Help with PC build for home use

[KagnuS]

Hey all,

First post here.

I've had a self build PC from 2016 but the motherboard has died and I'm looking to replace the PC.

The use is general office type work, multitasking, some video streaming (Plex, kodi etc), and potential basic gaming.

Budget could stretch up to £1000, but ideally £700.

I think my main priority would be to have a minimal and sleek looking case, to match with the study. No bright colours etc.

Looking to replace the spec below. I want to keep the hard drives, but wouldnt mind upgrading to larger main SSD.

Monitors might be upgraded in the next 3 years or so, but it's not a priority.

Could you please help with a spec?
Thanks a lot!!

Storage:

Seagate BarraCuda 6TB SATA III 3.5" Hard Drive - 5400RPM
2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200.14 SATA 3 6GB/s 7200rpm 64MB Cache 8ms OEM NCQ
250GB Samsung 750 EVO, 2.5" SSD, SATA III - 6Gb/s, Samsung MGX, 256MB Cache, Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s, 97K/88K IOPS

Optical Drive

LiteOn IHAS124-14 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM

PSU

450W Corsair CS450M, 80 PLUS Gold, Hybrid Modular, Single Rail, 35.5A +12V, 1x120mm Fan, ATX PSU

Case

Aerocool Dead Silence Blue Gaming micro-ATX Cube Case with Blue & Black Interior w/o PSU

Memory

16GB (2x8GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX Black, PC4-17000 (2133), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 13-15-15-28, XMP 2.0, 1.2V

CPU

Intel Core i3 6100, S 1151, Skylake, Dual Core, 3.7GHz, 3MB Cache, 1005MHz GPU, 37x Ratio, 47W, CPU,

Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H, Intel B150, S 1151, DDR4, SATA3 6Gbps, M.2 (PCIe/SATA), Realtek LAN, USB 3.0, Micro ATX

GPU

12GB Sapphire Radeon RX460 Dual-X, 14nm Polaris, PCIe 3.0, 7000MHz GDDR5, 1090MHz GPU, 1210MHz Boost, 896 Streams

Monitors (2off)

LG 23MP68VQ, 23 IPS (Neo Blade) Freesync, 16:9, 1920 x 1080/250cd/m2/5ms, VGA/DVI/HDMI, 75 Hz

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hiya, these forums are for PCSpecialist systems only, we can't advise on self builds or competitor builds.

If you're interested in that, we can certainly advise further?

 

[KagnuS]

Oh yes I am looking for a PCSpecialist build. Apologies if that didn't come across!!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Oh yes I am looking for a PCSpecialist build. Apologies if that didn't come across!!

Ok, cos a lot of the components are supplied by PCS?

 

[Scott]

Ok, cos a lot of the components are supplied by PCS?

I think that was his last build, the one he is replacing

 

[SpyderTracks]

I think that was his last build, the one he is replacing

Oh god, forgive me @KagnuS sincere apologies, do please continue

 

[Scott]

Is the plan to keep the GPU and move it across to a new system? I'll struggle with £1k, never mind £700, if parts from the old build aren't to be used

Edit: Just checked the model as the 12GB threw me, it's 2GB. Maybe not worth it but depends if you are happy with how it was running prior to the motherboard giving up.

 

[Scott]

This would be my first stab at it. Assumes you're going to move your mass storage over to the new system. If you wanted to spend a bit more of the budget the next thing I would consider would be a 1TB secondary M2 drive for faster storage.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.4GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR, 1625MB/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
STANDARD AMD 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 INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
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 16 to 18 working days
Price: £886.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/kPCUyJx!RN/

 

[KagnuS]

Happy to start afresh, expect for monitors and keeping the HDDs as additional storage.

I think the 12gb GPU was a typo. I sourced it from scan before but looking to use PCSpecialist for the build. I didn't know about you guys back in 2016 😅

Gaming is of secondary concern if that helps?


@SpyderTracks no problem! I am on mobile so the formatting may not be the best and somehow confusing

 

[Scott]

Happy to start afresh, expect for monitors and keeping the HDDs as additional storage.

I think the 12gb GPU was a typo. I sourced it from scan before but looking to use PCSpecialist for the build. I didn't know about you guys back in 2016 😅

Gaming is of secondary concern if that helps?


@SpyderTracks no problem! I am on mobile so the formatting may not be the best and somehow confusing

The above has you covered. The 1650 will cover basic gaming at 1080p, I wouldn't expect too much from it though. If you wanted to increase the budget, you could spend it on the GPU. Best bang for buck is the AMD 6600 for 1080p but that would take you over budget.

 

[Martinr36]

If going to do away with the old PC, you could save some money by transferring windows over and reinvest that saving in the hardware side of the new PC

 

[KagnuS]

If going to do away with the old PC, you could save some money by transferring windows over and reinvest that saving in the hardware side of the new PC

Thanks that's a good idea. I had windows 10, but I seem to remember that it would be linked to the motherboard (or am I making this up?)

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks that's a good idea. I had windows 10, but I seem to remember that it would be linked to the motherboard (or am I making this up?)

You can transfer any windows 10 or 11 license so long as it's converted to digital

Transferring digital windows 10 license to new machine

Hi all Quite a few people already have a windows 10 License which they want to transfer over to the new PC. Windows 10 now makes this easy, even if you have an OEM license, you can legitimately turn it into a "digital license" by tying it to your microsoft account, and then transfer it legally...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[KagnuS]

The above has you covered. The 1650 will cover basic gaming at 1080p, I wouldn't expect too much from it though. If you wanted to increase the budget, you could spend it on the GPU. Best bang for buck is the AMD 6600 for 1080p but that would take you over budget.

Thanks @Scott 🙏 really appreciate it
If I were to go for the AMD 6600 GPU, would I need to add/change anything else?

 

[Scott]

Thanks @Scott 🙏 really appreciate it
If I were to go for the AMD 6600 GPU, would I need to add/change anything else?

No, nothing at all. I specced the system so that you would be able to upgrade the GPU in the future if you wanted to. It won't handle the top tier GPUs but it'll certainly keep you in the 1080p/1440p wheelhouse for a long time to come

 

[KagnuS]

So I have been thinking and pretty much ready to pull the trigger but the motherboard ASUS® ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) seems out of stock. Is the Gigabyte alternative ok ?

Also for the M2 1st SSD I think the PCIe 4 is compatible with the motherboard (checking online and the details on the '?' confirms it), but I can't seem to choose 500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2.

Is there much in it for actual speeds or should I just go for : 500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 ?

What the available spec looks like now:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core CPU (3.5GHz-4.4GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2: DDR4, USB 3.2, Wi-Fi - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/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
STANDARD AMD 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
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 [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
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 15 to 17 working days
Price: £997.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/w7VB4aZD7r/

 

[Scott]

I wouldn't go with the gigabyte, I would stick with ASUS but the B550 Prime is still OK. I wouldn't bother with the faster drive, they are compatible but you're paying a lot. The 1.5TB layout is ideal but I would just go with 2 of the solid drives.