Upgrade Help. Its been a while....

Countcussy · 9 Jun 2022 at 10:26

So despite not really needing to, I have the upgrade itch. Nothing top end, more like a refresh.
Current system is an I3-6100, 8 gig ram, GTX960 4 gig.
With the current situation, I have no plans to upgrade the GPU at the minute, as I would also need a new power supply anyway (Currently Corsair HX520)
I only game sporadically, and when I do its at 1080p.

Was thinking of going with a I5-12400, 16GB ram (DDR4) and MSI z690 pro MB.

Is that mobo ok? As not overclocking, I was going to go B660, but for the price difference, seems a no brainer to go Z690. Any arguments to that?

Has anybody changed the Mobo/CPU without re-installing windows? Currently on Windows 10, with a digital certificate.
Always done clean installs in the past, and I will do later on, but can it be done without, short term?

Countcussy · 9 Jun 2022 at 11:27

Thank You.

My win 10 license has actually come from a genuine Win 7 Pro disc, and linked to my MS account. My understanding is that it should be OK.
Seen the I5 and the MSI board in stock locally at good pricing, which has kind of prompted me a little, as been thinking about this upgrade for a while.
I have images of the OS drive backed up, and all my "stuff" is on 2nd and 3rd drives.
No reason really not to do a clean install. Was just curious whether it could be done without.

Countcussy · 9 Jun 2022 at 11:42

Excellent. Thank you.

Any issues with my now very old HX520 modular power supply?
Do newer MB`s need anything connection wise that it may not have?

Countcussy · 9 Jun 2022 at 12:00

I am going to estimate 10 years.
Its gone through at least 1 upgrade cycle. It was bought when I built a socket 775 system !!
Are you thinking It may be worth upgrading that now?
It had crossed my mind.

Countcussy · 9 Jun 2022 at 12:02

mickyflinn said:
Should work fine , it only has 1 x 12v eps connector but that should be enough for the 12400. Most intel 12th gen motherboards have 2 eps connector for high end cpu's.

How old is it ?

Use the reply button please.

I will use the reply button from now on, promise

Countcussy · 17 Jun 2022 at 10:55

So, this partial upgrade is not happening............Its become a whole new PC

I managed to get a 3060ti FE yesterday for £369. New Power supply and case also on the way.

Keeps the existing PC untouched, meaning I can give it to my daughter to use for school etc.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Countcussy · 17 Jun 2022 at 12:26

mickyflinn said:
So what other components did you get ?

So I now have or on its way:

I5 12400F
MSI Pro 690 A DDR4
3060ti FE
16GB Corsair Vengeance
Noctua U12S cooler
Corsair RM750 power supply
Be-Quiet PureBase 600 case
WD 500gb M2 SN750SE

Countcussy · 17 Jun 2022 at 12:58

mickyflinn said:
Cool.

Does the Noctua come with a skt 1700 bracket for the motherboard , if not you mite have to order one from Nochtua.

It does. It was actually one of the reasons I ordered it. Plus it came with thermal paste, so one less thing to buy.
Was going to go with a BeQuiet, but thought the bracket may cause delays. Once I decide something, I can be quite impatient

Just over 1k for all of the parts. Expensive compared to previous builds, but not too bad in the current climate.

Countcussy · 17 Jun 2022 at 13:10

mickyflinn said:
Good luck with your build and let us know how you get on.

Enjoy.

Thanks.
Not normally into benchmarking as such, but I may run a couple tonight on the old system just so I have a something to compare.

Countcussy · 20 Jun 2022 at 09:39

All parts arrived at the weekend. Had to purchase from a few different places to get what I needed on time.
OC managed to get the case to me on Saturday AM, which was great.

I have put some pictures below.
Few observations from the build:

Mobo is nice. The 1st M2 slot has a heatsink with thermal pads pre applied. The M2 screw is actually a quick release clip. Nice feature.
The tension on the CPU socket clip was unnerving. Don`t remember it being as firm on previous builds.
The Noctua cooler was a piece of cake. Saw a few people on line moaning that you have to assemble the bracket. I had no issues.
Be-Quiet case is nice. Not quite up to the standards of my aging Antec P182. TBF, The Antec does weigh the same as a small car.

The pre supplied Be-Quiet fans seem noisy. Especially the 140mm at the front. I need to investigate.

Windows installed in around 10 minutes from USB. No issues at all.
System is very quiet at idle, and still quiet whilst running 3D Mark. Score was 11095. So in the ballpark for stock speeds.
I wanted a decent system, but not too much noise as its in the bedroom. Well chuffed.

Countcussy · 20 Jun 2022 at 10:27

mickyflinn said:
I would add another fan to the front of the case.

I did think of this. The fans installed are currently connected to the 3 position switch on the case to control speeds, so I have no idea how fast they are turning.
Speed 2 seems the sweet spot for me as regards noise. I will have a look at some fan options.