[SOLVED] Looking to upgrade. I know nothing, Please advice

Clueless.Gamer

Commendable
Jun 6, 2021
9
0
1,510
Hi Guys,

Straight off the bat I know nothing about PCs other than how to use them, that is more or less the extent of my knowledge. What has lead me here for advice is the following;

I have a gaming PC and use it to play Rocket League, I stream as I host tournaments. I play the game, use OBS, face cam, have a few web pages loaded at the same time. The demand I am putting on my system regularly results in my game crashing or stream freezing etc. When I check task manager CPU is often running at 100%, this suggests to me I'm asking too much for what my system is capable of and will probably have to upgrade.

These are the specs of my current system:

PC: Fierce PC
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-HD2
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) X4 845 Quad Core processor, 3500Mhz, 2 core(s), 4 logical...
RAM: 8192MB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS: Windows 10 Home

If I have missed any information that might be needed please let me know and maybe suggest how I can find the info (I'm that novice lol)

So, I went to a Computer Stall on the market and spoke to them about my needs. They have made me a trade in offer for a computer they have, my current system and £200 fir the below PC:

(Note: They did say the graphics card in this PC will probably need replacing)
PC: Dell OptiPlex 7010
Motherboard: Dell
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
RAM: 16GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
OS: Windows 10 Pro


My questions:
Is the trade worth it? If so what graphic card should I buy to replace the one in the PC I will be receiving as I have looked it up and it sounds terrible

Am I better off buying new parts to upgrade my current system and just paying someone to do it for me? If so I would really appreciate been spoon fed what I should buy.
In terms of cost; Maybe up to £500? Whatever will get me into a position where I can play the game, run the stream software, face cam and have web pages open without running the risk of freezing.

Would my best option be buying a pre-build and trying to offset the cost by selling my current system? If so, any suggestions on what to buy? And if you could give me an idea of what I might get from selling mine?

Thanks in advance to anyone and everyone offering advice, as you can tell I'm in over my head
Clueless.Gamer
 
Solution
The VRM's on those cheaper MSI boards look weak.
Makes sense, but its a locked CPU and well within the fault tolerance of a 6+2 phase VRM. It is one of the better cheaper boards, plus the selected cooler should be sufficient for heat dissipation.
Its not MSI by the way.
Anyways, if budget is not a constraint a better board is always recommended...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-10400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | £131.00 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler | Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler | £20.34 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | ASRock B560M Steel Legend Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | £115.00 @ CCL Computers
Memory | Crucial...
Keep the card, sell the rest of your PC, and get this...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-10400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | £131.00 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler | Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler | £20.34 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | Gigabyte B560M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | £77.76 @ CCL Computers
Memory | Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | £70.71 @ Amazon UK
Storage | Crucial P2 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | £43.95 @ AWD-IT
Case | RIOTORO CR400 ATX Mid Tower Case | £37.28 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £41.18 @ Amazon UK
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £422.22
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-06 23:13 BST+0100 |
 
Last edited:
Hi Guys,

Straight off the bat I know nothing about PCs other than how to use them, that is more or less the extent of my knowledge. What has lead me here for advice is the following;

I have a gaming PC and use it to play Rocket League, I stream as I host tournaments. I play the game, use OBS, face cam, have a few web pages loaded at the same time. The demand I am putting on my system regularly results in my game crashing or stream freezing etc. When I check task manager CPU is often running at 100%, this suggests to me I'm asking too much for what my system is capable of and will probably have to upgrade.

These are the specs of my current system:

PC: Fierce PC
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-HD2
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) X4 845 Quad Core processor, 3500Mhz, 2 core(s), 4 logical...
RAM: 8192MB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS: Windows 10 Home

If I have missed any information that might be needed please let me know and maybe suggest how I can find the info (I'm that novice lol)

So, I went to a Computer Stall on the market and spoke to them about my needs. They have made me a trade in offer for a computer they have, my current system and £200 fir the below PC:

(Note: They did say the graphics card in this PC will probably need replacing)
PC: Dell OptiPlex 7010
Motherboard: Dell
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
RAM: 16GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
OS: Windows 10 Pro


My questions:
Is the trade worth it? If so what graphic card should I buy to replace the one in the PC I will be receiving as I have looked it up and it sounds terrible

Am I better off buying new parts to upgrade my current system and just paying someone to do it for me? If so I would really appreciate been spoon fed what I should buy.
In terms of cost; Maybe up to £500? Whatever will get me into a position where I can play the game, run the stream software, face cam and have web pages open without running the risk of freezing.

Would my best option be buying a pre-build and trying to offset the cost by selling my current system? If so, any suggestions on what to buy? And if you could give me an idea of what I might get from selling mine?

Thanks in advance to anyone and everyone offering advice, as you can tell I'm in over my head
Clueless.Gamer
Use @Hellfire13 build but switch out the board.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/asu...r4-pcie-40-sata3-m2-gbe-usb-32-gen1-micro-atx
ASUS PRIME H510M-A £87.98
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Sounds like said PC guy is looking for a GPU he can easily sell.


I do agree that VRM's, without heatsinks, are a bad idea.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor (£131.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler (£20.34 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock B560M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard (£102.89 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£74.36 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£52.99 @ Box Limited)
Case: RIOTORO CR400 ATX Mid Tower Case (£37.28 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£41.18 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £460.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-07 02:18 BST+0100
 
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punkncat

Champion
Ambassador
I don't think that computer stall is particularly interest in your benefit here. Your GPU is quite a commodity in this market and will work well for a far more powerful system. I am actually astounded that you are able to do all the things you mention on your spec. I can see why there are some issues.

Some of the build ideas above are quite solid.

IDK how old your "Fierce PC" is, but looking at the (modern) site indicates they are building at least some of their machines off standard parts. You may be able to reuse your old case, possibly some fans and storage according to what you have. Maybe you can save enough cash along the way to spring for some Windows 11 :D
 
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The VRM's on those cheaper MSI boards look weak.
Makes sense, but its a locked CPU and well within the fault tolerance of a 6+2 phase VRM. It is one of the better cheaper boards, plus the selected cooler should be sufficient for heat dissipation.
Its not MSI by the way.
Anyways, if budget is not a constraint a better board is always recommended...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-10400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | £131.00 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler | Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler | £20.34 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard | ASRock B560M Steel Legend Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | £115.00 @ CCL Computers
Memory | Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | £65.09 @ Amazon UK
Storage | Crucial P2 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | £43.95 @ AWD-IT
Case | RIOTORO CR400 ATX Mid Tower Case | £37.13 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £59.99 @ Amazon UK
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £472.50
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-07 10:07 BST+0100 |
 
Last edited:
Solution

Clueless.Gamer

Commendable
Jun 6, 2021
9
0
1,510
Thanks for the solid advice guys, I figured when I looked up the graphics card I have and the one in what he is offering that the market guy wasn't helping me out.

I will have a look at buying the parts you guys have suggested as you clearly know your stuff and have no reason to mislead me.
I currently have quite a bulky CPU case and not sure if I want to get something a little more compact, any ideas on what might be suitable? I like the red LED lighting in my current tower but not essential if I chose a smaller tower.

When I do order these parts I will be clueless as piecing them together, will it be as simple as following a YouTube video or should I take it to a tech guy at somewhere like Curry's PC World to build together?

Lastly, the price is fine but I am curious, am I likely to get better prices or even better quality parts if I shop second hand parts on ebay? For instance I just saw a Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core LGA1155 Processor SR0PK for 60 quid on ebay, is this part better for cheaper because its second hand? Or am I best avoiding doing this incase I hit co pat ability issues between the products I buy as I don't know what I'm doing? Haha

Once again Thanks for all the help
Clueless.Gamer
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the solid advice guys, I figured when I looked up the graphics card I have and the one in what he is offering that the market guy wasn't helping me out.

I will have a look at buying the parts you guys have suggested as you clearly know your stuff and have no reason to mislead me.
I currently have quite a bulky CPU case and not sure if I want to get something a little more compact, any ideas on what might be suitable? I like the red LED lighting in my current tower but not essential if I chose a smaller tower.

When I do order these parts I will be clueless as piecing them together, will it be as simple as following a YouTube video or should I take it to a tech guy at somewhere like Curry's PC World to build together?

Lastly, the price is fine but I am curious, am I likely to get better prices or even better quality parts if I shop second hand parts on ebay? For instance I just saw a Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core LGA1155 Processor SR0PK for 60 quid on ebay, is this part better for cheaper because its second hand? Or am I best avoiding doing this incase I hit co pat ability issues between the products I buy as I don't know what I'm doing? Haha

Once again Thanks for all the help
Clueless.Gamer
Case is a personal choice, for a smaller size this one should be good...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
Case | Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MicroATX Mid Tower Case | £52.17 @ CCL Computers
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £52.17
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-07 22:57 BST+0100 |

Usually building is not too difficult if you follow a step by step guide like this...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7MYOpFONCU

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK51upU5bkU&t=589s
 
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Clueless.Gamer

Commendable
Jun 6, 2021
9
0
1,510
Case is a personal choice, for a smaller size this one should be good...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
Case | Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MicroATX Mid Tower Case | £52.17 @ CCL Computers
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £52.17
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-07 22:57 BST+0100 |

Usually building is not too difficult if you follow a step by step guide like this...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7MYOpFONCU

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK51upU5bkU&t=589s

That's great, I really appreciate all your help as I wouldn't have known where to start. Do you think it would be worth the savings for me to try and shop second hand on ebay? Total is within my budget so if you don't think the savings would be worth the hastle I will just order from the partspicker suggestions
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Do you think it would be worth the savings for me to try and shop second hand on ebay?
Actually, no.
At least not without specific assistance from people here who know.

There are many gotchas in an ebay sale, especially for something used.
And the specific wording of the listing may preclude any refund, when it arrives as not what you expected.
 
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Clueless.Gamer

Commendable
Jun 6, 2021
9
0
1,510
Actually, no.
At least not without specific assistance from people here who know.

There are many gotchas in an ebay sale, especially for something used.
And the specific wording of the listing may preclude any refund, when it arrives as not what you expected.
Fair enough I will stear clear and buy from the sights in HellFire13s build list.

I just had an after thought too, I assume I will have to purchase an OS? Just been looking into it and have no idea if it's true but I've seen Microsoft offer a free version of Windows 10? Will an OS be easy for me to install? (like just slap in a USB?)
 
Last edited:

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I just had an after thought too, I assume I will have to purchase an OS? Just been looking into it and have no idea if it's true but I've seen Microsoft offer a free version of Windows 10? Will an OS be easy for me to install? (like just slap in a USB?)
There is no "free".

You can install it and run it without a license, but to activate it requires buying a license.
Generally, around $100.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
For the actual installation, this:
 
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Jun 10, 2021
3
0
10
Thanks for the solid advice guys, I figured when I looked up the graphics card I have and the one in what he is offering that the market guy wasn't helping me out.

I will have a look at buying the parts you guys have suggested as you clearly know your stuff and have no reason to mislead me.
I currently have quite a bulky CPU case and not sure if I want to get something a little more compact, any ideas on what might be suitable? I like the red LED lighting in my current tower but not essential if I chose a smaller tower.

When I do order these parts I will be clueless as piecing them together, will it be as simple as following a YouTube video or should I take it to a tech guy at somewhere like Curry's PC World to build together?

Lastly, the price is fine but I am curious, am I likely to get better prices or even better quality parts if I shop second hand parts on ebay? For instance I just saw a Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core LGA1155 Processor SR0PK for 60 quid on ebay, is this part better for cheaper because its second hand? Or am I best avoiding doing this incase I hit co pat ability issues between the products I buy as I don't know what I'm doing? Haha

Once again Thanks for all the help
Clueless.Gamer
hi , if your on a budget and not really a builder look for a dell optiplex 9020 mini tower ( the big one ) if it's got a i7 in it already then thats a bonus but you can add a i7 3770 or i7 4770 later , throw your gtx 1050ti straight in there no psu upgrade needed and you can load 32gb ram max ,
aim to pay no more than £150 for the tower but i have seen them sell for £50 so search around but make sure its the 9020 mt apparently they have the best motherboard for upgrading.