Question Well, plans change.....LOL! Happens every darned time!

[Meghan54]

So, wife and I are talking about Win 7's EOL and support. Decide to make the move to Win 10, and I "convince" her that new builds would be so much easier to deal with rather than upgrading our old Win 7 installs, what with the new hardware being absolutely compatible vs. our old stuff maybe having potential serious driver problems.

Some salient background....we're retired, or will be by the end of the year. I am, she will be by December. Our stuff seems to be OK, but honestly, it is dated. So, looking to upgrade to something that'll last as long as our old systems have...maybe 7 years? She surfs the net, like I do, and she games, but more the puzzle/Mahjong/figure-out-the -clues/Big Fish type games, some streamed. Myself....I surf a bit, play a little more "serious" games like Civ V and VI. Not a FPS player, tho...more RTS type games.

Anyway, those are our usage needs...nothing difficult at all.


Of course, there are always problems and here are a few to take into consideration......and none are negotiable.

1. Mb/cpu will be sourced from Microcenter, so motherboard choices are slimmer than Newegg.
2. I'll be reusing our cases, which are both mATX cases. Consequently, the motherboard choices are limited to mATX or mini-ITX boards. Not going to get larger than we already have....and trying to go smaller. Thinking of resurrecting my old Qmicra v2 case. A bit smaller than the case I'm using right now.
3. The motherboards must have at least a Realtek 12xx codec, no 8xx series. The LAN chipset must be Intel. If there's on-board WiFi, the chipset must be Intel.


Now for our old stuff:

Her old sys: 3570K installed on an Asus Maximus V Gene (Z77), 8GB (2X4) Patriot DDR3-1600 memory, Intel 510 SSD 250GB (73GB free space and 3.45 TB writes), MSI GTX 970 gpu-reusing, Seasonic platinum power supply of some sort-reusing, housed in a Corsair mATX case, a Carbide if I'm not mistaken, and reusing.

And as I write that, I cannot believe how "old" it is. She's never complained about it being slow, altho she did notice a difference when I put the 970 in...replaced some AMD card with 2GB of memory on it. Pathetic for today.

My old sys: 4790K on an Asus Maximus VII Gene (Z97), 16GB (2X8) G Skill DDR3-2133, Samsung 850 Pro SSD 512GB, MSI RTX 2060 (reusing), Antec HCP-750-reusing, Corsair Carbide Air 240, also reusing.



Proposed new setups:

Her new system: AMD 3600 ($160)
AsRock Fatality B450-Gaming ITX ($110)
16GB (2X8) G Skill DDR4-3200, CL16 ($60--BF)
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD ($60--BF)
Reusing GTX 970, Seasonic ps, Corsair mATX case


My new system: AMD 3700x ($280)
AsRock X570M Pro4 mATX mb ($160)
16GB (2X8) G Skill Flare X DDR4-3200, CL14 ($125)
WD Black SN750 NVMe, 1TB ($116--BF)
Reusing RTX 2060, Antec ps, Corsair Air 240 case


Now.....question is are the parts appropriate? Better choices than what is presented above? Open to all suggestions and shall answer any questions...but realize the two MC's I shop have "limited" options. I do have the Asus X570 ROG Strix-I available, but it's a bit pricey.


Oh, and not a fan of Gigabyte motherboards, btw.

Thx!

 

[JackMDS]

Seems to me that the power of your current rig can serve your wife Computer endevours well. Get a Trial version of Win 10 install it and try.

Then get yourself a Rig along the line that you indicted in your post.

 

[Meghan54]

Well, that was one avenue I did contemplate...but there are three sides to that coin.

First, and this is getting into "feelings" and such, we've been together for almost 18 years, married for 16 of them. And throughout all that time, she's gotten my "old" computer as I've upgraded. The only parts specifically purchased for her current box is the case and ps. Everything else is a hand-me-down. And while my wife is one of the most loving and supportive persons I've ever had the honor to know, she does sometimes let me know she KNOWS I always get the new computer stuff while she gets the cast-offs.

So this is one time I can give her her very own, brand new box. I know she deserves it. (She's more than computer literate/savvy enough to understand the computer is not the case.)

Second, over the last couple of weeks been browsing ebay for completed auctions selling 4790K and 3570K cpus. The 3570's are darned near worthless....avg. sell price seems to be around $30.

On the other hand, 4790K's seem to be bringing on avg. of $125. Combos like my mb, cpu, and ram fetch around $200 or so. Don't understand it, but it's what is happening on ebay. So it seems selling my parts would just about pay for her new mb and cpu...which helps with the first side of the coin.

Third, I'd honestly have fewer worries about something dying from age with both desktops being almost new. Our old parts are getting darned old....and while I may have a misguided belief that Intel builds parts to last, age matters. Hers is a few months from its 8th birthday and mine's at 5 1/2.

 

[Arkaign]

Given how old the 970 is, combined with what sounds like a not very extreme demand for her 3d AAA gaming, perhaps a Ryzen APU for her? You could still use the 970 for the time being if you wanted to, but if it started to flake out or die over the next few months or years, you could just yank it and go with the on-die Radeon just fine.

Or, take the resale value now on the 970 and just use that opportunity to lower the hear/noise/power level of the new build. Combining the APU with something like a 212 Evo would make for a basically entirely silent PC.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hmm, I personally have mixed feelings about modern AMD APUs for gaming. While it CAN be done (Played some Tekken 7 PC on a 2200G and/or a 2400G, maybe both, that was like a year ago), it still wasn't as nice as with my RX 570 card at the time. (Maybe I still had my RX 460, even.)

I agree, if one of you is "jumping ship" from Intel to AMD, you both should. Both existing rigs are getting long-in-the-tooth.

You don't want her occasionally blue-screening on an older Intel CPU, while you're gaming on a shiny new AMD AM4 3rd-Gen Ryzen CPU without her.

I think that you're "on track" in your selection of parts.

BTW, consider the X570 Steel Legend mATX board too, besides the Pro4. Maybe more RGB, if nothing else.

Edit: One more suggestion, match up the VRAM amount between both of your cards. Get her a GTX 1660 Super or Ti, 6GB GDDR6, if you get an RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 or RTX 2060 Super.

Sell the GTX 970. Not because it's "slow", but rather, age, and lack of VRAM. (If budget is indeed part of the issue, then ignore this last part. Also in consideration for what you might be able to sell the GTX 970 for.)

 

[Arkaign]

"and she games, but more the puzzle/Mahjong/figure-out-the -clues/Big Fish type games, some streamed."

I mean, that's the level of use I don't even see an issue with current Intel HD IGP. I'm absolutely critical of the APUs with respect to good AAA performance, but this stuff is beyond minimal (at least by description).

 

[Meghan54]

Hmm, I personally have mixed feelings about modern AMD APUs for gaming. While it CAN be done (Played some Tekken 7 PC on a 2200G and/or a 2400G, maybe both, that was like a year ago), it still wasn't as nice as with my RX 570 card at the time. (Maybe I still had my RX 460, even.)

I agree, if one of you is "jumping ship" from Intel to AMD, you both should. Both existing rigs are getting long-in-the-tooth.

You don't want her occasionally blue-screening on an older Intel CPU, while you're gaming on a shiny new AMD AM4 3rd-Gen Ryzen CPU without her.

I think that you're "on track" in your selection of parts.

BTW, consider the X570 Steel Legend mATX board too, besides the Pro4. Maybe more RGB, if nothing else.

Edit: One more suggestion, match up the VRAM amount between both of your cards. Get her a GTX 1660 Super or Ti, 6GB GDDR6, if you get an RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 or RTX 2060 Super.

Sell the GTX 970. Not because it's "slow", but rather, age, and lack of VRAM. (If budget is indeed part of the issue, then ignore this last part. Also in consideration for what you might be able to sell the GTX 970 for.)

Cannot find an X570 mATX Steel Legend, only a B450 mATX. But from the specs for the Steel Legend boards on AsRock's site, most of them seem to come with Realtek ALC892 codec (no thanks) and a Realtek RTL8111-H ethernet port (not just no thanks, but hell no thanks.)

Something even more damning, of me anyway.....I let her "game" for years on a gpu that was almost 10 years old. My horrible bad. Sapphire Radeon HD 6950....a whopping 2GB DDR5 RAM on it. No wonder she noticed a big difference moving up to the GTX 970.

She, Debbie, will get upgraded to my 2060 probably late this summer when I can come to grips with the reality of a $400 gpu. Last time I spent that much on a gpu was when I bought a Titan right after they came out. Was not impressed.

 

[Meghan54]

"and she games, but more the puzzle/Mahjong/figure-out-the -clues/Big Fish type games, some streamed."

I mean, that's the level of use I don't even see an issue with current Intel HD IGP. I'm absolutely critical of the APUs with respect to good AAA performance, but this stuff is beyond minimal (at least by description).

Well, as I mentioned in the previous post, she was managing on an almost 10 year old Radeon HD 6950. The 970 was a major gpu upgrade for her. Makes me feel rather bad leaving her to struggle with a 2GB, 10 year old gpu. Oh well......

 

[Arkaign]

Man AMD really left the 6xxx and older GPUs in rough shape with Windows 8/10. Even with the best drivers they just feel really rough around the edges compared to their heydey in Win7. Meanwhile GTX480/580/670/etc are fine. Nothing special these days, but they still work flawlessly, no weird gremlins or cases where they inexplicably run like poop lol.

I still have my old 6950 flashed to 6970 OC, but can't seem to find a good use for it. I sometimes throw it in a spare used box I'm building up as a budget gaming setup but I just end up not willing to stick some poor person with it even for free. Otoh, 7850s with a light OC are no problem as long as I optimize settings for the VRAM they have. Obviously the 1GB models are tough to use these days much like 1GB 650ti/750ti etc. 7950/7970 and up actually kick butt, much more so than most expect.

 

[Meghan54]

And I'm buying the first mb/cpu combo on Friday. Right now, as it sits, it'll probably be a 3700X cpu---I know the 3800X is only $20 more, but it also has a 95W TDP instead of the 3700X's 65W TDP. Figure it'll put less stress on the mb's electrical componentry.

The motherboard is up in the air...again. Was most assuredly going to buy the AsRock X570 Pro 4, but have been casting my eye around and also think the Asus ROG Strix X570-I is a good candidate, although the price is horrid--$60 higher than the Pro 4. And the major things about that Strix X570-I board.....not just one tiny, whiny fan but two! At least they are true ball bearing fans by Delta, so maybe there's a chance they won't fail at the first hint of cat & dog fur. But don't doubt they'll be audible...Delta screamers usually are.

Really cannot see buying a Gigabyte....in mini-ITX form some of G's boards have only one or two fan headers. Need at least three. Goodbye Gigabyte.

I'd take a very close look at the AsRock X570 Phantom Gaming ITX (since it's almost a twin of the ROG Strix version), but neither of the two Microcenters I shop have it in stock. Won't waste my time checking out Fry's...unless I want a cardboard motherboard.

 

[Arkaign]

Hahaha Fry's! *Tears*

 

[Meghan54]

Hahaha Fry's! *Tears*View attachment 17778

So, found out Saturday the Duluth Fry's has been closed for 3 (?) months. Darn, I need to get out more.


Anyway, after spending a stupid amount of time gnashing teeth and pulling hair over not finding an AMD mb that truly satisfied my "wants" and "needs" in mATX form, I gave in, accepted the fact I'd have to use an ATX form mb, and Friday dug out my old Corsair Air 540 case, cleaned it up, and began to look at B540/X470 motherboards.

Saturday, hit Microcenter and bought a 3700X and an MSI B540 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. It met my meager requirements.....Intel LAN, a 1200 series Realtek codec, and if wireless present, an Intel-based one. Bonus of this board was the optical output for sound. Bonus bonuses were no chipset fan and both M.2 ports on the front of the board.

My other choices (remember this is Microcenter, so choices can be limited compared to Newegg):

Asus B450-F ROG Strix Gaming
Asus X470-Pro Prime


Question now....either of those choices better than the MSI I bought? I've got 2 weeks to exchange.

 

[RLGL]

I advise to get new cases, the connections have changed over the years