Upgrading current build recommendations

bambrew · December 3, 2021

Budget (including currency): 2272$

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Primarily gaming, typically Valorant or Rust and a variety of other games

Other details:

I currently have a pc with these specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT

GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.black

Motherboard: AS Rock X570 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX AM4

RAM: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-4400

CASE: NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower

Power Supply: Adata XPG Core reaction 850 W gold

SSD: 1TB

Fans: 2 corsair ICUE QL120

I am fairly happy with my current build and would typically not upgrade; however, I am coming into about 2272$ from a tournament that must be used on computer parts. Because of this, I will be upgrading parts of my PC. I am planning to upgrade to an AMD Ryzen 9 5900x as it gives a massive increase in FPS in the current games I typically play. I obviously am planning to keep my 3070 the same as it is brand new and it would be very hard to find a better GPU that would be worth it with the current market state. That said, I will still have about 1700$ by my estimate to upgrade the other parts of my PC. My question is what are some good recommendations for other parts of my PC that I should upgrade? I am looking to spend all the money available as it would be a waste otherwise.

Some current questions running through my head upgrade wise are what parts will be affected and need upgrading and what parts are probably ok. I also want it to look nice so I plan to get a new case and possibly a few new fans. I assume I need a new CPU cooler but will I also need a new motherboard and power supply? I want to upgrade my RAM to possibly 32-64 GB. Which would be better?

Any and all recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

Jonathan Lee · December 3, 2021

Oh gosh, that's a lot of money to upgrade with. You're current system is already pretty high end, so there isn't much that would be a "wow" upgrade.

Couple of opinions to look into:

- large 4 TB SSD for games drive (something like the mx500 or 870 qvo would be good choices)

- 5950x, you don't really need it, but you have the money

- get a 2x16GB ram kit, this might be a problem cause going quad channel ram with a 4400mhz kit rarely works. It's pretty hard to get stability with higher clock speed ram, so you might need to run it a lower clock speed. You could also get a 4x16 GB ram kit instead and replace current ram. They're tested together and should work out of the box

- Get case with better airflow, this requires rebuilding the PC, so I really wouldn't recommend it

- Get better GPU, GPU market is pretty messed up so this would be hard to do

- New monitor! Look at some of those ultra-wides. Only problem is those require quite a bit of GPU horsepower

bambrew · December 4, 2021

32 minutes ago, Jonathan Lee said:

Oh gosh, that's a lot of money to upgrade with. You're current system is already pretty high end, so there isn't much that would be a "wow" upgrade.

Couple of opinions to look into:

- large 4 TB SSD for games drive (something like the mx500 or 870 qvo would be good choices)

- 5950x, you don't really need it, but you have the money

- get a 2x16GB ram kit, this might be a problem cause going quad channel ram with a 4400mhz kit rarely works. It's pretty hard to get stability with higher clock speed ram, so you might need to run it a lower clock speed. You could also get a 4x16 GB ram kit instead and replace current ram. They're tested together and should work out of the box

- Get case with better airflow, this requires rebuilding the PC, so I really wouldn't recommend it

- Get better GPU, GPU market is pretty messed up so this would be hard to do

- New monitor! Look at some of those ultra-wides. Only problem is those require quite a bit of GPU horsepower

Thanks for the suggestions! I already have a great 240 Hz monitor so I will probably not look to upgrade that. I definitely am thinking a better SSD would be a good option as well as just replacing my current ram. I will probably just take it to be built at a pc store I have nearby I trust as I have had problems with my builds in the past so I will probably look for a new case. The GPU market is definitely messed up and as I am primarily playing CPU heavy games I'll probably just keep my 3070.

GeorgeMKane · December 4, 2021

You already have the 16GB of RAM. I would recommend just getting the exact same kit, and filling the 4 slots on the motherboard.

If you're trying to get different, RGB RAM, then go for Crucial or G.Skill RGB RAM. Just get a kit of 32GB (2x16GB) RAM, and keep the Patriot Viper RAM as a spare. I can honestly say I'm not a fan of the motherboard brand that you currently have, so you can swap the motherboard for a better MSI or ASUS motherboard too.

Storage, as well, would be something to look into. You can get 2TB (or 2x1TB for better partitioning) of SSD storage for a good price in most places.

You said you have to use the $2272 for pc parts? Can that be include new peripherals, new gaming chair, desk? If it can, look into maybe new monitor, keyboard, and mouse setup. I would also look into a new gaming chair. Killabee is pretty awesome. https://www.killabee-gaming.com

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jG9JF8

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 3.7 GHz 12-Core Processor ($483.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler ($109.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 870 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair iCUE 5000X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB ELITE 47.7 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack ($70.12 @ Amazon)
Total: $1504.02