Upgrade advice for Build AdviceSystem – next in line.
Upgrade advice for Build AdviceSystem – next in line.
For most people I believe the more affordable boards are acceptable. I’m using a B650 board and don’t see a need to upgrade from it.
Here’s the board I have:
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-TUF-B650-PLU...B0BHN7GGBQ
I suppose you could argue about the PCIe Gen 4 slot, but honestly it should be a long time before GPUs can really benefit from that.
If cost-saving is your priority, I’d suggest going with a decent B650 or B850. Particularly if you’re not planning to overclock.
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor – $279.97 (Amazon)
- CPU Cooler – ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM – $29.99 (Amazon)
- Motherboard – Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX ATX AM5 – $139.99 (Amazon)
Memory:
- Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 – $84.99 (Newegg)
Total: $534.94
All prices contain shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts.
*Selected lowest-priced items based on specified parameters.*
Generated by PCPartPicker
2025-04-15 06:25 EDT-0400
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
- Intel Core i7-14700F 2.1 GHz 20-Core Processor – $299.00 (Amazon)
- CPU Cooler – ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM – $29.99 (Amazon)
- Motherboard – MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 – $146.99 (Amazon)
Memory:
- Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 – $84.99 (Newegg)
Total: $560.97
Shipping, taxes, and discounts applied where available.
*Selected lowest-priced components according to the criteria.*
Generated by PCPartPicker
2025-04-15 06:24 EDT-0400
It depends on the specific features required for a MoBo. As mentioned earlier:
For a more detailed comparison, MoBo manufacturers provide comparisons on their websites.
X870 Eagle wifi7 vs B850 Eagle wifi6e: https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Comparison/C...=9734,9830
You mentioned it before, but if you have a Microcenter nearby, look into their bundle offers. Usually you can find a 7700x, b650 board and ram for around $400. Including the cooler you were considering saves about $100. You might also opt for the 9700x, which is a bit faster and likely has a 65-watt CPU, so it should perform better too. The bundle would only cost an extra $50.
Received your suggestions particularly since I just spoke with my Fidelity representative, who mentioned that my wife and I aren’t allocating enough funds! Therefore, I opted for a balanced mix of components, as I still tend to overspend.
Solid construction, particularly for the power supply unit.
👍
Current PC cases rarely come with 5.25" external bays. It was also difficult to find such a setup back in 2016 when I assembled my main build. Many manufacturers believe that a 5.25" external bay is only suitable for odd models, which is now outdated, so it makes little sense to include it anymore. However, the 5.25" bay remains the most adaptable part inside a PC case, accommodating a wide range of hardware beyond just ODD. For example, it can fit fan controllers, LED displays, card readers, internal HDDs (with hot-swap capability), SSDs, and more. I’m disappointed that most PC case makers have eliminated this useful feature. Today’s cases are mostly just metal enclosures, often with minimal tempered glass (e.g., Hyte Y70).
Knowing the flexibility of the 5.25" bay, I’m only interested in cases that include these bays. The builds I own all have them, and I make full use of them.
Spoiler:
Pics of the 5.25" bays from my PCs (click here to view)
From left to right:
Skylake build (my main PC) – fan controller, card reader, ODD.
Haswell build (my missus’s PC) – fan controller, card reader, ODD.
AMD build (my old main PC) – fan controller, empty spot (reserved for ODD).
Full specs with more pics in my profile.
Ready to share some images? Would love to see the results.
She's well-designed. The system runs smoothly most of the time, but the noise becomes more apparent during gaming or when the processor is heavily used. It's definitely quicker than my previous setup and looks impressive. My graphics card seems sufficient at the moment. The problems I encountered were:
The Thermalright Phantom Spirit volume increases rapidly once it exceeds 1500 rpm. That caught me off guard.
The fan controller on the case isn't functioning correctly and only offers two speeds. Fractal created a replacement switch without any installation guide, so I connected the case fans directly to the motherboard, which seems to work. The question remains, should I install additional fans? I currently have just the two that came with the case.
Even though I had retail Windows 7 software and keys, I wasn't able to transfer the license from my old machine because of my Windows 10 upgrade keys. It seems the upgrade process didn't link a digital license to my Microsoft account. Now I'm forced to purchase Windows 11.
When I began assembling, I adjusted the BIOS settings to EXPO. A few days later, after updating the BIOS, it reset the memory settings back to defaults. I didn't notice this for a while before resetting it again to EXPO.
To connect everything properly, I needed to use all the PSU modules and made use of all four SATA connections, resulting in many cables inside. Perhaps I can simplify things when upgrading my graphics card later.
Opening the front case door seems to help with cooling during games.
I didn't save the registration code for my motherboard. To access it now, I'll need to remove it from the bottom of the case, which is hidden by the wall. Ugh!
Overall, I'm content with this setup. Thanks for all your help. I prefer a quiet build over flashy cases, so no LED decorations for me. I'll share photos once I find the right method.