[SOLVED] Need help making hardware upgrading decisions

[James Hawkins]

I have a motherboard that is using a Intel Core 5 PC with a Windows 7 64bit, 8GB ram system. I mainly use this PC for gaming, lite photo editing, and editing videos for use on YouTube. I have a two screen system. All of this might sound good but recently, the motherboard has started to fail (ports not working... ). I need a new motherboard, replacement CPU Intel Core i5 or i7 (probably i5 since I think it can handle my workload), 5 internal hard drives, 5 external driver plus webcam, headphones, keyboard, mouse... I do have ports to handle the external devices but obviously they need ports on the motherboard. I also have a GPX 560 video card that is working fine,

I guess what I am looking for is recommendations for motherboards capable of supporting this system. I would also accept any other recommendations for a better system.

Thanks

 

[hang-the-9]

So power supply and case will be carrying over? What are the brand and models of those? Are you looking for SSD or standard drives for storage? There are a bunch of keyboard/mice/headphones suggestions in the Peripheral forum section https://forums.tomshardware.com/forums/computer-peripherals.45/

For a CPU a Ryzen 5 is probably the best pick currently for price/performance instead of Intel https://forums.tomshardware.com/forums/systems.7/ has a bunch of builds, probably the Ryzen 5 3600 is a good CPU to stick in a system that is not high end but still needs processing power for editing video.

 

[Mrgr74]

I have a motherboard that is using a Intel Core 5 PC with a Windows 7 64bit, 8GB ram system. I mainly use this PC for gaming, lite photo editing, and editing videos for use on YouTube. I have a two screen system. All of this might sound good but recently, the motherboard has started to fail (ports not working... ). I need a new motherboard, replacement CPU Intel Core i5 or i7 (probably i5 since I think it can handle my workload), 5 internal hard drives, 5 external driver plus webcam, headphones, keyboard, mouse... I do have ports to handle the external devices but obviously they need ports on the motherboard. I also have a GPX 560 video card that is working fine,

I guess what I am looking for is recommendations for motherboards capable of supporting this system. I would also accept any other recommendations for a better system.

Thanks

Hi @James Hawkins,

1st off, Welcome to the forums!

To start with, we need a budget. How much can you spend right now?

Do you have a brand preference? Intel? AMD? Budget to performance, you'll simply not beat a Ryzen build. (Like @hang-the-9 stated above, the 3600 is an amazing CPU for the cost.) Ryzen's like fast RAM. Keep that in mind when you look at the link I posted below.

Do you currently have DDR3 or DDR4 RAM? (Would suggest 16GB min.)

Except for the GPU, do you plan on using your old drives? Strongly advise against trying to get your current copy of Win7 to run on a new system. Avoide the headache and install a fresh copy of the OS. Any particular reason you have not mitigated to Win10?

Would suggest you take a look at this link. Pick & choose the items that fall within your budget and interest. Don't worry if you don't know what to choose as it'll list compatible parts per item you choose. Once you have an idea of a system you like, share the build with us to look over.

Again, welcome.

 

[James Hawkins]

Hi @James Hawkins,

1st off, Welcome to the forums!

To start with, we need a budget. How much can you spend right now?

Do you have a brand preference? Intel? AMD? Budget to performance, you'll simply not beat a Ryzen build. (Like @hang-the-9 stated above, the 3600 is an amazing CPU for the cost.) Ryzen's like fast RAM. Keep that in mind when you look at the link I posted below.

Do you currently have DDR3 or DDR4 RAM? (Would suggest 16GB min.)

Except for the GPU, do you plan on using your old drives? Strongly advise against trying to get your current copy of Win7 to run on a new system. Avoide the headache and install a fresh copy of the OS. Any particular reason you have not mitigated to Win10?

Would suggest you take a look at this link. Pick & choose the items that fall within your budget and interest. Don't worry if you don't know what to choose as it'll list compatible parts per item you choose. Once you have an idea of a system you like, share the build with us to look over.

Again, welcome.

I am not band specific. I currently have Intel i5 but Ryzen looks good. More details about my current system:

1. Cooler Master EVGA Tower with 5 harddrive bays (all used). Want to keep. At last count, I had over 200,000 pictures plus at least one backup for each!
2. Power Supply is CX750M (enough power to not need replacing)
3. ASUS Sabertooth Z77 motherboard (need to replace). The advantage of this motherboard type is that my environment is dusty and the motherboard's covers helps keep components dust free.... or I think they do. Disadvantages, little dust cover fans no longer work.
4. 4GB DDR4 X 2 RAM card (because on size of the CPU fan, only 2 cards possible. Need to upgrade.
5. Lage CPU Cooling Fan, type unknown. Can reuse but thinking about replacing.
6. ACER Monitors X 2

I built this system shortly after Intel released the CORE i3,5,7 series. I just have not kept up-to-date on new hardware information, ergo this post

My budget is not earth shattering but $1000 should do. Gaming is not the most important thing to me... memory is. I need a motherboard that has at least 5 built in, internal SATA ports.