[SOLVED] CPU for a mostly productivity budget build?

justinbower

Prominent
Jan 23, 2019
67
3
535
I need to update a very old computer. Last year I did a Ryzen 2200 budget build for productivity that worked pretty well. I want to do something similar, but maybe add a cheap video card and update what would be the current good value components. This PC is used primarily for productivty, photo editing (Lightroom only) and very light gaming. For reference, it's an old AMD Athlon X4 630 based system with 8GB RAM, and it does most of what I need it to do, so pretty much anythying is going to be a step up. I don't feel the need to future-proof, but am not in a real budget constraint either. I don't need case, storage, optical drives, just processor/mobo/RAM/card suggestions/ Any help appreciated!
 
Last edited:
Solution
Bang for buck, Ryzen is the way to go. It really all depends on how much you really want to spend, and what titles you are playing. I would recommend a new PSU. This would be aimed more towards productivity, but still capable of gaming.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($298.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Best Buy)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card ($238.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @...

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Bang for buck, Ryzen is the way to go. It really all depends on how much you really want to spend, and what titles you are playing. I would recommend a new PSU. This would be aimed more towards productivity, but still capable of gaming.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($298.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Best Buy)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card ($238.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ B&H)
Total: $832.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-01 12:09 EDT-0400
 
Solution
I need to update a very old computer. Last year I did a Ryzen 2200 budget build for productivity that worked pretty well. I want to do something similar, but maybe add a cheap video card and update what would be the current good value components. This PC is used primarily for productivty, very light gaming. For reference, it's an old AMD Athlon X4 630 based system with 8GB RAM, and it does most of what I need it to do, so pretty much anythying is going to be a step up. I don't feel the need to future-proof, but am not in a real budget constraint either. I don't need case, storage, optical drives, just processor/mobo/RAM/card suggestions/ Any help appreciated!
Ryzen 3600 or 2600. They're the best value. For gaming, what resolution and what refreshrate Hz?

What's your budget?
 
Last edited:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($125.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN TUF Gaming Allian 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 580 8 GB Phantom Gaming X Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $529.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-01 12:14 EDT-0400
 
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/L3jJRk

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($124.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 580 8 GB Phantom Gaming X Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks P300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.29 @ Newegg)
Total: $662.23
 

justinbower

Prominent
Jan 23, 2019
67
3
535
Nice, thanks guys! I'll take a look at those builds. To answer the previous questions, no specific budget, but I don't want to over-build/future proof. I'm aiming for value rather than absolute cost. And for gaming, we're talking about old stuff, stuff that doesn't tax my current Athlon X4 630 with a Radeon 4850 card. So, in other words "vintage":) Gaming will make up about 2% of the total usage, so not a concern.