new spec for my grandad

[Tom_nerd]

Budget (including currency): 1000 (GBP)

 

Country: England

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Mostly focussed on lasting for a very long time. His current PC has lasted him for about 12 years and is still using it, and is only upgrading because he might want to upgrade to windows 11. He is also a hobbyist so would want it to work with a specific program (I'm trying to say I think he'll need CUDA)

 

what I'm thinking for a parts list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/WHZMTn

 

Displays: an old 1080P monitor and a really old monitor that I dont know the resolution, although its VGA.

 

What do you guys think? Any changes/ errors in the spec?

[An0maly_76]

First, I wouldn't upgrade to Win11, it is entirely too buggy.

 

Secondly, the card you spec'd is DisplayPort and HDMI, which will need an adapter to use a VGA monitor -- if that even works (not a guaranteed workaround on all of them). So you might want to invest in at least a cheap upgrade monitor.

 

If he's not gaming, he won't need more than 60-75hz refresh for most things. Even most casual gamers don't really need over 60-75hz. Might even be able to shift to an iGPU processor to allow room in the budget for a replacement monitor if serious gaming or other graphic-intensive use is not the aim here.

[Tom_nerd]

1 minute ago, An0maly_76 said:

iGPU processor

I was thinking about that, although there is no way an iGPU is going to stay usable for 12 years, right?

[An0maly_76]

8 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

I was thinking about that, although there is no way an iGPU is going to stay usable for 12 years, right?

I don't see why not. I just refurbished an old Lenovo M71E workstation for a media NAS and upgraded it from an i3-2100 that still ran fine, to a used i7-2600. These are on the LGA1155 platform, released in 2011 and discontinued in 2013. It didn't like it when I tried to load BeamNG.drive, but otherwise works great for movies and online videos. I've even ripped a couple DVDs with it.

 

An iGPU is fine for most ordinary consumer use outside of gaming. You only need a dedicated video card if you're gaming, editing or otherwise working with video, or some other video or graphic-intensive use. YouTube videos and free online games like Pac-Man don't need such things. Hell, you can actually play Fortnite and a few other popular games on an iGPU with low to medium settings.

Edited July 18, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Tom_nerd]

1 minute ago, An0maly_76 said:

I don't see why not. I just refurbished an old Lenovo M71E workstation for a media NAS and upgraded it from an i3-2100 that still ran fine, to a used i7-2600. These are on the LGA1155 platform, released in 2011 and discontinued in 2013. It didn't like it when I tried to load BeamNG.drive, but otherwise works great for movies and online videos. I've even ripped a couple DVDs with it.

 

An iGPU is fine for most ordinary consumer use outside of gaming. You only need a dedicated video card if you're gaming, editing or otherwise working with video, or some other video or graphic-intensive use. YouTube video and free online games like Pac-Man don't need such things. Hell, you can actually play Fortnite and a few other popular games on an iGPU with low to medium settings.

So, do you propose I take that money and upgrade the CPU?

[venomtail]

3 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

I was thinking about that, although there is no way an iGPU is going to stay usable for 12 years, right?

Entirely depends on the workload. My i3 550 from like 2010 can still keep up with tasks that aren't graphically demanding, aka a YT video at most. Most productivity tasks don't come close to being as demanding as a YT video.

 

Would be nice to know what system he has now. Might not even need a whole new system, just some upgrades and a CUDA GPU, used 2060's go for real cheap now.

 

Or if you want a new system instead, try something like this. Threw in a 4k monitor since that can help out for productivity:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  (£255.00 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  (£31.50 @ Technextday) 
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£71.66 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (£53.60 @ Box Limited) 
Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3050 8GB 8 GB Dual Video Card  (£288.80 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: KOLINK STRONGHOLD ATX Mid Tower Case  (£42.94 @ Box Limited) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic CORE GC-500 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Technextday) 
Monitor: LG 27UL500-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  (£208.99 @ Currys PC World Business) 
Total: £997.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-18 09:39 BST+0100

[An0maly_76]

12 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

So, do you propose I take that money and upgrade the CPU?

Well, first, the 12600K you selected already has Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics, so a dedicated GPU isn't even necessary. And quite frankly, I'm not seeing much in the 6-10 core range with iGPU that's going to be a better bargain. So, basically, you've actually picked a decent CPU, but budgeted for a dedicated GPU that probably won't even be needed.

 

That said, dedicated GPUs perform better, and even with a dedicated GPU, it's good to have at least a basic iGPU for troubleshooting if video problems arise. But unless your granddad is young at heart and binges on the likes of Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, Elden Ring, Assassin's Creed, Call Of Duty and the like, you might consider something along the lines of a GTX1650 Super / GTX1660ti. Maybe even an RTX2060 if ray-tracing is needed (again, not likely unless he games).

Edited July 18, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Current pc specs? Any issues with it currently other than the (useless) w11 sidegrade?

[Tom_nerd]

4 minutes ago, venomtail said:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  (£255.00 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  (£31.50 @ Technextday) 
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£71.66 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (£53.60 @ Box Limited) 
Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3050 8GB 8 GB Dual Video Card  (£288.80 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: KOLINK STRONGHOLD ATX Mid Tower Case  (£42.94 @ Box Limited) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic CORE GC-500 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Technextday) 
Monitor: LG 27UL500-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor  (£208.99 @ Currys PC World Business) 
Total: £997.48

I appreciate you've got to fit the monitor into that budget, but that is quite a bit slower than the current spec. Also, I know it sounds weird but intel might have a better upgrade path, obviously AM4 isn't getting any more generatinos of support, but from 5 minutes of googling, it looks like intel should allow 13th gen install.

 

Also, he is deaf as a post so wont need a quite CPU cooler.

 

One more thing, the case also sits under a desk and is never seen. So would a case without tempered glass be cheaper? I cant seem to find any.

 

Honestly, this is the last one. I think the monitor is a bit overkill as he's been using 768p monitors for years, and tbh his eyes arent going to be able to see the pixel density difference between even 1080P and 1440P.

[Tom_nerd]

2 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Current pc specs? Any issues with it currently other than the (useless) w11 sidegrade?

No, issues apart from saying that everything is a "little slow".

 

As for current PC specs I think its an I5 2600 and I dont know about the GPU, although I do know its Nvidia.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Just now, Tom_nerd said:

No, issues apart from saying that everything is a "little slow".

 

As for current PC specs I think its an I5 2600 and I dont know about the GPU, although I do know its Nvidia.

If you have access to the pc you can just look at the system tab inside control panel for cpu model and ram capacity

 

Btw is it a prebuilt or no?

[Tom_nerd]

13 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

Well, first, the 12600K you selected already has Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics, so a dedicated GPU isn't even necessary. And quite frankly, I'm not seeing much in the 6-10 core range with iGPU that's going to be a better bargain. So, basically, you've actually picked a decent CPU, but budgeted for a dedicated GPU that probably won't even be needed.

 

That said, even with a dedicated GPU, it's good to have at least a basic iGPU for troubleshooting if video problems arise. But unless your granddad is young at heart and binges on the likes of Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, Elden Ring, Assassin's Creed, Call Of Duty and the like, you might consider something along the lines of a GTX1650 Super / GTX1660ti. Maybe even an RTX2060 if ray-tracing is needed (again, not likely unless he games).

I was mostly thinking the 3060 for compatibility. For my birthday in may, I got a laptop with a 3050 and having things like omniverse has been a godsend.

[Tom_nerd]

1 minute ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

If you have access to the pc you can just look at the system tab inside control panel for cpu model and ram capacity

 

Btw is it a prebuilt or no?

I do not have access to the PC currently, I'm travelling over there in 2 weeks to build it for him.

 

Yes, Its a pre-built from chillblast.

[RollyShed]

If it wasn't used for games and only 12 years old, it would go for another 12 if it had Linux installed. With Linux it would have an office suite and web browser by default plus a lot of other things and many more available. To make it faster replace the hard disk with an SSD.

 

Been there, done that.

[venomtail]

31 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

Also, he is deaf as a post so wont need a quite CPU cooler.

5700X doesn't come with a stock cooler so one is needed. 

 

31 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

I appreciate you've got to fit the monitor into that budget, but that is quite a bit slower than the current spec.

31 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

I think the monitor is a bit overkill as he's been using 768p monitors for years, and tbh his eyes arent going to be able to see the pixel density difference between even 1080P and 1440P.

You didn't specify any monitor minimum Hz refresh rate. Plenty of other 1440p 144hz monitors exist around the same price point. Don't exactly know how 5ms is slow but if you're saying that 5ms is too slow for him to have pixel perfect transition times, something like this exists. 

 

31 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

One more thing, the case also sits under a desk and is never seen. So would a case without tempered glass be cheaper? I cant seem to find any.

Maybe for production for the company a case without glass might be cheaper, yes but by the time it comes on the consumer floor, by mass volume the more mass made cases become cheaper due to economies of scale. good old BitFenix is also a choice 

 

31 minutes ago, Tom_nerd said:

Also, I know it sounds weird but intel might have a better upgrade path, obviously AM4 isn't getting any more generatinos of support, but from 5 minutes of googling, it looks like intel should allow 13th gen install.

Yes, an upgrade path will be nice but think about it, will he ever need an upgrade path? If he's pulled through with a 10 year old system this one will last him another 10 years if not more.  Save the £150 now, especially if he'll be considering an upgrade after 10 years, you might as well just get a new PC by then because the technology will have moved on by so much.

[Tom_nerd]

Just now, venomtail said:

5700X doesn't come with a stock cooler so one is needed. 

 

True, but I think the pure rock 2 is a little overkill

 

2 minutes ago, venomtail said:

You didn't specify any monitor minimum Hz refresh rate. Plenty of other 1440p 144hz monitors exist around the same price point. Don't exactly know how 5ms is slow but if you're saying that 5ms is too slow for him to have pixel perfect transition times, something like this exists. 

 

He wont be doing any sort of gaming or anything on the monitor. He will mostly be using it for workstation tasks like image editing, so refresh rate will not be an issue.

9 minutes ago, venomtail said:

good old BitFenix is also a choice 

Thanks for the recommendation, might use that.

 

9 minutes ago, venomtail said:

Yes, an upgrade path will be nice but think about it, will he ever need an upgrade path? If he's pulled through with a 10 year old system this one will last him another 10 years if not more. If he's considering an upgrade after 10 years, you might as well just get a new PC by then because the technology will have moved on by so much.

Although, previously he hasn't had me to upgrade his PC for him, as I only really started learning about PC hardware 5 years ago. Also, could it be possible to get a really cheap 13900K (or whatever they'll be called) on ebay in 5 years time?

[venomtail]

Just now, Tom_nerd said:

True, but I think the pure rock 2 is a little overkill

Same price as your originally picked cooler that'll just last longer, look nicer and work better. If you want to buy something worse for the same price, go ahead.

 

1 minute ago, Tom_nerd said:

Although, previously he hasn't had me to upgrade his PC for him, as I only really started learning about PC hardware 5 years ago. Also, could it be possible to get a really cheap 13900K (or whatever they'll be called) on ebay in 5 years time?

It'll only be cheap if there's widespread adoption. Even if it does, again, will there be any real noticeable day to day difference from a 5700X to some 13th gen i5/i7? If 13th gen cuts down some render, build or compile by some 25% then yea, but if it's another small 3% gain then you gotta weigh the options. See if spending more now and spending more later again is worth it.

[RollyShed]

2 hours ago, Tom_nerd said:

No, issues apart from saying that everything is a "little slow".

 

As for current PC specs I think its an I5 2600 and I dont know about the GPU, although I do know its Nvidia.

That's what Windows does, makes things slower.

 

Is the i5 2600 good for gaming (from the web)?
This Intel CPU can run 849 of the top 1000 games - so we give it a 84% rating. Games that this CPU can run include Fortnite, Apex Legends, Minecraft, PUBG, GTA V, League of Legends, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.

 

Still the question, hard disk or SSD?

[Jeppes]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£166.99 @ AWD-IT)
CPU Cooler: SilentiumPC Fera 5 CPU Cooler  (£28.38 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B660M DS3H AX DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (£53.60 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (£42.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3050 8GB 8 GB Dual Video Card  (£288.80 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone FARA H1M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£55.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: SeaSonic CORE GC-500 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Technextday)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (£7.98 @ CCL Computers)
Monitor: Philips 275E1S/00 27.0" 2560x1440 75 Hz Monitor  (£209.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1004.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-18 12:16 BST+0100

 

or amd build with a faster gpu

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£110.98 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: SilentiumPC Fera 5 CPU Cooler  (£28.38 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: MSI B450M MORTAR MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£74.48 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (£56.68 @ Technextday)
Storage: Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (£42.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Palit GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Dual Video Card  (£359.99 @ AWD-IT)
Case: Silverstone FARA H1M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£55.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: SeaSonic CORE GC-500 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Technextday)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan  (£7.98 @ CCL Computers)
Monitor: Philips 275E1S/00 27.0" 2560x1440 75 Hz Monitor  (£209.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £991.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-18 12:17 BST+0100

[Tom_nerd]

1 hour ago, venomtail said:

Same price as your originally picked cooler that'll just last longer, look nicer and work better. If you want to buy something worse for the same price, go ahead.

 

TBH, I was only using that CPU cooler as a placeholder and hadn't thought too much about it. I assumed that not requiring it to be aesthetically pleasing would decrease the cost.

[Tom_nerd]

28 minutes ago, RollyShed said:

Is the i5 2600 good for gaming (from the web)?
This Intel CPU can run 849 of the top 1000 games - so we give it a 84% rating. Games that this CPU can run include Fortnite, Apex Legends, Minecraft, PUBG, GTA V, League of Legends, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.

He literally could not be any less of a gamer. He has an SSD that I installed for him 2 years ago. He just wants his workstation tasks to go faster (E.G. photoshop)

[RollyShed]

9 hours ago, Tom_nerd said:

He literally could not be any less of a gamer. He has an SSD that I installed for him 2 years ago. He just wants his workstation tasks to go faster (E.G. photoshop)

1.) Is Photoshop the only specilised app he uses?

2.) Just what does he use Photoshop for?

3.) What else does he use, what other apps?

4.) What version of Windows is he using at present?

 

This is where I install Linux Mint Cinnamon and everything is faster, more logical and easier. You've not said how old he is but probably the age or older than I've done a lot of installations for.

 

Jeppes solution is for high powered gaming and totally "over the top".