[SOLVED] 7 year old PC - What should I be replacing?

[jamesanyoung]

You can see my PC build in my signature. I am just wondering if I should be replacing anything for upkeep reasons? (not like getting a new GPU).

Should I be replacing the Thermal paste? Fans? PSU? RAM just because they are getting old?

 

[Eximo]

Not really. Might check the SMART logs on the hard drive and see how it is doing. You could swap out for a larger SSD.

If the fans aren't making any unexpected noises, you can keep those going until they fail.

I can't recall ever having a ram stick just up and die. If you aren't overclocking it probably just fine.

Power supply is oversized, so hasn't had a hard life. About the only part you might want to consider replacing. I suspect it would fail gracefully though, so no rush there.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

If it is not broke, then dont fix it. There is nothing you should replace for upkeep. The paste will last a long time.

 

[papafiogos]

I would consider a complete disassembly so that you can clean it properly if you haven't done it recently and that's all.

 

[jamesanyoung]

The CPU temperature occasionally spikes up though, and I don't know why..

 

[Eximo]

How much of a spike? As long as it is staying under 90C or so there is little to worry about.

If it is worrying you, turn on some logging and capture many data points to see how often it is actually happening. Every CPU will experience bursts of extreme load, your CPU does support AVX, so that could be being called up on something you are doing.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I say maybe swap out the paste, give it a good dusting. If you don't have one already, maybe swap over to a 500gb ssd drive. I suppose you could always update the graphics card to maybe a 1070 or 2060. Or even a Vega 56 or 64. Depending what res you play. I'm guessing 1440p?

 

[jamesanyoung]

How much of a spike? As long as it is staying under 90C or so there is little to worry about.

If it is worrying you, turn on some logging and capture many data points to see how often it is actually happening. Every CPU will experience bursts of extreme load, your CPU does support AVX, so that could be being called up on something you are doing.

It jumped up to about 90C last night (I wasnt even using it at the time...) but has come back down to 30C. not sure why this happened.

 

[doolittle]

...I suppose you could always update the graphics card to maybe a 1070 or 2060. Or even a Vega 56 or 64. Depending what res you play. I'm guessing 1440p?

Was thinking the exact same thing, that monitor is 2560 x 1080 @ 144hz so will absolutely benefit from a better gpu...

 

[Eximo]

It jumped up to about 90C last night (I wasnt even using it at the time...) but has come back down to 30C. not sure why this happened.

Well, about the only thing not mentioned is your CPU cooler. If it is an AIO the pump could be on the way out, or getting stuck on air bubbles. If it is a more traditional heatsink fan then it is pretty hard to have spikes related to cooling as the heat sink will act as a good buffer.

As mentioned above, re-pasting is a good idea after a number of years. Through many thermal expansion cycles it could have worked itself a tiny bit loose.

Could still just be normal activity on the CPU for whatever task it was doing.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I concur, if the op is using an AIO, then I would recommend to replace that. Also, might just for good measure, check or even replace existing fans just to be on the safe side. As well as update the graphics card if in the budget.

 

[jamesanyoung]

I concur, if the op is using an AIO, then I would recommend to replace that. Also, might just for good measure, check or even replace existing fans just to be on the safe side. As well as update the graphics card if in the budget.

Yes I am using an AIO cooler. I want to replace with a new AIO from Corsair maybe. But SR-71 suggests going witha n air cooler

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I won't argue with that. Less to go wrong imo.

 

[geofelt]

If your idle temperature is 10-15c. over ambient, your cooler is likely ok.
While, in time paste can lose effectiveness, I would not dissemble a aio unless I had a good reason to.
Many things can go wrong.
Install a monitor like HWmonitor.
It will keep track of your minimum, average, max temperatures.
I would not worry about 90c. spikes.
Your processor will throttle or shut down if it senses a dangerous temperature.
That is around 100c.

Since the pump is a mechanical device, in time it will fail.
If you are having doubts about your unit and want to replace it, I would also recommend a good air cooler.
It will be quieter and cool equally well.
If you have 160mm height available, I recommend the noctua NH-D15s.