Question old components - what to do

[blackrain2]

My son wants to learn how to build a gaming PC. A long time ago, I got some computer stuff. I got busy with life and never did anything with any of it (I had building for years but family life and other stuff just took me away from it). Such a shame. Im not sure if any of this is still worth anything. As far as I can tell, I can probably sell it all on ebay (in some cases pretty close to what I paid since most was highly discounted). I imagine its all pretty weak by today's standards. Not sure if I should use any of this stuff as a learning aid for my son or if any of this stuff would actually be worth using for a new PC build for a first time user. When I bought all this stuff like 5 years ago, I was going to build separate office and gaming PCs. What would you do with this stuff? Im thinking that maybe I could put together a decent office PC with some of this stuff but maybe sell the rest and do it right (buy new stuff) for the gaming PC? Everything is brand new (unopened). I think that back in the day, I was thinking 1155+i5 for office and 1150+i7 for gaming PC in theater room.

Cases:
Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 case
Soprano Vo 9000 (snow)

Mobos:
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Socket LGA1150
Asus P8 Z77-V Pro Socket LGA 1155
MSI Z97 PC Mate Socket LGA1150

Video Cards:
Powercolor HD7870 Myst Edition 2GB GDDR5 (back in the day, i recall this being awesome but i imagine its pretty weak now)
MSI HD7850 2GB GDDR5

Memory:
G. Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CLD9-8GBXL
G. Skill Sniper F3-1866C10D-16GSR
Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10

Processor:
i7-4770k LGA1150
i5-3570k LGA 1155


Thinking this would be a bitchin' office PC:
i7-4770k LGA1150
Socket LGA1150 mobo
Powercolor HD7870 Myst Edition 2GB GDDR5
G. Skill Sniper F3-1866C10D-16GSR (why does 1866 have an asterisk in the mobo compatibility description?)

I found this article, and might overclock, so I might use the MSI gaming motherboard

MSI Z97-G45 GAMING vs. MSI Z97 PC MATE

Hey guys, I am in the process of buying the parts for my first PC and I was wondering if something like the MSI Z97 PC Mate would be enough for gaming, or if I should spend the extra money on a higher end motherboard such as the MSI Z97-G45 Gaming. The reason I ask is because I'm not sure if moth...

linustechtips.com

is there any point to overclocking this cpu?

 

[Shmee]

If you want an office PC, the 3570k would do fine, and you won't even need to put in a video card.

For your son, I would help him build with the 4770k and the 7870 (or get a new GPU if possible.) I am not sure whether to use the Z87 or Z97 motherboard though. Would probably come down to which features you want on the board, or which your son liked better.

As for the DDR3, for this system it likely would not make much of a difference, as long as you have at least 16GB. The asterix likely indicates that the motherboard supports it but it is technically considered OCing as far as the CPU's memory controller is concerned, since Intel only specs memory speed to a certain point for official support.

Lastly, both CPUs could see big gains from overclocking. The office PC probably wouldn't need it, but both 3570k and 4770k generally had pretty good headroom.

Obviously any unused parts you could keep for spare or sell.

 

[blackrain2]

If you want an office PC, the 3570k would do fine, and you won't even need to put in a video card.

For your son, I would help him build with the 4770k and the 7870 (or get a new GPU if possible.) I am not sure whether to use the Z87 or Z97 motherboard though. Would probably come down to which features you want on the board, or which your son liked better.

As for the DDR3, for this system it likely would not make much of a difference, as long as you have at least 16GB. The asterix likely indicates that the motherboard supports it but it is technically considered OCing as far as the CPU's memory controller is concerned, since Intel only specs memory speed to a certain point for official support.

Lastly, both CPUs could see big gains from overclocking. The office PC probably wouldn't need it, but both 3570k and 4770k generally had pretty good headroom.

Obviously any unused parts you could keep for spare or sell.

should I ask the video thread whether the 7870 would be enough for today's modern games?

 

[Shmee]

You can do that here pretty much. And for today's modern games, I would say no, at least for AAA titles. Of course it depends on the games your son would play, but I would check to see what he is interested in, and look at the minimum and recommended requirements. For some of the newer more demanding games, a 7870 might be below the minimum I am afraid. For example, COD MW. The 7950 is listed as minimum spec.

 

[blackrain2]

You can do that here pretty much. And for today's modern games, I would say no, at least for AAA titles. Of course it depends on the games your son would play, but I would check to see what he is interested in, and look at the minimum and recommended requirements. For some of the newer more demanding games, a 7870 might be below the minimum I am afraid. For example, COD MW. The 7950 is listed as minimum spec.

Might as well get something thats going to last. SO you dont think the mobo or CPU will be a bottle neck for a modern GPU?

 

[DeathReborn]

A 4770K (4.8GHz OC, Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC, 16GB 2400MHz CL10 DDR3) didn't bottleneck my R9 290 and coped just fine with a 1070. At 1080p it ran everything I threw at it.

I would recommend a used 1070 or a 580 as possible GPU upgrades for a gaming machine using the 4700K.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I have used both those MSI boards with the 4770K; the G45 is the better board. 4.5GHz is pretty standard overclock, and it is still pretty capable at that speed. Assassin's Creed Odyssey was the only game I was playing on it, that caused frame pacing issues.

The card is the thing to replace for sure.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If you can't find a GTX 1070(Ti) or so for around $200 or less used, then consider a "new" GTX 1660 (Super or Ti).