CPU, Motherboard, Ram and PSU upgrade advice

Spuj

Spuj

Spuj

Soldato
Joined
23 Jan 2012
Posts
3,119
Location
Wiltshire
Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice on an upgrade on CPU, motherboard, RAM and a PSU (current components are 6+ years old) I have a gigabyte 1080 GPU, HDDs and a corsair 650 case so happy with those and it will be mainly used for gaming (eye on Destiny 2 for example). I'm trying to stick to a budget of £600 with a max of £650. I've created a basket below, I'm not sure if it's any good so please feel free to tear it apart:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £673.01
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​

Thank you in advance for taking your time to help!
 
Are you married to the idea of an Intel system? While the i5 is really good for core speed and IPS, you could get a ryzen system with a 1600 for similar money and have 2 extra cores and 8 extra threads to play with.

Its also worth mentioning that new Intel CPUs are supposed to be coming out sometime in the next month or so.
 
Added a spec to echo @StarShock observations - as the Ryzen would give you significant bang for buck for less money.

But ideally you would wait for Coffee Lake if INTEL was your preferred CPU of choice - if you could wait that long.

For comparison purposes to your i5 build - and you would need to contact CS for an AM4 brackey for cooler:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £632.48
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​
 
StarShock said:
Are you married to the idea of an Intel system? While the i5 is really good for core speed and IPS, you could get a ryzen system with a 1600 for similar money and have 2 extra cores and 8 extra threads to play with.

Its also worth mentioning that new Intel CPUs are supposed to be coming out sometime in the next month or so.
Click to expand...


No not necessarily, I've only ever had Intel so it was sticking with what I know and they've always worked really well for me. I see Ryzen being mentioned a lot here however know very little about it.
 
Spuj said:
No not necessarily, I've only ever had Intel so it was sticking with what I know and they've always worked really well for me. I see Ryzen being mentioned a lot here however know very little about it.
Click to expand...
The 7600K has lots of comparison YouTube gaming videos vs the 1600/x you may find interesting - Clicky.

Watch the newer videos - as the performance increases for the Ryzen thanks to optimisation.
 
Plec said:
The 7600K has lots of comparison YouTube gaming videos vs the 1600/x you may find interesting - Clicky.

Watch the newer videos - as the performance increases for the Ryzen thanks to optimisation.
Click to expand...

Oh that's really interesting, thanks for the link I'll take a look through those.

So if you were in my shoes and wanted to upgrade in the next week, a Ryzen build is the way you would go for gaming? The build you posted above is really helpful so thank you, are there better cooler and PSU options for the budget?
 
Spuj said:
So if you were in my shoes and wanted to upgrade in the next week, a Ryzen build is the way you would go for gaming? The build you posted above is really helpful so thank you, are there better cooler and PSU options for the budget?
Click to expand...
Personally, if i was buying now, i would definitely choose Ryzen 1600 over an i5 6700k. Longevity of socket (~4 years) 6 cores/12 threads (which will have its advantages with future releases) and it's a format that's proved itself in most forms of computing over the past ~6 months.

The PSU you chose is an excellent choice - the G3 is the newer version for a few pounds more. But either is a quality unit.

As for cooler depends what you're after (relative silence?) and the dimensions of your case? But the Evo will get you a decent clock at a good price - but i can list some alternative if you wish but would need your case model.

*Do you have a window on the case?
 
Plec said:
Personally, if i was buying now, i would definitely choose Ryzen 1600 over an i5 6700k. Longevity of socket (~4 years) 6 cores/12 threads (which will have its advantages with future releases) and it's a format that's proved itself in most forms of computing over the past ~6 months.

The PSU you chose is an excellent choice - the G3 is the newer version for a few pounds more. But either is a quality unit.

As for cooler depends what you're after (relative silence?) and the dimensions of your case? But the Evo will get you a decent clock at a good price - but i can list some alternative if you wish but would need your case model.

*Do you have a window on the case?
Click to expand...

I've watched a couple of the videos in your link and the performance seems really really nice, the other game I play a lot of PUBG and it seems to be getting good results in that too from threads I've seen so that's good.

My case is a corsair 650d, dimensions are 546mm (L) x 229mm (W) x 521mm (H) so and it does have a window on it. Just looking for a good quality and powerful cooler. I read with the one I chose and you mentioned it as well that for a Ryzen build I would have to contact Cooler with proof of purchase etc which if I could avoid would be great?
 
A quick note:

If you do go down they ryzen route and want to use that Evo 212 cooler, dont order it online, ring overclockers directly and purchase the cooler and ask for the AM4 bracket.
Its a free bracket with the cooler but as far as i gather its only available if you call them and purchase the evo
 
Spuj said:
I read with the one I chose and you mentioned it as well that for a Ryzen build I would have to contact Cooler with proof of purchase etc which if I could avoid would be great?
Click to expand...
I added your cooler for direct comparison price purposes with your i5 build - but the 212 EVO is a classic cooler for the money and will give you a healthy clock for value for money.

You've got a great case - (i've built with a few) - and it will accommodate any cooler. As mentioned depends what you're after - even if you went for an expensive brick - there's no guarantee you'll get a higher clock but your temps would be cooler and with relative silence.

These are a couple of 'not so big' coolers that still perform really well. The Noctua being my favourite for performance - but it may not be to your taste.

You can get RGB coolers, huge twin tower/twin fan etc... but I advise that browse what you think you would like/spend as you can have your pick with that case:


My basket at Overclockers UK:




EDIT: I should add that the EVO is perfectly fine for a moderate to high clocks - the more expensive coolers come into their own with larger voltages/clocks and their ability to dissipate heat with relative silence.

And again you would have to enquire with CS for an AM4 bracket.​
 
Last edited:
Spankme said:
A quick note:

If you do go down they ryzen route and want to use that Evo 212 cooler, dont order it online, ring overclockers directly and purchase the cooler and ask for the AM4 bracket.
Its a free bracket with the cooler but as far as i gather its only available if you call them and purchase the evo
Click to expand...

Ahh that's really helpful info thank you very much, appreciate it.

Plec said:
I added your cooler for direct comparison price purposes with your i5 build - but the 212 EVO is a classic cooler for the money and will give you a healthy clock for value for money.

You've got a great case - (i've built with a few) - and it will accommodate any cooler. As mentioned depends what you're after - even if you went for an expensive brick - there's no guarantee you'll get a higher clock but your temps would be cooler and with relative silence.

These are a couple of 'not so big' coolers that still perform really well. The Noctua being my favourite for performance - but it may not be to your taste.

You can get RGB coolers, huge twin tower/twin fan etc... but I advise that browse what you think you would like/spend as you can have your pick with that case:


My basket at Overclockers UK:




EDIT: I should add that the EVO is perfectly fine for a moderate to high clocks - the more expensive coolers come into their own with larger voltages/clocks and their ability to dissipate heat with relative silence.

And again you would have to enquire with CS for an AM4 bracket.​
Click to expand...

Wow that's a lot of really helpful information, thanks so much for taking the time to help out. So sticking with the Evo seems like a really solid choice, fantastic performance for a good price which will keep me closer to my total budget which is something I want to do. Not fussed about RGB units or huge units so seems the good choice. Again thank you.
 
Also am I right in thinking that because I'm replacing the motherboard, ill need to do something with my windows install to ensure there are no issues?
 
Spuj said:
Also am I right in thinking that because I'm replacing the motherboard, ill need to do something with my windows install to ensure there are no issues?
Click to expand...
Yes, i would strongly advise you to do a complete reinstall.

Windows 10 is much better than previous versions at adapting with new chipsets - but it it will invariably cause conflicts/issues if you don't do a clean install (if it were to boot at all).

Do you have windows 10?
 
Plec said:
Yes, i would strongly advise you to do a complete reinstall.

Windows 10 is much better than previous versions at adapting with new chipsets - but it it will invariably cause conflicts/issues if you don't do a clean install (if it were to boot at all).

Do you have windows 10?
Click to expand...

Yeh I do have windows 10 but it was an upgrade from Windows 7 which came with my PC when I bought it from OCUK around 5 1/2 years ago. IIRC I need to link my Windows install to a Microsoft account for it to work if I do a clean install?

mickyflinn said:
For an exxtra £3 the arctic 33 plus is a good choice ,comes AM4 ready and is better performer than the hyper 212x.

https://www.arctic.ac/uk_en/freezer-33-plus.html


My basket at Overclockers UK:


​
Click to expand...

Hmmmm interesting, another potential option, thanks for the suggestion :)
 
Spuj said:
Yeh I do have windows 10 but it was an upgrade from Windows 7 which came with my PC when I bought it from OCUK around 5 1/2 years ago. IIRC I need to link my Windows install to a Microsoft account for it to work if I do a clean install?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's a simple process if your licence is tied to your Microsoft account.
 
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