Upgrading a Prebuilt PC

[Khaotic]

A few months ago i bought a pre-built PC (iBuyPower model #N27W8260EX2) and am wanting to upgrade my processor,motherboard, RAM, and GPU.

 

 

1. Budget & Location

$700 in the United States

 

2. Aim

Gaming and light business work.

Gaming i play Elite dangerous and would like to play VR, Farming Simulator 19, CS:GO, and Hunter:Call of the Wild.

Business consists of Social Media outreach, Public relations forms and emails, and Microsoft Office Suite(mostly Excel and Word)

 

3. Monitors

I have one 1920x1080 60HZ monitor but would like to upgrade to two 144Hz monitors in the next 6 months.

 

4. Peripherals

None needed

 

5. Why are you upgrading?

I am just looking for a better gaming experience overall as well as be able to listen to music while i game or get work done, as for right now if i listen to music it drags my frame rate down by at least 10 frames which isn't much when you usually only get around 30 or 40(except on CS:GO where i get 70)

 

[BigRom]

14 minutes ago, Khaotic said:

A few months ago i bought a pre-built PC

With an AM3+ motherboard, I'm not sure whether to say you got finessed tbh...

 

14 minutes ago, Khaotic said:

$700 in the United States

Well 2 options....

 

Options 1: Go all-in on a rebuild

Pretty much just reusing the case + HDD

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($161.38 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($72.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($66.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 590 8 GB NITRO+ SE Video Card  ($215.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $657.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-15 22:34 EDT-0400

Option 2: Wait for Ryzen 3000 series

Buy everything above except the CPU & motherboard, enjoy the performance boost from the RX590 and hold out on the FX-6300 for now

[Khaotic]

20 minutes ago, BigRom said:

With an AM3+ motherboard, I'm not sure whether to say you got finessed tbh...

 

Well 2 options....

 

Options 1: Go all-in on a rebuild

Pretty much just reusing the case + HDD

  Hide contents

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($161.38 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($72.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($66.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 590 8 GB NITRO+ SE Video Card  ($215.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $657.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-15 22:34 EDT-0400

Option 2: Wait for Ryzen 3000 series

Buy everything above except the CPU & motherboard, enjoy the performance boost from the RX590 and hold out on the FX-6300 for now

Would it be possible or advisable to forego the power supply in this equation if I don't plan on overclocking? I can work with the physical aspect of a computer but when it comes to messing with the power consumption and stability I plan on leaving that to people who tend to have a better grasp on that.

[BigRom]

4 minutes ago, Khaotic said:

Would it be possible or advisable to forego the power supply in this equation if I don't plan on overclocking? I can work with the physical aspect of a computer but when it comes to messing with the power consumption and stability I plan on leaving that to people who tend to have a better grasp on that.

Pre-builts like these tend to cheap out where they can (RAM, PSU & mobo).

 

I checked the spec sheet and they made pretty much zero mention of the PSU they used, also from the pictures it looks like any generic cheap ATX power supply. And if the PSU dies it might take your whole system with it.

 

EDIT: Also the ASRock BIOS is child's play to overclock on, just set the frequency you want, up the voltage to no more than 1.35V and then just run it. Do some stress test to check temps and see if it its stable.

[Khaotic]

Fair enough, thank you very much. I appreciate the input. On my next paycheck I will order my parts (and some thermal paste). One last question I have is should I get a cpu cooler? If so what's a good one that doesn't add to much to the price?

[BigRom]

Just now, Khaotic said:

Fair enough, thank you very much. I appreciate the input. On my next paycheck I will order my parts (and some thermal paste). One last question I have is should I get a cpu cooler? If so what's a good one that doesn't add to much to the price?

AMD's stock cooler is pretty decent, if you're working on a tight budget its not necessary to get one.

 

Budget permitting, the best air cooler you can get is the Noctua NH-D15. The be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 is also pretty good.

AIO liquid cooler would be the NZXT Kraken V62 but that is complete overkill unless you're trying to OC a Intel 9900K

[trevb0t]

13 hours ago, BigRom said:

 

  Hide contents

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($161.38 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($72.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($66.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 590 8 GB NITRO+ SE Video Card  ($215.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $657.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-15 22:34 EDT-0400

 

Did the pre-built not include an SSD?

For value's sake I might go with an R5 1600

yes, yes, yes, and... Maybe a CX550W or BitFenix 550W Gold instead? I think we're overspending a tad on the MWE Gold vs the quality.

[BigRom]

7 hours ago, trevb0t said:

Did the pre-built not include an SSD?

For value's sake I might go with an R5 1600

yes, yes, yes, and... Maybe a CX550W or BitFenix 550W Gold instead? I think we're overspending a tad on the MWE Gold vs the quality.

Nope, I checked the specs page of OP's prebuilt and not an SSD in sight. I mean ffs they were selling him an FX-6300 and GTX1050 2GB with a sketchy PSU.

Nah the correct move now is to wait for Zen2 then decide

 

I would normally just chuck a Corsair RMx in there, but apparently I think sales are over. The MWE Gold isn't too bad, and its fully modular. I try to find a balance between quality and also cable modularity (budget permitting), as I've dealt with enough non-modular PSU to know that cable management can a real pain in the ass.

[trevb0t]

53 minutes ago, BigRom said:

Nope, I checked the specs page of OP's prebuilt and not an SSD in sight. I mean ffs they were selling him an FX-6300 and GTX1050 2GB with a sketchy PSU.

Nah the correct move now is to wait for Zen2 then decide

 

I would normally just chuck a Corsair RMx in there, but apparently I think sales are over. The MWE Gold isn't too bad, and its fully modular. I try to find a balance between quality and also cable modularity (budget permitting), as I've dealt with enough non-modular PSU to know that cable management can a real pain in the ass.

Yeah, the BitFenix Gold has only gone up like $6, though and the TMx is still reasonably priced.

I am kinda bummed though... I was almost tempted to grab a PSU if prices stayed low lol.