New PC (£400ish) Build help please

IMissMyDCast · 2 Jan 2020 at 14:05

I built my first PC back when I was 40. 7 years on it needs replacing (mainly because Windows 7 not supported soon, but I feel it is showing its age now!). I'm not much of a gamer - but have played Minecraft and WOT over the past couple of years - albeit WOT in low graphics settings

I wonder if people can help - my current PC is based on an AMD A10 5800. I also fairly recently bought an 250GB SSD + 1TB harddisk and also I had to replace the powersupply last year or 2 so my thoughts are.

I'll keep the SSD and Harddrive, and the case and powersupply .. and monitor and keyboard - both are nice and newish? Powersupply is the Corsair VS650.

So I'm thinking I'll need new:
1. CPU (AMD Ryzen 5?)
2. Motherboard (obviously..)
3. RAM
4. Windows 10
And at my £400 price point can I also get new
5. Graphics card?
6. Compact desktop speakers? My ones must be at least 15 years old - but they work ok so probably not a priority as I have no idea how much they cost for something reasonable!!

I know the budget is low, but really interested in what people can recommend. I have seen budget PCs in the £450-£500 - but hoping I can get a better machine and save some money if I just buy the bits I really need .... or am I being dumb! Not interested in secondhand ....

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 14:10

IMissMyDCast said:
replace the powersupply

~~Which power supply do you currently have?~~

edit: blind

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 14:45

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 2600 3.90GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £128.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £49.99
1 x Asrock B450M Pro4 (Socket AM4) DDR4 MATX Motherboard= £70.99
1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 570 Red Dragon 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £119.99
1 x SPEEDLINK Event Slim-line USB 2.0 Powered Stereo Speakers, 5W RMS, Black= £9.95

Total: £391.01 (includes shipping: £11.10)

IMissMyDCast said:
4. Windows 10

if you still have your windows 7 key, you can use the same key on a windows 10 install.
failing that, get a grey key. not worth spending £100 on a retail key.

IMissMyDCast said:
case

you've not said what sized case you have, so i've specced a micro atx board (which should fit in most cases)
also as you currently have an a10 5800...chances are that the case is micro atx. so taking my chances here

IMissMyDCast · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:17

tamzzy said:
if you still have your windows 7 key, you can use the same key on a windows 10 install.
failing that, get a grey key. not worth spending £100 on a retail key.

Is a "grey key" the OEM type? If so, I agree - I've seen OEM version for £50 and that would work for me!

tamzzy said:
you've not said what sized case you have, so i've specced a micro atx board (which should fit in most cases)
also as you currently have an a10 5800...chances are that the case is micro atx. so taking my chances here

Good point, sorry - it is a "BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case" - which is an "ATX Mid Tower" - which should work I hope!

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:32

IMissMyDCast said:
I've seen OEM version for £50 and that would work for me!

no. i mean the type where you get it from you know where for literally the cost of a portion of chips or at most a couple of pints of beer.

grey keys make the most financial sense and most of us here have been using the same keys for years with no issues
say each grey key lasts for at least 2 years...or at worst, 1 year - but in reality they rarely, if ever, get blocked
your breakeven point is 20 years at minimum, (or typically >40 years! lol)

IMissMyDCast said:
Good point, sorry - it is a "BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case" - which is an "ATX Mid Tower" - which should work I hope!

yes.

IMissMyDCast · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:41

Gotcha!

Thanks

Also, will my existing heatsink/fan work with the new CPU - or will the new CPU come with one?

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:44

IMissMyDCast said:
Also, will my existing heatsink/fan work with the new CPU

no

IMissMyDCast said:
will the new CPU come with one?

yes

Gray2233 · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:46

For the sake of an extra £35 I'd say this is worth getting over the RX570, unless your budget is too tight to allow for it:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 590 Red Dragon 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card *BLACK FRIDAY DEAL*= £154.99

Total: £154.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

As for the CPU, yes it'll come with a heatsink/fan.

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:52

Gray2233 said:
For the sake of an extra £35 I'd say this is worth getting over the RX570, unless your budget is too tight to allow for it:

i agree the 590 is better value than the 570, even though it's been hiked by a fiver since last week
didn't spec it because it sounded like £400 is the concrete ceiling for OP though

mattydoughts · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:52

Windows 7 key should work fine for Windows 10.

You should be able to go straight to Windows 10 and it should except your Windows 7 key when prompted for the key.

Otherwise you can put Windows 7 on the PC and then run the Windows 10 download tool (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10) on the PC and it should download and upgrade without asking for a key as it uses your current Windows 7 license.

mattydoughts · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:55

Gray2233 said:
For the sake of an extra £35 I'd say this is worth getting over the RX570, unless your budget is too tight to allow for it

This is a must! You will get a lot more out of the 590 for a small amount.

Gray2233 · 2 Jan 2020 at 20:56

tamzzy said:
i agree the 590 is better value than the 570, even though it's been hiked by a fiver since last week
didn't spec it because it sounded like £400 is the concrete ceiling for OP though

Yeah, if he's on a strict budget the 570 is decent.

That price leaves a bad taste in my mouth though given I bought a brand new RX580 8GB for £120 a few months back, a RX570 4GB should be no more than £100 in my opinion.

JediFragger · 2 Jan 2020 at 22:12

RX590 is a great deal atm for £150, def stretch to it if possible!!

IMissMyDCast · 2 Jan 2020 at 23:53

Cheers for all your thoughts guys, I'm not much of a high-end gamer - but I am very tempted by the 590.. but the original spec that tamzy gave me managed to hit the exact price I was looking for so I will probably go with that. I am going to put my order in tomorrow so I will try and make my mind up by then!!

tamzzy · 3 Jan 2020 at 01:23

IMissMyDCast said:
original spec that tamzy gave me managed to hit the exact price I was looking for

Yeah I guessed as much, hence why I didn't ask you to push the budget

Joxeon · 3 Jan 2020 at 01:48

IMissMyDCast said:
Cheers for all your thoughts guys, I'm not much of a high-end gamer - but I am very tempted by the 590.. but the original spec that tamzy gave me managed to hit the exact price I was looking for so I will probably go with that. I am going to put my order in tomorrow so I will try and make my mind up by then!!

You could probably make up the 35 quid extra for the better Gpu by selling your old MB + Ram + Cpu.

ExoMale · 3 Jan 2020 at 02:06

Need to read replace the psu as vs models are not good enough

IMissMyDCast · 3 Jan 2020 at 07:33

ExoMale said:
Need to read replace the psu as vs models are not good enough

In what way? Its worked fine on my current PC for a couple of years? How much is a decent new one?

Joxeon said:
You could probably make up the 35 quid extra for the better Gpu by selling your old MB + Ram + Cpu.

Had not thought of that - but they are both 7 years old with no packaging ... where would I sell them - I don't do Ebay anymore? Although I suppose I could find my old account.

IMissMyDCast · 3 Jan 2020 at 07:42

tamzzy said:
My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 2600 3.90GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £128.99

1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £49.99

1 x Asrock B450M Pro4 (Socket AM4) DDR4 MATX Motherboard= £70.99

1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 570 Red Dragon 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £119.99

1 x SPEEDLINK Event Slim-line USB 2.0 Powered Stereo Speakers, 5W RMS, Black= £9.95

Total: £391.01 (includes shipping: £11.10)

Dammit! I was too slow! The CPU is now £159 and the memory is not in stock until the 9/1 and costs £56... you snooze, you lose!!

Joxeon · 3 Jan 2020 at 09:08

IMissMyDCast said:
In what way? Its worked fine on my current PC for a couple of years? How much is a decent new one?

Had not thought of that - but they are both 7 years old with no packaging ... where would I sell them - I don't do anymore? Although I suppose I could find my old account.

I've recently sold a 1156 and 1366 socket "10 year old" motherboards for £45 and £100, even a 9 year old ocz zs 750w psu went for £35, people will buy anything these days.