[SOLVED] CPU & GPU upgrade ?

[McPhines]

I'm planning to upgrade my CPU and GPU, so looking for suggestions.

Current build:
CPU: R5 3500X
GPU: MSI RX 5500XT Gaming X 8GB
Mobo: MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus
RAM: Kingston Fury Beast 3200mhz 4x8GB
PSU: MSI MAG A650BN (650watts)
Cooling: ID Cooling Zoomflow 360
Display: MSI Optix G27C7 165Hz

 

[Lafong]

Nobody can help you much without knowing:

How much you can spend.

Where you will buy from. Amazon? Local shop in Norway? Newegg?

Intended purpose of the PC. Gaming only? Gaming mostly? Gaming never? Scientific calculations? Writing a novel? Playing poker for a living? Day trading Nvidia stock?

 

[McPhines]

Nobody can help you much without knowing:

How much you can spend.

Where you will buy from. Amazon? Local shop in Norway? Newegg?

Intended purpose of the PC. Gaming only? Gaming mostly? Gaming never? Scientific calculations? Writing a novel? Playing poker for a living? Day trading Nvidia stock?

My bad! I am from the Philippines and I'm buying from local stores. Reason for upgrade is for gaming, mostly. Budget, not more than Php40,000 or around 700USD.

 

[CountMike]

My bad! I am from the Philippines and I'm buying from local stores. Reason for upgrade is for gaming, mostly. Budget, not more than Php40,000 or around 700USD.

R5 5600X
No higher than RX 7600 XT so you don't need to change PSU.

 

[geofelt]

Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

You should find out which applies to you
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run this test:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

 

[logainofhades]

5700x for CPU. Not sure what your pricing is there, but here the 5700x is going for less than the 5600x, and only $16 more than a 5600 non X. It makes 0 sense to buy a 6 core AM4 chip right now. GPU, a 9060xt 16gb would work. It's faster and has lower wattage than previously mentioned 7600xt.


PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $509.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-27 09:39 EDT-0400

 

[Why_Me]

I'm planning to upgrade my CPU and GPU, so looking for suggestions.

Current build:
CPU: R5 3500X
GPU: MSI RX 5500XT Gaming X 8GB
Mobo: MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus
RAM: Kingston Fury Beast 3200mhz 4x8GB
PSU: MSI MAG A650BN (650watts)
Cooling: ID Cooling Zoomflow 360
Display: MSI Optix G27C7 165Hz

AMD Ryzen 5 5600

AMD Ryzen 7 5700X

 

[CyberFlash]

If you need ray tracing features, go with an nvidia card like 4070. If not, go with 9060 xt. Both are great cards for 1080p and are good for 2k too.

 

[McPhines]

Thank you all for your individual inputs. I already upgraded to R7 5700X. For GPU upgrade, I got my eye on MSI RTX 3070 which requires 2x8-pin connector. My current PSU has 2 8-pin, but its a daisy chain/pigtail. I'm wondering if it's safe to use that. The RTX 3070 listed power comsumption is at 220W for Ventus 2x OC and 240W for Gaming Trio, recommended PSU at 650W.

 

[CyberFlash]

Thank you all for your individual inputs. I already upgraded to R7 5700X. For GPU upgrade, I got my eye on MSI RTX 3070 which requires 2x8-pin connector. My current PSU has 2 8-pin, but its a daisy chain/pigtail. I'm wondering if it's safe to use that. The RTX 3070 listed power comsumption is at 220W for Ventus 2x OC and 240W for Gaming Trio, recommended PSU at 650W.

650 watts PSU should be enough for that rig, but I suggest getting the 4070 instead because you will acquire game-changing features like frame gen etc and it consumes less power than the 3070.

 

[McPhines]

650 watts PSU should be enough for that rig, but I suggest getting the 4070 instead because you will acquire game-changing features like frame gen etc and it consumes less power than the 3070.

Thank you. I'll take this into consideration. Hopefully, I can find one.

 

[logainofhades]

Thank you all for your individual inputs. I already upgraded to R7 5700X. For GPU upgrade, I got my eye on MSI RTX 3070 which requires 2x8-pin connector. My current PSU has 2 8-pin, but its a daisy chain/pigtail. I'm wondering if it's safe to use that. The RTX 3070 listed power comsumption is at 220W for Ventus 2x OC and 240W for Gaming Trio, recommended PSU at 650W.

I would not buy an 8gb GPU in 2025, if you can avoid it. The 30 series in particular were bad about power spikes. Your current PSU probably won't hold up to it.

 

[Bob.B]

Thank you all for your individual inputs. I already upgraded to R7 5700X. For GPU upgrade, I got my eye on MSI RTX 3070 which requires 2x8-pin connector. My current PSU has 2 8-pin, but its a daisy chain/pigtail. I'm wondering if it's safe to use that. The RTX 3070 listed power comsumption is at 220W for Ventus 2x OC and 240W for Gaming Trio, recommended PSU at 650W.

If you do go with the 3070 use 2 power cables and the main plug on each cable not the pigtail plug.

 

[artk2219]

Thank you all for your individual inputs. I already upgraded to R7 5700X. For GPU upgrade, I got my eye on MSI RTX 3070 which requires 2x8-pin connector. My current PSU has 2 8-pin, but its a daisy chain/pigtail. I'm wondering if it's safe to use that. The RTX 3070 listed power comsumption is at 220W for Ventus 2x OC and 240W for Gaming Trio, recommended PSU at 650W.

I wouldn't recommend a card with 8gb of VRAM currently, I'd look for something with 12gb or more, preferably 16g . So an Rx 6700 XT, 6800 (XT), 7700 XT, 7800 XT, 9060 XT 16gb or RTX 4070, 4070 ti, or 5060 ti would work. Currently the best new option of that bunch in terms of price to performance is probably the Rx 9060 XT 16gb

 

[geofelt]

Thank you all for your individual inputs. I already upgraded to R7 5700X. For GPU upgrade, I got my eye on MSI RTX 3070 which requires 2x8-pin connector. My current PSU has 2 8-pin, but its a daisy chain/pigtail. I'm wondering if it's safe to use that. The RTX 3070 listed power comsumption is at 220W for Ventus 2x OC and 240W for Gaming Trio, recommended PSU at 650W.

Possibly not safe. The two head arrangement is a way to handle various 8/6 pin connections.
Using two 8 pin connections can be a problem if the single cable is not sufficiently robust.
And, while your 3070 nominal power may be ok, there will be large power spikes that your psu can't handle.
Consider buying a much stronger 850w psu with a 10 year warranty.

 

[McPhines]

An unfortunate thing happened. Before I can get hold of any GPU, my pc runs into a problem. At first, random black screen while playing. Sometimes PC will boot up after restart, other times lead to error code something "00000e".

Troubleshooting includes (not in order): Running auto repair, NVME check thru BIOS, bootrec /rebuildbcd thru cmd, resetting RAM, CPU, M.2 NVME, CMOS battery and unpluggin/re-plugging the 24-pin (mobo) and 8-pin (cpu) power cable.

Now, my PC won't boot up with debug LED for CPU in solid white. All fans are on and all RGB lights from the fans, RAM, GPU and pump/block are also on.

Could this be because of CPU failure? I'm thinking of replacing the CPU, but what if the PSU or the mobo is the problem.

CPU is 1 week old, NVME m.2 around 2 months, mobo is 5 months, PSU more than 32 months.

 

[CyberFlash]

CPU is 1 week old, NVME m.2 around 2 months, mobo is 5 months, PSU more than 32 months.

It could be a PSU issue or a corrupted BCD. Whatever the case, it's best if you get a professional to check in order to identify the source and resolve it appropriately.

 

[McPhines]

This is already resolved by re-installing the BIOS, and I got a new GPU - Asus Prime RX 9060XT OC 16GB. Thank you everyone!

 

[CyberFlash]

This is already resolved by re-installing the BIOS. And got a new GPU - Asus Prime RX 9060XT OC 16GB. Thank you everyone!

Glad to hear that. The Asus 9060 XT 16GB is a superb value for money card at 1080p and 2k gaming which is pretty uncommon these days. How much did you get it for in your country if you don't mind me asking?