Some questions from a first time builder.

Hello, so I am building my own computer for the first time, and had a couple of questions regarding the process.

1) I already have an SSD and HDD which I will transfer over to the new build and I just want to make sure that I can just move the drives over and have all my games and stuff work.  So can I just move the drives over without any issues?

2)  The CPU I am getting is the Ryzen 5 5500 6 Core @3.6GHZ, and I would like to know if this comes with thermal paste or not.  So do I need to buy it separately or does this CPU come with it,

Thanks

Hi, 1) Yes and no.  There are ways to transfer over but the SSD if it was the Boot Drive has all the information of the other computer.  It has all the Registry Settings, Boot info, Files for the other system.

          It would be best to format all the partitions out of SSD maybe 3 if it is UEFI Boot.

          Long tall of it is start new or fight problems for ever.  New deserves new regardless of games.  Figure games out from their forum where you can look for the game files/settings you need to transfer over

so it will reflect what you were doing. 

This also is for browsers as well re : Profiles.

2) yes it comes with thermal paste already applied.  Pull the plastic off and stick it to the board.   That being said not all thermal paste is created equally.   Would suggest to use Arctic Silver or comparable or better.

3) not asking but the : Ryzen 5 5500 IMHO is not worth spending money on. Release Date Apr 3rd, 2022 Iso will be almost 2yrs more or less old. 

t does not Support DDR5 Ram and the ram it does support Max Memory Speed : 2x1R   DDR4-3200   2x2R   DDR4-3200

Check what your buying in https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ and you can probably build some of the above that are in the URL for maybe less.  It also shows compatibility issues as well as PSU needed.

Hi, 1) Yes and no.  There are ways to transfer over but the SSD if it was the Boot Drive has all the information of the other computer.  It has all the Registry Settings, Boot info, Files for the other system.

          It would be best to format all the partitions out of SSD maybe 3 if it is UEFI Boot.

          Long tall of it is start new or fight problems for ever.  New deserves new regardless of games.  Figure games out from their forum where you can look for the game files/settings you need to transfer over

so it will reflect what you were doing. 

This also is for browsers as well re : Profiles.

 

2) yes it comes with thermal paste already applied.  Pull the plastic off and stick it to the board.   That being said not all thermal paste is created equally.   Would suggest to use Arctic Silver or comparable or better.

 

3) not asking but the : Ryzen 5 5500 IMHO is not worth spending money on. Release Date Apr 3rd, 2022 Iso will be almost 2yrs more or less old. 

t does not Support DDR5 Ram and the ram it does support Max Memory Speed : 2x1R   DDR4-3200   2x2R   DDR4-3200

4x1R   DDR4-2933    4x2R  DDR4-2667

So all in all freaking slow ram is supported.    Note : just because the motherboard can run 5600 ram does not mean the chip can support it.   If not a overclocker, check ram speed to chip speed by Spec Page.

 

I would suggest rethinking your strategy and think future proof.  If can not do now, save.

I would suggest getting hints from this page as to what they are currently building : https://xoticpc.com/collections/pre-built-gaming-computers

 

Check what your buying in https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ and you can probably build some of the above that are in the URL for maybe less.  It also shows compatibility issues as well as PSU needed.

Thank you for the help, but still have a few questions.  

1 Just to clarify, I'm not talking about transferring the files to a new HD, I'm talking about just moving the HD's themselves straight over. Would that work, or would I still need to format?

2) You say the CPU already comes with the paste, but you also recommend getting some myself. Does that mean I need to remove the paste that comes with the CPU, or do I use it in conjunction?

3) About the CPU, it was recommended to me for a budget build. I hear what you're saying about future proofing, but I have already been waiting for a long while to get a new computer and would like to just get one now. Plus, it will be a massive improvement over what I have currently anyway.

Edited by jt233, 28 December 2023 - 12:40 PM.

The AMD CPU does not have any thermal compound on it per sec, but it is the cooler that has the pre-applied thermal paste. 

All AMD CPUs that come with a cooler have the per-applied paste on the cooler. AMD CPUs that do have an included cooler do not have any pre-applied thermal paste. 

And yes the pre-applied paste will be perfectly OK, despite all the claims made by others  for those "you gotta have" big name brand compounds. You can always spend more and buy another paste and apply it (after properly cleaning off the pre-paste from the box cooler), but it is your choice.

Future proofing and spend more or spend less.  It is always the big question. The 5500 is OK, and definitely going to AM5 will be a much bigger investment. Naturally a Ryzen 5600/5700x/5800X3D would be a better choice for AM4, but again it comes down to budget limitations.

Do the best you can with your budget. And enjoy/have fun building your desktop as that is what is most important at the end of the day. 

As for RAM 3200 will be OK. Any higher speed needs to adjusted in the BIOS, and AM4 CPUs are designed to go as 3200 MT/s by design without any overclocking. Just be sure to enable the 3200mt/s speed in the BIOs once it is setup and up and running.

Also it is not just the speed of the RAM but the Latency that is also an influence for better performance. Higher speed with worse latency cost more and doesn't perform any better than cheaper  lower speed with better latency.

Edited by 0lds0d, 28 December 2023 - 01:11 PM.

 

Thank you for the help, but still have a few questions.  

 

1 Just to clarify, I'm not talking about transferring the files to a new HD, I'm talking about just moving the HD's themselves straight over. Would that work, or would I still need to format?

 

2) You say the CPU already comes with the paste, but you also recommend getting some myself. Does that mean I need to remove the paste that comes with the CPU, or do I use it in conjunction?

 

3) About the CPU, it was recommended to me for a budget build. I hear what you're saying about future proofing, but I have already been waiting for a long while to get a new computer and would like to just get one now. Plus, it will be a massive improvement over what I have currently anyway.

 

1) It will probably work - depending on how different the computers are.  Windows 10 onwards is a lot better about this than older versions.  If it does work it will likely take several reboots before the drivers all update.  Of course Windows will detect the hardware changes and will report it is not activated - and possibly other software will too need to be re-activated.  The computer I'm using right now had a motherboard swap with a completely different model and I did so without re-formatting, and it worked with just some minor issues to resolve such as re-activating software.

2) If you're using a stock cooler you can just use the pre-applied paste (which will be on the cooler).  It's a one use thing, so if you decide you want to remove the cooler for whatever reason after installation, then you'll need to clean off the old stuff and re-apply thermal paste when you re-fit it.  Tip: if you ever need to remove the cooler on an AM4 CPU then extreme care is needed not to remove the CPU from the socket when you remove the cooler, which can damage the pins - it's best to get the CPU as hot as possible by running something intensive, to soften the paste first.

3) I think the CPU is good value.  It's not cutting edge but if you aren't looking to spend a lot of money it does a good job for what it costs. I'm sure it's OK for basic gaming.

 

 

Thank you for the help, but still have a few questions.  

 

1 Just to clarify, I'm not talking about transferring the files to a new HD, I'm talking about just moving the HD's themselves straight over. Would that work, or would I still need to format?

 

2) You say the CPU already comes with the paste, but you also recommend getting some myself. Does that mean I need to remove the paste that comes with the CPU, or do I use it in conjunction?

 

3) About the CPU, it was recommended to me for a budget build. I hear what you're saying about future proofing, but I have already been waiting for a long while to get a new computer and would like to just get one now. Plus, it will be a massive improvement over what I have currently anyway.

 

 

1) It will probably work - depending on how different the computers are.  Windows 10 onwards is a lot better about this than older versions.  If it does work it will likely take several reboots before the drivers all update.  Of course Windows will detect the hardware changes and will report it is not activated - and possibly other software will too need to be re-activated.  The computer I'm using right now had a motherboard swap with a completely different model and I did so without re-formatting, and it worked with just some minor issues to resolve such as re-activating software.

 

Well, luckily I already have win 10 already, but will be a good jump in hardware. Currently, I have i5 4460 CPU and a 750ti GPU, the new GPU will be a Radeon RX 6600. When you say it will take several reboots, does this mean the drivers should automatically install themselves when I turn it on for the first time? I have windows installed on an SSD.

Thanks.

Edited by jt233, 28 December 2023 - 03:07 PM.

Yes it should automatically configure itself for most of the new hardware.  Changing motherboard/CPU etc. is like connecting changing lots of individual hardware devices all in one go and it will (in my experience) take a while as it configures itself.  It will likely load basic drivers for any installed hardware to get it working (e.g. a generic VGA driver rather than an optimised AMD Radeon driver).  I'd suggest once it's up and running installing the latest AMD graphics and chipset drivers. It's possible you might need to download a network driver to connect to the internet (or these are supplied in the motherboard box on a CD).  It'd be sensible to pre-download all the drivers for your new motherboard and gpu to a folder where you can find them later.

My comment to not doing a new install is, we will see you in the BSOD forum.

My comment to not doing a new install is, we will see you in the BSOD forum.

Is there any reason I can't try it? I have a USB flash drive which has a bootable installation of windows on it, so I can always use that to format the drive and reinstall windows if need be. It just I have a couple of games with a lot of mods and would rather not have to reinstall them if possible.

IC, ya go ahead but do keep copies of your stuff that you need.  Sometimes there is no problems, other times it continues until pages go by and the OP states oh this is same h/drive had when switched....

So if have problems make sure to mention the drive.  

Make sure uninstall anything related to processor if possible if there is different stuff needed for new one.  Maybe M/B Support page and the Chipset.

Once get new Video Card in should use : DDU to remove the drivers 9whole thing) and then do a fresh install of drivers for that GPU.

Edited by Pkshadow, 30 December 2023 - 04:39 AM.

IC, ya go ahead but do keep copies of your stuff that you need.  Sometimes there is no problems, other times it continues until pages go by and the OP states oh this is same h/drive had when switched....

 

So if have problems make sure to mention the drive.  

 

Make sure uninstall anything related to processor if possible if there is different stuff needed for new one.  Maybe M/B Support page and the Chipset.

 

Once get new Video Card in should use : DDU to remove the drivers 9whole thing) and then do a fresh install of drivers for that GPU.

I'm confused by your second sentence. I assume you meant ages and not pages, and by that you meant it might work in the beginning, but then I could have problems down the line.

Hi, actually both work... lol.

How you making out ?

Hi, actually both work... lol.

 

How you making out ?

I havent started yet. I got the GPU today and everything else should be coming tomorrow, so will hopefully be putting it together then.