seeking advice about a new build

[keakar]

i am wondering what benefit i might noticeably see from a new computer build, since i do not use it for gaming.

does this make any sense, or should i just keep what i have for now, and wait a couple more years, before doing something?

i assume upgrading is irrelevant here, since i expect everything is not compatible with anything out there today

i figure i can reuse the case, and thats about it.

i am not wanting the latest greatest thing just released, i just want good mid level quality that is more affordable

i wont be doing any overclocking of anything and this computer wont be used for gaming

im thinking intel 12 core cpu and my budget is at, or under, $800 total for everything

this is what i have now

CPU (intel core i7-4790 quad-core 3.66GHz LGA 1150 84w)
Motherboard (Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H LGA1150 intel H87 HDMI)
Graphics Card (GTX1060 6GB) i dont play games made after 2000 so maybe i can reuse this GPU?
RAM (32GB (4x8GB) 240 pin DDR3 SDRAMDDR# 1600 (PC3 12800)
SSD's/HDD's (Samsung 512GB 840 PRO SSD)
Case (cooler master centurian 5)
PSU (CORSAIR SU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V) any reason i cant, or i should not reuse this PSU?
Operating System (windows 10)
Cooling ( CPU - Cooler Master Hyper T4 , Case - air cooling)

thanks for your recommendations

 

[64K]

I will only speak to the GPU question. That 1060 is plenty for the games you do play. I've spent the last couple of years catching up on my backlog of old games from the 1990s to early 2000s and using a 2070 Super which is massive overkill but it's what I already had. The only thing is that 1060 is going on 8 years old soon so it might not last too much longer.

 

[keakar]

thanks, im not really sure i need a new computer, but its been a long time since i built it

and i have no idea whats still good enough vs just too old and time to be replaced

im glad the GPU can still be used with todays stuff, i update the GPU about 4 years ago

the rest of the computer is over 10 yrs old

 

[Macro Device]

Basically, the reasonable approach is to only upgrade when you feel the need for it. Like, the games you play run slowly or you can't even launch something. Or the software you work with pisses you off with lags and crashes. Or your tabs in Chrome don't switch smoothly enough.

I don't know what you're using your PC for but if you don't feel any pain in your butt you will be totally fine not buying anything this year. Perhaps getting a couple fast SSDs just in case and peripherals of higher quality (a 4K monitor for example, or a fancy mechanical keyboard) and that's it.

Regarding your GPU and PSU: you will absolutely not regret reusing either of them. Just bear in mind that they can break at some point, physical ageing is a thing. The PSU will last for another decade or even two though, if you don't abuse it.

 

[bonehead123]

Well in general, if it does what you need it to do with reasonably acceptable performance, and NO real gammin, then I would say that upgrading is not really necessary....

HOWEVER, at 10 yrs old, you should consider testing or having your psu tested for compliance with it's listed specs, and if not up to spec, replace it with a more modern model, but not necessarily the "latest & greatest".

Also your cpu, mobo & ram are already "long in the tooth" as they say, so before long you will start to see some slowdowns or bottlenecking, but there's not much you can do about that in terms of in place upgrades, so again, if/when you are not happy with the system performance as a whole, then yes, it's time to build a new rig that will last several years into the future....

 

[Athlonite]

The min would be a new mobo, ram, cpu and PSU
but I think you might be limiting your choices with only an $800 dollar budget
something like an i5 12400 or Ryzen 5600X would be a massive upgrade in CPU speed as would a B650 or B550 mobo as for DDR4 ram well take you pick most of it will work at 3200MT's on either CPU/mobo combo you choose and you can reuse the nVidia 1060 GPU case drives and you might get away without reinstalling windows if you go Intel but you will definitely want to do so if you go AMD

 

[keakar]

The min would be a new mobo, ram, cpu and PSU
but I think you might be limiting your choices with only an $800 dollar budget

thats about where im at with my budget

i plan to reuse the 1060 and OS as well as, i already have a new DVD disk unit and 1TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD i already have, but never used

i just made a quick list and it looks like im at $544 for a new mobo, ram, cpu and PSU, this is what im looking at

$140 - GIGABYTE B760M DS3H AX LGA 1700 Intel B760 M-ATX Motherboard with DDR5​

$110 - CORSAIR PSU RMx Series (2021) RM750x CP-9020199-NA 750 W​

$89 - CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 4800 (PC5 38400)​

$189 - Intel Core i7-12700KF - Core i7 12th Gen Alder Lake 12-Core (8P+4E) 3.6GHz​

​

------------

$528​

Does this look ok?​

 

[Macro Device]

but reality is, i do nothing with my computer, for anything really, so it does everything i need it to

Then wait till it goes kaput (but don't forget to backup your data!) and then upgrade to whatever is reasonable in that future. No need to spend money now. Invest in something more relevant.

 

[keakar]

Well in general, if it does what you need it to do with reasonably acceptable performance, and NO real gammin, then I would say that upgrading is not really necessary....

HOWEVER, at 10 yrs old, you should consider testing or having your psu tested for compliance with it's listed specs, and if not up to spec, replace it with a more modern model, but not necessarily the "latest & greatest".

Also your cpu, mobo & ram are already "long in the tooth" as they say, so before long you will start to see some slowdowns or bottlenecking, but there's not much you can do about that in terms of in place upgrades, so again, if/when you are not happy with the system performance as a whole, then yes, it's time to build a new rig that will last several years into the future....

thats kinda my thinking, its just old, but i have no complaints about it at all.

i guess i was secretly hoping to be told it was needed to justify me doing it lol.

i looked it up and i built it in 2015

Then wait till it goes kaput (but don't forget to backup your data!) and then upgrade to whatever is reasonable in that future. No need to spend money now. Invest in something more relevant.

i have a dedicated backup drive, main drive is just the OS, so i wont lose any data when something in my computer dies

 

[Solaris17]

haha I get it sorry though buddy, if you don't game and you still get updates it isnt worth the jump for your usecase.

However. I do have a different take. A long time ago I was bit bad with the bug and at the time didnt have the funds to make it happen. It was probably, shit. 13 or 14 years ago? It was @sneekypeet He actually gave me sage advice I still tell people to this day.

If your getting bored with your rig swap out the case. Keep all the rest. Do it backwards.

Swap the case and format and reinstall windows and it will feel and look like a bran new machine. Makes you fall in love again; cure for the itch.

 

[Macro Device]

The OP might find it appealing to only upgrade peripherals. A new set of keyboard and mouse, a new monitor, a better stereo system... You name it. Heck, you can even upgrade your quote-unquote gaming chair.

 

[keakar]

If your getting bored with your rig

no its not that i have a bug to do something, its more of me just thinking that its old, and everything i have that is old is taking a dump.

lawnmower, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer & drier, so im expecting it to be next to die, like everything else around me is dying lol.

i hate spending money, but when i do, i dont go cheap, i just try to pay for quality that lasts

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

thats about where im at with my budget

i plan to reuse the 1060 and OS as well as, i already have a new DVD disk unit and 1TB SSD i have but never used

i just made a quick list and it looks like im at $734 for a new mobo, ram, cpu and PSU, this is what im looking at

$154 - GIGABYTE B760 DS3H AX LGA 1700 Intel B760 ATX Motherboard with DDR5​

$110 - CORSAIR PSU RMx Series (2021) RM750x CP-9020199-NA 750 W​

$168 - CORSAIR Vengeance 64GB (2 x 32GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 4800 (PC5 38400)​

$291 - Intel Core i7-13700KF - Core i7 13th Gen Raptor Lake 16-Core (8P+8E)​

P-core Base Frequency: 3.4 GHz E-core Base Frequency: 2.5 GHz LGA 1700​

125W None Integrated Graphics Desktop Processor - BX8071513700KF​

------------

$734​

Does this look ok?​

Honestly, no. Your current i7-4790 works perfectly well for you, no? If so, and you just want new, why splurge on an i7 again? Get a core i3, MAYBE an i5. I picked up a 12400 for $120 on sale, 6 P cores. It's infinity faster then my 4790 from my old media PC build.

Of course, I also just put windows 11 on a customer computer running a i3 4160. Still runs fine. So I'd say keep your current build for another decade, or until, you find something that doesnt work. You already have plenty of RAM and no game from the 2000s is going to need something newer then haswell to run.

no its not that i have a bug to do something, its more of me just thinking that its old, and everything i have that is old is taking a dump.

lawnmower, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer & drier, so im expecting it to be next to die, like everything else around me is dying lol.

i hate spending money, but when i do, i dont go cheap, i just try to pay for quality that lasts

Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Get a PSU tester and check yours, if it still works within limits, and you have no failing caps, then you're fine. Solid state electronics run a LONG time.

 

[A Computer Guy]

i am wondering what benefit i might noticeably see from a new computer build, since i do not use it for gaming.

does this make any sense, or should i just keep what i have for now, and wait a couple more years, before doing something?

i assume upgrading is irrelevant here, since i expect everything is not compatible with anything out there today

i figure i can reuse the case, and thats about it.

i am not wanting the latest greatest thing just released, i just want good mid level quality that is more affordable

i wont be doing any overclocking of anything and this computer wont be used for gaming

im thinking intel 12 core cpu and my budget is at, or under, $800 total for everything

this is what i have now

CPU (intel core i7-4790 quad-core 3.66GHz LGA 1150 84w)
Motherboard (Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H LGA1150 intel H87 HDMI)
Graphics Card (GTX1060 6GB) i dont play games made after 2000 so maybe i can reuse this GPU?
RAM (32GB (4x8GB) 240 pin DDR3 SDRAMDDR# 1600 (PC3 12800)
SSD's/HDD's (Samsung 512GB 840 PRO SSD)
Case (cooler master centurian 5)
PSU (CORSAIR SU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V) any reason i cant, or i should not reuse this PSU?
Operating System (windows 10)
Cooling ( CPU - Cooler Master Hyper T4 , Case - air cooling)

thanks for your recommendations

Just tossing out this idea. If you don't mind buying into an older platform you could do something like this that is super compact workstation with 4 storage options max.

$160 ( CASE, PSU ) InWin Chopin Max
$160 ( MB ) ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax (because it supports ECC and has 2 x NVMe slots)
$160 ( CPU, GPU ) Ryzen 4750G (8 core 16 thread, ebay or sometimes on amazon) (includes cooler)
$190 ( RAM ) 2 x Micron 32GB DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM 2Rx8 CL22 (64GB total) (MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2R)

Total so far without storage
$670

(EDIT)

If you don't care about ECC

$160 ( CASE, PSU, MB ) ASRock DESKMINI X300W (includes cooler, 2x NVMe, 2x SATA)
$170 ( CPU, GPU ) Ryzen 5700G(8 core 16 thread) (maybe includes cooler)
$70 ( RAM ) 32GB SODIMM KIT

Total so far without storage
$390

 

[keakar]

Honestly, no. Your current i7-4790 works perfectly well for you, no? If so, and you just want new, why splurge on an i7 again? Get a core i3, MAYBE an i5. I picked up a 12400 for $120 on sale, 6 P cores. It's infinity faster then my 4790 from my old media PC build.

well i looked at the i3 but they are 6 cores, and the i5 are 8 cores yet they are within the same price range as the i7

so it came down to deciding what you can get for each dollar

im not married to anything, but i do go best bang for the buck if i buy anything

i try and buy what would be a really good system, if it was brand new 3 years ago

the way i judge what to buy, is so its latest greatest thing from 3 years ago, but still really good today

 

[JWNoctis]

I observe conflicting objectives between not wanting to spend much by having what you already need, and not wanting to spend too little because, well, it would not have been as nice.

I'd go out on a limb and say that something on AM5 - a cheap micro-ATX B650 board and maybe a non-X 7700 octa-core, after the price drop when Ryzen 9000 comes out, if you think you might be interested in further upgrades down the line, might fit better. It would be a bit more expensive, but it's supposed to be good for another couple generations, and still fit your budget nicely if you won't upgrade your graphic card.

EDIT: Also, a cheaper M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD would probably be the most influential, in terms of system responsiveness. These are not more expensive than PCIe 3.0 ones, and are often actually cheaper than SATA ones at higher capacities for some reason, these days.

 

[keakar]

I observe conflicting objectives between not wanting to spend much by having what you already need, and not wanting to spend too little because, well, it would not have been as nice.

I'd go out on a limb and say that something on AM5 - a cheap micro-ATX B650 board and maybe a non-X 7700 octa-core, after the price drop when Ryzen 9000 comes out, if you think you might be interested in further upgrades down the line, might fit better. It would be a bit more expensive, but it's supposed to be good for another couple generations, and still fit your budget nicely if you won't upgrade your graphic card.

EDIT: Also, a cheaper M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD would probably be the most influential, in terms of system responsiveness. These are not more expensive than PCIe 3.0 ones, and are often actually cheaper than SATA ones at higher capacities for some reason, these days.

i have no clue what the PCI SSDs are all about

last time i knew anything about computer components the SSDs were the new latest greatest thing and you didnt have any PCI SSD drives

i already have a 1TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD drive sitting on my desk so thats what i planned to use

but i still want to know if the PCI SSDs are better and faster?

 

[JWNoctis]

i have no clue what the PCI SSDs are all about

last time i knew anything about computer components the SSDs were the new latest greatest thing and you didnt have any PCI SSD drives

i already have a 1TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD drive sitting on my desk so thats what i planned to use

but i still want to know if the PCI SSDs are better and faster?

It's a theoretically much faster interface standard that came out in the last few years. Here's the TPU review of the drive I currently use. Says it better than any single post would do.

However, while it is faster, actual difference in performance is limited. If you already have a SATA SSD, use it.

 

[nomdeplume]

My take here, as someone who plays 2024 games on a GTX1060, is to keep an eye out for sales to align.

If you like the case there might* be no need to spend $150 on another. Likewise keep the GPU and PSU.
Get 32 GB of decent quality DDR4 in the used market and probably a new known good performing D4 LGA 1700 mobo.
You might be a good candidate for i5 13500/14500 (65w), a Thermalright cooler, and some modern fans that move a lot of air quietly.

If you happened to look on a day all the prices were temptingly low it would be a great upgrade from quad core. Very fun, all your programs/games would run differently.

*This gen components idle at twice the temp you are used to. Wall of HDD/optical mounts in the front being replaced with 3 fans makes a pronounced difference. Three more on top and often one directing air into GPU are good options to have.

 

[keakar]

*This gen components idle at twice the temp you are used to. Wall of HDD/optical mounts in the front being replaced with 3 fans makes a pronounced difference. Three more on top and often one directing air into GPU are good options to have.

thats something i want to pay attention too

the i7s are 125 watt while the i9s are 65 watt

compared to my 84 watt haswell, how much added heat and cooling is there needed for the 125w i7 and 65w i9?

i love the case i have now, its dead silent with full front mesh with two 120mm low dbl quiet fans, one in front, and one in the rear.

i do want to maintain that quiet cooling, so if it makes a big difference in heat, requiring extra cooling

i could drop an extra $100 to jump to the i9 if it runs twice as cool as the 125w i7?

last i recall, higher watts means higher heat right?

the computer sits on my desk, right in my face, so i want the best possible silent air cooling

 

[AleXXX666]

i am wondering what benefit i might noticeably see from a new computer build, since i do not use it for gaming.
GENERAL USE. STARTUP, web-browsing, apps launch. New sata ssd only WON'T do magic lol (as others think)
does this make any sense, or should i just keep what i have for now, and wait a couple more years, before doing something?

i assume upgrading is irrelevant here, since i expect everything is not compatible with anything out there today

i figure i can reuse the case, and thats about it.

i am not wanting the latest greatest thing just released, i just want good mid level quality that is more affordable

i wont be doing any overclocking of anything and this computer wont be used for gaming

im thinking intel 12 core cpu and my budget is at, or under, $800 total for everything
"intel 12 core" is now "e-waste" cores + some REAL ("performance" cores). But such low budget... (sorry, not laughing!). Unfortunately. Because. Yep, you can go with even 6/12 i5-12400F. Pretty fast CPU. But why fkin not? My thoughs: i5-12400F (SOLID good cpu which can handle latest "medium-high" GPUs for games and super fast and cool at the same time in general tasks. So you don't need ultra-expensive AIO water cooling like with "e-core packed" newer or more powerful cpus.). (But, you can go with i5-13400F with some e-cores to try "latest tech", and it's still ok with medium air cooler, and cpu's is also not very pricy. Maybe you can choose non-F SKU just to be sure if you 1060 will die sometime and you won't have money atm to get new gpu.) B760 MB (with wifi if you want), DDR5 ONLY, 2*16 GB DDR5 5600-6000 Mhz (it's OK!!!), some good air cooler like be-quiet or noctua but even deepcool are ok now. M2 NVME 1TB PCI-E 4.0 SSD like WD Black and that's it! remain GPU and psu for now!

this is what i have now

CPU (intel core i7-4790 quad-core 3.66GHz LGA 1150 84w)
Motherboard (Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H LGA1150 intel H87 HDMI)
Graphics Card (GTX1060 6GB) i dont play games made after 2000 so maybe i can reuse this GPU?
RAM (32GB (4x8GB) 240 pin DDR3 SDRAMDDR# 1600 (PC3 12800)
SSD's/HDD's (Samsung 512GB 840 PRO SSD)
Case (cooler master centurian 5)
PSU (CORSAIR SU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V) any reason i cant, or i should not reuse this PSU?
Operating System (windows 10)
Cooling ( CPU - Cooler Master Hyper T4 , Case - air cooling)

thanks for your recommendations

 

[Waldorf]

@keakar
unless any upgrade will benefit you noticable, i wouldn't spend any money, short of "prepping" for future using larger case/new fans/coolers,
as those are more universal than say mb/cpu/ram/psu, which might have a change in specc, and something you buy today might not be the optimum for a different part (like gpu) down the road.

if the psu is older than 5y, maybe, over 7y i would replace it, and donate the existing unit to church/local community center ?
maybe start switching the air cooler for an AIO, would help reducing case/mb/gpu/drive temps, as it dumps the heat outside the case.

RMx
cooler

maybe another drive, so you can install games/sw on it, so its still there if you fresh install os, and another backup drive that you update less frequently but store in a safe (fire/water proof),
or in a different location (parents), in case the 1st one gets damaged/data corrupted etc.
i would "upgrade" the os drive, and keep existing for the games/sw, maybe use that and clean install the latest win 10 release on the new drive,
see that everything works, then migrate data, and secure wipe the old one, restore perf a bit.
pcie drives would require new board, and wont make a big difference, but if say want to get the benefit of no cables to run (power/data),
and no "spot" needed to put the drive, i would still get a pcie based nvme, at least for the os.

@Athlonite
for ryzen on ddr4, you def want 3600 (to run 1800 IF and 1:1 ratio) at C18 maybe 16 for best perf without wasting funds.
keep the os? really?
so after spending hundreds of dollars on parts, time to install/test/tune the hw, and then its too much to spend +1 min on win 10 install (usb 3.0 to nvme)?
and even if i count from powering up>install> desktop (to use), its not even 10 min, so no, to carry over an "old" install makes ZERO sense.

 

[nomdeplume]

compared to my 84 watt haswell, how much added heat and cooling is there needed for the 125w i7 and 65w i9?

You are playing catch up. So this is as good a place to start as any.
A lot! With either option. So much so the problem becomes keeping from thermal throttling under load.
i9 is actually the worse option here for other reasons not worth going into at sufficient length.

i love the case i have now, its dead silent with full front mesh with two 120mm low dbl quiet fans, one in front, and one in the rear.

Now for problem #2
Having assured that 12th/13th/14th gen Intel is firmly off the table.
8th-11th gen hardware prices equal to or greater than retail for used goods should be enough to convince you how manipulated the enthusiast PC market is in whole.
Awful historical point for hardware and pricing to be considering this with your needs.

For reference only: My i5 8400 / GTX1060 build is effectively a business PC with BIOS that sits on the hard edge of conservative. Ask all you want and you will still be directed to the efficiency dept. Mobo aside, this is generally considered the ideal processor pairing for a 1060 for the low power draw and efficient use of computing power. I use a low profile cpu cooler and near silent 150mm fan that faces downwards against the mobo (VRM) in a case with massive amounts of unused volume that sits a few feet from me. Dead silent right up to the tipping point where GPU fans go 100% to hold 65C on modern games. Otherwise 28C-40C is where every component including NVMe stay within outside of running a benchmark.

 

[Why_Me]

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/rtx-4060-vs-rtx-3060-12gb-gpu-faceoff

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($113.50 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Assassin X 120 V2 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($18.19 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *ASRock Z690 PG Riptide ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($128.94 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($50.97 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card ($293.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $684.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-06-03 09:31 EDT-0400

 

[P4-630]

I would recommend a CPU with iGPU in case you can't use your dGPU for some reason.