Question I need help choosing a CPU, Motherboard and RAM

David_24_

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Apr 3, 2017
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I want a good CPU between 200-300€. I've been reading information about CPU's and I thought this one was looking pretty nice:

Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7Ghz --> 250€

I don't know much about the current intel CPU generations or anything about AMD so recommendations are welcome.

Now the question is, which motherboard will be good for this CPU or any 8th/9th gen?

Will I need a new PSU too?

By last, I would like to get more RAM. Right now I have 8 GB, I think 8 GB more would be good because I noticed ram usage is almost full sometimes. I have 2 sticks of 4 GB DDR3, should I buy 2 more of 4 GB or just buy 2 sticks of 8 GB?

DDR3 or DDR4?

That's all, thanks for your patience :)
 
AMD Ryzen or Coffeelake Intel you need DDR4 memory.

For us to give you any kind of recommendations it would help to list your current parts, uses for the system & budget.

Intel will give you the better gaming performance but if your streaming & editing videos then AMD Ryzen may be the better choice for you. Also let us know if you don't mind overclocking as that will also affect part choices.
 
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AMD Ryzen or Coffeelake Intel you need DDR4 memory.

For us to give you any kind of recommendations it would help to list your current parts, uses for the system & budget.

Intel will give you the better gaming performance but if your streaming & editing videos then AMD Ryzen may be the better choice for you. Also let us know if you don't mind overclocking as that will also affect part choices.

My plan is to use it for gaming. These are my specs:

CPU: Intel i5-2500T - 2,30 GHz (Yes don't hurt me lol)
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050Ti G1 Gaming 4GB GDDR5
Motherboard: Gotta check but it doesn't matter because I need a new one for 8th/9th gen cpu's
RAM: 8 GB DDR3
PSU: Tacens Radix VII AG 600W 80 Plus Silver
HDD: Toshiba 1 TB
SSD: 256 GB

Budget: Around 500€.

These are the parts I chose. What do you think?

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 PC4-24000 16GB 2x8GB CL15
Motherboard: MSI Z390-A PRO
CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7Ghz
 
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My plan is to use it for gaming. These are my specs:

CPU: Intel i5-2500T - 2,30 GHz (Yes don't hurt me lol)
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050Ti G1 Gaming 4GB GDDR5
Motherboard: Gotta check but it doesn't matter because I need a new one for 8th/9th gen cpu's
RAM: 8 GB DDR3
PSU: Tacens Radix VII AG 600W 80 Plus Silver
HDD: Toshiba 1 TB
SSD: 240 GB

Budget: Around 500€.

These are the parts I chose. What do you think?

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 PC4-24000 16GB 2x8GB CL15
Motherboard: MSI Z390-A PRO
CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7Ghz
If your just gaming then that's a good choice, it's also good for high FPS such as 144hz however if your gaming at 60-100hz then I'd go AMD Ryzen. Doing so saves quite a bit of money and still allows you to replace that PSU (I have no idea if it's decent or junk).

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.90 @ Alternate)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€98.44 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€72.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €404.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-23 17:15 CEST+0200


You could use the rest of your budget for a better CPU cooler (stock works well but can be kind of loud) or a larger M.2 SSD.
 
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I absolutely would replace the PSU considering the investment. It's a really old PSU and an Andyson group-regulated one, so it's not something I'd carry forward into a modern build in 2019. Tacens tends to have manufacturers put in just enough quality parts to get over various 80 Plus qualifications and brutally cut the parts that don't get them the desired efficiency level.

Andyson can make a good PSU when they're motivated. They've had some shockingly good ones on the very high-end recently, good enough that even Raidmax and Aerocool couldn't figure out how to cheap their way into completely ruining them. This isn't one of those, though, but a PSU made a decade ago that had some pretty horrific crossload values. Tacens dumps a whole lot of these PSUs in the Spanish market and they're almost invariably mediocre at best.
 
If your just gaming then that's a good choice, it's also good for high FPS such as 144hz however if your gaming at 60-100hz then I'd go AMD Ryzen. Doing so saves quite a bit of money and still allows you to replace that PSU (I have no idea if it's decent or junk).

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.90 @ Alternate)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€98.44 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€72.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €404.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-23 17:15 CEST+0200


You could use the rest of your budget for a better CPU cooler (stock works well but can be kind of loud) or a larger M.2 SSD.


I use a 60hz monitor at the moment. How does Ryzen compare to the i5? Never had AMD before.
Also, do I really need 20 W more? @DSzymborski said my PSU is bad basically.
 
I use a 60hz monitor at the moment. How does Ryzen compare to the i5? Never had AMD before.
Also, do I really need 20 W more? @DSzymborski said my PSU is bad basically.
AMD Ryzen CPU's are quite good for the price and one such as the Ryzen 2600 can compete fairly easy with the 8400/9400F once overclocked a bit plus they handle multi-threaded tasks/apps easy due to the extra threads.

The PSU I recommended is much better then your current one quality wise. It's not about the actual wattage but the components inside and some are cheaply made which could ruin your other parts under a high load such as gaming and really cheap units can actually catch on fire.
 
AMD Ryzen CPU's are quite good for the price and one such as the Ryzen 2600 can compete fairly easy with the 8400/9400F once overclocked a bit plus they handle multi-threaded tasks/apps easy due to the extra threads.

The PSU I recommended is much better then your current one quality wise. It's not about the actual wattage but the components inside and some are cheaply made which could ruin your other parts under a high load such as gaming and really cheap units can actually catch on fire.

I don't even know how to overclock it properly. Is msi afterburner still used? I've always thought overclocking would make the CPU break sooner, is that a thing?

Also what should I do with the parts I replace? They're still good for a computer. I have an old computer from 2006 iirc but I don't know if it's worth to use them to "upgrade" it.
 
You don't have to overclock it now, the 2600 has good performance on it's own but it may be something you want to do later on when the extra performance is needed. And no, as long as the CPU temp and voltage is within safe range then there' no chances of damaging the CPU or lowering the lifespan.

Your current Case/SSD/HDD & GPU are fine to continue to use. I'd replace the CPU/MB/RAM & PSU. And then when you have extra money then upgrade the GPU.

The difference is pretty substantial.
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-2500T-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-2600/m24685vs3955
 
If you have zero intention on overclocking and want the best CPU out of the box for the price then I'd recommend the 9400F. I put in a aftermarket cooler as the stock ones are garbage.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel - Core i5-9400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor (€149.00 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler (€31.49 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€91.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Patriot - Viper Elite 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (€76.23 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€72.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €421.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-23 19:55 CEST+0200
 
If you have zero intention on overclocking and want the best CPU out of the box for the price then I'd recommend the 9400F. I put in a aftermarket cooler as the stock ones are garbage.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel - Core i5-9400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor (€149.00 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler (€31.49 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€91.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Patriot - Viper Elite 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (€76.23 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€72.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €421.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-23 19:55 CEST+0200

I mean, if it's better in the long term then I will overclock it, that's not a problem, it's probably easy. And I know my CPU is trash, it's old and not so good lol
Bonus: If I buy the Ryzen CPU I get The division 2 and World War Z for free :tongueclosed:

Edit: I guess I also need to buy thermal paste?
 
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