Time for a rebuild - advice welcome!

nickg1977

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Hi all

My trusty i7 3770 PC that I built nearly 8 years ago (and have gradually modified since) is getting a bit twitchy, so I think it's time to give it an overhaul.

There's a few items I don't want (or have no desire) to change, which are:

Media PC Case - Link to Amazon (sorry it's an old case) - keeping this is a must since it's a perfect fit for my AV setup.
Pioneer BluRay Writer
2nd HDD - 8TB
OLED TV (used as monitor)
Microsoft wireless USB Keyboard/mouse

Attached is the spec I'm thinking to add.
Not sure what cooling to go for, so any suggestions welcome.
Anything else I've missed? Cables etc?
I am not that familiar with current tech, but have started my research and this is what I have come up with so far.

Main use is video editing and compression, plus I plan to do more photo work in the coming months.
It also gets used as a basic web browser, excel sheets etc, but nothing too taxing on that front.
May be tempted by the odd game, but likely to be old titles (most "recent" would be GTA V or Sims 4) and I am guessing the onboard graphics would do reasonably well with those? Currently running a Geforce 750ti low profile, but if I can get away with integrated graphics then I'm happy to do so. I can always add dedicated graphics later on if I need it.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.
Nick
 

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Looks like a good selection. I just bought the same motherboard but with the i5 10400 6 core 12 thread a couple of weeks ago. Its very quick, and way more than I needed but there were no i3's available so opted for a step up.

For cooling I got the Akasa KS12 low profile cooler small neat and very very quiet, though if your for a gaming or overclocking you'll probably want something a bit beefier.

However Don't get the 1TB SSD with SATA interface, that is a big step down in performance, the motherboard has two m.2 sockets so get an NVME 1TB M.2 instead which transfer data way faster.
I got the WD Blue SN550 250GB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 SSD, as I don't need too much space for this build, but 1TB versions are available in several flavours which you can choose from at a comparable price to what you were pay for the standard SATA SSD.

Have a look HERE for alternatives.
 
:thumbsup:

Looks like a good selection. I just bought the same motherboard but with the i5 10400 6 core 12 thread a couple of weeks ago. Its very quick, and way more than I needed but there were no i3's available so opted for a step up.

For cooling I got the Akasa KS12 low profile cooler small neat and very very quiet, though if your for a gaming or overclocking you'll probably want something a bit beefier.

However Don't get the 1TB SSD with SATA interface, that is a big step down in performance, the motherboard has two m.2 sockets so get an NVME 1TB M.2 instead which transfer data way faster.
I got the WD Blue SN550 250GB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 SSD, as I don't need too much space for this build, but 1TB versions are available in several flavours which you can choose from at a comparable price to what you were pay for the standard SATA SSD.

Have a look HERE for alternatives.
That's really helpful, thank you.
Exactly the advice I was hoping for as I didn't realise there'd been a big development with ssd technology.

Will probably be ordering next weekend, so if anyone has any further suggestions before then I'm happy to hear them, particularly around cooling since the processor can be maxed out for long periods with video encoding. Not looking to overclock though.
 
Yep time moves on in Tech very quickly. The NVME drives are far easier to use as well, just insert it in the slot and secure with a single screw, no mounting, no wires no messing around.

sorry thought I'd mention, I pretty much always use Arctic Freezer 33 eSports Coolers for more demanding gaming builds

 
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Yep time moves on in Tech very quickly. The NVME drives are far easier to use as well, just insert it in the slot and secure with a single screw, no mounting, no wires no messing around.

sorry thought I'd mention, I pretty much always use Arctic Freezer 33 eSports Coolers for more demanding gaming builds


Just had a look at the Arctic freezer options. They look good but unfortunately (unless I'm misreading the dimensions) they are very tall, and my case is quite "flat"!

I don't think I can support anything much beyond 65mm in height. Any suggestions? I'm happy to pay a reasonable amount if necessary.
 
Any reason for not going for a Ryzen based setup ?

Also as mentioned elsewhere, unless there is a specific reason, I would get a NVME over SATA these days. Aside from easier cabling, performamce is on a different league, especially with large files like video editing. My non-DRAM WD blue NVME gets 2.1 GB read and 1.1 GB write on large files. If you want to spend more the one with DRAM cache is even faster.
 
Any reason for not going for a Ryzen based setup ?

Also as mentioned elsewhere, unless there is a specific reason, I would get a NVME over SATA these days. Aside from easier cabling, performamce is on a different league, especially with large files like video editing. My non-DRAM WD blue NVME gets 2.1 GB read and 1.1 GB write on large files. If you want to spend more the one with DRAM cache is even faster.

I will go with the NVME approach, yes. Thanks for the pointer about the DRAM cache.

To be honest I'm not even sure what a Ryzen setup means! I just went for a mid range board that seemed a good match for the processor I selected. I opted for 10th gen as there didn't seem to be a huge benefit in going to 11th, but I'm open to correction on this.

Thanks
 
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I will go with the NVME approach, yes. Thanks for the pointer about the DRAM cache.

To be honest I'm not even sure what a Ryzen setup means! I just went for a mid range board that seemed a good match for the processor I selected. I opted for 10th gen as there didn't seem to be a huge benefit in going to 11th, but I'm open to correction on this.

Thanks
Ryzen is AMD's range of CPU. Looking at current prices the AMD Ryzen 3600 is older generation but similiar Cinebench performance and faster in other tasks. Note it doesn't have a built in GPU so you will need a graphics card of some type but you have so that isn't a issue.

So you should be able to pick up
- Ryzen 5600
- basic akasa cooler
- Asus B450 motherboard
- 32GB DDR4 3000

For £414 at AWD-IT

Personally I would pay the extra and go for a B550 motherboard. You get USB 3.2, PCIe Gen4 and dual M.2 and support for latest CPU if you want to upgrade in the future.

Also if you have Windows 10 today and you are logging on with Microsoft account then even though its probably outside the T & C, microsoft should allow you to transfer the Windows 10 license. Just go through telephone activation and one of the options is you have upgraded hardware.
 
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Ryzen is AMD's range of CPU. Looking at current prices the AMD Ryzen 3600 is older generation but similiar Cinebench performance and faster in other tasks. Note it doesn't have a built in GPU so you will need a graphics card of some type but you have so that isn't a issue.

So you should be able to pick up
- Ryzen 5600
- basic akasa cooler
- Asus B450 motherboard
- 32GB DDR4 3000

For £414 at AWD-IT

Personally I would pay the extra and go for a B550 motherboard. You get USB 3.2, PCIe Gen4 and dual M.2 and support for latest CPU if you want to upgrade in the future.

Also if you have Windows 10 today and you are logging on with Microsoft account then even though its probably outside the T & C, microsoft should allow you to transfer the Windows 10 license. Just go through telephone activation and one of the options is you have upgraded hardware.
Ah OK thank you.
To be honest I chose Intel for a few reasons but none of which are probably justified!

1) I remember many years ago AMD had a reputation for running hotter. When doing video work the processor can be maxed out for hours at a time so heat becomes a concern.

2) I've had Intel cpus for the last 20+ years and they've worked faultlessly, so I do feel a bit of loyalty to the brand.

3) Integrated gpu is handy to have, so I don't need to worry about graphics cards unless gaming becomes a serious prospect.

Interesting what you say about win 10. I currently only have Win 10 as a free upgrade from Win 7, so I thought it wouldn't be eligible for carrying over. Not even sure how I'd do a clean install either as I only have a Win7 CD. However if I can save the near £100 somehow it is worth considering.
 
Ryzen is AMD's range of CPU. Looking at current prices the AMD Ryzen 3600 is older generation but similiar Cinebench performance and faster in other tasks. Note it doesn't have a built in GPU so you will need a graphics card of some type but you have so that isn't a issue.

So you should be able to pick up
  • Ryzen 5600
  • basic akasa cooler
  • Asus B450 motherboard
  • 32GB DDR4 3000

For £414 at AWD-IT

Personally I would pay the extra and go for a B550 motherboard. You get USB 3.2, PCIe Gen4 and dual M.2 and support for latest CPU if you want to upgrade in the future.

Also if you have Windows 10 today and you are logging on with Microsoft account then even though its probably outside the T & C, microsoft should allow you to transfer the Windows 10 license. Just go through telephone activation and one of the options is you have upgraded hardware.
I would go with this, as above but with Asus B550-Plus. £465
- Support for latest Ryzen CPU
- PCIe Gen 4 16x + PCIe Gen3 16x
- Dual M.2, one Gen4 and one Gen3 (Gen 3 is shared with SATA 5 & 6). Basically use Gen4 M.2 slot.
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A and Type C
- M.2 WiFi support


You can stick with Vengence RAM but to be honest the ADATA is solid brand and sacrifices looks for cost and you won't notice speed difference unless you have two identical setups sat next to each other. With Either Intel or AMD, make sure you load XMS memory profiles in BIOS as DDR4 standart is 2400 MHz which is what the motherboard will almost certainly set itself to by default.

You can use the money saved to go with better cooler, the Cooler Master 212 LED is a decent tower cooler, will be quieter and is £17 extra.
 
Ah OK thank you.
To be honest I chose Intel for a few reasons but none of which are probably justified!

1) I remember many years ago AMD had a reputation for running hotter. When doing video work the processor can be maxed out for hours at a time so heat becomes a concern.

2) I've had Intel cpus for the last 20+ years and they've worked faultlessly, so I do feel a bit of loyalty to the brand.

3) Integrated gpu is handy to have, so I don't need to worry about graphics cards unless gaming becomes a serious prospect.

Interesting what you say about win 10. I currently only have Win 10 as a free upgrade from Win 7, so I thought it wouldn't be eligible for carrying over. Not even sure how I'd do a clean install either as I only have a Win7 CD. However if I can save the near £100 somehow it is worth considering.
AMD run cooler, they are on 7nm technology compared to Intel on 14nm. I've listed a better cooler in my second post. The AMD are rock solid, my son had a 3600x for gaming hours at time without problems and since Zen 2 have been running rings around Intel. Zen 3 is even better but outside your price range. Consider the 3600 which is £150 can keep up with £260 Intel i7-10700.

I know what you are saying about integrated graphics and AMD do CPU with integrated graphics (look for models ending with G, there are some OEM options available on AliExpress as AMD don't do many retail versions) but even a basic add on card is going to be quicker to be honest. Even a GTX 1030 which can be had for £75 is going to be 3 times quicker than integrated graphics.

And you windows should active fine, I transfered several the license to new hardware for several PC that were Win 7 to 10 free upgrades to new hardware. As I said, you might have to go through telephone activation but Microsoft will send you a link to a phone app and you just select that you have done a hardware upgrade I think.
 
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AMD run cooler, they are on 7nm technology compared to Intel on 14nm. I've listed a better cooler in my second post. The AMD are rock solid, my son had a 3600x for gaming hours at time without problems and since Zen 2 have been running rings around Intel. Zen 3 is even better but outside your price range. Consider the 3600 which is £150 can keep up with £260 Intel i7-10700.

I know what you are saying about integrated graphics and AMD do CPU with integrated graphics (look for models ending with G, there are some OEM options available on AliExpress as AMD don't do many retail versions) but even a basic add on card is going to be quicker to be honest. Even a GTX 1030 which can be had for £75 is going to be 3 times quicker than integrated graphics.

That's interesting! If it does run cooler than that could be a deciding factor. The graphics is a bit of an issue though as I can only use low profile graphics cards in my case. I would need to look into those to see what will fit. I currently have a 750ti but not sure it's 100% reliable, so looking to get shot of it.
 
Also that cooler is no good as it stands vertical. I need a "flat" cooler to fit in my case (see link in original post)

Thanks
 
Also that cooler is no good as it stands vertical. I need a "flat" cooler to fit in my case (see link in original post)

Thanks
Stay with the flat cooler I listed in the first cooler. Both i7-10700 and Ryzen 3600 are 65W TDP, not hard to cool. If you want to then Cooler Master G100M has a 92mm fan and is rated for 130W but then you start running into potential issues with RAM height and you might need to remove the cooler if make other updates.
 
Also that cooler is no good as it stands vertical. I need a "flat" cooler to fit in my case (see link in original post)

Thanks
Stay with the flat cooler I listed in the first cooler. Both i7-10700 and Ryzen 3600 are 65W TDP, not hard to cool.

Thank you.
Regarding win 10, how would I do a clean install and then transfer the license, since I don't have a Win10 CD?
Is there a way to do that?
The current install is basically what's been on there since day 1 and has a number of weird glitches. I would prefer to start afresh and avoiding having to mirror the existing install onto the new drive.

Thanks
 
That's interesting! If it does run cooler than that could be a deciding factor. The graphics is a bit of an issue though as I can only use low profile graphics cards in my case. I would need to look into those to see what will fit. I currently have a 750ti but not sure it's 100% reliable, so looking to get shot of it.

GTX 1030 comes in low profile and GTX 1650 has a low profile version and there is a 2060 low profile though it is a bit taller. Beyond that you in professional workstation / server cards and silly money.
 
I think your right about the Windows 10 license. I did it about a year ago from a win 7 upgrade and it worked.

Microsoft don't seem as fussed about the Licencing of Window10 the way they were with previous versions. You can even use windows 10 now without activating with just a few minor personalisation restrictions. It will nag you a bit after a while but the restrictions are nothing like they used to be.
 
I think your right about the Windows 10 license. I did it about a year ago from a win 7 upgrade and it worked.

Microsoft don't seem as fussed about the Licencing of Window10 the way they were with previous versions. You can even use windows 10 now without activating with just a few minor personalisation restrictions. It will nag you a bit after a while but the restrictions are nothing like they used to be.
Thanks.
I did a quick bit of googling and I guess I can download an installation image and make a disc. Then I'd have to speak with Microsoft after installation to say that I'd upgraded hardware. Just need to check what info I need to keep to ensure I can identify my previous installation (if that makes sense). I have a password to enter windows but I'm sure there's more detail required to identify me!
 
Also that cooler is no good as it stands vertical. I need a "flat" cooler to fit in my case (see link in original post)

Thanks

Thank you.
Regarding win 10, how would I do a clean install and then transfer the license, since I don't have a Win10 CD?
Is there a way to do that?
The current install is basically what's been on there since day 1 and has a number of weird glitches. I would prefer to start afresh and avoiding having to mirror the existing install onto the new drive.

Thanks
Easy with USB memory key and an existing Win 10 PC.



 
Thanks.
I did a quick bit of googling and I guess I can download an installation image and make a disc. Then I'd have to speak with Microsoft after installation to say that I'd upgraded hardware. Just need to check what info I need to keep to ensure I can identify my previous installation (if that makes sense). I have a password to enter windows but I'm sure there's more detail required to identify me!

What basically happens now is that Microsoft encourage you to sign on with a online MS account (Hotmail, Live, Outlook.com, etc). It then attaches the key to your account so if in future you reinstall it will automatical reactivate.

During install use the Windows 7 product key you have, it might activate automatically. As Jim mentioned they are getting less strict about activation.
 
@nickg1977 If you have any worries about installing Windows 10 I would look on YouTube there are many tutorial videos on there that show you exactly how to make a USB install stick and how to install windows.
 

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