Finally managed to upgrade
Finally managed to upgrade
Eventually, I was compelled to upgrade my i7 4770 because the cooler failed and I needed to purchase something urgently since I had tasks to complete that evening. There were no suitable coolers available at the mall I visited (it was around 8 pm when I arrived, leaving no time to search elsewhere), so I had to replace my whole platform. I ended up getting an i5 12400f with an Asus Prime H610M-K D4 and two 8GB T-Force Vulcan Z 3200mhz chips to work with a 750-watt MSI power supply and the 3060ti I already owned. Should I consider upgrading anything else while these components are still in good condition and could be resold at nearly their original value? I was also thinking about increasing my RAM to 32GB, even though I've never reached the 16GB limit.
If you decide to return the h610, you could opt for a b660 or 760 with adequate heatsinks, or you might discover that a z690 chipset board isn’t significantly better. It seems you likely have DDR4 RAM at a very affordable price right now. Choose a 32GB model; 64GB is possible if you plan to keep the PC for a while.
On aftermarket heatsinks, many budget boards have poor power phases, which could restrict your CPU performance or cause early failure, forcing you to replace it sooner than expected.
I need to consider the feedback since replacing the motherboard seems necessary. I should look for a used or refurbished Z690, which could give me a good deal on a D4 board and allow future upgrades to a K CPU from the 13th and 14th generation. The chipset differences are significant, so it’s worth exploring the variations but I’d aim for at least a H760 model.
On Newegg you can find AsRock z690 boards priced around 125-130. If you're spending 90-100 for a budget b660 or b760 board, it probably isn't significantly better than the h610 you already have, so it might be worth getting the z690 instead.
Asrock Z690 extreme is a decent budget version of the Z690, featuring an DDR4 board.
Based on what I've observed, Z690 boards in my area are expensive—often over 200. Since tech prices here are high, I believe I'll have to consider the H770 instead. Newegg shipping costs to the Philippines are also comparable to buying a new board, making that choice less feasible.