Upgrading part of it now (PSU and RAM)

[M5677]

Three threads in a week. This forum is now babysitting me.

 

Budget: Last time my budget was around $790. I think I'm open to spend a bit more this time, because I am planning to upgrade gradually rather than everything at once. I would probably stop at around $1000 (all parts together), preferably less. Not sure at this point tbh.
Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: I play games frequently, mostly survival games (7 days to die for ex). The computer is on most of the time, maybe I turn it off every other night.
What I need: Right now I need 16 GB RAM and a PSU (mine is having issues). Sometime in the future I want new GPU and CPU (I think?).

Is it a bad idea to keep in mind I might get better stuff later when I buy things now? For example in regards to what PSU I get. I figured if I buy one with a bit higher wattage now I won't have to get a new one if I buy stuff that needs more later(?).

 

Current PC, bought everything 2016:
Corsair VS650
Intel core i5-6500
MSI LGA 1151 H110M PRO-VH
Crucial DDR4 2133MHz 8 GB
Radeon RX 480 
1 tb Seagate
One monitor (1280x720).
I don't overclock and I would prefer not to.

 

I haven't read too much about what RAM to buy, so any suggestions on that is very appreciated. 

 

The PSUs I am considering:
MSI MPG 650W 
Enermax Revolution D.F. 650W
Cooler Master V650 SFX Gold V2
(or 750W?)

 

I partly went off this list:
https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/

 

Other better suggestions? Or one of the three that you consider better? I would like for it to be reliable. Cooler Master seemed to have a problematic fan for some people in reviews I read, but I don't know how much of a problem that is.
Someone else mentioned Enermax's was noisy with a lot of vibration, they claimed it was because it was a tight fit. I didn't see anyone else with that issue. 

I plan on buying PSU and RAM within the next few days. GPU and CPU I am not sure at all, maybe too far into the future for it to be relevant.

 

Sorry for the long post, I tried. 

 

 

[M5677]

I just remember reading in a thread that the MSI MPG A-GF and Enermax Revolution D.F. are likely the same PSU apart from the fan. Is this correct? If this is the case, which one has the better fan? They cost about the same where I live. The warranty is longer for MSI.

[suedseefrucht]

14 minutes ago, M5677 said:

Right now I need 16 GB RAM and a  PSU (my PSU is having issues)

Alright! Let's start with that.

 

Power supply:

So do you want to stay with 1280x720 pixels? Would you like to go for 1080p? Or even 1440p? Maybe 4K?

With a 750 W power supply you can upgrade to an RTX 3080 or even RTX 3090. So it's very future proof for all of these resolutions.

If you just want to go for 1080p 60 Hz on high settings or less or 1440p 60 Hz, 650 W should be enough for the RTX 3060 Ti.

Check out our PSU Tier List - Power Supplies - Linus Tech Tips
Something like the Corsair RM 750 W would be by your side for at least 10 years with warranty.

 

RAM:

I guess, you have 2 sticks of 4GB right now?

If you want to stay with DDR4 for a while even with the Intel 12th Gen. already supporting DDR5,

You could get the same RAM again if you have 2 free slots left, but that would cost you money, the RAM is a little slow and you cant upgrade to 32 Gb later, becaue you already use all 4 slots.

So the future proof way would be to get 2x 8GB 3200 DDR4, because you dont want to overclock.

It will run slower with your current CPU, but it would work and it will be good for your new CPU.

For example: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

 

That's it for the first upgrade.

 

8 minutes ago, M5677 said:

SFX

You should pick a case first.

Which case to you have?

Is there a case you like?

Would you like case recommendation?

If you dont want to replace your mATX motherboard yet, an ATX power supply would be good, because you dont get an ITX case.

 

Also think about the resolution you want and if you want to get a new monitor.

[M5677]

@suedseefrucht Thank you for the answer.

I don't think I want a new monitor, I have a hard time seeing I'd get much more out of that personally with the stuff I use my PC for, but it's good to know I could if I wanted. 

I did consider the Corsair RM 750 W. It was pretty expensive compared to some of the other A-tier ones, but the main reason I leaned towards for example MSI MPG was that I seemed to find more negative reviews for the Corsair one. That could maybe be because it is more popular, I don't know. Do you know if it's necessarily better than the MSI MPG? Especially for my setup. I suspect because of the difference in price there is some relevant difference between them. I will definitely go for 750 W either way in that case.

The link I put in my post is (as I understand it) a more up to date list than the one on here. At first I looked at the older list but noticed it was outdated.

Quote

I guess, you have 2 sticks of 4GB right now?

Yes, two sticks now, and I was planning to get two sticks of 8GB. 
When you say it will run slower with my current CPU, I assume it will still be faster than what I currently have?
When I look up my motherboard, it says this on MSI's website ''1. DDR4 2133 MHz and higher memory modules will only run at maximum of DDR4 2133 MHz due to IntelR chipset limitation when using Skylake CPU. 2. DDR4 2400 MHz and higher memory modules will only run at maximum of DDR4 2400 MHz due to IntelR chipset limit''.
Does this not make it unnecessary to go for 3200 MHz? I assume it won't be able to make use of that much. But if that's the case, maybe I can at least go for 2400 MHz?

Quote

For example: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

To be honest I have no idea what case I have, I've had it for ages but do I need a new one? I looked up the dimensions and form factor of the PSUs and it seems to be the same as the one I currently have. Appearance wise I could not care less. On the SFX one it said an ATX bracket would come with. Can I assume it will fit or do I need to make sure in some other way? Sorry for my ignorance!

 

[suedseefrucht]

On 11/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, M5677 said:

it's necessarily better than the MSI MPG?

I don't know.
I never used one of the two. But many people like the Corsair one. It has a Zero RPM mode.

So if it's cold, the fan will turn off and there will be no noise at all.

 

On 11/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, M5677 said:

Yes, two sticks now, and I was planning to get two sticks of 8GB. 

Great.

On 11/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, M5677 said:

When you say it will run slower with my current CPU, I assume it will still be faster than what I currently have?

Your CPU supports max. 2133 MHz. So the new RAM will be limited to that for now.

New CPUs support 3200 MHz, so it will be good, when you upgrade your CPU and motherboard.

 

On 11/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, M5677 said:

To be honest I have no idea what case I have, I've had it for ages but do I need a new one?

It depends... I will take a risk and say no.

With your current monitor, you dont need a powerful graphics card, so it doesn't matter that much.

If you have components with a high power consumption, you should look for some airflow to get the hot air out of the case.

If the graphics card gets too hot, it will slow itself down to prevent overheating. That would hurt performance.

But in your case, it should be fine.

 

On 11/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, M5677 said:

On the SFX one it said an ATX bracket would come with. Can I assume it will fit or do I need to make sure in some other way?

Why do you want to get an SFX one? If you have enough space for ATX, pick ATX.

SFX is usually more expensive and louder, because it has a smaller fan.

 

[M5677]

On 11/22/2021 at 7:56 AM, suedseefrucht said:

I don't know.
I never used one of the two. But many people like the Corsair one. It has a Zero RPM mode.

So if it's cold, the fan will turn off and there will be no noise at all.

 

Great.

Your CPU supports max. 2133 MHz. So the new RAM will be limited to that for now.

New CPUs support 3200 MHz, so it will be good, when you upgrade your CPU and motherboard.

 

It depends... I will take a risk and say no.

With your current monitor, you dont need a powerful graphics card, so it doesn't matter that much.

If you have components with a high power consumption, you should look for some airflow to get the hot air out of the case.

If the graphics card gets too hot, it will slow itself down to prevent overheating. That would hurt performance.

But in your case, it should be fine.

 

Why do you want to get an SFX one? If you have enough space for ATX, pick ATX.

SFX is usually more expensive and louder, because it has a smaller fan.

 

The SFX one was more one of several options, I will definitely go for ATX in that case.

This is making me change my mind again, to be honest. If I'm going to buy better RAM it seems unnecessary to not go for something like you suggested. I am open to upgrading more, I am just very unsure of what to get. I've decided to get Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 like you suggested, and MSI MPG A750GF. Do you have suggestions of what CPU and motherboard to get with this? I'm not sure if I should hold off on a GPU or not. The prices are very off-putting right now, though. Most are also sold out where I live unfortunately. Do you think it's possible to find a decent GPU for my PC that's around $500? If or when in stock, that is.

[suedseefrucht]

6 hours ago, M5677 said:

Do you have suggestions of what CPU and motherboard

Ryzen 5600X with ASUS PRIME B550M-A.
 

 

On 11/19/2021 at 9:11 AM, M5677 said:

One monitor (1280x720).

6 hours ago, M5677 said:

Do you think it's possible to find a decent GPU for my PC that's around $500?

GTX 1660 super.
But 500 USD is expensive for it. I mean, that's what my RTX 2070 was costing brand new early last year.