APU or CPU + Cheap GPU?

[leotavares]

Budget (including currency): BRL 3800 (around US$ 550)

Country: Brazil

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Mostly Minecraft for now, but I'm an enthusiast that likes to play everything from Cyberpunk 2077 to Undertale.

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): 

My main setup is an ultrawide screen (1080p), and I wish to play everything 60FPS+ (will explain better later).

 

So, right now I'm aiming to buy the "foundation" for my PC. Specificaly, the following components:

• CPU
• RAM
• Motherboard
• PSU
• Cheap GPU (if not using an APU)

As everywhere else in the world, GPUs are simply IMPOSSIBLE to buy here in Brazil, and as right now I'm mostly playing Minecraft, an APU or a cheap GPU will be more than enough while I wait for the GPU prices to reduce.

Nonetheless, I want to build "the foundation" of my setup for at least 3 years, upgrading later to a RTX 3070/3060 Ti.

I already have an Acer Nitro 5 (I'll be giving it to my wife, whose laptop is in it's dying days), from which I would "steal" a 2.5 HDD and a NVME SSD. I already have all peripherals and have decided which case I'll be buying.

 

Right now, I have 3 possible options:

• Ryzen 5 3400g (BRL 1400/ USD 200), B450M DS3H V2 (BRL 600/ USD 80), 16GB RAM 3200 MHZ 16 CL (BRL 630/ USD 90) and a MWE V2 650W (BRL 500/ USD 70) = BRL 3200 / USD 440
  • Pros: Cheapest option
  • Cons: Probably would need to upgrade the CPU when I also buy a RTX 3070
• Ryzen 5 4650g (BRL 1900/ USD 270), B450M DS3H V2 (BRL 600/ USD 80), 16GB RAM 3200 MHZ 16 CL (BRL 630/ USD 90) and a MWE V2 650W (BRL 500/ USD 70) = BRL 3700 / USD 520
  • Pros: Still within my budget, and would probably not need to change the CPU when I buy a RTX 3070
  • Cons: Even tho better than a 3400g, it is still worse than a 5600x/3600x
• Ryzen 5 5600x (BRL 2100/ USD 300), B550M H (BRL 700/ USD 100), GTX 750 Ti/GT 1030/RX550 (BRL 900/ USD 130 to BRL 700/USD 100), 16GB RAM 3200 MHZ 16 CL (BRL 630/ USD 90) and a MWE V2 650W (BRL 500/ USD 70) = BRL 4800 / USD 690
  • Pros: Future proofing with a 5600x and a B550 for best performance when I buy a RTX 3070
  • Cons: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over my budget (but still doable, if worth). It also HURTS me phisicaly to buy such old GPUs for this price :(

So, what do you guys think?

I'm also pretty open for suggestions of others RAMs, PSU (maybe less wattage for a 3070?) and such.

 

Thanks! :D

 

[Chris Pratt]

I'd personally get the 5600X and a cheap GPU or I'd drop AMD entirely and get something like an 11600K.

[Cheburek]

2 hours ago, leotavares said:

Budget (including currency): BRL 3800 (around US$ 550)

Country: Brazil

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Mostly Minecraft for now, but I'm an enthusiast that likes to play everything from Cyberpunk 2077 to Undertale.

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): 

My main setup is an ultrawide screen (1080p), and I wish to play everything 60FPS+ (will explain better later).

 

So, right now I'm aiming to buy the "foundation" for my PC. Specificaly, the following components:

• CPU
• RAM
• Motherboard
• PSU
• Cheap GPU (if not using an APU)

As everywhere else in the world, GPUs are simply IMPOSSIBLE to buy here in Brazil, and as right now I'm mostly playing Minecraft, an APU or a cheap GPU will be more than enough while I wait for the GPU prices to reduce.

Nonetheless, I want to build "the foundation" of my setup for at least 3 years, upgrading later to a RTX 3070/3060 Ti.

I already have an Acer Nitro 5 (I'll be giving it to my wife, whose laptop is in it's dying days), from which I would "steal" a 2.5 HDD and a NVME SSD. I already have all peripherals and have decided which case I'll be buying.

 

Right now, I have 3 possible options:

• Ryzen 5 3400g (BRL 1400/ USD 200), B450M DS3H V2 (BRL 600/ USD 80), 16GB RAM 3200 MHZ 16 CL (BRL 630/ USD 90) and a MWE V2 650W (BRL 500/ USD 70) = BRL 3200 / USD 440
  • Pros: Cheapest option
  • Cons: Probably would need to upgrade the CPU when I also buy a RTX 3070
• Ryzen 5 4650g (BRL 1900/ USD 270), B450M DS3H V2 (BRL 600/ USD 80), 16GB RAM 3200 MHZ 16 CL (BRL 630/ USD 90) and a MWE V2 650W (BRL 500/ USD 70) = BRL 3700 / USD 520
  • Pros: Still within my budget, and would probably not need to change the CPU when I buy a RTX 3070
  • Cons: Even tho better than a 3400g, it is still worse than a 5600x/3600x
• Ryzen 5 5600x (BRL 2100/ USD 300), B550M H (BRL 700/ USD 100), GTX 750 Ti/GT 1030/RX550 (BRL 900/ USD 130 to BRL 700/USD 100), 16GB RAM 3200 MHZ 16 CL (BRL 630/ USD 90) and a MWE V2 650W (BRL 500/ USD 70) = BRL 4800 / USD 690
  • Pros: Future proofing with a 5600x and a B550 for best performance when I buy a RTX 3070
  • Cons: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over my budget (but still doable, if worth). It also HURTS me phisicaly to buy such old GPUs for this price

So, what do you guys think?

I'm also pretty open for suggestions of others RAMs, PSU (maybe less wattage for a 3070?) and such.

 

Thanks!

 

I would get the 4650G as this shortage is going to last a while..... And that CPU is not bad it can handle newer GPUs.

[mikeyw64]

2 hours ago, Chris Pratt said:

I'd personally get the 5600X and a cheap GPU or I'd drop AMD entirely and get something like an 11600K.

sounds like my recent build

5600X plus a GTX950 from fleabay 

[TudorF]

I think you should do a build as if you're not gonna be able to get a GPU in the next few years.

Personally I'd get an 11600K, as someone else said, but beware. It eats up a lot of power, it's very inefficient in terms of power consumption / performance.

So if you go with it and you use it a lot, it might increase your electricity bill ^^

 

The AMDs are much more balanced in terms of power consumption, but they pale by comparison in performance / price, since their scarcity on the market hiked their prices beyond a price point at which going Intel wouldn't be advantageous. That's why some CPUs like 11400 or 11500 are pretty good value for money and performance.

[leotavares]

Hello guys, thanks for your opinions!

 

I'm really considering getting an i5 11600k and order a cheap GPU from ebay (meanwhile I can handle light games with UHD750).

 

Which motherboard (around USD 80) you guys recommend? Would a B460m be enough?

 

Also, as the i5 is more power hungry, would 650w be enough for a future RTX 3070?

I've been recommended to change from Cooler Master MWE V2 650w to a Super Flower LEADEX III 650W. Is it worth the price difference?

 

Thanks again!

 

[TudorF]

@leotavares

If you get the 11600K, you need a motherboard that allows overclocking. For the 11th generation of Intel CPUs, that would be a mobo based on a Z590 chip with support for the 1200 processor socket.

 

For example:

ASRock Z590 Pro4, socket 1200

ASUS TUF GAMING Z590

 

Yes, these motherboards are a bit more expensive because they allow overclocking, so they need special types of capacitors.

Just for reference, the cheapest Z590 motherboard I could find on a US site costs 155 bucks:

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157991

 

If you want cheaper motherboards, you'd have to go with a CPU with a locked frequency, that doesn't allow overclocking.

But even then, the cheapest mobos you could find based on the B560 chip, for 11th gen Intel CPUs that are locked, can go for a little above 100 bucks, such as the ASRock B560 Pro4:

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157977