PC: Low Cost Upgrade Path When Stuck in DDR3 Land

grang on 28/01/2018 - 20:24
Last edited 28/01/2018 - 21:34 by 1 other user

Need some advice on a cost effective upgrade / MB replacement path:

I’ve been building computers (Desktops) since I was 12. Even ran a nice little profit centre out of the university form… but that was a long time ago and with so many pivots in desktop pc technology I am er… rusted

My motherboard is packing up after ~6 years of service. Back then the Whirlpool forum really helped me build a good base box that lasted well and if the MB wasn’t cutting out on heat every now and then or the occasional usb drop-outs, I would probably hang in there a bit longer.

I have upgraded a few components since the original build. With the tech changes though, it looks like I may be up the creek with those outlays - especially the move from DDR3 to DDR4… (And I upgraded the RAM too 

What are my options for upgrading MB, without killing the bank or do I need a step change?
E.g., can I stick to another variant of DDR3 MB right now, or is the cost benefit to buy a 20% off special Dell XPS box and retire this one or some option in between?

What I have:

  • Case: Coolermaster Silence(t?) box with the foam padding.
  • PSU: Coolermaster Extreme2 725 Watt PSU (Upgraded after my faulty home switchboard fried the old PSU + an HDD for good measure)
  • MB: ASROck Z68 Extreme 3 Gen3
  • CPU: Intel i5 2500K @ 3.3 Ghz
  • HDD (Boot): Intel SSD 330 Series 240 GB
  • HDD (Data): Western Digital WD2002FAEX - 2 TB / 64MB Cache
  • Graphics: EVGA GEForce 960 4GB (Upgraded on Amazon special on Ozbargain and hard headedly ignored the “wait for Pascal” comments)
  • Memory: 2x 8GB Kingston HyperX fury DDR3 ram (16GB total upgraded with graphics card on amazon sale)
  • OS: Windows 10 Pro 64bit (free upgrade from Win 7 Pro)

Last pieces:

  • Don’t really care on AMD vs Intel. Had many of both over the years
  • Don’t need a lot more storage, I have a Synology running raid5+
  • Drive a couple of Dell screens. Happy with 1080P gaming rez

Thank you!

Computing

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 28/01/2018 - 23:24
    +1

    Your RAM is now obsolete unfortunately. It'll still be usable if you decide to go with a platform that supports it — Sandy / Ivy Bridge, Haswell and some very rare and hard-to-obtain Skylake motherboards also support DDR3 memory.

    You can look on ebay and Aliexpress for some boards, but a lot of them will either be used boards, no-name stuff or a selection of Generic 'bitcoin mining' boards that are very barebones and have little in terms of features.

    I don't recommend buying a used board, as they're typically quite expensive even on secondhand market, and because of their complexity it's not something you should buy used (high risk, lack of warranty).

    The only AMD platform and CPU combination worth considering with AyyyMD is Ryzen on AM4. With it's low price tag on hex-core CPU's and basic B350 motherboards, this is a good entry level decision for people upgrading from 2nd or 3rd generation Intel Core series.

    • grang on 29/01/2018 - 04:08

      You're sounding just like my inner mind I have been silencing! Unreal.

      Thanks for detailed response.

      And even if I can find new but dated stock you would advise against it too?

  • NuclearWessels on 29/01/2018 - 00:18

    I had a similar issue. My i5 2500k died and I had to replace the whole cpu/motherboard/ram. I went with a cheap i3-8100 which is actually faster than my old i5 overclocked. The new i3 and i5 chips are very good value for money.

    • airal3rt on 29/01/2018 - 04:07
      -1

      I went with a cheap i3-8100 which is actually faster than my old i5 overclocked.

      You definitely weren't overclocking that Sandy Bridge processor right haha

      • NuclearWessels on 29/01/2018 - 14:27

        The new i3 series are all proper quadcores, so they hold their ground vs older i5's.

        i3-8100 @ 3.6GHz vs i5-2500k @ 4.4GHz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMp72mI426s

        i3 comes out slightly ahead and that's versus a decently overclocked processor.

        • airal3rt on 29/01/2018 - 16:18
          -1

          Somewhat of a misleading comparison there mate. 4.4GHz might a decent overclock for newer Intel chips with the garbage TIM, but remember Sandy Bridge was the last proper soldered chips from Intel so they have better thermals/OC headroom and they overclock like absolute BEASTS. It's a SEVEN YEAR OLD chip so you're not concerning yourself with longevity at this point, many will hit the magic 5.0GHz or you can run at at least 4.8GHz.

          i5-2500k > i3-8100 even if you didn't win the silicon lottery.

  • garetz on 29/01/2018 - 06:31
    +1

    There is nothing you can upgrade on that computer that would make a significant difference, 2500k can overclock alot higher than you are currently using it at, that would propably be your best bet. Also your comp is several generations behind.

  • Presence on 29/01/2018 - 07:01

    But a cheap ex office PC and swap over your good stuff. There are hundreds off eBay. You'll be restricted to the factory PSU though and will need to replace the graphics card. Sell yours on eBay, if you're careful it could be fairly cost effective.

  • grang on 10/02/2018 - 22:29

    Thanks for all the advice.

    Just pulled the trigger on this baby https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/360362

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