Help me get with the times (desktop PC upgrade options)

Forums › Desktop computing › Help me get with the times (desktop PC upgrade options)

huxtable

114 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 10

#322925 6-Oct-2025 22:06

Hi, I've only just realised that my current desktop PC is not compatible with the upgrade to Windows 11 (my CPU is not supported). I understand there are ways to get around this, but I'd prefer to use this as an opportunity to upgrade as I hadn't realised my hardware is now between 9 and 16 years old! (except for my Graphics card and RAM which are a bit more recent).

I used to be quite tech savvy when it came to hardware and upgrades, but simply have no clue now how to compare CPUs, Gfx cards, etc.

Current specs:

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 @ 3.20Ghz
Mboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Intel B150 DDR4 mATX LGA1151 Motherboard
RAM: 16GB
Gfx: AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series (3GB) (0x6798)
Case: Lancool PC-K7 large tower case. (I did replace the Power Supply about 4 years ago). (One of the fans is very noisy, perhaps I should replace all of them).
Use case: Light/limited gaming. Occasional live video/audio broadcasting. Lots of general multitasking (100 Chrome tabs open). Plex server (typically on 24/7). Occasional moderate photo/video editing.
In the past have purchased from ComputerLounge, PBTech (have one in Dunedin now)

What would be some reasonably affordable, but solid, upgrade paths? I'm actually happy to fork out a bit of money if it was worthwhile.

Is it still practical for me to upgrade, rather than start from scratch? (I assume I could replace the case fans quite easily with something like these?)

Thanks for any input!

1 | 2 | 3

11924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9675

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422402 6-Oct-2025 22:33

Most importantly: what is your budget?

Realistically the only thing you could reuse is the case and possibly the power supply. Replacing a fan is trivial and not expensive.

What games are you playing? You may be able to get away with an iGPU which works great for Plex as well. That will mean you likely won't need a new power supply to start with and just need CPU/Mobo/Ram. If it doesn't work for you then you can add a GPU and power supply.

KrazyKid

1247 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 616

#3422403 6-Oct-2025 22:50

I purchased something very similar to this from Cello a month ago in Dunedin.
Also upgrading from a 12yo PC
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSGGPC50370/GGPC-AMD-Radeon-RX-9060-XT-16GB-Gaming-PC-AMD-Ryze

Looked at PBTech with the new store but Cello ended up being slightly cheaper than PBTech so I upgraded the SSD (NVMe) to 2TB at near same price fromm Cello.
The CPU ended up being Intel and slightly faster (not that I would notice the diff)

A 16GB GPU seems the min recommeded Graphic card memory spec these days if you read the revioews, but saying that you can go smaller CPU Ram for less $$$
Friend of mine recently brought a 3060TI (12G Ram) from PBTech for $1600 for gaming and reckons it serves him fine so horses for courses with that.

There is also the whole Nvida vs Radeon debate to have if you care.

I do recommend the NVMe SSD though - so fast compared to the 12yo tech I was using...

huxtable

114 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 10

#3422407 6-Oct-2025 23:21

Handle9:

Most importantly: what is your budget?

Realistically the only thing you could reuse is the case and possibly the power supply. Replacing a fan is trivial and not expensive.

What games are you playing? You may be able to get away with an iGPU which works great for Plex as well. That will mean you likely won't need a new power supply to start with and just need CPU/Mobo/Ram. If it doesn't work for you then you can add a GPU and power supply.

Great questions. Although I would prefer to spend up to ~$600 or $800 for a tidy upgrade path, I could probably spend up to $2,000 if I needed to just bite the bullet and do it right or start from scratch.

My gaming is extremely limited in reality, I guess it would just be nice knowing that I could play a some more modern games if I ever find the time. Mainly things like Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, a sequel to Skyrim if it ever comes out, Football Manager series (which is more processor intensive than gfx). A fair bit of emulation of primarily PS2 games.

I should have also mentioned I don't want a flashy 'gaming' style case with LEDs etc, in fact would like it to be as quiet as possible.

huxtable

114 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 10

#3422408 6-Oct-2025 23:23

KrazyKid:

I purchased something very similar to this from Cello a month ago in Dunedin.
Also upgrading from a 12yo PC
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSGGPC50370/GGPC-AMD-Radeon-RX-9060-XT-16GB-Gaming-PC-AMD-Ryze

Looked at PBTech with the new store but Cello ended up being slightly cheaper than PBTech so I upgraded the SSD (NVMe) to 2TB at near same price fromm Cello.
The CPU ended up being Intel and slightly faster (not that I would notice the diff)

A 16GB GPU seems the min recommeded Graphic card memory spec these days if you read the revioews, but saying that you can go smaller CPU Ram for less $$$
Friend of mine recently brought a 3060TI (12G Ram) from PBTech for $1600 for gaming and reckons it serves him fine so horses for courses with that.

There is also the whole Nvida vs Radeon debate to have if you care.

I do recommend the NVMe SSD though - so fast compared to the 12yo tech I was using...

This is all really helpful, thank you.

I used to have a good handle on things like Intel vs AMD, Nvidia vs Radeon... but am genuinely clueless these days. I don't have any particular biases at least.

Handle9

11924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9675

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422409 6-Oct-2025 23:37

huxtable:

Handle9:

Most importantly: what is your budget?

Realistically the only thing you could reuse is the case and possibly the power supply. Replacing a fan is trivial and not expensive.

What games are you playing? You may be able to get away with an iGPU which works great for Plex as well. That will mean you likely won't need a new power supply to start with and just need CPU/Mobo/Ram. If it doesn't work for you then you can add a GPU and power supply.

Great questions. Although I would prefer to spend up to ~$600 or $800 for a tidy upgrade path, I could probably spend up to $2,000 if I needed to just bite the bullet and do it right or start from scratch.

My gaming is extremely limited in reality, I guess it would just be nice knowing that I could play a some more modern games if I ever find the time. Mainly things like Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, a sequel to Skyrim if it ever comes out, Football Manager series (which is more processor intensive than gfx). A fair bit of emulation of primarily PS2 games.

I should have also mentioned I don't want a flashy 'gaming' style case with LEDs etc, in fact would like it to be as quiet as possible.

For that budget you are definitely look at integrated graphics. You can get a motherboard/Ryzen 5 or Intel Core ultra 5 with 16-32GB of Ram and that's about it.

Unfortunately you have to do all three together as for newer processors you are looking at a socket change and DDR5 RAM.

I'd be seriously considering the used market, A Ryzen 5xxx or a 10th-12th gen Intel processor would be a huge step up and you can potentially reuse your RAM.

Handle9

11924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9675

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422410 6-Oct-2025 23:57

huxtable:

This is all really helpful, thank you.

I used to have a good handle on things like Intel vs AMD, Nvidia vs Radeon... but am genuinely clueless these days. I don't have any particular biases at least.

At your budget it's pretty simple - everything is really very good. AMD processors are technically better than Intel, Nvidia GPUs are technically better than AMD or Intel but they are all making good gear and it comes down to value at the time you buy.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Qazzy03

545 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 491

#3422516 7-Oct-2025 07:38

huxtable:

What would be some reasonably affordable, ..... upgrade paths

With your budget you can only pick one of those.

Based on your use case/need, I am going to tailor my 2cents to affordable.

1) wait until black friday sales, should start in the next month or so, PB Tech is knowing for doing pre-black friday to get your money.
2) we are re-using nearly everything you have to stretch budget. :)
3) we are going to go for End of Life systems, sorry they don't have upgrade paths but $600-800 doesn't give wiggle room.

So we
reuse your GPU
reuse your 16GB (is it one or 2 sticks)
reuse your PSU
reuse your case

we stick on DDR4 based systems and go either

Intel 12th gen

I5 12400F currently $197.80 (F means it doesn't come with intergrated graphics)
Motherboard $200ish
NVMe drive 1TB or 2TB ($120 - $220)
another 16GB DDR4 Ram ($90 ish)
replace noisey fan $10-12 (with one like you linked)

$620+

AMD 4gen
5600 currently $205.85
Motherboard $185-$220
NVMe drive 1TB or 2TB ($120 - $220)
another 16GB DDR4 Ram ($90 ish)
replace noisey fan $10-12 (with one like you linked)

$611+

There are pro's and cons going for either CPU but it is to give you an idea of budget spread this is sort of the base cost for new parts to bring you up to windows 11. Please keep in mind these are mid entry tier CPU and cheapest motherboard/ram. You can always get more performance but you need to think about how much $$$ is going to give you performance you can use.

I would recommend saving any extra $ to go for another GPU if you want to play a bit more modern games.

Edit:
Could be worth doing a WTB advert here in the buying/selling section, see if anyone has a CPU/Mobo/ram combo of similar spec for $250 or less, as there may be someone moving from that generation to current gen this black friday.

Tripple Edit

This system will not play well with whatever future Skyrim is.
Currently their new Starfield game is a CPU and GPU hog.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422517 7-Oct-2025 07:42

If you decide to bite the bullet as such, take a look here for a reasonable guide : https://www.pyronic.al/

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422520 7-Oct-2025 07:53

I used nVidia video cards for years. I switched to Raedon for my last build and it acts weirdly with resuming from standby, which may be the video card or monitor but I've not had problems in the past. I'll go nVidia in future. My AMD 5600X CPU is good. m.2 SSD is good, really fast, I have two - one small for OS partitioned 200GB for OS and the rest for random data, plus a larger SSD for data. Look at the TBW "terrabytes that can be written" in the specs. You probably don't need the most expensive motherboard, just go for a good brand.

KrazyKid

1247 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 616

#3422521 7-Oct-2025 07:53

This is what my friend brought as a bottom of the line all new gaming machine. Plays anything newish he wants. Can't do 4k untra setting for the recent titles but will give you a chance to play anything out this year at lower res/frame rates.

Graphic card is a few years old, but that's save's you the $$$

$1550. Reuse mouse, keyboard and monitor.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSGGPC10034/GGPC-RTX-3060-12GB-Gaming-PC-AMD-Ryzen-5-5600-6-Co

Personallly I ended up with the decision that no point upgrading the 12 to machine as at end of life.

Also if I hadn't upgraded in 12 years I'm probably going to not need upgrade paths as I'm likely to be another 12 years between upgrades.

Also pre built which to me is a bonus. My desire to build new machines from scratch has dropped over the years....

Qazzy03

545 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 491

#3422522 7-Oct-2025 07:57

KrazyKid:

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSGGPC10034/GGPC-RTX-3060-12GB-Gaming-PC-AMD-Ryzen-5-5600-6-Co

Same AMD CPU I have listed above for reference.

OP if you are happy doing DIY, the below website is amazing, it is a mix of pricespy for parts and helps filter out compatiability issues i.e motherboard sockets etc.

https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Handle9

11924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9675

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422523 7-Oct-2025 08:02

Qazzy03:

reuse your GPU

This system will not play well with whatever future Skyrim is.

With a 3GB GPU about all it can do is output to a monitor. Modern AAA games are out, it’ll play indie games and old games.

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422536 7-Oct-2025 09:08

If the computer's working well and performs ok you may be able to install Windows 11 with Rufus or Flyoobe.

SpartanVXL

1498 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 666

#3422546 7-Oct-2025 09:24

HD 7900 is not the same as the 7000 series out now… it is not a full DX12 capable card and will fail the shader model support check for many modern games.

If you are going to keep the new machine anywhere as long as your current one I would really suggest getting a current gen mid-range platform like a AMD 9600x with DDR5 and grab a GPU later when you need/want it.

One nice thing about modern cases, they’ve mostly done away with the tackiness and are a bit more toned down enough to fit in a office setting.

Batman

Mad Scientist
30012 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3422549 7-Oct-2025 09:30

The only upgrade to a PC that i can see is a Mac. But it does depend on what programs you use and whether you are willing to pay more to be in the ecosystem.

I have not touched my 13900K system for a while, mainly using the MacBook. Can be plugged into the monitor as a desktop.

1 | 2 | 3