christopher]

Cheers. Any recommendations on the monitor would be helpful. I want to go ultrawide but I'm pretty flexible on alternatives as long as it's 100Hz or more and 1440.

 

[Crayola]

Yeah, that's fair on both counts. I'm keeping the RAM though. 👀

I knew you were a child all this time!!! 😂

 

[boultonn]

I did nearly say have you considered ultrawide, especially if you're sacking off console gaming, there's no reason not to as games look far better.
I still have a 6yr old Samsung 4k monitor because I cannot decide on an ultrawide.
You can seemingly spend anything from £600 to £1200 on a decent one, depending on size, resolution etc.
Also worth nothing that GPU performance will take a hit because of all the extra pixels it's driving, but not sure by how much

 

[Christopher]

I did nearly say have you considered ultrawide, especially if you're sacking off console gaming, there's no reason not to as games look far better.
I still have a 6yr old Samsung 4k monitor because I cannot decide on an ultrawide.
You can seemingly spend anything from £600 to £1200 on a decent one, depending on size, resolution etc.
Also worth nothing that GPU performance will take a hit because of all the extra pixels it's driving, but not sure by how much

Yep for sure. That's why I've spent a bit more on the GPU since I knew I was going UW. Having used a mate's UW ASUS I couldn't have anything else now.

 

[boultonn]

Yep for sure. That's why I've spent a bit more on the GPU since I knew I was going UW. Having used a mate's UW ASUS I couldn't have anything else now.

I've always had good experience with Overclockers and think they have a decent selection of UW monitors, although what with this whole pandemic thing I think that stock might be your biggest issue.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Sup. For the first time ever I'll be shunning the new console at launch and going PCMR. Luckily I've got a few mates that are really into it and have agreed to spec/build it within my budget.

We're moving home in January to somewhere with a lot more space and crucially an extra bedroom to convert into a home office/man cave. I'll not be doing the build until January when we're in the new place but I wanted to get other people's input on the spec I've gone with so far... maybe you can offer experience on the parts/suggest alternatives.

I'm a graphic designer, so the PC will be used as much for editing/design work as it is for gaming. This is the main reason I've gone for PC over the Series X, two birds with one stone and all that. Creative Suite uses a lot of RAM, so I've added 32GB as a minimum really, plus gone over on the GPU. As far as looks go, I don't mind the odd bit of RGB but I'm mostly wanting it to be super clean and stealthy. (The £389 price for the 2070 is in there since we found one pretty cheaply that wasn't listed on PCPP)

Cheers.

View attachment 1492063

Looks good although if I were you I'd go for a big air cooler for the CPU (Noctua DH15 or similar).

It won't be much cheaper, but it's quieter in general and at least the only moving part to go wrong is a fan rather than pumps/liquid etc.

 

[sburrell93]

Anybody have a Secret Lab referral/discount code? Decided I finally need to splash out on a better chair!

 

[withoutabix]

Anybody have a Secret Lab referral/discount code? Decided I finally need to splash out on a better chair!

Considered the GT omega chairs? love my elite version and a lot of streamers seem to use them!

 

[sburrell93]

Considered the GT omega chairs? love my elite version and a lot of streamers seem to use them!

Nope, not until now lol! Just had a look, they actually look quite decent. How are they for sitting on all day? As much as it will be a chair for any PC gaming, it'll also be what I'm sat in all day WFH for the foreseeable future.

The only one they do with a flat base seems to be out of stock though. I've got a cheapo chair the now that has winged sides on the base and I'm not that keen on it so ideally want something with a flatter base like the Secret Lab Titan.

 

[withoutabix]

Nope, not until now lol! Just had a look, they actually look quite decent. How are they for sitting on all day? As much as it will be a chair for any PC gaming, it'll also be what I'm sat in all day WFH for the foreseeable future.

The only one they do with a flat base seems to be out of stock though. I've got a cheapo chair the now that has winged sides on the base and I'm not that keen on it so ideally want something with a flatter base like the Secret Lab Titan.

that’s difficult for me to answer most I’ve done is 4hrs or so it’s was quite firm at the start but has softened up now. It’s deffo comfortable tho for that amount of time,Biggest issue is not being able to sit on these things before you buy so it’s a gamble It will suit you.

Is say my only gripe is that it doesn’t go as low as I would like compared to my old chair but other than that build quality seems decent etc

 

[djp66]

Anybody have a Secret Lab referral/discount code? Decided I finally need to splash out on a better chair!

You've got PM.

I have an Omega and use it all day, happy with the comfort.

 

[boultonn]

I treated myself to a NobleChairs Epic gaming chair at the start of lockdown and have been thoroughly impressed by it over the past 5 months

 

[sburrell93]

You've got PM.

I have an Omega and use it all day, happy with the comfort.

Nice one, cheers!

That's what I like to hear. The Omega is probably the best sized for me as well, but the Titan appeals that bit more with the flatter base and adjustable lumbar. I just hope it's not too big as I'm on the lower end of their sizing guide for it.

that’s difficult for me to answer most I’ve done is 4hrs or so it’s was quite firm at the start but has softened up now. It’s deffo comfortable tho for that amount of time,Biggest issue is not being able to sit on these things before you buy so it’s a gamble It will suit you.

Is say my only gripe is that it doesn’t go as low as I would like compared to my old chair but other than that build quality seems decent etc

I've heard similar about the Secret Lab chairs being firm to be fair. One of my colleagues got one right at the start of lockdown before they were on constant back order and says it was pretty firm but once used to it it's really comfy. I think the fact I've been looking at the Secret Lab ones for almost as long as that is also the reason I'm so set on getting one over anything else too haha.

 

[Pistachio]

This is so dumb but I can't arrange the tiles in the windows 10 start menu any more! They refuse to go where I want. Does anyone understand how they work? I want "This Computer" at the top, then my personal folder underneath, then my pictures under that etc. But they just refuse.

I've tried removing other groups, unpinning everything then pinning them again. I can move apps around fine, they can go anywhere! But folders? Nope

I feel like I'm playing one of these games 😂

 

[SharkyUK]

Cheers. Any recommendations on the monitor would be helpful. I want to go ultrawide but I'm pretty flexible on alternatives as long as it's 100Hz or more and 1440.

Just a heads-up... UW monitors are great (I'm running a couple myself) but they can be a bit of a pain when it comes to colour setup and calibration for graphic design and/or video editing. I have a separate monitor setup for graphic design (but use the two UWs for everything else).

 

[Steven103]

Just a heads-up... UW monitors are great (I'm running a couple myself) but they can be a bit of a pain when it comes to colour setup and calibration for graphic design and/or video editing. I have a separate monitor setup for graphic design (but use the two UWs for everything else).

Did you use one of these £400 colour gamut measuring doo dahs or is there a clever/simple way of setting up a monitor with 70% accuracy for free? I’ve run the built in windows tool for colour calibration and it’s different but I’m not hugely convinced that it’s any better. I’m not doing anything that’s creative, I just like knowing that I’m getting the best out of what I’ve go



Ref the build posted earlier, pretty sure the WD Blue M2 drives are DRAM-less so will suffer from performance drop off as they get full. I think the drop in random read/writes manifests itself as noticeably poor responsiveness. The Blue has a clever halfway-house solution that makes them much less-worse than all the other DRAM-less drives, so the Blue is actually a really solid choice if you’ve already consciously decided to save money on DRAM-less storage. Given the overall budget I’d have thought you may as well go for something with a DRAM cache like a WD Black (cheaper alternatives are available). Plenty of reviews/benchmarks on the best NVME drives.

 

[SharkyUK]

Did you use one of these £400 colour gamut measuring doo dahs or is there a clever/simple way of setting up a monitor with 70% accuracy for free? I’ve run the built in windows tool for colour calibration and it’s different but I’m not hugely convinced that it’s any better. I’m not doing anything that’s creative, I just like knowing that I’m getting the best out of what I’ve go

The monitor was calibrated from factory prior to delivery, and then I used a friend who does it for a living to check my monitor when he setup my TV. Hence no expensive equipment or costs - it's often a case of who you know! If you don't need mega accuracy then you can get most of the way there (or good enough) by using a keen eye and freely available calibration tests. It can depend on the client and how anal they are (or how particular you are as a graphic designer when it comes to accurate colour reproduction).

 

[Ray Gin]

So me and a mate have been speccing up a PC for me. Well, I’ve been sending him links and asking are the components any good, lol. So far I have my-
Case
PSU
CPU
Board
Cooler

I’m at £700 already. Haven’t even looked at GPUs yet FFS.

 

[Daz...]

So me and a mate have been speccing up a PC for me. Well, I’ve been sending him links and asking are the components any good, lol. So far I have my-
Case
PSU
CPU
Board
Cooler

I’m at £700 already. Haven’t even looked at GPUs yet FFS.

GPU
RAM
SSD / Storage drive
Keyboard
Mouse
Monitor

Plus any other little bits that you realise you need along the way.

Maybe do what @withoutabix done and see if anyone local is selling anything?

 

[Crayola]

I second that idea too ^

No point in paying brand new prices. I've got less then £650 into my whole setup including my desk, chair and peripherals. I don't struggle to play any games really

Ryzen 5 2600
AMD R9 390 TriX
32GB Corsair Vengance
AsRock B350 Pro
2x 2TB Samsung EVO SSD
1x 1TB Samsung Evo SSD
1x 120GB Patriot Burst SSD
Thermaltake Versa H18 case
CoolerMaster V850w PSU
UpHere 120mm CPU cooler

Acer Predator GN246HL - 144Hz
Acer G247HYL - 60Hz

Razer Deathadder Elite
Razer Kraken Tournament Edition
Razer BlackWidow

Ikea Desk
Amazon chair

Bargains are always to be had, CoD, R6 and BF all run absolutely fine on my PC, no overheating although my GPU does get quite toasty sometimes. People spend way too much on their PC's, a similar spec PC to mine brand new in a shop would easily set you back a grand.

I'll be looking to upgrade to a newer Ryzen and GPU. But then you down the rabbit hole of 'upgrade all of the things' 😂

 

[Crazylegs]

So how much is one looking at for a fully built gaming PC that would last 15 years or so and be future proof? I'm tempted by a PS5 or new X Box when they're released but I think a proper gaming PC would be a better investment going forward.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

So how much is one looking at for a fully built gaming PC that would last 15 years or so and be future proof? I'm tempted by a PS5 or new X Box when they're released but I think a proper gaming PC would be a better investment going forward.

15 years?

If you buy a high end PC today (3-5k depending on accessories) then it'll be out of date in more like 5 years. It'll still be capable, but you'd be able to replicate its performance for a fraction of the price. That's just how it goes.

PCs are expensive if you want to jump in at the deep end.

 

[BoatNonce]

If you're futureproofing then wait for the Nvidia 3000 series cards. Not only are they going to be a big jump in performance, they're also the first cards to support HDMI 2.1 which is what you will have to have if you want to run 4k at anything higher than 60 frames per second. But depending on how far you're willing to go you're probably looking in the region of £2k for something pretty badass.

 

[Daz...]

I would go all in on the CPU to start with and then see what’s left to spend on the GPU.

That way you could getaway with a GPU upgrade after 4/5 years without the need to buy a new motherboard etc.

Then after 8/9 years you’d be back at square one again.

 

[Ray Gin]

I’m just gunna keep an eye out on deals for pre built setups, ideally ones with a decent/big case so I can upgrade bits when needed?

 

[Daz...]

I’m just gunna keep an eye out on deals for pre built setups, ideally ones with a decent/big case so I can upgrade bits when needed?

You don’t need a massive case to be able to upgrade.

As long as there’s decent room for the GPU you’ll be fine.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Also you can swap cases very easily

 

[Ray Gin]

Let the search begin

 

[N0ddie]

I'll caution anyone on buying the massive GPUs (As I did this time around). Its 330mm long which means that its too big for a lot of the "mid size" cases. On its own its an issue but if you want an AIO as well its even more of an issue.

 

[Christopher]

Just a heads-up... UW monitors are great (I'm running a couple myself) but they can be a bit of a pain when it comes to colour setup and calibration for graphic design and/or video editing. I have a separate monitor setup for graphic design (but use the two UWs for everything else).

Ah! Good to know!

Because of the viewing angle at the extremes?

 

[Crayola]

I'll caution anyone on buying the massive GPUs (As I did this time around). Its 330mm long which means that its too big for a lot of the "mid size" cases. On its own its an issue but if you want an AIO as well its even more of an issue.

This too

Mines 310mm from memory and its massive. My brother has a GTX 1070 thats tiny in comparison. Only thing his doesnt have is the fans and a massive heat sink like mine

My PC isn't dirty, just couldn't get a photo without the light blaring into the room😂

 

[Ray Gin]

These are the bits I had in my basket

Case

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec-p120-crystal-mid-tower-chassis-w-tempered-glass-windows-black-usb-30-atx-m-atx-m-itx

PSU

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-corsair-rm-series-rm850-2019-full-modular-80-plus-gold-sli-crossfire-single-rail-708a-135mm-fan

CPU

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-ryzen-5-3600x-am4-zen-2-6-core-12-thread-38ghz-44ghz-turbo-32mb-l3-pcie-40-95w-cpu-pluswraith-sp

Board

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-b450-tomahawk-max-amd-b450-s-am4-ddr4-sata3-m2-2-way-crossfire-realtek-gbe-usb-32-gen2-aplusc-at

Cooling

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/thermaltake-floe-dx-argb-360mm-all-in-one-cpu-hydro-cooler-w-argb-lighting-3x120mm-pwm-fan-intel-amd

GPU wise I was going for either a second hand 1080ti or a 5700xt as those are what I was recommended.

 

[N0ddie]

Swap the cooler you have linked to tis 'un:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GKSFC6J/?tag=cliospnet01-21 Currently rated the best 360mm AIO.

 

[sburrell93]

These are the bits I had in my basket

Case

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec-p120-crystal-mid-tower-chassis-w-tempered-glass-windows-black-usb-30-atx-m-atx-m-itx

PSU

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-corsair-rm-series-rm850-2019-full-modular-80-plus-gold-sli-crossfire-single-rail-708a-135mm-fan

CPU

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-ryzen-5-3600x-am4-zen-2-6-core-12-thread-38ghz-44ghz-turbo-32mb-l3-pcie-40-95w-cpu-pluswraith-sp

Board

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-b450-tomahawk-max-amd-b450-s-am4-ddr4-sata3-m2-2-way-crossfire-realtek-gbe-usb-32-gen2-aplusc-at

Cooling

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/thermaltake-floe-dx-argb-360mm-all-in-one-cpu-hydro-cooler-w-argb-lighting-3x120mm-pwm-fan-intel-amd

GPU wise I was going for either a second hand 1080ti or a 5700xt as those are what I was recommended.

I have almost the exact same CPU/mobo setup (MSI B450 gaming instead, same CPU) with a 1070 and it'll run most games on ultra at 1080p 60fps so with a 1080ti that'll be ideal.

Make sure whatever RAM you buy is compatible with Ryzen CPUs as I'm sure they can be a bit funny with some stuff.

Also your cooling is probably a bit overkill unless noise bothers you. The packaged cooler that comes with the Ryzen CPU is a bit noisy and it runs kinda hot but it does the job. Online reviews seem to suggest a decent liquid cooler only really gains you a couple of FPS in some games

 

[N0ddie]

Ryzen like fast RAM. 16GB is more than enough for 90% of users so I'd go for this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TB3R9JB/?tag=cliospnet01-21

If you want 32GB then:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082DGZJ9C/?tag=cliospnet01-21