Time For A New Gaming PC advice needed

Viper10 · 6 Dec 2019 at 12:41

Hi All,

I've recently rejoined this forum. I used to post under the name of Jeramba but lost Log In details + email discontinued.

With your help I built a good gaming machine in 2012 which has lasted a good seven years, with the addition of an aftermarket cooler and new GPU.

I think it'd now time for a new system. But I'm a bit out of touch with what would be the best system....

My current system is follows....

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB (with Argon AR-01 Cooler)
MSI Z68A-GD65 Intel Z68 (G3) (Socket 1155) DDR3 Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz
MSI GTX 970 Gaming Edition
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB
Corsair 120GB Force GT SSD - 2.5" SATA-III 6Gb/s
Dell U2311H Monitor
OCZ Z series 850 Watt 80+ gold modular PSU
Creative Inspire T3300 Speakers
Win 7 64

What I want to do is keep the hard drives, cooler, monitor, speakers and graphics card possibly. But add a larger, faster SSD as my main C: Drive. A new case is needed as well and of course Win 10. Looking at a budget of about £1000.

I prefer Intel (though have no experience of AMD).

What would be your suggestions

Many Thanks

Viper10

Minibiker · 6 Dec 2019 at 14:02

Welcome back

For your budget you could build a whole new system and ditch your older parts (keep the bits you want if you like)

Your best bang for buck is AMD RYZEN 3000 series...

What monitor are you using with your PC?

Viper10 · 7 Dec 2019 at 14:03

Hi Minibiker,

The monitor is a Dell U2311H Monitor 23". Eventually a monitor that runs higher resolutions would be better....

AMD Ryzen sounds good. Are there any Motherboard, memory and processor combinations that would be optimal ? I'm thinking of an ATX case as well (more room for expansion, though I think that's the norm).

Would my old power supply be sufficient ? It's an OCZ Z series 850 Watt 80 + gold modular PSU

Thanks

Minibiker · 7 Dec 2019 at 15:23

Viper10 said:
Hi Minibiker,

The monitor is a Dell U2311H Monitor 23". Eventually a monitor that runs higher resolutions would be better....

AMD Ryzen sounds good. Are there any Motherboard, memory and processor combinations that would be optimal ? I'm thinking of an ATX case as well (more room for expansion, though I think that's the norm).

Would my old power supply be sufficient ? It's an OCZ Z series 850 Watt 80 + gold modular PSU

Thanks

I'd go for Ryzen 3600, MSI B450 MAX MOTHERBOARD, 16gb RAM 3200mhz +.. If I'm honest I would buy a new PSU to run the new PC, yours has the power but it has aged and atleast with new components you'll get fresh warranty..

I'll put together a rough guide as to what you could get for £1000... It will run at higher resolution aswell when you upgrade your monitor

Minibiker · 7 Dec 2019 at 15:35

I've put this together as a rough guide, there may be some tweaks to make to it and also you'll need to add a case but that's a personal choice to make...

I've gone for the seasonic PSU as its a great price for a unit that also comes with 12 year warranty, the Ryzen 3600 is one of the best selling CPUs on the market with about 14% gain on the last gen ryzen 2600 cpu..

The motherboard will work out of the box with the new Ryzen 3000 series CPU, a lot of people recommend the B450 TOMAHAWK Max but it's currently out of stock at OCUK

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x MSI B450-A PRO MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £88.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £175.00
1 x Patriot Viper Steel 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C17 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVS416G360C7K)= £71.99
1 x Powercolor Radeon RX 5700 XT Dual Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £359.99
1 x Gigabyte 1TB M.2 PCIe x4 NVMe SSD/Solid State Drive= £98.99
1 x Seasonic Prime Ultra Snow Silent 650W 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply= £92.99

Total: £899.65 (includes shipping: £11.70)

random_matt · 8 Dec 2019 at 05:25

Anything without a 30mm fan is a good start

Viper10 · 9 Dec 2019 at 23:57

Looks a good system....

The power supply is a bit lower wattage than my old one. I'm guessing that these days components are more efficient / greener and require less power hence the Platinum grade ?

random_matt said:
Anything without a 30mm fan is a good start

Not sure what you mean ? Would My Argon cooler be suitable ?

Also Is it better to download Win 10 or get a Hard Copy ?

Thanks

random_matt · 10 Dec 2019 at 02:13

Viper10 said:
Looks a good system....

The power supply is a bit lower wattage than my old one. I'm guessing that these days components are more efficient / greener and require less power hence the Platinum grade ?

Not sure what you mean ? Would My Argon cooler be suitable ?

Also Is it better to download Win 10 or get a Hard Copy ?

Thanks

A) I was referring to X570 chipsets.
B) Download for free.

Viper10 · 10 Dec 2019 at 12:53

Ok,

Do I use my Win 7 license to install Win 10 on my new machine even though my hardware will be different ?

How does this work ?

Thanks

Maundie · 10 Dec 2019 at 14:59

Not 100% sure but I think I saw somewhere it's still free to upgrade from Windows 7 to 10, worth checking out but it would mean installing 7 first and then going the upgrade route.

Alan1969 · 11 Dec 2019 at 21:40

I would go with a 3600. It is great value and good performing. With 12 threads it should have many years of longevity, especially as most software does not use this many threads yet.

I would recommend buying a mid range air cooler though like

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arct...duo-white-cpu-cooler-2-x-120mm-hs-074-ar.html

I would go with a 1 or 2 TB name like https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...d-state-drive-cssd-f960gbmp510-hd-065-cs.html

Viper10 · 1 Jan 2020 at 16:16

Happy New Year All....

Just wondering if the prices are likely to drop on any of the components with new tech releases etc ? Prices seem to change all the time....

Also I've noticed that the SSD drives are all 'onboard' I'm guessing this is the best option these days ?

Regarding cases so long as it's ATX / Tower with plenty of ventilation and USB ports I'm sure it will be fine. Is there anything else I need to be aware of ?

Thanks

Danny75 · 1 Jan 2020 at 16:27

Viper10 said:
Ok,

Do I use my Win 7 license to install Win 10 on my new machine even though my hardware will be different ?

How does this work ?

Thanks

The following link shows the correct way to do it. If you try and install Win 7 on the new machine, and then upgrade, you are likely to run into trouble (incompatibility with Win 7) and no free upgrade.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ill-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-heres-how/

So you upgrade Win 7 to Win 10 on your existing machine, first. And then link an account (hotmail, skype, whatever, there's a few options) to the digital licence. Then use that digital licence on your new system (after downloading Win 10 ISO from Microsoft onto 8GB minimum USB flash drive and installing from it).

Viper10 · 1 Jan 2020 at 17:22

Danny75 said:
The following link shows the correct way to do it. If you try and install Win 7 on the new machine, and then upgrade, you are likely to run into trouble (incompatibility with Win 7) and no free upgrade.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ill-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-heres-how/

So you upgrade Win 7 to Win 10 on your existing machine, first. And then link an account (hotmail, skype, whatever, there's a few options) to the digital licence. Then use that digital licence on your new system (after downloading Win 10 ISO from Microsoft onto 8GB minimum USB flash drive and installing from it).

Ah Ok. That makes sense. Will give that a go...

Viper10 · 12 Jan 2020 at 20:18

A couple more questions.....

Are most cases suitable for the above components so long as it's ATX / Midi Tower ?

I quite like the look of... https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-pitch-midi-tower-case-black-ca-014-kk.html

and https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aero...-edition-midi-tower-black-blue-ca-073-ae.html

Would these be suitable ?

Also does the Freezer 34 come with thermal paste ?

Thanks

Viper10

EsaT · 13 Jan 2020 at 09:33

Viper10 said:
Also does the Freezer 34 come with thermal paste ?

Basically every cooler comes with bundled TIM.
And in case of bigger and older cooler brands it's actually good paste:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-comparison,5108-9.html
In case of Arctic it's likely MX-4.

Alan1969 · 14 Jan 2020 at 13:10

Viper10 said:
A couple more questions.....

Are most cases suitable for the above components so long as it's ATX / Midi Tower ?

I quite like the look of... https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-pitch-midi-tower-case-black-ca-014-kk.html

and https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aero...-edition-midi-tower-black-blue-ca-073-ae.html

Would these be suitable ?

Also does the Freezer 34 come with thermal paste ?

Thanks

Viper10

I have the 34 Duo - you pay an extra £5 for the second fan but its worth it - it is a great cooler

and yes it comes with a small sachet of paste

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arct...duo-white-cpu-cooler-2-x-120mm-hs-074-ar.html

Viper10 · 11 Feb 2020 at 01:41

Hi,

I thought I'd let you know I went with Minibiker's suggestion + Duo white Freezer 34.

The build has gone well so far, though took a while. The clips for the cooler were a bit fiddly. Put the MB in then had to take it out due to fan cable stuck underneath and rear panel not in position. I have some questions....

1. Do I need a new Display port to DVI to work with the Radeon GFX ? Monitor only has VGA / DVI...

I can't get Win 10 to activate with new hardware (0xc004f213 error). After the build I loaded up Win (old C drive) and it was fine. Then reinstalled it on the M2 SSD (clean install no settings saved). But I can't seem to activate it. I have a Microsoft account (forgot password but reset it, no windows password only pin) but it doesn't seem to want to activate. Is this fixable and should I contact Microsoft ? Or buy a new key ?

3. I used my old case (Corsair Graphite 600T) took a while to get all fans working but I haven't managed to get the Front Panel (USB ports and Fan Controller) to work ? I have a couple of spare wires in the case but I'm not sure of the connections.

Thanks

Viper10

Joxeon · 11 Feb 2020 at 02:36

Viper10 said:
Hi,

I thought I'd let you know I went with Minibiker's suggestion + Duo white Freezer 34.

The build has gone well so far, though took a while. The clips for the cooler were a bit fiddly. Put the MB in then had to take it out due to fan cable stuck underneath and rear panel not in position. I have some questions....

1. Do I need a new Display port to DVI to work with the Radeon GFX ? Monitor only has VGA / DVI...

I can't get Win 10 to activate with new hardware (0xc004f213 error). After the build I loaded up Win (old C drive) and it was fine. Then reinstalled it on the M2 SSD (clean install no settings saved). But I can't seem to activate it. I have a Microsoft account (forgot password but reset it, no windows password only pin) but it doesn't seem to want to activate. Is this fixable and should I contact Microsoft ? Or buy a new key ?

3. I used my old case (Corsair Graphite 600T) took a while to get all fans working but I haven't managed to get the Front Panel (USB ports and Fan Controller) to work ? I have a couple of spare wires in the case but I'm not sure of the connections.

Thanks

Viper10

You will either need DP to DVI or HDMI to DVI or a newer monitor.

If it was a retail licence then you should be able to use it for multiple machines and contacting the MS customer services should get it resolved but if it was just an oem key then your probably best grabbing another from you know where for a couple of quid.

Alan1969 · 11 Feb 2020 at 13:14

Viper10 said:
Hi,

I thought I'd let you know I went with Minibiker's suggestion + Duo white Freezer 34.

The build has gone well so far, though took a while. The clips for the cooler were a bit fiddly. Put the MB in then had to take it out due to fan cable stuck underneath and rear panel not in position. I have some questions....

1. Do I need a new Display port to DVI to work with the Radeon GFX ? Monitor only has VGA / DVI...

I can't get Win 10 to activate with new hardware (0xc004f213 error). After the build I loaded up Win (old C drive) and it was fine. Then reinstalled it on the M2 SSD (clean install no settings saved). But I can't seem to activate it. I have a Microsoft account (forgot password but reset it, no windows password only pin) but it doesn't seem to want to activate. Is this fixable and should I contact Microsoft ? Or buy a new key ?

3. I used my old case (Corsair Graphite 600T) took a while to get all fans working but I haven't managed to get the Front Panel (USB ports and Fan Controller) to work ? I have a couple of spare wires in the case but I'm not sure of the connections.

Thanks

Viper10

I have an artic esports 34 duo cpu cooler and its great value for money.