Questions for a new PC build

raglafart

raglafart

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
227
I'm not sure now is the time to think about upgrading my PC. The news of the imminent release of Windows 11 has brought this on.
The current system I have is now getting on for 10 years old. It still does my just fine, thought the boot stage isn't 100% reliable, one in ten times I have to hit the reset to get the boot to complete.
I really didn't know what I wanted when I built the current PC, I went stupid with the amount of RAM but other than that, but it's been a reasonable investment having lasted this long.
I'm not a gamer, I'm more into wanting a decent music editing device and photographic manipulation device. I've got on just fine with a 500 gig SSD but would look at going with an M2 drive this time. No idea what to look at for a Video Card though.
Reading current trends, this time I'm inclined to look at an AMD CPU and a 550 chip MB, maybe just 32 gig of RAM.
I'd like to use my current Corsair full tower 750D and Corsair AX 860i ps plus either the Swifteck H220 watercooling, it's now fairly old but according to the manual supports AMD 3 & 3, I'm not sure if it would be okay with AMD 4 socket? I also have an NZXT water cooling unit that's on the intel LGA 2011 socket cpu, I'm hoping that if these support AMD 3 socket, either one may be okay with AMD 4.
I'm sure 16 gig of RAM would be more than enough, but would go with 32 gig
I'd appreciate suggestions for a CPU, MB and GPU and any other advice people may have to offer.
Cheers John
 
raglafart said:
My video card is an Asus GTX 780 DC2
Click to expand...
Oh yea it’s time to upgrade. You could limp by on that for a month or two but honestly that’s ancient.
32 gigs isn’t a “stupid” amount of ram. Many of us have been running it for years and actually utilize it. I’d say 128gb of ram is a stupid amount, that most people probably would t use.

B550 motherboard, 32 gb of ram, and a 6 core+ processor and you’d be all set. Throw in a 1 tb nvme and you’d be happy. Just plan on replacing that video card.
 
I don't do gaming, what sort of spec video card and CPU would anyone recommend?
 
raglafart said:
I don't do gaming, what sort of spec video card and CPU would anyone recommend?
Click to expand...

Personally I like Intel's current i5 and i7 offerings because they come with built in graphics. Unlike AMD's current very limited offerings.
If you don't game, I don't see no reason to pay the crazy prices GPUs go for.
 
Thanks Zoda, it was something I wasn't sure about. I'll look at CPU's with integrated video, it will make a significant saving. Thanks
 
raglafart said:
Thanks Zoda, it was something I wasn't sure about. I'll look at CPU's with integrated video, it will make a significant saving. Thanks
Click to expand...
Don’t waste your money on the 11th gen Intel stuff. It’s really hot that good. Buy a 10th gen and a z490 or z590 board.
 
raglafart said:
Thanks Zoda, it was something I wasn't sure about. I'll look at CPU's with integrated video, it will make a significant saving. Thanks
Click to expand...

That would be a sharp downgrade from what you have now. Even though Intel's IGPs have gotten better over the years, they're still slower than many entry level discrete video cards. Just build a new system and move your GTX 750 over, it will work fine.
 
^^ that and amd does make apus with graphics but your 780 would still probably be better.
 
I'd go with something like a Ryzen 7 5600x instead of Intel with the discrete GPU. They're only like $289 and don't require exotic cooling solutions. My i9-18500k gives even a 280mm AIO trouble under moderate load. The 11th gen are even worse. You need a monster dual rad air cooler, or a large water cooler to keep those things from melting down.
 
In terms of discrete GPUs, you are trapped between a rock and a hard place right now:

Every single newer-generation discrete GPU is priced way higher than what they are supposed to cost at the moment. The Kepler architecture that your current GTX 780 is about to be depreciated to "legacy" support status this coming October, with no new features added to the last driver branch that will remain compatible with Kepler (the current 470-branch, which will be numbered all the way up to version 494.99 if required) and only security fixes added. The new Driver Branch 495, due out in October, will require a Maxwell or newer GPU just to even install at all.

Because of all that, the only "new" discrete GPUs that you can buy at this present time that won't put a significant dent in your wallet are low-end versions of the same GPU generation as your current GPU (and thus also about to turn "legacy"), or the GT 1030, or some versions of AMD's older GCN Gen 4 architecture GPUs. Most of them are actually downgrades from your current GTX 780 in terms of overall performance.

And yes, it is a very bad time to purchase a discrete GPU right now: Even the GTX 1050 Ti now costs more than double what it originally sold for when it was new. In fact, while it cost $170 when it was new, it costs $350 to $400 right now.
 
Okay, I'm getting the message to simply wait for a while, I can do that.
Thanks everyone for your input.
I'll revisit this in a year or so's time and see where everything is going with Windows 10 and 11
 
The Swiftech unit is pretty capable actually, I like those things a lot more than NZXT's overpriced stuff. They came with DDC pumps which are known to last many years in custom loops, and yes it's compatible with AM4. I'm using one on a 3900X right now. You might be able to re-use that if you go towards that route. New gen will change sockets though, and I don't think Swiftech even offers mounting for every socket today on their site for these things. So it might not fit to the next gen upgrade. NZXT would likely have mounting for next generation on the other hand. That's worth keeping in mind.

GPU, won't really matter in music production. I don't know what you're doing exactly in terms of music production, but if you have an interface with DSP, for instance, that offloads load from CPU to the interface. Just some food for thought.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top