Upgrading 2015 OCUK System

[LufbraDan]

Hi

I purchased an ex-demo system from OCUK in 2015. Basic details are:

CPU: i7-4770K @ 3.5Ghz
Board: Gryphon Z87
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1866MHz
GPU: AMD Radeon R9 200
Disk: 120GB SSD & 2TB HHD

To prolong its life. Is there anything "simple" and cost-effective that I could do? I was thinking replacing the HHD with a 1TB SSD, and increasing the RAM.

SSD: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sams...olid-state-drive-mz-76e1t0b-eu-hd-234-sa.html

RAM: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...4000mhz-dual-channel-kit-black-my-098-tg.html

Budget wise, Ideally less than £300, but could stretch to £400 or so.

Thanks

Dan

 

[LufbraDan]

PS. I have found that the graphics card is a Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X. This is worth upgrading too?

 

[thedandyp]

PS. I have found that the graphics card is a Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X. This is worth upgrading too?

If you game at anything over say low to medium details, 60 fps at 1080p then yes, even a 1650 super would be a massive upgrade for £160.

 

[Danny75]

What do you use the system for?

The Samsung is overpriced compared to WD Blue 1TB or Crucial MX500 1TB for example. Try and purchase those close to £100.

The RAM you linked to is DDR4 not the DDR3 you need. Also, you don't want to be replacing the RAM, you want to add to the existing 8GB with another 2x4GB DDR3 sticks. And keep it sensible cost-wise - the RAM won't carry through to a new system unlike an SSD and GPU.

 

[LufbraDan]

What do you use the system for?

The Samsung is overpriced compared to WD Blue 1TB or Crucial MX500 1TB for example. Try and purchase those close to £100.

The RAM you linked to is DDR4 not the DDR3 you need. Also, you don't want to be replacing the RAM, you want to add to the existing 8GB with another 2x4GB DDR3 sticks. And keep it sensible cost-wise - the RAM won't carry through to a new system unlike an SSD and GPU.

Thanks Danny

Perhaps a stupid question. should any RAM i buy to add to the existing 8GB also be DDR3 1866MHz? does the MHz matter?

 

[Grimley]

Yes.

 

[ExoMale]

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £199.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B450 AORUS M (Socket AM4) DDR4 MATX Motherboard= £89.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK8GX4M2C3000= £39.95
• 1 x WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (WDS500G2B0B)= £66.95

Total: £407.38 (includes shipping: £10.50)​

​

replace the internals is a very good option also replace the 120gb boot drive with a 500gb version unless you dont need 2tb of storage and sell the intel setup + gpu to buy an rx 580/590 or gtx 1660 if not a used 1070.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £199.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B450 AORUS M (Socket AM4) DDR4 MATX Motherboard= £89.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK8GX4M2C3000= £39.95
• 1 x WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (WDS500G2B0B)= £66.95

Total: £407.38 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​

replace the internals is a very good option also replace the 120gb boot drive with a 500gb version unless you dont need 2tb of storage and sell the intel setup + gpu to buy an rx 580/590 or gtx 1660 if not a used 1070.

I'd not advise just 8GB of RAM. I'd also take an MSI B450 Tomahawk Max instead of that board.

 

[tamzzy]

i'm sad that everyone's made a recommendation before asking what exactly you are going to use the computer for (with the exception of danny...but you didn't answer his question)
and if you say gaming...what games exactly? and what resolution?
do you mind getting used items?

 

[Deleted member 77746]

What’s the reason for upgrade? I would say that doesn’t need upgrading at that spec.

Only thing I would change is bump the memory up to either 16GB or 32GB and change the SSD for a 240GB model.

 

[ExoMale]

I'd not advise just 8GB of RAM. I'd also take an MSI B450 Tomahawk Max instead of that board.

no, but 8gb still better than his older stuff and i went with that board from my own experience, but he does have budget for better though as you suggested though.

i'm sad that everyone's made a recommendation before asking what exactly you are going to use the computer for (with the exception of danny...but you didn't answer his question)
and if you say gaming...what games exactly? and what resolution?
do you mind getting used items?

not exactly sad, but OP's should say at the start however going by the previous system it wouldnt be hard to suggest stuff whether its right or wrong, good or bad.

 

[tamzzy]

not exactly sad, but OP's should say at the start however going by the previous system it wouldnt be hard to suggest stuff whether its right or wrong, good or bad.

Whilst I agree with your sentiment that op should mention it in his opening post, we should know better and ask if they don't.
Two wrongs don't make a right and all that malarkey

 

[VeNT]

Hi

I purchased an ex-demo system from OCUK in 2015. Basic details are:

CPU: i7-4770K @ 3.5Ghz
Board: Gryphon Z87
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1866MHz
GPU: AMD Radeon R9 200
Disk: 120GB SSD & 2TB HHD

Thanks

Dan

I'm in the same ballpark as you currently, if you're not after a full upgrade you could oc the processor, my 4690k will do 4.4 without a sweat, I expect your I7 should be able to as well if the cooling's any good?
that way you could get a better graphics card (maybe something second hand) and some more ram then upgrade the rest next year after everything settles down?

 

[LufbraDan]

The processor has never been an issue, and is still more than sufficient for my needs.

The machine is used, at the moment and for the foreseeable future, as my work machine. I use a few memory intensive programs, and I found that after a while, there was significant slowdown as the RAM was being maxed out.

The kids sometime use the machine for gaming, but it tends to be things like Cities Skyline and Transport Fever, nothing too onerous.

I will kick the RAM upto 16GB and replace the 2TB HHD with an 1TB SSD. I will also likely invest in a RX580.

 

[ExoMale]

maybe worth trying to get 32gb kits or least 2x16gb sticks if you can find good pricing.

 

[tamzzy]

maybe worth trying to get 32gb kits or least 2x16gb sticks if you can find good pricing.

it'll be expensive for ddr3

The processor has never been an issue, and is still more than sufficient for my needs.
The machine is used, at the moment and for the foreseeable future, as my work machine. I use a few memory intensive programs, and I found that after a while, there was significant slowdown as the RAM was being maxed out.
The kids sometime use the machine for gaming, but it tends to be things like Cities Skyline and Transport Fever, nothing too onerous.
I will kick the RAM upto 16GB and replace the 2TB HHD with an 1TB SSD. I will also likely invest in a RX580.

sounds like you're pretty happy with your current system

with respect to the ram, it depends on how "memory intensive" your programs are. 16gb is definitely a must, but also consider 32gb if that's required. as your mobo should have 4 ram slots, if you're going the 16gb route, then i'd suggest to get an extra 2x4gb sticks second hand. ddr3 is dead tech and not something that you can transplant into a newer build - so no sense in getting it brand new. 99.9% of ram will work with mis-matched sticks, so unless visual appeal is a must, you can get any set of ram (ofc ideally stick to the same speed ratings)

you could use the 1tb ssd as the boot drive and the current 2tb hdd as media storage (i'm assuming that's what you're planning to do)

580 is a good choice

PS: you should overclock the cpu (ofc get a cheap aftermarket heatsink if you haven't got one - will help with temps, noise, and also boost clocks)

 

[LufbraDan]

PS: you should overclock the cpu (ofc get a cheap aftermarket heatsink if you haven't got one - will help with temps, noise, and also boost clocks)

As it is an OCUK prebuilt system, the processor came overclocked @ 3.9GHz (sorry, should have mentioned that at the start).

thank you all for your help. I have put an order in and will wait for the bits to arrive.

 

[tamzzy]

As it is an OCUK prebuilt system, the processor came overclocked @ 3.9GHz (sorry, should have mentioned that at the start).

Ah. That's probably the best you're going to get out of it unfortunately. Been sold a dud chip (pre-OC chip with low oc)

 

[thedandyp]

As it is an OCUK prebuilt system, the processor came overclocked @ 3.9GHz (sorry, should have mentioned that at the start).

thank you all for your help. I have put an order in and will wait for the bits to arrive.

Are you sure that the system came automatically overclocked, as in have you looked in the BIOS to see for yourself?

The standard boost clock (typically 1 core) of the 4770k is 3.9GHZ, so it's very likely that this is just what the overclock has been listed as. You'd be INCREDIBLY unfortunate for a 4770k to not be able to OC past its rated boost clock, I mean seriously, seriously unfortunate.