[SOLVED] Upgrading my Kaby Lake system or doing a full new build?

[cjhmason]

Hi, I have recently finished putting together a PC build for my GF and now my PC is looking a little 'under powered'.

My current Pc works fine the majority of tasks (mainly used as a media PC), but I am getting into blender and a bit of video editing so finding the processor to now be the bottle neck.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G4600 3.6 GHz Dual-Core Processor |-
Motherboard | MSI B250I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard |-
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 CL15 Memory | £37.08 @ CCL Computers
Storage | Intel 600p Series 256 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive |-
Storage | Toshiba P300 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive |-
Video Card | Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB MINI Video Card |-
Case | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case |-
Power Supply | Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £57.99 @ Corsair UK
Case Fan | Noctua F12 PWM 54.97 CFM 120 mm Fan | £17.87 @ Amazon UK
Case Fan | Noctua F12 PWM 54.97 CFM 120 mm Fan | £17.87 @ Amazon UK

| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-01 13:48 GMT+0000 |

After doing some reading on this forum I have found that I am limited to 6th and 7th generation CPU's.

I'm finding it difficult to find any new ones (something like a i7-7700... on amazon for £299.99 LINK), but there are several second hand options on eBay.

Is it a good idea to invest further in this setup (is buying a second hand PCU ok?), or it is just worth salvaging what I can and buying additional new parts?

 

[Lutfij]

I'd go with a brand new build if you have the funds for it otherwise, you're highest processor is an i7-7700(non-K since you can't overclock the processor nor the rams) and the PSU since you will need at least 550W of power for the entire system while you have a discrete GTX1070Ti in the system.

IMHO, if you are going to generating income from the knowledge of blender renderings, then invest in a new system or see if second hand parts are cheap to find. By my calculations, the amount of money spent on upgrading an older platform is the same as buying into new hardware.

 

[Flayed]

Hi, I have recently finished putting together a PC build for my GF and now my PC is looking a little 'under powered'.

My current Pc works fine the majority of tasks (mainly used as a media PC), but I am getting into blender and a bit of video editing so finding the processor to now be the bottle neck.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G4600 3.6 GHz Dual-Core Processor |-
Motherboard | MSI B250I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard |-
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 CL15 Memory | £37.08 @ CCL Computers
Storage | Intel 600p Series 256 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive |-
Storage | Toshiba P300 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive |-
Video Card | Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB MINI Video Card |-
Case | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case |-
Power Supply | Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £57.99 @ Corsair UK
Case Fan | Noctua F12 PWM 54.97 CFM 120 mm Fan | £17.87 @ Amazon UK
Case Fan | Noctua F12 PWM 54.97 CFM 120 mm Fan | £17.87 @ Amazon UK

| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-01 13:48 GMT+0000 |

After doing some reading on this forum I have found that I am limited to 6th and 7th generation CPU's.

I'm finding it difficult to find any new ones (something like a i7-7700... on amazon for £299.99 LINK), but there are several second hand options on eBay.

Is it a good idea to invest further in this setup (is buying a second hand PCU ok?), or it is just worth salvaging what I can and buying additional new parts?

I just saw r5 3600 on today only sale:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/amd-...hz-socket-am4-processor-retail-cp-3b9-am.html

pick up a b450 Tomahawk for £90 is cheaper and more cores than a £300 7700k

 

[cjhmason]

I'd go with a brand new build if you have the funds for it otherwise, you're highest processor is an i7-7700(non-K since you can't overclock the processor nor the rams) and the PSU since you will need at least 550W of power for the entire system while you have a discrete GTX1070Ti in the system.

IMHO, if you are going to generating income from the knowledge of blender renderings, then invest in a new system or see if second hand parts are cheap to find. By my calculations, the amount of money spent on upgrading an older platform is the same as buying into new hardware.

@Lutfij Thanks for the info about the non-K version and not being able to overclock.

I wouldn't say I'll be generating income from this machine, just for messing about with, I've seen an i7-7700 on eBay which is at 186 LINK so wondering if its worth it and will give a benefit over my current processor?

 

[cjhmason]

I just saw r5 3600 on today only sale:
pick up a b450 Tomahawk for £90 is cheaper and more cores than a £300 7700k

@Flayed thanks for the info, I hadn’t thought about moving over to AMD, are there any issue that may occur when doing this?

 

[Flayed]

@Flayed thanks for the info, I hadn’t thought about moving over to AMD, are there any issue that may occur when doing this?

Actually, I just realized I didn't read your post carefully, you have an ITX case so the Tomahawk won't fit. I think an Asrock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac would be a good alternative.

 

[cjhmason]

Actually, I just realized I didn't read your post carefully, you have an ITX case so the Tomahawk won't fit. I think an Asrock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac would be a good alternative.

Thanks for clarifying about the board size.

Just read this post and is that correct that a new install will be required of moving to AMD from Intel, but this would not be the case if I stick with an i7-7700?

 

[Flayed]

Thanks for clarifying about the board size.

Just read this post and is that correct that a new install will be required of moving to AMD from Intel, but this would not be the case if I stick with an i7-7700?

It is always better to do a fresh install I think although you may be able to get away with it if you only change the CPU. That isn't set in stone though you could be chasing issues for weeks before ending up having to do it anyway.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

Hi, I have recently finished putting together a PC build for my GF and now my PC is looking a little 'under powered'.

Is it a good idea to invest further in this setup (is buying a second hand PCU ok?), or it is just worth salvaging what I can and buying additional new parts?

I'd go with a brand new build if you have the funds for it otherwise, you're highest processor is an i7-7700(non-K since you can't overclock the processor nor the rams) and the PSU since you will need at least 550W of power for the entire system while you have a discrete GTX1070Ti in the system.

I'd agree OP. If you have the means, go with a brand new build. For the record I just built new because I felt my i7-7700k / 1080 Ti system was a bit underpowered headed into 2021. I got almost 4 solid years of performance but it was time.

 

[cjhmason]

It is always better to do a fresh install I think although you may be able to get away with it if you only change the CPU. That isn't set in stone though you could be chasing issues for weeks before ending up having to do it anyway.

Thanks very much for the feedback. Much appreciated, I’ll go with a fresh install.

 

[cjhmason]

I'd agree OP. If you have the means, go with a brand new build. For the record I just built new because I felt my i7-7700k / 1080 Ti system was a bit underpowered headed into 2021. I got almost 4 solid years of performance but it was time.

Thanks for the feedback. Out of interest, what did you end up doing with you old hardware encase I end up doing something similar?

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

Thanks for the feedback. Out of interest, what did you end up doing with you old hardware encase I end up doing something similar?

I kept my internal and external HDDs and migrated them to new build, sold the pair of 1TB SSDs I had and the 1080 Ti online... and sold the remnants (i7-7700k, Kraken x62 cooler, mobo, PSU, case, 24" display... basically a working PC without storage or a GPU) to a guy at work who is a console gamer and wanted to get into PC gaming. He's going to add the storage and GPU when he has the funds and will be good to go.