Question Motherboard/CPU upgrade ?

SMS85

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Jul 28, 2020
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Hi all,

I have purchased a new motherboard and CPU and was just wondering if i could get a bit of help.

Motherboard
Old - MSI Z370 PRO
New - MSI PRO B760-P WIFI DDR4

CPU
Old - i7-8700K
New - i5-13400F

I bought some thermal paste. PC it runs on Windows 11, 600watt PSU, RTX 3060 Ti.

Apart from the obvious in swapping the components over, is there anything i need to do other than that?

Thank you.
 
is there anything i need to do other than that.
Format OS drive and make a new, clean Win installation.

600watt PSU
PSU make and model (or part number) is? Also, how old the PSU is, and was the PSU bought new or used/refurbished?

Old - i7 8700K
New - i5 13400F
Do note that your new CPU is F-suffix, meaning that CPU doesn't have iGPU in it. So, build will not work without dedicated GPU. And when dedicated GPU dies, you can't hook monitor to MoBo to continue using the PC.

Due to that, i find great value in any CPU that has iGPU in it. And while F-suffix CPU is cheaper (~20 bucks), whereby iGPU is hardly ever used, but when you do need to use it - it is godsend. Also, if CPU would have iGPU, you could easily test if the dedicated GPU works or not. But at current moment, when your new build shouldn't POST, issue could be with: CPU, MoBo, RAM, GPU. Having iGPU, would easily rule out GPU from the lineup.

I brought some thermal paste
Bundled Intel CPU cooler should come with thermal paste pre-applied to the underside of the CPU cooler.
 
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Format OS drive and make a new, clean Win installation.


PSU make and model (or part number) is? Also, how old the PSU is, and was the PSU bought new or used/refurbished?


Do note that your new CPU is F-suffix, meaning that CPU doesn't have iGPU in it. So, build will not work without dedicated GPU. And when dedicated GPU dies, you can't hook monitor to MoBo to continue using the PC.

Due to that, i find great value in any CPU that has iGPU in it. And while F-suffix CPU is cheaper (~20 bucks), whereby iGPU is hardly ever used, but when you do need to use it - it is godsend. Also, if CPU would have iGPU, you could easily test if the dedicated GPU works or not. But at current moment, when your new build shouldn't POST, issue could be with: CPU, MoBo, RAM, GPU. Having iGPU, would easily rule out GPU from the lineup.


Bundled Intel CPU cooler should come with thermal paste pre-applied to the underside of the CPU cooler.
Thanks for reply.

In terms of fresh install of windows i do that after i installed the new motherboard?

PSU is 6 years old from new and is model is - 600w (80 plus) MPX 6001 acabw (i believe its cooler master)

I do have the stock cooler with pre applied paste but i have a corsair h60x cpu cooler i will be using instead from current set up.
 
In terms of fresh install of windows i do that after i installed the new motherboard?
Yes.

PSU is 6 years old from new and is model is - 600w (80 plus) MPX 6001 acabw (i believe its cooler master)
That's Cooler Master Masterwatt Lite 600W,
specs: https://www.coolermaster.com/en-global/products/masterwatt-lite-600w-full-range/

Sadly, your PSU is crap quality unit and new PSU would be in order as well.
Else-ways, the question isn't IF, but WHEN PSU goes "boom", releases magic smoke and fries everything it is connected to (aka your whole PC).

Do note that you do not have 600W PSU. +12V rail can do 46A which = 552W. So, at best, your PSU is 550W unit.
This is very common with crap/low quality units, where PSU brand magically adds up all the PSU rails (or takes additional wattage from aether), just to display higher wattage number as "maximum power". E.g if PSU would've said on the box that it is 550W unit and not 600W unit, would you have bought it?
Also, your PSU ever came with 3 years of warranty. So, it is way past it's expected lifespan and it can give up the ghost at any given moment.

E.g for comparison, my PSU: Seasonic PRIME TX-650,
specs: https://seasonic.com/prime-tx/
It's +12V rail can do 54A and that = 648W. Rounding it up to 650W is normal, since it's only 2W difference. And not 48W difference as with your PSU. (Btw, my PSU has 12 years warranty and is one of the best (if not the best) 650W PSU money can buy.)

Since PSU powers everything, it is the most important component inside the PC.
The lower the PSU's build quality is - the higher the chance of PSU going "pop" and taking other components with it as well. MoBo is usually 1st to go when PSU acts up. GPU is followed shortly. CPU and RAM are more durable but not invulnerable either.
Hence why never cheap out on PSU! Never buy used PSU either.

Good PSUs to go for, are: Seasonic Focus/Vertex/PRIME, Corsair RMx/RMi/HXi/AXi, Super Flower Leadex Gold/Platinum/Titanium.
650W unit does fine. Higher capacity unit won't hurt either.
Or if you want the latest ATX 3.0/3.1 PSU, then: https://hwbusters.com/best_picks/best-atxv3-pcie5-ready-psus-picks-hardware-busters/2/

(My 3x PCs are also powered by Seasonic. As i said, i have PRIME TX-650. I actually have two of them, one powering my main build, another powering missus'es build. While my old PC is powered by Focus PX-550 unit. Full specs with pics in my sig.)

but i have a corsair h60x cpu cooler i will be using instead from current set up.
If you plan to re-use it, you need at least 90% pure isopropyl alcohol to remove (scrub) the old thermal paste off from the AIO cold plate, before you apply new thermal paste to the new CPU and put the AIO pump on top of it.

Though, do note that AIOs last 2-3 years, high-end ones 4-5 years before the pump goes bad on them and your CPU has 0 cooling what-so-ever. Also your AIO has 120mm rad, which is too small.

As far as AIOs vs air coolers go, you won't gain any cooling performance if you go with AIO over air cooler since both are cooled by ambient air.
For equal cooling performance between AIOs and air coolers, rad needs to be 240mm or 280mm. Smaller rads: 120mm and 140mm are almost always outperformed by mid-sized air coolers. Single slot rads are good in mini-ITX builds where you don't have enough CPU cooler clearance to install mid-sized CPU air cooler.

Here are the positive sides of both (air and AIO) CPU cooling methods;

Pros of air coolers:
less cost
less maintenance
less noise
far longer longevity
no leakage risks
doesn't take up case fan slots
additional cooling for the RAM
CPU cools down faster after heavy heat output

Pros of AIOs:
no RAM clearance issues*
no CPU clearance issues
CPU takes longer time to heat up during heavy heat output (about 30 mins)
* on some cases, top mounted rad can give RAM clearance issues

While how the CPU cooler looks inside the PC depends on a person. Some people prefer to see small AIO pump in the middle of their MoBo with tubing going to the rad while others prefer to see big heatsink with fans in the middle of their MoBo.

Main difference between AIO and air cooler is that with AIO, you'll get more noise at a higher cost while cooling performance remains the same.
Here's also one good article for you to read where former king of air coolers (Noctua NH-D15) was put against 5x high-end AIOs, including former king of AIOs (NZXT x61 Kraken),
link: http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

Personally, i'd go with air coolers every day of the week. With same cooling performance, the pros of air coolers outweigh the pros of AIOs considerably. While, for me, the 3 main pros would be:
1. Less noise.
Since i like my PC to be quiet, i can't stand the loud noise AIO makes. Also, when air gets trapped inside the AIO (some AIOs are more prone to this than others), there's additional noise coming from inside the pump.
2. Longevity.
Cheaper AIOs usually last 2-3 years and high-end ones 4-5 years before you need to replace it. While with air coolers, their life expectancy is basically unlimited. Only thing that can go bad on an air cooler is the fan on it. If the fan dies, your CPU still has cooling in form of a big heatsink. Also, new 120mm or 140mm fan doesn't cost much and it's easy to replace one. While with AIOs, the main thing that usually goes bad is the pump itself. And when that happens, your CPU has no cooling whatsoever. Since you can't replace pump on an AIO, you need to buy whole new AIO to replace the old one out.
3. No leakage risks.
Since there's liquid circling inside the AIO, there is always a risk that your AIO can leak. While it's rare, it has happened. It's well known fact that liquids and electronics don't mix.
 
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Hi,

Thanks for all this information.

So basically i am better off just using the stock cooler that came with the CPU.

Also in regards to PSU i was looking at getting the -

Corsair RM750e (2023) Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply - ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 Compliant - 105°C-Rated Capacitors - 80 PLUS Gold Efficiency - Modern Standby Support - Black​


Edit: i just brought this one and is coming tomorrow, Thanks.
 
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