Ok my CPU is almost six years old, and I am thinking of a small upgrade.
Current CPU: Intel i7 5820k
Motherboard Asus X99-A 8 Ram Slot
Ram DDR4 2400 32G(8Gx4)
Graphics Card GeForce GTX 1080
C drive 512GB SSD
I am thinking of replacing the CPU with Intel i9 10900k.
1. Can I just replace the CPU without changing the motherboard and RAM?
2. If not, what motherboard do I need?
3. How much RAM is good these days? Is 64G a good number?
4. My C harddrive is ancient. I forgot the exact year, but it is like 8 or 9 years old, and is too small. Is 2TB large enough for a C drive?
5. My video card is relatively new. I think it is only 18 months old or something. I am inclined not to touch it this time. Is this ok?
Thanks.
1. No, the CPU socket is different with a 10900k, so you'll need a new board.
2. I suggest you use pcpartpicker.com to help you design the build. If you start with that CPU selected, it'll narrow down your list of possible boards to what's compatible with it.
3. 64 is probably overkill, but I would do at least 32.
4. Yes.
5. Yes, it should be compatible if it's only 18 months old.
You will need a new motherboard. The RAM will probably work, but it would be a bit slower than the new stuff.
You will need a new power supply. Too
Try this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/
You won't need more than 8 or 16 unless you are doing a bunch of virtual machines or some heavy duty calculations. You don't need to replace the video card.
Yes, you need a new hard drive. 2tb will be fine. If you want to get into the weeds with it you could get a fast hard drive for your OS and a larger, cheaper and slower one for static files. But there is no overriding need to do that.
Thanks. Why do I need a new power supply? My existing one has 850w. Not enough? How much is enough?
They degrade over time. The power output was probably - and probably will be fine. But after six years of continuous use it would be a shame to risk your expensive new components on it.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on December 18, 2020, 10:05:07 AM
They degrade over time. The power output was probably - and probably will be fine. But after six years of continuous use it would be a shame to risk your expensive new components on it.
I bought my power supply with my video card, so it is probably 18 months old.
Its fine then. Sorry, I thought it was old too.
It's neat how Wags and I replied at almost the same time with almost the same answer. :D
Great minds.
Talked to the computer shop.
1. CPU - they suggested that I buy the 10900KF instead of the 10900K. According to them, the difference is the K has its own graphics thing and the KF doesn't. Since I have my own graphics card already, the 10900K isn't really necessary. Is this true or BS? (They don't have the K in stock so they are selling the KF).
2. Motherboard - they suggest ASUS Strix Z490E Rog series. Is this crap?
3. SSD. First question they ask is if I want "PCIE" or "2.5 inch". They say PCIE is better but cost more. I say yes to this PCIE thing and they suggest a "Transcend" brand. I said I want Samsung. They say that's US$50 more. Is Samsung worth it? Should I go PCIE or 2.5 inch?
4. RAM. They suggest Kingston 1x32GB 3200. Is this crap?
They're suggesting a single channel RAM? Jesus Christ.
As for SSD, your new motherboard would have an M.2 slot, I'm sure. Why not go with M.2 form?
Single channel RAM would be a bit of a waste. Get two 16GB ramers.
That model ASUS iwill have the NVME slot, so get that instead of a PCIE.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on December 19, 2020, 01:59:17 PM
Single channel RAM would be a bit of a waste. Get two 16GB ramers.
That model ASUS iwill have the NVME slot, so get that instead of a PCIE.
Careful. I think that all NVME slots are PCIe, though the reverse isn't true (some PCIe devices still use SATA).
Mono will want a board with two M.2 slots if he can afford it, both with (PCIe-)NVME. The second is just future-proofing, though, so isn't worth spending a lot on (especially if future video cards start to crowd the PCIe channels and make the second PCIe SDD a bad idea anyway).
Agree on RAM. One megastick is an unnecessary single point of failure.
The main problem with one stick is that you're not taking advantage of dual channel memory access. That may or may not be material, depending on the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgCME7Y1EO8
Talked to the computer shop again. It is US$20 more if I want 16x2 RAM :mad:
The Samsung SSD is already "M.2", whatever that is.
Quote from: grumbler on December 19, 2020, 09:37:36 PM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on December 19, 2020, 01:59:17 PM
Single channel RAM would be a bit of a waste. Get two 16GB ramers.
That model ASUS iwill have the NVME slot, so get that instead of a PCIE.
Careful. I think that all NVME slots are PCIe, though the reverse isn't true (some PCIe devices still use SATA).
Mono will want a board with two M.2 slots if he can afford it, both with (PCIe-)NVME. The second is just future-proofing, though, so isn't worth spending a lot on (especially if future video cards start to crowd the PCIe channels and make the second PCIe SDD a bad idea anyway).
Agree on RAM. One megastick is an unnecessary single point of failure.
You are correct.
I can pay US$77 for someone to come to my flat, install all the new hardware, reinstall Windows and do data migration on one HD.
Or I can drag my mini-tower case to the computer shop, and drag it back. While the shop does all the above free of charge, there are transportation costs and tunnel fees etc. I have dragged the mini-tower multiple times and it was extremely painful. There are stairs involved, everybody in the streets stared at me, my arm muscles were in pain for several days afterwards, etc.
It is an easy choice :contract:
Why can't you just order the parts and do it yourself? It's not rocket science.
Quote from: DGuller on December 20, 2020, 08:08:26 PM
Why can't you just order the parts and do it yourself? It's not rocket science.
Nah. I once tried to install a new video card, and ended up with a computer that refused to boot itself. I had to drag it to the shop anyway.
When I was in Vancouver, we tried to assemble a table by ourselves, and failed. My mother called her brother for help. He came to our house and the first thing he asked for was our toolbox. We were like, "what toolbox?" He sighed and had to go back to his home for the toolbox.
What happened with the video card was this. The case was on the floor. So I knelt on the floor. But my waist muscles were too week for my upper body to keep an upright position, so I had to put one arm on the floor to support my upper body. Most of the time during the operation, I worked with one arm only.
I opened the case, and tried to pull out the old video card. I couldn't. It was as if it was stuck there. I couldn't see very well because it was too dark inside the case. My only option was to pull harder, but it was hard to do because when I pulled, the entire case moved with it. Remember, I only had the use of one arm, so I couldn't steady the case. I moved the case to a position where it couldn't move around. Then I tried to pull the card out again, and failed. I tried really hard, and in the process, somehow knocked something off in the motherboard. After a long while, I finally saw that there was some plastic switch that kept the video card in its place. Once I flipped that switch, it was easy to pull out the old card. I worked a long time with one arm only, so my sweat was everywhere and more than a few drops got into the case.
Even though I installed the new card, the damage was done. The computer wouldn't boot itself, and I had to drag the mini-tower to the shop. Dragging it was like the nightmare solution for me.
They found that I loosened the RAM on the motherboard a bit, so it wouldn't boot.
I think I'd rather pay US$77.
:hmm: Yep, in your case, you made the right decision.
I have hired the same guy to come to my flat to solve my computer problems several times. He doesn't come empty handed. Every time, he brings along a small suitcase of tools, cables, converters, CDs etc.
What do I have? A screwdriver.
The deed is done. :ph34r:
But as my wife predicted, it is rare for any of my computer operations to go smoothly. Sometimes the power supply failed after the upgrade, sometimes there is no video output, sometimes the computer refuse to boot, etc etc.
This time, a mere two things failed. One, the cooler is making crazy noises when I play any game. Two, somehow my internet speed is capped at 100m (normally it is close to 1G).
I don't know if it is just bad luck, sabotage, or fate.
Both issues could very well be a function of the new motherboard having the wrong settings.
Broadband issue: solved. It is the ISP's 10-year old modem.
New cooler has been purchased. Installation scheduled on Boxing day.
Over-fried onions have been replaced by a new batch of onions.
Hope is on the horizon.
So, after solving the "cooler is making crazy sounds", "broadband internet isn't so broadband after all", "wireless keyboard responding 10 seconds after each key stroke", "Windows keep asking me to activate it" problems, the first thing I noticed when I sit near my half-new computer is that it is noisy as hell.
A quiet computer is very important to me. I like to sit in silent rooms.
My CPU usage is less than 10%, and I don't have a lot of heavy duty background programmes running, but somehow the fans are going at full speed. Even just using Chrome seems to provoke the fans.
After doing some internet search, I decided to go to *gasp* the BIOs thing.
I played around with the buttons. I pressed that "optimisation" button in the "fans" page, the the sound went down noticeably. But it still wasn't good enough for me. So I played around with letters that made zero sense to me, like the "PMW" and "DC" buttons, whatever they meant. What made the biggest difference in sound was picking PMW for the CPU fan.
I hope the CPU will survive this and not explode :ph34r:
It is still a bit more noisy than my old set up. But it is now a lot better than before I played around with the buttons. I don't think I can cut the sound further without say buying a new case and a new cooler.
I would monitor the temperature of your CPU. It's very possible to set up BIOS so that fans are working way too hard, but it's also possible that fans need to work that hard, because your guy didn't know how to apply thermal paste to your CPU, or because of some other human-induced thermal disaster. If your PC is loud because it needs to be, then turning the fans down is like replacing a fuse with a wire.
Chinese parts with a Chinese installer and a Chinese configurator. What could go wrong? Everything? :P :P
Cooling wise, if you want absolutely quiet, near-silent, a liquid cooling is the solution for you, you would only hear the video card fans.
I don't think lack of liquid cooling is the problem for Mono. Something sounds really wrong, even a computer with shitty thermals shouldn't be in jet on takeoff mode, not without a high CPU load. Besides, a good Noctua fan is a much more practical solution than liquid cooling, and doesn't give up much in any category.
Quote from: viper37 on December 26, 2020, 05:27:15 PM
Chinese parts with a Chinese installer and a Chinese configurator. What could go wrong? Everything? :P :P
Cooling wise, if you want absolutely quiet, near-silent, a liquid cooling is the solution for you, you would only hear the video card fans.
My cooler is a liquid cooler.
I have installed this Speedfan programme, which claims to be able to monitor CPU temperature and adjust the fan speeds.
I have not been able to find any button that allows me to adjust the fans. But according to this software, my CPU temperatures are usually between 20-25C. Sometimes there are spikes that go as high as 40C.
I have gone into that forbidden territory, otherwise known as BIOs, to play with the fans more. I have asked that CPU fan to stay at minimum speed unless temperatures go beyond 45C.
So far I consider that to be a material life improvement.
you're making progress! ;)