Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

[MiniNinja6]

Hey guys! I have tried to lay every detail out as clearly as possible, please let me know if I am missing anything, and thanks in advance for any help!

 

Budget:

I am thinking $350-450 preferred, up to $500 would be alright if it's worth it.

 

Why I am Upgrading:

I am looking to upgrade some of the major components of my PC. I built it in 2014, and the only changes since then have been a GPU upgrade about a year ago (gtx 760 to 1060) and adding 8gb more of RAM at the same time. Recently, its age has started to show. I do some light VR gaming with a Windows MR headset, and just got Budget Cuts, which has been really pushing the limits of my CPU and causing stutters and spikes of unreliable tracking. These days even Minecraft seems to be pushing the limits of my CPU sometimes. I am sure I could push the overclock a little further, tweak down settings to help stuttering, maybe even a fresh windows install could help, but any of these things would just be prolonging the inevitable. The build is 6 years old now, and I think that it is due time for an update.

 

Computer's Uses:

Casual Gaming. The ones that are the most demanding are R6 Siege and Insurgency Sandstorm

VR Gaming. Budget Cuts, Super Hot

Photo Processing. Lightroom definitely seems to chug a little more on the PC than it used to in previous years.

 

Current Specs:

i5 4670k (Haswell)

Gigabyte z87-ud3h Mobo

Corsair H60 120mm AIO

16gb of G.Skill DDR3 RAM

EVGA GTX 1060 Super Clocked 6gb

Older Crucial 240gb Sata SSD

Seasonic 80+ Gold 650W PSU 

 

More Info:

-I would like to bring the computer back up to the performance range of a ~$1k PC of today, as I would like it to last me another 4 maybe even 6 years. If you would recommend a higher or lower budget upgrade please let me know!
-I game in 1080p with two monitors I already own. I already own a copy of Windows and all peripherals. I am just looking at a component upgrade. I do not wish to upgrade my monitors, change to a new case, etc..

-The plan is to part out and sell my old components, and I am estimating I could get around $250 for them if I play my cards right. 

-I would like to upgrade to a newer and larger SSD. I use a NAS for bulk storage, my SSD is just for games and software. I would like a 1tb one but if bumping down to 500gb gives me extra money for other components I am very alright with that.

 

The Upgrade: 

After a little research, this seems to be the winning combo for a ~$1-1.2k build today. There is also the i5 9600k, but it appears that the Ryzen CPU wins out at this price point.

 

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 ($175)

Some ATX Motherboard ($100-150?)

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79)

Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($65)

     >>Total ~$420-450 without a cooler

 

Same GPU

Same Case

Same PSU

 

Location: I am in the US (prices in $USD), and would prefer to stick to Amazon, Newegg, and the bigger sellers. I do not want to buy used.

 

Questions:

1. What is the 3600X? Is it just an overclocked 3600 or is there a difference? 

2. What motherboard would you guys recommend? I don't need too many frills (RGB would be cool but not necessary, I don't need amazing onboard audio or anything "extra" like that). I would like to do some light overclocking, so decent power delivery is a must.

3. I have heard that the stock Ryzen cooler is pretty good, should I get an aftermarket cooler? I would prefer not to reuse my AIO, it is 6 years old now and as they aren't super expensive I'd prefer to get a fresh cooler. I have a compact case that only fits a CPU cooler up to 122mm, or a 120mm AIO.

4. Should I splurge a little more for higher performance RAM? Would that make a significant difference in overall performance?

5. Is this upgrade overkill? Do you think I would be happy with a cheaper upgrade? Or on the contrary, should I try to spend more?

7. If you have a completely different parts list to recommend, please let me know! I am certainly not set on AMD, or on any of these parts.

 

 

Sorry for the long read, and thank you again for any advice you guys can provide! Let me know if I have left anything out or if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them quickly.

[Forest_fox]

Do you live near a Micro Center?

[Dedayog]

Good 3600 PC recommendation in this thread by @GoldenLag...for motherboard and RAM, etc.  Peruse a few more threads in this subforum to get more ideas.

 

 

 

[MiniNinja6]

3 hours ago, Forest_fox said:

Do you live near a Micro Center?

Unfortunately no

[MiniNinja6]

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

Good 3600 PC recommendation in this thread by @GoldenLag...for motherboard and RAM, etc.  Peruse a few more threads in this subforum to get more ideas.

 

 

 

 

I've seen threads that recommend that MSI B450 Gaming Max board, but I have also seen others saying that it's rolling the dice with the B450 boards whether the bios will be up to date, and that if it isn't I need a compatible CPU to update it? I'd rather not have to deal with something like that, I'd pay a little more to get one that 'just works'

[Herman Mcpootis]

Just now, MiniNinja6 said:

 

I've seen threads that recommend that MSI B450 Gaming Max board, but I have also seen others saying that it's rolling the dice with the B450 boards whether the bios will be up to date, and that if it isn't I need a compatible CPU to update it? I'd rather not have to deal with something like that, I'd pay a little more to get one that 'just works'

the MSI MAX boards are already updated.

[Herman Mcpootis]

slightly weaker CPU but you get a better GPU:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.98 @ Amazon) 
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX VEGA 56 8 GB Air Boost Video Card  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $459.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-27 21:47 EST-0500

[Ravendarat]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$174.99 @ B&H
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.89 @ B&H
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory	$89.99 @ Corsair
Storage	Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$444.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-27 21:48 EST-0500

Use the Stock cooler for now, can always change it later

[MiniNinja6]

On 2/27/2020 at 6:42 PM, Herman Mcpootis said:

the MSI MAX boards are already updated.

Awesome, that makes motherboard picking much easier.

[MiniNinja6]

On 2/27/2020 at 6:49 PM, Ravendarat said:

Use the Stock cooler for now, can always change it later

That's actually a great idea I didn't think about. I'll give the stock cooler a go and if I have thermal issues I can look at other coolers down the road a ways.

 

It definitely looks like a ryzen 5 3600 is the way to go. I am going to take a look at the MSI B450 tomohawk and gaming boards and pick one that tickles my fancy.

Thanks guys!

[ShinRamen]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$174.99 @ B&H
Motherboard	MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$79.99 @ B&H
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$69.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$64.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$389.96
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-02 15:27 EST-0500

Now if you sold your 1060 Super, you'd have enough money left over from the build to get a 1660 Super - not sure if that's worth the hassle. Or you just hang on to it for now and get a 2060 Super cheaper when the new GPUs release later this year (or even the entry level card of the new generation of cards).

[MiniNinja6]

3 hours ago, ShinRamen said:

Now if you sold your 1060 Super, you'd have enough money left over from the build to get a 1660 Super - not sure if that's worth the hassle. Or you just hang on to it for now and get a 2060 Super cheaper when the new GPUs release later this year (or even the entry level card of the new generation of cards).

That's what I was planning on. I got the 1060 just over a year ago for a really good deal used, and I only game at 1080 60Hz so it has been holding up very well. I'd rather hold off for a while either until 2000 cards get cheaper or I have enough set aside to splurge on a good upgrade.