Upgrade Questions

[xSzen]

My Specs - 

Pentium G4560

GTX 1060 3gb

ASUS h110 matx mobo

EVGA 430 80 PLUS 

AEROCOOL Mid RGB

Corsair h100i RGB Platinum 240 AIO

16 GB Trident Z RGB 3200

500 GB WD SSD

1 TB WD HDD 7200

 

I have about 500$ to upgrade. I'm with where my storage, case, ram, and cooler are at currently. I was thinking of a couple options: Upgrade CPU to i5 9600k and mobo to high end z370 or Upgrade GPU to 2060 SUPER. I'm not quite sure what to do. I'll get more gaming performance out of the 2060 SUPER however, i'll be severely CPU bottle necked.  And if I upgrade the CPU + MOBO it won't increase my performance as much as the GPU upgrade would. 

 

Any Suggestions would be greatly appreciated ~ Thanks 

[PyroTheWise]

@xSzen What is your primary goal for this computer?   What gaming performance are you looking for and in what games.   If you are  playing mostly CPU bound games then definintely go with a CPU/MOBO upgrade otherwise a GPU upgrade.

 

As it was pointed out by @kelvinhall05, your are already CPU bound.   In this case, a CPU upgrade would probably be best.

[kelvinhall05]

I'd get a used i7 and a slight GPU upgrade, maybe a 2070 or something.

 

 

Either that or an overhaul to Ryzen 3000.

[kelvinhall05]

1 minute ago, PyroTheWise said:

@xSzen What is your primary goal for this computer?   What gaming performance are you looking for and in what games.   If you are  playing mostly CPU bound games then definintely go with a CPU/MOBO upgrade otherwise a GPU upgrade.

He is already CPU bottlenecked in his current system, upgrading the GPU would make absolutely no sense without upgrading the CPU as well.

[Donut Dan]

AMD Ryzen is a pretty good alternative to a Z390 motherboard in my opinion. A Ryzen 5 3600 is less than $200!

[xSzen]

10 minutes ago, PyroTheWise said:

@xSzen What is your primary goal for this computer?   What gaming performance are you looking for and in what games.   If you are  playing mostly CPU bound games then definintely go with a CPU/MOBO upgrade otherwise a GPU upgrade.

 

As it was pointed out by @kelvinhall05, your are already CPU bound.   In this case, a CPU upgrade would probably be best.

Primary goal is 144 fps 1080p high settings for most games 

[xSzen]

4 minutes ago, Donut Dan said:

AMD Ryzen is a pretty good alternative to a Z390 motherboard in my opinion. A Ryzen 5 3600 is less than $200!

B450 + 3600? 

[PyroTheWise]

5 minutes ago, xSzen said:

B450 + 3600? 

Yes, you can get a MSI B450 Tomahawk Max (no wifi built in) + Ryzen 5 3600 for around 300 dollars.  There are other Motherboards as well.  I would also invest in a 550W power supply (around 80 dollars) to replace the 430W I see in the specs (if I read them right).

 

Edit - is the memory 1x16 or 2x8? 

[xSzen]

3 minutes ago, PyroTheWise said:

Yes, you can get a MSI B450 Tomahawk Max (no wifi built in) + Ryzen 5 3600 for around 300 dollars.  There are other Motherboards as well.  I would also invest in a 550W power supply (around 80 dollars) to replace the 430W I see in the specs (if I read them right).

 

Edit - is the memory 1x16 or 2x8? 

Memory is 2x8. Im just worried about having to flash the bios if I do go with ryzen

[PyroTheWise]

1 minute ago, xSzen said:

Memory is 2x8. Im just worried about having to flash the bios if I do go with ryzen

Not with a MSI Max motherboard.  They are fully ready for Ryzen.  THere are other motherboards as well from Asus, gigabtye, etc.. that are ryzen ready now.   You just have to check the Motherboard of your choice.

 

I build a gaming PC using the Ryzen 5 3600 with MSI Tomahawk Max Mobo and no flashing of the bios needed. 

[xSzen]

2 minutes ago, PyroTheWise said:

Not with a MSI Max motherboard.  They are fully ready for Ryzen.  THere are other motherboards as well from Asus, gigabtye, etc.. that are ryzen ready now.   You just have to check the Motherboard of your choice.

 

I build a gaming PC using the Ryzen 5 3600 with MSI Tomahawk Max Mobo and no flashing of the bios needed. 

Ahh ok, I know most boards weren't Ryzen 3000 compatible, I'm glad to hear its turned around. What do you think about the GPU?

[Donut Dan]

8 minutes ago, PyroTheWise said:

Not with a MSI Max motherboard.  They are fully ready for Ryzen.  THere are other motherboards as well from Asus, gigabtye, etc.. that are ryzen ready now.   You just have to check the Motherboard of your choice.

 

I build a gaming PC using the Ryzen 5 3600 with MSI Tomahawk Max Mobo and no flashing of the bios needed. 

I've also been told that the ASRock B450M/AC is so new that they all come with an updated BIOS, and since that board is both cheap (with a decent heat sink) and has WiFi, it's pretty compelling.

[PyroTheWise]

1 minute ago, xSzen said:

Ahh ok, I know most boards weren't Ryzen 3000 compatible, I'm glad to hear its turned around. What do you think about the GPU?

GPUs I will leave to the experts here on LTT.   I am still learning which GPU is best for what gaming preference. 

 

However, there is something to consider with GPUs.  There are going to be new AMD GPUs this year coming out alongside the new consoles.  So you might want to wait to see how good those GPUs are.  

[xSzen]

8 minutes ago, PyroTheWise said:

GPUs I will leave to the experts here on LTT.   I am still learning which GPU is best for what gaming preference. 

 

However, there is something to consider with GPUs.  There are going to be new AMD GPUs this year coming out alongside the new consoles.  So you might want to wait to see how good those GPUs are.  

 

9 minutes ago, Donut Dan said:

I've also been told that the ASRock B450M/AC is so new that they all come with an updated BIOS, and since that board is both cheap (with a decent heat sink) and has WiFi, it's pretty compelling.

Any idea if the Asus ROG STRIX b450-F is 3000 compatible?

[PyroTheWise]

1 minute ago, xSzen said:

 

Any idea on the Asus ROG STRIX b450-F?

I have no personal experience with that Motherboard but the Asus web-site says it is Ryzen 3000 ready:

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B450-F-GAMING/

 

In big letter, so you should be safe.  BTW, when the motherboard says "AMD Ryzen 3000 ready" that is supposed to mean the Motherboard will come with the updated bios required for Ryzen 3000 processors.

 

[Donut Dan]

2 minutes ago, xSzen said:

 

Any idea on the Asus ROG STRIX b450-F?

It appears to be a very popular board, but from what I can tell, no more impressive than competition from MSI, the likes of which are the B450-A Pro, Gaming Plus, and Tomahawk, and all of those have a MAX version which is guaranteed compatible.

[xSzen]

5 minutes ago, Donut Dan said:

It appears to be a very popular board, but from what I can tell, no more impressive than competition from MSI, the likes of which are the B450-A Pro, Gaming Plus, and Tomahawk, and all of those have a MAX version which is guaranteed compatible.

 

5 minutes ago, PyroTheWise said:

I have no personal experience with that Motherboard but the Asus web-site says it is Ryzen 3000 ready:

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B450-F-GAMING/

 

In big letter, so you should be safe.  BTW, when the motherboard says "AMD Ryzen 3000 ready" that is supposed to mean the Motherboard will come with the updated bios required for Ryzen 3000 processors.

 

Thanks guys