Question Advice for upgrade?

[stikpet]

Yesterday my desktop I built in 2012 dropped out of power. At a local shop they checked and it wasn't the power supply, RAM, or RAM slot, (we tried with a new power supply and new RAM). So probably the motherboard and/or the processor. All in all, time for an upgrade .
The motherboard was a Asrock A75 Pro4, and the cpu a AMD A8-3850,sFM1. I intend to keep the case (Thermaltake Soprano No Power, Black), and power supply.

My PC useage:
I do NOT game (besides minesweeper and such )
I do use statistical software (SPSS, and R).
I do use programming software (Visual Studio, Microsoft SQL Management Studio and Server).
I do use MS Excel extensively (VBA for application, Data modeller)
I do use some basic video tools for screen recordings, but nothing heavy (not using Adobe or something)
I do use (of course) internet browsing, MS Word, MS Powerpoint etc.

So I guess my focus is on computation, not so much visualisation.

My budget is somewhat flexible, anywhere between 200 to 500 Euro/Dollar.

So I did some digging of course myself.
First the processor. I've enjoyed my AMD, and price wise I think their Ryzen processors are great value for money. A Ryzen 7 seems somewhat too expensive so was thinking about either the Ryzen 5 2600, or the Ryzen 2600X. The 2600 seems a steal at 135 euro vs. the 200 euro for a 2600X. I did read you might need some extra cooler for the 2600, which would make the gap between these two smaller. But at the moment I'm leaning towards the 2600.

Then the motherboard. I've come across the MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC for about 135 euro, and a MSI X470 Gaming Pro for about 125. I think most often the Carbon is mentioned as the one to go for.

The third thing I would need is a videocard. My previous build didn't require one because of the APU. I recently got as a monitor a LG34WK500 (will need to double check this when I'm home), which I use in combination with my previous monitor also an LG (not ultrawide, but forgot the exact specs). I've seen the Sapphire Radeon RX 550 2GB PULSE for 105, the MSI Radeon RX 570 ARMOR 4G for 175 and the Gigabyte Radeon RX 580 GAMING 4GB for 200. However these later ones I think might not be so needed for me, since I don't game, so was perhaps thinking of a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 OC 3G which is about 150.

So at the moment, I'm thinking:
Ryzen 5 2600 - 135 euro
MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC - 135 euro
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 OC 3G - 150 euro

This would make a total price of 420. Additionally I would need some new RAM.

Then I also came across the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G, which is if I'm not mistaken an APU, so would remove the need for a dedicated graphics card. I've seen this go for 132 euros, essentially saving me the cost of the graphics card.

My main question is in essence: any advice? Which can be split into questions like:
Am I over looking something?
Which motherboard-CPU-graphics card combination would you recommend?
Should I simply go for the Ryzen 5 2400G and skip the video card?
Any other suggestions, comments?

Thanks in advance for your reaction.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

If you aren't gaming at all and are doing mostly basic kinds of workloads the Ryzen 5 2400G would be perfect for you in your price range. As for the motherboard, if there isn't a feature that you really need the MSI board you've listed is a waste of money. It would be better to look for a business level motherboard. Something like the Asus Prime series. The B450 version should be everything you need and will save you some money. I'd pair it with 16GB of DDR4 2666 or faster, preferably faster. The on chip Vega graphics will use some of that 16GB for video memory, so while you will lose a little RAM capacity to that, it won't hurt too badly with a 16GB pool.

If you were to go with the superior multitasking capability of the 2600, you wouldn't need a better cooler unless you were doing moderate to heavy overclocking. The exact same cooler is shipped with the 2600X as is shipped with the 2600. My advice if you went with the 2600 is still to get a cheaper motherboard and healthy amount of RAM, as well as the cheapest video card you can get away with. Something like the RX 550 or the GT 1030 would be plenty.

For other ideas, you could go for the 1600 or 1600X, the first gen Ryzen 5 CPUs. They should be pretty cheap AND they should perform nearly as well as the 2600 or 2600X. There have even been sightings of the Ryzen 7 1700 or 1700X in the same price range as the 2600 and 2600X. They are an absolute steal at those prices. They may be a little slower in single threaded tasks, but you can't really argue with 8 cores/16 threads. Ryzen 7 CPUs are absolute monsters at multitasking.

So, hopefully that didn't confuse you more.

 

[coastie65]

You said you were NOT doing any heavy gaming. The Processor you have in mind has surprisingly good integrated graphics and you don't really need a Graphics card. That willleave you money for the DDR4 Memory which you will need.

 

[stikpet]

If you aren't gaming at all and are doing mostly basic kinds of workloads the .....
So, hopefully that didn't confuse you more.

You said you were NOT doing any heavy gaming. The Processor you have in mind has surprisingly good integrated graphics and you don't really need a Graphics card. That willleave you money for the DDR4 Memory which you will need.

Thanks you both for getting back so quickly. Indeed no gaming, but wouldn't call my work 'basic'. SPSS and Visual Studio often do require some workload
If I understand correctly, you'd recommend me to go for the Ryzen 5 2400G, and perhaps a Asus PRIME B450M-A (about 100 euro)?
I did see a AMD Ryzen 7 1700 for 150 euro, but would then again need a graphic card.

You both mention the DDR4, so would this be more important for me than the processor and motherboard? I've seen a Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX 2x8GB 2666 C16 for about 100 euro. Any suggestions on this?

Help is really appreciated, and sorry for the many questions, there is just sooo much choice .

 

[coastie65]

Thanks you both for getting back so quickly. Indeed no gaming, but wouldn't call my work 'basic'. SPSS and Visual Studio often do require some workload
If I understand correctly, you'd recommend me to go for the Ryzen 5 2400G, and perhaps a Asus PRIME B450M-A (about 100 euro)?
I did see a AMD Ryzen 7 1700 for 150 euro, but would then again need a graphic card.

You both mention the DDR4, so would this be more important for me than the processor and motherboard? I've seen a Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX 2x8GB 2666 C16 for about 100 euro. Any suggestions on this?

Help is really appreciated, and sorry for the many questions, there is just sooo much choice .

That Corsair memory is good. I am running GSkill Ripjaws V @ 2666 Mhz. 16 Gb will run around $87 USD which is about 78€. DDR 4 is the standard for Memory these days.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Thanks you both for getting back so quickly. Indeed no gaming, but wouldn't call my work 'basic'. SPSS and Visual Studio often do require some workload
If I understand correctly, you'd recommend me to go for the Ryzen 5 2400G, and perhaps a Asus PRIME B450M-A (about 100 euro)?

Yes. The 2400G with the Prime B450M-A is a good match up. Also the Corsair RAM would be a good match, though I'd go with some faster speed memory. Ryzen loves having faster RAM. The difference between 2666 and 3200 translates to around 10% more performance. That said, it is up to you. In the grand scheme of things you won't really notice that extra speed unless you are dealing with huge data sets or compiling large programs or databases.

DDR 4 is the memory standard required by every new PC. If you don't have DDR 4 RAM then you're going to need it.

Also, you're probably going to want an SSD for Windows and your most used programs. You can get a 500GB class SSD for less than 100 Euro. I'd suggest either a Crucial MX500 or Intel 660p. The Intel one will be faster, but a little more expensive. You don't have to get one of those brands but I do recommend sticking with a reputable brand like Samsung, Crucial, Intel, or Western Digital. I only bring this up because you didn't specify any storage of any kind.

 

[stikpet]

Yes. The 2400G with the Prime B450M-A is a good match up. Also the Corsair RAM would be a good match, though I'd go with some faster speed memory. Ryzen loves having faster RAM. The difference between 2666 and 3200 translates to around 10% more performance. That said, it is up to you. In the grand scheme of things you won't really notice that extra speed unless you are dealing with huge data sets or compiling large programs or databases.

DDR 4 is the memory standard required by every new PC. If you don't have DDR 4 RAM then you're going to need it.

Also, you're probably going to want an SSD for Windows and your most used programs. You can get a 500GB class SSD for less than 100 Euro. I'd suggest either a Crucial MX500 or Intel 660p. The Intel one will be faster, but a little more expensive. You don't have to get one of those brands but I do recommend sticking with a reputable brand like Samsung, Crucial, Intel, or Western Digital. I only bring this up because you didn't specify any storage of any kind.

Thanks again. I didn't mention harddrives nor power since I thought for now to simply use my old ones. My two harddrives are not SSD (a Samsung SP2504C and a Western Digital WD10EARX), and the powersupply is an Antex Neo HE 430.
Will probably go now for the 2400G and Prime B450M-A, with Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX 2x8GB 3200 C16 (saw these for about 100 euro).
Should then be good for a few years, and improvement of my old system

Thanks again for all the advice.

EDIT: Just noticed that the B450M-A is a Micro-APX, while my current one is a regular APX. Will the micro-APX actually fit, or better get a full APX?

 

[stikpet]

Small new question: Just read View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/96g8k6/asus_prime_b450ma_vs_gigabyte_b450_aorus_m/
would the Gigabyte b450 aorus m indeed be preferred over the Asus Prime B450MA? They mention the Gigabyte has "
Aorus M has a VCore VRM heatsink while the the Prime B450M-A doesn't. The Aorus also has a 3 phase SOC VRM which makes it better for APUs than the Prime B450M-A board which only has a 2 phase SOC VRM.
The VCore VRMs on the two boards are comparable. The Asus one may be a bit better but for an APU build a higher SOC phase count is preferable. Also the Gigabyte board has DualBIOS while Asus boards don't get a proper BIOS recovery feature until the Crosshair".

On the other hand the Asus still has a VGA port (D-Sub), which I use for my second monitor (although could get an adapter).

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Good VRMs are mostly an overclocking thing. Asus uses good quality components so I wouldn't worry about that. BIOS recovery is mostly unnecessary. In the vast majority of cases, if something corrupts your BIOS you've got other issues. In 20 years of computing I think I've seen a BIOS actually go bad once, and that was on a Pentium III system back in 2001.

Also, an M-ATX board will fit in an ATX case without issues. You might have to move some motherboard stand-offs, but that is as easy as unscrewing them from the motherboard tray and moving them. Just hold the board over the tray and see which standoffs you need to move.

The real rule of thumb with motherboards is "don't spend more than the absolute minimum for the features you want". So, if another board has something you want and you have the budget, then there is no reason not to go with the other one. In other words, if a feature you really want is USB C then just find the cheapest motherboard with USB C. If you want USB C C, 4 PCI-E slots, and want it in an ATX form factor, then find the cheapest one that meets all your needs. All the manufacturers of AMD socketed boards make good products, so there really isn't a risk associated with going with any of them. People will always have horror stories, but in general all of them are reputable manufacturers with good track records for reliability and quality.

Also, you should consider an SSD to put Windows on. You can get a smaller 256GB class SSD for pretty cheap these days and it will REALLY improve quality of life. Less than 10 second boot times, quick loading of programs, and a generally snappier system are just a few of the advantages. Heck, my wife's Phenom II 720 system has an old Intel SSD in it, from back when SSDs were $300 for 160GB, and the thing boots up in about 12 seconds. It is as responsive as my i7 system. SSDs are amazing.

 

[stikpet]

Good VRMs are mostly an overclocking thing. Asus uses good quality components so I wouldn't worry about that. BIOS recovery is mostly unnecessary. In the vast majority of cases, if something corrupts your BIOS you've got other issues. In 20 years of computing I think I've seen a BIOS actually go bad once, and that was on a Pentium III system back in 2001.

Also, an M-ATX board will fit in an ATX case without issues. You might have to move some motherboard stand-offs, but that is as easy as unscrewing them from the motherboard tray and moving them. Just hold the board over the tray and see which standoffs you need to move.

The real rule of thumb with motherboards is "don't spend more than the absolute minimum for the features you want". So, if another board has something you want and you have the budget, then there is no reason not to go with the other one. In other words, if a feature you really want is USB C then just find the cheapest motherboard with USB C. If you want USB C C, 4 PCI-E slots, and want it in an ATX form factor, then find the cheapest one that meets all your needs. All the manufacturers of AMD socketed boards make good products, so there really isn't a risk associated with going with any of them. People will always have horror stories, but in general all of them are reputable manufacturers with good track records for reliability and quality.

Also, you should consider an SSD to put Windows on. You can get a smaller 256GB class SSD for pretty cheap these days and it will REALLY improve quality of life. Less than 10 second boot times, quick loading of programs, and a generally snappier system are just a few of the advantages. Heck, my wife's Phenom II 720 system has an old Intel SSD in it, from back when SSDs were $300 for 160GB, and the thing boots up in about 12 seconds. It is as responsive as my i7 system. SSDs are amazing.

Thanks Justin for your clear responses and time, it is really appreciated. Will definitely look into SSD.

At the moment I don't have anything with a USB C connector (except my phone, but that is USB C to USB), and most of my stuff is actually still old standard USB (no blue 3.0 ones). USB C does seem to be the new trend so 'future' proof might be nice, but can probably get some adapter.
I did just notice that the Asus Prime B450MA has an 8-pin connector for the CPU, while my power unit (Antec Neo HE 430) has a default 4 pin (will have to check if they might have an adapter). I've seen some cheap 4 to 8 pin adapters (about 3 euro), so simply go for that, or as you mentioned find one that has a 4 pin?

On the note of 'determine what you want, then the cheapest', I think what I want are USB ports, a USB c port and a VGA port. These last two are 'wants' not 'musts', and all boards have USB ports. So did some digging and came across the ASRock B450M Pro4-F. Seems to have all I want (VGA and USB c) and cost about 75 euro. On Amazon someone did mention "Check actual SSD part number with ASRock. M.2 2280 is not enough. Better yet, put the $30 you will need for a 4-6 port pcie SATA card towards a better board. This board only boots from one SATA channel that you can't use if you put in a SSD on M.2-2. So you lose boot capabilies from an HD or a DVD if you use M.2-2 as well as you lose two of four SATA ports." Not really sure what this means :-(

 

[ElectrO_90]

You can upgrade the Samsung Evo Plus for 30 Euro to 500GB (recommended)
Your PSU isn't that good, and would recommend something better as listed below
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.90 @ Alternate)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (€84.95 @ ARLT)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€79.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card (€74.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €536.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 16:42 CEST+0200

 

[jeremyj_83]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.90 @ Alternate)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (€84.95 @ ARLT)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - BX500 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€53.80 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €435.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 16:47 CEST+0200

 

[ElectrO_90]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.90 @ Alternate)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (€84.95 @ ARLT)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - BX500 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€53.80 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €435.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 16:47 CEST+0200

How do you propose he hooks up the monitor?

 

[jeremyj_83]

That was supposed to be a 2400G...thanks for the catch.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor (€128.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (€84.95 @ ARLT)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - BX500 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€53.80 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €419.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 17:04 CEST+0200

 

[stikpet]

You can upgrade the Samsung Evo Plus for 30 Euro to 500GB (recommended)
Your PSU isn't that good, and would recommend something better as listed below
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.90 @ Alternate)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (€84.95 @ ARLT)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€79.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card (€74.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €536.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 16:42 CEST+0200

Thanks for the suggestions. Since I'm not gaming on this PC, I think going for a Ryzen 5 2400g might be enough for me. It has only 4 cores and 3.6gHz vs. the 6-cores and 3.4GHz of the 2600, but will save me about 75 euro for a video card.

That was supposed to be a 2400G...thanks for the catch.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor (€128.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (€84.95 @ ARLT)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - BX500 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€53.80 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €419.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 17:04 CEST+0200

Thanks, was just about to mention this . I was thinking as a motherboard of the ASRock B450M Pro4-F (see my previous post). Any thoughts on this?

 

[ElectrO_90]

Any and all B450s will be fine, doesn't really matter which one
Remember it's not just about cores, its also about threads.
Intel has now crippled most of their chips by removing thread count.
R5 2400g is a nice cpu, but you should still put in a Evo Plus

 

[jeremyj_83]

Thanks for the suggestions. Since I'm not gaming on this PC, I think going for a Ryzen 5 2400g might be enough for me. It has only 4 cores and 3.6gHz vs. the 6-cores and 3.4GHz of the 2600, but will save me about 75 euro for a video card.



Thanks, was just about to mention this . I was thinking as a motherboard of the ASRock B450M Pro4-F (see my previous post). Any thoughts on this?

The ASRock Pro4 is a good board. I built an ITX system with the ITX version of that board and it works perfectly.

 

[stikpet]

Any and all B450s will be fine, doesn't really matter which one
Remember it's not just about cores, its also about threads.
Intel has now crippled most of their chips by removing thread count.
R5 2400g is a nice cpu, but you should still put in a Evo Plus

The ASRock Pro4 is a good board. I built an ITX system with the ITX version of that board and it works perfectly.

Thanks you both for spending time on this, really appreciated. It's always such a maze and soooo many choices to make and so many terms.

So my system would become:
Old case: Thermaltake Soprano
Old PSU: Antec Neo HE 430 (might be replaced, or might have to be replaced?)
Old HDs: Samsung SP2504C and a Western Digital WD10EARX (the Samsung will probably be replaced by a SSD in the near future)
New MOBO: ASRock B450M Pro4-F
New APU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor
New RAM: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

Two hopefully final questions:
1) It was mentioned that the power supply I have now 'isn't that great'. I was just wondering if that means it is highly recommended to change it, or something I can do in a later update? From my simplistic view the PSU just needs to provide power, so if it does that, great, but I'm probably wrong. There is this issue of the 4-pin connector vs. the needed 8-pin, but wouldn't a 3 euro adapter simply fix that?

2) It might have been lost in this long thread, but as mentioned earlier someone posted as an Amazon review on the ASrock: "Check actual SSD part number with ASRock. M.2 2280 is not enough. Better yet, put the $30 you will need for a 4-6 port pcie SATA card towards a better board. This board only boots from one SATA channel that you can't use if you put in a SSD on M.2-2. So you lose boot capabilies from an HD or a DVD if you use M.2-2 as well as you lose two of four SATA ports."
Not really sure what this means :-( and if it is at all relevant for me?

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

At the moment I don't have anything with a USB C connector (except my phone, but that is USB C to USB), and most of my stuff is actually still old standard USB (no blue 3.0 ones). USB C does seem to be the new trend so 'future' proof might be nice, but can probably get some adapter.
I did just notice that the Asus Prime B450MA has an 8-pin connector for the CPU, while my power unit (Antec Neo HE 430) has a default 4 pin (will have to check if they might have an adapter). I've seen some cheap 4 to 8 pin adapters (about 3 euro), so simply go for that, or as you mentioned find one that has a 4 pin?

On the note of 'determine what you want, then the cheapest', I think what I want are USB ports, a USB c port and a VGA port. These last two are 'wants' not 'musts', and all boards have USB ports. So did some digging and came across the ASRock B450M Pro4-F. Seems to have all I want (VGA and USB c) and cost about 75 euro. On Amazon someone did mention "Check actual SSD part number with ASRock. M.2 2280 is not enough. Better yet, put the $30 you will need for a 4-6 port pcie SATA card towards a better board. This board only boots from one SATA channel that you can't use if you put in a SSD on M.2-2. So you lose boot capabilies from an HD or a DVD if you use M.2-2 as well as you lose two of four SATA ports." Not really sure what this means :-(

I was just using USB C as an example of a feature that isn't on all motherboards. Still, it is a good thing to have for the future.

In general I'd suggest going with as few adapters as possible, but where this system isn't going to be using a lot of power, an adapter should be fine.

The ASRock B450M Pro4-F is a good board and that is a reasonable price. I've never owned an ASRock board but I've heard and seen good things.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Thanks you both for spending time on this, really appreciated. It's always such a maze and soooo many choices to make and so many terms.

So my system would become:
Old case: Thermaltake Soprano
Old PSU: Antec Neo HE 430 (might be replaced, or might have to be replaced?)
Old HDs: Samsung SP2504C and a Western Digital WD10EARX (the Samsung will probably be replaced by a SSD in the near future)
New MOBO: ASRock B450M Pro4-F
New APU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor
New RAM: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

Two hopefully final questions:
1) It was mentioned that the power supply I have now 'isn't that great'. I was just wondering if that means it is highly recommended to change it, or something I can do in a later update? From my simplistic view the PSU just needs to provide power, so if it does that, great, but I'm probably wrong. There is this issue of the 4-pin connector vs. the needed 8-pin, but wouldn't a 3 euro adapter simply fix that?

2) It might have been lost in this long thread, but as mentioned earlier someone posted as an Amazon review on the ASrock: "Check actual SSD part number with ASRock. M.2 2280 is not enough. Better yet, put the $30 you will need for a 4-6 port pcie SATA card towards a better board. This board only boots from one SATA channel that you can't use if you put in a SSD on M.2-2. So you lose boot capabilies from an HD or a DVD if you use M.2-2 as well as you lose two of four SATA ports."
Not really sure what this means :-( and if it is at all relevant for me?

1. That is a very old PSU design, it came out in 2005 so going with a new PSU would be a very good idea. I never recommend using an adapter to make something fit unless it is a molex adapter. I recommend the Seasonic Focus Gold 450W. It comes with a 7 year warranty and is a very solid unit.
2. Storage

• 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug*
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge) or Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s) (with Athlon 2xxGE series APU)**
• 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module

*M2_2 and SATA3_3 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the other one will be disabled.

**Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks (M2_1 only)
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit

You will only lose a SATA slot if you use the second M.2 connection for a SATA M.2 SSD, in this case SATA3_3. The PCIe one will use the x4 lane directly to the CPU.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Make sure you get the M2 Nvme - which is the 4 lane one and is super fast
Reality is, it isn't noticeable compared to a normal SSD - but does mean you don't need cables powering it and it tucks away on the motherboard.
Still recommend Samsung Evo Plus - a little more than most, but better than most as well

 

[stikpet]

I was just using USB C as an example of a feature that isn't on all motherboards. Still, it is a good thing to have for the future.

In general I'd suggest going with as few adapters as possible, but where this system isn't going to be using a lot of power, an adapter should be fine.

The ASRock B450M Pro4-F is a good board and that is a reasonable price. I've never owned an ASRock board but I've heard and seen good things.

Understood it was an example, but a useful one . Thanks for all the advice.

1. That is a very old PSU design, it came out in 2005 so going with a new PSU would be a very good idea. I never recommend using an adapter to make something fit unless it is a molex adapter. I recommend the Seasonic Focus Gold 450W. It comes with a 7 year warranty and is a very solid unit.
2. Storage

• 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug*
• 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge) or Gen3 x2 (16 Gb/s) (with Athlon 2xxGE series APU)**
• 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module

*M2_2 and SATA3_3 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the other one will be disabled.

**Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks (M2_1 only)
Supports ASRock U.2 Kit

You will only lose a SATA slot if you use the second M.2 connection for a SATA M.2 SSD, in this case SATA3_3. The PCIe one will use the x4 lane directly to the CPU.

LOL your answer to my point 2 makes me even more confused , that was a lot of terms. Sounds like something to take into consideration when I'm going to also upgrade to SSD or perhaps this M2 (which I never heard off until today). Just to be sure, this AsRock board should still be fine right?
Was indeed planning on using a molex adapter, but perhaps will just buy a new power supply.

Make sure you get the M2 Nvme - which is the 4 lane one and is super fast
Reality is, it isn't noticeable compared to a normal SSD - but does mean you don't need cables powering it and it tucks away on the motherboard.
Still recommend Samsung Evo Plus - a little more than most, but better than most as well

When I go and update my harddrive will certainly look into that. Will have a look at that Samsung Evo Plus

To all three: thanks a lot.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Just so you know, you have 2 types of M2 -
M2 standard is the same as a SATA SSD - so it takes the SATA slot, in this case shares Sata3_3
M2 Nvme which uses lanes, takes 4 of the lanes - no affecting SATA. When its Nvme - its upto 8 times faster than standard SATA

if I understand it correctly as well

 

[cryoburner]

I'll just chime in that I think the Ryzen 2400G would likely be pretty good for your needs. On the CPU side of things, each core should be notably faster than your old processor (well over twice as fast at floating point calculations) and it also features SMT to better handle a larger number of threads. And on the graphics side of things, the processor's integrated graphics are actually at a similar level as that dedicated GT 1030, which would be low-end as far as "gaming cards" go, but multiple times as fast as your old processor's integrated graphics (or Intel's current integrated graphics, for that matter).

As for what that SSD talk means, there are two common form-factors for SSDs. 2.5" SSDs that plug in with a cable to your usual SATA port like a normal hard drive, and M.2 SSDs that are little cards that look more like a small stick of RAM with connectors on the side that plug directly into a special slot on your motherboard. Depending on the drive's design, an M.2 SSD will either communicate with the computer using a PCI Express connection (referred to as NVME), or over a SATA connection much like the 2.5" drives. NVMe drives will tend to be faster, but either type of SSD should offer much better performance than a regular hard drive.

In the case of this motherboard, and many others, using a SATA M.2 SSD in the second M.2 slot will disable one of the four available SATA ports that regular hard drives, optical drives, and 2.5" SSDs would otherwise be able to plug into. So, it's probably not too much of a concern, unless you were to want a SATA M.2 SSD plugged into that second M.2 slot, while also wanting to be able to plug in four drives that use SATA cables.

 

[stikpet]

Just so you know, you have 2 types of M2 -
M2 standard is the same as a SATA SSD - so it takes the SATA slot, in this case shares Sata3_3
M2 Nvme which uses lanes, takes 4 of the lanes - no affecting SATA. When its Nvme - its upto 8 times faster than standard SATA

if I understand it correctly as well

I'll just chime in that I think the Ryzen 2400G would likely be pretty good for your needs. On the CPU side of things, each core should be notably faster than your old processor (well over twice as fast at floating point calculations) and it also features SMT to better handle a larger number of threads. And on the graphics side of things, the processor's integrated graphics are actually at a similar level as that dedicated GT 1030, which would be low-end as far as "gaming cards" go, but multiple times as fast as your old processor's integrated graphics (or Intel's current integrated graphics, for that matter).

As for what that SSD talk means, there are two common form-factors for SSDs. 2.5" SSDs that plug in with a cable to your usual SATA port like a normal hard drive, and M.2 SSDs that are little cards that look more like a small stick of RAM with connectors on the side that plug directly into a special slot on your motherboard. Depending on the drive's design, an M.2 SSD will either communicate with the computer using a PCI Express connection (referred to as NVME), or over a SATA connection much like the 2.5" drives. NVMe drives will tend to be faster, but either type of SSD should offer much better performance than a regular hard drive.

In the case of this motherboard, and many others, using a SATA M.2 SSD in the second M.2 slot will disable one of the four available SATA ports that regular hard drives, optical drives, and 2.5" SSDs would otherwise be able to plug into. So, it's probably not too much of a concern, unless you were to want a SATA M.2 SSD plugged into that second M.2 slot, while also wanting to be able to plug in four drives that use SATA cables.

Thanks for the clarifications, I think I'm starting to understand it a bit better now. If I'm going to get a M2 drive, I will lose perhaps a SATA port, but am using at max 3 of those I think (one for my old DVD burner, and 2 for my current old hard drived).
Just a few minutes ago just went for it and ordered:
New MOBO: ASRock B450M Pro4-F
New APU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor
New RAM: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

And just to avoid any problems, also a new PSU:
Seasonic Focus Gold 450

Once I get all the stuff, and have my desktop running again, will definitely look into a new harddrive, especially into that Samsung Evo Plus

Again thanks for all the advice.