Upgrade Advice

[haoN]

Hi everyone,

I was looking for some advice regarding an upgrade I'm considering making sometime in the next couple of months. I'm currently running an AMD FX 6120 (or something extremely similar, I can't completely remember) with 24 GB of ram, and a factory overclocked GTX 970. I also have windows booting on an SSD, but that's not relevant.

 

I'm looking into upgrading either my processor and components that relate to it, or my GPU. Either way, I'll be spending roughly $400-500 US, depending on exactly which components I end up choosing. If I go for a new CPU, I'll also need a new motherboard, and DDR4 ram, since my current computer only has DDR3. I was looking at the Ryzen 2600X, the MSI B450 Tomahawk motherboard, and 16 GB of ram, probably G.skill, or a similar brand.

 

If I go for a new GPU, I'd be mainly looking at an RTX 2060, but if I could find a really solid deal on a 1660 Ti, I'd also consider it.

 

I'm mainly looking at the upgrade for gaming. I understand that would normally call for a GPU upgrade, but with my processor being so old, I'm afraid of a potential bottleneck hurting my performance when paired with a modern GPU.

 

Either way, I'll also be upgrading my power supply, since mine is a non-modular, proprietary HP power supply, and it couldn't be able to handle the increased power input from either option, judging that it already isn't too happy with the overclocked GPU. I don't need advice for that, as I already have one lined up.

 

Long story short, which choice would be better? Should I worry about potential bottlenecks on either the CPU or GPU depending on what I upgrade?

Thanks in advance!

[dizmo]

Both are hampering you, but I'd say the CPU is more of an issue than the GPU.

Does your budget factor in you selling your old gear? You could probably pick up a used 1070 for what you sell the 970 and other gear for.

Welcome to the forum!

[Fuzzleworth1]

I would upgrade the processor because that is a really old and to be honest not very good by todays standards. I would look into getting the ryzen 2600 with your choice of a motherboard and RAM. Then later when you have the funds, get something like the RX 580 or GTX 1660 Ti.

[Jurrunio]

42 minutes ago, haoN said:

Ryzen 2600X

Just get the non-X model, still overclockable. You don't even lose single core performance because 4.2GHz single core boost you can get on the 2600X is within reach on all cores on both 2600 and 2600X when overclocked.

43 minutes ago, haoN said:

I also have windows booting on an SSD, but that's not relevant.

Actually it does. How large is its capacity?

 

45 minutes ago, haoN said:

16 GB of ram, probably G.skill, or a similar brand.

make sure it's high frequency (2933 or higher) with 2 or 4 sticks (2 is preferred). You should have enough budget for that (if not with RGB bling)

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

53 minutes ago, haoN said:

Should I worry about potential bottlenecks on either the CPU or GPU depending on what I upgrade?

in short , no worry at all. get Max bottlenecks you can afford.

 

btw upgrade everything means a full set of new build, imo only the gpu is still relative competitive @1080p gamng

 

[191x7]

1 hour ago, haoN said:

... I'm currently running an AMD FX 6120 (or something extremely similar, I can't completely remember) with 24 GB of ram, and a factory overclocked GTX 970. ...

 

I'm looking into upgrading either my processor and components that relate to it, or my GPU. Either way, I'll be spending roughly $400-500 US, depending on exactly which components I end up choosing. If I go for a new CPU, I'll also need a new motherboard, and DDR4 ram, since my current computer only has DDR3. I was looking at the Ryzen 2600X, the MSI B450 Tomahawk motherboard, and 16 GB of ram, probably G.skill, or a similar brand.

 

If I go for a new GPU, I'd be mainly looking at an RTX 2060, but if I could find a really solid deal on a 1660 Ti, I'd also consider it.

...

 

To be blunt, your FX 6-core bottlenecks your GTX 970 so heavily in most modern games that it makes the games unplayable.

Upgrading the platform would make your games feel great again.

Expect a 20% to 100% performance boost (depending on the title) and no framedrops/stutters when someone starts shooting at you in Battlefield V.

Upgrading your GPU without changing the platform first would result in no performance gains in many games and only a slight boost in others.

 

Get a Ryzen 5 1600X or 2600 and as fast RAM as you can get (don't go below 2800 MHz, 3200 is recommended).

The Tomahawk motherboard is great, but if you're a competitive gamer consider B450 Gaming Pro Carbon or Gigabyte X470 Ultra gaming cause they feature Intel LAN and better audio.

[haoN]

23 hours ago, dizmo said:

Both are hampering you, but I'd say the CPU is more of an issue than the GPU.

Does your budget factor in you selling your old gear? You could probably pick up a used 1070 for what you sell the 970 and other gear for.

Welcome to the forum!

No, I honestly haven't considered selling my old parts, so that might help me out. The only thing I can think of about that is that an older processor like mine wouldn't be very easy to move. Thanks!

[haoN]

23 hours ago, Fuzzleworth1 said:

I would upgrade the processor because that is a really old and to be honest not very good by todays standards. I would look into getting the ryzen 2600 with your choice of a motherboard and RAM. Then later when you have the funds, get something like the RX 580 or GTX 1660 Ti.

Thanks for the input!

[haoN]

22 hours ago, 191x7 said:

To be blunt, your FX 6-core bottlenecks your GTX 970 so heavily in most modern games that it makes the games unplayable.

Upgrading the platform would make your games feel great again.

Expect a 20% to 100% performance boost (depending on the title) and no framedrops/stutters when someone starts shooting at you in Battlefield V.

Upgrading your GPU without changing the platform first would result in no performance gains in many games and only a slight boost in others.

 

Get a Ryzen 5 1600X or 2600 and as fast RAM as you can get (don't go below 2800 MHz, 3200 is recommended).

The Tomahawk motherboard is great, but if you're a competitive gamer consider B450 Gaming Pro Carbon or Gigabyte X470 Ultra gaming cause they feature Intel LAN and better audio.

I'm not very competitive, but I'll definitely take that all into account. I honestly don't play many modern AAA games because of the lower frames. Even R6 Siege slows down on me quite often with medium settings.

[haoN]

23 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Just get the non-X model, still overclockable. You don't even lose single core performance because 4.2GHz single core boost you can get on the 2600X is within reach on all cores on both 2600 and 2600X when overclocked.

Actually it does. How large is its capacity?

 

make sure it's high frequency (2933 or higher) with 2 or 4 sticks (2 is preferred). You should have enough budget for that (if not with RGB bling)

I'm looking at the 2600x mainly because of the higher base speeds, but since I'm upgrading the power supply, I'll look into overclocking a 2600. Especially if I can get the same performance out of it, while maintaining stability.  The SSD is a cheap one, with only 240 GB of storage. I use it for the OS mainly because it's more reliable than my 4 year old hard drive. As to the ram, I'm not an RGB person, it doesn't appeal to me. I can definitely afford to get a faster set.

[191x7]

2 hours ago, haoN said:

I'm not very competitive, but I'll definitely take that all into account. I honestly don't play many modern AAA games because of the lower frames. Even R6 Siege slows down on me quite often with medium settings.

Lower frames - blame the FX weakling for that, not the GPZ. The GTX 970 is still a capable card.