CPU heavy gaming rig

troyzer

Hi all, I originally posted this in the PC gaming forum but was told I might get a better response here.

For some background, I'm primarily a console gamer but I do have a high spec laptop from PC Specialist that lets me play my map games, city sims, strategy etc. Nothing that's overly demanding graphics wise (I just leave that to my PS5).

My partner and I are finally buying our own place and it's been four years since I got my current laptop so I'm thinking of moving onto a full desktop build.

I've never had my own desktop build before and I know with COVID and crypto mining that card prices all over the price so I wanted to get an idea of what sort of budget you need in 2022 to build a desktop with middle of the road graphics but an absolute beast of a CPU/RAM that will last me at least five years. I say this because as I say, I'm not a big graphics person but I have found that the games I play are really CPU intensive (Paradox games in particular aren't really multithreaded and only run well on high end CPUs with amazing single core capability, I also play a lot of physics simulator games that are also CPU intensive). So I'd rather spend money there and upgrade the GPU later if need be.

I don't really have any peripherals either, but I'm not looking to go 4K and I'm not fussed on a competitive gaming level keyboard/mouse setup so I can save a few quid there as well if need be.

What do you guys reckon then? What kind of money would I need to be setting aside for such a rig?

1. What is your budget? It honestly depends. My current laptop is still perfectly fine. I wouldn't be willing to spend €2,000 to marginally improve performance for example. But I would be willing to spend €3,000 if it meant an absolute sick setup. Does that make sense? Money isn't REALLY the limiting factor here, it's value for money and improvements over what I currently have. If it's too expensive I'd just stick with what I have. Specs below:

i7 8850 H

32GB 2400 MHz

GTX 1070 (not MaxQ)

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? CPU intensive gaming. Not too pushed on flashy, 4k 60fps Ultra settings for the latest cutting edge shooters. Lot of Paradox and other strategy games. The big upcoming game I want to optimise for is Kerbal Space Programme 2 and I wouldn't mind running Microsoft Flight Simulator like a boss (I have some Thrustmaster peripherals). KSP 2 is going to absolutely melt most CPUs if the first one is anything to go by.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I can still salvage a relatively new Samsung 1TB m-SATA drive. So I'd only need a boot drive in the new desktop (I don't need a huge amount of storage)

5. Do you need a monitor? I can get away with what I have for now (my work from home setup) but I would like a nice 1440p G-sync monitor or whatever at some point.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. Not sure really. Maybe a 22?

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1080p 19 inch monitors

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Don't need a card reader or speakers. Can get by with my keyboard and mouse for now.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Whichever way, I'm not fussed. Preferably card/EFT though.

9. When are you purchasing? Probably not until April or May.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I'll be moved into my new place at this point in the midlands. Currently in Dublin.

Gile_na_gile

Perhaps you stick with what you have for a few years at least and then get a rig if your demands increase due to a 4k or QHD screen, though you should be fine for QHD with that hexacore proc and basic setup. It would be a fortune that could be spent elsewhere, or saved, for minimal gain in the short term. If it is for the challenge of building a pc yourself, just sell the laptop and fire ahead.

K.O.Kiki

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/legion-desktops/legion-t-series-towers/Lenovo-Legion-T5-26AMR5/p/99LE9500368

Honestly a good deal for a machine with RTX 3060 graphics - € 1,264.99 & easy enough to upgrade.

GPU is about 34% faster than your laptop's, but with DLSS would be 60%+ . CPU would be a huge upgrade.

Alternatively, get a Dell XPS with 3060 Ti (68%+ faster than 1070 mobile) and super-fast i9-11900K and replace the stock CPU cooler with a Noctua NH-U9S (buy link).

Just computer: €1,749.00

Computer + 27" 75Hz 1080p monitor: €1,889.70

troyzer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118536943#Comment_118536943

Yeah, this is a valid viewpoint and it's why I'm questioning if the value is there to upgrade at all. It seems like it might not be then?

I'd be into building my own PC but ultimately I just want want to stop having performance issues with my own laptop. Which I'm pretty sure is thermal throttling the **** out of my CPU. If you reckon the best thing to do is sit tight, I might end up doing that. My laptop is serviceable as is.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118538103#Comment_118538103

I wouldn't be mad on buying pre-made machines. I'd rather buy my own and make sure it was upgradable. I.e. get a motherboard that can handle more RAM etc. I don't know much about Lenovos or Dells but I know HP in particular are meant to be awful for upgrading.

So that Dell would have ~70% higher GPU performance and after checking the benchmarks, the CPU would be nearly 150% better. Which is quite significant. So on balance, it's around €2k to double the performance of my current setup if I wanted to get a decent monitor and a few peripherals just to round it out.

Not bad, this is the kind of information I was looking for.

For context, my current laptop was around €2k in 2018 and the CPU was 100% better than the previous gaming laptop of five years. And the GPU was about 500% more powerful. In retrospect, I should have spent more money upgrading the CPU and less money on the GPU. Because I honestly don't need that much GPU power, it's idling at the best of times.

So that's the kind of performance boost I'm used to after spending €2k. But I suppose the returns are way worse now with the supply squeeze and Moore's law!

K.O.Kiki

The Lenovo desktop is all standard parts - ATX power supply, micro-ATX motherboard, etc.

Considering it includes a Windows license, you cannot build for less: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/d4sCmr

------

If you want to self-build, you could do worse than this:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Wt3kcb

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor (€356.85 @ Computeruniverse)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 CPU Cooler (€58.91 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (€220.20 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (€90.89 @ Caseking)

Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€79.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3060 Ti LHR 8 GB Dual Video Card (€799.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (€89.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Power Supply: EVGA GQ 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€84.81 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Total: €1779.56

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-01-27 16:24 CET+0100

troyzer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541123#Comment_118541123

Is this air cooled? What if I wanted to go all out for liquid cooling and overclocking?

Aodhan5000

If you're looking for bang for the buck, water cooling is not the way to go, not a custom loop anyway. Can't overclock the i7 12700F unless you use the BLCK multiplier and I just wouldn't really recommend that so AIO for extra cooling isn't really necessary.

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541174#Comment_118541174

You need a K-series CPU (e.g. 12600K/-KF, 12700K/-KF, 12900K/-KF).

AIO I'd recommend the Arctic Freezer Liquid Freezer II 280 and top-mount it, though you could also get a 360mm and front-mount. Get the RGB/A-RGB version as it has improved, quieter fans.

Jon Doe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541174#Comment_118541174

:) Do you really want to do overclocking?... You did mention that you didn't care for marginal improvements...

If you want a CPU for CPU intensive stuff your best bet is the R9 5950X: 16 cores/32 threads. More than that and your new machine will break your 3k€ limit easily...