Question Advice on whether to upgrade pc or not

[Maxjek95]

Hello,

Currently I am running my PC with:

• Motherboard: MSI Pro B660M-A WIFI DDR4
• RAM: 2x 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz
• CPU: i5-12400
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
• SSD's: WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 1TB & PNY XLR8 CS3030 M.2 NVMe Internal 500GB SSD

I was looking to upgrade my RAM and thinking about DDR5, so I would also have to upgrade my motherboard.
If upgrading the motherboard and RAM, I would also think it's best to upgrade my cpu, and I was thinking about upgrading it to a i5-13600kf.

Regarding the motherboard, would one of the two below be good or would you suggest another one? (Budget maximum €225,- for the motherboard).

• ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI
• MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI

A friend of mine is willing to buy my motherboard + RAM + CPU, after which the upgrade (depending on the motherboard) would cost me €250 / €240 in total.

For this price, would you suggest the upgrade or would you just stick with the current setup and just upgrade the RAM to DDR4 32 GB?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Hellfire13]

I would rather save the money or upgrade to an i7 on the same board along with RAM.

 

[Lafong]

Why......specifically.........do you think you "need" more than 16 gb of RAM?

Another alternative is to NOT change the motherboard....and just move to a 12700KF CPU. There isn't much difference between that and a 13600KF.

The difference between DDR 4 and 5 is quite small.

But maybe there are other factors at play.....upgrade itch, feeling you are missing out.

 

[Maxjek95]

Thanks for your quick reply guys.

So upgrading to an i7 is worth the upgrade more than the components I was thinking about to upgrade?

 

[Lafong]

Thanks for your quick reply guys.

So upgrading to an i7 is worth the upgrade more than the components I was thinking about to upgrade?

"Worth" is always a personal decision.

If you go with the i7-12700kf, you may still regret it....ordinary buyer's remorse..........even though you couldn't tell the difference between a 12700kf and an i5-13600kf. You are the only one on earth who knows how you would feel about that.

You can always tell yourself, "yeah, but I have a friend of mine who will buy my existing system, so I'm gonna get a new board, new DDR 5, and a 13600KF". That might be a justification you can keep telling yourself to avoid buyer's remorse. Just think of how absolutely fantastic you would feel with all that new very cool hardware. Why resist?

 

[Hellfire13]

Thanks for your quick reply guys.

So upgrading to an i7 is worth the upgrade more than the components I was thinking about to upgrade?

More cores can help in more CPU intense tasks or games along with multitasking. Going from 6 P cores of 12th gen. to 6 Pcores of 13th gen. with a slight clock bump aint much of an upgrade, in my opinion.

 

[geofelt]

Do you really need more ram??
While running your work/game, start task manager/resource monitor/memory tab and look at the hard page fault rate column.
If you see mostly zero hard faults per second, then more ram will not do you much good.
No game by itself will need more than 16gb of ram.

As to performance, you would be hard pressed to detect any difference in performance between DDR4 and DDR5.
Or, from slow vs fast ram.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I’d say it’s worth upgrading to 32gb ddr4

For example in hogwharts legacy, check out the video. In many areas you see the 1% lows are a little higher which can contribute to smoothness. Don’t look as much at average fps watch the other numbers.

View: https://youtu.be/oghqGvt8sJY


Check out this video from tech deals on YouTube. He explains a bit better. But basically it should help for more smoothness and stability. I think 32gb off ddr4 is around 50-60 bucks. Pull your existing 16 gb and use a new kit. As cheap as ddr4 is these days why not?

View: https://youtu.be/x_QPQowp2UE

 

[geofelt]

Some more thoughts:
If friend will pay a decent price for your parts, then do consider the upgrade.

When upgrading ram, it is safest to replace with a 32gb kit instead of trying to add 16gb.
Ram must be matched in a single kit to operate to specs.


If you buy a i5-13600K, you also need to budget for a good cooler since one does not come with the processor.


What is the make/model of your case?
I see you are using a MATX size MSI Pro B660M-A WIFI DDR4 .
Actually that is all you need,
If friend wants to buy the cpu/ram/mobo for a good price,
sell them but buy another B660/B760 motherboard.

If you are using a MATX case, it will not hold the MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI which is ATX size.
The value of a Z690/Z790 based motherboard is that you can overclock.
Most find it better to use the turbo boost instead of overclocking.

The ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI is a very small ITX motherboard.
It is what you would use in a very small case. It has no expansion slots past the graphics slot.
You pay a price premium for one and get fewer features.

Since budget is an issue, stick with DDR4.

 

[Maxjek95]

Some more thoughts:
If friend will pay a decent price for your parts, then do consider the upgrade.

When upgrading ram, it is safest to replace with a 32gb kit instead of trying to add 16gb.
Ram must be matched in a single kit to operate to specs.


If you buy a i5-13600K, you also need to budget for a good cooler since one does not come with the processor.


What is the make/model of your case?
I see you are using a MATX size MSI Pro B660M-A WIFI DDR4 .
Actually that is all you need,
If friend wants to buy the cpu/ram/mobo for a good price,
sell them but buy another B660/B760 motherboard.

If you are using a MATX case, it will not hold the MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI which is ATX size.
The value of a Z690/Z790 based motherboard is that you can overclock.
Most find it better to use the turbo boost instead of overclocking.

The ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI is a very small ITX motherboard.
It is what you would use in a very small case. It has no expansion slots past the graphics slot.
You pay a price premium for one and get fewer features.

Since budget is an issue, stick with DDR4.

I have a Sharkoon TG4 case. Below are the compatibility specs:
Motherboard: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX
Maximum height CPU-cooler: 16 cm

So, a MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI would be good (and will fit)?
If going for the i5-13600KF, what cooler would you suggest (for a decent price)?

Or would you just stick with the current board and maybe upgrade to an i5-13600kf and replace the 2x8 RAM by 2x16 RAM

 

[geofelt]

Stick with the current board and replace the ram with a 2 x 16gb DDR4 kit.
Speed is not all that important. You may find 3200 speed and 3600 speed priced similarly.

Please consider spending the $25 or so more for the non F version of the processor.
If you ever have a graphics card issue, it is cheap insurance to keep you going.
And integrated graphics includes Quick Sync:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...uick-sync-video/quick-sync-video-general.html

One of the best deals around for a cooler is the thermalright peerless asassin, here is a review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se

 

[Maxjek95]

Stick with the current board and replace the ram with a 2 x 16gb DDR4 kit.
Speed is not all that important. You may find 3200 speed and 3600 speed priced similarly.

Please consider spending the $25 or so more for the non F version of the processor.
If you ever have a graphics card issue, it is cheap insurance to keep you going.
And integrated graphics includes Quick Sync:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...uick-sync-video/quick-sync-video-general.html

One of the best deals around for a cooler is the thermalright peerless asassin, here is a review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se

Thanks man! Will take all of that in consideration

 

[Why_Me]

Hello,

Currently I am running my PC with:

• Motherboard: MSI Pro B660M-A WIFI DDR4
• RAM: 2x 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz
• CPU: i5-12400
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
• SSD's: WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 1TB & PNY XLR8 CS3030 M.2 NVMe Internal 500GB SSD

I was looking to upgrade my RAM and thinking about DDR5, so I would also have to upgrade my motherboard.
If upgrading the motherboard and RAM, I would also think it's best to upgrade my cpu, and I was thinking about upgrading it to a i5-13600kf.

Regarding the motherboard, would one of the two below be good or would you suggest another one? (Budget maximum €225,- for the motherboard).

• ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI
• MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI

A friend of mine is willing to buy my motherboard + RAM + CPU, after which the upgrade (depending on the motherboard) would cost me €250 / €240 in total.

For this price, would you suggest the upgrade or would you just stick with the current setup and just upgrade the RAM to DDR4 32 GB?

Thank you in advance.

What country are you located and what is your current cpu cooler?