Budget 41-50k Want to upgrade/ replace Desktop PC.

vebk

vebk

Adept
Hi All, I am looking to upgrade/ replace my office computer which I built in 2016.

Parts can also be sourced from the US if it saves me money.

I am completely open to recommendations - so do help!

  1. What is your budget?
    • Max 50K
  2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • CPU - Intel Core i3-6100 (Intel 6th Gen)
    • Motherboard - Asus B150M-Plus (LGA 1151)
    • GPU - Nil
    • RAM - Corsair 8GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4 Vengeance LPX 2400Mhz
    • Monitor - LG 34WL750 Ultrwawide wQHD (3440 x 1440) IPS Monitor
    • PSU - ANTEC SMPS VP450P
    • Hard drives: Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD (OS), Kingston A400 2.5" 480GB SATA III TLC SSD (documents etc), Seagate ST3500418AS 500GB SATA Hdd (Random stuff)
    • Cabinet: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-M2 MicroATX
    • Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic desktop + mouse
  3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • Hard drives: Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD (OS), Kingston A400 2.5" 480GB SATA III TLC SSD (documents etc), Seagate ST3500418AS 500GB SATA Hdd (Random stuff)
    • Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic desktop + mouse
  4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • CPU : 12th Gen but i3 or i5?
    • Motherboard - Any compatible motherboard. Should have HDMI/ Displayport and more USB 3 ports the merrier.
    • GPU - Do I need this?
    • RAM : 16GB
    • PSU - open to suggestions
    • nvme SSD - open to suggestions.
    • Cabinet: The power button on my corsair cabinet stopped working so I did some jugaad and replaced it with the reset button. Other than that I am happy with the cabinet. Should I replace it?
  5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • No plan on upgrading for a while.
  6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Delhi
    • Open to online purchase (Amazon, dcomputer, ITDepot etc)
    • Can also source from the US if it helps save considerably.
  7. Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
    • Yes
  8. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • Browsing
    • Desktop Processing
    • Watching HD movies
    • Possibly some video editing
  9. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • Nil
  10. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • Nil
  11. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. wQHD or 4K
  12. Are you looking to overclock?
    • No
  13. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 11
 
I say upgrade RAM and CPU on your current motherboard to a used i7-6700 or i7-7700 and 16/32GB because your use case for the system is not heavy and regular at all.

Also if you think you don't need a GPU then you probably don't need one otherwise you'd know but if you want one for casual editing/gaming then go with AMD RX6600 or some used card under 25K. Again, you don't need it, get it only if you want it. If getting any GPU with near 200+W TDP then definitely upgrade PSU to 750W 80+ Gold. This also can be carry forwarded to your next build if purchased a decent one.

Don't spend money unnecessarily would be my advise. Your hardware seems perfectly reasonable for the tasks you do and this suggested upgrade advise will stretch its life to 2+ years more easily.
 
As suggested by @enthusiast29, you can just upgrade the processor and continue using the current components. There's nothing wrong with them and for typical office use, you won't see a huge difference in day to day performance.

Regarding SSDs, I know 850 is a SATA SSD, but again, you're not going to notice any difference in real world usage by upgrading to NVMe. I have used both and it really doesn't make a difference unless you're standing in front of your PC with a stopwatch. Boot up times will be faster by 2 seconds and everything else will be faster by a few milliseconds. Not something you'll notice.

If you want a significant speed bump and are sure you want to upgrade, here's a config you can go for:

I have selected i5 from a future proofing perspective, so that you continue to enjoy decent speeds for at least 5 years. i3 might start to feel slow a bit earlier.

The motherboard is a bit on the expensive side for the following reasons:
  • You wanted HDMI and display port, this one has both (total of 3)
  • This one has a USB-C port
  • It has WiFi 6 which is great from future proofing perspective
For RAM, single stick of 16 GB should be sufficient. But you'll always have room to upgrade if you feel the need in future.

You can use your current PSU as well, if there's no issue with it.

And lastly, regarding GPU, no you probably don't need it if you don't do gaming/video editing on your PC. Modern processors are fast enough for occasional transcodes and playing 4k movies, etc. i5 12500 or 12400 come with iGPU. The F variant, i.e. 12400F, doesn't have an iGPU, so you need a dedicated graphics cards with those. Those processors are good for people who are anyway going to get a GPU.

If you still want a slightly faster GPU for the occasional game you might want to play, you can go for Ryzen APU (Ryzen 5 5600G) based build which will give you similar level of processing performance as the i5 and much better graphics performance. Prices will also be similar. In case of AMD build, you go for this motherboard: https://mdcomputers.in/msi-b550m-pro-vdh-m-atx-motherboard.html
 
Last edited:
Thanks @gourav - those are excellent recommendations! Am leaning towards a significant upgrade - personal choice, but also in part because I don't think the current system does justice to the 34" ultrawide monitor.

I am probably going to go exactly with your recommendation. Any recommendation for a 1TB SSD?
 
vebk said:
I am probably going to go exactly with your recommendation. Any recommendation for a 1TB SSD?
Click to expand...
I would still recommend the WD SN570 itself even for 1 TB. If you want something faster, you can go for WD Black SN770.

If you want something specifically with DRAM Cache, then check Samsung 970 EVO Plus or 980 Pro. They are significantly more expensive though.
 
Ok, I am going ahead with this from a local dealer in Nehru Place (prices given below). Will use the existing cabinet, especially since anyway the Matrexx is unavailable locally right now. If and when my cabinet gives way, I think that would be a simple transfer that can be done in a day.

Processor: INTEL CORE I5-12500
Rs. 19,500

Motherboard:Gigabyte B660M DS3H AX DDR4 (Wi-Fi)
Rs. 12,400

Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE 450 Bronze
Rs. 2,800

Memory (RAM): Corsair CMK16GX4M1E3200C16 Desktop Ram Vengeance 16GBx1 DDR4 3200MHz
Rs. 4,700

Solid State Disk (SSD): WD SN570 1TB
Rs. 7,800
 
Instead of the sn570 wouldn't the normal 980 be better and is similarly priced at 8-8.5k
I currently have one installed on my laptop and it's working fine and the Samsung magician software is a good bonus too
 
vebk said:
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE 450 Bronze
Rs. 2,800
Click to expand...
May I ask why are you buying a new PSU with the same wattage as your current one? Just a post above you said you're leaning towards a significant upgrade. I don't see that with this in the build.
I already explained why PSU choice matters significantly in a build and the benefits of having a decent wattage PSU, rest is your choice and money.

What's the point of the thread when you didn't take any advise at all :p
 
That's an odd tone to take, man. Thanks for your help - truly. I appreciate your advice, but in the end I took @gourav 's advice.

I got a new PSU because I was getting a new processor and a new motherboard, and a new PSU was fairly inexpensive. Maybe not the most rational decision - but I don't intend to upgrade for another 5 years or so (if I can help it).

BTW I did upgrade it - and am SUPER happy with it - the PC is flying now!!
 
Congrats on your purchase.

If you still have the old hardware, you can recoup some of the cost/prevent them from going in the landfill by selling them in the market section. It's decent hardware and will easily last another couple years.
 
vebk said:
Ok, I am going ahead with this from a local dealer in Nehru Place (prices given below). Will use the existing cabinet, especially since anyway the Matrexx is unavailable locally right now. If and when my cabinet gives way, I think that would be a simple transfer that can be done in a day.

Processor: INTEL CORE I5-12500
Rs. 19,500

Motherboard:Gigabyte B660M DS3H AX DDR4 (Wi-Fi)
Rs. 12,400

Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE 450 Bronze
Rs. 2,800

Memory (RAM): Corsair CMK16GX4M1E3200C16 Desktop Ram Vengeance 16GBx1 DDR4 3200MHz
Rs. 4,700

Solid State Disk (SSD): WD SN570 1TB
Rs. 7,800
Click to expand...
go with 550w or above psu if u plan on getting dedicated gpu

go with 2*8gb sticks instead of single 16gb

if price difference is more between i5 12500 and i5 12400 than get i5 12400 instead
 
hey ! just cause you've mentioned it before, ideally you should import your parts from america cause it'll just be way cheaper and you should be able to get much better specs in the same budget range if you do so. @vebk
vebk said:
Hi All, I am looking to upgrade/ replace my office computer which I built in 2016.

Parts can also be sourced from the US if it saves me money.

I am completely open to recommendations - so do help!

  1. What is your budget?
    • Max 50K
  2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • CPU - Intel Core i3-6100 (Intel 6th Gen)
    • Motherboard - Asus B150M-Plus (LGA 1151)
    • GPU - Nil
    • RAM - Corsair 8GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4 Vengeance LPX 2400Mhz
    • Monitor - LG 34WL750 Ultrwawide wQHD (3440 x 1440) IPS Monitor
    • PSU - ANTEC SMPS VP450P
    • Hard drives: Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD (OS), Kingston A400 2.5" 480GB SATA III TLC SSD (documents etc), Seagate ST3500418AS 500GB SATA Hdd (Random stuff)
    • Cabinet: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-M2 MicroATX
    • Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic desktop + mouse
  3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • Hard drives: Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD (OS), Kingston A400 2.5" 480GB SATA III TLC SSD (documents etc), Seagate ST3500418AS 500GB SATA Hdd (Random stuff)
    • Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic desktop + mouse
  4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • CPU : 12th Gen but i3 or i5?
    • Motherboard - Any compatible motherboard. Should have HDMI/ Displayport and more USB 3 ports the merrier.
    • GPU - Do I need this?
    • RAM : 16GB
    • PSU - open to suggestions
    • nvme SSD - open to suggestions.
    • Cabinet: The power button on my corsair cabinet stopped working so I did some jugaad and replaced it with the reset button. Other than that I am happy with the cabinet. Should I replace it?
  5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • No plan on upgrading for a while.
  6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Delhi
    • Open to online purchase (Amazon, dcomputer, ITDepot etc)
    • Can also source from the US if it helps save considerably.
  7. Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
    • Yes
  8. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • Browsing
    • Desktop Processing
    • Watching HD movies
    • Possibly some video editing
  9. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • Nil
  10. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • Nil
  11. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. wQHD or 4K
  12. Are you looking to overclock?
    • No
  13. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 11
Click to expand...
 
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