OzDude

Thanks guys, Was thinking that the upgrade may not do all that much. Will do the diagnostics you suggested TetraSky, and hopefully this will see me out another year or 2. Just one other think I do use this setup for, is as a server for the houses TV's. We have a couple of TV's (cabled), so under max load conditions this computer would be serving both TV's (1080p content only), and maybe playing a game or doing some work applications. Or could I just set up a RPi server on the cheap to take some of the max load out? Cheers

So, I have been having a look at seriously building a new computer box, to take advantage of the new tech available late 2019. I play games casually, and not really the AAA titles, but do like the management games (TF2, Airport CEO ect..), that can lag my current system when having a large numbers of things happening when in late game. I do not do video or Photshop stuff, but use the computer for macros (excel, and some are quite complex), and I do some programming (basic as I am learning Python). Reason I have been looking, is the computer is now starting to freeze in games like TF2 (enough to bug me, but not all the time). Current setup is: I5 6500 (skylake) 3.2GHZ Asrock H170 GTX 970 (2014 version with the 4GB thats actually 3.5GB memory) 16GB DDR 4 2133MHZ Old Sata SSD as a boot, and mechanical for storage I have been looking at all the lovely new chips, Ryzen 5,7,9 and all the videos saying how great they are, and I am going yep really want a new computer, but not sure if I need to do it for what I use a computer for. Would I get any benefit out of the Ryzen mutithreding, and if so what is best 3600 (x is $10 different in Aust), or should I spring for a 3700X at a price difference of ~$150 AUD? Would I get better value from just upgrading the graphics card? Or for the game I play, do I even need to do that (I have old 60Hz monitors, that are fine for me)? Do I even need a new setup, or could an old Intel CPU that fits the H170 give me a jump? I haven't really put in a budget, but I am a value for money type person, and don't need to spend on a flash new toy if I can only use 20% of it. Looking to make whatever I do last a couple of years, and then maybe look at something then, if any issues start. Any help welcome.

Thanks for that info, very informative.

Thanks for the help on this, as I was originally trying for a B450. What are the specs I should be looking at on the sheets from X470 Mobo's. If I take the recommended one above I can see: PCI-E x16: 3 PCI-E GEN: Gen3 (16,0) (8,8) PCI-E x1: 3 Am I looking for the top line where I can see the (8,8) as the indication the board supports bifurcation?

Budget is flexable, but the cheaper the better. I prefer to think that I am getting some value for money!

I have been looking around, and noticed that a lot of Mobo's have 1 PCIE x16 slot, that will be taken by a graphics card in most builds (including mine), and have the remaining PCI expansion slots being either gen2 or gen1. I would like to install a m.2 adapter in the second PCIE x16, as this would also give me full speed on the NVME drives. Anyone know of a good B450 / X470 board that can do this (don't really mind what form factor (probably not EATX). Cheers Oz

Hey All, Firstly I am looking at some storage solutions, and have a couple of ideas, that may or may not work, but thought I would see if any guidance could help me down the right path. I do collect a lot of data over time, and in the past have just bought and plugged in new internal and a couple of external drives (all mechanical), but as I am building a new system If want to have a better solution. What I have stumbled across are these newer M.2 adaptors that can hold up to 4 M.2 type drives (NVME or SSD) in a PCIe adaptor case like (https://www.asus.com/au/Motherboard-Accessories/HYPER-M-2-X16-CARD/). What I would like to know, is can I simply expand these types of adaptors with any type of M.2 (that is can I place an NVME in with a Sata?) and can I mix and match the capacities of each of the drives? (if running these drives outside of RAID). Or would a solution like a Drobo type enclosure be a better solution, as I understand for this type of unit I can do the above, but I will be transfer speed limited. Remember I am building a new PC, so any help with a better solution is welcome. Oz