PC building time.

 

My current rig is 5yr old and has actually lasted pretty well considering it's not that high spec.

 

Currently -

 

Intel i3-2100

8Gb ram

1tb SSN

1tb spinning rust

ATI HD6850 1Gb

 

Wants -

 

All rounder that can do some gaming video editing and Occulus capable. Not a huge gamer but I do play Elite and Skyrim.

Planning on reusing the hard drives and optical drives.

 

I am assuming I'll need

 

Processor (+cooler?) Ryzen 7 / i5

Mobo (not micro ATX)

Memory (16Gb)

New GFX (GeForce 1060?)

Case (+fans)

PSU

Win10 (assuming the upgrade I have is hardware locked)

 

Budget ~£1000

 

I'll probably changes the monitor soon but that's not a priority.

 

Suggestions or warnings?

I think that looks fine and dandy. What will you be mainly using it for?

9 minutes ago, Aspman said:

PC building time.

 

 

Win10 (assuming the upgrade I have is hardware locked)

 

 

 

That depends if you have linked your licence to a microsoft account - if you have it's relatively easy - it does mean that the "old" pc will lose it's licence.

 

I built a i5 6600 pc last year for under £400.  ( Only a 960 GTX and  16DDR3 with a MITX board and one 240gb SSD ).  

 

Are you reusing case / psu or just the drives?

 

There are some bundles out there for around £500 (i5 6600k + 16gb DDR4 ram +MB) + case £50 + PSU £50 +  GFX 6gb 1060 £250 (max). (rough £ numbers )

 

I think you could stretch to a 1070?  

 

If you o Ryzen, you might want to look at an RX480 instead of the 1060.

 

Not that there should be a problem, but one companies drivers is usually a bit better tested when compared to two.

I'd try to treat yourself to a ssd, maybe a new one. Chances are the 5yr old one is a 'slower' one... Barmy would be an M2.... but overkill.

 

A skylake 1151 socket gives you some protection. Otherwise the last gen 1150 is fine. You could blow more cash on the recent kabylake. Always going to be a faster blah tomorrow. Although a quick look puts kaby and skylake about the same once away from bleeding edge. Ram prices change though and compatibility, rather capability speed wise.

 

AMD is a possibility, I've not looked into it, I've not looked at amd since erm... athlon days, and simply since then purely on excessive power rumours.

 

I've preferred to edge towards quiet kit over roaring performance. My desktop which I built to work on - linux, then got a 1070 gtx and is now my kick back machine as the PS4 was nicked and a 1070 is cheaper *just*.

 

So my build and it's dam near silent, good enough for me. Put it this way the ladybird trying to make it out of the window makes more noise.

 

My old build topic: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=69108 Annoyingly the motherboard was generating an issue for skylake in linux, It was fixed on the boards around it then eventually a linux fix. But now as I say it's a windows machine and I run a linux vm inside it for most of the day  

 

I was googling this morning to see if any motherboards had jsut display port out, to support higher res without the need for a graphics card. Seems a few do and they are just under 100pounds too. But you want skyrim

 

 

 

I was the new Ryzen stuff that made me think that it was time to upgrade. 5yr out a basic rig isn't bad.

But thinking i5 Vs the Ryzen 7 stuff. However the new AMD stuff is till settling. May well just stick with Intel since it's just good kit if less exciting.

 

The SSD I have is only a year old. I built it with a normal hard drive to start with.

 

I think I'll change the case. I'd look for something that can take 14cm fans to keep the noise down. I might consider a silent case but they are very expensive.

 

I'm hoping to bodge the OS across and just have to update the drivers. Risky but I've gotten away with it before.

 

Could use some suggestions for PSUs, picking a the right Wattage etc has always been a bit of a guess for me. Never had any issues but I have found on some of the cheaper stuff that the cables are too short and I've had to buy extensions.

Use PC part picker: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/

 

Great site that will ensure that all the parts you choose will work well together, it even gives you a estimated wattage to help you choose a suitable PSU.

 

Run your OS off the SSD, use your HDD for data (photos etc), that always works well for me.

Edited 22 March, 20179 yr by Ally_bassman

Don't massively overspec the power supply, it's not as efficient. I have the RM650X, the fan is mostly off except under load; when I have my headphone/ game on. When it is on it's a blow out and in the case it's on the top mounted upside down so works perfectly to pull air up.

 

The cooler I have is ... a great big silver thing, one of the ones of that topic.

 

I've replaced the or added to the chassis better fans, and altered the bios fan control to respond to heat, thus at normal idle the fans are just ticking over.

 

I have the silverstone case from that topic, it's black and has filters over the fans, dust inside is super fine and hardly any. The GTX1070 sits in it find and rests on the drive tower.

 

I found pcpartpicker quite handy, not only from a where to source kit, but actually as a kind of validator and power check. It knows the power consumption for the chips/cards, drives, fans etc.

 

 

 

 

On 22/03/2017 at 09:07, Aspman said:

I think I'll change the case. I'd look for something that can take 14cm fans to keep the noise down. I might consider a silent case but they are very expensive.

Could use some suggestions for PSUs, picking a the right Wattage etc has always been a bit of a guess for me. Never had any issues but I have found on some of the cheaper stuff that the cables are too short and I've had to buy extensions.

 

Case - Not unless you fancy a change. Decent fans are usually the better option. I'm still using the case I got back in 2011, with a set of Noctua fans. Noise/performance rivals even current day kit.

 

PSU - I always recommend EVGA. Their warranty and customer service are stunning. I personally like to go a bit overboard as it only costs a few quid for teh next tier up and I never know what mods I may make use of later on. I currently run a 1000w .

 

Might be worth considering 2nd hand components, too - I got a 980Ti for £250, including full waterblock (£140 on it's own, usually) which can easily overclock to somewhere between a 1070 and a 1080!

 

If you are going VR remember entry level would be 970/480/1060 be better going 980ti or 1070, remember you have to run 90fps or more for VR.

I built around the £1,000 all in mark but using a 3yr older power supply & CPU cooler  & GPcard from older computer (Nvidia GT640 GeForce)

 

I went a standard size case, intel i7 (8core) 4790 @3.6GHz, 16GB ram & splashed out on the mobo...Gigabyte Z97MX gaming 5

 

I mainly do photo editing & mapping graphics stuff & splased out on a nice 24" Dell & a Filco keyboard....no wrist ache now!

I'm thinking an i7 would be expensive overkill. And I'd improve more of other areas by using that money on gfx and memory.

2 hours ago, Aspman said:

I'm thinking an i7 would be expensive overkill. And I'd improve more of other areas by using that money on gfx and memory.

 

Spend on the Mobo & cpu....other stuff can be upgraded as & when....

 

My previous older computer was an early 64bit mobo (MSI) for AMD Athlon cpu & I later  upgraded to a duel core as the mobo would take it, but I was limited to the GB of RAM that the mobo could cope with which was 4GB..it could cope ok with a modern GPU card no problem...just I needed more RAM for photo editing. So on this current build I splashed out & got a better mobo & CPU, then everything else can be improved as & when later....& I'm running three spinny discs...no SSD (laptop yes)

2 hours ago, Aspman said:

I'm thinking an i7 would be expensive overkill. And I'd improve more of other areas by using that money on gfx and memory.

I would tend to agree with you there. My i5 6600 seems fast enough at the moment. To continue the theme further the new kaby lake pentium is getting very good write ups.

http://www.techspot.com/review/1325-intel-pentium-g4560/

 

 

On 22/03/2017 at 09:12, Ally_bassman said:

Use PC part picker: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/

 

Great site that will ensure that all the parts you choose will work well together, it even gives you a estimated wattage to help you choose a suitable PSU.

 

Run your OS off the SSD, use your HDD for data (photos etc), that always works well for me.

 

That part picker is really useful.

 

I need to sit down and go through this. Time to teach the boy to build something useful.

SSD is great, the computer is ready to log in before the screen has come on!

 

Apart from that huge improvement I am not convinced you really need a latest and expensive processor unless you are into extreme games possibly with a 4k monitor?

I always build with AMD, I suppose because I have never had a problem and am currently running a 4 core cpu on a motherboard that could be upgraded to faster cpu with more cores.

 

I tend to build my computers with the best motherboard I can afford and a recent but not new cpu. I invest in cooling and power supply that can take an upgraded cpu later. However current now 3yr old cpu is fine and I have not come across any applications that would need more speed or power. I am not into games. Recently upgraded my video card so I can buy a 4k monitor and run it via display port though. Still wondering what to get, rather like the 38" widescreen at the moment. Not full 4k but an excellent size for desk use. Very expensive though so waiting for more competition at this size and prices to fall a bit.

Can I throw a crazy idea out there @Aspman

Used graphics cards!

 

I've honestly saved myself a boat load of money going for a used mid-range card.

Went for a used 780 instead of a 1060 for the neighbours' kids. (they can be had for about £100 compared to the £250+ of a new card!)

By the time things come out that can take advantage of new card features properly, you can get a used one at a reasonable price.

 

One caveat is that it can be a bit risky, but you can often get cards with warranty left (EVGA ones are transferrable warranties I believe).

I also tend to get mine used from enthusiast forums.

 

 

Fair point but I've never been a fan of used components. I'd rather spend a bit more and get them new.

Aria have a range of built to spec PC, and Novatech along with other places have a range of compatible packages for DIY PC builders. However, I'm in the school of thought that a PSU should be in excess of the needs of the system. Mr Micaber said it nicely- "Income £25 a year, expenditure £20- result happiness. Income £25 a year, expenditure £30 , result problems. " So it is with PSU.

PERSONALLY,I prefer to build my own , and hold my own registered versions of OS. (Along with a secure ,out of PC HDD store), so that if I get problems /ransomed, I can raise two digits rampant and format my HDD and re install a fresh copy of all my OS.

I've always built my own desktops. It's dubious if it's a cheaper way of doing it but I know I can fix anything that happens.

 

I've put it on the back burner for now until I get my exam out the way and do some painting in the house. It'll also give a bit of time for the current Intel / AMD Ryzen price 'war' to bring them down bit.  They've dropped a little already.

Just bit the bullet today.

 

Ordered a Ryzen 1800X, 8Gb of Ram, mobo, PSU and GTX1060.

 

I'll gut the current PC for Case, SSD/HD and optical.

 

I wanted a new monitor and 16Gb of RAM but I probably don't need them and they're easy to add later if I spot an offer.

 

And I, **** you not, within 2min of hitting buy I got a report of some new CPU vulnerabilities which will likely affect AMD and Intel. Skyfall and Solace they've called them.

 

https://skyfallattack.com/

 

 

2 hours ago, Aspman said:

Just bit the bullet today.

 

Ordered a Ryzen 1800X, 8Gb of Ram, mobo, PSU and GTX1060.

 

 

I'm pleased with my 1060 perfectly adequate for 1080p gaming - but they do seem to have got expensive (probably crypto currency miners pushing the price up)   - although my ancient Corsair 520w PSU blew last weekend - it's not done badly considering its over 10 years old and been in at least 3 different PCs- luckily no damage to the other components.  You'll have to let us know how the Ryzen performs- whatever it does it will be a lot faster than the one it replaces.

Yeah that's exactly why the GFX chips are so expensive, they're all being picked up for mining rigs.

 

I ended up with a 3Gb 1060, the 6Gb cards were getting stupid. It wasn't much more for a 1070 or 1080.

I got a corsair 650W PSU.

 

The Ryzen was on offer at Amazon, dipped under £300 yesterday so I jumped. I was thinking i7 but the spectre patches are going to knckw 10% off the performance when they land. If the intel prices had crashed on their existing stock I would have accepted the hit but no they're staying up for now.

 

Ryzen is replacing an i3-2100 so I would hope to see a big difference. I spent last night running backups onto the Tb disk.

 

I'm going to try to transplant the SSD in the new machine. I'll pre load the drivers for the new mobo and cross my fingers. If it doesn't work I'll do a full rebuild not much extra time to try first.

Edited 19 January, 20188 yr by Aspman

2 hours ago, Aspman said:

 

 

I ended up with a 3Gb 1060

 

I got a 6gb one last June at £209. I had that one in my basket at Amazon until the price dropped - I just looked and they seem to be over £300 now!!

Yeah I was about that for the 3Gb and it was one of the cheapest.

 

I caved and upped the ram to 16Gb. Save faffing around later try to get compatible stuff.