Spec me a new PC

[Zoom7000]

So, the last time I built a new PC was in January 2011 (See my "Spec me" thread from 10 years ago here!)

 

And here is the final setup I went with.

 

 

Had a couple of hard disks die, the GPU died and so did the PSU. I've now got a GTX 970, a modular Corsair PSU and an SSD, as well as doubling the RAM when my brother replaced his identical setup.

 

As I'm approaching 10 years, I think it's definitely time for an upgrade, especially as the system has become a bit more unstable in 10 years and is BSODing quite often!

 

I generally use the PC for work, running 2 x LG-27UK670 27" monitors. I'm also a casual gamer, my main games of choice are, FIFA, a range of 3rd person games (Hitman, GTA, Metal Gear Solid) and a few racers, Forza, Need for Speed etc

 

Here's a breakdown of my current setup from Speccy:

 

Operating System

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

 

CPU

Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.40GHz 35 °C

Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

 

Cooler

Corsair Hydro H70

 

RAM

16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)

 

Motherboard

ASUSTeK Computer INC. P8P67 DELUXE (LGA1155) 32 °C

 

Graphics

LG Ultra HD (3840x2160@60Hz)

LG Ultra HD (3840x2160@60Hz)

4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (Gigabyte) 50 °C

 

Storage

931GB SAMSUNG HD103SJ (SATA) 29 °C

465GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB (SATA) 33 °C

 

I've been a bit out of the game for a while and not kept up with the latest PC component trends. So, not sure what kinda budget to set. I'd love to go for a PC that will give me as good use as I have out of my current setup. To save money, I may reuse my GPU, SSD and PSU. Would it be possible to reuse the Corsair H70 with the newer CPUs?

[3s-gtech]

AMD Ryzen 5600X, with 16GB+ of RAM, an NVMe SSD and a 5** series mobo that suits your use would be a fair recommendation. That’s a fast CPU with far more cores, room to expand RAM, modern PCIe standards and vastly quicker storage. Good place to start.

 

Your GPU has a decent used value if you choose to update that too, but there be huge potential for spending!

[Rob_D]

It depends what kind of budget you're working toward.

 

Personally I'd replace you're SSD with an NVME drive (as gtech suggests) lighting fast boot and load times and a 1tb drives are pretty reasonably priced these days. No reason your PSU wouldn't be able to cope with modern systems (it will really come down to the GPU), although it is worth remembering PSUs degrade over time and going for something with a bit more overhead might give you more life-span.

 

This is what I'd do for a modest modern system. Keeping your current PSU (which should do fine) and GPU would shave off a descent chunk of cash, and for the kind of games you're talking about your GPU should do fine, although the 3060 would give you modern features like DLSS and Raytracing at a reasonable price point (if you can get one).

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/WbL88J

[HTCPCP]

As others have said, all depends what your budget is, and what you want to use it for really.

 

If you are looking at cutting a few pence off the build, the Ryzen 7 3700X is around the same price as the Ryzen 5 5600 and scores about the same (not as good for gaming, but for core based work its better), but deals are always to be found on the former, and supply of the latter is non existant. The Ryzen 5 3600 and its x variant is a great performer still, and widely discounted too, and possible to get around the £200 mark too. From memory, all of them come with the Wraith cooler from AMD which is fine, so means that you won't need to get another cooler. For RAM, the 3000 series works well with 3200mhz DDR4, but the 5000 series sweet spot is reportedly 3600mhz DDR4. In and around the £200 range, Intel do have a sensible offering too - the 10600 and 10600K are probably worth a look at too compared with the 3600 and 3600X. And being on the Intel platform, it is less fussy with RAM too.

 

Power Supply - a 750w 80+ Gold from a reputable manufacturer should be way more than enough, and should give you enough if you want to go into gaming reasonably heavily later on too (enough for a 3080). I tend to go for Corsairs RMX range, or the Seasonic models, but there are other really good quality models. I tend to replace my PSU after around 10 years as it does degrade a certain amount. Modular is a nice to have, especially if you want a cleaner build, but having a PSU where the fan turns off when not on heavy load, can really reduce the sound.

 

Motherboard - B450 is still perfect for a 3000 series processor, many will also work (with bios upgrade) with the 5000 series processors in the new year. B550 if you want the latest gen stuff. Even though I have used X470 boards, they aren't really worth it, and X570 is overkill too for most use cases. Intel wise - K series processor - go for the Z series chip is the current format still, if not, then B series will work fine.

 

Storage - m.2 now for me - There are some great ones out there for not too much. Samsung are still the king, but you have companies like Sabrent that make some really great value alternatives. PCIe 4 models really aren't worth it IMO, and if you aren't on the B550 or X570 AMD boards, then completely pointless at the moment. You can then (subject to the case) reuse your normal SSD as something like a scratch drive/game drive and your hard drive for storage.

 

Graphics card - stick with it at the moment. The GPU market is a complete show at the moment, and your current one is more than enough for many games still. Then look next year when stock comes back into the market!

 

Case - If you like your components, don't get one that is closed off. Airflow optimised cases are so much better than closed systems (and you can run your fans slower too and keep the same temps).