PC Building/Upgrading/Parts-picking Megathread Reloaded

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > PC Building/Upgrading/Parts-picking Megathread Reloaded

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Alright then, so my PC build is (mostly) 4 years old, and it still kind of holds up these days since I upgraded from an AMD 7850 to a GTX 970 4gb.

Processor: i5 3570k
motherboard: Gigabyte z77-d3h
RAM: Samsung Green (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz
GFX: Nvidia GTX 970 4gb

I'm not sure where to go from here. I was thinking either swap out the RAM to 16gb of 2400MHz DDR3 as a short term solution, or buy a new case, PSU, MB, CPU and RAM, and throw the 970 in there. I feel that the CPU is still up to the task, but I might be completely out on that.

# ¿ May 9, 2016 10:55

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# ¿ May 6, 2024 11:17

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

mmkay posted:

Overclock the CPU (maybe get a cooler, if you don't have one), and get an SSD. Maybe start thinking about PSU change? Otherwise it's still fine.

I should have mentioned that I do have the CPU overclocked with a tower cooler. PSU is 750w

# ¿ May 9, 2016 12:43

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

I reckon I'm going to do an upgrade soon. With my current setup (i5-3570k overclocked to 4ghz, GTX 970 and 8gb DDR3 ram) I can run VR games, and Forza Horizon 3 can sit at 60fps most of the time on medium settings.

But quite frankly, I've no idea what I'm looking for. Seeing as the board, RAM and CPU have been in there for 4 years, I reckon thats the first to go. As far as a budget goes for CPU, motherboard and RAM I'd say around �400 or so.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2016 03:33

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night so I ended up just looking at comparisons of the 3570k to newer processors. Has the need for CPU speed sort of stagnated? I certainly didn't get 4+ years out of my previous CPU.

I reckon I'll just get the ram that you specified and perhaps wait until next year to get a new GPU.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2016 10:39

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Okay, so I beleive I killed my PC when cleaning it out. Have tried unplugging and replugging everything, clearing CMOS etc but it just shows me the bios post screen and then gives me a blank (not off) screen with no activity.

It is a pretty old PC with an i5 3570k, gigabyte z77 d3h motherboard, 16gb of ddr3 ram and a gtx 970.

I would ideally hope the gfx card and RAM didn't die so i could use those but i imagine RAM has come a long way since then. I can't factor in a gpu right now though.

I live in the UK

I use my computer for gaming

My budget is probably around 4 to 500. I already have a HDD with Windows 10, keyboard mouse and monitors. Probably could use a new case.

No extra software needed.

Monitor res is 1920x1200 and I also run a Vive. Decent FPS in the long run at higher settings would be desired. Whilst I am not hoping to buy a new gpu soon I would upgrade to a gtx 2060 or 2070 in the future.

Please help me. I am feeling a little sad and lost...

Been an Intel man for years but if AMD is worth considering...

# ¿ Jul 11, 2019 21:53

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Stickman posted:

The first thing I would do is check that your CPU fan is spinning. If that's died you might be overheating on startup.

If it seems to be working okay, try resetting your BIOS. If you can get to the BIOS setup screen you can do it from there, but if not there's usually a "clear CMOS" button or jumper on the motherboard. The fact that you can see the BIOS splash screen means that neither your RAM nor your gpu are totally dead, so it's seems likely that you could fix it with a little fiddling.

E: If you have the proper cables/connectors, I'd also try pulling the graphics card and booting using the integrated graphics.

If you do have to upgrade, your RAM won't be useful because current motherboards only use DDR4 (rather than DD3). Fortunately RAM is currently at it's cheapest in years!

For a budget upgrade, I'd start here:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (�119.98 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (�75.74 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (�74.05 @ Amazon UK)
Total: �269.77

If your PSU is out-of-warranty, I strongly advise getting a new one. The Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum 650W (�85) looks like the best current UK deal in the 550-650W range.

From here you can:
- Upgrade the CPU to a 2600X (�150) or 3600 (�188). Neither will be a noticeable gaming upgrade with a 970, and with the B450 motherboard you can always drop in a 3600 down the line. If you do get a 3600 right off the bat, you'll need to use the motherboard's CPU-less BIOS flash via USB to update the BIOS to a compatible version.
- Upgrade the Motherboard to a B450 Gaming Pro Carbon (�115), which gets you 2 M.2 slots, better VRM (though the Pro-A is totally sufficient for a 2600/3600/3700X), slightly better on-board audio, and integrated wifi/bluetooth.
- Upgrade memory to 3600MHz for an extra �15. This'll be another very minor difference but it's cheap.

Cpu fans are spinning, and the tower heatsink was cleaned out. Tried doing a cmos clear already to no avail and if i dismount the 970 and try onboard video with dvi i get no bios screen at all.

My friend has a spare 750w psu he is giving me to try to see if it isn't my psu and as my bios doesnt seem to accept key inputs from my usb keyboard i am sourcing a ps/2 keyboard to see if that works.

It does seem likely that my motherboard is toast tho eh?

# ¿ Jul 11, 2019 23:46

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Stickman posted:

The first thing I would do is check that your CPU fan is spinning. If that's died you might be overheating on startup.

If it seems to be working okay, try resetting your BIOS. If you can get to the BIOS setup screen you can do it from there, but if not there's usually a "clear CMOS" button or jumper on the motherboard. The fact that you can see the BIOS splash screen means that neither your RAM nor your gpu are totally dead, so it's seems likely that you could fix it with a little fiddling.

E: If you have the proper cables/connectors, I'd also try pulling the graphics card and booting using the integrated graphics.

If you do have to upgrade, your RAM won't be useful because current motherboards only use DDR4 (rather than DD3). Fortunately RAM is currently at it's cheapest in years!

For a budget upgrade, I'd start here:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (�119.98 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (�75.74 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (�74.05 @ Amazon UK)
Total: �269.77

If your PSU is out-of-warranty, I strongly advise getting a new one. The Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum 650W (�85) looks like the best current UK deal in the 550-650W range.

From here you can:
- Upgrade the CPU to a 2600X (�150) or 3600 (�188). Neither will be a noticeable gaming upgrade with a 970, and with the B450 motherboard you can always drop in a 3600 down the line. If you do get a 3600 right off the bat, you'll need to use the motherboard's CPU-less BIOS flash via USB to update the BIOS to a compatible version.
- Upgrade the Motherboard to a B450 Gaming Pro Carbon (�115), which gets you 2 M.2 slots, better VRM (though the Pro-A is totally sufficient for a 2600/3600/3700X), slightly better on-board audio, and integrated wifi/bluetooth.
- Upgrade memory to 3600MHz for an extra �15. This'll be another very minor difference but it's cheap.

Cheers again for this list. My mother has learned of my predicament and is offering to loan me extra to get a graphics card. What is a good option to go with?

# ¿ Jul 12, 2019 18:40

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

So going by the advice of Stickman i think I will go with a Ryzen 3600 and a b450 motherboard

Will I need to flash the BIOS for it to recognise the 3600? ...and if so, how?

I take it for the same money Intel aren't up to snuff? My 3570k did me real proud so I have to admit I feel a little weird going away from them.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2019 23:53

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Okay so I have built up my new PC and it does not post or anything. It turns on and all the fans and lights are running but no output to my monitor.

PSU: Corsair TX750M 750W Modular 80+ Gold

Motherboard: MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC AMD�

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8GHz Hexa Core

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Windforce 8GB�

Ram: Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 3600 MHz C18 XMP 2.0 Enthusiast

I noticed that the CPU light on the board is a solid red also. Also where the CPU power plugs in I only have the 4x2 connector in. There is a further slot for a 2x2 alongside it.

I understand that this board requires a flash to recognise the 3600X but I did make a usb stick with the MSI.ROM file.

Where have I hosed up spectacularly?

# ¿ Jul 16, 2019 21:31

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Stickman posted:

Yeah, it needs to be flashed first before you install the CPU if you haven't done so already. The 4x2 pin is for extra power to the CPU and you'd use it instead of the 2x2 pin. It's also completely unnecessary - I'd just use the 2x2 pin.

E:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTkXunUAriE

Thanks. Currently at the hospital as my fiancee scalded her hand.

So should i unseat the cpu and cooler to do the flash, also switch to the 2x2 pin?

I think i got the right file off of msi, but i read somewhere that the flash drive needs to be a 16gb or less fat32. Is this the case? I have a 64gb that is fomatted in exFAT ... No idea how to convert it to fat32

Falken fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jul 16, 2019

# ¿ Jul 16, 2019 22:35

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Stickman posted:

If you already have the 4x2 pin installed, that's fine - it really won't matter either way! It sounds like 16gb or less in fat32 is what you need - I'd stop by Walgreens or something and pick up a cheap small one rather than trying to wrestle with formatting on a larger drive. It'll probably already be Fat32, but to covert just right-click on the flash drive in "My Computer", choose "format" from the menu, and then choose Fat32 from "File System" drop-down menu (and then click "Start").

Sorry to hear about your fiancee I scalded my leg a few weeks ago and it's not fun at all. Hoping they fix her up without too much hassle!

Hi again! I was able to reallocate the drive as a 15gb fat32 and the flash process started as soon as i pressed the button. PC switched on and the light began to flash. Will it turn itself off again or do i do that myself? Dont want to interrupt it!

Thanks for your concern. Shes OK just a bit sore. Got chatting with a girl who crushed her fingers in a door and her fingernail was hanging off so that got put into perspective!!

# ¿ Jul 16, 2019 23:59

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Stickman posted:

Yep, it'll stop when it's done - should take about 5 minutes or so.

Good to hear she's okay!

OH MY GOD it posted

Thanks!!!

# ¿ Jul 17, 2019 00:29

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

Okay so I was installing windows and it did what I assume was a regular shutdown... however now it refuses to POST again and the CPU debug light is on.

Any ideas?

# ¿ Jul 17, 2019 07:15

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# ¿ May 6, 2024 11:17

Falken: Jan 26, 2004; Do you feel like a hero yet?

It did post previously and I was installing Windows

E: So far so good... cmos clear has allowed me to continue

# ¿ Jul 17, 2019 07:37

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > PC Building/Upgrading/Parts-picking Megathread Reloaded