New GPU won't work with old PC; time to think about something new

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E3xtc

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#302477 26-Nov-2022 14:15

So I grabbed an RTX 3060 to bring my current PC back to life for a couple of years only to find out that while the motherboard "supports" UEFI it really, doesn't so the card doesn't allow the computer to boot.

So now I am thinking of putting together a PC around this GPU - but want to do it on the cheap, but also want to try and make it as performant as possible.

What I am thinking is if I can reuse the following existing parts I might come out with something reasonable without sinking too much:

Existing SSD's (ie not nvme drives)
Existing ATX Corsair HX1050 power supply

I have 16GB of DDR3 RAM too - but most likely thinking this should be replaced

RTX 3060 GPU
So probably need:
Motherboard
CPU
Cooler
RAM
Case - the old case is an Alienware one so from what I understand its impossible to get a standard Motherboard to fit

Have I missed anything?

Is there any recommendations (brands/models/places buy etc) or thoughts as am going in to this totally disconnected from what is "current" tech or something to avoid or something to try for.

If anyone has something that might suit that they are looking to offload let me know too as I don't mind something preloved

Something I was wondering about; am I able to transfer the existing Win10 licence across from the existing hardware to the new one? Or best to start fresh with a new copy of Win11?

Jase2985

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#3001764 26-Nov-2022 16:06

whats your current setup, would be surprised if it didn't work

E3xtc

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#3001775 26-Nov-2022 17:02

Its an old Alienware Aurora R3 from decades (literally) ago. Its been going well (enough for the games my son and I play), overclocked, watercooled, etc, and upgraded (through the years, to include a better GPU, RAM and disks - but now the GPU is the main bottleneck, hence the 3060 purchase), but the bios was neglected from the get go by Alienware and was of the age that UEFI was right at its inception so was half baked. No updates to the bios have ever really happened.

Yeah its that old :D haha

Jase2985

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#3001783 26-Nov-2022 17:40

you could try using one of the tech companies online pc builder and see what you can get for what sort of money.

Personally would be going for something that uses DDR4 still as the DDR5 stuff is still pretty expensive and you wont notice much difference. i would also go for 32gb ram.

Intel or AMD doesnt make a huge difference.

Both of the above will dictate what motherboard family you need.

Case is personal preference but it would need to fit the form factor of the motherboard, and the cooler that you want to go for along with any peripherals.

gbwelly

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#3001901 27-Nov-2022 10:26

Jase2985:

whats your current setup, would be surprised if it didn't work

Agree, I'd be testing the 3060 in another machine first before buying anything.

Qazzy03

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#3001903 27-Nov-2022 10:37

Something I was wondering about; am I able to transfer the existing Win10 licence across from the existing hardware to the new one?

Depends usually on if you have a retail windows key vs an OEM windows key.

This is something i did with my windows 7 retail key

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665?ui=en-us&rs=en-gb&ad=gb#ID0EBD=Windows_10

However had experince with an OEM key before in a friends PC and it didn't work, ended up buying a grey market for that one.

Regrading parts i would say go with your budget and don't be afraid of not buying the latest.

Personally i am running a an I7 8700 that i got from ex-company system and works well with gaming.

Recommendation stick with DDR4 for ram its almost half the price over DDR5 in NZ and it doesnt give that much gaming uplift.

Get 32GB of ram.

Speed of ram, check the motherboard specs you decide to go with, some do not go above standard, so you could be buying ram that is faster than your motherboard max speed.

Intel vs AMD, its about bang for buck tbh, just looking at pricespy right now the AMD 3600 is what i would call MVP at $179 NZD however then finding the motherboard you want and in stock sometimes the math will change and Intel might have the bang for buck if the motherboard is cheaper.

Case this will come down to person preference, i googled the Alienware Aurora R3 and it sounds like Dell was still using standard parts and standard atx motherboards.....

Just FYI a lot of motherboards are microATX these days to cut costs.

so if you like the case, you might be able to re-use it... i only spent 2 minutes googling, so could be wrong asf.

CPU cooler with obv depend on both CPU, Motherboard and case.

You could post in the wanted/selling section and there could be a geekzone member that is upgrading in your area that is happy to part with their own stuff cheap.... so it isn't in the wardrobe for years.... not that i would do that......... yeah not me.

Anyway hopefully you can enjoy your new card soon.

E3xtc

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#3002173 27-Nov-2022 13:59

Nice. Thanks everyone for the responses and thoughts/ideas. Really appreciated.

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

cddt

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#3002616 28-Nov-2022 13:34

From the looks of it the Alienware Aurora R3 has a 2nd-gen CPU, so likely a i7-2600K or similar.

Anything from the last couple of years will be a major improvement!

E3xtc

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#3002620 28-Nov-2022 13:42

So I just threw money at the problem :D and have a new case, mb, cpu, mem turning up...will shoe horn the psu and drives into it, along with the GPU and see what comes out the other side.

Will then just put the old left over kit on Trademe etc and see if anyone bites.

Thanks again for the thoughts/ideas/comments everyone!

Jase2985

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#3002891 28-Nov-2022 23:48

i would not be surprised if the PSU in the Dell had some form of proprietary connector on it and it didn't work properly

E3xtc

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#3002931 29-Nov-2022 08:09

Jase2985:

i would not be surprised if the PSU in the Dell had some form of proprietary connector on it and it didn't work properly

Nah its a standard one (I too was surprised) as I swapped it out with an uprated one when I replaced the GPU a few years back