Build Advice I'm looking to upgrade ?

Butters5000

Distinguished
Aug 6, 2015
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Hello, i am currently looking into upgrading these:
  • Motherboard
  • CPU
  • RAM
Currently i have an i5-6600k with 16GB RAM. This time around I would like to go with AMD, but I haven't really looked into PC stuff in years, so any recommendations would be nice, thanks.

Mostly for gaming, video watching and sometimes edits.
 
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Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Please stylize your thread with info asked of in this thread;
and the community can move forward with suggestions. Please include your location, your budget for your build and your preferred site for purchase.

Would also help us to learn of your current system's specs since you have the intention to recycle parts besides the CPU, motherboard and ram. Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model.
 
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Looking over your parts list.

I assume all of those parts are what you have right now?

Are you willing to re-use the existing drives?

What games do you play; at what settings? Is gaming far and away the most important thing to you....as far as performance goes?

The more you spend on a new video card, the less you have to spend on a new motherboard and CPU. You can't upgrade the CPU much with your existing motherboard.

How long have you been using that power supply?

If push came to shove, you might be able to re-use your memory and maybe the case.

You can get a cheapish but quite good new cooler for 50 or less.
 
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What kinds of games do you play?
Some are cpu limited like sims, mmo and strategy games.
Others like fast action shooters like strong graphics cards.
Multiplayer likes many threads.
To assess, try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
Your cpu upgrade on the current motherboard is limited to the i7-7700K, perhaps a 10% boost.
$75 or so on ebay if you want to try it.
Current intel or amd is otherwise the way to go.
If you need stronger graphics, tom's gpu hierarchy chart gives you some sort of upgrade capabilities.
6700XT is already a strong card, upgrading will likely also need a new psu.
 
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Butters5000

Distinguished
Aug 6, 2015
168
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18,685
Looking over your parts list.

I assume all of those parts are what you have right now?

Are you willing to re-use the existing drives?

What games do you play; at what settings? Is gaming far and away the most important thing to you....as far as performance goes?

The more you spend on a new video card, the less you have to spend on a new motherboard and CPU. You can't upgrade the CPU much with your existing motherboard.

How long have you been using that power supply?

If push came to shove, you might be able to re-use your memory and maybe the case.

You can get a cheapish but quite good new cooler for 50 or less.
yeah i will be reusing the drives, i also have some external drives and a md2 drive that i use mainly for gaming, so a new CPU/motherboard/ram is what i'm looking for, the psu and graphics card are rather new, so not looking to upgrade those for a while.
What kinds of games do you play?
Some are cpu limited like sims, mmo and strategy games.
Others like fast action shooters like strong graphics cards.
Multiplayer likes many threads.
To assess, try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
Your cpu upgrade on the current motherboard is limited to the i7-7700K, perhaps a 10% boost.
$75 or so on ebay if you want to try it.
Current intel or amd is otherwise the way to go.
If you need stronger graphics, tom's gpu hierarchy chart gives you some sort of upgrade capabilities.
6700XT is already a strong card, upgrading will likely also need a new psu.
i play all games, from mmo's to shooters, i run games on low, and cpu still can't handle it, so thought it was time for whole new cpu/motherboard/ram combo.
 
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punkncat

Polypheme
Ambassador
In this situation and with the budget you have I would look at a combo deal for something like the 5600X to stick with DDR4 which you already have, and new mobo, something like a WD Black NVMe drive, and honestly am not sure the age or quality of the power supply, but it should be good IMO if it isn't an issue now.
Reuse your other SSD for some of the storage, your stock cooler if you have the AM4 kit parts still, same memory for now as it really isn't bad as DDR4 goes, and keep your current graphics card. Really should be a nice pairing, game well...I am making certain assumptions about a capable FreeSync monitor as well.
 
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PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($111.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($47.97 @ Amazon)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.00 @ B&H)
Total: $334.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-01 03:01 EDT-0400


Or ....

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805937115185.html
AMD Ryzen 5 7500F $135.62

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($139.99 @ MSI)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.00 @ B&H)
Total: $320.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-09-30 23:47 EDT-0400
 
Last edited:

Butters5000

Distinguished
Aug 6, 2015
168
9
18,685
In this situation and with the budget you have I would look at a combo deal for something like the 5600X to stick with DDR4 which you already have, and new mobo, something like a WD Black NVMe drive, and honestly am not sure the age or quality of the power supply, but it should be good IMO if it isn't an issue now.
Reuse your other SSD for some of the storage, your stock cooler if you have the AM4 kit parts still, same memory for now as it really isn't bad as DDR4 goes, and keep your current graphics card. Really should be a nice pairing, game well...I am making certain assumptions about a capable FreeSync monitor as well.
isn't that cpu a few years old, wouldn't it get slower in a few years as to a new one?
 
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punkncat

Polypheme
Ambassador
isn't that cpu a few years old, wouldn't it get slower in a few years as to a new one?

Yes, and it is a great value right now to performance, and WORLDS ahead of your current rig which also shares enough in common to be able to reuse parts from. Given your current budget I think it offers a lot for the money. A newer rig may make more sense if you can put something together on $ target.
 
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Hello, i am currently looking into upgrading these:
  • Motherboard
  • CPU
  • RAM
Currently i have an i5-6600k with 16GB RAM. This time around I would like to go with AMD, but I haven't really looked into PC stuff in years, so any recommendations would be nice, thanks.

Mostly for gaming, video watching and sometimes edits.
If you are just looking for the motherboard, cpu, and ram here are some AMD options. The first one is for the fastest gaming CPU currently available, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D with an MATX motherboard. The second is largely the same but with an ATX board. The third and fourth are not quite as fast as the 7800X3D since they're using a Ryzen 7 7700. But they would still give excellent performance, also with MATX and ATX options. Every option comes with the same cooler which will cool the Ryzen 7 7800 X3D and 7700 just fine, and 32GB DDR5 6000 RAM. I've also included a link to a Ryzen 7 9700 CPU review so you can see how everything compares. The link has general application performance and gaming performance at multiple resolutions. Also I would definitely recommend going for an AM5 motherboard over LGA 1700 at this point. AMD has stated that they plan on supporting AM5 until 2027 at a minimum.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-7-9700x/27.html

7800X3D ATX $708.87

7800X3D MATX $688.87

7700 ATX $539.87

7700 MATX $519.87
 
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Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
isn't that cpu a few years old, wouldn't it get slower in a few years as to a new one?
Leaves you enough money to buy Windows again since you have the OEM version.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($280.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($119.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $669.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-01 16:20 EDT-0400
 
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