upgrade Help! Am I doing this right?

[Dejango]

Intro: I bought an awful prebuilt computer way back in 2018 without knowing a single thing about building a pc. After learning as much as I can the last couple years, I've come to what I think will be as far as I intend to go with gaming (as I am not really interested in high end builds), but want to make sure I'll have the system that suits my interests. 

 

Budget (including currency): $1500 USD (already spent $898.37 on parts that upgraded a pre-built system i bought (upgraded the cpu cooler, RAM, PSU, Case, GPU and Monitor), and now I'm finishing the upgrades with the $601.63 left in my budget. (see parts list)

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: FPS, some AAA titles, streaming and multimedia 

Other details:

This is my current mockup parts list, I basically just need help figuring out if these are good selections since I've tinkered with it and researched for a while. 

Left in my budget: $601.63

 

Mobo: MSI Z490 -                       $170

CPU: i5-10400 -                           $182    (this and Mobo are the parts I'm most lost on)

Case fans: Silent Wings 3 x 2 - $51.80

PSU: 750W 80+gold -                 $140

 

Currently in system:

CPU: i5-8400 (salvaged from prebuilt)

Cooler: hyper 212

SSD: 250GB (salvaged from prebuilt, re-using)

HD: 1T WD (salvaged from prebuilt, re-using)

Ram: 2x8 DDR4 2666

PSU: corsair cx550

Case: nzxt H510

Mobo: B350M Bazooka (salvaged from prebuilt)

GPU: msi 1060 (salvaged from pre built)

 

I've already purchased a GTX 1660 Super and 144hz monitor with the intention of upgrading the aforementioned parts, but my main concern now is that I'm not setting up a list of parts that will accompany the card well or be able to take full advantage of it. 

[Guest]

These parts are better

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($283.55 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Best Buy) 
Power Supply: EVGA BQ 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($90.83 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: upHere T7SYC7 120 mm Fans 6-Pack  ($46.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $546.36
 

The 3700X is better than the 10400 at basically everything.

 

Why did you spend so much on a motherboard especially since you can't overclock.

 

I don't know what PSU you have, but spending that much is kinda unnecessary for something in this price point. You can probably reuse your old one.

[Dejango]

5 minutes ago, Darpyface said:

These parts are better

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($283.55 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Best Buy) 
Power Supply: EVGA BQ 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($90.83 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: upHere T7SYC7 120 mm Fans 6-Pack  ($46.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $546.36
 

The 3700X is better than the 10400 at basically everything.

 

Why did you spend so much on a motherboard especially since you can't overclock.

 

I don't know what PSU you have, but spending that much is kinda unnecessary for something in this price point. You can probably reuse your old one.

I have no idea how to compare Ryzen cpu's. Will this handle streaming and such fine? And is it compatible with the GPU? 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Dejango said:

I have no idea how to compare Ryzen cpu's. Will this handle streaming and such fine? And is it compatible with the GPU? 

Yes, it is better in every way to a 10400.

 

It has 2 more cores, higher base frequency, higher boost frequency, more cache, higher IPC, and can overclock.

[mariushm]

You could keep using the CX550 power supply, if it's working fine now.

 

Your computer won't use that much power - the MSI 1060  or the GTX 1660 Super consume up to around 150 watts and the processor consumes up to around 100 watts, so  at most your computer consumes up to 300 watts of so - a 550 watts power supply will have plenty of reserves and being a Corsair psu, it should be reliable and CX series is not a bad series.

 

It's not much of a jump from a 1060 to a 1660 ... I'd return the card if it's still possible, and go for something better. You can skip on those fans for 50$, you can always buy them at a later point if you feel the computer gets too hot... put those money on video card.

I'd also recommend going with Ryzen instead of Intel, much better upgrade options

Return the video card if possible. 

Put the motherboard, cpu and ram as a kit for sale on Craigslist/eBay, and buy 2 x 8 GB of 3200-3600 Mhz sticks as Ryzen does get a boost out of higher frequencies, up to 5-10% in various games and applications.

Put your 1060 on sale, it should sell fast, it's still fast enough for 1080p gaming on a budget.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$179.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550M AORUS PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$129.00 @ Best Buy
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB KO ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$329.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$638.98
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-17 00:36 EDT-0400

 

22 minutes ago, Dejango said:

Budget (including currency): $1500 USD (already spent $898.37 on parts that upgraded a pre-built system i bought (upgraded the cpu cooler, RAM, PSU, Case, GPU and Monitor), and now I'm finishing the upgrades with the $601.63 left in my budget. (see parts list)

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: FPS, some AAA titles, streaming and multimedia 

Other details:

This is my current mockup parts list, I basically just need help figuring out if these are good selections since I've tinkered with it and researched for a while. 

Left in my budget: $601.63

 

Mobo: MSI Z490 -                       $170

CPU: i5-10400 -                           $182    (this and Mobo are the parts I'm most lost on)

Case fans: Silent Wings 3 x 2 - $51.80

PSU: 750W 80+gold -                 $140

 

Currently in system:

CPU: i5-8400 (salvaged from prebuilt)

Cooler: hyper 212

SSD: 250GB (salvaged from prebuilt, re-using)

HD: 1T WD (salvaged from prebuilt, re-using)

Ram: 2x8 DDR4 2666

PSU: corsair cx550

Case: nzxt H510

Mobo: B350M Bazooka (salvaged from prebuilt)

GPU: msi 1060 (salvaged from pre built)

 

I've already purchased a GTX 1660 Super and 144hz monitor with the intention of upgrading the aforementioned parts, but my main concern now is that I'm not setting up a list of parts that will accompany the card well or be able to take full advantage of it. 

 

[coldcoconutoil]

29 minutes ago, Dejango said:

Left in my budget: $601.63

 

Mobo: MSI Z490 -                       $170

CPU: i5-10400 -                           $182    (this and Mobo are the parts I'm most lost on)

Case fans: Silent Wings 3 x 2 - $51.80

PSU: 750W 80+gold -                 $140

 

Currently in system:

CPU: i5-8400 (salvaged from prebuilt)

Cooler: hyper 212

SSD: 250GB (salvaged from prebuilt, re-using)

HD: 1T WD (salvaged from prebuilt, re-using)

Ram: 2x8 DDR4 2666

PSU: corsair cx550

Case: nzxt H510

Mobo: B350M Bazooka (salvaged from prebuilt)

GPU: msi 1060 (salvaged from pre built)

so to make things clearer:

1. you have 2 GPUs with you now, a 1060 and a 1660 super?

2. you have a B350M Bazooka with you; have you already bought the Z490 MSI Board and the i5-10400?

 

imo, you can keep the CX550, the nzxt case, the Hyper 212 cooler and storage.

maybe get a larger NVMe SSD.

As for the mobo and CPU, get a 3700x like @Darpyface said, and pair it with an MSI b450 or b550 tomahawk board, or a cheaper b550 or b450 aorus pro.

 

if possible, return the 1660super for some cash, wait a bit till the 3000 series GPUS are out, and get a 2060 or maybe even a 3050 or 3060 for cheaper. that will give you some time to save more money as well, and youll be getting better ray tracing, better FPS, better DLSS. (if RTX and DLSS interest you, that is.)