Upgrading/bin 10 year old rig

sunn1e

sunn1e

sunn1e

Associate
Joined
9 Apr 2023
Posts
10
Location
Uk
I will get the build out the way first:
NZXT phantom 410 case, very yellowed and broken power button.
Asus p8z77-v motherboard, sound not working through case or outputs(works on hdmi) wifi not working(pcie card installed)
Intel i5 3570k with slight overclock
Corsair h100i cooler
8gb Corsair vengeance ram
Sapphire r9 280 dual x gpu
6x 120mm fans, 1x 140mm
Corsair ax750 power supply
Samsung 128gb ssd
Ocz ssd
2tb hdd.

It is a very old spec that I need to upgrade, I don't have a massive budget and am not worried about buying upgrades over time. I play games and starting to 3d print and design soon.

Question time:
1. What would be the best bang for buck £300ish upgrade I can do now?
2. How future proof can I make it?
3. Spend the extra and ddr5?
4. Motherboard, cpu, ram and gpu to go for? I will probably not upgrade the motherboard and cpu for another 5 years or more. The gpu I will upgrade.
What do I go for motherboard and cpu combo about £300~ can push if you think its worth it
About the same cost for gpu? What to look for?

My system is a mess and I feel so lost with pc tech as haven't looked into it for years.

Thank you
Lee
 
1. My basket at OcUK:

Total: £303.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​



​

2. this will last you a few gpu upgrades

3. no

4. see (1) for the core components
how much are you intending to spend for the gpu and when?
 
a few other thoughts
the AX 750 is a very decent PSU, i would suggest keeping it
depending on the model, your ocz ssd may not work with newer hardware
128gb ssd is a bit anaemic, i would consider swapping this out with the upgrade
 
tamzzy said:
1. My basket at OcUK:

Total: £303.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​

2. this will last you a few gpu upgrades

3. no

4. see (1) for the core components
how much are you intending to spend for the gpu and when?
Click to expand...

The cpu I was looking at that as well as the 5700x for not to much more. Would it be worth the extra?

Ideally about the same £300ish for the gpu but if you think that I would need to save and just go for somthing better I am open to suggestions.

It will be somthing month to month I have some extra money will be going to the build.
I'm not worried about using last year's components or having the newest, just a good solid rig I can use for years to come.
 
to be honest, with this sort of budget...I'd be hesitant to get new anyway
if OP happy to get preowned items (ofc you lose the warranty, so that in itself may be worth the £100...everyone's tolerance to loss is different)
A full system overhaul with a Ryzen 3600 + B450 + 16GB DDR 4 RAM + GTX 1080/RTX 2060 is more than doable on a £300ish budget
 
tamzzy said:
to be honest, with this sort of budget...I'd be hesitant to get new anyway
if OP happy to get preowned items (ofc you lose the warranty, so that in itself may be worth the £100...everyone's tolerance to loss is different)
A full system overhaul with a Ryzen 3600 + B450 + 16GB DDR 4 RAM + GTX 1080/RTX 2060 is more than doable on a £300ish budget
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't explain properly.
I dont just have £300, that's just this month's. I will have about the same again in a month or 2.
So in total it will be about £600.
I just planned on £300 for cpu, mobo and ram and another £300 on the gpu, should I spend more on one than the other?
The ssd, hdd, power supply, case and other bits I will upgrade as the time comes. Just want the heart of the unit to be given a new life.
 
If you can manage without a PC for a while you could sell your currently machine, just copy all your O/S data to a VM on your 2TB HDD before selling it.

You should easily get £150 for a fully working machine with a clean Windows install etc. Just give it a good clean etc. You could swap out your H100i for a bog standard air cooler for £10, and whack in a cheap 500w PSU and keep the good quality parts for your new build.

DDR4 is dirt cheap under £40 for 16GB 3200MT/s, as are Ryzen CPU's on AM4, you can pick up a 3600 for £60 (used) and pop that on a B550 board, some decent stuff still around £100. So £200 for your base set up, add in a 1TB NVMe SSD for £45 and an AMD RX 6600 for £220 and then a case from ~£50. Total spend just over £550 for a whole new build (baring CPU) and you'll be able to hold on to your 2TB data drive as well.

I do not advise buying parts one at a time unless you can test them etc.
 
Journey said:
If you can manage without a PC for a while you could sell your currently machine, just copy all your O/S data to a VM on your 2TB HDD before selling it.

You should easily get £150 for a fully working machine with a clean Windows install etc. Just give it a good clean etc. You could swap out your H100i for a bog standard air cooler for £10, and whack in a cheap 500w PSU and keep the good quality parts for your new build.

DDR4 is dirt cheap under £40 for 16GB 3200MT/s, as are Ryzen CPU's on AM4, you can pick up a 3600 for £60 (used) and pop that on a B550 board, some decent stuff still around £100. So £200 for your base set up, add in a 1TB NVMe SSD for £45 and an AMD RX 6600 for £220 and then a case from ~£50. Total spend just over £550 for a whole new build (baring CPU) and you'll be able to hold on to your 2TB data drive as well.

I do not advise buying parts one at a time unless you can test them etc.
Click to expand...
I can't be without a pc unfortunately, this is why I have been looking at upgrading what I have. As I use my system for work now I would rather buy new and have some warranty, I can still sell my old parts for some extra money back in the long run.
From reading your comments and other online would the rx6600 and 5700x be a good combo?
What mobo and model graphics card to go for?
 
sunn1e said:
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X Six Core 5.30GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail
£239.99

worth spending extra and going for the newer socket?
I want to be as future proof as possible.
Click to expand...
you don't have the budget for that.

Things I would keep:
AX750
2TB HDD
Random assortment of fans

Things I would sell:
Everything else
Including the H100i - it does not have the mounts for the newer sockets and also I'm assuming 5-6 years old at least - so coming to its end-of-life

Rest of build:
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £617.84 (includes delivery: £7.99)​



​

the Ryzen 4500 is slower than the 5600 but you will have an upgrade path in the future to a 5600 or end-game would be 5800X3D for gaming (or 5950X for multicore workload)
the 6650XT is 20-25% faster than the 6600, and with the current prices in mind, the 6650XT is better value
PCIE gen 3 SSD - for now, a cheaper option, when you have the funds can get a PCIE 4 SSD and reuse the SN570 as a secondary drive, so no loss
and a new case :P
 
Last edited:
tamzzy said:
Things I would sell:
Everything else
Including the H100i - it does not have the mounts for the newer sockets and also I'm assuming 5-6 years old at least - so coming to its end-of-life
Click to expand...

You can get AM4 for it if not included or able to use the older bracket, but in terms of age that is just a load of misinformation that cooler manufacturers pedal to get you to buy new ones. The H100i is very easy to service, it takes less than 30 mins and you only need some distilled water to top it up if not doing a full flush, its criminal the amount of waste created for no good reason.
 
tamzzy said:
you don't have the budget for that.

Things I would keep:
AX750
2TB HDD
Random assortment of fans

Things I would sell:
Everything else
Including the H100i - it does not have the mounts for the newer sockets and also I'm assuming 5-6 years old at least - so coming to its end-of-life

Rest of build:
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £617.84 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​

the Ryzen 4500 is slower than the 5600 but you will have an upgrade path in the future to a 5600 or end-game would be 5800X3D for gaming (or 5950X for multicore workload)
the 6650XT is 20-25% faster than the 6600, and with the current prices in mind, the 6650XT is better value
PCIE gen 3 SSD - for now, a cheaper option, when you have the funds can get a PCIE 4 SSD and reuse the SN570 as a secondary drive, so no loss
and a new case :p
Click to expand...
This is the exact spec I was kinda heading towards, the case I think I have sorted from a mate corsair carbide spec omega rgb mid tower for £50 worth it? This wouldn't then be included in the total build(wife don't have to know about cash deals) then I could spend a little more on the cpu or ssd? Will my ssd not work with the new system?
 
Journey said:
You can get AM4 for it if not included or able to use the older bracket, but in terms of age that is just a load of misinformation that cooler manufacturers pedal to get you to buy new ones. The H100i is very easy to service, it takes less than 30 mins and you only need some distilled water to top it up if not doing a full flush, its criminal the amount of waste created for no good reason.
Click to expand...
haha you need to teach me...i've had a couple of aios stop cooling effectively because the cold plate was chock full of sediment...the pump still worked though
however once i disassembled the cold plate i could never get it watertight to reuse them again :(
 
tamzzy said:
haha you need to teach me...i've had a couple of aios stop cooling effectively because the cold plate was chock full of sediment...the pump still worked though
however once i disassembled the cold plate i could never get it watertight to reuse them again :(
Click to expand...

You need to look at the state of the gasket see if it also needs cleaning or replacing and ensure you tighten a cold plate back up in an even steady star pattern, and don't over tighten. Won't go further as don't want to take thread off topic, but happy to help if you need it. :)
 
Last edited:
Journey said:
You need to look at the state of the gasket see if it also needs cleaning or replacing and ensure you tighten a cold plate back up in an even steady star pattern, and don't over tighten. Won't go further as don't want to take thread off topic, but happy to help if you need it. :)
Click to expand...
I think I will replace it, looks like I am going to be building a full new system in the end.
 
sunn1e said:
the case I think I have sorted from a mate corsair carbide spec omega rgb mid tower for £50 worth it? This wouldn't then be included in the total build(wife don't have to know about cash deals)
Click to expand...
haha yes worth it

sunn1e said:
Will my ssd not work with the new system?
Click to expand...
depending on which ocz ssd, may not work
the samsung 128gb ssd is small
i'd sell the lot and get a 1tb nvme ssd instead

dropped the 6600xt to the basic 6600 - can just upgrade the gpu later down the line (sooner than if you got a 6600xt though)
pcie4 ssd
back to a ryzen 5600
as always, shop around for the best deals, can get parts cheaper elsewhere
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £618.90 (includes delivery: £7.99)​



​
 
Last edited:
tamzzy said:
haha yes worth it


depending on which ocz ssd, may not work
the samsung 128gb ssd is small
i'd sell the lot and get a 1tb nvme ssd instead

dropped the 6600xt to the basic 6600 - can just upgrade the gpu later down the line (sooner than if you got a 6600xt though)
pcie4 ssd
back to a ryzen 5600
as always, shop around for the best deals, can get parts cheaper elsewhere
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £618.90 (includes delivery: £7.99)​



​
Click to expand...

Sorry for the silly questions but what's the diffrence between the x series cpu the 5700x is a lot more money?
The same for the gpu
6650xt vs the 6600
The price diffrence of both isn't a lot but may be easier to explain that £50 extra now might get me an extra year or 2.
 
sunn1e said:
what's the diffrence between the x series cpu the 5700x is a lot more money?
Click to expand...
5600 is 6 core, 5700x is 8 core
5700x (4.6ghz) has slightly faster clockspeeds than the 5600 (4.4ghz)
overall, miniscule difference in gaming...not worth the extra
only reason to get the 5700x is if you need the extra 2 cores
See here: https://youtu.be/GTaaU12mElM?t=414

sunn1e said:
The same for the gpu
6650xt vs the 6600
The price diffrence of both isn't a lot but may be easier to explain that £50 extra now might get me an extra year or 2.
Click to expand...
tamzzy said:
the 6650XT is 20-25% faster than the 6600, and with the current prices in mind, the 6650XT is better value
Click to expand...
if you have the extra £30 to spend on the 6650XT then get it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom