Should I upgrade to Ryzen for gaming?

[B14NK]

Hi all,

   I'm a pc building noob that wants to run VR, but am not sure if my computer can handle it. This is what I'm running: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04490020 . Additionally, I have recently picked up an open box GTX 1060 6GB from Microcenter because I knew my onboard graphics would be overloaded, link: http://www.microcenter.com/product/467526/GeForce_GTX_1060_STRIX_Overclocked_6GB_GDDR5_Video_Card_w-_FanConnect . Would my cpu be my bottleneck in this situation? And if so, should I upgrade to Ryzen or to Intel? I know I'll probably have to pick up a new motherboard because of a cpu upgrade like this. My budget is around $800. 

Thanks for taking your time to read!

[Jurrunio]

Ryzen because it is cheaper and allows more budget for other parts.

[Beckyisponymad]

The CPU is quite a few generations old, it currently at its end of life in its product cycle. With the single core performance of AMD CPUs yes, i would say it would bottle neck, if you wanted to upgrade to ryzen for VR you would need a new computer entirely as the sockets are not compatable. Id be happy to make some suggestions if youd like

[Sage_Masters]

the 1060 6GB might bottleneck in VR not to sure 

Thats what some say 

[staubgame]

CPU would most likely be a bottleneck but I'm not 100% sure there. 
As for price/performance you can't buy intel at the moment (and most likely in the future to come) since Ryzen pretty much always offers  a better all around deal. 

Man I love them for that.

 

The Ryzen 5 1600 and a B350 Motherboard and 16Gb of RAM (try higher mhz, ryzen likes that) are at aroung 500$ in US so you'll have 300 left for a decent case and PSU and SSD.

 

VR is pretty demanding due to the high FPS needed for playability. But a 1060 6Gb (like you have) should give a decent enough performance in most cases.

[Beckyisponymad]

Just now, Sage_Masters said:

the 1060 6GB might bottleneck in VR not to sure 

Thats what some say 

It is a VR certified card, its at the bottom of the stack for VR cards but should be completely fine especially as its the 6GB version

[Sage_Masters]

1 hour ago, Beckyisponymad said:

It is a VR certified card, its at the bottom of the stack for VR cards but should be completely fine especially as its the 6GB version

Yes true, thats why some say otherwise 

[kelvinhall05]

You don't need to upgrade, you already have a 7700k!

 

I'd get Ryzen 3 or 5 if you can afford it, they provide an excellent upgrade path and are one of the newest platforms that are worth buying. Alternatively you could wait for Coffee Lake.

[Imbellis]

56 minutes ago, B14NK said:

Hi all,

   I'm a pc building noob that wants to run VR, but am not sure if my computer can handle it. This is what I'm running: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04490020 . Additionally, I have recently picked up an open box GTX 1060 6GB from Microcenter because I knew my onboard graphics would be overloaded, link: http://www.microcenter.com/product/467526/GeForce_GTX_1060_STRIX_Overclocked_6GB_GDDR5_Video_Card_w-_FanConnect . Would my cpu be my bottleneck in this situation? And if so, should I upgrade to Ryzen or to Intel? I know I'll probably have to pick up a new motherboard because of a cpu upgrade like this. My budget is around $800. 

Thanks for taking your time to read!

To see if your computer is ready for VR, you can take the Steam VR Test.

You'll have to go through Steam to take it.

[Guest]

When it comes to the mainstream, get a ryzen 5 or ryzen 7 because since it is using the AM4 platform, you get a lot more upgradability and its a cheaper alternative than its intel counterparts. Ryzen does very well when it comes to gaming, especially combining it with high speed memory and a decent overclock can increase performance, significantly. The 1060 6GB you have is VR capable and the 6GB of frame buffer shouldnt cause any limitations when it comes to gaming.

[Ezio Auditore]

1 hour ago, B14NK said:

Hi all,

   I'm a pc building noob that wants to run VR, but am not sure if my computer can handle it. This is what I'm running: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04490020 . Additionally, I have recently picked up an open box GTX 1060 6GB from Microcenter because I knew my onboard graphics would be overloaded, link: http://www.microcenter.com/product/467526/GeForce_GTX_1060_STRIX_Overclocked_6GB_GDDR5_Video_Card_w-_FanConnect . Would my cpu be my bottleneck in this situation? And if so, should I upgrade to Ryzen or to Intel? I know I'll probably have to pick up a new motherboard because of a cpu upgrade like this. My budget is around $800. 

Thanks for taking your time to read!

You would be fine waiting till october I suppose. Gotta check out intel's quad core i3s

[B14NK]

20 minutes ago, Imbellis said:

To see if your computer is ready for VR, you can take the Steam VR Test.

You'll have to go through Steam to take it.

That doesn't test the CPU, I already know my graphics card can handle VR.

[B14NK]

1 hour ago, Beckyisponymad said:

The CPU is quite a few generations old, it currently at its end of life in its product cycle. With the single core performance of AMD CPUs yes, i would say it would bottle neck, if you wanted to upgrade to ryzen for VR you would need a new computer entirely as the sockets are not compatable. Id be happy to make some suggestions if youd like

Thanks, that'd be great! As long as it's at reasonable prices, I wouldn't mind any suggestions. ? Also by new computer, do you mean like new motherboard as well as the new processor? Or a whole new computer (i.e. new ram, new motherboard, new processor, new chassis, etc)?

[B14NK]

1 hour ago, staubgame said:

CPU would most likely be a bottleneck but I'm not 100% sure there. 
As for price/performance you can't buy intel at the moment (and most likely in the future to come) since Ryzen pretty much always offers  a better all around deal. 

Man I love them for that.

 

The Ryzen 5 1600 and a B350 Motherboard and 16Gb of RAM (try higher mhz, ryzen likes that) are at aroung 500$ in US so you'll have 300 left for a decent case and PSU and SSD.

 

VR is pretty demanding due to the high FPS needed for playability. But a 1060 6Gb (like you have) should give a decent enough performance in most cases.

I think I'll stick with my current HDD, PSU and case. As long as they're still compatible. And would I need more RAM? Is my 12 GB not enough for the time being? (At least I'm pretty sure it's 12gb lol) I still have to buy the VR headset and VR games so I'm trying to cut down the price as much as possible.

[staubgame]

Just now, B14NK said:

I think I'll stick with my current HDD, PSU and case. As long as they're still compatible. And would I need more RAM? Is my 12 GB not enough for the time being? (At least I'm pretty sure it's 12gb lol) I still have to buy the VR headset and VR games so I'm trying to cut down the price as much as possible.

Not sure but I assumed your RAM is DDR3. If it's DDR4 and compatible (again, Ryzen is a bit picky on RAM) then you're good to go. 

[B14NK]

1 hour ago, kelvinhall05 said:

You don't need to upgrade, you already have a 7700k!

 

I'd get Ryzen 3 or 5 if you can afford it, they provide an excellent upgrade path and are one of the newest platforms that are worth buying. Alternatively you could wait for Coffee Lake.

Coffee Lake? Never heard of that. 

[B14NK]

1 minute ago, staubgame said:

Not sure but I assumed your RAM is DDR3. If it's DDR4 and compatible (again, Ryzen is a bit picky on RAM) then you're good to go. 

Ah, I forgot about RAM compatibility. And yes, it's DDR3.

[staubgame]

1 minute ago, B14NK said:

Coffee Lake? Never heard of that. 

It's Intels new CPU Gen next month. i5-8xxx Stuff.

 

[i_build_nanosuits]

3 hours ago, B14NK said:

Hi all,

   I'm a pc building noob that wants to run VR, but am not sure if my computer can handle it. This is what I'm running: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04490020 . Additionally, I have recently picked up an open box GTX 1060 6GB from Microcenter because I knew my onboard graphics would be overloaded, link: http://www.microcenter.com/product/467526/GeForce_GTX_1060_STRIX_Overclocked_6GB_GDDR5_Video_Card_w-_FanConnect . Would my cpu be my bottleneck in this situation? And if so, should I upgrade to Ryzen or to Intel? I know I'll probably have to pick up a new motherboard because of a cpu upgrade like this. My budget is around $800. 

Thanks for taking your time to read!

that CPU (APU) is nowhere near fast enough to properly power a GTX 1060 in VR (and in just about anything gaming related in general) also GTX 1060 is...how to put it...not the best choice for VR...it can play most ''1st gen VR'' experiences...but will struggle greatly in simulations like racing games or other demanding more advanced stuff...all i'm saying is that VR can be VERY demanding depending on what you play...if you want to do Job simulator and other ''nintendo 64 level of graphics'' VR stuff...you'd be fine...but don't expect miracles as you go up the chain of better graphics titles...some stuff can bring even my overclocked GTX 1080 to it's knees...

[B14NK]

1 hour ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

that CPU (APU) is nowhere near fast enough to properly power a GTX 1060 in VR (and in just about anything gaming related in general) also GTX 1060 is...how to put it...not the best choice for VR...it can play most ''1st gen VR'' experiences...but will struggle greatly in simulations like racing games or other demanding more advanced stuff...all i'm saying is that VR can be VERY demanding depending on what you play...if you want to do Job simulator and other ''nintendo 64 level of graphics'' VR stuff...you'd be fine...but don't expect miracles as you go up the chain of better graphics titles...some stuff can bring even my overclocked GTX 1080 to it's knees...

Yeah, I only planned on playing games like Job Simulator and the Rick and Morty VR game for now. And lately I haven't been playing too much on my pc so I'd probably be satisfied with the older VR games, Overwatch, and CSGO for now. So with that in mind, I was thinking that I'd get like 3, 4 years out of the card until I'd upgrade to a next gen card.

[kelvinhall05]

4 hours ago, B14NK said:

Coffee Lake? Never heard of that. 

It's Intel's new consumer platform. 

[Sage_Masters]

5 hours ago, staubgame said:

It's Intels new CPU Gen next month. i5-8xxx Stuff.

 

Wait you know when it will release? 

[staubgame]

43 minutes ago, Sage_Masters said:

Wait you know when it will release? 

Sadly, nothing to certain. But I heard it was sometime October?

 

https://www.pcgamesn.com/intel/intel-14nm-coffee-lake-release-date

Quote: 

• Release date
  Intel's next desktop gaming CPUs are set to launch in October 2017, and we're getting rather excited about them.

 

[scighera2]

7 hours ago, B14NK said:

Hi all,

   I'm a pc building noob that wants to run VR, but am not sure if my computer can handle it. This is what I'm running: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04490020 . Additionally, I have recently picked up an open box GTX 1060 6GB from Microcenter because I knew my onboard graphics would be overloaded, link: http://www.microcenter.com/product/467526/GeForce_GTX_1060_STRIX_Overclocked_6GB_GDDR5_Video_Card_w-_FanConnect . Would my cpu be my bottleneck in this situation? And if so, should I upgrade to Ryzen or to Intel? I know I'll probably have to pick up a new motherboard because of a cpu upgrade like this. My budget is around $800. 

Thanks for taking your time to read!

If you're only gaming, then no. An intel chip of the same price will perform better in more games. Although the difference isn't that much mist of the time.
 

 

[TahoeDust]

I wouldn't buy Ryzen for anything right now...not until we get a better look at the 8700k/8600k.