Upgrading advice, please!

[ConfusedPancake1425]

Hi everyone,

 

I want to upgrade my PC, but due to money issues I will have to buy one part at a time, so I would like to know which one I should buy first.

My current rig:

• CPU: AMD FX-4300 Quad-Core 3.8GHz
• Motherboard: ASRock N68-S3 FX
• GPU: AMD Radeon R7 200 Series (XFX 260X)
• RAM: 2x DDR3 HyperX 4GB (Not sure about the clock speed tho, everywhere I look displays a different number)
• PSU: Thermaltake Smart Series 500W
• Storage: 2x 1TB HDD
• 1 Monitor (1920x1080)
• OS: Was using win 10, switched to 7 to see if it would fix some issues

What I intend to get:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 
• Motherboard: Asus Prime B450M-Gaming/BR 
• GPU: Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 580 Gaming, 8GB
• RAM: Team Group T-Force Vulcan 16GB (2x8) 2666MHz DDR4 
• PSU: (same)
• Storage: 1x 1TB HDD, 1x 120GB SSD
• Same monitor but plan to add at least another one
• OS: win 10

I don't mind getting this less know brand of RAM because it'll be cheaper, I don't have many options since I live in Brazil and hardware here is very expensive.

I'm also pretty sure either my GPU or CPU is faulty, I have been experiencing sudden, brutal frame drops on games that this setup should run without any problem at all,I can't even watch youtube videos at 720p+ anymore, I have tried everything I could think of and the problem persists, so I decided it was time to finally upgrade.

So, is this build fine? Should I change something? Which component should I buy first? (And if you have any thoughts on my current problem please let me know!!)

Sorry if I spelled something wrong or something I wrote didn't make sense and thanks in advance!

[gamelovers11223]

Basically you're changing the platform: Motherboard, CPU, RAM. GPU might require a PSU change. How old is that PSU?

Its better to buy all together but if the money is tight you can do motherboard/cpu/ram first and gpu later. 

[boggy77]

I would change psu as well, assuming it's pretty old and not even bronze rated.

i'd start with psu and gpu and then wait until you have enough money for everything else at once

[ConfusedPancake1425]

@gamelovers11223 @boggy77

The PSU is fairly new, I bought it august 2019, unless 500W isn't enough to power the system I won't be changing it too soon.

[gamelovers11223]

500w is a total power. Look at the power produced by the 12v line, it's the most important parameter in the psu.

Is your budget enough for motherboard/cpu/ram purchase at once?

[ConfusedPancake1425]

Just now, gamelovers11223 said:

500w is a total power. Look at the power produced by the 12v line, it's the most important parameter in the psu.

Is your budget enough for motherboard/cpu/ram purchase at once?

I'm a programmer so I'm more of the software type, know only the necessary basics about hardware lol. Is the PSU good enough for the new build?

Also yes, I'm able to purchase mb/cpu/ram at once, but keep in mind that my GPU or CPU might be faulty, that makes it 100x harder to decide because, if I change my CPU and stuff but my GPU is still malfunctioning, the upgrade would be almost worthless.

[gamelovers11223]

Your psu should be fine for now. Just consider replacing it with a trusty unit in the future.

 

Are you able to buy a gpu along with the mobo/cpu/ram?

 

What are the temperatures on your current system,  especially cpu and gpu?

[ConfusedPancake1425]

Just now, gamelovers11223 said:

Your psu should be fine for now. Just consider replacing it with a trusty unit in the future.

 

Are you able to buy a gpu along with the mobo/cpu/ram?

 

What are the temperatures on your current system,  especially cpu and gpu?

No, I can't afford the GPU with all the other stuff, if I could my life would be so much easier hahah

 

While idle GPU temp is about 45C/113F and CPU is 38C/100F, while playing GPU gets to an average of 57C/134F and CPU 69C/156F, although during a stress test my GPU can hit as high as 70C/158F

[gamelovers11223]

Temps are ok. Did you try to benchmark just the gpu? 

I highly doubt that the cpu is at fault. 

Do you have a friend you can borrow a gpu from to test your current system? This way you'll know whether to buy gpu first or not.

[boggy77]

3 hours ago, ConfusedPancake1425 said:

@gamelovers11223 @boggy77

The PSU is fairly new, I bought it august 2019, unless 500W isn't enough to power the system I won't be changing it too soon.

what exact model?

[ConfusedPancake1425]

9 hours ago, gamelovers11223 said:

Temps are ok. Did you try to benchmark just the gpu? 

I highly doubt that the cpu is at fault. 

Do you have a friend you can borrow a gpu from to test your current system? This way you'll know whether to buy gpu first or not.

I used MSI Kombustor to stress test the GPU, don't know if it counts as benchmarking.

Yes, I might be able to borrow my friend's GPU, coincidentally he has the same GPU I'm thinking of buying haha

8 hours ago, boggy77 said:

what exact model?

PS-SPD-0500NPCWBZ-W

[LienusLateTips]

19 hours ago, ConfusedPancake1425 said:

 

What I intend to get:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 
• Motherboard: Asus Prime B450M-Gaming/BR 
• GPU: Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 580 Gaming, 8GB
• RAM: Team Group T-Force Vulcan 16GB (2x8) 2666MHz DDR4 
• PSU: (same)
• Storage: 1x 1TB HDD, 1x 120GB SSD
• Same monitor but plan to add at least another one
• OS: win 10

I don't mind getting this less know brand of RAM because it'll be cheaper, I don't have many options since I live in Brazil and hardware here is very expensive.

I'm also pretty sure either my GPU or CPU is faulty, I have been experiencing sudden, brutal frame drops on games that this setup should run without any problem at all,I can't even watch youtube videos at 720p+ anymore, I have tried everything I could think of and the problem persists, so I decided it was time to finally upgrade.

So, is this build fine? Should I change something? Which component should I buy first? (And if you have any thoughts on my current problem please let me know!!)

Sorry if I spelled something wrong or something I wrote didn't make sense and thanks in advance!

Everything looks fine, except:

-I'd try to get faster RAM. Fun fact: Team actually is a huge name brand in Taiwan. You'll want 3000MHz plus if possible though.

-Change out that PSU. It's pretty bad quality. What's available in your region?

[ConfusedPancake1425]

5 hours ago, LienusLateTips said:

Everything looks fine, except:

-I'd try to get faster RAM. Fun fact: Team actually is a huge name brand in Taiwan. You'll want 3000MHz plus if possible though.

-Change out that PSU. It's pretty bad quality. What's available in your region?

That's interesting to know, until a few days ago I had never heard of them, so I assumed they were less known. I didn't think 334MHz would make a big difference, that's why I was going to buy the 2666MHz sticks, also because they were cheaper, but I can buy the 3000MHz ones instead.

 

I won't stay with that PSU for much longer but as long as it can hold the new build it's enough, CPU and GPU are more pressing issues. Still, which one you would recommend getting? I think pretty much every brand and model is available here and if not I can always buy online.

 

Edit: Turns out that I will have to buy another PSU anyways, since I'll be passing my current PC to my brother after I've bought all parts. Technically I'm not "upgrading" my PC, just using it while the new is incomplete.

Edited March 30, 2020 by ConfusedPancake1425
Added new info

[LienusLateTips]

10 hours ago, ConfusedPancake1425 said:

That's interesting to know, until a few days ago I had never heard of them, so I assumed they were less known. I didn't think 334MHz would make a big difference, that's why I was going to buy the 2666MHz sticks, also because they were cheaper, but I can buy the 3000MHz ones instead.

 

I won't stay with that PSU for much longer but as long as it can hold the new build it's enough, CPU and GPU are more pressing issues. Still, which one you would recommend getting? I think pretty much every brand and model is available here and if not I can always buy online.

 

Edit: Turns out that I will have to buy another PSU anyways, since I'll be passing my current PC to my brother after I've bought all parts. Technically I'm not "upgrading" my PC, just using it while the new is incomplete.

Something like a CX550 or Pure Power 11 should do. 

[ConfusedPancake1425]

25 minutes ago, LienusLateTips said:

Something like a CX550 or Pure Power 11 should do. 

I'll most likely get the CX550 then, thanks!

[ErA.l]

For a Ryzen 3600 its worth saving up for faster RAM. Preferably 3600mhz cl16. 

[LienusLateTips]

4 hours ago, ErA.l said:

For a Ryzen 3600 its worth saving up for faster RAM. Preferably 3600mhz cl16. 

That comes at an EXTREMELY heavy premium. Not worth the added cost. 

[ConfusedPancake1425]

12 hours ago, ErA.l said:

For a Ryzen 3600 its worth saving up for faster RAM. Preferably 3600mhz cl16. 

Unfortunately the maximum I can get is 3000MHz at the moment, but I'll surely upgrade when possible!

[ConfusedPancake1425]

Update on the problems I've been experiencing with my current PC: After lots of troubleshooting, I think I'm getting closer to an answer, it seems that the problem is the CPU, and not the GPU! It's probably a bottleneck or thermal throttling issue since while gaming the CPU stays consistently at 100% usage and the thermal compound on it is already pretty old. I'm going to clean the entire machine, getting as much dust off as possible and replacing the thermal paste on the processor, hoping that this will finally solve everything. If that is the case, I'll know that I can buy a new mobo/cpu/ram and still be fine with my current GPU, until I'm able to afford another one. However, if even after cleaning it the problem isn't gone, I really don't have any other ideas. Also, I checked my RAM's speed and in windows task manager it says 333MHz, but that can't be right, my guess is 1600MHz, but I'm no expert. Please let me know what you think!!!