Upgrading/rebuilding a 6 year old machine

matt2k7

matt2k7

matt2k7

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Hertfordshire
Hi!
I built the following machine around 6 years ago and feel now is the time to invest a little in what is going to be my main computer, I had a mac mini which I used for work, but it has since been bricked with a faulty logic board so rather than give apple more money I'll now invest that money on this upgrade...

My current build looks as follows

  • Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 6600 @ 3.30GHz 31 °C Skylake 14nm Technology
  • RAM: 16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1066MHz (15-15-15-35)
  • Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S (CPUSocket) 33 °C
  • Graphics: BenQ XL2411Z (1920x1080@144Hz) 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (MSI) 45 °C
  • Storage: 447GB SanDisk Ultra II 480GB (SATA (SSD)) 26 °C 930GB Microsoft Storage Space Device (TMax )
  • Optical Drives: No optical disk drives detected
  • Audio: ASUS Xonar DSX Audio Device

I have a budget of around £1000, and I'm quite happy to use my current GPU and upgrade later. I'd be grateful for any input or ideas as to where to start :)
 
I was looking at getting a new, PSU, Motherbaord, CPU, case just to start with, using the storage, RAM and GPU I already have, I realise I might need to stretch the budget much further, though I would like this upgrade to last me another 5-8 years and be future proof, allowing me to upgrade the GPU & RAM at a later date.

I've not really looked into selling any of my components, presume the GPU will be worth something and the market for the rest less so?
With all the above being the case what suggestions are out there?
 
I use it mainly for work, email, browsing, office suite, as well as gaming, would like to add VR capability at some point, streaming and also some file hosting to local network.
 
tamzzy said:
full new build:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £948.83 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

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​
​


reuse your 1070 (will need to upgrade at some point):
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £846.88 (includes delivery: £8.00)​

​
​
​
Click to expand...
Could I not reuse my current storage?
With the case I notice that it has RGB already which I don't think can be changed on that case? Otherwise the bundle looks great!
 
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
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Kolink Observatory Lite Mesh ARGB Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black
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Tetras said:
Intel alternative, if you don't want the storage I'd switch to a 13700 non-K or 13700F.

Intel Core i5-13600K (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail - £320.00
Gigabyte B760 GAMING X AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard - £199.99
TeamGroup Vulcan 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C36 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLBD532G5600HC36BDC01) - £119.99

WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) - £69.94

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 AIO CPU Cooler - 240mm - £62.99
MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 UK PSU 850W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - £129.95
Lian Li LANCOOL 215 Mid-Tower aRGB Tempered Glass Black - £89.98

Grand Total: £1,004.83 (includes delivery charge, £11.99)
Click to expand...
This I like the look of a lot, SSD are getting so cheap too, when I was building my current machine the performance difference was unbelievable, now that the cost per gig has come down it would be nice to get a larger drive, is it still recommended to put games on one drive and have the OS boot from a sperate drive? Previous thinking was that the performance of some SSD starts to dip the more data it holds?

Also, I've not looked into it at all, but where do I start with AMD v Intel, is there a reason people have a preference?
 
lsg1r said:
You can reuse old storage but it will be considerably slower than new stuff (outside of hard drives, they're faster but not by much)

I put together a build for another thread which will work here too (I'm in the total rebuild camp too)

I haven't changed stuff but you can change some stuff like double the ram and remove the monitor.
Click to expand...
Looks good, especially for the price, I think personally I would like to spend more on the motherboard and have it DDR5 compatible, particularly as I'll not be spending a fortune on a GPU initially.
 
Tetras said:
I prefer to do this, partly because I usually buy a more high-end and durable drive for the OS than for games and storage. I don't think modern SSDs lose that much performance, IF they have enough free space to operate their cache, which is not common that you'd fill them that much.



The 13600K or 13700 non-K/F have higher productivity performance than the 7600/X and the 7700/X, but their gaming performance (with DDR5) is similar. AM5 is supposed to be supported through several generations (AM4 lasted a very long time), but Intel 1700 is thought to have a minor refresh of 13th gen (rumour is higher clocks and more cache, but same core counts) and then that's it. I think you'd get a decent life out of whatever system you buy before it needs upgrading, but the AM5 system might have a much faster CPU available when end of life.
Click to expand...
Thats great, I would think that I would look to buy a whole new set up by the time the machine is coming towards its last years, rather than only upgrade the CPU. I'm surprised by how well my current machine has held up, I do think that the jumps in performance are much less notable now, unless we use specialist equipment and benchmarking with tools that capture things that the eye can't see!
I'm going to have to do a checklist of things I need, but very much looking forward to getting started on this.

Very helpful, thank you :)
 
lsg1r said:
To be fair I would too if I was buying for myself right now but that was within a 1k sort of budget like you originally mentioned, if you want to up the budget a little you could go am5/intel 13th (no 'upgrade' route with intel though) or skip out on the gpu and add that later.
Click to expand...
Yeah skipping out the GPU is what I'm looking at right now, though I am tempted to lift the budget further still it just starts getting silly as there must be an end point before you end up with a lot of machine that you'll never make the most of :cry:
What do you mean regards to the no upgrade route if going with intel?
Also, rookie question, If I were to go ahead and buy the suggestion offered by @Tetras would I need to add thermal paste, or anything else not on that list?
 
I think I'm getting myself in a bit of a muddle with this, so the motherboard choice is key here, as if I choose a AM5 motherboard then the likelihood is that I will be able to upgrade to next gen AMD CPU at a later date, whereas if I choose an LGA 1700 MB then I won't be able to upgrade the CPU as the next gen is changing socket?

Sorry for needing the Janet and John explanation :cry:
 
tamzzy said:
correct, which is why i don't routinely recommend intel anymore except for specific use cases
for gaming, the current 13th gen intels and ryzen 7000 chips perform neck and neck or thereabouts...so i can't fathom why one would want to buy into what is effectively, a dead platform with no route for upgrades
AM5 is the way to go, imo
Click to expand...
Well that does change things, I tend to agree with you in that regard, though I don't think I would personally upgrade the CPU without upgrading the MB in the future, I guess only time would tell. It begs the question then, is there likely to be some bargains to be had with these old intel sockets?
Also, is this not the latest gen intel socket?

Intel Core i5-13600K (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor​

Meaning that this board is somewhat future proof?
Gigabyte B760 GAMING X AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard
 
tamzzy said:
why not? for example AM4 was supported 2017 through to 2022/2023 owners could've dropped in a a 5800x3d from a ryzen 1400 after a bios update and seen 100%+ performance gains


yes but no
yes it's the latest gen intel, however the next line of cpus will be on another platform and incompatible with this motherboard
you still have upgrade paths ie 13700/13900 but these are just increased core counts (same gen cpus) rather than increased single core performance (IPC) of a new generation of cpus
Click to expand...
Great, I think I understand now then.

I guess I have never thought about upgrading until the whole build was on its last legs at which point I’m likely to drop a lot of money and then it would be silly to not upgrade the MB.
What would you say is similar performance to the pair that I mention above but AMD?
 
tamzzy said:
7600x/7700x
(See my build spec reusing the 1070)
For VR your 1070 will be the limiting factor
Click to expand...
Ah yes, I see it now, my eyes were drawn to the first build you mentioned, but looking below that bundle looks to decent value. I appreciate your inputs :cool:
 
tamzzy said:
full new build:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £948.83 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​


reuse your 1070 (will need to upgrade at some point):
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £846.88 (includes delivery: £8.00)​

​
​
​
Click to expand...
The longer I look and revisit this the more I am starting to think that whilst it makes sense in theory to future proof by going down the AM5 path I do now think that some of my budget is being used by that and that I’d be better off just getting a better GPU as gaming is about the most intense thing I’d do on the machine. If I were to go down the route of getting the B550 motherboard and Ryzen 5 5600 cpu, as well as extend my budget to £1200 (ish) then what do you think is the best I could do?

I have to be honest and say that I’ve been happy with my current set up for many years and that I personally am unlikely to make the most of AM5 so it’s probably just an unnecessary tax, keen to hear your thoughts?
 
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
CP-3D2-AM
£170 (incl. VAT)
£90 (incl. VAT)
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Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard
MB-594-GI
£100 (incl. VAT)
£90 (incl. VAT)
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Kolink Observatory Lite Mesh ARGB Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black
CA-04S-KK
£63 (incl. VAT)
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Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - Black
CA-052-KK
£65 (incl. VAT)
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Last edited:
mickyflinn said:
Have gone for a better psu as the GPU needs more power, just a remake of @tamzzy build.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £1,204.87 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​
Click to expand...
I never thought I would end up spending as much on a GPU, especially as I could get a PS5 for that money. How would this compare, would the CPU, RAM, or board prevent me from getting the most out of this card?
I've no real interest in console gaming tbh, just using it as an example.
 
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
CP-3D2-AM
£170 (incl. VAT)
£90 (incl. VAT)
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Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard
MB-594-GI
£100 (incl. VAT)
£90 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Kolink Observatory Lite Mesh ARGB Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black
CA-04S-KK
£63 (incl. VAT)
FREE DELIVERY
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be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W ATX 3.1 80 Plus Gold Power Supply
CA-14R-BQ
£110 (incl. VAT)
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Kolink Umbra EX180 ARGB CPU Cooler - 120mm
HS-000-KK
£33 (incl. VAT)
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tamzzy said:
if you need it, you need it...it's only ~£50 more...
you're already spending £1200 might as well make sure it can do everything you want it to
the 6800xt (330mm) is a snug fit in the case (335mm max gpu length)

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £1,253.87 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​
Click to expand...
You’re right, is the Lancool 215 more suitable? That’s the one I have in my basket anyway…
 
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
CP-3D2-AM
£170 (incl. VAT)
£90 (incl. VAT)
FREE DELIVERY
Find out more
MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard
MB-35A-MS
£110 (incl. VAT)
£95 (incl. VAT)
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Kolink Observatory Lite Mesh ARGB Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black
CA-04S-KK
£63 (incl. VAT)
FREE DELIVERY
Find out more
be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W ATX 3.1 80 Plus Gold Power Supply
CA-14R-BQ
£110 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Kolink Umbra EX180 ARGB CPU Cooler - 120mm
HS-000-KK
£33 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Quartz said:
Since you need a PC for work something you might consider is keeping your current PC as a spare to minimise downtime.
Click to expand...
Exactly my thinking, I’ll be keeping both and then when I’m fully set up on my new machine I’ll list parts on marketplace, eBay and the like, I’m surprised to find what people are selling on there. Better to put money in my pocket/toward this project than to have clutter in the cupboard :)
 
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