Planning Upgrade Build

[Auxe15]

Budget (including currency): 500-550 USD

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: No games specifcally( Recently got Master Chief Collection and already runs that well) Goal for most everything will be at least 1080 x 60fps. Also some light CAD modeling and Microsoft Access and Excel Programming.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):  Anything mark as purchased will transfer from my old system.

 

Current Build:

CPU: i3-4160

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-Gaming 3

Memory: 8GB (2x$GB) G.Skill RipJasws DDR3

Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD

Storage: Western Digital 1.5TB HDD
GPU: Asus Strix RX 480

Power: EVGA 500W 80+ ATX

OS: Windows 8.1 Pro

Same monitors and wireless card as below

 

Proposed Build

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BBkMJf

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($235.67 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Green 1.5 TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8 GB ROG STRIX Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($109.98 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC55BT PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter
Monitor: Dell U2718Q 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00)
Monitor: Dell SE2719H 27.0" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $490.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-28 22:51 EST-0500

 

 

A few questions i have:

1) is 8GB still considered enough or should i stay with 16GB like i have in the build above

2) Will my power supply still be good enough give that its 6 years old, 500W and only 80+ certified?

 

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Skipple]

All in all, I think it looks pretty good. I would go with the 16gb of RAM you have listed. You would probably be fine with 8GB, but I would still recommend going with the 16GB. It will be cheaper in the long run. Your power supply you have listed will be fine until the point that you need to upgrade your GPU. I would recommend upgrading both when you do. 

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($299.00 @ Newegg) extra cores will help you out for CAD.
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Motherboard: ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3733 CL17 Memory  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Storage: Western Digital Green 1.5 TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8 GB ROG STRIX Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg) much better PSU since the W1 is pretty crappy.
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC55BT PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter 
Monitor: Dell U2718Q 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Monitor: Dell SE2719H 27.0" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Total: $488.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-28 23:01 EST-0500

you should be able to reuse your windows 8 key on windows 10, then upgrade it to windows 11 if you want.

[Skipple]

11 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($299.00 @ Newegg) extra cores will help you out for CAD.
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Motherboard: ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3733 CL17 Memory  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Storage: Western Digital Green 1.5 TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8 GB ROG STRIX Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg) much better PSU since the W1 is pretty crappy.
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC55BT PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter 
Monitor: Dell U2718Q 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Monitor: Dell SE2719H 27.0" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Total: $488.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-28 23:01 EST-0500

you should be able to reuse your windows 8 key on windows 10, then upgrade it to windows 11 if you want.

You added additional components and left out the Windows licence, thus going over budget.

I don't see a reason to upgrade the PSU until we also upgrade the GPU; at which point they can choose a power supply that matches their needs. 

[Auxe15]

4 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($299.00 @ Newegg) extra cores will help you out for CAD.
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Motherboard: ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3733 CL17 Memory  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Storage: Western Digital Green 1.5 TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8 GB ROG STRIX Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg) much better PSU since the W1 is pretty crappy.
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC55BT PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter 
Monitor: Dell U2718Q 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Monitor: Dell SE2719H 27.0" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Total: $488.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-28 23:01 EST-0500

you should be able to reuse your windows 8 key on windows 10, then upgrade it to windows 11 if you want.

I have tried 12 ways to sunday to get my windows 8 key to upgrade to windows 10 on my current rig and i have not been able to get it to work. I keeps failing at various points in the install process and i dont know why.

[Skipple]

Just now, Auxe15 said:

I have tried 12 ways to sunday to get my windows 8 key to upgrade to windows 10 on my current rig and i have not been able to get it to work. I keeps failing at various points in the install process and i dont know why.

The moment you upgrade your CPU and motherboard your windows key will become invalid and you will need to purchase a new one, regardless. 

[Auxe15]

1 minute ago, Skipple said:

The moment you upgrade your CPU and motherboard your windows key will become invalid and you will need to purchase a new one, regardless. 

I figured as much which is why i added the new key in there. I have also kinda lost the 8.1 key. it was email delivery and has since been lost to time after almost 7 years

[Herman Mcpootis]

38 minutes ago, Auxe15 said:

I figured as much which is why i added the new key in there. I have also kinda lost the 8.1 key. it was email delivery and has since been lost to time after almost 7 years

I'm assuming your os is still fully intact, in which case follow this guide:

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/find-your-windows-10-product-key/ it's for windows 10 but should work in 8.1.

As for windows 10, did you try to install from a bootable thumbdrive?

[GoldenLag]

7 hours ago, Auxe15 said:

I figured as much which is why i added the new key in there. I have also kinda lost the 8.1 key. it was email delivery and has since been lost to time after almost 7 years

should still be able to use it, like shown above, or if its attached to the microsoft account. 

 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/kms-client-activation-keys
you can also seemingly use this to activate windows. A solution by Microsoft themselves. 

[Auxe15]

20 hours ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

I'm assuming your os is still fully intact, in which case follow this guide:

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/find-your-windows-10-product-key/ it's for windows 10 but should work in 8.1.

As for windows 10, did you try to install from a bootable thumbdrive?

I did try from a bootable drive and it still didnt work.

 

However i did dig around on the site you linked that led to another article and then a github that allowed me to find the key that i have. It showed the original and an updated key. Maybe i can get 10 to work on this one now.