Upgrade advice on a bit of a budget

[DrJ]

Hi Forum people

I'm an old hand at building PCs, but I'm really out of touch with the latest stuff. Like I haven't opened a case in anger for maybe 5 years (except to replace my video card a short while ago). I'd like to upgrade my gaming/rendering machine without spending the Big Bucks.

The current machine has an ancient Gigabyte Z87 mainboard, with 8GB (what!) RAM, and a Core i5-4670K CPU. All this I want to replace.

I have an old Lian-Li case which is pretty spacious with a 700W PSU.
Storage is 1TB SSD (2.5") + Graphics is a Radeon RX570 8GB all of which I'd like to keep if at all possible.

I've looked around and read some of the upgrade threads and came up with this list (which is Intel-y), but I would love some suggestions from you super knowledgeable people.

Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDGED4

Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail

Gigabyte Z490 Gaming X (Socket LGA 1200) DDR4 ATX Motherboard

 

[mickyflinn]

Hi

The 10400f is a great budget cpu but you cant overclock it, pairing it with an expensive motherboard doesn't make sense unless your plann to overclock future cpu.


This would be a good alternative but out of stock.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...200-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-355-ms.html

Amd offer good option also.

 

[DrJ]

Thanks for your reply!

I guess I've always built and re-built the gaming box over time.
It's a bit like Grandfathers axe, it's been in the family for 10yrs, and i've replaced the blade and the handle but it's still Grandfathers axe
So right now i've only really got budget to replace the mb/cpu/ram but I'd love to be able to replace the gpu/cpu in a couple of years and still keep the mb?
Does that make any sense?

As to AMD, I've not really kept up with the Ryzen stuff at all.
It used to be that you'd get far better bang for buck with AMD, and would it pair with my Radeon better?
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

 

[mickyflinn]

The 10400f is cracking for the money and you can still upgrade4 to a stronger cpu with either motherboard.

No plan to overclock get a cheaper board tense my recommendation.

Noticed you don't have an ssd, a mechanical hard drive is the most significant bottle neck in any pc

Get an ssd.

 

[DrJ]

Hey! I *do* have an SSD (it's right there in the spec ).
although it is a 2.5" form factor, ~500MBps - not an M.2
boy did this PC take a boost when I put that in!

Maybe the MAG B460?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...-lga-1200-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-356-ms.html

The radeon drivers recon I should go for a Ryzen 9 3950X

 

[mickyflinn]

Hey! I *do* have an SSD (it's right there in the spec ).
although it is a 2.5" form factor, ~500MBps - not an M.2
boy did this PC take a boost when I put that in!

Maybe the MAG B460?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...-lga-1200-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-356-ms.html

The radeon drivers recon I should go for a Ryzen 9 3950X

Sorry my mistake just read to fast sometimes.

The tomahawk is a good motherboard

If you want to go amd look at a 3600 and b450 tomahawk motherboard, 3200mhz ram.

 

[DrJ]

No worries!

I tried an AMD build based on the b450 tomahawk and couldn't get it near the intel budget, that was with a Ryzen 5
Are the numbering systems 3/5/7 etc kinda similar bewteen the giant chip makers or is this a ruse?

I've spec'd up the following, but the MAG B450 Tomahawk seems to read that it supports up to DDR4 2666 MHz, so should I bin the 3600MHz DDR4?!
Also wondering about upgrading the RAM to 32GB.

1 CP-680-IN Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail £139.99
1 MY-0A3-TG Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C19
3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Blac £64.99
1 MB-356-MS MSI MAG B460 TOMAHAWK (Socket LGA 1200) DDR4 ATX Motherboard £129.95

TOTAL £334.93

General use:
Premiere Pro, After Effects & other Adobe suite
example games - Borderlands 2/3, Hellblade, Assassins Creed series, Tomb Raider, Witcher 3, Resident Evil remake etc

 

[MaXxBoulton]

If you want to go amd look at a 3600 and b450 tomahawk motherboard, 3200mhz ram.

you mean 3600mhz...

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £218.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C19 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Blac= £64.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B450M-DS3H AMD B450 (Socket AM4) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £68.99

Total: £363.47 (includes shipping: £10.50)​

​

 

[mickyflinn]

you mean 3600mhz...

No I do t it says 3200mhz the 3600 is the cpu.

@DrJ are you going Intel or amd ?

 

[MaXxBoulton]

No I do t it says 3200mhz the 3600 is the cpu.

i mean if you want slower ram that shown to hinder the 3000 line up that cool.

 

[MaXxBoulton]

@DrJ why do you keep picking expensive motherboard that give zero benefits over a more budget board?
it wont make the cpu, ram or gpu any faster been pluged into a expensive board.

if you want to save a bit of cash

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail= £139.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C19 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Blac= £64.99
• 1 x Asus Prime H410M-A (Socket LGA 1200) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £74.99

Total: £290.47 (includes shipping: £10.50)​

​

 

[DrJ]

Heya

Thanks for the suggestions and thoughts.
I've not built for a long while, and in the quick research I did before coming into the forums I picked some components that seemed to get good reviews but without really knowing the pinch points wasn't sure what could/should be sacrificed. I always seem to build on the basis that I might be able to upgrade some components later on, but then never do! I seem to be stuck in upgrading the GPU then a few years later the CPU/RAM/MB - rinse and repeat.

If the ~£300 /£350 builds you folks are suggesting are all I need to bring this machine kicking and screaming into the 2020s then thats a bonus!

In terms of AMD/intel whichever gives me better performance I guess.
(I do like the sounds of the 10400F)

I'll be pairing this with my existing Radeon RX570 8GB for now.

I do like the M.2 slots, and the more USB the merrier, cause I'm peripheral heavy here.

I have an old M-Audio PCI sound card, but I guess they don't fit in anything anymore

Once again, thanks for all the knowledge!

 

[MaXxBoulton]

In terms of AMD/intel whichever gives me better performance I guess

AMD

I have an old M-Audio PCI sound card, but I guess they don't fit in anything anymore

On board audio will be better now days.

 

[mickyflinn]

Intel will offer you a limited upgrade path but still you can upgrade to an 8 or 10 core cpu which tend to be more expensive than AMD.

AMD offer more flexabilty with a wider range of cpu choice, future upgrades all the way up to a 16 cores.

Ram 3000mhz or 3200mjz is more than enough for an intel build which you may have to adjust in the bios to get.

 

[DrJ]

BIG QUESTION:
Is it worth holding on for Black Friday times, am I likely to get Huge Discounts

Anyhow, from the info you've shared in this thread.
An AMD build looks like this, but with a MB swap (mainly because the Asus board gets a 1* godawful review).

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £99.98
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C19 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Blac= £64.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £218.99
• 1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)= £6.49

Total: £400.95 (includes shipping: £10.50)​

​

Whilst an intel build might look like this:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI MAG B460 TOMAHAWK (Socket LGA 1200) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £129.95
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C19 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Blac= £64.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail= £139.99
• 1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)= £6.49

Total: £351.92 (includes shipping: £10.50)​

​

Maybe with this board instead?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Asus Prime H410M-A (Socket LGA 1200) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £74.99

Total: £84.89 (includes shipping: £9.90)​

​

 

[mickyflinn]

The 3600 is nearly £40 overpriced.

Stock cooler comes with paste pre applied.

 

[MaXxBoulton]

The 3600 is nearly £40 overpriced.

Stock cooler comes with paste pre applied.

I agree about the price but its still the better option.

Yer you don't need the thermal paste.

The i5 doesn't come with a cooler. You would need an aftermarket one

 

[DrJ]

That's all super useful info, thanks so much.

Just to ask again, is Black Friday a thing when it comes to components?
I can bring the AMD build home for around £350 (with a bit of mixing and matching, and taking your suggestions re: 3600).
Is that going to change much in a months time?
I can wait if there's likely price changes (from new stuff coming out or the pre-xmas sales)

 

[MaXxBoulton]

That's all super useful info, thanks so much.

Just to ask again, is Black Friday a thing when it comes to components?
I can bring the AMD build home for around £350 (with a bit of mixing and matching, and taking your suggestions re: 3600).
Is that going to change much in a months time?
I can wait if there's likely price changes (from new stuff coming out or the pre-xmas sales)

when the new 5000 range of cpu's land and are in stock you will see the 3000 line get cheaper(not by much).
Ram just can get any cheaper unless you look at high end stuff.
i dont see motherboard prices dropping as there will be more demand when the new chips land.

Black Friday may hold some deal you would just have to wait and see. my crystal ball isn't letting me know what on offer yet

 

[mickyflinn]

That's all super useful info, thanks so much.

Just to ask again, is Black Friday a thing when it comes to components?
I can bring the AMD build home for around £350 (with a bit of mixing and matching, and taking your suggestions re: 3600).
Is that going to change much in a months time?
I can wait if there's likely price changes (from new stuff coming out or the pre-xmas sales)

Who knows but you may save a little.