[SOLVED] GPU Upgrade advice needed with Ryzen 5 1600 or complete upgrade instead?

[Chiefomatic]

Hi there!

Recently I started really noticing that I'm starting to struggle running some games (Mostly warzone) with my 5-year-old Ryzen 5 1600 and GTX 1060 6GB.

I feel the Ryzen is still fine for now, and would like to upgrade my graphics card, however I understand that I'll run into a bottleneck if I go anything above 3060ti (or even lower than this).

So, I'm very unsure what to do now. Do I wait until I can afford a full upgrade (CPU, RAM, Motherboard, GPU) or can I get away with just upgrading my GPU and still get a few years with my existing CPU. I plan on staying on 1080p as I prefer a smoother experience and don't really care going to 1440p. I thought of upgrading my GPU now, then upgrading my CPU next year or the year after.

I live in South Africa, and prices are quite different here than in the US or in European countries.

Some pricing examples at the moment: I found a really good deal for the Asus 6600xt strix going on (R6000). Cheapest 3060 @ R7000 and 3060ti's go for R8600 roughly.

Thanks in advance!

Current specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600 @3.7
GPU: MSI gaming X 1060 6GB
PSU: Cooler Master RS-650-AMAA-G1
Mobo: B350 Asus Prime Plus
RAM: 16GB DDR 4 2400

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I’m not sure about over there but here in the USA, you can get a cpu like the ryzen 5600g for about 120 dollars. Your board should have a bios update available so that you could install a cpu such as that. Something to keep in mind at least to where you wouldn’t need a full upgrade. As you move up In graphics card you’ll want the stronger cpu.

As far as gpu, I’d say you probably want to look into the rtx 3060 or 3060ti. However, you may look for an rx 6600 or 6600xt, or a 6650xt which should be right around the same performance bracket. If you need to look at older hardware perhaps the rtx 2070 or higher. But older cards were likely used for mining so keep that in mind.

 

[Chiefomatic]

I’m not sure about over there but here in the USA, you can get a cpu like the ryzen 5600g for about 120 dollars. Your board should have a bios update available so that you could install a cpu such as that. Something to keep in mind at least to where you wouldn’t need a full upgrade. As you move up In graphics card you’ll want the stronger cpu.

As far as gpu, I’d say you probably want to look into the rtx 3060 or 3060ti. However, you may look for an rx 6600 or 6600xt, or a 6650xt which should be right around the same performance bracket. If you need to look at older hardware perhaps the rtx 2070 or higher. But older cards were likely used for mining so keep that in mind.

Not sure if you mean new or used, but the 5600g and similar CPUs are quite a bit more if you buy them new. The used market is also quite overpriced in most cases.

I'm honestly leaning towards just getting a new card that I can use for another 3-5 years then I can completely upgrade my entire machine after about 3-5 years.

I just don't know if I get a 3060, 3060ti or a 6600xt, how bad the bottleneck will be on my 1600.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

That portion I’m not 100% sure on. Cpu side you could also look into something like the ryzen 5 3600 which is a couple years old now but would still be a good uplift from the 1600.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Thought about this a bit more, someone had a similar question on reddit about a 1600af with a 3060/3060ti and the consensus seemed to be in some games they might be held back a bit. So you can definitely try the 1600 and see how things go and update the cpu later.

 

[logainofhades]

Even if your cpu would hold back the GPU a bit, from reaching it's full potential, an RX 6600xt would still net you a massive improvement in FPS, vs a 1060. It also could be reused, when you can afford to drop in a Ryzen 5000 into your board, after a bios update.

 

[Chiefomatic]

Thought about this a bit more, someone had a similar question on reddit about a 1600af with a 3060/3060ti and the consensus seemed to be in some games they might be held back a bit. So you can definitely try the 1600 and see how things go and update the cpu later.

Even if your cpu would hold back the GPU a bit, from reaching it's full potential, an RX 6600xt would still net you a massive improvement in FPS, vs a 1060. It also could be reused, when you can afford to drop in a Ryzen 5000 into your board, after a bios update.

Thanks for the replies guys. Appreciate it very much. I think at the moment that might be the best plan. Getting a 6600xt/3060 (3060ti is way overpriced at the moment) now, then upgrade my entire PC minus the GPU in a year or 2.

I'll do some research regarding power draw to make sure my PSU can handle the new GPU. If you have to decide on the 660xt or the 3060, which one would you pick? From what I've seen the performance is very close with the 6600xt edging out a minor winner?

 

[ohio_buckeye]

They are close enough I think that you can get whichever your preference is. I’ve never used a 3060, but nvidia makes decent cards. However I’ve used a 6600xt and now own a 6700xt and have no major issues. At least in the USA the amd cards have been costing a little less than the comparable nvidia cards, and to me have felt like they were better value for money.

 

[logainofhades]

I would choose the 6600xt/6650xt over a 3060, as I don't really care about ray tracing.

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