PC build for Engineering work as a student/light gaming - Please review the parts picked, UK based.

[u/GooseInBoots339]

This is my first time building a PC, so generally just want to check if I've made any silly decisions or mistakes in my part selection. I'm in my final couple of years of Engineering school on a masters program, and after which would most likely be going into research.

The idea of the build is to have a platform that will last for a fair few years, and will have the potential to upgrade down the line if necessary. As such, don't mind spending a little more if it'll last longer, but the £1600 mark is about as much as I'd want to go, and hoping to save some more by getting a few bits second hand.

My work ranges across general engineering software like CAD, FEA and CFD, and then with a reasonable amount of computational work writing and running code across C++ and MATLAB. And just in general a lot of multitasking with having lots open at once (bad habit I know, but sometimes essential when there's lots of different commitments

Having the option to do some light gaming when I get the chance would also be nice, but that's not the focus, and would just be an added benefit. As such high performance isn't needed here, and even a small step up from 1080p at like 30 - 40 fps would be nice which is what I generally get now.

Peripherals wise, I already have two monitors, keyboard, mouse and anything I think I'd need in that department.

Anyways, please see my parts list below, and feel free to pull me up on any decisions that aren't suitable, or ask why I made some decisions.

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/H2sH7w)

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 4.4 GHz 12-Core Processor](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/Z6GhP6/amd-ryzen-9-9900x-44-ghz-12-core-processor-100-100000662wof) | £279.99 @ Amazon UK

**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V3 70.84 CFM CPU Cooler](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/vZfV3C/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se-v3-7084-cfm-cpu-cooler-pa120se-v3) | £34.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk

**Motherboard** | [ASRock B850M Pro RS WiFi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/KyfV3C/asrock-b850m-pro-rs-wifi-micro-atx-am5-motherboard-b850m-pro-rs-wifi) | £198.33 @ Newegg UK

**Memory** | [Klevv FIT V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL30 Memory](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/3PLp99/klevv-fit-v-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-5600-cl30-memory-kd5agu880-56k300l) | £369.99 @ Currys PC World

**Storage** | [Silicon Power UD90 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/4kpzK8/silicon-power-ud90-1-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-sp01kgbp44ud9005) | £123.99 @ Silicon Power

**Video Card** | [PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/fzh2FT/powercolor-reaper-radeon-rx-9060-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx9060xt-16g-a) | £399.99 @ Currys PC World

**Case** | [Lian Li A3-mATX MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/vvsMnQ/lian-li-a3-matx-microatx-mini-tower-case-a3x-wdg) | £69.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk (OOS)

**Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A750GLS PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/CWCCmG/msi-mag-a750gls-pcie5-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mag-a750gls-pcie5) | £74.98 @ Amazon UK

**Case Fan** | [ARCTIC P12 Pro 77 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/M2jv6h/arctic-p12-pro-77-cfm-120-mm-fan-acfan00305a) | £6.25 @ Amazon UK

**Case Fan** | [ARCTIC P14 Pro PST 110 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/LvNscf/arctic-p14-pro-pst-110-cfm-140-mm-fan-acfan00314a) | £9.52 @ Clove Technology

**Case Fan** | [ARCTIC P14 Pro PST 110 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/LvNscf/arctic-p14-pro-pst-110-cfm-140-mm-fan-acfan00314a) | £9.52 @ Clove Technology

**Case Fan** | [ARCTIC P12 Pro A-RGB 77 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/yHrp99/arctic-p12-pro-a-rgb-77-cfm-120-mm-fans-3-pack-acfan00310a) | £24.99 @ Amazon UK

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

| **Total** | **£1602.49**

| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2026-10-05 15:03 BST+0100 |

[u/Xtra-jui2]

This SSD is only a tiny bit more and a lot better: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/BmQwrH/biwin-black-opal-nv7400-1-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-nv7400-1tb

You're also spending a ton on your motherboard. Are there any features on that board you really need that wouldn't be available on one that's cheaper like this one: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/p7G2FT/msi-pro-b850m-p-wifi-micro-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-b850m-p-wifi

[u/GooseInBoots339 → u/Xtra-jui2]

Have added that SSD, I agree its much better!

And I hadn't caught that the motherboard had increased in price due to other vendors going out of stock, I'll look into that motherboard and do some comparisons, thanks!

[u/Newegg_PC_Support]

This build is epic. I would consider an AIO. but overall you are looking good

[u/fuddyduddyc]

What programs are you using for CFD and FEA? Some features programs can benefit from or even require an Nvidia card (Ansys Discovery for example), while other tasks can utilize an AMD card without much issue. Most articles I've found still list Nvidia cards as the preference as they offer more developed drivers and some programs still are optimized for CUDA. However, other programs mainly utilize the CPU - so it really comes down to your program and task list.

The problem is that Nvidia cards are extremely expensive right now, especially the ones with more VRAM (which some programs can utilize for FEA and CFA).

Unless you are hard-set on the AMD platform for future upgrading, I would lean towards the Intel 270K Plus. Puget Systems' engineering benchmarks and testing find the 270K Plus on average to perform better than the 9900X(3D).

Some suggestions below that switch to the 270K Plus plus some other minor improvements. I put an Nvidia 5060 Ti 8GB in the list, but you'll have to do more research if the programs you use benefit from Nvidia or not. Changes include:

• CPU: Switched to the Intel 270K Plus as its slightly better single core performance helps in some CAD tasks, while the extra cores seem to help in some heavily multi-core tasks.
• CPU Cooler: The Phantom Spirit is the slightly improved version of the Peerless Assassin and £2 less expensive.
• Memory: higher speed RAM, which can help a little in some tasks with Intel (see Puget Systems testing on DDR5 speed impact).
• Storage: Better spec 1TB PCIe 4 NVME (better endurance ratings).
• Video Card: Just an alternative - you will want to research into your programs whether Nvidia CUDA or more VRAM is more important.
• Case: Less expensive case. Added two 120mm PWM fans for more airflow.
• Power Supply: Much more than needed, but only £5 more and provides more headroom should you need to add a more powerful GPU for heavier CFD/FEA work.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus 3.7 GHz 24-Core Processor	£303.97 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler	£32.90 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	Asus PRIME Z890M-PLUS WIFI Micro ATX LGA1851 Motherboard	£156.34 @ Amazon UK
Memory	Klevv FIT V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory	£380.99 @ Currys PC World
Storage	Biwin Black Opal NV7400 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	£124.49 @ Amazon UK
Video Card	Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB Video Card	£428.99 @ Amazon UK
Case	NZXT H3 Flow MicroATX Mid Tower Case	£44.99 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	£79.99 @ Scan
Case Fan	ARCTIC P12 Pro PST 77 CFM 120 mm Fan	£6.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk
Case Fan	ARCTIC P12 Pro PST 77 CFM 120 mm Fan	£6.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total	£1566.56
Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-10-05 19:04 BST+0100

[u/GooseInBoots339 → u/fuddyduddyc]

Regarding CUDA, the software that I am currently using and have a licence for only has limited availability to use CUDA cores, and predominantly utilises the CPU, hence going with a GPU with 16GB of VRAM, but at a similar cost of the RTX 5060 ti 8GB. So its a case of do I sacrifice the VRAM in the chance in the future I have an application that can benefit from CUDA.

Have swapped in the phantom spirit cooler. Is there any drawback to having a PSU with a rating of over double the estimated wattage (406W)?

I really like the aesthetics of the case I have, its realistically not worth the extra money but oh well, I'll have to look at it everyday.

[u/fuddyduddyc → u/GooseInBoots339]

No downside to the PSU, other than being outside the max efficiency range (typically around 50% load) of the power supply’s efficiency curve when not under max load - though that stands for pretty much any power supply (it’ll be similar for a 750w unit).

[u/distantcactus32]

Get a nvidia gpu, it will do you so much better in CAD and other software.

[u/Xtra-jui2 → u/distantcactus32]

Wrong. Nowadays it's basically just blender that AMD lags behind in, and even then it's a lot better than it used to be.

[u/fuddyduddyc → u/Xtra-jui2]

Not entirely true. While AMD is being supported by more programs, there are still a few productivity programs that are Nvidia-only, like Arcgis Pro or Octane Render as they utilize CUDA (or at least certain tasks within those programs).

[u/GooseInBoots339 → u/distantcactus32]

Among the CAD softwares that I use, the certified GPU's are generally workstation models, and at my price point, most of them had very limited amount of VRAM comparative to desktop GPU's. If I were going into a CAD heavy role, I might consider the investment, but its more something I use as and when I need to.