[SOLVED] Advice on upgrading my son's pc

[jamiebrannen40]

My son only uses it for school (irrelevant because it's browser based) and GAMING.

His rig right now:

MB : ASUS TUF SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+
CPU: AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0 GHz
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
GPU: GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5
PSU: Rosewill LEPTON 600 Semi-Modular 600W Power Supply (80 PLUS GOLD)
SSD: Corsair Force Series GS 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive
HD : 480 gb Seagate
O/S: Windows 7 64 bit

A VERY small mid-tower (had to take off the side because of the heat), so I am definitely buying a new case!

I'm going to use his GPU, PSU and perhaps his SATA III ssd for windows?

I've been looking and this is what I have so far:
(Please tell me if I should change out ANYTHING at all for better bang for my buck!):

Case: Rosewill - THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer Case
MB : MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX II AM4 AMD
CPU: AMD RYZEN 5 3600X 6-Core 3.8 GHz
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600)
GPU: Planned to use the same one for now until prices go back to normal
PSU: Planned to use this one if possible
SSD: Planned to use this for windows 10 if possible (if not I'll get a new one)
HD : Should I just get a new one here because this one is really really old and only 480ish gb.
O/S: Windows 10 Home 64 bit

I prefer ASUS (just a HUGE fan) if possible, but not sure if a ASUS mobo is on par with this one for the price, however I did notice this one: ASUS TUF GAMING B450-PLUS II AM4 AMD but not sure if it's worth it or not.

Also, I wouldn't mind spending $800-$1000 but if what I listed here is fine then I'm ok with this too.

I'd appreciate any advice, suggestions or help because I don't want to spend this money if it's just not worth it or if I could do better.

Thanks everyone

 

[jamiebrannen40]

P.S. I don't care if it's AMD or Intel, whichever would be best for gaming for this price

 

[kubacs]

I would get a new HD if I was you, when GPU prices go back to normal, a 1660 would do the job, pretty good card and not very expensive when prices go back to normal, or maybe a 2060, I think it would fit well for the build, if the power supply is old, I would replace that too, same for the SSD, but what I was thinking, it would probably be worth it to just buy a 1tb samsung NVMe drive, since the b450 has an m.2 slot, I think it would be worth it, or maybe a 500gb. Other than that I think your build is fine and is pretty good.

 

[larsv8]

System looks to be what, 10 years old? I think the 7950 is falling out of support soon, so you may have problems there. I would be hesitant to use a 10 year old power supply with new parts. When PSUs go bad, they can take a system with them. You will need one anyway probably for a new GPU.

Your Mobo, CPU and Ram are all good bang for the buck parts. I never much cared for the 3600x, I though the 3600 was better value, but not much difference there. Do you love that THOR case? I always recommend the P400A for budget builds. Includes fans, great airflow, good price. In budget builds, every dollar saved is more money for a better CPU, GPU or monitor which, IMHO, are really what makes a system.

You could skip up a generation, and go 5600x and B550, that would be a good bump up over those parts and would last a little bit longer.

 

[jamiebrannen40]

I would get a new HD if I was you, when GPU prices go back to normal, a 1660 would do the job, pretty good card and not very expensive when prices go back to normal, or maybe a 2060, I think it would fit well for the build, if the power supply is old, I would replace that too, same for the SSD, but what I was thinking, it would probably be worth it to just buy a 1tb samsung NVMe drive, since the b450 has an m.2 slot, I think it would be worth it, or maybe a 500gb. Other than that I think your build is fine and is pretty good.

Sweet, thank you for the reply!

Yeah, you're right I am looking at the m.2 ssd's now and I can get a 1tb pretty cheap that reads 3500mb/s. So, I think it'll be best just to get that and it'll be faster and bigger than both of the other two combined. I just bought the power supply a few months ago because his old one died.

Also, do you think AMD or Intel?

 

[jamiebrannen40]

System looks to be what, 10 years old? I think the 7950 is falling out of support soon, so you may have problems there. I would be hesitant to use a 10 year old power supply with new parts. When PSUs go bad, they can take a system with them. You will need one anyway probably for a new GPU.

Your Mobo, CPU and Ram are all good bang for the buck parts. I never much cared for the 3600x, I though the 3600 was better value, but not much difference there. Do you love that THOR case? I always recommend the P400A for budget builds. Includes fans, great airflow, good price. In budget builds, every dollar saved is more money for a better CPU, GPU or monitor which, IMHO, are really what makes a system.

You could skip up a generation, and go 5600x and B550, that would be a good bump up over those parts and would last a little bit longer.

Ok, thank you for the reply:

I just bought this PSU (Sorry I should have stated that) a few months ago because his old one failed, so the PSU isn't as old as the PC itself (yes, I think it was bought around 2009-20011 if I remember right).

May I ask what would you suggest (Sorry this is how I should have stated the entire thread) for around $800-$1000 if I could use anything left in his machine or not?

Doesn't matter if it's AMD / Intel.

The only reason I suggested using the old video card was because it's RIDICULOUS pricing right now for them. I don't mind waiting until they go back to normal to upgrade that.

 

[kubacs]

Sweet, thank you for the reply!

Yeah, you're right I am looking at the m.2 ssd's now and I can get a 1tb pretty cheap that reads 3500mb/s. So, I think it'll be best just to get that and it'll be faster and bigger than both of the other two combined. I just bought the power supply a few months ago because his old one died.

Also, do you think AMD or Intel?

You could skip up a generation, and go 5600x and B550, that would be a good bump up over those parts and would last a little bit longer.

I agree, you should skip a generator, and go with a 5th gen amd CPU, and a B550, they would last longer, but its up to you, if you dont want to spend as much, go with the B450.
I think amd and intel are basically the same, alot of people say amd is better for gaming, but its pretty similar, the system appears to be pretty old so the m.2 would be handy for your windows drive, other than that, your build is great.

 

[kubacs]

Ok, thank you for the reply:

I just bought this PSU (Sorry I should have stated that) a few months ago because his old one failed, so the PSU isn't as old as the PC itself (yes, I think it was bought around 2009-20011 if I remember right).

May I ask what would you suggest (Sorry this is how I should have stated the entire thread) for around $800-$1000 if I could use anything left in his machine or not?

Doesn't matter if it's AMD / Intel.

The only reason I suggested using the old video card was because it's RIDICULOUS pricing right now for them. I don't mind waiting until they go back to normal to upgrade that.

You should also wait, please do not buy a GPU at these times are the prices are horrific. Its a waste of money right now.

 

[jamiebrannen40]

I agree, you should skip a generator, and go with a 5th gen amd CPU, and a B550, they would last longer, but its up to you, if you dont want to spend as much, go with the B450.
I think amd and intel are basically the same, alot of people say amd is better for gaming, but its pretty similar, the system appears to be pretty old so the m.2 would be handy for your windows drive, other than that, your build is great.

Ok, I'll look at the next gen mobo / CPU.

Right now it's only around $724 on newegg, I don't mind spending $800-$1000 if it'll be better / worth it.

Thank you very much for the advice / help, much appreciated!

 

[kubacs]

Ok, I'll look at the next gen mobo / CPU.

Right now it's only around $724 on newegg, I don't mind spending $800-$1000 if it'll be better / worth it.

Thank you very much for the advice / help, much appreciated!

If you really want to you can get 32gb of ddr4, but its not needed unless your doing some movie editing on premiere pro while running photoshop, You can also spend some money on peripherals such as keyboards, mice, maybe monitors, or maybe a new case, I think your build is fine as it is, you wont be getting much more performance if you upgrade to that price range, unless your planning on getting a ryzen 9, your build is fine.

 

[jamiebrannen40]

If you really want to you can get 32gb of ddr4, but its not needed unless your doing some movie editing on premiere pro while running photoshop, You can also spend some money on peripherals such as keyboards, mice, maybe monitors, or maybe a new case, I think your build is fine as it is, you wont be getting much more performance if you upgrade to that price range, unless your planning on getting a ryzen 9, your build is fine.

Nice to know and thank you very much!

Yeah, I should probably get him a new monitor as well, his brother gave him this one and it's probably older than the PC itself to be honest.

Thanks again!

 

[kubacs]

Nice to know and thank you very much!

Yeah, I should probably get him a new monitor as well, his brother gave him this one and it's probably older than the PC itself to be honest.

Thanks again!

No problem man, for cheap money, I would recommend this monitor or this one, 144hz, perfect for when you get your new gpu will be able to run games smoothly, for keyboards anything that is not 60%, unless you have a small mousepad/desk, to save space, for mice I would recommend somethng light, 60-80g at most if your gaming.

 

[jamiebrannen40]

No problem man, for cheap money, I would recommend this monitor or this one, 144hz, perfect for when you get your new gpu will be able to run games smoothly, for keyboards anything that is not 60%, unless you have a small mousepad/desk, to save space, for mice I would recommend somethng light, 60-80g at most if your gaming.

Sweet, thank you very much for the advice / help, much appreciated! I like the 144hz, it'll be perfect

 

[kubacs]

Sweet, thank you very much for the advice / help, much appreciated! I like the 144hz, it'll be perfect

It will be perfect, no problem.