Finally upgrading my PC for the first time after 4 years - any tips?

[Speedyblupi]

Well, I've had a good run with my current PC from 2019, which I bought customised from Cyberpower and installed an old RX 480 into. I've been planning and hoping for a big upgrade ever since I bought it.
I finally got tired of waiting.

I ordered a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE, and an XFX RX 7800 XT MERC (and some cranberry juice, for non-tech related reasons... I just can't find actual cranberry juice for sale in any physical shops or supermarkets, only sweetened "juice drink") off Amazon earlier today. They arrive on Wednesday.

It's going to be my first time installing a CPU. I just hope nothing goes wrong. My PSU is about on the limit of what I'd consider sensible to use with this GPU (it's a 600W 80 PLUS white Cooler Master model), but I'm planning to undervolt and underclock - my goal is good performance at extremely low noise, and I don't mind losing out on 5% of potential the performance if it lets my PC run silent and stable - so I think it should be fine.

I'll probably want to upgrade my RAM and SSD some time soon-ish, but I think I'll leave it until I've sorted out these first couple of upgrades.

Are there any non-obvious tips or things I should look out for? How important is it to reinstall my operating system? what have other people's experiences been when swapping CPUs and GPUs on AM4 PCs?

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Just be careful handling the cpu all the pins are on the back of it and if you get a poor mount and have to redo the cpu cooler be careful taking it off. Make sure your bios and drivers are all up to date from the manufacturer website. Use something like timespy to verify ballpark performance. You shouldn't break 400w while gaming so I doubt you have anything to worry about on the psu side but it's never bad to have a high quality 750w unit for some extra overhead.

I always clean install windows on a cpu change things can get weird somtimes especially on the amd side.

Ram 3600 CL16 is fine X3D chips aren't too memory sensitive but decent ram for when the cache isn't helping is a plus which I think some buyers don't factor in.

Otherwise update us when you put it together and let us know if you need help troubleshooting.

 

[mechtech]

Make it 6 years and save some money That's how often I do a new build.

As for re-installing the OS.......a cpu upgrade............not sure if that will trigger a new windows key warning or not??

But ya, download the newest ISO from MS, secure erase the drive and put a fresh new instal on there.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

As for re-installing the OS.......a cpu upgrade............not sure if that will trigger a new windows key warning or not??

Typically only swapping the motherboard will.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Typically only swapping the motherboard will.

Correct. You can swap out every other component and still be compliant with the licensing terms you agreed to abide by with your current EULA. But swapping out a motherboard constitutes a new computer and thus, at least with OEM licenses (the most common), requires a new license.

That said, BEFORE you install your new CPU, I would urge you to verify your current BIOS version supports it. If not, you should update your BIOS now, while your computer is still working with your current CPU.

 

[Speedyblupi]

Welp, I just installed the graphics card. Ran DDU and got the latest driver installer from AMD. Works fine. I saw an even bigger improvement than I expected - I thought I was CPU-limited in Starcraft II, but apparently not, it's a huge performance uplift even when I'm still using my old Ryzen 3.

I'm trying to work out where to find the Starfield Premium Edition code which is supposed to come with this card. I've asked the seller on Amazon (NR Info).

Will replace the Ryzen 3 2300X and that crappy wraith cooler tomorrow.

Apologies for garbage image quality, I don't have a camera, I used the webcam on my laptop.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Looking good glad things are going smoothly so far. Make sure your bios is up to date and supports the X3D chip prior to the swap. I know it's been mentioned already but one more time never hurts.

 

[sLowEnd]

I'm trying to work out where to find the Starfield Premium Edition code which is supposed to come with this card. I've asked the seller on Amazon (NR Info).

If you bought it from a marketplace seller on Amazon instead of Amazon themselves, you're probably out of luck. The Starfield promo is from participating stores only.

 

[thesmokingman]

If you bought it from a marketplace seller on Amazon instead of Amazon themselves, you're probably out of luck. The Starfield promo is from participating stores only.

This, return it and get it from Amazon.

 

[Speedyblupi]

This, return it and get it from Amazon.

I'm not too fussed about the Starfield promo. To be honest I mostly wanted it for benchmarking
It was cheaper than other sellers of the same model. I'd rather keep the extra £20.
Worst case is they say they're not doing the promo and I just won't get Starfield.

 

[thesmokingman]

I'm not too fussed about the Starfield promo. To be honest I mostly wanted it for benchmarking
It was cheaper than other sellers of the same model. I'd rather keep the extra £20.
Worst case is they say they're not doing the promo and I just won't get Starfield.

It's cheaper cuz it doesn't have the code you know...

 

[Speedyblupi]

It's cheaper cuz it doesn't have the code you know...

They gave me the code when I asked for it. I'm installing Starfield now.
Looks like I just saved £20.

 

[Arco]

If it goes bad please buy the official keys from Microsoft. (sarcasm)

 

[P4-630]

I don't have a camera, I used the webcam on my laptop.

Mobile phone?...

 

[Waldorf]

@Speedyblupi
while the 600w you have might be enough, i rather have a quality unit.
the psu is the most important part, without it, NOTHING works.

iirc, CM only have one white unit (above 750w), that would not be considered a lower grade/tier unit,
so replacing it would be a good idea, especially with higher transient/spike on newer/bigger gpus.

whats your location?
if states:
RM750x

the 650 costs 10$ more, so this makes more sense.
make sure your not buying the "older" previous units (had some issues).

 

[QuietBob]

You've got a really nice rig now, but do yourself a favor and grab a quality Gold rated PSU, they aren't very expensive. And Cooler Master had some really poor units rated Bronze and lower.
Personally, I wouldn't trust a white label PSU to power anything of value. Even for fun/retro projects I tend to go with at least Bronze from an established manufacturer.

 

[Speedyblupi]

I did try out Starfield to check that the GPU is working properly. It worked fine for a bit, but crashed and my PC immediately turned off a few minutes later. I'm not sure if this is some random instability in the game, the 2300X being unable to handle the game properly (it kept freezing and was very stuttery, unsurprising for an old 4-thread CPU), or possibly an issue with my PSU.

I'm flashing my BIOS to install the 5800X3D now, and will test Starfield again after. If I see any similar issues again I'll definitely swap out the PSU as well.

Mobile phone?...

I'm one of those weird people who still doesn't use a smartphone in 2023. My phone has a camera, but no usable internet connection, and I can't work out how to get bluetooth working on it.

Finally finished installing the CPU and cooler

Another couple of crappy images!

I was scared for a minute when it kept showing a "Your PC/Device needs to be repaired" BSOD when I turned it on, but it was trying to boot to my secondary SSD which doesn't have an OS on it, and it worked fine after setting it to my main drive.

According to HWmonitor it's running at only 25C idle. This is probably wrong though, because Radeon Metrics says it's at 30C, but I'm very happy either way. Efficient CPU + good cooler = low temps.

Today I learned that AMD's stock thermal paste is a good substitute for concrete. It had dried solid, and I really had to wrench the cooler off of my old CPU, I was worried I was going to break something. I'm honestly surprised it didn't overheat more often when it was in this state. I hope the stuff that came with the Peerless Assassin lasts a bit longer, and that it doesn't end up fusing my 5800X3D to the cooler. Maybe I should make sure to replace my thermal paste occasionally.

I also learned that CPUs are heavier than they look. They're remarkably dense, I assume it's because of the IHS.

I'll look out for any random issues which could be caused by PSU, and I'll think about getting a new SSD (so I can get a new OS install without losing my old one, and because my old 1TB drive is now nearly full up, thanks to Starfield) and some more RAM.

I'll also try overclocking my RAM, probably tomorrow, and maybe post some benchmarks.

 

[thesmokingman]

Paste get hard when really old. Btw, TWIST twist twist the cooler off, do not pull up.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Paste get hard when really old. Btw, TWIST twist twist the cooler off, do not pull up.

I typically like to run cinebench for 2-3m first also.

 

[Speedyblupi]

Paste get hard when really old. Btw, TWIST twist twist the cooler off, do not pull up.

I tried twisting, but couldn't get a proper grip on it. It only loosened when I tried seesawing it, rocking it from side to side.
Either way, it's sorted now. Not sure what I'll do with the old CPU and GPU, maybe sell them to CeX or see if anyone I know wants them (probably not), or just keep them as spares.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

I tried twisting, but couldn't get a proper grip on it. It only loosened when I tried seesawing it, rocking it from side to side.
Either way, it's sorted now. Not sure what I'll do with the old CPU and GPU, maybe sell them to CeX or see if anyone I know wants them (probably not), or just keep them as spares.

All good options

 

[thesmokingman]

I tried twisting, but couldn't get a proper grip on it. It only loosened when I tried seesawing it, rocking it from side to side.
Either way, it's sorted now.

In that situation don't rock it and instead fire up a bench like mentioned above to heat up the paste and it should twist off easier... next time.

 

[Speedyblupi]

In that situation don't rock it and instead fire up a bench like mentioned above to heat up the paste and it should twist off easier... next time.

I get that this would help thin the paste if it was still at least somewhat liquid, but does this work when the paste is completely solid?

 

[oxrufiioxo]

I get that this would help thin the paste if it was still at least somewhat liquid, but does this work when the paste is completely solid?

I will say the AMD stock thermal paste is basically cement but yeah it still helps.

 

[Macro Device]

It worked fine for a bit, but crashed and my PC immediately turned off a few minutes later

Must be something wrong with power. Either your GPU has a whack in its VRM zone, or your PSU is good to meet the God.

I'm currently using a CX650M unit and it works wonders with 70 W CPU + 150 W GPU. I know it's a rather low tier PSU but considering I'm never exceeding 100 W in CPU and 200 W in GPU... It's fine.

And when I decide to use my spare PSU (FSP 450 W from dinosaur era) with this exact configuration I run in every kind of trouble. EVEN IN 2D MODE SOMETIMES.

So yeah, please commit to PSU replacement before actual gaming. You don't wanna lose your 5 hunnit worth GPU because of that.