Budget Win 11 Upgrade For Family

CrazyArsedMonky

CrazyArsedMonky

CrazyArsedMonky

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Joined
13 Jul 2012
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166
Hello folks!

Long time, no post :cool:

My mum has requested that I spec her a Win 11 upgrade package as the system she currently has isn't Win 11 compatable (no TPM V2).

Her current system is based around a G'byte GA-H110M-S2H - which has a micro-ATX form factor, hence limiting my options.

I have taken a look in the sweet shop and think the below is a good starting point, but I have been out of the game for a few years, hence asking for your advice:

Your Order​


1 X Intel Core i5-12400F 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail - £98.99

SKU: CP-6AR-IN

1 X Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard - £114.99

SKU: MB-5BZ-GI

1 X Kingston Fury Beast 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - £59.99

SKU: MY-295-KS

1 X Crucial E100 480GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Solid State Drive - £28.99

SKU: STO-CRU-04341

Grand Total: £310.96

I know the case will be compatable, I think the PSU will also be compatable (connectors are the same / CPU power consumption for Gen 7 / Gen 12 is comparable) - but I am unsure about her GPU (a Zotac card, not sure which - she just gave me a photo to assess!).

Her old Mobo has PCIE V3, whereas the board I have suggested is PCIE V4 - so I believe the GPU will still operate, albeit at the native PCIE V3 speeds.

So, question time!

Have I made any mistakes, is there anything I need to review - and is this delivering decent bang for her buck?

All feedback gratefully received, many thanks! :D
 
S'all good Tamzzy, i was expecting a few mum gags :cry:

We haven't discussed it really, but I think she is happy with current performance levels - especially if she can save herself ~£300.

I will take a look at Rufus - thank you very much, never heard of it before!
 
no worries mate, the only thing i would say is that if she does not have a ssd in the system, this would be the opportune time to get one, seeing as the os is being reinstalled anyway
it'll feel like a brand new system and a world apart, going from hdd to ssd
 
Yeah try and install Windows 11 first maybe then decide whether to save yourself a few quid and add an SSD and a RAM upgrade (to 16gb)
 
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Thank you both - i added the M2 drive for this reason, would take a clean install and run like a greased weasel (if ofc we upgrade). I will deffo pass on your advice regarding the SATA SSD, providing her with an option for a minor upgrade Vs full upgrade - thanks!

P.S. That Rufus video is fantastic - extremely informative and really well presented, kudos to the creator.

Also, is the suggested hardware ok? Anything you would tweak? Perhaps AMD not Intel (last AMD build I did was an Athlon Thunderbird, been Intel ever since - yes, i am old :cry:)?
 
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CrazyArsedMonky said:
I will deffo pass on your advice regarding the SATA SSD, providing her with an option for a minor upgrade Vs full upgrade - thanks!
Click to expand...

£50 upgrade to make the computer feel like a brand new system:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £50.98 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

remove the ram if your mum's pc already has 16gb
 
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I'd definitely agree on the SSD route regardless of what you do.

If current performance isnt good enough then another option is a cheap AM5 setup, gives you much better longevity too.
New you can get B650/7600/32GB for about £350 if that is within budget, (no SSD though). Even cheaper if you can buy a preowned CPU for example.... just a thought.

Edit: 7600, A620 board, 500GB NVME and 16GB I reckon you can do brand new for £340 ish
 
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CrazyArsedMonky said:
but I am unsure about her GPU (a Zotac card, not sure which - she just gave me a photo to assess!).

Her old Mobo has PCIE V3, whereas the board I have suggested is PCIE V4 - so I believe the GPU will still operate, albeit at the native PCIE V3 speeds.
Click to expand...
If you go that route I'd suggest you buy a 12400/13400/14400 instead of the 12400F. The integrated graphics is plenty powerful enough if there's no gaming involved and handy for a backup anyway.

CrazyArsedMonky said:
1 X Crucial E100 480GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Solid State Drive - £28.99
Click to expand...
I appreciate this is a cheap drive on a budget, but I couldn't bring myself to buy one under any circumstances. The rated endurance is so incredibly low (60TB for 480GB) I can only imagine they use flash out of the garbage. Team's MP44L (usually a cheap drive) has a rated endurance which is 5x higher (300 TB) :o
 
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This is all assuming just basic Web browsing etc. and not more demanding uses, but...

- If she's using a mechanical HDD, then even a SATA SSD will be transformative. Had a quick look at motherboard spec and couldn't see any nvme sockets.
- What CPU is it? MB supports 6th or 7th gen, my dad's still using a 4th gen low power i5 (4570t I think) and it's only just starting to feel long in the tooth. i5 6400 or similar would probably be enough.

If you/she don't desperately want to spend more than needed, then just an(y) SSD and installing w11 via the rufus workarounds is the place to start.

If you need to upgrade the main PC, you can get a decent refurb USFF Dell/Lenovo etc. for about £100. - about the size of two slices of bread and great for general use

... Also, as Tetras said, if you do need to buy an nvme, spend an extra £5-10 and get a decent one with good longevity/endurance figures!
 
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