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Repurposing old computer?

Anatonic

Anatonic

Anatonic

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Joined
5 Sep 2011
Posts
28
I’m spending a fair chunk on a new PC as part of my racing sim rig build. My son loves Fortnite and EA FC, and he’s been badgering me about getting a PC of his own...

I’d been looking at a 'cheap' pre-built for him. But I’ve used GeForce Now for years, which let me get away without upgrading what is now a REALLY old machine I have knocking around that was going to be decomissioned. I bought it 10+ years ago based on advice from people on here and its been a loyal steed for all these years! So I’m wondering if I can just pass it on to him, with a few upgrades so it can play newer games natively (1080p) without GFN, for less money.

Current specs:

- Intel Core i7-5930K @ 3.5GHz
- Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion
- EVGA GeForce GTX 980
- Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
- Corsair 16GB DDR4 (4 x 4GB @ 2133MHz)

My plan was to leave the CPU and RAM alone for now. The 5930K should be fine for Fortnite and FC, and with DDR4 prices where they are... more RAM makes no sense. In my head, I’d upgrade:

GPU: used RTX 3060 12GB
Storage: 1TB M.2 SSD

The problem in the back of my mind is TPM / Secure Boot and W11. Pretty sure the likes of FC26/27 anti-cheat needs Secure Boot and TPM 2.0. As far as I can tell from Gigabyte’s manual on this antique of a board, the SOC Champion has no TPM header, so I can’t just plug in a TPM 2.0 module...

- Can anyone confirm the SOC Champion has no TPM header? Is there a workaround I’ve missed?
- If there’s no way round it, am I better off cutting my losses and buying him something modern and ready to go?

Thanks in advance
 
You're better off going for an AMD GPU with that build, there's less driver overhead so you'll get more out of it.

I don't think that EA FC26/27 necessarily requires TPM 2.0, I think they use EA's own Javealin which might work, you'd need to double check it by updating to the latest bios for the board and doing a test run which is easy enough. I've had a quick glance over the documentation for your board and also had chatGPT have a look and it does not appear to have a TPM header unfortunately.

Worst case, you could pick up an AM4 board and CPU and reuse the memory, a B450/B550 and something like a second hand 3600 or 5600 would do the trick on the cheap. That memory is pretty slow unfortunately, but with the current state of things I'd just reuse it and see how you get on.

I'd keep your expectations in check however, if he's on an xbox or ps5 currently I don't think I'd bother.
 
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A 5600 is something like twice as fast as the 5930k. and uses hald the power to do so. Cheap am4 board with one of them is your best bet.
 
There are two (at least) variants of Javelin - The one that BF6 uses, which DOES require TPM2.0 and Secureboot, and a version that is still kernel level but doesn't require TPM2.0 and Secureboot - it would appear from the steam page that FC26/27 uses the latter (same as Skate.) so you should be ok. (but if you don't want it on your system you'll need to manually remove it after uninstalling the game!).

I'd also agree with the others though, that a cheap upgrade to AM4 makes sense as you have the RAM... 2133MHz won't be optimal, but I'd still be surprised if it's not a decent amount quicker and more efficient... and a board and CPU will probably set you back £100 or less for both.

Edit: had a look at the manual and can't see a header... even if there was, last BIOS is 2018 so certs would be out of date as of June this year (not sure whether this applies to plug-in TPM though)
 
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Cheap AM4 all the way, Ryzen 5 3600 second hand, your 16gb DDR4 and a B550 motherboard is a reasonable uplift and will probably cost nothing if you sell your X99 kit on.

As nice as the 5600 is, its usually over £140, which is close to the cost of a 5500 X3D or 5700x.

if you have a 1tb SSD then a 1tb NVMe isnt bad, but honestly they fill up quick these days.
 
Anatonic said:
I’m spending a fair chunk on a new PC as part of my racing sim rig build. My son loves Fortnite and EA FC, and he’s been badgering me about getting a PC of his own...

I’d been looking at a 'cheap' pre-built for him. But I’ve used GeForce Now for years, which let me get away without upgrading what is now a REALLY old machine I have knocking around that was going to be decomissioned. I bought it 10+ years ago based on advice from people on here and its been a loyal steed for all these years! So I’m wondering if I can just pass it on to him, with a few upgrades so it can play newer games natively (1080p) without GFN, for less money.

Current specs:

- Intel Core i7-5930K @ 3.5GHz
- Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion
- EVGA GeForce GTX 980
- Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
- Corsair 16GB DDR4 (4 x 4GB @ 2133MHz)

My plan was to leave the CPU and RAM alone for now. The 5930K should be fine for Fortnite and FC, and with DDR4 prices where they are... more RAM makes no sense. In my head, I’d upgrade:

GPU: used RTX 3060 12GB
Storage: 1TB M.2 SSD

The problem in the back of my mind is TPM / Secure Boot and W11. Pretty sure the likes of FC26/27 anti-cheat needs Secure Boot and TPM 2.0. As far as I can tell from Gigabyte’s manual on this antique of a board, the SOC Champion has no TPM header, so I can’t just plug in a TPM 2.0 module...

- Can anyone confirm the SOC Champion has no TPM header? Is there a workaround I’ve missed?
- If there’s no way round it, am I better off cutting my losses and buying him something modern and ready to go?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Overclock 5930k for 3060/12 &.: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/klev...pcie-4.0-solid-state-drive/STO-KLV-07068.html
 
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sastusbulbas said:
Ahh, personally I prefer UK retailers for PC parts. Though AI is pricing them out of getting my money.
Click to expand...
Haha fair enough. I've used them for a few parts and have had no issues. I'm no Gucci belt wearer so whoever offers me best value gets my money :cry:
 
tamzzy said:
Haha fair enough. I've used them for a few parts and have had no issues. I'm no Gucci belt wearer so whoever offers me best value gets my money :cry:
Click to expand...

sofaUntitled.webp


Only £14.59, it'd look beautiful in your case. :p
 
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