Question Decent parts for upgrading my pre-built?

[burntpastels]

Total PC building newbie here. I have a pre-built system from Cyberpower which has worked well enough, but I want to upgrade a few things and possibly replace all of the original hardware with better components, just not all at once. I've looked at some different parts online and was wondering if anyone could judge how well they'd work with my current parts.

I game a lot and occasionally draw/paint with an older version of Photoshop. I don't have a total budget in mind since I[m only going to buy a part or two every few months probably, but I don't need the flashiest or fastest parts out there. I'd just like to be able to play a lot of games at 1080p 60fps with high quality settings without needing to upgrade again for a long time.

My current parts:
CPU AMD FX-6300
GPU Radeon RX 560
RAM 8gb ddr3
1TB 7200rpm HDD
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 R2 motherboard

Possible Upgrades:
I5-8400 2.8ghz
Corsair-Vengeance 16gb ddr4-2666
Samsung 860 EVO 500gb SSD
GTX 1660 6gb
MSI - H310M micro atx LGA1151 motherboard

 

[adam081887]

Depending on what you want to spend, I would recommend replacing your processor and mobo first. AMD RYZEN 5 2600 is a great deal right now with 3rd gen comming out soon, prices are dropping. For a little extra I would recommend the RYZEN 7 2700 (non-x) and you would be set for a while. If you really want Intel the i5-8400 is a solid option. But for roughly the same price the Ryzen7 2700 has 8 cores/16 threads compared to the 6 core/6 threads of the i5. Depends on if single-thread or multi-thread is more important to you.

Once you picked the processor and motherboard I would go for RAM 16g (2x8g) 3000+Mhz for AMD and 2666 should be fine for Intel.

The evo860 is a wonderful SSD (I have 4 of them)

The 1660 is alright for the price, but I would wait until AMD releases NAVI probably around june/July to see what their offering is as it's set to compete in that GPU range.

 

[burntpastels]

Depending on what you want to spend, I would recommend replacing your processor and mobo first. AMD RYZEN 5 2600 is a great deal right now with 3rd gen comming out soon, prices are dropping. For a little extra I would recommend the RYZEN 7 2700 (non-x) and you would be set for a while. If you really want Intel the i5-8400 is a solid option. But for roughly the same price the Ryzen7 2700 has 8 cores/16 threads compared to the 6 core/6 threads of the i5. Depends on if single-thread or multi-thread is more important to you.

Once you picked the processor and motherboard I would go for RAM 16g (2x8g) 3000+Mhz for AMD and 2666 should be fine for Intel.

The evo860 is a wonderful SSD (I have 4 of them)

The 1660 is alright for the price, but I would wait until AMD releases NAVI probably around june/July to see what their offering is as it's set to compete in that GPU range.

Thanks for the advice. I`ll look at some benchmarks for the Ryzen ones soon, and see if there's a reasonable difference between the i5 and either of the Ryzen's, although either of the Ryzens are tempting since they're both cheaper than the i5 on Amazon (right now that is). Should I keep my old HDD as a back up just in case the SSD somehow fails or leave it out? I already have an external drive for backing up my important files, but I noticed that a lot of people use both a HDD and a SSD.

 

[adam081887]

Should I keep my old HDD as a back up just in case the SSD somehow fails or leave it out? I already have an external drive for backing up my important files, but I noticed that a lot of people use both a HDD and a SSD.

Depend on if you want to keep it or not. You already have the drive, no use getting rid of it if you have an extra slot. Both those Ryzen CPUs will benchmark better than the i5 and it comes with a cooler so that's less expense there. Also with Ryzen 3rd gen comming out if you chose to upgrade in the future without changing your mobo as long as you get an x470/570 which cant be said about intel.