Upgrading gaming pc

[g15laptopbuyer2002]

Budget (including currency): $500

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: fortnite, valorant, rust, lotta games im not remembering

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):  I have a dell 9020 I upgraded with an rx 470 4gb and a 600w psu, and an SSD of course. Anyways, this setup is really not wanting to run my games at 1440p, which is the monitor I have. Any upgrade ideas? Im thinking 1080 or 2060, but im concerned that the cpu will be heavily bottle-necking anything more powerful than a 470, and I think it already may be doing so. Would a cpu upgrade be worth it too? And which cpu? Would a motherboard upgrade be a good idea as well? Thanks

 

[SignatureSigner]

for 500$ your not going to realistically be able to get the upgrades your looking for.

I would say save and wait for the shortage to let up (been saying this for months)

a GPU will cost you all of that 500$ (2060, 1080/1080ti)

[g15laptopbuyer2002]

1 minute ago, SignatureSigner said:

for 500$ your not going to realistically be able to get the upgrades your looking for.

I would say save and wait for the shortage to let up (been saying this for months)

a GPU will cost you all of that 500$

Thanks for responding. I already have a 2060 or 1080 (whichever I want) because two of my friends upgraded and don't need their old hardware. Mostly the $500 budget would be for everything else excluding the gpu, should have specified

[jaslion]

19 minutes ago, g15laptopbuyer2002 said:

Thanks for responding. I already have a 2060 or 1080 (whichever I want) because two of my friends upgraded and don't need their old hardware. Mostly the $500 budget would be for everything else excluding the gpu, should have specified

What cpu do you have in the 9020 and what EXACT psu is that (the model).

[g15laptopbuyer2002]

12 minutes ago, jaslion said:

What cpu do you have in the 9020 and what EXACT psu is that (the model).

It is an i5 4590 and the PSU is an EVGA 600 BQ bronze

[Jonathan Lee]

Something like this would fit your budget and be a big upgrade:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  ($44.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560 TORPEDO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($155.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $455.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 17:41 EST-0500

 

I would recommend this if you can stretch the budget:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($309.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  ($44.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $629.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 17:48 EST-0500

 

I feel that 6 core cpu's aren't really worth it today. The trend is higher core count cpu's and if you plan to keep the pc for a few years, having more cores will have the pc age better than less.

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Lee said:

Something like this would fit your budget and be a big upgrade:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  ($44.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560 TORPEDO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($155.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $455.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 17:41 EST-0500

 

I would recommend this if you can stretch the budget:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($309.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  ($44.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $629.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 17:48 EST-0500

 

I feel that 6 core cpu's aren't really worth it today. The trend is higher core count cpu's and if you plan to keep the pc for a few years, having more cores will have the pc age better than less.

6core 12thread cpu's are very much worth it still and basically right in line with the consoles since those have a couple of their threads taken away for os tasks. So I see these 6c/12t cpu's ride out the console generation in style. I do agree with the 11400 (or even 10400f/11400f whatever is cheaper) build but a ryzen 5600g is also a nice option here if they ever want to go to real high core count cpu's. Basically same price once you factor in a similar quality mobo but they are cheaper with ryzen.

[IkeaGnome]

2 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Basically same price once you factor in a similar quality mobo but they are cheaper with ryzen.

Even cheaper if you consider the cooler that comes with the 5600g.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($229.00 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $408.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 19:27 EST-0500

[jaslion]

4 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Even cheaper if you consider the cooler that comes with the 5600g.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($229.00 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $408.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 19:27 EST-0500

Right I keep forgetting that they include the good stock cooler with that one. If they want silence they can also just spend like 20$ on a hyper 212 class cooler plenty of options nowadays. Multiple from thermalright or that scythe kotetsu.

[g15laptopbuyer2002]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Lee said:

Something like this would fit your budget and be a big upgrade:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  ($44.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560 TORPEDO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($155.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $455.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 17:41 EST-0500

 

I would recommend this if you can stretch the budget:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($309.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler  ($44.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $629.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 17:48 EST-0500

 

I feel that 6 core cpu's aren't really worth it today. The trend is higher core count cpu's and if you plan to keep the pc for a few years, having more cores will have the pc age better than less.

 

1 hour ago, jaslion said:

6core 12thread cpu's are very much worth it still and basically right in line with the consoles since those have a couple of their threads taken away for os tasks. So I see these 6c/12t cpu's ride out the console generation in style. I do agree with the 11400 (or even 10400f/11400f whatever is cheaper) build but a ryzen 5600g is also a nice option here if they ever want to go to real high core count cpu's. Basically same price once you factor in a similar quality mobo but they are cheaper with ryzen.

 

59 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Even cheaper if you consider the cooler that comes with the 5600g.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($229.00 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($54.97 @ Amazon) 
Total: $408.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 19:27 EST-0500

Thanks to you all for helping! Ive talked to my parents and can stretch the budget up to about $1000-1200 not including GPU. It is a bit more than initially posted, and its also more than I thought they would allow lol. Anyways, would the systems you guys put together hold up or what should I change on them to max out the budget? I also am a bit concerned about getting an 12th gen intel, just because there are some quirks in win10 and I would really rather stay on win10 until its no longer supported. Other than that intel is fine with me, which would be the best system for both gaming and cad/video editing for the new budget? Thanks!

[IkeaGnome]

9 minutes ago, g15laptopbuyer2002 said:

 

 

Thanks to you all for helping! Ive talked to my parents and can stretch the budget up to about $1000-1200 not including GPU. It is a bit more than initially posted, and its also more than I thought they would allow lol. Anyways, would the systems you guys put together hold up or what should I change on them to max out the budget? I also am a bit concerned about getting an 12th gen intel, just because there are some quirks in win10 and I would really rather stay on win10 until its no longer supported. Other than that intel is fine with me, which would be the best system for both gaming and cad/video editing for the new budget? Thanks!

If you wanted to stretch the AMD build above and also keep your parents happy you could do this. You could also change the 5700g for the 5800x for a little bit more performance, but you wouldn't have integrated graphics. Depending on the GPU you want to use down the line and the 600W PSU you have you could go for a new PSU as well. The one linked below has a 750W version for $20 more. $1000-1200 without GPU is enough to build a complete new system.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bq6qqs/msi-mpg-a-gf-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mpg-a650gf

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($319.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe FUMA 2 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($87.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($83.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A-GF 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $745.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 20:43 EST-0500

[Jonathan Lee]

Well now that's a big budget increase. Couple of options you can go with at that point then. The "best" option now would be to go with 12th gen. Something like this would be plenty for most people:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($419.98 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S11 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($249.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1224.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 23:44 EST-0500

 

Little overbudget, but you can use your old power supply if you like. That would reduce cost by 120.

 

If you're uncertain about going with 12th gen, there's nothing wrong with going Ryzen 5000 or Intel 10/11th gen.

 

AMD option:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 3.7 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($519.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Pilot-E 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1223.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 23:48 EST-0500

 

Intel Option:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-10850K 3.6 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($439.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($209.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Pilot-E 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1174.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-19 23:50 EST-0500

 

Both builds would probably last you a good 3-5 years (hopefully). You can also go down to the 8 cores options if you don't think you will really use those extra cores. If you tend to use multiple monitors and run other programs while gaming though, I would recommend the higher cores count CPU's.