[SOLVED] Changing to a mini-itx motherboard, just replace the motherboard or upgrade PC and i7-3770?

asteris_

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Jun 11, 2012
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Greetings,

I decided to go to a SG13 case, to have a smaller and more compact case due to the high amount of traveling I'm required to do.
Do you think that it's a good opportunity to upgrade my PC altogether? or should I just change to a mini-itx motherboard and keep the current cpu and rest of the components?

Current Build:
  • Asrock mATX Z77 Extreme4-m
  • Intel i7-3770
  • GTX 960 2gb
  • DDR3 8gb ram 1333mhz
  • Berlin ATX PSU 650w
  • H50 AIO cooler
I've found a refurbished P8H61-I motherboard with an 1155 socket for 50 euros.

I wouldn't mind upgrading the CPU, but I'm not sure it's worth it as the i7 3770 is still somewhat capable, and I'd also have to buy a more expensive motherboard and a new DDR4 Ram.
Also, I don't think I'll change the GPU in the near future, especially with the current price-ranges.

Any advice? Cheers!
 
Solution
Only your wallet and your inner feelings can give you that answer.
For about 98% of users CPUs have been more than people needed since around sandy/ivy bridge i7 series as far as productivity applications.
Only if one is doing that sort of thing day in day out and a paycheck is riding on it, then it gets more important. So it would depend on what you need it to do, and is it doing that job in a reasonable length of time?
I think the last survey on steam(a wide swath of the population) a lot of people are still on 1155

LolaGT

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Oct 31, 2020
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Only your wallet and your inner feelings can give you that answer.
For about 98% of users CPUs have been more than people needed since around sandy/ivy bridge i7 series as far as productivity applications.
Only if one is doing that sort of thing day in day out and a paycheck is riding on it, then it gets more important. So it would depend on what you need it to do, and is it doing that job in a reasonable length of time?
I think the last survey on steam(a wide swath of the population) a lot of people are still on 1155
 
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Solution
Greetings,

I decided to go to a SG13 case, to have a smaller and more compact case due to the high amount of traveling I'm required to do.
Do you think that it's a good opportunity to upgrade my PC altogether? or should I just change to a mini-itx motherboard and keep the current cpu and rest of the components?

Current Build:
  • Asrock mATX Z77 Extreme4-m
  • Intel i7-3770
  • GTX 960 2gb
  • DDR3 8gb ram 1333mhz
  • Berlin ATX PSU 650w
  • H50 AIO cooler
I've found a refurbished P8H61-I motherboard with an 1155 socket for 50 euros.

I wouldn't mind upgrading the CPU, but I'm not sure it's worth it as the i7 3770 is still somewhat capable, and I'd also have to buy a more expensive motherboard and a new DDR4 Ram.
Also, I don't think I'll change the GPU in the near future, especially with the current price-ranges.

Any advice? Cheers!
If you change the mobo make sure your old cpu is compatible.
If you go with a smaller case make sure the gpu will fit.
 

asteris_

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Jun 11, 2012
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Decided to go for a new system and keep the old PC as a backup or give it to a friend. I'll wait for the 11th gen of Intel, as it's supposed to have higher core speeds and I tend to play many strategy games (CPU heavy).

Appreciate all the advice.
 
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gtarayan

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Mar 2, 2011
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I'll wait for the 11th gen of Intel

If you are planning to build a mini-ITX system with a Rocket Lake CPU, you will need to plan your cooling solution including case fans configuration unless you are planning to go with a low-end CPU. If I were building a mini-ITX system now, it'd have a B550 motherboard and either a 3600 or 5600X cpu.
 

asteris_

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Jun 11, 2012
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If you are planning to build a mini-ITX system with a Rocket Lake CPU, you will need to plan your cooling solution including case fans configuration unless you are planning to go with a low-end CPU.

Silverstone states that an 120mm AIO cooler will be enough for the SG13. I have the Corsair H50, it's quite old but is compatible with the 1200 socket (the AM4 socket requires extra brackets), do you think it'll suffice?
With the 3770 OCed I get great temps. How much hotter can rocket lake get?

If I were building a mini-ITX system now, it'd have a B550 motherboard and either a 3600 or 5600X cpu.

I have a gut feeling that a B560 with an OCed RAM and a 11400F will do the trick as a budget build. But we'll wait and see more benchmarks, some of them on geekbench are promising.
 
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