[SOLVED] gaming build upgrade, 500$ (MB, CPU, RAM)

[SzynekZ]

Hi there

I would like to upgrade my PC. I use it mostly for gaming, movies, internet, work (strong emphasis on the first one). My budget is ~500$/2000PLN (I can spent more, If it would be really worth it).

My current build:
PSU: Thermaltake SMART SE 530W
MB: Asrock B85 Pro4
CPU: i5-4460
GPU: Geforce GTX 1080
RAM: 4x4GB DDR3
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro

My current build works for me, but I have problems with low FPS in some of the games. I should point out, that average FPS is fine, It's more about min FPS, which can drop to 30-50 in worst cases. Oddly enough, this is the worst mostly with lesser known / older (badly optimized?) titles and lowering graphic settings doesn't make much difference. I assume this is due to the CPU from a few generations ago. Couple problematic games listed below:

• Hitman (2016)
• Call to Arms
• Men of War 2
• Catherine
• GTA 5
• HoM&M 5 (very big custom maps)
• Less known indie stuff (eg. Cradle)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

I should point out, that I'm interested in playing at 60FPS minimum (also: I'm planning to buy 144Hz monitor in the future, so it would be nice if less-demanding games like CS:GO could run at 144FPS). Also I want the upgrade to be relatively future-proof for a new games (I would like it to last for 4-5 years); additionally, I'd like to be able to emulate RPCS3 (Persona 5) and Cemu (BotW).

I thought about the following (I'm from Poland btw, I hope that prices don't differ that much):
MB: https://www.x-kom.pl/p/439448-plyta-glowna-socket-am4-gigabyte-b450m-ds3h.html
CPU: https://www.x-kom.pl/p/500085-procesor-amd-ryzen-5-amd-ryzen-5-3600.html
RAM: https://www.x-kom.pl/p/446672-pamiec-ram-ddr4-hyperx-16gb-3200mhz-hyperx-predator-cl16.html

It's ~1600PLN (~410$) so the question is, what to do (if anything) with the rest of the money:

• Is it a good idea to replace PSU? The one I have now is ~5 years old, and I have kernel-power every couple of weeks (not 100% sure if PSU is to blame though).
• Is it a good idea to buy Win10? I gotta be honest: I hate this OS, and the only reason I would be willing to update is DX12 (if there would be SIGNIFICANT performance boost) or driver incompatibility.
• Is it worth it to invest in better CPU (3700X)? It would be a little over the budget, but I assume it would greatly help in emulation. Then again, AFAIK AMD sticks to one socket for the longer time than Intel does, so maybe it would be wiser to save the money and buy 4600 or 5600 in the future instead.
• Is it worth it to invest in X570 over B450 motherboard? It has been strongly suggested to me and I agree, that it seems more future-proof, but it costs twice as much, and I assume there is no guarantee of future compatibility. Also I should point out, that I'm not very interested in OC.

I would appreciate any help and suggestions you can provide; thanks.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Alright, the board you chose is one of the cheapest and lowest quality b450 out there, it will also need a bios update to run ryzen 3rd gen, so you would need an old ryzen cpu from amd or otherwise. I'd recommend looking for any msi board that has bios "flashback"(eg. gaming plus) to update the board bios without a cpu or a msi MAX series that has out of box compatibility and bios flashback.

There is no reason to go for x570 unless you need the extra pcie capability, so b450 is fine.

You chose a good ram speed, but you really need to have two sticks not one, single channel hampers performance by a great margin, so look for a 2x8gb kit.

You will have to use windows 10 ,afaik, modern ryzen and intel will only run with win 10.

You have been quite lucky to have a junk psu hold out that long. Replace it with at least a corsair cx series 550w or higher. You might get lucky with a seasonic s12II, but I've had 4 rma's (5 failures) in a row with that model. I'm not knowledgeable enough on psu's to give recommendations, so give this a read.

The 3600 is fine cpu and the socket should be good for another year, rumors say intel will be switching to a socket 1200 soon effectively killing any future upgrades with lga 1151. So amd is better for longevity atm.

 

[SzynekZ]

Alright, the board you chose is one of the cheapest and lowest quality b450 out there, it will also need a bios update to run ryzen 3rd gen, so you would need an old ryzen cpu from amd or otherwise. I'd recommend looking for any msi board that has bios "flashback"(eg. gaming plus) to update the board bios without a cpu or a msi MAX series that has out of box compatibility and bios flashback.

I intend to ask the seller to update BIOS (I assume it can be done, since this board is Ryzen 3 compatible).

Also, you mentioned the board being one of the cheapest; is there something wrong with that (besides BIOS)? Does motherboard impact performance or stability in any significant way? I always went for one of the cheapest, cause I'm not interested in OC and the one I mentioned has all the slots I need and more.

Would this one be a better choice? --> https://www.x-kom.pl/p/508076-plyta-glowna-socket-am4-msi-b450-a-pro-max.html

You chose a good ram speed, but you really need to have two sticks not one, single channel hampers performance by a great margin, so look for a 2x8gb kit.

Yes, of course I meant to go for 2 sticks with DC, I forgot to click the button with number of modules. Hopefully, I won't forget that during actual order 😉

You will have to use windows 10 ,afaik, modern ryzen and intel will only run with win 10.

Thanks for the info, quick research confirmed that (I actually haven't thought about checking it before your post). That's a bummer, I don't get this decision, Windows 8.1 is supposed to be supported until 2023 I think. Gonna have to leave earlier apparently :/

You have been quite lucky to have a junk psu hold out that long. Replace it with at least a corsair cx series 550w or higher. You might get lucky with a seasonic s12II, but I've had 4 rma's (5 failures) in a row with that model. I'm not knowledgeable enough on psu's to give recommendations, so give this a read.

Thanks for the link, I will look into that.

One question though: how big of an issue is that? I mean, my PSU isn't exactly noname or that crappy (or is it?), I even saw it recommended in some of the PC builds on different site over the years. I guess what I'm getting at is, if it comes to the worst, does it have some credible safeties to prevent the whole PC from being damaged (instead of just PSU).

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Also, you mentioned the board being one of the cheapest; is there something wrong with that (besides BIOS)? Does motherboard impact performance or stability in any significant way? I always went for one of the cheapest, cause I'm not interested in OC and the one I mentioned has all the slots I need and more.

Honestly, I reacted a bit harshly, it's alright if you don't plan to oc and use 65w parts like the 3600 and future 65w parts. Since you want your pc to last 4-5yrs I opted to suggest a higher quality board. I haven't seen that msi board around a lot so I'm unsure of the quality so I can't say. If the vendor can flash the bios, that'd be awesome.

Thermaltake doesn't make good psu's, your's is one of their rare 'decent' ones, but at 5 years old, I wouldn't trust it to power a 1080 and new components. Actually, I believe the minimum watts for a 1080 is 520w, so it would be cutting it close anyways.
If you're split between getting a better psu or getting a better board, I'd go with a better psu.

You can always try to run windows 8.1 inside of win 10 as a virtual machine, the 3600 should be very capable of that. There are also seem to be some workarounds to get windows 8.1 to work after installing win10 on a different drive.

 

[SzynekZ]

Thermaltake doesn't make good psu's, your's is one of their rare 'decent' ones, but at 5 years old, I wouldn't trust it to power a 1080 and new components. Actually, I believe the minimum watts for a 1080 is 520w, so it would be cutting it close anyways.
If you're split between getting a better psu or getting a better board, I'd go with a better psu.

So it looks like I'm changing PSU as well.

What do you think about this? --> https://www.x-kom.pl/p/363851-zasilacz-do-komputera-silentiumpc-supremo-fm2-650w-80-plus-gold.html It's not on the recommended manufacturers list, but it has 80 Plus Gold, it's not very expensive and is recommended and popular . As for the wattage, 650W is overkill right now, but it would leave some safe space for the possible future upgrades (according to some of the sources, GTX 2080 needs ~550-600W). The only downside seems to be lack of OTP.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

SCP, OVP, and OCP are the only "required" protections on the atx standard. Since the psu is a single rail, OPP does the job instead of ocp, but I would've really liked to see ocp to cover the minor rails. Just having a gold label doesn't guarantee it being a good psu, but from a older model review on JG's website, it suggests that the silentium brand has some good models. The lack of OTP is a bit concerning if the fan were to fail.

At the very least, it's not group regulated like the seasonic s12 and also uses some quality components.

As long as you keep an eye on the fan or orient the fan inwards so your system can somewhat cool the psu in the event of fan failure, otherwise it looks fine

 

[SzynekZ]

In the end, I decided to go with 3700X, Seasonic 750W PSU (Seasonic Focus Plus 750W 80 Plus Gold), and more expensive MSI 450 motherboard (MSI B450M MORTAR MAX). It's a bit of an overkill (not to mention over the budget), but I hope it will be worth it (I don't upgrade often). Also: as a part of some promo, I got 3 month game pass, and a free copy of The Outer Worlds.

Thank you for all of your help.