PC rebuild/upgrade

coolguyrko

Hey

My current specs are

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

CPU:  Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1230 V2 @ 3.30GHz

MB: ASRock ZH77 Pro3

RAM: 8GB DDR3

PSU: EVGA 650 Watt GQ Gold Hybrid Modular ATX PSU/Power Supply

Have both an SSD drive and HD.

I'm 99% positive my MB is dead.

Was wondering if anyone knows of another MB similarly sized that would fit the Xeon and possibly allow for future upgrading. I have considered upgrading the CPU but having been without a PC for a few weeks now I'm hoping to just get it back up and running.

The reason for the similar size is my current case is actually kind of small. This MB just about fits in. Cash is not exactly in abundance right now. Had to pick up a new phone recently and picked up the 970 the same weekend the MB gave out.

The card is second hand but I don't believe it's the issue. Keyboard doesn't light up when plugged in and the card seems to be powering up so I think it's the MB.

Unfortunately no way to double check.

Spear

The closest thing to future upgrading of that, is to add an i7 3770. And that's a less than 10% clock improvement. It's just too old and dated.

There's none of those boards to be bought at this point, other than dodgy no-name reclaimed frankensteined jobs from China that list on Amazon.

Maybe you could find a second hand one, but that's about it.

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117971310#Comment_117971310

Thank you. Anything newer you could recommend that could still run the xeon or would I need to replace the MB, CPU & RAM? If I just needed to replace the board I'd go about getting a bigger case.

Spear

There is nothing newer. Other sockets won't take it, and Intel changes sockets once a week it seems.

It's too old and long surpassed. The 12th generation of Intel core series are out in 4 weeks, along with their first DDR5 boards.

Any upgrade means complete replacement at this point.

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117972275#Comment_117972275

Thank you. Any good combos you can recommend?

I'm hoping a friend can test my card and if it doesn't work for them at least I can return the card and get another one. If it works for them then I know I need a new case, board CPU and RAM

K.O.Kiki

Best value: Core i5-10400F

Pros: 6c/12t, cheap (150eur), doesn’t need expensive motherboards to run well

Cons: Limited to DDR4-2666 RAM, about to go EOL, no PCIe 4.0, no integrated GPU

Best performance (for now): AMD Ryzen 5600X/5800X/5900X

Pros: Top-tier performance, decent price-per-core (46/45/41 eur)

Cons: No integrated GPU, needs good cooling, B550 motherboards high quality but always compromise between features/price

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117973806#Comment_117973806

Thank you. I'm wary of going EOL route as I do like to leave a little wiggle room for future upgrading but I'm also wary of needing extra cooling. It's not the biggest issue in the world but in practice it's just something I tend to struggle with getting working right as stupid as that sounds.

K.O.Kiki

To clarify, the Ryzen CPUs run warm (not hot) so any decent 35-55eur tower cooler can keep them in check. But they run better the more cooling you throw at them.

I personally bought a Ryzen 5600X because I’m certain it’s enough CPU to keep me going for the next 3-5 years of gaming/browsing (can’t wait to eat my words once DDR5 hits though!)

You could get a Ryzen 5 2600 and any B450 AM4 board for like 250-300 euro if you look around. Add another 100euro ram if even and any case from adverts etc will do and you'll have a decent enough system.

Youll spend around the same trying to fit square pegs into round holes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117974004#Comment_117974004

I'm sure DDR5's debut will be quite underwhelming to start off with (like any new DDR revision) because the timings I've seen thus far are woeful. Some kits @ 50-50-50-100 eoughly

Homelander

To be honest if you lasted the best part of a decade with that Xeon, you'd also do fine with something like the i5-10400F which is only €150 or so. It's radically faster than your old CPU.

I wouldn't worry about there not being "upgrade" options because by the time a 10400F is obsolete, anything you likely could've updated to would also have been obsolete anyway. "Upgradability" tends to be for people who change their CPU every 2 years or whatever, not people who run it until it's literally unable to meet basic requirements.

If you're willing to go the extra though might as well invest in a Ryzen 5600X setup. Arguably if you tend to go the best part of a decade without a new core, it makes the most sense anyway.

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117980627#Comment_117980627

Thank you. Much difference between the 5600x and 5600g. Seems the G has integrated graphics but is cheaper than the X. According to part picker anyway

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118000953#Comment_118000953

Depends on what you need it for.

The 5600x is 6-10% better in games/applications (and it's got twice the L3 cache) but the 5600G is good enough for most tasks.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-5-5600g/

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118001039#Comment_118001039

Thanks for the help. I think with my projected budget for end of year which is about as far as I want to go without a PC I'll go with the i5. Any reccoemdnation on boards? Part picker had an amount but most under $100 dollars don't have ratings. I'm likely looking at 16GB RAM max and from what I've gathered Micro ATX vs ATX doesn't really matter. Though if it means I can fit it inside my current case and save myself ~€50 I'm good with that.

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118001776#Comment_118001776

I mostly buy for feature-set (e.g. does it have wifi, how many USB ports) but rule-of-thumb is it should have heatsinks for VRMs (the bits around the CPU socket).

I don't generally recommend ASRock as MSI/Gigabyte/Asus generally have nicer BIOS. Gigabyte tend to have lots of USB ports, while MSI/Asus can be good for cheap WiFi.

NEVER buy a Biostar motherboard!

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118001986#Comment_118001986

Thank you. WiFi would be nice but my PC is right by the ethernet port so I can plug directly in. Also have a WiFi dongle so should be good but I suppose USB ports and heatsinks are more important.

At the minute my budget build was going to be

Intel Core i5-10400F

Asus Prime B560M-A

Crucial Balistix 16 GB DDR4

Total ~€343

not including a case though there's one being reccomended for the board by computeruniverse a Fractal Design Focus G ATX for €47 if needed. Not sure if it is. Though maybe the board might be too big for the current case. The Asrock ZH77 Pro 3 fit just about and the GPU was close but still fit.

K.O.Kiki

Asus Prime B560M is micro-ATX, Asrock ZH77 Pro is standard ATX. The new mobo is shorter.

Also FYI the i5-10400F is limited to DDR4-2666. You can buy DDR4-3000 but XMP will not run it faster than 2666 so just buy whatever's cheapest.

coolguyrko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118008705#Comment_118008705

Yes the RAM was something I was going to ask about. So something like the G Skill Aegis for €55 is fine because the CPU can't take advantage of anything more anyway? Though even then there are a few options with different CL so assume getting the lower one gives a slight boost or is that something the CPU also couldn't take advantage of?

K.O.Kiki

Lower CL (CAS Latency) is always a bonus, and the price difference between 2666 CL19 and 3200 CL16 is so minimal you might as well get the faster kit, since it'll run 2666 at CL16 or lower.

Surely you can pick up a Ryzen 5 2600 with a B450 Mobo for around €150? Then you can run your 16GB of 3000+mhz ram (brand new roughly €100)

I wouldn't be spending 300+ on an end of life part.

Homelander

Where are you going to get them for €150? The Ryzen 2600 on its own costs a good bit more than that. There really are no good value option anything at the moment.

What's probably worth considering is just buying a new cheap mobo like A520M or H410M and waiting to pick up a 2nd hand CPU.