Old PC need upgrading, please help!

[muzzh]

Hi everyone, it's been a very long time since I've been on the forum, I build my PC quite a few years ago, gradually upgraded it but I'm thinking of upgrading it further. It's been such a long time since I've done anything, I'm a bit out of the loop with computer related stuff.



I don't know exactly what the specs are but I do know that I have 16gb DDR3 RAM, it's an older socket motherboard with an Intel i5 CPU. Not too long ago I upgraded the GFX to RTX 3060 12gb for 3D modeling. I have about 6 hard drives for photo storage. My PSU is 550w (I think) but would look to upgrade so I can have more HDDs connected at once.

My use of my PC has changed, I'm looking to use it as a workhorse for photo and video editing & 3D modelling and rendering.

My budget is around £500-700 but looking to reuse as many components from my old PC, so maybe I'll only need to upgrade:

Motherboard
CPU
PSU
RAM

I'm looking for a future proof option so maybe DDR5 mobo, maybe max 128gb RAM? I'd also like, if possible to have RAM that is 32gb minimum per stick, that way it's possible to upgrade up to 128gb without having to get rid of anything I.e no 2x 16gb RAM.


Thanks in advance!

 

[tamzzy]

you're not going to get a ferarri on that kind of budget mate.

what is the exact model of psu and how old is it?
most modern motherboards only have 4 sata ports, so you may need to upgrade your hard drives as well...how old are the hard drives and what are their sizes?

i suspect the only thing you'll be carrying through is the 3060
(and maybe your hard drives because you won't have the budget for new ones)

 

[dfour]

This gets near your budget and does incluse some future proofing with the AM5 socket

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £169.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core 5.30GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DV-AM) = £314.99
• 1 x Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01085) = £179.99
• 1 x CORSAIR RM Series RM650 Fully Modular 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply (SKU: POW-CRS-01425) = £79.99

Total: £744.96 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Idealy you could do with a 12 or 16 core chip unless your planning to do most of your rendering on the GPu using CUDA.

 

[muzzh]

I'm aware I'm not going to get a huge amount but I am a student so at the moment, I would like something I can upgrade later down the line when things become more power hungry.

Corsair cx500 PSU but will need to upgrade this

My SSDs are 250gb for OS and then I have one 2tb SSD and three 1tb SSDs.

I was planning to use from my old system:

Case
Cpu fan
SSDs
Blu-ray RW

 

[dfour]

what cooler do your haveas it may not have the fittings available for AM5?

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

The hdds and ssds won't actually use much power
Probably under 10w each
So a new psu might not be needed
It's probably possible to get a new motherboard with 6 sata ports
Though if you ever shove a m2 drive in
You may lose some sata ports

Edit
And some new motherboards can take the new
Ram modules
Which are larger than 32GB
Though using 4 of those can be tricky sometimes

 

[Tetras]

I'd also like, if possible to have RAM that is 32gb minimum per stick, that way it's possible to upgrade up to 128gb without having to get rid of anything I.e no 2x 16gb RAM.

32GB per stick is no problem, but upgrading to 4x32GB is. Intel and AMD derate their CPU's memory controllers by A LOT if you run 4 sticks, this video is old but gives you an idea:

Is 128GB of DDR5 IMPOSSIBLE on AM5? Level1 Investigates!

Check out the forum thread here: https://forum.level1techs.com/t/7950x-i-want-4x32gb-unless-it-sucks-does-it-suck/189825**********************************Che...

www.youtube.com

The max capacity is actually 256GB for DDR5, but I'd consider just getting 2x48GB sticks now to insure yourself for the future. You're likely to need a BIOS update though to get the best results, just FYI, since these didn't exist when the DDR5 boards were first released.

Intel option:

Swap the 12400 for a 12600KF (around £150).

CPU cooler: I'd recommend a peerless assassin or phantom spirit (around £35 delivered).

The PSU is overkill, but I thought you might upgrade the 3060 some time in the future, even though it is a good card for workstation use for now.

• 1 x Intel Core i5-12400 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AL-IN) = £175.00
• 1 x MSI B760 Gaming Plus WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37M-MS) = £159.99
• 1 x Crucial Pro 96GB (2x48GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01084) = £248.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN580 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-WDC-00541) = £112.99
• 1 x Seasonic Focus GX-850 850W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-06T-SS) = £119.99

Total: £824.95 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​

That DDR5 board has one major disadvantage though, it only has 2x M.2 slots.