Midrange Gaming/Basic Operations PC (Opinions wanted)

[aCoeliac]

Hey, recently a (fairly) old workstation I'd been using as a base for my decent enough gaming PC. (As long as I can run 60fps I'm good), kinda went kaput.

 

Anyway, that was a Xeon E3-1270, and after that experience I'm itching for an upgrade.

 

If you could just take a look and inform me of anything that either wouldn't work or might be a bit awkward. (Or just any feedback at all tbh

 

_{Bearing in mind I'm fairly young and haven't got much money saved.}

 

(*) = Already owned

 

CPU - i5-6600K (3.5Ghz) (LGA1151)

Mobo - ASRock Z170 Pro4 (ATX)

Case - Corsair Carbide 270R ATX/microATX case

PSU - Corsair CX500 ATX 500W

Storage - SanDisk 120GB SSD - SATA III - I also have like 5 SATA HDD's - space not a problem.

Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (LGA 1151)

RAM* - Hynix SDRAM 4x4GB 1333mhz

GPU* - MSI Geforce GTX 760 Twin Frozr Edition

 

I would be grateful for any replies/tips/tricks, bearing in mind I am young and foolish. I've been watching tech/pc build videos for quite a while now, but have limited practical experience.

 

Thanks :>

 

 

[Snipergod87]

Judging by your RAM speed you currently have DDR3, and thats a DDR4 only motherboard.

You will either need to find a DDR3 board (there are only a few and will probably not be cheap) or upgade to DDR4

Edit new 100 series board with DDR3 support at like $300 and are not the OC versions either

 

I would go with something like an i3-8350k (quad core unlocked), and a Z370 board + DDR4 RAM myself (since you are budget oriented)

[seon123]

Don't get the 6600K. It's 2 generations old, way overpriced and only has 4 cores. Either get an 8400/2600X, or for a cheaper alternative, the 2200G/1200. 

The Z170 board will have to be replaced for an H310/B360/Z370 board for the 8400, or a B350/X370/X470 board for Ryzen. The exact board will vary based on the budget. 

The 275R is the replacement for the 270R, so worth considering. There are also other options. 

Don't get the CX500, it's ancient, performs poorly and is way overpriced. For budget options, there's the CX450M, Pure Power 10 400W and Vengeance. But try to spend a little more to at least get something like a BitFenix Formula. 

Which SSD are you considering? If it's the SSD Plus, don't get it. It performs poorly, and is generally way overpriced. 

Don't get the 212 Evo. It performs the same as cheaper and smaller coolers. Just use the stock cooler.

Both Ryzen and Coffee (and Skylake) use DDR4. You will have to replace the RAM. 

[xriqn]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($172.83 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350M-E Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($72.75 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot - Viper 4 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($82.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($118.24 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.89 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair - SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($48.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: BitFenix - Whisper M 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.22 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Cooler Master - MasterFan Pro 120 Air Balance RGB 42.7 CFM  120mm Fan  ($19.79 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Cooler Master - MasterFan Pro 120 Air Balance RGB 42.7 CFM  120mm Fan  ($19.79 @ Amazon) 
Total: $690.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-27 17:03 EDT-0400

 

This should do you alright.

 

[aCoeliac]

Hey, just some quick clarification (on mobile atm, will look at the rest later) 

 

On ark.intel it said that the i5 6600k supports DDR3 1333 & DDR4? Correct me if I'm wrong. Also the ASRock Pro4 (on the amazon page) said that is conpatible (solely) with DDR3.

Would it would be worth getting the 6600k from a reputable 2nd hand shop for £125 (idk ~$140)?

 

Also, the GTX 760 has a recommended system wattage of 500W+ so could you recommend one that might be more suited?.

 

Thanks for your quick replies, I only scanned through so I'll take a closer look in the morning.

 

#Sponsoranewbie

[xriqn]

7 minutes ago, aCoeliac said:

Hey, just some quick clarification (on mobile atm, will look at the rest later) 

 

On ark.intel it said that the i5 6600k supports DDR3 1333 & DDR4? Correct me if I'm wrong. Also the ASRock Pro4 (on the amazon page) said that is conpatible (solely) with DDR3.

Would it would be worth getting the 6600k from a reputable 2nd hand shop for £125 (idk ~$140)?

 

Also, the GTX 760 has a recommended system wattage of 500W+ so could you recommend one that might be more suited?.

 

Thanks for your quick replies, I only scanned through so I'll take a closer look in the morning.

 

#Sponsoranewbie

My dads mate has a 6th gen i7 with ddr4 so yes I assume the 6th gen i5 should support ddr4. A 760 just isn't worth it in 2018. The i7 is an X series btw.

[seon123]

10 minutes ago, aCoeliac said:

Hey, just some quick clarification (on mobile atm, will look at the rest later) 

 

On ark.intel it said that the i5 6600k supports DDR3 1333 & DDR4? Correct me if I'm wrong. Also the ASRock Pro4 (on the amazon page) said that is conpatible (solely) with DDR3.

Would it would be worth getting the 6600k from a reputable 2nd hand shop for £125 (idk ~$140)?

 

Also, the GTX 760 has a recommended system wattage of 500W+ so could you recommend one that might be more suited?.

 

Thanks for your quick replies, I only scanned through so I'll take a closer look in the morning.

 

#Sponsoranewbie

On the Ark page, it says it supports DDR4 and DDR3L. DDR3 uses a higher voltage, which can damage the IMC. The Z170 Pro4 only supports DDR4. 

I would say the 6600K is not worth it for that price. You would have to get an outdated platform (ruling out any significant upgrade path), and you would have to get a decent cooler in order to overclock. With AM4 or Coffee, you would have significant upgrades to choose from. 

The PSU recommendations are based on the worst case scenario. IE, a high power CPU and a crappy PSU. The 760 has a 170W TDP, so the total system draw should be ~250W under a gaming load. Just get a decent PSU instead of worrying about the wattage. 

If you want people to get a notification and to see that you've replied, you need to tag them or quote them. To tag, wrote the @ symbol and then their user name. To quote them, use the arrow thing at the bottom of their post. 

Edited April 27, 2018 by seon123
Something something

[VEXICUS]

55 minutes ago, aCoeliac said:

Hey, recently a (fairly) old workstation I'd been using as a base for my decent enough gaming PC. (As long as I can run 60fps I'm good), kinda went kaput.

 

Anyway, that was a Xeon E3-1270, and after that experience I'm itching for an upgrade.

 

If you could just take a look and inform me of anything that either wouldn't work or might be a bit awkward. (Or just any feedback at all tbh

 

_{Bearing in mind I'm fairly young and haven't got much money saved.}

 

(*) = Already owned

 

CPU - i5-6600K (3.5Ghz) (LGA1151)

Mobo - ASRock Z170 Pro4 (ATX)

Case - Corsair Carbide 270R ATX/microATX case

PSU - Corsair CX500 ATX 500W

Storage - SanDisk 120GB SSD - SATA III - I also have like 5 SATA HDD's - space not a problem.

Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (LGA 1151)

RAM* - Hynix SDRAM 4x4GB 1333mhz

GPU* - MSI Geforce GTX 760 Twin Frozr Edition

 

I would be grateful for any replies/tips/tricks, bearing in mind I am young and foolish. I've been watching tech/pc build videos for quite a while now, but have limited practical experience.

 

Thanks :>

 

 

Something like this would be much better....

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($178.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B360M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($87.31 @ Newegg) 
Memory: GeIL - EVO FORZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($81.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($74.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.79 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card  ($294.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $886.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-27 17:21 EDT-0400

[aCoeliac]

9 hours ago, seon123 said:

On the Ark page, it says it supports DDR4 and DDR3L. DDR3 uses a higher voltage, which can damage the IMC. The Z170 Pro4 only supports DDR4. 

I would say the 6600K is not worth it for that price. You would have to get an outdated platform (ruling out any significant upgrade path), and you would have to get a decent cooler in order to overclock. With AM4 or Coffee, you would have significant upgrades to choose from. 

The PSU recommendations are based on the worst case scenario. IE, a high power CPU and a crappy PSU. The 760 has a 170W TDP, so the total system draw should be ~250W under a gaming load. Just get a decent PSU instead of worrying about the wattage. 

If you want people to get a notification and to see that you've replied, you need to tag them or quote them. To tag, wrote the @ symbol and then their user name. To quote them, use the arrow thing at the bottom of their post. 

It definitely does support DDR3, but I'll start looking into alternatives, thanks.

[aCoeliac]

So the good 2nd hand shop/online store/refurb thingy, has the 8400 going for £140 (£15 more) - ~$190, worth it? (Considering a chip from a trusted 1st hand seller in the UK can be $240+).

 

[artuc]

36 minutes ago, aCoeliac said:

So the good 2nd hand shop/online store/refurb thingy, has the 8400 going for £140 (£15 more) - ~$190, worth it? (Considering a chip from a trusted 1st hand seller in the UK can be $240+).

 

How would they have any significant stock of 2nd hand 8400s ?

 

[seon123]

1 hour ago, aCoeliac said:

It definitely does support DDR3, but I'll start looking into alternatives, thanks.

I assure you, the Amazon page is wrong. Not that uncommon. 

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170 Pro4/index.us.asp?cat=Specifications

[aCoeliac]

1 hour ago, seon123 said:

I assure you, the Amazon page is wrong. Not that uncommon. 

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170 Pro4/index.us.asp?cat=Specifications

Thanks lol, I would actually be lost without people like you

[aCoeliac]

1 hour ago, artuc said:

How would they have any significant stock of 2nd hand 8400s ?

 

https://uk.webuy.com/

 

More of a national 2nd hand thing. Everything the sell is tested and comes with a 2 yr warranty aswell.

[aCoeliac]

-oops

[aCoeliac]

PCPartPicker part list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/nJWmkd Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/nJWmkd/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  (£143.99 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Pure Rock Slim 35.1 CFM CPU Cooler  (£21.12 @ Aria PC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B360M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£69.98 @ Ebuyer) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  (£91.19 @ Aria PC) 
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£48.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case  (£54.20 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £429.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-28 11:54 BST+0100

 

Note: Mem is £20 cheaper on newegg

 

Let me know what you think (is this better, etc.)

 

Just feeling out what you guys might recommend.

 

@seon123