New build, old case

steveinspain · 11 Nov 2017 at 15:57

I have a BitFenix Prodigy MATX case that I want to keep, but the innards need to be renewed.
Currently I have an i5 3579K with 8gb ram which must be about 5-6 years old. I'll be keeping most of the 'other' bits but need a new Mobo, CPU (and cooler) and RAM, possibly 16gb. No real reason but I've always had Intel chips and I'd be happy to keep the budget below about £700

Usage isn't heavy, but I do edit some photo's and listen to music via the pc - I'm thinking of getting some sort of external DAC as I only want stereo, so no need for a soundcard unless there are any that focus on SQ rather than gaming etc.

Thanks for any suggestions - I'm so out of touch that I hardly know where to start !

mickyflinn · 11 Nov 2017 at 21:46

If usage isnt heavy then your system should be good i would grab a sound card and see how things are.

steveinspain · 12 Nov 2017 at 08:22

mickyflinn said:
If usage isnt heavy then your system should be good i would grab a sound card and see how things are.

Thanks for the reply - I didn't explain, but the current system has begun to misbehave..
It often doesn't start up properly (windows doesn't start, due to a power surge, which I assume to be the PSU) and a few times I've had a BSOD. This has happened while I've been working away leaving my wife without a pc..
I've just put in another PSU and backed up everything just in case, but my knowledge of computers is very limited and while this may be solvable, for peace of mind I'd like to replace any parts that may result in me getting called late at night from a panicky wife.
I may take the whole thing in to a local pc service shop, but the idea of a newer and faster computer is appealing, and I guess the old bits could be sold on once checked over.
Would I notice much difference if I bought some new bits, or am I being a fool parting with his money when a service might be all that is needed ?

mickyflinn · 12 Nov 2017 at 19:27

Do you have an asus motherboard ? they have an antisurge protection whic sometimes gives a false positive so disable it. Other thing to check is your hard drive for errors

HD Tune has a free version.

http://www.hdtune.com/download.html

steveinspain · 12 Nov 2017 at 21:24

mickyflinn said:
Do you have an asus motherboard ? they have an antisurge protection whic sometimes gives a false positive so disable it. Other thing to check is your hard drive for errors

HD Tune has a free version.

http://www.hdtune.com/download.html

I do, so will look into this in the morning - many thanks !