Future proofing

AGM

AGM

AGM

Associate
Joined
27 Feb 2017
Posts
4
Location
Yorkshire
I've been looking at upgrading my old pc/rebuilding for a while. I play games less often than I'd like (busy dad) but I can see my kids getting more involved with games in the future. I don't play high end graphics games at the moment, I'm actually playing through baldurs gate series again now, and skyrim often, but I would love to play new things occasionally. I do the odd but of photo and video editing for work but otherwise it's used for word processing.

My current build is:

Dell Vostro 470 tower
PSU 460v (its either 350W or 460W depending on where its plugged in apparently)

And old MOBO that I don't fully trust for the future

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 CPU @ 3.20GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.2GHz

1TB hard drive

Memory: 8GB RAM DDR3 (max 32GB)

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 620

Windows 10 installed

Now I know that i could install a zotac GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb mini (would fit) and *should* run in the stock PSU. That could give a decent boost to my system and gaming.

However, I don't think I'll get much more from that set up in the future.

My thoughts are either go with the new memory card for a few years more of gaming. Or start fresh with future proofing in mind.

The rig I'd look for will not be top spec, I can't afford to put in that much now. But easily upgradable and maintainable is key.

Here is something I've looked at, whilst I'm familiar with Intel, I hear new ryzen, for the price, could give me more options in the future.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x Titan Vulture Overclocked Pro Gaming PC - AMD Ryzen 1700 @ 3.80GHz = £1,731.97
    • Case:Bitfenix Shogun Midi Tower Tempered Glass Gaming Case - Black
    • CPU:AMD Ryzen 7 Eight Core 1700 3.70GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
    • Secondary Solid State Drive / Hard Drive:Unwanted
    • Storage Mechanical Hard Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 1TB from SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM010)
    • Optical Drive **Please Check Case Support**:Asus External Slimline DVD Re-Writer, USB, 8x, Black, Cyberlink Power2Go 7 - Black (SDRW-08D2S-U LIT
    • Lighting:Unwanted
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • Build Time:Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days
    • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G24
    • Security Software:Unwanted
    • Primary Solid State Drive / Hard Drive:Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
    • Graphics card:OcUK Gaming Radeon RX 570 4096MB Graphics Card **SI Stock**
    • Graphics card 2 (Crossfire):Unwanted

Total: £1,746.07
(includes shipping: £14.10)



​


What I want is: better than I have now. Future proof. Not going to cost me too many arms and legs.

Thoughts on build as above, any ways to save money on that build?

Worth just sticking to what I have with a new GPU? And full new build in a few years?

If I go for a new build, in would put the OS and a few key programmes on the SSD. Shouldn'tbe money and keep my current HDD, or would the new mechanical have an advantage?

Sorry for lots of questions, you can probably tell that I'm undecided my self!
 
The decision on whether to keep going by adding a 1050Ti (and maybe an SSD) or new system is totally up to you and how soon you'd expect to need/want more out of it. The 1050Ti (and SSD) could be transferred to a new system.

As far as a new system for your needs and some gaming future-proofing, and wondering about saving money - that spec is way too much, imo. The system appears to focus on catering for SLI/Crossfire options, and has luxuries like expensive motherboard, expensive M.2 etc. And for all that money, only a 570 4GB card for gaming. It's fine for your needs, the 570, but all that money for 570-level gaming performance is not well-balanced for your particular requirements. It's more a spec for someone who thinks right, I want pretty much the best of everything and then I'm going to whack a GTX 1080/1080Ti on top of all that. Then it would be more balanced than with an RX 570 4GB.

Starting with PSU, you won't need an 850W PSU unless you were an SLI/Crossfire enthusiast (and their number is diminishing daily due to single GPU cards getting faster and SLI/Crossfire support in some games lacking). 550W (or 650W if there's a good deal) is more than enough.

For CPU, a Ryzen 1700 for the odd bit of photo/video editing, word processing and playing new games occasionally is overkill too. Even a 1600/X would be a bit of a luxury and a treat, but your budget comfortably covers that, so you can grab one of those instead of 1500/X. It'll help in case your kids do start gaming a lot more.

SSD: a fast M.2 like the 960 EVO 500GB is also a bit of a luxury when you only really notice it in very specific circumstances, and most users don't notice the difference between regular SSD and fast M.2 (some aren't that fast, some are same speed as normal SSD). So you can save money there if you want, or treat yourself to the latest tech but less storage capacity, with speeds you may or may not notice. Just note that you can get a normal speed 1TB SSD with double the storage for very close to the same price. Either a Crucial MX300 1TB or a Crucial MX300 1.1TB M.2, for example.

HDD: Re-use existing HDD or replace? Re-use. But if you have any data you don't want to lose, and don't have any back-up in place, get yourself a new HDD too.

RAM: 16GB will be nice for modern games and the bit of photo/video editing. Go for 3000+MHz frequency instead.

Case: pretty expensive for what it is. Something like the new Antec P8 looks similar (and better, imo) and can save money there too.

DVD: if you really need one, and are going for an external, get the Asus Zendrive U7M instead as it has M-Disc support.

Mobo: That spec includes the Asus Crosshair VI Hero. Expensive. Does it overclock better than cheaper ones? No. Even if it did in some instances, by what? 100MHz? Can save around £170 right there.

Cooler: comes with a 240mm liquid cooler that's currently £75. Can save a bit of money here with an air cooler as a $20-30 120mm cooler comfortably cools a 1600/X at 4.0GHz. Or splash a little for a bit of RGB with the Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi at £55.99.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,341.37
(includes shipping: £12.60)



​

Discount code for GPU:
Zot1060

This spec is still a little overkill for what you need right now (and includes the expensive Polaris M.2), but is faster at gaming than the other, and would probably last longer in terms of GPU upgrading, than with a 1050Ti.

If you wanted to save even more, you could go with a normal SSD, cheaper cooler and cheaper non-led RAM:


My basket at Overclockers UK:


​
 
Nearly forgot - unless you need Windows 10 to stay on your old system, then you can transfer the digital license to your new system and save £100 right there.
 
Thats an interesting build for around £1000, thanks for the advice. Sadly I think my windows copy is OEM, but I'll double check that for some extra savings!

I guess if I stuck to intel a comparable CPU would be an I5 7600k 3.80GHZ, But I can't see too many benefits to sticking to intel any more.

I'll certainly look at a new build but getting a 1050Ti for now may tide me over and could maybe re sold or transferred to a new system too as you suggested.
 
The way it works now is that if you have Windows 10 it doesn't matter if it's OEM or not when it comes to transferring to new system. All you have to do is activate is the Digital License. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change

And you're very welcome.

To be honest, that's the best option. Because if there's no real need for a whole new system just yet, by the time you eventually splash the cash there will be newer, faster parts available. 1050Ti big upgrade from a 620. SSD would make the system so snappy if you don't have one already.
 
The CH6 has the easiest time getting memory timings tightened up and general ram speeds increased (which covers the Ryzen Achilles heel, GOOD ram vs average ram _can_ make up 5-10% frame rate).

Either go CH6 some... fairly good 3200 ram and put a little work into sharpening it up or go cheaper board and some guaranteed to work well memory (there's a reddit thread with all the model numbers that work nice. 3200 C14 memory though should generally be ok).

Otherwise I'd echo the above. Get the faster 6 core, it'll be better silicon (apart from the disabled cores) and likely a better integrated memory controller (which also helps with the heel - basically Ryzens core cluster interconnect/"infinityfabric" runs at half the speed of memory and tighter timings also help it immensely).

Definitely go with a larger, cheaper SSD. You'll appreciate NVMe during the benchmark then barely notice it over a regular SSD. For the price, you'll probably get about 1.5x the size from the regular for the same money (or save a bit for a bigger graphics card). Graphics card wise, this genuinely isn't "my cards great so you should get what I have" but if you're in the 1050ti sort of range, not looking to spend loads on a bigger card, buy a second hand 980ti (around £220). With work they'll match a 1070. Waaaaaay more bang for buck and you can cherry pick a good branded card. It's a shame you can't access the members market here yet as it's an excellent source. The 980ti's haven't generally been used for mining, they might have been pushed a bit as a gaming card but if you're a little careful it should be a fairly safe purchase.
 
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