Another 'shall I upgrade or start again' question

Hercules Smith

Hercules Smith

Hercules Smith

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Hi. Back in 2018 I built a HTPC and I'm now looking to upgrade to a gaming PC to be used on a 4k TV via an AV amp.

Specs from 2018:
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
Noctua NH L9x65 SE-AM4
MSI B450M Mortar Micro ATX Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 2 x 8GB LPX 3000MHz
Crucial MX500 500GB SSD
be quiet! Straight Power 11 450W
Silverstone ML04

As this PC was just doing internet, mp3s and watching HD media it was all OK just with the Ryzen 5 and didn't need a graphics card. 4K gaming with decent performance obviously will and I know barely nothing about graphics cards.

The first thing I really need to understand is if a suitable graphics card will fit inside the case:

As I'm going to make a media centre for under the telly with space for everything then I can't get started on it's design until I know if I can use my existing case of if I will need something bigger.

Usually I love researching all this kind of stuff myself, but life is super busy at the mo and I'm forever drowned in a never ending to do list, so it would be helpful to get some advice re what components of my 2018 build will be fine to keep and what I should be looking to upgrade and what those upgrades should be

Thanks


 
Hi .

4k gaming can be very demanding needing a powerful GPU to run them along with a larger PSU especially in modern games .

It may be better and cheaper to get a Xbox or ps5.

What's type of games you looking at ?
 
I'm not that up on small form factor stuff, but I think you will need a different case - looks like that one is only suitable for low profile cards, and I'm not sure you can get any low profile cards suitable for 4k gaming.

Budget would be important to know, particularly as there's a bit of a premium on small form factor cases and motherboards.
 
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Which games will matter

Think you may be limited to a low profile gpu in the ml04
Not sure any are suitable for 4k gaming
Though know next to nothing about low profile workstation gpus
there might be one of those better than the "gaming" gpus
Probably more low profile workstation gpus on second hand market too
And probably want a cpu upgrade
To go with it

Probably better starting a new build
 
Looking about and the best gpu you can get in low profile is a 4060.

www.gigabyte.com

GeForce RTX™ 4060 OC Low Profile 8G Key Features | Graphics Card - GIGABYTE Global

Discover AORUS premium graphics cards, ft. WINDFORCE cooling, RGB lighting, PCB protection, and VR friendly features for the best gaming and VR experience!
www.gigabyte.com www.gigabyte.com

This is not a very good gpu for 4K gaming

www.tomshardware.com

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Review: Truly Mainstream at $299

With specs to match the price
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com

You would also need to upgrade your cpu to a 5600/5700/5700x3d for any chance at playable frame rates even using DLSS 3.
Also a more powerful psu as 450 is the min and as you would need a more powerful cpu as well I wouldnt risk the minimum.
 
While you can get lots of ITX cases that will take big cards, that isn't one of them.

You're looking at >£1000 to get something than can play modern 4k games at >40fps
 
Thanks everyone. I thought the lack of space in the case would limit the ability of the graphics card. It sounds like I would be best to start again. I had 6 years from the current build so that's not too bad I suppose. Something has gone wrong with it anyway, I've not got round to seeing f I can figure out what the problem is yet.

Edit - it's actually working today, not sure why it looked like it wasn't. Anyway, it's running an out of date Linux distro that can't be updated via an update procedure - I will have to do a new install of an OS anyway.
 
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Hercules Smith said:
It sounds like I would be best to start again.
Click to expand...
Hercules Smith said:
As I'm going to make a media centre for under the telly with space for everything then I can't get started on it's design until I know if I can use my existing case of if I will need something bigger.
Click to expand...
You might want to take a look at this:

It can fit a regular ATX PSU, a large(ish) graphics card, Micro-ATX motherboard and a reasonably sized air cooler.

Personally, I'd avoid ITX unless you have to, just for the price and potential complications.
 
As for what types of games - it will be a range of things but I will be playing a few up to date AAA titles like RE4 remake, God Of War, Returnal, Alan Wake 2, Still Wakes the Deep. So I'd like them to look good and have a good frame rate and make use of the nice new telly.

One thing I'm not too sure on at this stage - as sound goes through an HDMI cable and I assume an HDMI gets connected to the graphics card, then I suppose the graphics card get the sound info to feed into the HDMI?

So I don't think there's much worth recycling from the previous build - a micro motherboard is pointless if using a bigger case, sounds like I will need a better CPU and bigger PSU, and I imagine RAM has progressed in the last 6 years. In fact, isn't RAM now more integrated into the CPU or something? Maybe the hard disk is still OK for the OS, and the CPU fan is still a good one?
 
Hercules Smith said:
sounds like I will need a better CPU and bigger PSU
Click to expand...
PSU: definitely, you're going to need a monster card for 4K.

CPU: for 4K you can get away with a 5600, but ideally a 5700X3D if you wanted to max the socket and get the best out of the GPU you can.

Hercules Smith said:
Maybe the hard disk is still OK for the OS
Click to expand...
Yeah, MX500 is fine, does your board have an M.2 slot?

I recommend watching this as it gives you some idea what to expect with gaming at 4K:
 
Actually could reuse the motherboard if you want
Am4 platform lasted so long
There's quite a few cpu upgrades for it
If you don't want to buy am5

Ram has advanced to ddr5
But again you could reuse what you have
If stay on am4
Would prefer 32gb nowadays personally

Cpu cooler i guess it's low profile noctua
Not familiar with it
So don't know how well it would handle a more powerful cpu
But to be honest with a bigger case
A cooler upgrades cheap if required
Anything from thermalright is the performance for
The money nowadays
 
I would upgrade the CPU and get a bigger case. Then drop a tonne of money on a GPU. Upscaling may be a way to go.

The PSU should run a 4060 if it is a decent one, the GPU only consumes about 150w?

A 5600 should be cooled by the noctua, it has the same consumption as the 2400g. I don't think it will do a great job on a 105w chip.

Might need a move over to windows for games. Unsure if Linux has a good catalogue.
 
Coolermaster NR200 is a great case that can fit mATX mobos at a push and absolutely chonky GPUs. Can even fit a decent air cooler
 
buy a ryzen 5700x3d
buy a new case that is still small, as suggested above, that can take full size GPU
buy new power supply- I actually think you can just about still use your current power supply, but I would only do that if you under volt both the GPU&CPU
get a 4070 super.

should be able to get all of that under £800
 
Hercules Smith said:
Thanks everyone. I thought the lack of space in the case would limit the ability of the graphics card. It sounds like I would be best to start again. I had 6 years from the current build so that's not too bad I suppose. Something has gone wrong with it anyway, I've not got round to seeing f I can figure out what the problem is yet.

Edit - it's actually working today, not sure why it looked like it wasn't. Anyway, it's running an out of date Linux distro that can't be updated via an update procedure - I will have to do a new install of an OS anyway.
Click to expand...
You could upgrade that machine with a 5700G (1080P on low) or 5700X3D + a dedicated GPU such as a AMD 7800 for 1440P on medium to high gaming which would be fine but as the others have said, 4K requires really good hardware.

I'd probably start again if your current chassis can't handle a high end GPU but I'd also consider just getting a PS5.
 
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