Build Advice Question about a possible upgrade into a new build

May 9, 2021
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Good evening everyone!

First off, I am a semi-beginner regarding building PC's so I hope I will be able to give you guys all the relevant information. Sorry in advance if I missed mentioning something obvious!

My current build is from April 2014 with the following specs:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670
GPU: MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC
Board: ASRock H87 Pro4
RAM: 2x 8GB DDR3 (I will update the exact details once I get home, can not find the name at the moment)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R
SSD: Kingston 120GB SSD
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 (1 TB)
DVD(?): LiteOn iHAS124
PSU: Corsair RM750 (upgraded this last year)
Monitor Refresh Rate: 144 Hz

I have been enjoying this desktop, but I am starting to feel it is time for something new. I mainly use my desktop for gaming, with different needs for varying game types. In games like Fortnite, I prefer performance over quality, so I don't mind playing in low settings as long as the FPS remains high and stable. In games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, I would like some medium to high graphics with smooth gameplay as well. My desktop is starting to fail me in both these areas, since I am starting to experience a lot of inconsistent framerates and stutters while playing shooters, while my desktop could only decently run Kingdom Come at the lowest settings. I have done some minor optimizing, but I am also already looking into the future which I can not see my current desktop being able to handle these new games. Since I expect to play these types of games in the foreseeable future, I was looking into either upgrading my current build or building a completely new desktop. This is where I would like to ask for the opinions of the more experienced people on this lovely forum.

My initial thought was to get a new build using my old PSU and case. However, after doing some reading up, I quickly learned that the GPU market is absolutely overpriced at the moment (seen some numbers of 200 to 300% increase in price for latest models). Since I was planning on a budget of around the €1200,- mark, I decided to lay off on the complete rebuild now to avoid overspending on the GPU.

This led me to the question I am here for. What is your guys opinion on upgrading half of the setup and keeping the old GPU until the GPU prices drop to upgrade that last part of the PC? Is it worth it to get a CPU like an i5-11400F with a compatible motherboard and RAM right now to already boost my gaming experience (Fortnite is bottlenecked by my CPU at 100% with my GPU being at max 80% right now, causing a very inconsistent framerate and stutters), or is it better to wait to get the CPU and GPU simultaneously when the prices drop? I know there might not be a definite answer to this question, I am just looking for some opinions of people with a lot more knowledge on the matter.

I apologize for the length of the post and I appreciate anyone taking the time to read through all this to help me with my beginner questions!

Thank you all.
 
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I would build new.
You are system is very outdated, and imo its not worth upgrading.
I would just reuse the PSU and the GPU, the 200R looks like it doesnt have that much airflow.
For $1100 (which is around €900 ), you can build something like this:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($309.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($149.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($226.99 @ Corsair)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Adorama)
Case: Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB Pro 52 CFM 120 mm Fan ($26.30 @ Amazon)
Total: $1098.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-09 16:19 EDT-0400

If you upgrade to something like this, it will make a night and day difference.

5600X is a 6 core/12 thread cpu, that boosts up to 4.6GHz, making it one of the best gaming cpu's. Will make a significant boost in FPS.
A good 240mm AIO will be enough for it, even when overclocked.
MSI B550 Tomahawk is a really good mid-range motherboard. ATX form factor with tons of features, good VRM's for overclocking and is Ryzen 5000 cpu ready, so you dont have to update the BIOS before building the PC.
2x8gb would've been enough for gaming, but with the given budget, why not go with 32GB'. It will only make multitasking easier for you. 3200MHz CL16 will be enough. I believe you can even overclock the ram to 3600MHz if you wanted to.
Now, i dont know what exact SSD you have, but Kingston and 120GB doesnt sound promising to me.
I added a blazing fast Samsung M.2 for windows and some games, im sure it will make a difference from your Kingston SSD.
Corsair 200R doesnt look like a bad case, but you could get something that looks better and has better airflow.
4000X would be my pick, it looks beautiful with those RGB fans, has good airflow and has more space than your 200R case.
In this build i added a rear exhaust fan, Corsair SP120, which is the same as the 3 fans that come with the 4000X, so you can have 3 fans at the front, 1 on the rear, and a AIO on top that has 2 fans.
6 fans will be a big upgrade airflow wise.
Not to mention you can sync all 6 fans together using iCue software. (i believe you can even sync up the ram with them, but im not 100% sure).
Now i dont know how much these parts would cost in your shops, but you should be able to save up around €300, which can go to your GPU in the future when thw
prices come back to normal. In the mean time save as much money as you can for that GPU.
Something like a RTX 3060/3070 or RX 6700XT/6800XT would work well with this build.
 
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May 9, 2021
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Thank you so much for your quick and extensive reply! I personally like the simple look of the Corsair 200R case and even though I appreciate your suggestion for the RGB additions, I am not a big fan. I prefer to keep it simple and if I can cut the 1200 mentioned for less flashy components I am all for that (since I am a student haha). So I will probably be looking to keep the 200R case, which means I probably can not use the case fans? I have some insights in other parts but regarding air flow and cooling, I have close to zero knowledge.

Another good thing to mention is that I have no intention of overclocking anything on my system. I rather spend a little more on a CPU with better default clock speeds.

I am actually quite surprised it is possible to build a PC like this for the price in your post. I was looking more into the $200-240 range for CPU (Ryzen 5 3600 and i5-11400F, etc.) but seeing you adding the Ryzen 5 5600x may have changed my mind about it. My only concern is that Ryzen products seem to be a bit overpriced in the Netherlands (5 5600x goes for around $380 right now here), while the Intel 11th gen products actually tend to be around MRSP. This is why I gravitated towards getting an Intel CPU for boosting my gaming experience right now for an affordable price. I have seen a lot of articles stating that Ryzen is actually beating Intel as of right now. What is your opinion on this? Is the Ryzen 5 3600 also an option or is that limiting me for future games too much? And are there other benefits from choosing Ryzen like more upgrade options in future builds?

Your remarks on storage are spot on, I only have Windows on my SSD at the moment. I was already looking into getting a new SSD this week regardless to install my games on for a slight boost. I will probably be getting your suggestion now, so thank you for that!

Again, thank you so much for helping out!
 
No idea what country your in so I used random websites in EU countries but you can't go wrong with either the 11400F/11400 imo. Here's a few boards that will allow you to run that cpu with power limiter turned off if you choose to do so without breaking the bank.

https://www.caseking.de/en/intel-co...rocket-lake-s-sockel-1200-boxed-hpit-706.html
Intel Core i5-11400F 171.34€

https://www.caseking.de/en/asrock-b560m-steel-legend-intel-b560-mainboard-sockel-1200-mbar-379.html
ASRock B560M Steel Legend

https://www.hardware-planet.it/sche...lus-gaming-90mb1780-m0eay0-4711081125310.html
ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS

https://www.materiel.net/produit/202103100127.html
Gigabyte B560M Aorus ELITE

https://www.caseking.de/en/msi-mag-b560m-bazooka-intel-b560-mainboard-sockel-1200-mbmc-430.html
MSI MAG B560M Bazooka


This cpu cooler will allow you to run the 11400F/11400 24/7 with the power limiter turned off.

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Scythe-Fuma-Cooler-Tower-Design/dp/B07QMK5R45/
Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Cooler


Or for better temps running one of those cpu's at stock settings ...

Cooler Master RR-212S-20PK-R1 Hyper 212 Black Edition CPU Air Cooler


16GB (2x8GB) of DDR4 3200Mhz CL16 RAM. I'll use this set for an example.

Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3200 2x8GB CL16 Desktop Gaming Memory Kit

https://www.amazon.de/Western-Digital-SN550-high-performance/dp/B07YFFX5MD/
Western Digital 1TB SN550 M.2 PCIe NVME SSD

https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...ating-ryzens-budget-gaming-dominance.3701558/
Intel Core i5-11400 Review

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i5_11400f_processor_review,1.html
Intel Core i5-11400F Review

https://www.techspot.com/review/2232-intel-core-i5-11400f/
Intel Core i5-11400F Review



 
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May 9, 2021
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Thank you so much for your insights! Based on the reviews, I think I can rule out the Ryzen 5 3600 as an option since the i5-11400F seems to outperform it at a lower price. Could you tell maybe tell me more about the performance increase disabling the power limiter will bring? Since it seems having to buy the board and cooling equipped for that job push the price up quite a bit.
 
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What do you think about this then?
I managed to put a 3060 in it:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€192.95 @ Megekko)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler (€46.50 @ Azerty)
Motherboard: ASRock B560 Pro4 ATX LGA1200 Motherboard (€112.95 @ Megekko)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (€89.95 @ Megekko)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€74.00 @ Amazon Netherlands)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB XC GAMING Video Card (€753.95 @ Alternate)
Total: €1270.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-10 00:25 CEST+0200


Is 70 euros over budget though....
 
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Thank you so much for your insights! Based on the reviews, I think I can rule out the Ryzen 5 3600 as an option since the i5-11400F seems to outperform it at a lower price. Could you tell maybe tell me more about the performance increase disabling the power limiter will bring? Since it seems having to buy the board and cooling equipped for that job push the price up quite a bit.
Most of the reviews I posted show that cpu run with and without the power limiter turned off and tbh they all have different results. Some show that cpu with the power limiter turned off gaining an extra 5 - 10 extra FPS in some games and no gains in other games. Not sure if it's worth the extra cost (cpu cooler) tbh.
 
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May 9, 2021
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What do you think about this then?
I managed to put a 3060 in it:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€192.95 @ Megekko)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler (€46.50 @ Azerty)
Motherboard: ASRock B560 Pro4 ATX LGA1200 Motherboard (€112.95 @ Megekko)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (€89.95 @ Megekko)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€74.00 @ Amazon Netherlands)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB XC GAMING Video Card (€753.95 @ Alternate)
Total: €1270.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-10 00:25 CEST+0200


Is 70 euros over budget though....

This is looking really promising, thank you so much! I am strongly leaning towards this build and skip the GPU for now, see how it goes with my old GTX 760 for a bit since I currently do not really play GPU heavy games (expect to in the future). Do you guys think this CPU setup will be able to handle new games for a good few years on medium to high settings?
 
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This is looking really promising, thank you so much! I am strongly leaning towards this build and skip the GPU for now, see how it goes with my old GTX 760 for a bit since I currently do not really play GPU heavy games (expect to in the future). Do you guys think this CPU setup will be able to handle new games for a good few years on medium to high settings?
As long as you aren't playing cpu intensive games such as MS Flight Simulator you'll be fine. That game is brutal on cpu usage.

https://www.caseking.de/en <--- this site seems to have some good prices and it looks like they ship all over the EU.
 
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This is looking really promising, thank you so much! I am strongly leaning towards this build and skip the GPU for now, see how it goes with my old GTX 760 for a bit since I currently do not really play GPU heavy games (expect to in the future). Do you guys think this CPU setup will be able to handle new games for a good few years on medium to high settings?
The 11400F?
Will not struggle at any title whatsoever.
 
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May 9, 2021
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Thank you all so much for taking the time of helping me with my questions! You have really given me valuable information here. I am going for the i5 setup that Master Djoza suggested and start ordering tomorrow probably. I will keep you guys posted for the results! (and when I come up with more questions of course haha)
 
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Thank you all so much for taking the time of helping me with my questions! You have really given me valuable information here. I am going for the i5 setup that Master Djoza suggested and start ordering tomorrow probably. I will keep you guys posted for the results! (and when I come up with more questions of course haha)
The only change I'd make to his build would be the cpu cooler ... similar results for less money.

https://www.megekko.nl/product/1994/377329/CPU-Luchtkoeling/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-Black-Edition
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition
 
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Jan 30, 2021
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Maybe if you need to decrease the budget a bit get a 3700x instead of 5800x and get the 4000d airflow instead of 5000d airflow and get b550m-plus wifi tuf gaming and get 500gb p2 ssd instead of 1tb and if you don't want an AIO get the Arctic 34 esports duo
 
Jan 30, 2021
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Security researchers have discovered a hole in Intel's read-only memory that it believes cannot be fixed and leaves all but Intel's latest 10th-generation devices exposed. The discovery, announced Thursday by security firm Positive Technologies, points out an error in Intel's boot ROM that allows each system with the hole to be susceptible to a hack.
The vulnerability was found in the ROM of the Intel Converged Security and Management Engine (CSME), Mark Ermolov, Positive Technologies' lead specialist of OS and hardware security, said in a blog post. It "jeopardizes everything Intel has done to build the root of trust and lay a solid security foundation on the company's platforms," he said.
"The problem is not only that it is impossible to fix firmware errors that are hard-coded in the Mask ROM of microprocessors and chipsets," Ermolov added. "The larger worry is that, because this vulnerability allows a compromise at the hardware level, it destroys the chain of trust for the platform as a whole."
When the London-based company contacted Intel it was told the chip giant was already aware of the hole.
The Intel CSME is responsible for the first authentication, loading and verifying the firmware of Intel-based devices. By being exposed early in the boot process, it could leave the computer exposed to the point where Positive Technologies envisions a worst-case scenario where "hardware IDs will be forged, digital content will be extracted and data from encrypted hard disks will be decrypted."
Intel updated a patch to fix some of the vulnerabilities last month, crediting Positive Technologies in its acknowledgments. But the researchers believe the hole is incapable of ever being fully filled.
Positive Technologies said this hole is exposed on all but Intel's latest 10th-gen chips. It noted that "there might be many ways to exploit this vulnerability in ROM," some of which "might require local access" such as malware while others might need "physical access" to a computer target in question.
Intel acknowledged a potential issue.
"Intel was notified of a vulnerability potentially affecting the Intel Converged Security Management Engine in which an unauthorized user with specialized hardware and physical access may be able to execute arbitrary code within the Intel CSME subsystem on certain Intel products," Intel spokesperson Leigh Rosenwald said in a statement.
"Intel released mitigations and recommends keeping systems up-to-date," adding that anyone looking for "additional guidance specific to CVE-2019-0090" can find it here.
(www.cnet.net)
 
Jan 30, 2021
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The last few years have found security researchers poking and prodding at the speculative execution engine that's one of the key performance-boosting features behind all modern chips. The resulting research has spawned an almost never-ending onslaught of new vulnerabilities that threaten the safety of your system and private data. Unfortunately, these types of vulnerabilities are incredibly dangerous because they are undetectable—these tactics steal data by using the processor exactly as it was designed; thus, they are undetectable by any known anti-virus program.

The rash of fixes required to plug these holes also continues to grow, and many of them result in reduced performance. That's particularly painful for Intel because it suffers from far more of these vulnerabilities than other vendors.

Intel currently has 242 publicly disclosed vulnerabilities, while AMD has only 16. That's a 15:1 difference in AMD's favor. It's hard to ascertain if these limited discoveries in AMD processors are due to a security-first approach to hardened processor design, or if researchers and attackers merely focus on Intel's processors due to their commanding market share: Attackers almost always focus on the broadest cross-section possible. We see a similar trend with malware being designed for Windows systems, by far the predominant desktop OS, much more frequently than MacOS, though that does appear to be changing.

Regardless, right now, AMD has had far fewer security holes to plug, and it made a few targeted in-silicon fixes for its Ryzen 5000 processors, thus lowering its exposure to the vulnerabilities.

We've seen some of the fixes drop performance more than two or three architecture updates on Intel, which is particularly painful, and there's no end to these exploits in sight.
Advertisement

Winner: AMD. The gap in AMD vs Intel CPU security is just too large to ignore. As things stand, Intel is susceptible to far more vulnerabilities than AMD. That could change as AMD gains market share, and security researchers increasingly turn their microscopes on its architecture. For now, Intel processors require far more mitigations to improve their security standing. These mitigations often come with a performance penalty, and Intel tends to suffer larger performance losses than the few fixes we've seen from AMD, granting Team Red the win.
(tomshardwareforum)