[SOLVED] Can I get some advice with upgrading?

[KrazilyCrazy]

I've had the build I'm using now for nearly two years, and it's starting to show. I'm happy with the vast majority of the components, however I'm using an i3-4160 which just doesn't get me where I want to go, so I was looking for possible upgrades at the cheapest prices available (money is tight because I'm young and don't have a job). I've been looking at the Ryzen 3400g as the processor to move to, but I'm painfully aware this means I'll need a new motherboard, ram, and case. But again, I'm young and therefore I am probably missing something obvious that could save me money (hopefully). I'll put my build now:

Case - Air 240
RAM - 2x4GB Corsair XMS3
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5
GPU - GeForce GTX 970
CPU - i3-4160 @ 3.6 GHz
CPU Cooler - RAIJINTEK Triton Water Cooler
Storage - 1x1Tb HDD, 1x64Gb SSD

(I'd like to be able to upgrade my storage with more drives later down the line if that impacts any decisions, and I can supply more information if I've missed anything out)

So yeah, boosted by the announcement of Half Life: Alyx and by the fact every monitoring software was telling me my CPU was dragging me down I was looking at getting a build that was VR ready but also on a budget of <£200 using what I already had as a baseline (I bought mine from a friend of a friend who makes PCs). Again, I think the 3400g is the way I want to go, but I am at a loss for where to head in terms of getting a cheap compatible motherboard, ram etc. to go with it. Any advice at all (even just telling me I'm wrong to go for the 3400g) would be extremely helpful, Many thanks in advance.

 

[SkyNetRising]

See if you can get i7-4770 or i7-4790 on used market for less £.
It would provide similar performance improvement as upgrade to Ryzen 5 3400g.

 

[KrazilyCrazy]

See if you can get i7-4770 or i7-4790 on used market for less £.
It would provide similar performance improvement as upgrade to Ryzen 5 3400g.

Thank you for responding so quickly - If it provides a similar boost I’ll definitely have a look into those. Is the performance difference between the 4770 and 4790 significant or does my choice between the two not make much of a difference?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Performance difference between those two is negligible ~2% (max turbo 3.9Ghz vs 4.0Ghz)

 

[geofelt]

You have some very good upgrade options.
Your i3-4160 has 4 threads with a passmark rating of 5049. That is when all 4 threads are fully loaded.
The single thread rating is 2070.
The single thread rating is more important to cpu centric games like sims, strategy and mmo.
The number of threads is more important to multiplayer games.
A i7-4790K has 8 threads and a rating of 11165/2529.
You can use it on your current motherboard and you can also overclock for perhaps 20% more.

New gen options like intel 9th gen or ryzen 3000 will also require a upgrade to the motherboard as well as DDR4 ram.
The 3400g option would not be as effective with 8 threads and a rating of 9973/2082.

Your motherboard can use a m.2 pcie ssd.
Look for a samsung 970 evo or intel 660P
A 1tb drive is not all that expensive.

 

[KrazilyCrazy]

You have some very good upgrade options.
Your i3-4160 has 4 threads with a passmark rating of 5049. That is when all 4 threads are fully loaded.
The single thread rating is 2070.
The single thread rating is more important to cpu centric games like sims, strategy and mmo.
The number of threads is more important to multiplayer games.
A i7-4790K has 8 threads and a rating of 11165/2529.
You can use it on your current motherboard and you can also overclock for perhaps 20% more.

New gen options like intel 9th gen or ryzen 3000 will also require a upgrade to the motherboard as well as DDR4 ram.
The 3400g option would not be as effective with 8 threads and a rating of 9973/2082.

Your motherboard can use a m.2 pcie ssd.
Look for a samsung 970 evo or intel 660P
A 1tb drive is not all that expensive.

Thank you, this is very helpful. I'll definitely have a look at the storage options you've suggested. My only issue is I was looking at the Ryzen because it was cheaper than any Intel alternatives I could find. The i7-4790K I can find for £269 on Amazon as certified refurbished, whereas the Ryzen 3400g was £120 as new. This price difference seems fairly substantial for the two processors that are seemingly of equal performance, so is there an Intel alternative close to the 3400g performance and of equivalent price or do I just need to suck it up and save for a long while to avoid having to swap out my motherboard etc.?

 

[SkyNetRising]

The i7-4790K I can find for £269 on Amazon as certified refurbished, whereas the Ryzen 3400g was £120 as new.

You can get it cheaper.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=i7-4790K&_sacat=0

 

[geofelt]

Thank you, this is very helpful. I'll definitely have a look at the storage options you've suggested. My only issue is I was looking at the Ryzen because it was cheaper than any Intel alternatives I could find. The i7-4790K I can find for £269 on Amazon as certified refurbished, whereas the Ryzen 3400g was £120 as new. This price difference seems fairly substantial for the two processors that are seemingly of equal performance, so is there an Intel alternative close to the 3400g performance and of equivalent price or do I just need to suck it up and save for a long while to avoid having to swap out my motherboard etc.?

Not exactly equal, the 4790K is stronger.
If you go to ryzen 3000 series or intel 9th gen you will also need a new motherboard and ddr4 ram.

 

[KrazilyCrazy]

I don't know how many of you will see this, but I'd like to thank everyone for their advice and help. I'm now the proud owner of an i7-4790k and I managed to install it successfully, although there were multiple times I thought I broke something. Anyways, thanks!

 

[geofelt]

I presume that the change is doing the job for you.

 

[KrazilyCrazy]

I presume that the change is doing the job for you.

Very sorry for the late reply, school's started up again for me now and I've had to focus on work for a lil bit but in my free time I've been playing some games and the performance upgrade is definitely noticeable and it's absolutely done the job, thanks!