1. #1

    Building new PC for Windows 10 Upgrade, using old RAM+VideoCard, 500$ limit

    Howdy, sorry in advance for the long thread and thank you for any help you may have.

    Short summary of my issue, attempted to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 to utilize the touch functionality of my Wacom Cintiq, but apparently the chip-set in my computer is not compatible with Windows 10. I currently have an old Dell Studio 435T case with most of its original parts. Called Dell/Microsoft and apparently my best option is to purchase a new motherboard, which of course will not fit into the old 435T case. I can't even manage to find a list of the majority of the internal hardware for this machine on Dell's website, so I will be rebuilding this PC mostly from scratch. I know next to nothing about selecting PC Hardware, so I selected the highest rated parts from PC Part Picker, but would appreciate any advice or suggestions for a build under 500$ total using my current RAM and Video Card. I mainly use my machine for 3d modeling in Maya, painting in Photoshop and building levels in Unreal Engine & Unity. Needless to say it is also my gaming PC.

    Old Parts:
    CPU: i7 920, 2.67GHz
    Motherboard: Unknown
    RAM: Ripjaws 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800), 4 sticks total of 16GB
    Graphics Card: ASUS GTX660-DC2O-2GD5 G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16
    Power Supply: Unknown details other than 475W.
    Operating System: Windows 7, need to upgrade to Windows 10 for touch functionality on my Cintiq.

    I am not currently able to post links but the parts I have selected on PC Part Picker total at 580$ and I am not entirely sure if they would be compatible. Where could I save a little cash without sacrificing quality?

    Intended Upgrades:
    CPU: ($239.95) Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core with included Heat-Sink
    Motherboard: ($141.98) ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150
    Power Supply: ($75.98) EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold
    Case: ($124.99) Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case
    Total: $582.90


    I am assuming I can use my old hard drives (two 1TB. One came with the machine and I just recently purchased another) and my old optical drives.

    Once again I am looking for the highest quality build with compatible parts for under 500$. I would also like the ability to upgrade to 32GB RAM and maintain room for a better video card down the line.

    Thank you for any insight you may be able to offer,

    Tarrtarus

  2. #2
    Hello, two questions: a) are you overclocking? b) are you set on buying previous generation hardware?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderball View Post
    Hello, two questions: a) are you overclocking? b) are you set on buying previous generation hardware?
    I do not plan to Overclock anything and I am willing to make the best investment in terms of "bang for my buck" within 500$. I am not overly familiar with hardware generations, so whatever works best so long as my video card and RAM still work.

    Also, thank you for your reply!

  4. #4
    Deleted
    You could go with new gen if you are not interested in overclocking for around 500$. Also if you save some more money, like your list is 80$ more you could grab an ssd like this Crucial MX20 for 80$


    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

    CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ SuperBiiz)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
    Memory: Kingston FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($71.99 @ B&H)
    Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($72.98 @ Newegg)
    Total: $498.93
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-28 03:41 EDT-0400


    edit: Btw the case you picked is not worth that money especially for your budget. Important as well, free upgrade to win10 ends tomorrow!
    Last edited by mmoc73263b3bd5; 2016-07-28 at 07:46 AM.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Tarrtarus View Post
    I do not plan to Overclock anything and I am willing to make the best investment in terms of "bang for my buck" within 500$. I am not overly familiar with hardware generations, so whatever works best so long as my video card and RAM still work.

    Also, thank you for your reply!
    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

    CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ SuperBiiz)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
    Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($64.88 @ OutletPC)
    Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
    Total: $494.82
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-28 09:16 EDT-0400

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Tarrtarus View Post
    Howdy, sorry in advance for the long thread and thank you for any help you may have.

    Short summary of my issue, attempted to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 to utilize the touch functionality of my Wacom Cintiq, but apparently the chip-set in my computer is not compatible with Windows 10.
    That's odd actually, can you explain a bit more what kind of error you have? Unless it's some really really odd motherboard, there shouldn't be anything stopping you from upgrading to windows 10. I personally managed to upgrade just fine to upgrade on a P5Q Pro/E8400, which is definitely an older generation than your CPU (and consequently chipset)

    Anyway, do you have a windows 10 licence? Otherwise I'd guess you'll have to add that to your budget, unless you somehow manage to get your upgrade in time for the windows 10 upgrade deadline tomorrow.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by stormgust View Post
    That's odd actually, can you explain a bit more what kind of error you have? Unless it's some really really odd motherboard, there shouldn't be anything stopping you from upgrading to windows 10. I personally managed to upgrade just fine to upgrade on a P5Q Pro/E8400, which is definitely an older generation than your CPU (and consequently chipset)

    Anyway, do you have a windows 10 licence? Otherwise I'd guess you'll have to add that to your budget, unless you somehow manage to get your upgrade in time for the windows 10 upgrade deadline tomorrow.
    From what I can tell my specific PC, a Dell Studio 435T, was not produced for very long back in 2008/9. I don't get any error messages when trying to upgrade to Windows 10, it says downloading update, I click Start Upgrade, it says it needs to restart my PC to install the update, and it repeatedly restarts back to my Windows 7 desktop with no change. Dell said it was because they "never tested Windows 10" with it, so it isn't compatible.




    Thank you for the replies Kostattoo and Thunderball, I see you guys both went in a similar direction. Is the Bus Speed what makes the i5-6600 better than the i5-4690K? Also, how much of a difference is there between 16GB DDR3 vs 16GB DDR4 RAM? Lastly, is a LGA1151 or LGA1150 motherboard a better investment?
    Last edited by Tarrtarus; 2016-07-28 at 05:45 PM.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Tarrtarus View Post
    From what I can tell my specific PC, a Dell Studio 435T, was not produced for very long back in 2008/9. I don't get any error messages when trying to upgrade to Windows 10, it says downloading update, I click Start Upgrade, it says it needs to restart my PC to install the update, and it repeatedly restarts back to my Windows 7 desktop with no change. Dell said it was because they "never tested Windows 10" with it, so it isn't compatible.




    Thank you for the replies Kostattoo and Thunderball, I see you guys both went in a similar direction. Is the Bus Speed what makes the i5-6600 better than the i5-4690K? Also, how much of a difference is there between 16GB DDR3 vs 16GB DDR4 RAM? Lastly, is a LGA1151 or LGA1150 motherboard a better investment?
    Well LGA1150 is a newer platform, you will supposedly be able to use current motherboard for one future generation of Intel CPUs. The difference between DDR3 and DDR4 for gaming is minimal (5-10%) it's mostly that DDR4 memory has substantially lower power consumption. LGA1150 CPU only work with DDR4 or DD3L (DDR3 low voltage) memory though. You can go with an overclocking setup (6600K which is cheaper than 4690K and Z170 motherboard) but you will also need a custom CPU cooler (add ~$50 to your original build).

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderball View Post
    Well LGA1150 is a newer platform, you will supposedly be able to use current motherboard for one future generation of Intel CPUs. The difference between DDR3 and DDR4 for gaming is minimal (5-10%) it's mostly that DDR4 memory has substantially lower power consumption. LGA1150 CPU only work with DDR4 or DD3L (DDR3 low voltage) memory though. You can go with an overclocking setup (6600K which is cheaper than 4690K and Z170 motherboard) but you will also need a custom CPU cooler (add ~$50 to your original build).
    Got it, thanks!

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Tarrtarus View Post
    From what I can tell my specific PC, a Dell Studio 435T, was not produced for very long back in 2008/9. I don't get any error messages when trying to upgrade to Windows 10, it says downloading update, I click Start Upgrade, it says it needs to restart my PC to install the update, and it repeatedly restarts back to my Windows 7 desktop with no change. Dell said it was because they "never tested Windows 10" with it, so it isn't compatible.
    Dell stating never tested doesn't imply incompatibility though. If the windows upgrader actually gives the ok for an upgrade, in all likelihood, your system should be compatible with windows 10. Going by your error descriptions, it's probably Windows Firewall, Windows Defender or your Antivirus Software causing problems. Best try would be to disable all three and try again.

    Anyway, are those $500 with or without windows 10, because if you get a new build, you'll likely need to buy windows 10 as well.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Tarrtarus View Post
    Got it, thanks!
    I confused LGA1151 and LGA1150 here, dont be confused yourself. LGA1151 is the newer platform that houses Skylake (and Kaby Lake in the future) CPUs with DDR4/DDR3L memory, and LGA1150 is the older platform for Haswell and Haswell Refresh (aka Devil's Canyon) processors that uses DDR3 memory.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by stormgust View Post
    Dell stating never tested doesn't imply incompatibility though. If the windows upgrader actually gives the ok for an upgrade, in all likelihood, your system should be compatible with windows 10. Going by your error descriptions, it's probably Windows Firewall, Windows Defender or your Antivirus Software causing problems. Best try would be to disable all three and try again.

    Anyway, are those $500 with or without windows 10, because if you get a new build, you'll likely need to buy windows 10 as well.
    The $500.00 excludes Windows 10, I can do that in a couple of weeks from now.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Okay, after all of your assistance, some research online and begging the wife's permission, I think I'm going to go with this set up:

    CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 SuperBiiz)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 OutletPC)
    Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($144.99 NCIX US)
    Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($76.98 OutletPC)
    Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card
    Case:Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($124.99 Newegg)
    Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.98 Newegg)
    Total: $686.82


    Notes:
    175$ over budget, but the upgraded parts should last for several years.
    Sticking with the fancy case because I feel safer having all of the extra fans included along with the amount of USB ports. (The 435T case is notorious for poor air-flow and I've had problems with overheating in the past.)
    1151 motherboard instead of a 1150 for longevity.
    Did research and apparently overclocking is much safer than it used to be some years ago, so I would feel comfortable boosting it up a tad.
    4 SATA slots for additional hard drives in the future.
    Extra RAM slots for future growth.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Tarrtarus View Post
    CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 SuperBiiz)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 OutletPC)
    Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($144.99 NCIX US)
    Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($76.98 OutletPC)
    Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card
    Case:Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($124.99 Newegg)
    Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.98 Newegg)
    Total: $686.82
    You shouldnt get 6600K if you're not overclocking. You also dont need a good airflow if youre not overclocking (80-110 bucks saved here). This case doesnt have any exceptional cooling features too (dual 120mm front intake is considered pretty weak for modern standards). You can easily save at least 40 bucks here. DDR4-3000 CL15 memory is also better than DDR4-3200 CL16 memory.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderball View Post
    You shouldnt get 6600K if you're not overclocking. You also dont need a good airflow if youre not overclocking (80-110 bucks saved here). This case doesnt have any exceptional cooling features too (dual 120mm front intake is considered pretty weak for modern standards). You can easily save at least 40 bucks here. DDR4-3000 CL15 memory is also better than DDR4-3200 CL16 memory.
    Now I see, thank you! Will take your recommendations and stick with the CL15, 6600 and a cheaper case. Thank you again!

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderball View Post
    You shouldnt get 6600K if you're not overclocking. You also dont need a good airflow if youre not overclocking (80-110 bucks saved here). This case doesnt have any exceptional cooling features too (dual 120mm front intake is considered pretty weak for modern standards). You can easily save at least 40 bucks here. DDR4-3000 CL15 memory is also better than DDR4-3200 CL16 memory.
    If you are not buying a "K" CPU you can use regular 2133 Mhz RAM, the faster one is only good for overclockable CPU's the others wont support it as far as I know.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Denpepe View Post
    If you are not buying a "K" CPU you can use regular 2133 Mhz RAM, the faster one is only good for overclockable CPU's the others wont support it as far as I know.
    That's right. No reason to get higher than DDR4-2133, unless it's cheaper - you can still use higher clocked memory but you will not be able to use XMP profile and will have to go with either default settings or assign them yourself.

  17. #17
    Deleted
    I always prefer low profile and if you go for another pair of ram later on like you said that you got one more reason for it as you will be limited by the amount of cpu cooler you can use (cause of clearance). If you want the ability to overclock and higher ram for almost the same money you posted you can grab the following which is better, includes an ssd and will be a tad better in 3d rendering from a non "k" rig:

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

    CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ SuperBiiz)
    CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.88 @ OutletPC)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
    Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
    Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Adorama)
    Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
    Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($72.98 @ Newegg)
    Total: $689.81
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-29 05:35 EDT-0400

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