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Can you tell me how to upgrade PC parts?

grommet

Well-Known Member
I have a gaming PC that is less than 1 year old with an Intel Core i5-10400F CPU and 8GB installed RAM.

I got it for VR games using the Oculus Rift S.

There are games that need a faster processor and more memory. I do not know how to change parts.

I have found NewEgg and they sell processors and memory. Can I buy a faster processor like an i7 or i9 and more RAM and just pull out the old parts and push in the new ones or is it much more complicated than that?

I do not know about computers so if I have not explained things well or missed something obvious, that is why.

If you can help, thank you.
 
NewEgg is a an excellent company.

Thank you for telling me. I spoke to them over the phone and they said you no longer have tech support and the woman I spoke to said she did not know about installing parts.

I want to know if I buy a faster CPU and more memory do I just open my PC case and unplug the old parts and put in the new ones. Is it that simple? Will my Windows software work okay if I do that?
 
Your CPU is a 10th gen CPU. So your motherboard will be able to use a better 10th gen processor if you wish to upgrade to say an i7-10700K. However, your CPU at the moment is ranked 70th on UserBenchmark which is a strong score. I'm on a 6th gen i7 6700k and it's plenty good for gaming - but it's ranked 116th on UserBenchmark. I'm due for an upgrade later this year. But this PC has lasted me 4 years and runs a lot of games at 1440P on very high/ultra settings. RAM and GPU are the main focus for you I think.

First you need to gather your system info:

Press the windows key on your keyboard and type dxdiag and hit enter. On the system and the display tabs you can view info about your PC. To confirm motherboard type press windows button and R. Then type msinfo32 and hit enter. Look at the entries under base board from that list.

If you Google your motherboard type, you can see what RAM speeds it can go up to.


I would say focus on RAM and GPU. Also an SSD or M.2 SSD if your motherboard will allow it. Having your operating system and main game library on an M.2 greatly improves performance in every conceivable area. You'll probably want a better power supply. Best thing to do - once you've worked out the parts you want it so input it all into a PSU calculator and it'll show recommended wattage.

Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision

With your 8GB RAM, if it's a single stick - this will have quite a noticeable effect on game performance. Dual channel with 2 sticks can improve performance greatly. For RAM - you can either buy more sticks of the same RAM you current have, or look for one with better speeds and latency than your current one's. Wherever you bought the computer from should have a note of the RAM type on your invoice or order history.

RAM literally plugs straight onto your motherboard, it's very easy to fit. In fact everything on your computer will attach in some way to the motherboard.

What GPU are you running? Whilst I'd recommend to upgrade to 16GB of RAM - your GPU will do the main brunt of the work in games.

I'm sure there's plenty of online videos and tutorials with regards to changing components on your computer. Mostly it's plugging/unplugging components, and occasionally using a screw driver. Sometimes it's fiddly, but so long as you read the instructions regarding how these parts fit together - you'll be fine.


Ed
 
Last edited:
Thought computer parts go on a motherboard? Solder on? You could check your local pc repair store and nab a person for details or goggle it.
 
Your CPU is a 10th gen CPU. So your motherboard will be able to use a better 10th gen processor if you wish to upgrade to say an i7-10700K. However, your CPU at the moment is ranked 70th on UserBenchmark which is a strong score. I'm on a 6th gen i7 6700k and it's plenty good for gaming - but it's ranked 116th on UserBenchmark. I'm due for an upgrade later this year. But this PC has lasted me 4 years and runs a lot of games at 1440P on very high/ultra settings. RAM and GPU are the main focus for you I think.

First you need to gather your system info:

Press the windows key on your keyboard and type dxdiag and hit enter. On the system and the display tabs you can view info about your PC. To confirm motherboard type press windows button and R. Then type msinfo32 and hit enter. Look at the entries under base board from that list.

If you Google your motherboard type, you can see what RAM speeds it can go up to.


I would say focus on RAM and GPU. Also an SSD or M.2 SSD if your motherboard will allow it. Having your operating system and main game library on an M.2 greatly improves performance in every conceivable area. You'll probably want a better power supply. Best thing to do - once you've worked out the parts you want it so input it all into a PSU calculator and it'll show recommended wattage.

Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision

With your 8GB RAM, if it's a single stick - this will have quite a noticeable effect on game performance. Dual channel with 2 sticks can improve performance greatly. For RAM - you can either buy more sticks of the same RAM you current have, or look for one with better speeds and latency than your current one's. Wherever you bought the computer from should have a note of the RAM type on your invoice or order history.

RAM literally plugs straight onto your motherboard, it's very easy to fit. In fact everything on your computer will attach in some way to the motherboard.

What GPU are you running? Whilst I'd recommend to upgrade to 16GB of RAM - your GPU will do the main brunt of the work in games.

I'm sure there's plenty of online videos and tutorials with regards to changing components on your computer. Mostly it's plugging/unplugging components, and occasionally using a screw driver. Sometimes it's fiddly, but so long as you read the instructions regarding how these parts fit together - you'll be fine.


Ed

Thank you for helping. I read what you wrote a few times. I cannot really understand it but your directions were easy to follow. I could not figure out how to take a screen shot and then find out where they went so I took a photo of the screens with my phone. They will be harder to see I know but I could not do it another way. Hopefully it has the answers to your questions.


I would be glad to replace the RAM with two new sticks, other parts if I need them too. Can you tell me what parts to buy? Links would help. I was thinking of using Newegg but they are the only place I have heard of.

PC info.jpg
PC info 2.jpg
 
Your CPU is a 10th gen CPU. So your motherboard will be able to use a better 10th gen processor if you wish to upgrade to say an i7-10700K. However, your CPU at the moment is ranked 70th on UserBenchmark which is a strong score. I'm on a 6th gen i7 6700k and it's plenty good for gaming - but it's ranked 116th on UserBenchmark. I'm due for an upgrade later this year. But this PC has lasted me 4 years and runs a lot of games at 1440P on very high/ultra settings. RAM and GPU are the main focus for you I think.

First you need to gather your system info:

Press the windows key on your keyboard and type dxdiag and hit enter. On the system and the display tabs you can view info about your PC. To confirm motherboard type press windows button and R. Then type msinfo32 and hit enter. Look at the entries under base board from that list.

If you Google your motherboard type, you can see what RAM speeds it can go up to.


I would say focus on RAM and GPU. Also an SSD or M.2 SSD if your motherboard will allow it. Having your operating system and main game library on an M.2 greatly improves performance in every conceivable area. You'll probably want a better power supply. Best thing to do - once you've worked out the parts you want it so input it all into a PSU calculator and it'll show recommended wattage.

Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision

With your 8GB RAM, if it's a single stick - this will have quite a noticeable effect on game performance. Dual channel with 2 sticks can improve performance greatly. For RAM - you can either buy more sticks of the same RAM you current have, or look for one with better speeds and latency than your current one's. Wherever you bought the computer from should have a note of the RAM type on your invoice or order history.

RAM literally plugs straight onto your motherboard, it's very easy to fit. In fact everything on your computer will attach in some way to the motherboard.

What GPU are you running? Whilst I'd recommend to upgrade to 16GB of RAM - your GPU will do the main brunt of the work in games.

I'm sure there's plenty of online videos and tutorials with regards to changing components on your computer. Mostly it's plugging/unplugging components, and occasionally using a screw driver. Sometimes it's fiddly, but so long as you read the instructions regarding how these parts fit together - you'll be fine.


Ed

I looked in my PC case and the memory stick says Ballistix. It is red. I found these on Newegg, which should I get?
 
Your CPU is a 10th gen CPU. So your motherboard will be able to use a better 10th gen processor if you wish to upgrade to say an i7-10700K. However, your CPU at the moment is ranked 70th on UserBenchmark which is a strong score. I'm on a 6th gen i7 6700k and it's plenty good for gaming - but it's ranked 116th on UserBenchmark. I'm due for an upgrade later this year. But this PC has lasted me 4 years and runs a lot of games at 1440P on very high/ultra settings. RAM and GPU are the main focus for you I think.

First you need to gather your system info:

Press the windows key on your keyboard and type dxdiag and hit enter. On the system and the display tabs you can view info about your PC. To confirm motherboard type press windows button and R. Then type msinfo32 and hit enter. Look at the entries under base board from that list.

If you Google your motherboard type, you can see what RAM speeds it can go up to.


I would say focus on RAM and GPU. Also an SSD or M.2 SSD if your motherboard will allow it. Having your operating system and main game library on an M.2 greatly improves performance in every conceivable area. You'll probably want a better power supply. Best thing to do - once you've worked out the parts you want it so input it all into a PSU calculator and it'll show recommended wattage.

Power Supply Calculator - PSU Calculator | OuterVision

With your 8GB RAM, if it's a single stick - this will have quite a noticeable effect on game performance. Dual channel with 2 sticks can improve performance greatly. For RAM - you can either buy more sticks of the same RAM you current have, or look for one with better speeds and latency than your current one's. Wherever you bought the computer from should have a note of the RAM type on your invoice or order history.

RAM literally plugs straight onto your motherboard, it's very easy to fit. In fact everything on your computer will attach in some way to the motherboard.

What GPU are you running? Whilst I'd recommend to upgrade to 16GB of RAM - your GPU will do the main brunt of the work in games.

I'm sure there's plenty of online videos and tutorials with regards to changing components on your computer. Mostly it's plugging/unplugging components, and occasionally using a screw driver. Sometimes it's fiddly, but so long as you read the instructions regarding how these parts fit together - you'll be fine.


Ed

I made this video showing what is inside my PC case. You need this link.
 
Hi again,

Thanks for the photos. To take a screenshot I just press PrtScn button (usually to the right of F12). Then press windows key - type paint. Press Ctrl + V when Paint has loaded and then save (or ctrl + S) as a JPEG. If you want to only screenshot a specific window, like Dxdiag? Ctrl + Alt + Print Screen. Another useful tool to keep on your task bar is to press the windows key then type snip and use the Snipping Tool. Once the program opens, press New (or ctrl + N) and the screen will become discoloured. Then you highlight an area and once done you can save or edit it.

Here's a link to your motherboard. I'd recommend saving that link in case you ever need to download drivers from there, such as if you ever reinstall windows.

B460M PRO

2933 mhz max speed DDR4 RAM is useable. So look for Corsair that suits your budget. Get 2 or 4 sticks of RAM.

Corsair 2933 | Newegg.com

That 1 stick, might be worth checking the motherboard manual (if you can find it - if . Confirm slot configuration of where that RAM stick should sit. Often it's in the first and not second slot: EDIT - I'm gonna read through the manual myself and update this shortly.

Manual - MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

Ok - that RAM is installed in slot 2 and needs to be in slot 1 as per instruction manual

***Probably goes without saying but make sure the computer is off, and switched off at the back of the PSU before you start doing any changes below ***

DIMM.JPG


mobo4.jpg



Your motherboard has an M. 2 installed. 500GB. These are the fastest drives you can get at the moment - although some are a lot faster than others. Might we worth taking an up close photo of this:

412342.jpg


I can see it says WD blue which is Western Digital brand. If we can find out the model type then we'll know if it's standard SSD speeds which are around 550 MB/S or the faster M.2 speeds of up to 3500 MB/s which makes performance a lot smoother on your computer. Computer starts quicker, programes load faster, large folders appear quickly - it's a great improvement.

Samsung is a little dear, but these have the aforementioned 3500 MB/s speed:

SAMSUNG 980 M.2 2280 1TB PCI-Express 3.0 x4, Internal SSD - Newegg.com

Also might be worth taking a photo of your power supply unit (PSU). From your vid I imagine it's below what looks like the bottom of your case. Looks like there might be a dedicated space for it under there. They're easy to spot as they have the chunky power cable that you plug into the mains which plugs into their back. This will be a metal box screwed into the back of the inside of your case.

Your PC won't have a huge draw though, and I imagine putting in new RAM and (if needs be) a new GPU won't sink the ship. But they're worth investing in - it powers your whole rig and I've had them fail in the past.

81zHHDOQlfL._AC_SY450_.jpg


Again - just check the PSU calculator when you have parts in mind, so that you make room in the budget for a new PSU.

Judging by the shape of your MSI Geforce cooler I think you have a 20 series graphics card. The Display tab on Dxdiag will confirm which it is - 2060, 70, 80 etc.

20 series.JPG



20 series cards.JPG


Judging by the size and thickness of the card I imagine it's a 2060 or 2070. The 20 series is solid, and only superceeded by the Ampere generation of cards last year. I genuinely think it's the RAM which is holding you back most. (EDIT: move to slot 1 and check game performance). That single stick is a problem I had for a long time. As soon as I went to 2 sticks - gaming performance increased dramatically. Also - keep your drivers up to date once you know which GPU you have:

Download The Latest Official GeForce Drivers

PC gaming can be fiddly though - each game can pose a new challenge for tweaking settings etc. Expecting a game to run beautiful out the box isn't always the case with PC gaming. So be willing to read and watch some videos if the automatic settings a game is defaulted too either looks really ugly, or runs real bad.

Finally - keep your drivers up to date. You can just use this program without ever buying it:

Download Driver Booster - the best free driver updater for Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista & XP.

A higher refresh rate monitor is also worth considering - and yet, some games really struggled with running over 60 frames per second (FPS). Again - all part of the charm of PC gaming. It's a never ending puzzle at times. Whenever I find game fixes that work for me - I add the game title and what I did, so that I know for future reference.

I think this is a display model, as it mentions open box. But 32" monitor with Gsync (a technology to help games run smoother with Nvidia cards) for that price is crazy. Mind you at around 30" plus it's probably better to go to 1440P - but then a higher resolution strains your whole system, especially the GPU:

Open Box: LG UltraGear 32GN50T-B 32" Full HD 1920 x 1080 165 Hz 2 x HDMI, DisplayPort NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible with AMD FreeSync Premium Gaming Monitor, A-Grade - Newegg.com

It's nothing major - so long as you keep the dust from caking up the heatsink, but your CPU cooler is another item people often upgrade. I've personally not bothered much with CPU overclocking, but anything that has your key components running cooler is a good thing:

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 120 All-in-one (AIO) CPU Liquid Cooler with "Fire Red" LED MasterFan, 120mm Radiator, Dual Chamber Pump, Intel/AMD Universal Mounting (LGA 2066/AMD AM4 Compatible!) - Newegg.com

People often mount them where your blue LED exhaust fan is at the moment:

cooler.JPG


Sorry, this turned into a little essay, but I hope it helps.

Ed
 
Last edited:
One thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned - while most orher components are just push in/pull out, the cpu requires thermal paste between it and the heatsink.
 
One thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned - while most orher components are just push in/pull out, the cpu requires thermal paste between it and the heatsink.

Thank you. I would not have known that.
 
One thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned - while most orher components are just push in/pull out, the cpu requires thermal paste between it and the heatsink.

Also worth pointing out that on occasion the extreme heat between the CPU and heatsink can cause that thermal grease to become more like glue. Making it potentially difficult to remove the CPU because it's sticking to the heatsink. In other words, be very gentle when you remove the heatsink from the CPU.

Hopefully you don't end up removing the CPU while it's still stuck to the heatsink. Otherwise you risk bending some of the CPU's tiny pins. I know as this happened to me once many years ago, and I spent an afternoon with a magnifying glass bending back all those pins so my CPU would function correctly. :eek:

But you don't want to bypass placing the heatsink back on top of any CPU without that thermal grease. It helps to draw and conduct the heat which is the whole point of a massive heatsink.

Newegg? Yeah, this entire computer I'm on right now was built using Newegg components for sale online.
 
Also worth pointing out that on occasion the extreme heat between the CPU and heatsink can cause that thermal grease to become more like glue. Making it potentially difficult to remove the CPU because it's sticking to the heatsink. In other words, be very gentle when you remove the heatsink from the CPU.

Hopefully you don't end up removing the CPU while it's still stuck to the heatsink. Otherwise you risk bending some of the CPU's tiny pins. I know as this happened to me once many years ago, and I spent an afternoon with a magnifying glass bending back all those pins so my CPU would function correctly. :eek:

But you don't want to bypass placing the heatsink back on top of any CPU without that thermal grease. It helps to draw and conduct the heat which is the whole point of a massive heatsink.

Newegg? Yeah, this entire computer I'm on right now was built using Newegg components for sale online.

Judge, thank you so much. To replace the CPU, you pull the old one out and just put a new one in? If I was careful about the grease as you recommend, it does not seem difficult. I think it may be expensive to put in a different power supply. How would I know if I new CPU would need a different power supply?
 
Judge, thank you so much. To replace the CPU, you pull the old one out and just put a new one in? If I was careful about the grease as you recommend, it does not seem difficult. I think it may be expensive to put in a different power supply. How would I know if I new CPU would need a different power supply?

Well, it's not quite that simple. On the motherboard, all CPUs have a device with a little lever on them that you lift up that releases the CPU from its socket. Where all the little pins get cleared and are no longer connected to the motherboard. A device to be used "gingerly", even if everything else seems to work ok.


Generally considering a new power supply is more a matter of what power demands your graphic processor unit (GPU) puts out. A top-end power supply shouldn't run you more than $150.

However with gaming considerations, a top end video card is probably the most critical component to consider in terms of optimal performance. Much more so IMO than a CPU. That all said, even more powerful power supplies are not all that expensive compared to a powerful video card, which right now seem to be going for absurdly high prices.
 
Well, it's not quite that simple. On the motherboard, all CPUs have a device with a little lever on them that you lift up that releases the CPU from its socket. Where all the little pins get cleared and are no longer connected to the motherboard. A device to be used "gingerly", even if everything else seems to work ok.


Generally considering a new power supply is more a matter of what power demands your graphic processor unit (GPU) puts out. A top-end power supply shouldn't run you more than $150.

However with gaming considerations, a top end video card is probably the most critical component to consider in terms of optimal performance. Much more so IMO than a CPU. That all said, even more powerful power supplies are not all that expensive compared to a powerful video card, which right now seem to be going for absurdly high prices.

Thank you. I am trying to understand. That video was very helpful, it was excellent. But I did not see a heatsink or any grease. Is that something he removed before changing the chip?
 
Thank you. I am trying to understand. That video was very helpful, it was excellent. But I did not see a heatsink or any grease. Is that something he removed before changing the chip?

Yes, the heatsink and cpu fan attached to it must be taken off first. That's the point where the bottom of the heatsink where it touches the top of the cpu requires the thermal grease. Of course when you remove a cpu fan you want to disconnect it from the motherboard as well.

Here's the heatsink and fan I use with my particular cpu. Of course with these devices, they attach to specific types of cpus. It's huge relative to the size of the cpu, but bigger tends to be better. The damn thing barely fits in my case!

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/cpu-air-coolers/hyper-212-evo/
 

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