New PC Setup

Need some advice and help. My now 10 year old MSY build PC has gone black screen since a recent software upgrade. I'm taking it as a sign to upgrade as I've tried everything with no luck.

So, my budget is no more then $2K. (less means more money for me!) As I've also got 2 acer VGA plug 23" screens, that are even older so I'll need something new too.

Looking for a (hopefully) long lasting computer. Suitable for my kids to play games on, some fortnight and Roblox. I'm not too worried here as the old unit could play Roblox. But mainly to just be the one everyone can use in the house.

These are some specs from the old build, which is kind of irrelevant, but thought great its lasted 10 years. Hard drives are still ok, but a new main one would be good.

i5-4690 3.5GHz
Gigabyte H97-HD3
SA-R7240-2GD3
G.Skill Ripjaws-X 8G Kit(4Gx2) DDR3 1600
SP-550PCBAU Smart 550w 80+ Bronze

Will hopefully get in the next 1-2 months, so also happy to see what happens when all the PC build shops are back open.

Comments

  • +1

    IMO I'd look at what monitor you want to get then what PC is needed to power that.

    You can pick up a pair of perfectly fine 1080p screens for $200 and a PC to drive it for under $1k easily enough. If you're thinking a long term investment though (since the last one got 10 years), possibly go with a nicer screen (I'm a fan of big widescreens, other people love their 32" 4K monitors) and maybe spend a little more on the GPU to support it.

    Unless you go with 4K, the 4060 is a great GPU for pretty much any scenario. Any of the modern AMD ryzen chips will also do you fine for years (particularly if the i5-4690 lasted this long)

    • Thanks. I figured monitors are around the $150-$200 o that leaves up to $1600 for the PC. Now to work out what the best specs could be for that price. No need for colourful fans, sits under my desk.

  • If you want to buy to a price and get everything chosen for you, go here and select Australia:
    https://www.logicalincrements.com/

    If I was you I would just wait for a good TechFast deal to come up, I got a great deal for $800 that would've been around $1200 if I'd bought it retail as parts like these ones:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/886196

    • great, thanks. I've been looking at @luketechfast and @Nebula PC (as based in Sydney), and am waiting for the new years specials.

  • Thoughts. I think I may be down to 3 options. All similar price, and giving me around $500 for screens (and maybe new keyboard)

    Option 1 - just under $1300
    Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 | 4.2GHz | 6 Core 12 Thread Processor
    Processor Cooling: Standard Fan CPU Cooler
    Case: Antec CX200M Tempered Glass RGB M-ATX Case - ETA MID JANUARY
    Motherboard: AMD A520 [M-ATX] Motherboard
    Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 6600 8GB Graphics Card
    Memory: 32GB [3200MHz] DDR4 RAM
    Operating System SSD: 1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
    Additional Storage SSD: None
    Hard Disk Drive: None
    Power Supply: 750W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply
    Windows Option: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Edition
    Networking: On-Board [Wired] Ethernet Port

    Option 2 - just over $1600 ( a bit more then hoping for)
    Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 | 4.2GHz | 6 Core 12 Thread Processor
    Processor Cooling: AMD Stock Cooler
    Case: Antec CX200M Tempered Glass RGB M-ATX Case - ETA MID JANUARY
    Motherboard: AMD A520 [M-ATX] Motherboard
    Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 TI 8GB Graphics Card
    Memory: 32GB [3200MHz] DDR4 RAM
    Operating System SSD: 1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
    Additional Storage SSD: None
    Additional Storage HDD: None
    Power Supply: 750W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply
    Windows Option: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Edition
    Networking: On-Board [Wired] Ethernet Port

    Option 3 - just over $1400
    AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | 6 Cores | 3.8 GHz (Max 5.1 GHz) [AMD-R5-7600]
    AMD Wraith Stealth Cooler
    ANTEC NX500M RGB mATX - Black [ANT-NX500M-BLK]
    GIGABYTE B650M GAMING WIFI - DDR5
    ASUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Dual OC V2 - 8GB
    Kingston FURY RGB 32 GB (2x16GB) 6000MHz CL36 DDR5
    1TB HP FX700 M.2 (R: 7200MB/s | W: 6200MB/s)
    Gigabyte P650SS 650W 80+ Silver
    3x Antec Stock 120mm ARGB Fans

    Anything you think I'm missing? Or likewise over buying?

  • Option 3. Clear winner.
    Main reasons:
    Stronger cpu
    Am5 will allow cpu upgrade down the track
    Gpu easily handle listed games

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