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Question PC just went dead, been out of the loop, need upgrade advice

Rhezuss

Rhezuss

Diamond Member
Hi! Turned off my PC last night and this morning it won't turn on. I tested the PSU with a paper clip and the fan spins so it's not that. I replaced the CR2032 battery and still won't start.

My current old RIG is in my signature. I'm guessing a faulty motherboard. I have this PC since early 2000 iirc (with upgrades here and there) ...so I think i'm overdue for an upgrade.

I don't really want to dish out tons of money but i'd love to vet something that would last me quite a while. I'm ok keeping the GTX 970 too.

I've been out of the loop for quite a while so i'd like some tips on what to buy. I had Intel and AMD over the years so either will be fine.

This time I won't do any overclocking so no need for these features.

So, what would you recommend for a mobo, CPU, power supply (might replace it too) and memory for my next upgrade?
 
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I have a number of pre-assembled PCs in my FS thread, some low-end gaming PCs, some not. I'll cut you a really decent deal on one, if interested.

That said, both Intel and AMD have some compelling offers right now. Comet Lake (Intel 10th-gen, I think maybe 10nm), and AMD's AM4 platform, with Zen2 (3000-series CPUs), with 4000-series APUs (still Zen2) coming out Real Soon Now, and then later this year, hopefully, Zen3 (4000-series CPUs), will be released.

The "native" platforms for Zen3 are the X570 and B550 motherboards, but AMD thankfully relented, and said that they would assist mobo vendors in creating a "one-way flash" for Zen3, for B450 and X470 mobos.

I have a few B450 Tomahawk MAX mobos in my FS thread, those are good boards, and advertised (at some point) support for "all future AM4 CPUs" Their claim-to-fame is a 32MB BIOS chip, along with BIOS flash-back, so you don't need a CPU of the current generation to flash the BIOS, just power to the board, and a USB stock with the BIOS on it, and press a button on the back.

The B550 Tomahawk is even better, it has both 1GbE-T networking, AND an integrated RealTek 2.5GbE-T NIC as well. It has an MSRP of $179.99, sometimes you can find them @ MSRP, but often they are price-gouged by 3rd-party sellers just like the B450 version.

As far as PCI-E 4.0 support, B550 and X570 will get you that NOW with Zen2 and future Zen3 CPUs, whereas with Intel's 10th-gen, you'll have to wait until their 11th-Gen Rocket Lake CPUs debut, and not all current Z490 boards will be fully PCI-E compatible with Rocket Lake.

If that matters to you, that is. It's really impressive for NVMe PCI-E storage benchmarks, but doesn't seem to be in any way a bottleneck with GPUs yet.

Edit: If you game, you may or may not be aware of the specifications of the new PS5 and XB consoles coming out. They both utilize 8C/16T Zen2-based CPUs/APUs, along with RDNA2-based iGPUs. The RDNA2 cards (aka "Big Navi") aren't out yet for PC, but hopefully will be by the end of the year. They supposedly include Ray-Tracing (RT) support.

So, if you are interested in playing PS5/XB console ports, you may want to go with an AM4 system, an 8C/16T Zen2 CPU such as a 3800XT, and a filler GPU for now, until RDNA2-based GPUs come out. That, and 32GB of DDR4-3200/3600/4000 RAM.
 
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Now is a good time to sell your old ram and CPU, as they are fetching a fair price on the used market. Power supplies are very overpriced at this time, so if you can get by on your's a while longer, that would save you some real money.

Also, what would you consider a ton of money? A Ryzen 3700x, Asrock B550 Steel Legend, and 32GB of DDR4 3600 is under $600. If you want something modern, but basic, that hits all the necessary stuff for a strong gamer, Ryzen 3600, Asrock B550 phantom gaming, and 32GB DDR4 3600 is under $400.

The B550 Tomahawk took a couple of shortcuts that put me off. Kit Guru pointed out, they cheesed on the PCI-E and M.2 lane allocation, the HDMI is only 1.4b (not a big deal, and it has DisplayPort) no 2 digit LED diagnostics, and only 5 rear USB. The Steel Legend did not cheese that stuff, and has VRMs good enough for a 3950X -

 
Thanks for the recommendations!

I've been checking memory and some are advertised as "for Intel CPU" or something like that. Is that right or any sticks will work with any types of CPUs?
 
Is 32gb that needed even now? I don't mind paying for it but how much of a difference would I feel?
 
That is not a good price on the CPU. Amazon has it for $154.99.

I'd recommend using the following tool to build your PC:

https://pcpartpicker.com

Click on the "System Builder" button and build your system. It allows you to get pricing from multiple vendors. Do be aware you have to double check any memory compatibility as the website doesn't do well with memory compatibility checks.

You can also use the markup tool to paste your proposed build into a post here for comments.
 
You can change the pull down box on the PCPartpicker website (upper right hand corner) to change the country over to Canada/Canadian dollars and to use Canadian vendors.
 
CPU is 236CAD so not a huge difference, but thanks for the link though, I will shop on it whe.n I get back from my trip and compare the prices.
 
CPU is 236CAD so not a huge difference, but thanks for the link though, I will shop on it whe.n I get back from my trip and compare the prices.
 
Just to start - final price shown includes credit for a $15 rebate on the motherboard and includes DDR4-3600 CL16 memory (which g.skill's memory configuration tool verifies is compatible with your motherboard choice):

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($236.43 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($164.05 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $500.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-29 00:06 EDT-0400
 
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Added a case and a SSD for good measure...didn't knew SSDs were so cheap now!

PCPartPicker Part List: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/wzxNdm

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($236.86 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: *ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($164.05 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($83.93 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Total: $714.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-30 07:40 EDT-0400
 
That is not too bad overall.

You might consider buying the SSD without the fancy WD heatsink to save about $40 (there is a Newegg.ca $15 off promo code for the model without heatsink - just check the website, you might need to sign up for their promotional emails to use it), then give a few bucks back to buy a cheapo 3rd party heatsink if you need one.

Rhezuss said:
Other question: Should I keep my Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD or simply use the onboard sound?
Click to expand...

I say, build the system and try it with and without the sound card to decide what you prefer. Your chosen board should have plenty of slots to use the sound card without sacrificing anything if you decide you want to continue to use it.
 
Ok...weird, system booted with the onboard power switch but got stuck at the BIOS loading with the options to "DEL" to enter BIOS or F2 to continue...but keyboard and mouse doesn't work...and now the switch doesn't work lol

Dr Debug showed "d7" code which means "no console input devices are found"
 
Rhezuss said:
Ok...weird, system booted with the onboard power switch but got stuck at the BIOS loading with the options to "DEL" to enter BIOS or F2 to continue...but keyboard and mouse doesn't work...and now the switch doesn't work lol

Dr Debug showed "d7" code which means "no console input devices are found"
Click to expand...

Have you tried unplugging everything except one memory module and running on integrated graphics, then trying to boot the system?
 
Steltek said:
Have you tried unplugging everything except one memory module and running on integrated graphics, then trying to boot the system?
Click to expand...
Yes tried it, unplugged every stuff that was not necessary and didn't worked.

Finally ordered this:

Ryzen 5 3600x
ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming
G.Skill 2x8gb DDR4 3600 CL16
1 SSD 500gb SATA3 (boot)
1 SSD 500gb M.2 (gaming)
Windows 10 Home

Hope this will solve my problem!
 
I have an okd Hyper 212 EVO fan that I used on my i7-3770k...Do you think it could fit for my new Ryzen or i'll need to buy the newest model? 20200802_170936.jpg
 
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