Pairing a CPU and a GPU.

[Ghost Bat]

Basically, I am currently running an AMD Athlon II 645 and a GTX 1060 6GB, which is a horrid combination. Along with some random motherboard that I honestly forgot the name of. However, I am planning on upgrading to a Ryzen 5 3600x, but I will need a new motherboard for it. I was also wondering if I would have to upgrade my 8 GB of DDR3 RAM as well. I am hoping that this is the right part of the forums for this question. Basically, my question is what motherboard should I go for so that I can make them run smoothly together.

[Princess Luna]

If you'll buy an aftermarket cooler you should go for the R5 3600 instead since the only difference between it and the R5 3600X is the included stock cooler.

 

You should look for B450 motherboards if you want to keep expenses low, MSi has good value ones in general.

 

Yes you'll need new memory since the new platform only supports DDR4 instead, always use a 2 sticks configuration to enable dual channel memory which is meaningful.

[Ghost Bat]

Ah, well I already have a coolermaster pro, so I guess I'll be going for the R5 3600. Any recommendations on what sort of DDR4 RAM I should be getting? I'm mostly upgrading to play Monster Hunter: World and Destiny 2, if that helps any.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Ghost Bat said:

Ah, well I already have a coolermaster pro, so I guess I'll be going for the R5 3600. Any recommendations on what sort of DDR4 RAM I should be getting? I'm mostly upgrading to play Monster Hunter: World and Destiny 2, if that helps any.

Anything 3000MHz or above. Easily overclocked with Ryzen dram calc.

[Ghost Bat]

And any recommendations for a particular B450 motherboard? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, I'm not the best at this kinda stuff.

[Jurrunio]

the MSI ATX boards are usually the best options. Depends on budget though

[Guest]

Just now, Ghost Bat said:

And any recommendations for a particular B450 motherboard? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, I'm not the best at this kinda stuff.

The MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX or B450-A PRO MAX are two good options. There is the B450 Gaming Pro Carbon for a bit more if you need wifi.

[Ghost Bat]

Also, since it's Ryzen and DDR4, doesn't it have quite the good upgrade path later down the line? I've been told that Ryzen is a very good platform to get onto.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Ghost Bat said:

Also, since it's Ryzen and DDR4, doesn't it have quite the good upgrade path later down the line? I've been told that Ryzen is a very good platform to get onto.

You have Ryzen 4000 series cpu to come later this year. So you can get a better cpu later on for sure. The MSI boards mentioned should even cope with a 3950X as long as you keep it at stock settings.

[Vejnemojnen]

5 hours ago, lee32uk said:

The MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX or B450-A PRO MAX are two good options. There is the B450 Gaming Pro Carbon for a bit more if you need wifi.

And count in MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX as well. 

[trevb0t]

To summarize:

• The 3600 is pretty much the same as the 3600X, especially if you're not using the included cooler.
• AM4 sockets do provide a pretty good upgrade path, though I believe Zen 3 will be the end of the promised chipset lifespan.
• The B450 MAX series boards will come with the proper BIOS ready out of the box. The A-PRO, Tomahawk, and Gaming Plus are solid options.
  • The X570 boards are of course also an option. It's just pricier for a decent one.
• You WILL need to upgrade RAM. 3200-3600mhz is where you want to be. At 3600 watch out for timings over CL16.

[boggy77]

3 hours ago, trevb0t said:

At 3600 watch out for timings over CL16.

as in try to get CL16 or max CL18, no more than that. (the smaller the timings, the better)