old system renewal

ScBHavoK

ScBHavoK

ScBHavoK

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Joined
24 Mar 2009
Posts
163
Location
Newcastle Upon Tyne
I am looking to upgrade current system but totally out of the loop on whats what now.

This will be a family pc as both my daughters use it for games (Roblox and minecraft) and for homework etc. I don’t use it much now like I used to but might get back into it with a nicer setup.

My current setup:

setup:

Asus M4A88TD-V evo/usb3 880g am3 atx mobo.
Amd Phenom 2 X4 955 black ed 3.2G
Coolermaster 212 fan?
12gb Corsair vengeance ddr3 pc3-15000C9 1866MHz.
G force 1030
Wd 120gb ssd
Samsung spinpoint F3 1 Tb sata2 Hd.
Coolermaster GX650w Psu ( i think 80 bronze cert?).
Phanteks p300 eclipse case
Windows 10

It’s starting to feel a bit old now and crashing from time to time. I also noticed the other day it ran a programme and it informed me I couldn’t update to windows 11 as it’s as old.

I would like to keep the case and maybe the ssd drive but everything else I think will need changing.

I’m not looking to spend a fortune on it, I did have a look and was thinking along the lines of a ryzen with on board graphics but open to any ideas.

Thanks
 
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The 5600G/5700G are pretty good CPUs, but solely the graphics part won't be a massive upgrade on the GT 1030 (assuming it is a GDDR5 version). If you're fine with that, then fair enough (and the CPU will help a lot in older and more CPU-oriented games).
 
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Tetras said:
The 5600G/5700G are pretty good CPUs, but solely the graphics part won't be a massive upgrade on the GT 1030 (assuming it is a GDDR5 version). If you're fine with that, then fair enough (and the CPU will help a lot in older and more CPU-oriented games).
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Thanks. Do you think I should keep the graphics card then and look at a different/better cpu?

It is the gddr5 version btw

www.overclockers.co.uk

EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 SC Low Profile 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Order EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 SC Low Profile 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
 
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ScBHavoK said:
Thanks. Do you think I should keep the graphics card then and look at a different/better cpu?

It is the gddr5 version btw

www.overclockers.co.uk

EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 SC Low Profile 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Order EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 SC Low Profile 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
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Well, it would give you the option of an i3-12100F or i5-12400F build instead, but ultimately you'd probably end up with similar performance to a 5600G/5700G (some games would be faster, some games slower).

If you want a step forward in graphics then you're looking at a GTX 1630/1650 or RX 6400/6500, which are in the region of £150-£200 and while they're in a different league to a GT 1030 and will more than suffice for light gaming, they've been pretty much universally panned for being crap. An RTX 4030 or RX 7400 might be low-end cards worth buying, but the wait is likely to be unrealistically long (like a year). If you're happy to go used, then the end of eth-mining could lead to some bargains.

The non-F IGP in the 12100 & 12400 is slower than the 1030, FYI.

I guess you could just buy a 5600G/5700G and see how it goes with the much faster CPU-part, then stick in a graphics card later if the difference is too little.
 
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I think Tetras is trying to overthink things and getting himself in a twist. You have many components that are still very useable. Case , psu (coolermaster make decent psus but it is getting on so always a small risk), SSDs and storage, Win10 ( it is free ) as there is no real need for Win11 at moment with the build I will suggest.

What you actually need is a new core for a PC so just get 12100F or 12400F + B660 mobo + 16 GB DDR4. You can then reuse your gpu and if you are not happy with the performance get an RX 6600 or RX6700 which would be a huge upgrade in gpu performance. This is the base for a PC thats good for next 5 years no matter what roblox or minecraft throw at you and as long as you get no hardware failures will be good for internet based work for the indefinite future.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £320.47 (includes delivery: £10.50)​



​


Because you have a 1030 that you can use there is no need to look at the Ryzen APUs because it is very similar performance. With that ruled out just get the best cheap decent PC you can and imo thats the above. You can save on the mobo but if you are planning to run the system for a long period of time skimping on the mobo can be a false economy.

If you did want to get into gaming again in the future then all you would need is a gpu upgrade from the 1030. RX6600 6700 are yoyoing in price at moment so any suggestion can change on a daily basis but in general there are some very competitively priced gpus available that have over 4 times the power of a 1030.

New NV gpus have been announced today and they are... well they exist but they are insanely expensive so not sure they will affect the current market that much and may even push current gen prices up ( which may be Nvs aim).
 
The Coolermaster GX series were mediocre at best, leaning towards poor overall and it must be 10 years old by now so I would be replacing that as well. HardOCP actually failed the 650w in their review of it. Just for info, Coolermaster like most other psu brands do not make a single unit and they are mostly built by third party oem's. Even Seasonic does this on their cheaper psu's. Coolermaster tends to use budget oem's on all but their highest quality psu's and depending on the op's psu manufacturers code it was built either by Seventeam (RS-650-ACAA-E3) or Enhance (RS-650-ACAA-D3).
 
Haz123 said:
I think Tetras is trying to overthink things and getting himself in a twist.
Click to expand...

My dilemma is that the new system will cost at least £300 (maybe £400-£500 if all the innards are replaced) and even though it will undoubtedly feel snappier and more responsive and uhh, not crash anymore, GT 1030 level of performance is GT 1030 level of performance.

While a new CPU will help and in older CPU-oriented games it might help a fair bit, you can't make a CPU push a low-end graphics card any faster, I've experienced this myself and there's no getting around it. I'd love to say "go buy a RX 6600", but we're talking £250 odd for a 'proper' graphics card and that could nearly double the cost of the build. My impression is the OP wants to spend as little as possible, but I know if I went to the trouble of upgrading such an old system, I'd at least hope it could play some new games (or do something interesting that the old one couldn't). It's possible that the CPU alone will be enough (to not be disappointed with the outcome), I'm just not... convinced.

I'm also aware that benchmarks of the 5600G/5700G have some very variable results and can sometimes pull ahead of low-end graphics cards, so considering there's a Phenom pairing the 1030 right now, the 5600G might be surprising if the OP plays those few games where it excels.
 
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It is a dilemma. All we can do is give the guy some options and opinions and in the end he has to make a choice how to spend his hard earned cash. He got a good long life out of a Phenom but anything modern will be so much better and if its 12th gen Intel or Ryzen 3 it should last for many a long year. Problem with the 5600G/5700G is whilst the APU is kind of useable the cpus is an odd mix of Ryzen 2 and 3, hard to predict how that cpu side of things will age and it is limited to pcie 3 iirc so any future gpu drop ins are also complicated.

My vote goes to 12100f+B660+16gb DDR4 + reuse 1030 then drop in better gpu at later date. There are other valid paths if that works out to be too expensive.

Second hand kit could be ideal if you can find the right deal. With AM5 around the corner there may be a lot of 5600+B550+DDR4 hitting the market soon so keep your eyes open.
 
ScBHavoK said:
I’m not looking to spend a fortune on it
Click to expand...
this will be a big improvement over that old Phenom ... shame its only a 4 core though, and mobo is on order?
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £205.43 (includes delivery: £10.50)​



​
 
Haz123 said:
Problem with the 5600G/5700G is whilst the APU is kind of useable the cpus is an odd mix of Ryzen 2 and 3, hard to predict how that cpu side of things will age and it is limited to pcie 3 iirc so any future gpu drop ins are also complicated.
Click to expand...

Didn't even think of the PCI-E thing, darn, that would not help with getting the best out of a low-cost GPU upgrade (at least, if it was a 6400/6500 with their measly x4).
 
Thanks everyone for your feedback.

I’d love to splurge loads and get the top gear but don’t think the wife would be happy.

Someone local to me has a ryzen 3200g up for sale for £50. Also there is a ryzen 3600 with a 1050 ti for £130

Not sure how I feel about buying used tbh and also not sure on what board and ram would go with them

Iv never had an intel system always been amd but I’m open to one
 
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ScBHavoK said:
Someone local to me has a ryzen 3200g up for sale for £50. Also there is a ryzen 3600 with a 1050 ti for £130

Not sure how I feel about buying used tbh and also not sure on what board and ram would go with them
Click to expand...

Usually you'd go B450 or B550 for the more affordable boards (some A520 boards are also alright). RAM: anything (DDR4) 2933/3000 or faster really, 3200 is widely available.

I think the cheapest B450 board at OCUK is the Asus B450M Pro II at £83.

The 1050 Ti is pretty dated (5+ years), but it is way faster than a 3200G or GT 1030. The 3600 is decent. Not a bad price at all, based on old GPU (crypto-boom) prices, but probably not that great for today's (crypto-crash) prices.
 
There is a Sapphire 6500XT in the clearance section for £150. Surely that would be much faster than a old 1050ti? There is also a Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite motherboard in there for £60. Just be aware that the items in the clearance section could be just the actual item with no accessories. Not really important in the case of the gpu but it may not come with the I/O cover for the motherboard although you may be able to get one from Gigabyte.

My basket at OcUK:
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Whilst it may not matter for every game and roblox and minecraft would obviously run much better on a 6500xt than a 1030 you have to think about the platform with that gpu. It is only pcie 4 x4 lanes so if you put it in a B450 you are then limited to pcie 3 x4 or the equivalent of pcie 4 x2.

RX6500 RX6400 Nv 3050 are all just not worth recommending, or only for very specific circumstances, and you are better looking at the second hand market for a 1650ti, 5700xt, 2060, 1080/1070 or gpus in that ballpark
 
Thanks to everybody who replied above. Iv been re looking at this and putting a few builds together (pricing). At the minute im torn between 2 builds using my 1030 card for the time being which are:

Option 1.​

​

AMD Ryzen 5 5600​

Gigabyte B550M DS3H mATX​

Kingston FURY Beast RGB 16GB (2x8GB) 3600MHz DDR4​

Kingston NV2 M.2-2280 1TB PCI Express 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive​

Montech Air 100 ARGB Mid Tower Gaming Case - White USB 3.0​

Corsair cv550 80 plus bronze power supply (not 100%)​

​

Approx cost £410​


Option 2.​


Intel Core i3 12100F 3.3GHz Quad Core LGA1700 CPU​

Gigabyte B660M DS3H DDR4 mATX​

Kingston FURY Beast RGB 16GB (2x8GB) 3600MHz DDR4​

Kingston NV2 M.2-2280 1TB PCI Express 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive​

Montech Air 100 ARGB Mid Tower Gaming Case - White USB 3.0​

Gigabyte P650B 650W Power Supply 80 Plus Bronze (not 100%)​


Approx cost £400​


My thinking then is in a few months or sooner drop in a graphics card along the lines of a rtx3060 especially if im able to sell my old pc.

What do you think about the above builds any help is appreciated.
 
ScBHavoK said:
Ok thanks. What would you suggest?
Click to expand...

The WD SN570 states TLC in the datasheet and is usually fairly competitive on price (600 TBW & 5 year warranty versus 320 TBW & 3 year warranty on the NV2). Samsung 980 is also stated to be TLC (600 TBW & 5 year warranty).

Crucial P3 is probably another to avoid, it uses better QLC (not stated on their site, boo) and has a longer warranty (5 year), but still crappy endurance (only 220).
 
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