Upgrade my System

[sswilson]

That's a completely new build not including the case/PSU/OS.

Aside from possibly bringing the SSD along for the ride, there's probably nothing else that would be worth moving over. (You could move the video card over if you want, but I'd still recommend grabbing a newer budget vid card.).

 

[ModernRevolutions]

That's a completely new build not including the case/PSU/OS.

Aside from possibly bringing the SSD along for the ride, there's probably nothing else that would be worth moving over. (You could move the video card over if you want, but I'd still recommend grabbing a newer budget vid card.).

Yea i wouldn't mind just building a new one. Just wish I had someone to take me step by step, ya know? Then I could give my old build to my brother and its a win win.

 

[gingerbee]

You do have people who can walk you through most of it on here and your a photographer so do herself a build logon HWC so if you get a little stuck someone can help guide you through it also vet the parts though folks here before buying.

I do 100% second the build that ssWilson put forth, I have a 5600x it's a great chip and mated to a 6500 or 6600 I think you will be very happy and surprised at the performance jump, with your budget you could get a nice fast scratch SSD for loading and editing photos, good luck no matter what you choose but it's a great time to buy ryzen 5000 series right now with the price drops.

 

[moocow]

Or just buy the parts from ME or CC and pay them $40 for assembly if you don't know how and not interested in building yourself?

 

[JD]

I think with Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, you can likely find a decent pre-built PC if you're ready to buy now.

It looks like you are in the USA? A quick look at Best Buy yielded this: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-env...-memory-1tb-ssd-black/6498473.p?skuId=6498473

You'd likely want to put in a video card though if you want to game on it.

 

[sswilson]

I don't know if I'd recommend that particular model with the intention to add a vid card. Looks like the PSU is 310W so not a lot of headroom for adding a card, and I'm pretty sure it's a proprietary PSU so it's not a simple case of just buying a higher wattage PSU off the shelf.

Nothing necessarily wrong with grabbing a pre-built if the price is right during BF / CM sales, but if that was the chosen route I'd recommend finding a model with a decent mid/low end vid card pre-installed. (Minimum RTX 3050 or an AMD RX 6500).

I know it's confusing, but there isn't really one answer to which is better.... both pre-built and self built have their strengths and weaknesses. (The biggest with a pre-built being that it's hard to determine what you can and cannot upgrade/replace).

 

[sswilson]

Yeah, so long as you vet the hardware you've chosen before you buy to ensure compatibility.

If you have time, I'd recommend keeping an eye on the Red Flag Deals computer/electronics forum for a deal on a decent 550W PSU. I've managed to snag 3 different high quality models over the last year @ sub - $60, otherwise you're looking at closer to $100 for something the folks here would recommend without worrying that it's going to catch fire and burn your house down.

As far as basic parts go.... I'd personally recommend the following....

Ryzen 5 5600 (currently $164)
B550 Wifi motherboard ($150 - $200)
DDR4 2X8GB 3200 CL16 or 3600 CL18 (Less than $100)
1 or 2 TB NVMe drive (X4 if possible, but no biggie if it's X3) $100 (ish) 1TB sub - $200 2TB
RX 6500 XT (Sub - $250)

That's about $800 leaving you lots of room for a case and PSU.

Also worth noting that those Prices are $CDN. I didn't notice you were posting from the US.

 

[ModernRevolutions]

Also worth noting that those Prices are $CDN. I didn't notice you were posting from the US.

Thats okay, they're actually not too far of from US prices. I've bookmarked all of the ones you chose, just not sure how to choose a case and ensure that they'll fit properly. I assume all the parts you suggested are compatible?

 

[ModernRevolutions]

You do have people who can walk you through most of it on here and your a photographer so do herself a build logon HWC so if you get a little stuck someone can help guide you through it also vet the parts though folks here before buying.

I do 100% second the build that ssWilson put forth, I have a 5600x it's a great chip and mated to a 6500 or 6600 I think you will be very happy and surprised at the performance jump, with your budget you could get a nice fast scratch SSD for loading and editing photos, good luck no matter what you choose but it's a great time to buy ryzen 5000 series right now with the price drops.

What is HWC? Would you suggest a different SSD then he did? Or just a more specific one?

Or just buy the parts from ME or CC and pay them $40 for assembly if you don't know how and not interested in building yourself?

What is ME or CC? I wouldn't mind paying the $40 just for them to actually put it together.

 

[Lysrin]

What is HWC? Would you suggest a different SSD then he did? Or just a more specific one?


What is ME or CC? I wouldn't mind paying the $40 just for them to actually put it together.

HWC = Hardware Canucks... here!
ME = Memory Express (https://www.memoryexpress.com/)
CC = Canada Computers (https://www.canadacomputers.com/)