My existing PC build I've had for quite a while. If you were to upgrade anything on it, where would you start first?

[TheFirstArtryx]

Budget (including currency): Since I'm just looking for individual parts to save for and upgrade to right now, I'd probably prefer under £400, but at most £500

Country: United Kingdom

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: First and foremost, I'd mostly just like to get my computer a bit more up-to-date. Most frequently atm I play World of Warcraft, LoL, Valorant. I also stream a lot of my games, and guitar (FL Studio + Bias FX 2) via OBS. I know looking at this list, you wouldn't expect I need a lot to be able to run any of these games, but when it comes to WoW, I am a mythic raider and even when I'm 1) not streaming and 2) on the lowest graphic settings available, it's not a very smooth experience fighting raid bosses (40 or less FPS), I get frame drops every now. It'd also be nice if my solid 60-90+ FPS in league, didn't fall to </50 the moment I get into a game while OBS is open (not streaming/recording).

 

 

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

This is my existing pc build (as close as possible)

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/hrvYK3

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4-2133 CL14 Memory 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory 
Storage: SanDisk SSD PLUS 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB AORUS XTREME Video Card 
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-04-19 12:45 BST+0100

 

 

UPDATE 1:

Thank you everyone for letting me know about the situation with my Memory. I have since removed the 1x16GB stick, as well as enabled XMP so I'm now getting the full 3000MHz (Technically 2933, based on what I found online to be the highest supported speed from the Ryzen 5 2600x) instead of 2133MHz. Despite going down to only 8GB memory available, I've already noticed a solid increase of around 20-30fps in WoW, which while it may not be as much once I get into a raid, even an extra 5-10fps will be a huge improvement for me!

 

I think the general consensus from you all is that the first thing I should physically upgrade will be replacing my existing RAM sticks with 2x8GB 3000MHz.

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by TheFirstArtryx

[Dedayog]

Maybe move up to a 5800X and a B550 motherboard?  It'll help your gaming/streaming a bit, but the 2600x shouldn't be hurting streaming all that badly really.

 

What's with that memory config?  It'd square that up first thing.

 

Then a 1TB SSD, so you may need more game space?  Something only you can know.

 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

The fps problem is 100% due to that terible memory configuration. Itd modt likley running single channel, an dis definitly running at 2133mhz. id sell that memory and upgrade to a 2x8 3200 cl16 kit.

Maybe something like upgrading these?

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	£174.99 @ CCL Computers
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	£89.99 @ AWD-IT
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	£80.96 @ Laptops Direct
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	£97.99 @ Corsair UK
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£443.93
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-04-19 13:16 BST+0100

Bassically, its a cpu upgrade (lol is primarily a cpu bound game), a motherboard upgrade (to get to a supported spec for a 5000 or 3000 cpu), a new kit of ram( (to fix that mess(, and a psu, for if you want to upgrade to a 30 series gpu down the line

[Nillelack]

Specs should be okay for wow.

Mixed memory? Never do that. 3 ram sticks are in general okay. But they have to be the same pair. 

If you have XMP enabled. It's another story.

 

I would remove that single 16gb ram stick first. And see if that helps on perfomance. What resolution?

[jwwagner25]

I mean as the above person said, and if it were me, I would first get some better memory. Then I would seriously debate waiting until next gen ryzen. If I were too impatient (which I am) I would sell CPU and motherboard, and pick up a B550 + 5600x. They are in stock many places now in US, maybe same for your country? 

 

If not, the 3800xt is on ebay used for similar price to new 5600x (again, in US at least, around $300)... For streaming, the 3800xt is quite a bit faster than 5600x, and the latter isn't that much faster for single core workload. It is faster, yes, but not by much.

 

Best of luck whichever way you go. Might also consider looking at a better power supply. Maybe in another year or two, after this upgrade, PSU/GPU will be next? Fun stuff. 

 

-Jake

 

edit: just to be super clear, in case unsure, my opinion (and i'm sure many others) is that it would be absurd to upgrade from 2600 to 3600. might as well wait, save up more money, to get either 5600x + new mobo // or wait for next gen, at which point you'll have more money saved! 

[boggy77]

Everything looks fine apart from memory. If you sort that out (2x8gb 3200c16), you should get a significant bump in performance.

[Hold-Ma-Beer]

37 minutes ago, TheFirstArtryx said:

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4-2133 CL14 Memory 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory

This is just messed up. I'd start with getting this sorted. Preferably get 2 identical sticks at 3000-3200MHz OR get 2 more 4x2 sticks of SAME brand for a total of 16GB. This alone will give you a noticeable bump in overall system performance as well as in games.

Next, I'd go for a 3000 series CPU. In current situation, going for a 5000 series will cost you a LOT and you'll need a new motherboard as well.

 

First try sorting out RAM. Also, tell us your budget if you are seriously planning on upgrading.

Good luck!

 

[boggy77]

39 minutes ago, Hold-Ma-Beer said:

Next, I'd go for a 3000 series CPU

2600x to 3600 is only a 10% performance bump. op won't notice it, especially when gpu is 1080. 

the single most significant change would be to sort out the ram. 

[Hold-Ma-Beer]

2 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

2600x to 3600 is only a 10% performance bump. op won't notice it, especially when gpu is 1080. 

the single most significant change would be to sort out the ram. 

I'm not suggesting a 3600

 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

2 hours ago, jwwagner25 said:

For streaming, the 3800xt is quite a bit faster than 5600x, and the latter isn't that much faster for single core workload. It is faster, yes, but not by much.

nope. this isnt true. single core, the 5600x is nearly 20% faster. thats a huge diffrence, enough for the 5600x to be the better buy over the 3800xt.

[jwwagner25]

On 4/19/2021 at 7:57 AM, HelpfulTechWizard said:

nope. this isnt true. single core, the 5600x is nearly 20% faster. thats a huge diffrence, enough for the 5600x to be the better buy over the 3800xt.

wrong

[Helpful Tech Witch]

2 hours ago, jwwagner25 said:

wrong

Um? Scources? 

On userbenchmark the 5600x it better than a 3800xt (which the only thing userbenchmark is good for it same ppatform)