• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Which Computer set up is better? Please Help!

Associate
Joined
20 Oct 2017
Posts
6
Hi guys,

Could you please help me, which one from the three PC's spec from below is the best option in you opinion?

Option I - price for PC + 2 monitors + some peripherals £3,634.00 INC VAT:

-Case COOLERMASTER MASTERCASE PRO 5 GAMING CASE
-Processor (CPU) AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 16 Core CPU (3.4GHz, 40MB CACHE, sTR4)
-Motherboard ASUS® PRIME X399-A (DDR4, 6Gb/s, CrossFireX/SLI) - RGB Ready!
-Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
-Graphics Card 11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - GTX VR Ready!
-1st Hard Disk 4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
-M.2 SSD Drive 500GB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1900MB/W)
-DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
-Power Supply CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
-Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
-Processor Cooling Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
-Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
-LED Lighting 2x 50cm Blue LED Strip
-Extra Case Fans 2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
-Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
-Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
-USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
-Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
-Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
-DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
-Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
-Anti-Virus BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
-Browser Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
-Monitor ASUS VC239H 23" IPS Frame-less Monitor
-2nd Monitor ASUS VC239H 23" IPS Frame-less Monitor
-Keyboard & Mouse Razer® Black Widow Chroma X Gaming Keyboard
-Gaming Mouse Pad Asus ROG Sheath Gaming Mousepad
-Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
-Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
-Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
-Promotional Item Get Destiny 2 with select GTX 10 Series GPUs! ** Limited Codes Available **
-Promotional Item FREE Assassin's Creed: Origins with select SAMSUNG NVMe SSDs!

Option II price for PC + 2 monitors + some peripherals £4,103.92 INC VAT:

-Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Midi Tower Case with Window - Black
-Processor (CPU) AMD Ryzen 9 Threadripper Sixteen Core 1950X 4.00GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
-Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X399 GAMING 7 AMD X399 (Socket TR4) ATX Motherboard
-Memory (RAM) Team Group Xtreem "8 Pack Edition" 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C14 3200MHz Quad Channel Kit - Black
-Graphics Card EVGA GeForce GTX 1080Ti "Founders Edition" 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card
-1st Hard Disk Seagate BarraCuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST3000DM008 )
-M.2 SSD Drive Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
-DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
-Power Supply Super Flower Leadex II 850W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - Black
-Processor Cooling System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM (SI) [EXNO-001]
-LED Lighting BitFenix Alchemy 2.0 Magnetic Connect 15 LED-Strip 30cm - Blue (30SB150200000)
-Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster Z High Performance Gaming Sound Card - OEM
-Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
-Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
-Monitor Asus SonicMaster MX239H 23" 1920x1080 IPS
-2nd Monitor Asus SonicMaster MX239H 23" 1920x1080 IPS
-Keyboard & Mouse Razer Blackwidow Chroma Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
-Gaming Mouse Pad Asus ROG Sheath Gaming Mousepad
-Head Set Sennheiser G4ME ZERO Premium Gaming Headset - Black
-Promotional Item AMD Promotion: Quake Champions PC Game
-Promotional Item Nvidia Promotion: Destiny 2 with GeForce GTX 1080 / GTX 1080Ti (2)

Option III price for PC + 2 monitors + some peripherals £4,051.91 INC VAT:

-Case NZXT H440 New 2015 Edition Case - White & Black
-Processor (CPU) AMD Ryzen 9 Threadripper Sixteen Core 1950X 4.00GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
-Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X399 GAMING 7 AMD X399 (Socket TR4) ATX Motherboard
-Memory (RAM) Team Group Xtreem "8 Pack Edition" 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C14 3200MHz Quad Channel Kit - Black
-Graphics Card EVGA GeForce GTX 1080Ti "Founders Edition" 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card
-1st Hard Disk Seagate BarraCuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST3000DM008 )
-M.2 SSD Drive Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
-DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
-Power Supply Super Flower Leadex II 850W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - Black
-Processor Cooling System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM (SI) [EXNO-001]
-LED Lighting BitFenix Alchemy 2.0 Magnetic Connect 15 LED-Strip 30cm - Blue (30SB150200000)
-Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster Z High Performance Gaming Sound Card - OEM
-Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
-Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
-Monitor Samsung C24F390 24" 1920x1080 VA FREESYNC Curved
-2nd Monitor Samsung C24F390 24" 1920x1080 VA FREESYNC Curved
-Keyboard & Mouse Razer Blackwidow Chroma Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
-Gaming Mouse Pad Asus ROG Sheath Gaming Mousepad
-Head Set Sennheiser PC 373D Gaming Headset
-Promotional Item AMD Promotion: Quake Champions PC Game
-Promotional Item Nvidia Promotion: Destiny 2 with GeForce GTX 1080 / GTX 1080Ti (2)


I'll really appreciate any help.

Cheers guys.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Apr 2014
Posts
18,611
Location
Aberdeen
Forget about keeping the PC 10 years. Who knows what the scene will be like in 5 years, let along 10?

What jumps out at your specs is that you are pairing a 1080 ti with 1080p monitors. You should be looking at a 4k GSync or a high refresh 3440x1440 GSync monitor. Freesync is the AMD version and incompatible with Nvidia cards. Having a secondary 1080p monitor - that you do not use for games - is a good idea.

You've vastly overspecced the PSU - drop to 500 or 550W.

And you're buying Windows on a DVD but not buying an optical drive. You should get Windows on a USB stick.
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2013
Posts
8,393
Hi Danny, thanks for reply.

Best option for gaming ofc :D, but to be honest with you I'm looking for something for long period, I guess ... about 10 years.

Gotcha. I was hoping it wasn't for gaming, but your expectations explain why you are considering that.

It doesn't work like that. Threadripper is not the best CPU for gaming, and its performance in comparison to newer CPUs as time goes by will only decline. It's a workstation processor/platform. That money for the CPU and motherboard, spend half of it on a better gaming CPU that will perform well 5+ years, and then after that spend the other half on something newer (if needed)... and those ten years you will have better performance than with Threadripper.

And you ought to be ashamed of yourself spending £4K total and only £150 on a monitor/s. Tsk tsk. You need to review that idea. Spend big on a nice monitor for great gaming.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Apr 2014
Posts
18,611
Location
Aberdeen
And you ought to be ashamed of yourself spending £4K total and only £150 on a monitor/s. Tsk tsk. You need to review that idea. Spend big on a nice monitor for great gaming.

Yes. You spend your time on the PC looking at the monitor, so do your eyes a favour and get the very best you can afford and prioritise the monitor over other components.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
20 Oct 2017
Posts
6
Thank you guys for all replies and suggestions.

In conclusion (I'm noob with building of the PC, this is my 1st and I guess last time:D):

1. Is better to swap AMD 1950x for let say Intel Core i7 8700K (6 Core/12 Thread) Overclocked to 4.9GHz
2. Drop the PSU for about 550W
3. Change the RAM from 32 to 16 (I'll think about this :))
4. 100% - better monitors, I guess I'll just but something around 500+ and get one 4k instead of two (crap ones).
5. After the change of the processor for Intel, should I stay with the motherboard or should I change it i.e. for Intel Z370 Motherboard?
 

Ste

Ste

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,814
For best gaming experience with what looks like a hefty budget....

8700k is a good choice and get 16gb of fast 8pack 3200c14 ram. Get a decent 500gb or 1tb NVME SSD to boot. You’ll need a matching intel 8700k compatible motherboard.

Make sure the monitor is g sync and 100hz. One of the 34 inch curved 3440x1440 100hz gsync would be my choice. Looking at a grand but totally worth it.

550w is not enough headroom for a clocked 8700k and 1080ti. 650w would be ok. However With the amount of cash you are throwing around keep the option for a second 1080ti open should you want to go mad in the future and go for an 850w.
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2013
Posts
8,393
Thank you guys for all replies and suggestions.

In conclusion (I'm noob with building of the PC, this is my 1st and I guess last time:D):

1. Is better to swap AMD 1950x for let say Intel Core i7 8700K (6 Core/12 Thread) Overclocked to 4.9GHz

Yes.


2. Drop the PSU for about 550W

650W would be good for single 1080Ti + 8700K. 850W if you think you may use two cards in future. It's okay to spend extra to futureproof a little here. And 850's don't cost all that much more than 650's, especially not in the context of your sizeable budget.


3. Change the RAM from 32 to 16 (I'll think about this :))

You can add more in the future if you need it. Right now you need to spend on actual performance not on RAM that will be bored to death never being used. Especially as it's very expensive right now. You'd be throwing away £200 for that extra 16GB that you won't use for anything right now.


4. 100% - better monitors, I guess I'll just but something around 500+ and get one 4k instead of two (crap ones).

Here's where it gets a bit tricky. It's not all about resolution. Many swear by 2560x1440 with high refresh rate (144Hz+), and some swear by Ultrawide 3440x1440 (100Hz). 4K monitors only have 60Hz refresh rate at present. I don't have an Ultrawide, don't have the money for it, but that's what appeals to me personally. A more competitive gamer will go for high refresh rate 2560x1440, and an ultra-competitive gamer will stick to a high refresh rate 1920x1080 and all the frames they can throw at it. With 4K, things look great, but the actual experience may not be the best/to your liking. I've seen quite a few on these forums try 4K and then switch to Ultrawide or 2560x1440. Yet others love it. I'd look up video reviews for for all three types and see which grabs you most.



5. After the change of the processor for Intel, should I stay with the motherboard or should I change it i.e. for Intel Z370 Motherboard?

Yep it requires Z370 board. Use Gavin's system in his sig as a guideline. You don't need RAM that fast, that's for overclocking/benching enthusiasts. Look for 3200MHz CAS 14 or 3600MHz CAS 16. Seems to be the sweet spot and more guarantee it will just plug in and play.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
1 Apr 2014
Posts
18,611
Location
Aberdeen
You will need to change the motherboard if you change the processor. And I've just spotted that your choice of cooler isn't particularly compatible with Threadripper but is with the Intel CPUs. That said, if you have a large case you should consider an air cooler like the Noctua DH15 as being similar in performance but quieter.

You should also look carefully at peripherals. A mechanical keyboard like a Ducky is about £100 but is much better. And get yourself a decent mouse - I can't recommend one as I don't use them myself, being a trackball man. If you live in a flat or terrace or with other people, budget for and invest in a decent set of headphones.

And then there's the network connection. Ethernet cable isn't expensive but it still needs to be purchased. As will the cable clips you'll use to tack the cable round the skirting boards. And maybe you'll need a hammer and chisel too. Speaking of cables, if you're going to build the PC yourself - and in your case I suggest you pay OCUK to do it for you - buy a box of coloured cable ties.

Speak to OCUK and they will set you right.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2009
Posts
13,252
Location
Under the hot sun.
Hi Danny, thanks for reply.

Best option for gaming ofc :D, but to be honest with you I'm looking for something for long period, I guess ... about 10 years.

Get a 8700K or 8600K, a good Asus motherboad (eg Z370-F) and a good set of ram. Keep is cheap. And when the Intel mainstream 8 core, alongside Zen+/Zen2 next year, make a decision for longer term by selling the above.
Whats your PC atm?
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2008
Posts
5,950
Have to add that if you're in no rush you could wait and see what black Friday brings. It's not far off now. Given the renewed competition this year from AMD I'm expecting/hoping for some good prices the week of black Friday. Of course only of items with good stock levels, ie, not the 8700k. I just priced up a 7920X system but going to hold off and see what Nov brings - I'm in no rush. The push on R&D that AMD has helped push along I think will also bring some more good stuff fairly soon (early next year).
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Feb 2006
Posts
3,389
I would get a EVGA 750W G3 or 850W G3 for a Threadripper build and a 650W or 750W for a mainstream build. Future GPU's might need more power, just look at Vega.
 
Permabanned
Joined
6 Feb 2010
Posts
6,138
Location
Barnsley
Get a 8700K or 8600K, a good Asus motherboad (eg Z370-F) and a good set of ram. Keep is cheap. And when the Intel mainstream 8 core, alongside Zen+/Zen2 next year, make a decision for longer term by selling the above.
Whats your PC atm?

Worst advice ever....
Buy a new system then when new tech come out in 12 months time sell the lot and start again....


If you need a system now. Then build the best you can now.
 
Back
Top Bottom