First proper upgrade to PC in 3 years. Kijivu Vol.2

[ivanrcks95]

I built this PC originally at the end of 2019, it was a very budget rig back then rocking a 1660 Super and a R5 2600. I eventually upgraded to a 2070 and a R5 5600X, whilst keeping everything else from the budget build the same, this was around the end of 2020. However, since then, this PC has remained untouched, and with the recent drop in PC prices overall, I decided it was time for a nearly full upgrade. This was the game plan;

 

Motherboard - Changed from the Asrock B450m Pro4-f to a MSI B550 Tomahawk - cost of change - $150usd minus $50usd selling old board - $100usd all up.

Case - Changed from a Cooler Master Q300L to a Lian Li Lancool II Mesh C - cost of change - $100usd minus $20usd selling old case - $80usd all up.

RAM - Changed from XPG 16gb 3000mhz to G.Skill 32gb 3200mhz - cost of change - $70usd minus $20usd selling old RAM kit - $50usd all up.

PSU - Changed from a Corsair TX550M to a Corsair RM850X - cost of change - $55usd minus $30usd selling old PUS - $25usd all up.

GPU - Changed from a Gigabyte RTX 2070 Gaming OC to a XFX Merc RX6900 XT Limited Black - $450usd minus $200 usd selling old GPU - $250usd all up.

I had a AIO on the 2070, that I put on the CPU, so sold the deepcool air cooler i had, and the Kraken G12 bracket for - $30usd total.

 

Total cost of swap - $475usd

 

Everything but the PSU and GPU were bought new, new 6900 XTs arent really sold here, and for $450 for one of, if not the highest specced 6900 XTs there are, I couldnt say no. The 5600X is still a really good chip, and I dont think it will limit me at all for at least another 2 years. Im still waiting on a new set of custom PCIE cables to get there to complete the look, but as of right now, I couldnt be happier with the massive step up in performance. 

[ivanrcks95]

The new custom cables for the GPU came today, really completes the look!

[thrasher_565]

i think you can add fans to the bottom.

[ivanrcks95]

11 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

i think you can add fans to the bottom.

Yeah maybe, right now I have 0 issues with temperatures, so would probably leave it as is. 

[ivanrcks95]

Today was the day, finally made the plunge to commit to a 5800X3D. it was always in the plans for this PCs "ultimate" version, just didnt expect to be switching to it this year, but an epic black friday deal was too hard to refuse. 

 

I do a lot of PS3 emulation on top of my normal gaming, so this change has been extremely rewarding in both aspects, pretty much a 25-30% uplift in both scenarios over my 5600X, do not regret it one bit. GT6 emulation has pretty much gained 10-15fps on average, which keeps it in the high 30s now at its lowest point, whilst staying locked at 60 most of the time. 5600X couldnt stop the game from dropping into the 20s, and on average it would stick in the 40s, never locked at 60.

 

It responded very well to a PBO curve optimized undervolt, managed to do -25 all core (i never tried -30, as -25 got me what I wanted, so who knows might even be stable at -30, will try at some point), which has stabilized clocks at 4450mhz, dropped the temps by 7-8c, and improved scores and performance all round.

 

Cinebench R23 went from 14,406 on stock settings to 15,150 with the -25

TimeSpy CPU score improved from 11,433 to 11,662, not as big of a jump, but the jump did still happen while having much lower temps. 

First untouched results the chip would hit 84c, now it maxes at 76/77c, doesnt even hit 70c when gaming.

 

Overall extremely happy with my purchase, and im hoping this rig will serve me well for at least 2-3 years, before needing to swap to AM5 or whatever other platform will be available by them.

 

[ivanrcks95]

Cleaning day, so thought id grab the most up to date pic. Yes custom GPU cables had to go (they were causing power delivery issues) 

[Orin]

Nice looking build o7, was the GPU anti-sag bracket included with the GPU since it has the XFX branding on it?

[ivanrcks95]

9 hours ago, Orin said:

Nice looking build o7, was the GPU anti-sag bracket included with the GPU since it has the XFX branding on it?

Thanks! And yeah, its came with the card. As far as I know, only the 6900XT Limited Black had it, no other XFX 6000 card. 

[DoctorNick]

Awesome value upgrade! Looks great as well!

[ivanrcks95]

18 hours ago, DoctorNick said:

Awesome value upgrade! Looks great as well!

Thanks! I forgot to actually include what the 5800X3D swap cost, but the CPU was $300 new, and I sold the 5600X for right around $100, so another $200 on top of the $475, so the final total spent is $675usd for the full upgrade path. 

Obviously its not fair to say I spent $675 to build a 5800X3D, 6900XT specced PC, as I still had to buy the original parts I sold off, but when you wait 3+ years between upgrades, youve pretty much paid off those original parts anyway, and upgrading is always cheaper than starting from new.