[SOLVED] Upgrade or Rebuild?

chris191

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Hi there!

I've had my pc since maybe 2014/15 I really cant remember.
As follows;

Intel i5-3470 3.2ghz
Nvidea gtx750ti (its long and has 2 fans)
Asus P8H77-M mobo
kingston 8gb ram
250gb ssd samsung
500gb hdd (not working)
400w Psu

The performance is ok but I'm started to get tired of bad fps and such. I think its time to upgrade at this point..

I was looking at cpu's

intel 8400/9400f/9600k - Im not experienced enough to judge what is ok. Im not looking to OC anything.

Also the AMD 5 3600 caught my eye, I would not mind AMD.

I would like to get 16gb ram and a better GPU. I'm having a lot of trouble of deciding a GPU to upgrade to.

Overall Im leaning towards amd 5 3600 since from what ive seen its something that will last atleast 3 years or so. I would need a graphics card that can pair nicely and be in the zone of 200euros if possible.

I really hope someone can give me a hand with this build.
 
Solution
Hi Jeremy! I ended up going with the gtx 1660 in the end since my budget was getting too high since a lot of the parts I wanted are not in stock etc and I had to compromise.

B550M-A Gaming // AMD Ryzen 5 3600 // m.2 curical ssd 500gb // 16gb ram 3200mhz cl16 // gtx 1660 // now for PSU issue, they are pretty much all sold out on websites that deliver to ireland.

Corsair 550w VS series (from an ad listing in ireland for cheap, unused but hard to trust this seller platform).

EVGA 500W 80 PLUS ATX Power Supply/PSU 100-W1-0500-K3 I could get but unsure if it would be sufficient?
Both of those are junk PSUs. Here is some quick reading on PSUs...
Hi there!

I've had my pc since maybe 2014/15 I really cant remember.
As follows;

Intel i5-3470 3.2ghz
Nvidea gtx750ti (its long and has 2 fans)
Asus P8H77-M mobo
kingston 8gb ram
250gb ssd samsung
500gb hdd (not working)
400w Psu

The performance is ok but I'm started to get tired of bad fps and such. I think its time to upgrade at this point..

I was looking at cpu's

intel 8400/9400f/9600k - Im not experienced enough to judge what is ok. Im not looking to OC anything.

Also the AMD 5 3600 caught my eye, I would not mind AMD.

I would like to get 16gb ram and a better GPU. I'm having a lot of trouble of deciding a GPU to upgrade to.

Overall Im leaning towards amd 5 3600 since from what ive seen its something that will last atleast 3 years or so. I would need a graphics card that can pair nicely and be in the zone of 200euros if possible.

I really hope someone can give me a hand with this build.
Is the entire upgrade 200 Euros or just the GPU 200 Euros?
 

chris191

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Jul 14, 2015
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Is the entire upgrade 200 Euros or just the GPU 200 Euros?
Hi Jeremy, my appologies. I would be looking to spend 550-650euros in total. Since i can reuse my case (zalman z11), fans and my ssd250gb.
I think an m.2 ssd 500gb can go for about 60euros. So im okay with this kind of memory for now.

Also i forgot to ask, would i need to reinstall windows even though its on my current ssd? or can that be my boot drivefor the upgraded pc?
 
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€170.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€78.49 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (€65.89 @ Alternate)
Storage: Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€68.89 @ Alternate)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 5500 XT 8 GB DUAL EVO OC Video Card (€189.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (€79.99 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €652.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-18 22:40 CEST+0200
 

chris191

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Jul 14, 2015
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You will have to reinstall Windows, however, you can use your current SSD as an OS/Applications drive and then save the 500GB SSD for games.
thank you for your help! i was doing some searching around and saw a gigabit nvidea gtx 1660 oc 6 is about 220 euros. I wont mind to pay a bit more for this,if its compatiable with everything.
Also, the motherboards will have issue with the ryzen 5 3600 bios at first? i read i might need to put an older cpu in first and update for amd bios or something...maybe the asus 550 mobos launched past few days will help?
 
thank you for your help! i was doing some searching around and saw a gigabit nvidea gtx 1660 oc 6 is about 220 euros. I wont mind to pay a bit more for this,if its compatiable with everything.
Also, the motherboards will have issue with the ryzen 5 3600 bios at first? i read i might need to put an older cpu in first and update for amd bios or something...maybe the asus 550 mobos launched past few days will help?
This is one of the MSI MAX boards that comes with Ryzen 3000 compatibility out of the box. The price/performance difference from the 5500XT 8GB to the 1660 doesn't make much sense unless you are only paying 20 Euros or less. Reason is the difference in performance is about 5-10%. Benchmark However, there are a couple Gainward GTX 1660 Supers for 230ish Euro and that would be a worth while upgrade as the performance difference is about 20%. Benchmark
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...60-super-6-gb-ghost-video-card-471056224-1402
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...per-6-gb-pegasus-oc-video-card-471056224-1358
 

chris191

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I totally understand that would be great! I checked but the msi board mentioned isnt really for gaming? but it should be fine right? otherwise ASUS AM4 ROG Strix B450-F Gaming Atx could be a better choice? i am willing to push my budget if it means i wont have to settle for something cheaper if theres an option for a bit more that works better 😃
 
Since you are looking at a 120 Euro board, there are a couple others that might be worth while. Note I don't know if the current Strix B450-F will support Ryzen without the BIOS update. The ones that I am going to list will all support Ryzen 3000 out of the box.

B450
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...awk-max-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-tomahawk-max

B550
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...50m-a-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-prime-b550m-a
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...c-atx-am4-motherboard-b550-phantom-gaming-4ac
Here is a write up of all the B550 motherboards. https://www.anandtech.com/show/1585...-overview-asus-gigabyte-msi-asrock-and-others
 
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chris191

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Hi Jeremy! Thank you for all your help! I've decided on the amd ryzen 5 3600 // ASUS Prime B550M-A Gaming so far.
I have been revisiting the graphics cards and I've found two that I wouldnt mind spending the money on around 260 each, but one of them has 3 fans and the other 2. I dont know which to choose out of both.
gtx 1660 super & 1660 super (2nd)


Also as a backup idea: 5500 XT 240 euros & 5500 XT 210 euros .. im not sure why there is such a price difference with them both.
 
Hi Jeremy! Thank you for all your help! I've decided on the amd ryzen 5 3600 // ASUS Prime B550M-A Gaming so far.
I have been revisiting the graphics cards and I've found two that I wouldnt mind spending the money on around 260 each, but one of them has 3 fans and the other 2. I dont know which to choose out of both.
gtx 1660 super & 1660 super (2nd)


Also as a backup idea: 5500 XT 240 euros & 5500 XT 210 euros .. im not sure why there is such a price difference with them both.
In theory the one with 3 fans will run cooler. However, the 1660 Super already is a relatively cool GPU so the 2 fan model is good. I did find it cheaper than at Amazon. Once you are in the 270 Euro range it is hard to recommend the 1660 Super. At that price level you are now competing again the 5600XT which is 10% faster without the vBIOS update. You get one like the Sapphire Pulse that includes the 14Gbs RAM & vBIOS update and it is 20-25% faster than the 1660 Super.

At 240 Euros the 5500XT doesn't make sense at all. At that point it is more expensive than the 1660 and the same price as the 1660 Super. There is one for under 200 Euro as that is a good alternative.
 

chris191

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Ok! Thank you for that, I think I'm more confused now with which one I should really get ! haha
I think I could just go for the 1660super @ 240isheuros you found. Since the saphhire is around 290 and really pushing my budget this time once I consider that Im pushing more for my motherboard too.
I have a lot to consider
 

chris191

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Jul 14, 2015
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Hi Jeremy! I ended up going with the gtx 1660 in the end since my budget was getting too high since a lot of the parts I wanted are not in stock etc and I had to compromise.

B550M-A Gaming // AMD Ryzen 5 3600 // m.2 curical ssd 500gb // 16gb ram 3200mhz cl16 // gtx 1660 // now for PSU issue, they are pretty much all sold out on websites that deliver to ireland.

Corsair 550w VS series (from an ad listing in ireland for cheap, unused but hard to trust this seller platform).

EVGA 500W 80 PLUS ATX Power Supply/PSU 100-W1-0500-K3 I could get but unsure if it would be sufficient?
 
Hi Jeremy! I ended up going with the gtx 1660 in the end since my budget was getting too high since a lot of the parts I wanted are not in stock etc and I had to compromise.

B550M-A Gaming // AMD Ryzen 5 3600 // m.2 curical ssd 500gb // 16gb ram 3200mhz cl16 // gtx 1660 // now for PSU issue, they are pretty much all sold out on websites that deliver to ireland.

Corsair 550w VS series (from an ad listing in ireland for cheap, unused but hard to trust this seller platform).

EVGA 500W 80 PLUS ATX Power Supply/PSU 100-W1-0500-K3 I could get but unsure if it would be sufficient?
Both of those are junk PSUs. Here is some quick reading on PSUs.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/recommended-psu-to-buy.3603290/#post-21736677

In the second post the info to pay attention to is Jonnyguru's recommendation. He started the website that is basically the gold standard for PSU reviews. On top of that he is the director of R&D for Corsair.
 
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chris191

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Jul 14, 2015
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Both of those are junk PSUs. Here is some quick reading on PSUs.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/recommended-psu-to-buy.3603290/#post-21736677

In the second post the info to pay attention to is Jonnyguru's recommendation. He started the website that is basically the gold standard for PSU reviews. On top of that he is the director of R&D for Corsair.
Thank you! I ended up buying one on amazon germany since everywhere else they are sold out or overpriced for useless ones :D the only concern I just realized a bit late, if that PSU arrives with an EU plug (two pin thing..) I'm in ireland where we use the 3 pin or uk version im not sure the names of these . Could I use the plug from my current psu if it fits do you think?
 
Thank you! I ended up buying one on amazon germany since everywhere else they are sold out or overpriced for useless ones :D the only concern I just realized a bit late, if that PSU arrives with an EU plug (two pin thing..) I'm in ireland where we use the 3 pin or uk version im not sure the names of these . Could I use the plug from my current psu if it fits do you think?
As long as the plug into the PSU is the same you will be just fine.
 

chris191

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Jul 14, 2015
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Have fun with the new build.

Hi! I completed my build today im very happy so far! There are some small issues such as when i open bios i see the ddr4 is 2133mhz but i clicked advanced and changed to 3200mhz (my ram speed) and applied it.Then it did a weird beep and continued to open normally.. i opened task manager and it shows my ram as the 3200mhz so i think it worked? I went back to bios and the main menu showed the 2133 again but in advanced its still the 3200mhz.

Also i get some weird sounds coming from my top fan.. (im reusing from ols build, i left it in pc and didnt touxh it).. the sound was comon at times wirh my old pc but i had gpu tweak and put it to a normal settin and it was fine then. Is my fan a bit old causing the issue? Or that when we build pc it runs at max speed?? (although in bios i set it to standard for fanspeed but it does around 800rpm)
 
Hi! I completed my build today im very happy so far! There are some small issues such as when i open bios i see the ddr4 is 2133mhz but i clicked advanced and changed to 3200mhz (my ram speed) and applied it.Then it did a weird beep and continued to open normally.. i opened task manager and it shows my ram as the 3200mhz so i think it worked? I went back to bios and the main menu showed the 2133 again but in advanced its still the 3200mhz.

Also i get some weird sounds coming from my top fan.. (im reusing from ols build, i left it in pc and didnt touxh it).. the sound was comon at times wirh my old pc but i had gpu tweak and put it to a normal settin and it was fine then. Is my fan a bit old causing the issue? Or that when we build pc it runs at max speed?? (although in bios i set it to standard for fanspeed but it does around 800rpm)
When you apply the RAM XMP profile in the advanced settings, it will force it to the correct speed. The main part of the BIOS is probably only seeing the "official" speed of the RAM chips, but it is running at 3200MHz.

The fan issue is most likely a worn bearing from how you describe the issue. If it is a sleeve bearing in the fan, the only way to get rid of the noise is to replace it. After spinning for a while it will quiet down, but every time you turn on the computer it will make noise.
 

chris191

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Jul 14, 2015
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i will order new fans, it seems to better at times but when cpu hits around 50+ my fans ramp up too much..

Anyway ive run into another issue about the RAM.. when i changed it from 2133mhz to 3200 my ram. I didnt change the auto option to d.c.o.p or whatever it is exsctly. At first i thought it could be an issue but everything was fine, but just today i heard the ram two beeps after boot.. and i cant access bios now. My computer starts too fast and i spam my delete or f2 to.enter but doesnt work..
ive tried going through advanced settings and troubleshoot way with windoss 10 and doesnt work either.. my screen says no signal after the two beeps then comes on and im at the login screen regardless of what i do.


Im thinking booting in safe mode? and changing the ram setting correctly should fix it?