Upgrading 2015 OCUK System

LufbraDan · 16 Apr 2020 at 13:51

Hi

I purchased an ex-demo system from OCUK in 2015. Basic details are:

CPU: i7-4770K @ 3.5Ghz
Board: Gryphon Z87
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1866MHz
GPU: AMD Radeon R9 200
Disk: 120GB SSD & 2TB HHD

To prolong its life. Is there anything "simple" and cost-effective that I could do? I was thinking replacing the HHD with a 1TB SSD, and increasing the RAM.

SSD: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sams...olid-state-drive-mz-76e1t0b-eu-hd-234-sa.html

RAM: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...4000mhz-dual-channel-kit-black-my-098-tg.html

Budget wise, Ideally less than £300, but could stretch to £400 or so.

Thanks

Dan

LufbraDan · 17 Apr 2020 at 22:14

PS. I have found that the graphics card is a Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X. This is worth upgrading too?

LufbraDan · 18 Apr 2020 at 09:45

Danny75 said:
What do you use the system for?

The Samsung is overpriced compared to WD Blue 1TB or Crucial MX500 1TB for example. Try and purchase those close to £100.

The RAM you linked to is DDR4 not the DDR3 you need. Also, you don't want to be replacing the RAM, you want to add to the existing 8GB with another 2x4GB DDR3 sticks. And keep it sensible cost-wise - the RAM won't carry through to a new system unlike an SSD and GPU.

Thanks Danny

Perhaps a stupid question. should any RAM i buy to add to the existing 8GB also be DDR3 1866MHz? does the MHz matter?

LufbraDan · 19 Apr 2020 at 11:16

The processor has never been an issue, and is still more than sufficient for my needs.

The machine is used, at the moment and for the foreseeable future, as my work machine. I use a few memory intensive programs, and I found that after a while, there was significant slowdown as the RAM was being maxed out.

The kids sometime use the machine for gaming, but it tends to be things like Cities Skyline and Transport Fever, nothing too onerous.

I will kick the RAM upto 16GB and replace the 2TB HHD with an 1TB SSD. I will also likely invest in a RX580.

LufbraDan · 19 Apr 2020 at 22:18

tamzzy said:
PS: you should overclock the cpu (ofc get a cheap aftermarket heatsink if you haven't got one - will help with temps, noise, and also boost clocks)

As it is an OCUK prebuilt system, the processor came overclocked @ 3.9GHz (sorry, should have mentioned that at the start).

thank you all for your help. I have put an order in and will wait for the bits to arrive.