Yet another upgrade advice thread

py2006

Hi all,

I used to be into building my own pc (see below) but I haven't done anything in years and I haven't been following things so I haven't a clue whats good these days and where to start.

My pc is now starting to age and in the last day or so I can feel it getting sluggish. It would appear that a few years of dust built up and even though I cleared most of it the computer doesn't feel stable and may die any moment. Plus I want something new and shiny. ;-)

Based on what I have, can you advise as to where I could start and what I could ignore. I am assuming a new motherboard, cpu, gpu and memory?

I don't play as many games these days as before so its mainly used for watching movies and general net use. However, I may get back into some light single player gaming if a new setup permits it.

Thanks in advance.


Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68AP
Graphics: HIS HD7950
CPU: i5 2500k
Memory: XMS3 8GB
HD: Samsung 120GB SSD
Soundcard: Xonar STX
PSU: Superflower 750watt
Monitor: ASUS PB278 27" (2560x1440)
Speakers: Logitech Z-2300
Win7 64bit
Case: ATCS 840


Budget depends on advice and research but nothing crazy

K.O.Kiki

py2006 wrote: »

Hi all,

I used to be into building my own pc (see below) but I haven't done anything in years and I haven't been following things so I haven't a clue whats good these days and where to start.

My pc is now starting to age and in the last day or so I can feel it getting sluggish. It would appear that a few years of dust built up and even though I cleared most of it the computer doesn't feel stable and may die any moment. Plus I want something new and shiny. ;-)

Based on what I have, can you advise as to where I could start and what I could ignore. I am assuming a new motherboard, cpu, gpu and memory?

I don't play as many games these days as before so its mainly used for watching movies and general net use. However, I may get back into some light single player gaming if a new setup permits it.

Thanks in advance.


Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68AP
Graphics: HIS HD7950
CPU: i5 2500k
Memory: XMS3 8GB
HD: Samsung 120GB SSD
Soundcard: Xonar STX
PSU: Superflower 750watt
Monitor: ASUS PB278 27" (2560x1440)
Speakers: Logitech Z-2300
Win7 64bit
Case: ATCS 840


Budget depends on advice and research but nothing crazy

I'd take this as a baseline:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£90.97 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450M-A PRO MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£54.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£75.59 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£67.03 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 570 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card (£141.30 @ CCL Computers)
Case: RIOTORO CR400 ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.29 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£53.94 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £530.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-23 21:00 GMT+0000

Only things I'd salvage are the monitor & your Windows key (use for Win10).

py2006

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I'd take this as a baseline:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£90.97 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450M-A PRO MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£54.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£75.59 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£67.03 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 570 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card (£141.30 @ CCL Computers)
Case: RIOTORO CR400 ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.29 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£53.94 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £530.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-23 21:00 GMT+0000

Only things I'd salvage are the monitor & your Windows key (use for Win10).

Thank you for that. You wouldn't keep current PSU?

Homelander

Best to just sell the old one complete and buy a new one.

Though if it is under performing and acting sluggish then something is wrong or failing. The 2500K has had it's day for gaming but for less intensive games and general use a 2500K with an SSD would still be perfect.

the build above is fairly perfect though depending on how serious you are about gaming, I would definitely recommend a graphics card upgrade on a 1440P monitor like you have.

Not sure what your budget is, but given how affordable good gaming PC's are now, I'd wager the cost is less then you expected - it would be well worth getting something like a GTX1660 Super for an extra £100, would be able to run majority of games at 1440p high settings perfectly.

K.O.Kiki

py2006 wrote: »

Thank you for that. You wouldn't keep current PSU?

Even though SuperFlower make good PSUs, my simple yardstick is: if the PSU is no longer in warranty, don't reuse it.

py2006

Without doing a huge amount of research, this is whats in my cart

Homelander

Yep, good build. As I said though I would stretch for a GTX1660 Super for the extra £80, much faster at 1440P vs the 580. However the 580 is still pretty OK, still be able to run all new games at fairly OK settings at 1440p.

py2006

Homelander wrote: »

Yep, good build. As I said though I would stretch for a GTX1660 Super for the extra £80, much faster at 1440P vs the 580. However the 580 is still pretty OK, still be able to run all new games at fairly OK settings at 1440p.

Could prob go with a cheaper motherboard too

TitianGerm

Homelander wrote: »

Yep, good build. As I said though I would stretch for a GTX1660 Super for the extra £80, much faster at 1440P vs the 580. However the 580 is still pretty OK, still be able to run all new games at fairly OK settings at 1440p.

Drop the X570 for a B450 Max?

py2006

TitianGerm wrote: »

Drop the X570 for a B450 Max?

Good bit cheaper thanks but outta stock on Amazon.

TitianGerm

py2006 wrote: »

Good bit cheaper thanks but outta stock on Amazon.

Lots of stuff showing out of stock on Amazon at the minute or really long delivery times (end of April or start of May). Must be something going on with supply chain or prioritizing other types of deliveries as it looks to be similar on the German site as well.

K.O.Kiki

Don't just rely on Amazon.
CCL & OverclockersUK have loads of MSI B450 MAX motherboards in stock.

Definitely don't buy X570 for a Ryzen 5-3600 - it's money that can be better spent elsewhere (CPU cooler, GPU upgrade, etc.)

That Samsung 860 Evo (SATA) is slower than the Intel 660p (NVMe) - now is a good time to invest in faster drives while they've reached price parity.

py2006

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Don't just rely on Amazon.
CCL & OverclockersUK have loads of MSI B450 MAX motherboards in stock.

Definitely don't buy X570 for a Ryzen 5-3600 - it's money that can be better spent elsewhere (CPU cooler, GPU upgrade, etc.)

That Samsung 860 Evo (SATA) is slower than the Intel 660p (NVMe) - now is a good time to invest in faster drives while they've reached price parity.

Yea I was starting to stick with Amazon as they seem cheaper than Overclockers (which I have used on and off before) and I thought if I got most if not all components from the one outlet they may arrive at same time.

Also I haven't come across an SSD like the Intel 660p before, does it connect direct to motherboard?

K.O.Kiki

py2006 wrote: »

Yea I was starting to stick with Amazon as they seem cheaper than Overclockers (which I have used on and off before) and I thought if I got most if not all components from the one outlet they may arrive at same time.

Also I haven't come across an SSD like the Intel 660p before, does it connect direct to motherboard?

Yes, to an M.2 slot: https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

py2006

I am just looking at the (MSI B450M MORTAR MAX) to see where potential new parts will fit.

Is it just me or is the PCI E1 slot for the GPU not allowing for a sizeable card. I am not certain current one would fit there as its quite wide and long (thats whats she said).

Also I assume the newer SSD cards M.2 will fit just above it?

Homelander

It has 2 m.2 slots.

PCI-E is standard, any card with fit as long as the case accommodates.

djan

In the process of doing a similar system upgrade to yourself.

One thing to note is to make sure you will be getting the AF version of ryzen 1600 as compared to the AE version the AF is basically a downclocked 2600 which runs cooler, more efficiently and a better overclocker. Just check the product code where it should have the two letters in between numbers. Ccl seem to be shipping the AF version even when it's marked as AE.

I'd go for at least an RX 580 if going that route. If keeping the PSU check that it has the necessary cable for a graphics card eg. 8pin.

I'd reccomend a high MHz ram 2800+ as looking at the benchmarks unlike in the past, on the new platforms speed makes a substantial performance of 5-10%.

py2006

djan wrote: »

In the process of doing a similar system upgrade to yourself.

One thing to note is to make sure you will be getting the AF version of ryzen 1600 as compared to the AE version the AF is basically a downclocked 2600 which runs cooler, more efficiently and a better overclocker. Just check the product code where it should have the two letters in between numbers. Ccl seem to be shipping the AF version even when it's marked as AE.

I'd go for at least an RX 580 if going that route. If keeping the PSU check that it has the necessary cable for a graphics card eg. 8pin.

I'd reccomend a high MHz ram 2800+ as looking at the benchmarks unlike in the past, on the new platforms speed makes a substantial performance of 5-10%.

Thats great, thanks for the info. Let me know what parts you are looking at yourself right now. I will prob change my mind a couple times on things like motherboard and gpu.