I was content…..

3mx Royal

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This is an upgrade help thread, but first let me set the scheme.

I have just reached my fifty third year, I’ve been gaming since my dad purchased my first ZX Spectrum in the 1980’s, but I assumed my desire to play computer games would start to wane as my 60’s approached, I didn’t need to upgrade anymore.

My ageing i5 2500k and GTX1070 would see me out, I only gamed at 1080p and I could always use GeForce Now or other streaming service if some great new game came along.

However, my wife has spoilt this she bought me an Oculus Quest 2 for my birthday, I played table tennis, crazy golf it was great, but streaming from my PC the limitations of the i5 2500k, Asus P8Z68-VLE motherboard and GTX1070 , became apparent.

I needed to upgrade again, I have a Fractal design Define R3 Low Noise Case, SSD’s and 750w Bequiet PSU that I am hoping to keep. I am not paying silly money for a new GPU just yet, the 1070 can last a bit longer.

So. I’m looking for a recommendation for a motherboard, CPU, cooler and RAM bundle that will play nice together, does not sound like an aeroplane taking off and will not bottleneck a new GPU in maybe a year’s time. I am happy to s £800-£900 if I need to.

I know these threads get a bit boring, but if anybody is willing to give me a few pointers that would be great.

In the past I purchased pre-builds and upgraded GPU and RAM as they got old but decided to see if this was a better route.

Thanks in advance if anybody want to help.
 
I am in much the same boat as you (age, experience and looking to build for the first time in a long time).
I've done a little research and settled on :-
  • Ryzen 5 5600X (about £250 from the big A) coupled with
  • MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI (about £135)
  • plus 16G ram (about £70)
  • plus to begin with a gen 3 PCIE drive (500G = £45)

Thats £500 notes to have a upper-mid range base in to which you can slot a fresh GPU when you can.

From my very limited experience (bowsing these forums - there will be plenty around better at this than me) I think this system would not be shamed with a 3060Ti/3070. If you get one of those retail thats about another £400, so I am banking on a decent set up for under a grand :)
 
There some good recommendations in that list, I recently upgraded with a budget in mind with the following

ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro-ATX Motherboard - £89 - this was specifically chosen as its cheap, good and was the best/cheapest that has 2 NMVe SSD slots which I wanted to use both of and a good number of USB sockets.

I would also recommend the Ryzen 5 5600X, I got the 3600 at £180 but the 5600x was £340 at that time (in Janurary) so quite overpriced, but at £250 I would get that now. there not much in it but the 5600x is a step up.

as mentioned 16GB of 3200 or 3600 speed ram (3600 likely not cost much more). you can get more later if you need it - I have 32GB at present.

Get a replacement cooler for the AMD stock one - I got the one of these for example which was £30 at the time, seem to have gone up so maybe something else similar.

Amazon product ASIN B0874C8RYX
make sure what ever you get clears the memory on your motherboard and fits in the case - most cooler will and should mention how high they are to let you check.

In addition I would strongly recommend a NVMe drive , 500GB or 1TB if you can afford it over a tradional SSD.

Doesnt have to be the highest performing one ever, I have one of these for around £80

Amazon product ASIN B07YFFX5MD
EDIT - 3600 not 3700 for £180 was a typo
 
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If you've got a budget of £900 go for the best you can. I would personally go for a 5800x (or even 5900x).
How old is your PSU? If over 5 years I would consider upgrading that as well
 
You're never content. My current rig is my first self-built PC since 2004, after deciding to get back into the game last year, having just had high powered laptops for work and consoles for gaming between.

I'm desperately trying to get a 3080 to replace my 3070. Even tried for the 3080Ti. I'm now staring at my two empty ram slots thinking I don't like the look of it, even though I don't NEED 32GB RAM at the moment. I'm also not content with my case and looking at replacing it after 6 months :rotfl:. This is partly why I give up on it all those years ago!
 
You're never content. My current rig is my first self-built PC since 2004, after deciding to get back into the game last year, having just had high powered laptops for work and consoles for gaming between.

I'm desperately trying to get a 3080 to replace my 3070. Even tried for the 3080Ti. I'm now staring at my two empty ram slots thinking I don't like the look of it, even though I don't NEED 32GB RAM at the moment. I'm also not content with my case and looking at replacing it after 6 months :rotfl:. This is partly why I give up on it all those years ago!
Get more RAM, just because 🤣
 
Get more RAM, just because 🤣

If only I'd bought that Corsair stuff that has the dummy RGB modules, instead of the Crucial Ballistix. Mind when I was looking, the dummy modules were almost half the price of just adding another 16GB.

If there's one person that frequents this subforum who epitomises never being content, it's yourself :hiya:
 
So I hit buy button after 2 weeks on this forum section having last had a gaming pc in 1999 and putting it to sleep as Quake died on the vine. Arghhh. Never thought I'd be back at this.
 
So I hit buy button after 2 weeks on this forum section having last had a gaming pc in 1999 and putting it to sleep as Quake died on the vine. Arghhh. Never thought I'd be back at this.

Quake II RTX was the first game with ray tracing I played after I built mine! Loved Quake back in the day myself.
 
Get more RAM, just because 🤣
You laugh, but that's exactly what I did in my rig. The gaps between the memory modules bothered me so much that I added another 16GB to fill them.
 
You laugh, but that's exactly what I did in my rig. The gaps between the memory modules bothered me so much that I added another 16GB to fill them.
At the moment mine is under the desk put of sit while I work at home. I imagine when it is back on the desk, I'll be buying 2 more sticks
there's one person that frequents this subforum who epitomises never being content, it's yourself :hiya:
Yep, eyeing up a 5900x as we speak
 
At the moment mine is under the desk put of sit while I work at home. I imagine when it is back on the desk, I'll be buying 2 more sticks

Yep, eyeing up a 5900x as we speak

Luckily for me, the only place with stock of 3600Mhz Ballistix RGB is OCUK.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.

Just been looking at a few of the 5600/5900 bundles and quite a few come with All in one Hydro coolers.

Never been attracted by water cooling in the past, but are these basically fit and forget, or is there ongoing maintenance required?

Also I guess are they any good?

Sorry more questions!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.

Just been looking at a few of the 5600/5900 bundles and quite a few come with All in one Hydro coolers.

Never been attracted by water cooling in the past, but are these basically fit and forget, or is there ongoing maintenance required?

Also I guess are they any good?

Sorry more questions!
All in ones are fit and forget.
 
Even though it comes from the US? Bonkers

Yea, its a pain in the backside. It might have something to do with it going through the mainland fulfilment centres or something, not sure of the journey they take. I personally just think Amazon can't be bothered with paperwork or something. I can get stuff from other retailers in the US and EU. Its also been since 1st January like the EU stores, I bought 4K Blu-rays a few times before.

Screenshot_2021-06-12-23-27-45-784_com.amazon.mShop.android.shopping.jpg
 
Im 43 and my pc gaming days have slowed quite a bit from when I was younger. I have a brand new DELL AIO desktop and a 1 year old HP laptop. I do alot of my gaming now on the switch lite.
 

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