[SOLVED] Advice on which components to upgrade

[HungryHiker]

Hi all,

So there's still a little time left to grab some sale items before the end of the year so I was hoping ya'll could help steer me towards worthwhile upgrades.

My gaming computer is a prebuilt so I'm sure it could do with some sprucing up of the secondary components.

I have:
Gigabyte rtx 3070 8gb
Ryzen 7 3700x 3.60ghz
16 GB DDR4 3000 MHz
650W 80 Plus Bronze
AMD B450M MOBO
1TB SATA SSD
Rosewill Prism S500 ATX Mid Tower (with 4 stock rosewill rgb fans)

As someone who doesn't build computers (but wants to start) I'm curious to know what might you guys choose for upgrades? I'm happy with the GPU and I might upgrade the CPU in a couple years so its mostly the other stuff I'm looking at right now. I'm not too concerned about price, just want solid components that will last.

Also I'm ashamed to say but I'm kinda digging the RGB that came with this case, though I can't customize the rgb on the 4 fans and lightstrips through ASUS Aura Sync like the website says I should be able to (the program says I have no compatible devices).

Anyways, any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers!

 

[Prad_Bitt]

I

Hi all,

So there's still a little time left to grab some sale items before the end of the year so I was hoping ya'll could help steer me towards worthwhile upgrades.

My gaming computer is a prebuilt so I'm sure it could do with some sprucing up of the secondary components.

I have:
Gigabyte rtx 3070 8gb
Ryzen 7 3700x 3.60ghz
16 GB DDR4 3000 MHz
650W 80 Plus Bronze
AMD B450M MOBO
1TB SATA SSD
Rosewill Prism S500 ATX Mid Tower (with 4 stock rosewill rgb fans)

As someone who doesn't build computers (but wants to start) I'm curious to know what might you guys choose for upgrades? I'm happy with the GPU and I might upgrade the CPU in a couple years so its mostly the other stuff I'm looking at right now. I'm not too concerned about price, just want solid components that will last.

Also I'm ashamed to say but I'm kinda digging the RGB that came with this case, though I can't customize the rgb on the 4 fans and lightstrips through ASUS Aura Sync like the website says I should be able to (the program says I have no compatible devices).

Anyways, any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers!

Don't know about Asus aura stuff, but prebuilts most commonly cheap out on the PSU, mobo and case. If you like the case that's one less thing to consider. I wouldn't really recommend splashing cash on a mobo, at least not until you upgrade your CPU. If it's an Asus board it'll most likely support Ryzen 5000. The psu, check the model. Sometimes they put in super trashy psus that just meet the wattage requirements barely and might be trash quality inside like a VS650. It's technically not trash but it's trash for a 3070

 

[HungryHiker]

I
Don't know about Asus aura stuff, but prebuilts most commonly cheap out on the PSU, mobo and case. If you like the case that's one less thing to consider. I wouldn't really recommend splashing cash on a mobo, at least not until you upgrade your CPU. If it's an Asus board it'll most likely support Ryzen 5000. The psu, check the model. Sometimes they put in super trashy psus that just meet the wattage requirements barely and might be trash quality inside like a VS650. It's technically not trash but it's trash for a 3070

Yeah I'm not sure what brand the PSU is but I can check when I get home from work. Though from what I've seen it sounds like I would want to upgrade it simply for the Bronze rating it has. What would be a good alternative? And are there any other things you might change about this build? (even for schittzengiggles?)

 

[Prad_Bitt]

Yeah I'm not sure what brand the PSU is but I can check when I get home from work. Though from what I've seen it sounds like I would want to upgrade it simply for the Bronze rating it has. What would be a good alternative? And are there any other things you might change about this build? (even for schittzengiggles?)

Its not the "bronze" rating that bothers me its mostly that the quality of that unit is unknown. I'd get a Corsair RM650x or 750x. Or equivalent

[EOL] PSU Tier List rev. 14.8

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (END OF LIFE) Last Update: 27-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue ...

linustechtips.com

If money is no object, you can upgrade that mobo for extra M.2 slots or some OC potential.

RAM can be upgraded to 3600mhz CL16.

Specifically the Trident Z Neo kit, F4-3600C16D-16GTZN

If yiu want a performance boost, the RAM upgrade will work best

 

[HungryHiker]

Its not the "bronze" rating that bothers me its mostly that the quality of that unit is unknown. I'd get a Corsair RM650x or 750x. Or equivalent

[EOL] PSU Tier List rev. 14.8

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (END OF LIFE) Last Update: 27-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue ...

linustechtips.com

If money is no object, you can upgrade that mobo for extra M.2 slots or some OC potential.

RAM can be upgraded to 3600mhz CL16.

Specifically the Trident Z Neo kit, F4-3600C16D-16GTZN

If yiu want a performance boost, the RAM upgrade will work best

I will definitely check out your RAM and PSU recommendations. What would you suggest for a MOBO upgrade?

Also, if I got that RAM kit could I plug those in with my existing sticks since there's 4 slots or would I need to replace them because they're different specs?

Sorry for any dumb questions, I'm very new to all this but am trying to learn.

Also on the topic of dumb questions. Are AIO coolers overkill or are they pretty useful, I've found different things from different people. If nothing else I think they look way more slick than a fat CPU air-cooler.

 

[Prad_Bitt]

M

I will definitely check out your RAM and PSU recommendations. What would you suggest for a MOBO upgrade?

Also, if I got that RAM kit could I plug those in with my existing sticks since there's 4 slots or would I need to replace them because they're different specs?

Sorry for any dumb questions, I'm very new to all this but am trying to learn.

Also on the topic of dumb questions. Are AIO coolers overkill or are they pretty useful, I've found different things from different people. If nothing else I think they look way more slick than a fat CPU air-cooler.

Mind you changing those components will probably void any warranty given by the pre-built manufacturer

Technically they'll work but they'll work at the highest speed of the slowest stick (3000)and the highest latency (CL) of the slowest stick again (higher CL = slower).

So it is definitely better to replace them instead of using them together because that just defeats the purpose.

AIOs can be beneficial, certain times they provide better cooling than air coolers especially on OC. you can check reviews of different models. I like Corsair, Lian Li and NZXT AIOs a lot. Also, 120 and 140mm AIOs are useless. Buy 240 or above or don't

I wouldn't suggest upgrading your mobo unless you literally have too much cash on your hands lol.

But anyway, under $200, Strix B550-F is a good option. The Aorus Pro boards are good too. For costlier I'd suggest go for X570 since you get like 36 pcie 4.0 lanes. 16 for gpu and multiple SSDs if you want. Strix and Aorus X570 boards are good too. Again, you can look up reviews, but I usually prefer Strix F, E and Aorus Pro, Master boards.

 

[SkyNetRising]

My gaming computer is a prebuilt so I'm sure it could do with some sprucing up of the secondary components.
Gigabyte rtx 3070 8gb
Ryzen 7 3700x 3.60ghz
16 GB DDR4 3000 MHz
650W 80 Plus Bronze
AMD B450M MOBO
1TB SATA SSD
Rosewill Prism S500 ATX Mid Tower (with 4 stock rosewill rgb fans)

That's a pretty decent high-end-ish system. There is not much, that could improve performance by any significant means (since no GPU upgrade is desired).

May be get a better/bigger monitor for it. This of course depends on your current monitor.
Something like - 32"/34" IPS, high refresh, 1440p or 4k. Or may be even 40" OLED.

 

[HungryHiker]

M
Mind you changing those components will probably void any warranty given by the pre-built manufacturer

Technically they'll work but they'll work at the highest speed of the slowest stick (3000)and the highest latency (CL) of the slowest stick again (higher CL = slower).

So it is definitely better to replace them instead of using them together because that just defeats the purpose.

AIOs can be beneficial, certain times they provide better cooling than air coolers especially on OC. you can check reviews of different models. I like Corsair, Lian Li and NZXT AIOs a lot. Also, 120 and 140mm AIOs are useless. Buy 240 or above or don't

I wouldn't suggest upgrading your mobo unless you literally have too much cash on your hands lol.

But anyway, under $200, Strix B550-F is a good option. The Aorus Pro boards are good too. For costlier I'd suggest go for X570 since you get like 36 pcie 4.0 lanes. 16 for gpu and multiple SSDs if you want. Strix and Aorus X570 boards are good too. Again, you can look up reviews, but I usually prefer Strix F, E and Aorus Pro, Master boards.

That makes a lot of sense about the RAM speed, much better to just replace. Another dumb question: I see that my CPU has a speed of 3.6ghz and my current RAM speed is 3000mhz (which is 3.0ghz if I'm not mistaken), are these two speeds directly correlated to each other? Like is my current RAM speed bottlenecking my CPU performance? Again, I know practically nothing about this stuff so don't be afraid to dumb it down.

I didn't know that about the AIOs, why is sub 240 useless? My case supports dual 240's so that sounds like the perfect upgrade for me.

Sounds like I'll hold off on the MOBO haha.

 

[Prad_Bitt]

That makes a lot of sense about the RAM speed, much better to just replace. Another dumb question: I see that my CPU has a speed of 3.6ghz and my current RAM speed is 3000mhz (which is 3.0ghz if I'm not mistaken), are these two speeds directly correlated to each other? Like is my current RAM speed bottlenecking my CPU performance? Again, I know practically nothing about this stuff so don't be afraid to dumb it down.

I didn't know that about the AIOs, why is sub 240 useless? My case supports dual 240's so that sounds like the perfect upgrade for me.

Sounds like I'll hold off on the MOBO haha.

It isn't "bottlenecking" it's just that Ryzen likes fast ram and can squeeze more performance out of fast ram. 3600 CL16 is just the sweet spot for fast ram.

No correlation between cpu and ram clock rates, that's just a coincidence

AIO is nothing but a heat transfer device sooo bigger surface = more dissipation.

Small AIOs are useless cause they're expensive and are outperformed by air coolers

 

[HungryHiker]

That's a pretty decent high-end-ish system. There is not much, that could improve performance by any significant means (since no GPU upgrade is desired).

May be get a better/bigger monitor for it. This of course depends on your current monitor.
Something like - 32"/34" IPS, high refresh, 1440p or 4k. Or may be even 40" OLED.

Oh yes, I ordered an MSI WQHD 2560 x 1440 165 hz monitor as soon as I ordered the PC, not gonna drop that much without it having a monitor to keep up.

So if not improving performance, is there any logical upgrades to improve longevity and stability in the system? Do you think the PSU is something I should upgrade or is it all honestly fine to leave?

I guess I'm just bored and have a little money but now its starting to feel like I would just be wasting it for nothing.

 

[HungryHiker]

It isn't "bottlenecking" it's just that Ryzen likes fast ram and can squeeze more performance out of fast ram. 3600 CL16 is just the sweet spot for fast ram.

No correlation between cpu and ram clock rates, that's just a coincidence

AIO is nothing but a heat transfer device sooo bigger surface = more dissipation.

Small AIOs are useless cause they're expensive and are outperformed by air coolers

Gotcha, that makes sense. An AIO may be in my future at some point but it kinda sounds like the RAM and maybe PSU would be the only worthwhile upgrades in the meantime?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Oh yes, I ordered an MSI WQHD 2560 x 1440 165 hz monitor as soon as I ordered the PC

VA screen? 27" or 32"? VA screens tend to have rather nasty ghosting.
I would not have chosen that.

 

[Prad_Bitt]

Gotcha, that makes sense. An AIO may be in my future at some point but it kinda sounds like the RAM and maybe PSU would be the only worthwhile upgrades in the meantime?

Depending on the PSU model,

PSU
RAM
Mobo
CPU
SSD depends on your needs

This would be the order I pick

 

[HungryHiker]

VA screen? 27" or 32"? VA screens tend to have rather nasty ghosting.
I would not have chosen that.

It's the 32"

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824475080

I don't know what ghosting is but I haven't really had any problems with it since I've got it. Hoping I didn't waste money!

 

[HungryHiker]

Depending on the PSU model,

PSU
RAM
Mobo
CPU
SSD depends on your needs

This would be the order I pick

Cool, I will start looking into maybe upgrading a couple things. Thanks for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I don't know what ghosting is but I haven't really had any problems with it since I've got it. Hoping I didn't waste money!

You can test it with ufo monitor test (Ghosting test)
https://www.testufo.com/ghosting

Review | MSI MAG322CQR Curved Gaming Monitor | TechPorn

Back in 2019, we reviewed the MAG321CQR from MSI. A 32 inch, curved 1440P panel with 144Hz of refresh rate.

www.techporn.ph

 

[HungryHiker]

Depending on the PSU model,

PSU
RAM
Mobo
CPU
SSD depends on your needs

This would be the order I pick

If I do end up upgrading my mobo, do I have to do something with windows or is it just plug and play? I got a pre-build that came with windows (I believe) and all I did was use a hard drive transfer which copied all the info from my old 1TB HDD to the new 1TB SSD, then I just plugged it in and all the files and settings were the exact same as my old computer. I've never had to install windows but I have seen some forums saying that new mobo means new copy of windows. I've never done that so that is kinda intimidating me out of getting a new one.