How should I go about my upgrades?

InfraDelta · August 5, 2021

Budget (including currency): ~1000usd

Country: Philippines

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, and occasional photo and video editing.

Other details:
So I will be upgrading my computer as it is noticeably becoming worse on my productivity. (Things are slower, FPS isn't that great.)
I will be upgrading my processor and motherboard, as well as replacing a hard drive that is prone to failing and other storage things.
Motherboard will be a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro.
I will be making use of a Samsung NvME drive as my new boot drive, and replacing my Barracuda for a Ironwolf (My PC is essentially on for 24/7, and this drive will be used to writing and reading a bunch of other programs.)

On the topic of Processor, is it worth it to save a few right now and get a Ryzen 3600, then upgrade later to a 5600X and soon the Ryzen 5900X (or what the highest one we can go for this board), or go straight for a 5600X right now then next upgrade be the 5900X (or what the highest one we can go for this board). Then after this going for what ever the next processor AMD would bring, changing out the mobo as well.

I will point out that I will be using an air cooler for the processor, (which in this case would be the Wraith Stealth included).

Dutch_Master · August 5, 2021

If you want to go in stages (very much conceivable for financial reasons), do the storage first, then the CPU/mainboard/RAM (if you haven't got a DDR4 system yet) possibly with an even cheaper CPU, like a used one from Aliexpress. (<- bought from that shop, twice. Good shop, recommended)

maartendc · August 6, 2021

8 hours ago, InfraDelta said:

Budget (including currency): ~1000usd

Country: Philippines

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, and occasional photo and video editing.

Other details:
So I will be upgrading my computer as it is noticeably becoming worse on my productivity. (Things are slower, FPS isn't that great.)
I will be upgrading my processor and motherboard, as well as replacing a hard drive that is prone to failing and other storage things.
Motherboard will be a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro.
I will be making use of a Samsung NvME drive as my new boot drive, and replacing my Barracuda for a Ironwolf (My PC is essentially on for 24/7, and this drive will be used to writing and reading a bunch of other programs.)

On the topic of Processor, is it worth it to save a few right now and get a Ryzen 3600, then upgrade later to a 5600X and soon the Ryzen 5900X (or what the highest one we can go for this board), or go straight for a 5600X right now then next upgrade be the 5900X (or what the highest one we can go for this board). Then after this going for what ever the next processor AMD would bring, changing out the mobo as well.

I will point out that I will be using an air cooler for the processor, (which in this case would be the Wraith Stealth included).

I would not incrementally upgrade the CPU so much. There is no point.

There would be not enough difference between the 3600 and 5600X to warrant an upgrade. Just get the 5600X and be done with it, because you will lose money selling the 3600 after the fact. Between 5600X and 5900X of course is a huge difference in core count. That depends if you need 12 cores really. 5600X (6 cores) would be plenty for your needs. Maybe 5800X (8 cores) for the video editing. 5900X (12 cores) would be overkill, especially for gaming.

Also, it does not make sense to buy B550 now, and then swap for the AM5 platform immediately next year. The 6000 series CPU's will probably be max 15-30 % faster than 5000 series, so why would you throw out your motherboard for that incremental upgrade? You are losing money every time you have to upgrade and sell your old stuff at a loss. In that case, it would be better swapping the 5600X for 5900X at that point, so you can keep your motherboard at least.

Keep in mind, you mention getting bad fps: the graphics card is the single most important component for that, not the CPU. I would get a 5600X and spend the rest of your money on the best GPU you can afford. That will make a much bigger difference for you than the difference between 3600 / 5600X / 5800X.