[SOLVED] i3 9100F. What is the way to go now? A 1660 Super?

[ArjunY]

So my parents have a low end build from Late February 2020 that is probably going to get upgraded within the next 24 hours, and has the following specs:

Intel Core i3-9100F
ASRock H310CM-HDV
Galax GT 710 2GB DDR3
G.Skill Ripjaws 1*8GB DDR4 3000 MHz
WD 1TB 3.5" 7200 RPM HDD
iBall Stella Micro ATX Cabinet (with a stock SMPS, which I suspect shouldn't be more that 250W)

Given the above-mentioned specs, I wish to incorporate the following components as an upgrade to their corresponding areas:

1. A Corsair PSU, which could be anywhere between 500-650W, depends really.
2. GTX 1660 Super
3. An additional 8GB 3000 MHz of RAM
4. A 240GB 2.5" SSD (The motherboard doesn't have an M.2 slot unfortunately)

So your thoughts people. Is this a good configuration that would be capable of gaming at 1080p 60 FPS? Also, is enabling the XMP profile for this RAM a risky factor, or a good to go should there be abundant wattage in the PSU?

I'd be glad to have your thoughts on this one.

 

[SadPotatoMan]

Hello,

This is a really good configuration you're going for. Although, I would suggest going for an i5 processor, to avoid bottlenecking with the GPU, and also, a better PSU, definitely not 500W, at least 650W, just to be safe.

 

[punkncat]

I tried to look up some info on that case and they have ZERO information about the power supply or what size it is, more specifically. The case appears to be ATX standard for it but would check and make sure you don't need a SF or something.
A decent 600W supply should be well more than you need and include overhead for a CPU upgrade down the road.

Intel is WAY more forgiving than AMD in so far as not using a match set of RAM. I would still attempt to find the exact model you have installed for best compatibility.

Sounds like a well thought upgrade.

 

[xravenxdota]

The 500w psu is enough But...It doesn't leave you any room to upgrade later down the line.So rather go for around 650w

 

[ArjunY]

I tried to look up some info on that case and they have ZERO information about the power supply or what size it is, more specifically. The case appears to be ATX standard for it but would check and make sure you don't need a SF or something.
A decent 600W supply should be well more than you need and include overhead for a CPU upgrade down the road.

Intel is WAY more forgiving than AMD in so far as not using a match set of RAM. I would still attempt to find the exact model you have installed for best compatibility.

Sounds like a well thought upgrade.

Could you kindly tell me the full form of SF, for I couldn't quite catch that one.

Also, thank you for calling it 'well thought'. 🤭😅🙈 Was hyped at first to straight away link it with a 3060 Ti, but then thought of getting a new build altogether, but then thinking to myself that at the end of the day I only have to game on a modest 1080p 60Hz display, I felt that I should instead get a GPU that goes well with the CPU, and that's when I decided to settle for 1660 Super, and also thought of some minor additions in other areas to complement the upgrade accordingly. I'll probably think of something advanced some years down the line, when some more advanced technology comes up, but for 1080p, I think this will hold out well for the coming years like many of the higher models of the GTX 10 series. 😀

 

[punkncat]

Could you kindly tell me the full form of SF, for I couldn't quite catch that one.

Also, thank you for calling it 'well thought'. 🤭😅🙈 Was hyped at first to straight away link it with a 3060 Ti, but then thought of getting a new build altogether, but then thinking to myself that at the end of the day I only have to game on a modest 1080p 60Hz display, I felt that I should instead get a GPU that goes well with the CPU, and that's when I decided to settle for 1660 Super, and also thought of some minor additions in other areas to complement the upgrade accordingly. I'll probably think of something advanced some years down the line, when some more advanced technology comes up, but for 1080p, I think this will hold out well for the coming years like many of the higher models of the GTX 10 series. 😀

SF- Small Form/SFX.

There are only a couple of forms still in common use and the two most common seem to be SFX/ATX for "standard" PC builds. There are others. Most of the time you can tell simply by looking at the bolt pattern on the back of the case and a web page about said formats. It's very very in your face obvious once you see it.

 

[ArjunY]

I tried to look up some info on that case and they have ZERO information about the power supply or what size it is, more specifically. The case appears to be ATX standard for it but would check and make sure you don't need a SF or something.
A decent 600W supply should be well more than you need and include overhead for a CPU upgrade down the road.

Intel is WAY more forgiving than AMD in so far as not using a match set of RAM. I would still attempt to find the exact model you have installed for best compatibility.

Sounds like a well thought upgrade.

A quick question though. Considering the release of more variants in the RTX 30 series read 3050, 3060 etc are coming, will the 3050-ish variant go well with the CPU, or will the CPU turn out to be a bottleneck in this case on account of being 'slightly' older, and with only 4 cores and 4 threads?

 

[punkncat]

A quick question though. Considering the release of more variants in the RTX 30 series read 3050, 3060 etc are coming, will the 3050-ish variant go well with the CPU, or will the CPU turn out to be a bottleneck in this case on account of being 'slightly' older, and with only 4 cores and 4 threads?

I have nothing meaningful to add in regard to a 3000 series GPU as I haven't read up on them. We could assume that due to the uplift in performance that you could be in a position where the CPU will be the weak link. Unfortunately the motherboard you have isn't going to leave a lot of room for meaningful upgrades along the 9th gen Intel path. I probably would not put more than an i5 in it.

 

[ArjunY]

Hello,

This is a really good configuration you're going for. Although, I would suggest going for an i5 processor, to avoid bottlenecking with the GPU, and also, a better PSU, definitely not 500W, at least 650W, just to be safe.

I tried to look up some info on that case and they have ZERO information about the power supply or what size it is, more specifically. The case appears to be ATX standard for it but would check and make sure you don't need a SF or something.
A decent 600W supply should be well more than you need and include overhead for a CPU upgrade down the road.

Intel is WAY more forgiving than AMD in so far as not using a match set of RAM. I would still attempt to find the exact model you have installed for best compatibility.

Sounds like a well thought upgrade.

The 500w psu is enough But...It doesn't leave you any room to upgrade later down the line.So rather go for around 650w

So I wished to say at that I finally got the update , the only difference being that at the last minute I had to go for an ASUS RX 580 4GB Dual OC instead, and a Cooler Master 550W 80+ Bronze. Am happy with the build 😀, and as someone who plays driving games, I'm able to get 50-60 FPS at 1080p Ultra with no issues, and experiencing an SSD for the first time, the fast boot times is satisfying to witness.

Thank you all for your initial advice and feedback. Means a lot. 😀