Question Upgrade Advice

[dwalker83]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice as I'm looking to upgrade my system so it can run Windows 11. Currently I've got an i5-6600k, Z170k motherboard and 8gb RAM with a GTX 1070. I'm primarily looking to upgrade the CPU, MB and RAM, the graphics card will be later.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions as to what would be best, I've got about £500 to spend at the moment. My PSU is 550W and not looking to upgrade that hopefully.

I use the PC for games, but nothing extreme and only 1080p if that helps?

Many thanks in advance, David

 

[Order 66]

age and specific model of PSU?
I would go for something along the lines of this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/jaydenmiller123/saved/fCGK7P

not only is it current gen, but it will also get you at least one more generation on the same motherboard, while intel's 14th gen is the last gen on the LGA 1700 socket.

 

[punkncat]

I don't know the market pricing over in Europe. I feel like the above suggestion is very solid.

I wouldn't overlook Intel 12 or 13th gen parts, if you can find a good deal on them. The plus side with AMD is that there is future upcoming CPU on their same socket. You could get in with a lower end CPU for now and then hope the upcoming generation delivers more (to the customer) than the disappointment that 14th gen was for Intel fans.

I would mention one thing, in that, if you choose Intel on a DDR4 platform you could technically use your current memory until funds could be gathered for a new set. This would allow for the purchase of a slightly better CPU and motherboard and then just save for the other aspects you want to update...and RAM will be important in that. 8GB is simply too little for most use cases today, especially gaming.

I hate to throw the 'dead end' thing in there, but with Intel their current gen stuff are exactly that until the next gen release and word is it will be a different socket again. It is rare to see Intel do something other than a "tick/tock" CPU to motherboard compatibility trend.

 

[dwalker83]

age and specific model of PSU?
I would go for something along the lines of this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/jaydenmiller123/saved/fCGK7P

not only is it current gen, but it will also get you at least one more generation on the same motherboard, while intel's 14th gen is the last gen on the LGA 1700 socket.

Hi Order 66.

It's an EVGA GT 550w, 2021.

I had been looking at the Ryzen processors, but I'm a bit lost between Ryzen 5, 7 and 9!

 

[geofelt]

Your 6600K was a great processor, some 6 generations ago.
Yes, I think you will be pleased with a cpu upgrade.
The 6600K has 4 processing threads and a passmark rating of6284. That is when all 4 threads are fully busy.
The single thread rating is 2331. The single thread rating is arguably the more important metric for games.

A good upgrade might be a I5-13400 with 16 threads and a rating of 26206/3836.
£224.97

Amazon.co.uk

It comes with a laminar flow cooler that I would try before spending more on a stronger aftermarket cooler.
You will need a lga1700 motherboard; most any will do.

They come in DDR4 and DDR5 versions, and each performs comparably.
Your 8gb could be moved over, but I think 8gb is too small. 16gb and many will go 32gb.
For that, you might as well go ddr5. Ram speed is not important to intel.
Here is an example Asrock B760M for £148.38

Amazon.co.uk

2 x 16gb will cost about £80.

I would pay little heed to "future proofing"
As a practical matter you buy what you need for now, and perhaps a few years out.
It turns out that any significant future upgrade past that is likely to be far enough out that a new platform is in order.
Your case is a good example of that.

 

[dwalker83]

Your 6600K was a great processor, some 6 generations ago.
Yes, I think you will be pleased with a cpu upgrade.
The 6600K has 4 processing threads and a passmark rating of6284. That is when all 4 threads are fully busy.
The single thread rating is 2331. The single thread rating is arguably the more important metric for games.

A good upgrade might be a I5-13400 with 16 threads and a rating of 26206/3836.
£224.97

Amazon.co.uk

It comes with a laminar flow cooler that I would try before spending more on a stronger aftermarket cooler.
You will need a lga1700 motherboard; most any will do.

They come in DDR4 and DDR5 versions, and each performs comparably.
Your 8gb could be moved over, but I think 8gb is too small. 16gb and many will go 32gb.
For that, you might as well go ddr5. Ram speed is not important to intel.
Here is an example Asrock B760M for £148.38

Amazon.co.uk

2 x 16gb will cost about £80.

I would pay little heed to "future proofing"
As a practical matter you buy what you need for now, and perhaps a few years out.
It turns out that any significant future upgrade past that is likely to be far enough out that a new platform is in order.
Your case is a good example of that.

Would the i5-13400f be ok, it's slightly cheaper and, from what I understand, it doesn't have onboard graphics, but that's ok as I will always be using a dedicated GPU.

 

[Order 66]

Would the i5-13400f be ok, it's slightly cheaper and, from what I understand, it doesn't have onboard graphics, but that's ok as I will always be using a dedicated GPU.

No, an IGPU is invaluable for troubleshooting. It is not worth the $20 saving unless you are on a very strict budget.

 

[dwalker83]

Thank you for that @Order 66 I hadn't thought about that!

So what are the pros / cons of AMD Vs Intel? I believe that the AMD motherboards are more expensive, but that's all I'm aware of at the minute...

Thank you once again for your advice so far!

 

[Order 66]

Thank you for that @Order 66 I hadn't thought about that!

So what are the pros / cons of AMD Vs Intel? I believe that the AMD motherboards are more expensive, but that's all I'm aware of at the minute...

Thank you once again for your advice so far!

new AMD motherboards also require DDR5. Pros of current-gen AMD would be upgradeability for at least 1 more generation, support for newer DDR5, and lower power consumption than intel equivalents. cons would be that DDR5 is more expensive and the motherboards are also more expensive. Intels 14th gen is barely an upgrade over 13th gen. Pros: still supports DDR4, cheaper motherboards, generally more cores than AMD equivalent. Cons: Higher power consumption, E-cores can cause problems with anti-cheat in certain games.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Keep in mind however amd has a longer history of supporting multiple generations on a socket. So amd is more expensive but just something to consider if you care about future expandability.

 

[dwalker83]

So I've been doing some research too and I think I'm going to go with the following:

Ryzen 5 7600 (or Ryzen 7 7700 if Black Friday is good to me!)
Asus TUF Gaming B650 plus WiFi
Crucial Pro 2x16 GB 5600MHz RAM
Crucial P3 Plus 1TB M2 SSD for my OS disk

This should come in pretty much exactly £500 without any Black Friday deals. Then I'll build from there, get a new GPU in the future. I'll use the supplied AMD cooler for the time being and see how that goes.

Does this sound like a fairly solid system?

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Doesn’t sound bad.

I’m considering a platform upgrade but thinking of Intel for the price. Always built with amd, and like their products but am thinking to maybe go with an i5 13400 and budget board.

 

[dwalker83]

Final question, I promise!!

Depending on Black Friday, I'm either going to get a Ryzen 5 7600 or Ryzen 7 7700, but both also come in an X version. Currently on Amazon (UK) the 7600 is £214 and the 7600X is £222, and the 7700 is £309 and the 7700X is £296. Choices, choices!

I understand that the X series can't be overclocked and that they don't include a cooler, where the non-X versions can and do. I'm not an expert so wouldn't do any overclocking myself, so which version would be best, X or non-X?

If a CPU came with a cooler I'd give it a go, but would also be willing to get a separate cooling solution if needed, so that's not a deal-breaker for me.