Advice on Upgrading

[Captain-Vimes]

Hi All,

I got a PC from here 2 years ago and whilst it works fine I'm thinking about upgrading the processor and the graphics card, specifically to an Intel i7 and a RTX 4060. My question is just whether the upgrades would work with everything else I have.

I don't know if my power supply would be enough or if I would need to upgrade anything else just to make it work. I'm not doing any editing or anything like that, just gaming. I also don't care too much about running everything on max settings, as long as I can get high settings with a good frame rate, I'm fine.

I don't really know much about computers tbh so any help would be appreciated. Also, any advice on installing a new processor and graphics card would be helpful.

Spec is below, although I do also have a second SSD installed now.

Case
PCS 3601 CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (Up to 4.4GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B660-PLUS D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 4.0)
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 80 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

 

[SpyderTracks]

That system isn't designed to be upgradable, to get it road worthy, you'd have to spend quite a lot of money in the case, motherboard, PSU, Cooler, RAM and CPU and GPU which is essentially a full rebuild anyway.

This is why PC design is so important, you need to build the platform right at the outset with upgrades in mind in the future.

I'm afraid you just need to accept that system isn't upgradeable, get advice in the future when designing something.

 

[Captain-Vimes]

Sorry, would you be able explain what the problem is exactly with it not being upgradeable?

If I replaced the processor and graphics card, would it just not work, or is that they won't fit?

 

[sck451]

The main problem is your power supply. Other problems (though to a much lesser degree) would be the case, the motherboard and the cooling.

The power supply prevents you upgrading your graphics card. As in, there's no upgrade that I would put on a 450W power supply. You would need to upgrade that as well as the graphics card.

Then the rest of the system. The case does not have good airflow, so you can't get good cooling and you won't be able to run components that draw a lot of power, like an upgraded CPU or a higher power graphics card. The motherboard is fine for the 12400F, but I wouldn't trust it on a power-hungry chip like a 14700K, or even on a lesser variant. The CPU cooling is also just marginally OK for the 12400F, but for an upgraded CPU you would want something way better. Sticking a new CPU in would probably work in that it's technically compatible, but you'd be in a world of thermal problems. Putting a new graphics card in would likely not work and might damage the graphics card or other components if the power supply were to fail.

You also have slow memory and an ancient WiFi card. Basically there's not much in your PC that's strong enough to support a good upgrade. It seems like it was put together to be cheap at the time of purchase, rather than good value in the longer term...

 

[Captain-Vimes]

The main problem is your power supply. Other problems (though to a much lesser degree) would be the case, the motherboard and the cooling.

The power supply prevents you upgrading your graphics card. As in, there's no upgrade that I would put on a 450W power supply. You would need to upgrade that as well as the graphics card.

Then the rest of the system. The case does not have good airflow, so you can't get good cooling and you won't be able to run components that draw a lot of power, like an upgraded CPU or a higher power graphics card. The motherboard is fine for the 12400F, but I wouldn't trust it on a power-hungry chip like a 14700K, or even on a lesser variant. The CPU cooling is also just marginally OK for the 12400F, but for an upgraded CPU you would want something way better. Sticking a new CPU in would probably work in that it's technically compatible, but you'd be in a world of thermal problems. Putting a new graphics card in would likely not work and might damage the graphics card or other components if the power supply were to fail.

You also have slow memory and an ancient WiFi card. Basically there's not much in your PC that's strong enough to support a good upgrade. It seems like it was put together to be cheap at the time of purchase, rather than good value in the longer term...

Thanks for the detailed response.

I've just configured the below spec, can you let me know what you think, at least in regards to long term value? Is there anything that you would suggest changing? It comes to £1,361.00 including VAT and Delivery, and I would prefer not to go too far above £1,500 if possible.

Since I already have Windows on one of my current SSDs, I have put No Operating System Required. Is it as simple as just installing my current SSDs onto the new PC before I boot it up? Also, I have 2 1TB SSDs, and the new PC would come with 1 (as it won't let me proceed without choosing an SSD or HDD), would the motherboard support all 3?

Sorry for all the questions, I would just like to make a more informed purchase than last time.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D RGB AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE - WHITE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700 (Up to 4.9GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B760-PLUS D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 5.0)
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB ASUS DUAL GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti V2 OC Edition - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H100x RGB ELITE HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
ASUS PCE-AXE5400 Wi-Fi 6E (2402Mbps/6GHz, 574Mbps/2.4GHz + Bluetooth 5.2)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days

 

[sck451]

I would also not buy that PC! It's got several of the same flaws as last time. Better, but not ideal. You are on an old platform there, and can get more performance from upgrading to a DDR5 platform and, really, AMD is the only good choice today. For the graphics, unless you are using it for professional use, AMD cards are also probably a better bet there and your budget can get a 7700 XT or a 7800 XT quite reasonably. You haven't said what monitor you're using, but this would be ideal for 1440p, and even overkill for 1080p.

Here's the system I'd be inclined to design for you:

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 205 MESH C GAMING CASE - WHITE Not the ideal case but cheap. If you prefer a black one, you can spend a little more or do "send in your own case", or choose the other Lian Li case (which I don't like!)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5) Much better option than the 12700: faster, more modern, cooler
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6) Not absolutely latest-and-greatest, but all you need for plenty of performance and even upgrades
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) Much faster DDR5 memory
Graphics Card
16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7800 XT GAMING OC - 2 x HDMI, 2 x DP Absolute beast of a graphics card: way better than the 4060 Ti
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) Boot drive: use your existing drive as the secondary
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Strong power supply
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler Plenty of cooling for the AMD chip
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £1,402.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/nUBjzuzdZ7/

As for the storage and installing the operating system... What I'd want to do is to have Windows on the P44 drive in the system above, and then bring over the P41+ drive from the old system to use as secondary/game storage. So I would:

• Boot the computer without adding the P41 drive.
• Install Windows from scratch (don't use the pre-installed demo version you'll receive) and transfer your licence from the old PC.
• Turn the computer off and install the P41 drive.
• Wipe that drive, and use it for game storage in future.

It's not the swiftest process, but it should get you where you want to be in the quickest possible way.