First time buyer advice

[forest notch]

I’m mainly looking for guidance on best practices for delivery and first setup (what to check, what to photograph, what to test within the first 72 hours). Also, if anyone with more experience spots weak points or things I should upgrade later (PSU, cooling, RAM config, etc.), I’d appreciate the feedback.

This is my first big workstation build so I want to make sure I don’t overlook anything important

"Case: PCS Pulse Mid Tower Case (PWM)

CPU: Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 285K (24-core, up to 5.7GHz, 36MB cache)

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z890 Eagle WiFi7 (LGA1851, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)

Memory (RAM): 96GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 5600MHz CL40 (2 × 48GB)

Graphics Card (GPU): MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Shadow 3X OC, 16GB GDDR7

Storage:

1TB Crucial T500 Gen4 NVMe SSD (read: 7300MB/s, write: 6800MB/s)

1TB Crucial T500 Gen4 NVMe SSD (same)

Cooling: PCS FrostFlow 240mm ARGB High-Performance Liquid Cooler

Power Supply: Corsair 750W CX Series (80+ Bronze, non-modular)

Monitor: AOC 23.8" 24B3HA2, 1920×1080, 4ms, VGA/HDMI

Other:

Onboard 6-channel audio

Onboard 2.5GbE LAN + Wi-Fi 7 via motherboard

No OS

Free 30-day Microsoft 365 trial

No antivirus preinstalled"

[unborn adder]

Thanks for creating a spec thread!

Please be sure to include answers to the following questions so people can assist you quicker.

• What is the purpose of your PC/laptop? (e.g. gaming, general work, 3D rendering)
• What monitor resolution will you be using? (e.g. 1080p, 1440p, 4k)
• What is your budget including currency symbol? (e.g. £2,000, 1000€)
• Is this budget just for the PC or do you need peripherals as well? (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard etc.)
• Which country are you purchasing from? (Note that we only operate in the UK and Europe)
• Any brand preferences?

If you don’t get a reply right away, please avoid reposting the same question in other channels. The community does its best to help, but responses can take time - someone may still come by with an answer soon!

[mighty kraken]

Firstly I'd put in a second bigger SSD, like a 4 TB one. The first one for Windows and programmes is ok. Then answer the bot question and we'll see better.

[forest notch]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

The purpose: AI/ML workloads (fine-tuning models, data science, data processing/automation), plus some light gaming.
Monitor resolution: 1080p (AOC 23.8" 24B3HA2).
Budget: ~£2,300.
Budget covers: Just the PC and monitor, I already have peripherals.
Country: UK.
Brand preferences: No strong preferences, just reliable parts.

If any other info is required just let me know.

Thank you

[dim coyote]

yeah there's a lot I'd change, the case is already not a great pick, and seeing the resolution, the GPU is overkill IMO, the 5070 is plenty for 1080 gaming, unless it's the VRAM you're after, then I'd still change to the 9070/9070XT

I'll put a spec together quickly

Bones of it is mostly the same, but a bigger case with better airflow, bigger cooler for the CPU, slightly different storage layout, better PSU, slightly dialed back GPU

My PCSpecialist Specification

-# Case: PCS AEGIS BLACK ARGB MID TOWER CASE
-# Processor (CPU): Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 24-Core Processor 285K (Up to 5.7GHz) 36MB Cache
-# Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z890 EAGLE WIFI7 (LGA1851, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
-# Memory (RAM): 96GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5600MHz CL40 (2 x 48GB) KIT
-# Graphics Card: 16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 9070 GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 x DP
-# 1st M.2 SSD Drive: 1TB CRUCIAL T500 GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7300MB/sR, 6800MB/sW)
-# 1st M.2 SSD Drive: 2TB CRUCIAL T500 GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7400MB/sR, 7000MB/sW)
-# Power Supply: CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD
-# Power Cable: 1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
-# Processor Cooling: PCS FrostFlow 360 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
-# Thermal Paste: STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
-# Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
-# Operating System: NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
-# Monitor: AOC 23.8" 24B3HA2 - 1920 x 1080,4MS, VGA, HDMI
-# Warranty: 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
-# Delivery: STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
-# Build Time: Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days

Price: £2,248.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z890-pc/A3xmxhUGTU/

you could still get a 9070XT in there if you wanted to as well, it's about on par with the 5070ti

[grizzled pewter]

what I would say those, those GPU's are really 1440p cards

...and you're getting a 1080p monitor

[dim coyote]

yeah, I did bring it up it's overkill for 1080, unless they're going to use the GPU as part of the work too, then the VRAM and faster GPU chip will benefit them

as to answer the first part " best practices for delivery and first setup (what to check, what to photograph, what to test within the first 72 hours)"

delivery is done by DPD, first setup is fiarly straight forward

[unborn adder]

Here's a few tips to get you going on your new PCSpecialist PC!

PCSpecialist

New PCSpecialist PC?

Here's a checklist outlining a few steps you should take once you receive your new PCSpecialist system (Laptop owners can skip to step 4.)

1. Unpack your PC
2. Remove the side panel and carefully take out the protective packing foam
3. Follow the steps in the image below to set up your PC
4. Boot up your PC
5. Install Windows Updates
6. Reboot and repeat for any additional Windows Updates
7. (Optional) Download GPU software
8. Download the latest GPU drivers
9. Check your display is set to your monitors refresh rate under 'Advanced Display' settings
10. Download your games/apps and enjoy your new system!

[dim coyote]

once your OS of choice is installed, you get to enjoy update hell, after that as far as testing, if you wanted to give it all a test, Furmark for the GPU, CrystalDiskMark for the drives, OCCT for the CPU, not sure if all of them are Linux friendly if thats the plan

what to photograph, nothing much unless there is damage, you'll get a 360 preview, so unless something doesn't match up right, you don't need much in the ways of phopos

[mighty kraken]

• Cinebench for CPU cooling
• Furmark for GPU cooling
• OCCT for stability test on every sub-system: CPU, RAM, CPU+RAM, GPU, VRAM, PSU, ect.
  Use HWinfo for monitoring everything during the tests.

[dim coyote]

if the GPU doesn't factor in the workload however, you can save a pretty penny, 5060TI 16GB if you want Nvidia, 9060XT 16GB for AMD, can't really recommend the intel lineup for a first time PC owner as nice as they are

[dim coyote]

as for upgrades, it all depends on what you want to upgrade,
maybe more RAM, but 96GB is already a fair chunk and should last a while depending on what you need,
more storage maybe, again needs dependant,
PSU again, all depends on if you want to upgrade the GPU or not.
The CPU is already the top of the line for that socket, and Intel is yet to confirm if the next line will be on the same socket, and even if it is, the upgrade will bear minimal results if the last few generations is anything to go by, the 12900 CPUs weren't that much slower than even the 14900's

[forest notch]

Thanks for the advice and info mate, appreciate it. My workload leans on the GPU for the heavier tasks. I was eyeing up a 24GB+ card but that’s out of budget for now. The CPU + plenty of RAM should let me run smaller jobs in parallel though, which gives me confidence so thanks for letting me know your thoughts on that. The system’s mainly for work and projects, with gaming as more of a side thing when I need a break, so a better monitor upgrade down the line will definitely come in handy, is the one you mentioned earlier recommended for setup I was going for ?

[dim coyote]

I didn't recommend one, just went with the one you picked, as for the upgrade there, all depends on what you want, and what you see as light gaming, maybe more screen real estate will go far, or a higher refresh/resolution is the shout

that AOC in the spec is perfectly functional, just very meh, 100hz refresh isn't great, but not bad, 1080 is pretty standard and 24" isn't big, but not all that small

with the work being more GPU heavy, maybe cutting back a little on the CPU to benefit the GPU is in order, I'll see if a better GPU is an option with an ultra 7 in there rather than an ultra 9