Question I'm thinking of upgrading to an i3-9100f, what should I take in mind?

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necroheadbanger

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Sep 8, 2017
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Hello everybody.

I've been waiting to upgrade to a actually DECENT CPU since late 2017; I'm currently running a Pentium G4400 (pls kill me), and like, at this point I'd rather eat pizza without cheese than keep running on this thing.

So, I've got little to no money and the economical and political situation in my country is close to total chaos. My brother wants to lend me a hand in order to get myself a new CPU (and motherboard if necessary), so I can't extend too much on my options, and so I took a look at the most accessible CPUs, and I came up with two:

  • an i3-7350k (costs around $175 USD here, or 10500 ARS)
  • an i3-9100f with an H310M Pro VDH-Plus motherboard (which costs $180 USD or 10809 ARS, to be exact)

So, the most optimal option would be to go for the i3-9100f; newer, more powerful, it's a quad core, and all, but I'm a bit worried about my PSU.

So, I've got a Sentey PSU (yes, I know), it's a BCP500-XS; 500W. So far it has worked fine, I'm running a Pentium G4400, GTX 1050 OC, 8GB DDR4 and a 1TB WD Blue; that's not very power-consuming but I'm still concerned, because I've always been told that a generic PSU can literally explode in any second, especially when paired with powerful CPUs.

So, I wanted to know your opinion on this. I've got no source of income currently (I just officially finished highschool today), and I doubt I'll have one anytime soon, at least until like March of next year, but by that moment this country might as well be something like Swaziland or worse, so I'd need to get this ASAP. Should I go for it and pair all of this with my current PSU? I mean, I could sell the old Mother and CPU and probably get myself a better PSU, but I really want your opinion on this, as I'm pretty sure everyone around here is more experienced than me on these topics.

Cheers.
 
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necroheadbanger said:
an i3-7350k (costs around $175 USD here, or 10500 ARS)
Click to expand...
Overpriced - hell, that's actually retail launch price... did I mention overpriced?

necroheadbanger said:
an i3-9100f with an H310M Pro VDH-Plus motherboard (which costs $180 USD or 10809 ARS, to be exact)
Click to expand...
H310 chipset doesn't support any of the 9th gen cpus out of the box. They require a bios update using an older 8th gen cpu.

Reconsider those options. Intel doesn't have ANY good low budget offerings compared to the competition.
A 4 core/4 thread cpu is also a very poor investment in 2019... you'd soon be setting yourself up for a very early cpu upgrade...
Get a Ryzen 2400g + B450 motherboard instead.

necroheadbanger said:
So, I've got a Sentey PSU (yes, I know), it's a BCP500-XS; 500W. So far it has worked fine, I'm running a Pentium G4400, GTX 1050 OC, 8GB DDR4 and a 1TB WD Blue; that's not very power-consuming but I'm still concerned, because I've always been told that a generic PSU can literally explode in any second, especially when paired with powerful CPUs.
Click to expand...
Yes, as you are already aware, that psu isn't good. You've been fine so far because your system isn't really pushing the watts. Keep it that way... but I, or anyone else here can't promise your hardware will be alright whenever it does decide to go.
A unit like that likely lacks the necessary protections(over-temp, over-voltage, etc) that would otherwise keep it from 'blowing up'.


necroheadbanger said:
So, I wanted to know your opinion on this...
Click to expand...
My 2 cents: don't bother with anything else until you can get a decent psu in there. You've been ok with it so far because power consumption's been on the down-low, but no one here can guarantee the integrity of your hardware whenever it throws in the towel...
And likely takes one or more parts out with it. Imagine you DO go ahead with one of the options you're considering, and spend that 11000 ARS... and one day, the psu goes out - but it also kills the gpu, and burns out a ram slot.
You will have spent a lot more than just 11000ARS to recover from that damage...
 
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Phaaze88 said:
Overpriced - hell, that's actually retail launch price... did I mention overpriced?


H310 chipset doesn't support any of the 9th gen cpus out of the box. They require a bios update using an older 8th gen cpu.

Reconsider those options. Intel doesn't have ANY good low budget offerings compared to the competition.
A 4 core/4 thread cpu is also a very poor investment in 2019... you'd soon be setting yourself up for a very early cpu upgrade...
Get a Ryzen 2400g + B450 motherboard instead.


Yes, as you are already aware, that psu isn't good. You've been fine so far because your system isn't really pushing the watts. Keep it that way... but I, or anyone else here can't promise your hardware will be alright whenever it does decide to go.
A unit like that likely lacks the necessary protections(over-temp, over-voltage, etc) that would otherwise keep it from 'blowing up'.



My 2 cents: don't bother with anything else until you can get a decent psu in there. You've been ok with it so far because power consumption's been on the down-low, but no one here can guarantee the integrity of your hardware whenever it throws in the towel...
And likely takes one or more parts out with it. Imagine you DO go ahead with one of the options you're considering, and spend that 11000 ARS... and one day, the psu goes out - but it also kills the gpu, and burns out a ram slot.
You will have spent a lot more than just 11000ARS to recover from that damage...
Click to expand...

That Ryzen 2400G sure looks beautiful and seems like a good option, but that would be pushing it too far; the cheapest one I could find is worth $192 USD and the cheapest B450 is $99 USD; that's 17,403 ARS. It's not THAT much of a difference, but it's a difference I just can't afford.

Frankly I'm not looking for a killer CPU, as far as I can run most of my games at a stable 60 FPS I'm happy. Next year I'll be starting my studies on programming, and I want to upgrade my PC to have it fit for anything necessary, as well as for playing my favourite games which are CSGO and Rainbow Six (the first one has been working badly lately, due to heavy updates, and I haven't been able to play R6 for a year now because it no longer supports dual cores).

Now, maybe I'll need to get a newer motherboard in order to use it with a 9th gen Intel, I'll try to find one for a good price, as I doubt I'll be able to use it as I obviously don't have an 8th gen CPU around here.

And I do appreciate your concern about the PSU possibly becoming a small box of explosives and taking out my whole computer, but as I said, I was thinking on selling the old CPU and motherboard in order to get a new PSU, or at least cover a nice part of the spendings.

But now, as I said in the post, I need to get what I can before it's too late, from here on out, the situation in my country it's only going to get worse and worse, I take my chances now or I'll regret it for a long time, as I'm sure as hell this country won't get himself out of the mess it is very easily.

In any case, is there any other alternative you could think of?
 
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I'd rather see you get either a hyperthreaded/SMT quad core(4c/8t), or a pure hexa core(6c/6t) over a plain old quad core; you really won't get far on one in the long run before having to upgrade the cpu again...
Since the budget is that tight, I'm somewhat inclined to suggest you try the used market; you may be able to get some good deals from there.



Ok... How about:
-Ryzen 3 2200g +B450 motherboard
-Athlon 3000g + Msi B450 Max motherboard
Those 2 cpus are 2 of the best low budget options currently.
 
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Phaaze88 said:
I'd rather see you get either a hyperthreaded/SMT quad core(4c/8t), or a pure hexa core(6c/6t) over a plain old quad core; you really won't get far on one in the long run before having to upgrade the cpu again...
Since the budget is that tight, I'm somewhat inclined to suggest you try the used market; you may be able to get some good deals from there.



Ok... How about:
-Ryzen 3 2200g +B450 motherboard
-Athlon 3000g + Msi B450 Max motherboard
Those 2 cpus are 2 of the best low budget options currently.
Click to expand...

I'd already checked the used market; I live in a small city, not many hardware stores around here, and not many people have good PCs so I can't find any used CPU; I've also checked different online reselling sites and most people sell their used stuff at retail price, and the cheap ones go out fast. I'm also not the one who's gonna buy it directly, that's gonna be my brother, so that's another thing that comes into play, as I can't buy something in the moment because I have no means to pay it apart from effective you know.

Overpricing comes into play again. I've spent my whole day researching and I've came to the conclusion that there are only 6 viable options for my budget, all other CPUs and/or motherboards are overpriced, literally, there's people selling 7th gen i3s at release price, and these one's I'm going to list are the best options according to price and performance:

Ryzen 3 1200 ($82) + A320M HDV ($61) = $143 USD - This is the cheapest one, quad core with no hyperthreading, 1st gen Ryzens are getting old really fast though.

Ryzen 3 1300X ($99) + A320M HDV ($61) = $160 - Second cheapest, same motherboard, no hyperthreading, just an improved 1200.

Ryzen 3 2200G ($127) + A320M HDV ($61) = $188 - Nice CPU I guess, but I don't think it's worth it for the price.

I3 9100F ($109) + B365M Pro-VH ($79) = $188 - Same price as the 2200G, better performance I guess. This motherboard seems to be compatible without any need of updating the BIOS, so it's safe to buy I guess.

Ryzen 3 3200G ($129) + A320M Pro-M2 ($65) = $194 - 4 cores, 8 threads?, probably the best option, I don't know if it performs better than the I3 (UserBenchMark tells me it doesn't). It's just a few dollars more expensive than the I3, so it's probably the best pick?

Now, regarding the PSU, as I said, I was thinking on selling the old motherboard and CPU and getting myself a 80+ PSU, and I found this one: Gamemax VP-500 White. It's a 500W PSU, 408W real watts, 80+ certified, and costs $42 USD. I could get a really cheap one which is a LNZ PX550-FS Black Mod; 550W, 229 real watts, but it's not certified nor anything, but it costs just $12 USD, but I wouldn't trust it to not explode, but I sure believe its better than the current one.

What do you think?
 
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necroheadbanger said:
I'd already checked the used market; I live in a small city, not many hardware stores around here, and not many people have good PCs so I can't find any used CPU; I've also checked different online reselling sites and most people sell their used stuff at retail price, and the cheap ones go out fast. I'm also not the one who's gonna buy it directly, that's gonna be my brother, so that's another thing that comes into play, as I can't buy something in the moment because I have no means to pay it apart from effective you know.
Click to expand...
Got it.

necroheadbanger said:
Overpricing comes into play again. I've spent my whole day researching and I've came to the conclusion that there are only 6 viable options for my budget, all other CPUs and/or motherboards are overpriced, literally, there's people selling 7th gen i3s at release price...
Click to expand...
That's everywhere - older Intel cpu's still being sold for retail...


necroheadbanger said:
Ryzen 3 1200 ($82) + A320M HDV ($61) = $143 USD - This is the cheapest one, quad core with no hyperthreading, 1st gen Ryzens are getting old really fast though.
Click to expand...
No kidding. Inferior to the Intel option by a fair margin. Pass.

necroheadbanger said:
Ryzen 3 1300X ($99) + A320M HDV ($61) = $160 - Second cheapest, same motherboard, no hyperthreading, just an improved 1200.
Click to expand...
Same boat as the Ryzen 1200. Pass.

necroheadbanger said:
Ryzen 3 2200G ($127) + A320M HDV ($61) = $188 - Nice CPU I guess, but I don't think it's worth it for the price.
Click to expand...
I suppose not, plus Ryzen 2000 won't boot without a prior bios update using an older 1000 or A-series cpu. Pass.
That's why I only mentioned B450; works out of the box with Ryzen 2000.

necroheadbanger said:
I3 9100F ($109) + B365M Pro-VH ($79) = $188 - Same price as the 2200G, better performance I guess. This motherboard seems to be compatible without any need of updating the BIOS, so it's safe to buy I guess.
Click to expand...
I suppose this one is your only real option...

necroheadbanger said:
Ryzen 3 3200G ($129) + A320M Pro-M2 ($65) = $194 - 4 cores, 8 threads?, probably the best option, I don't know if it performs better than the I3 (UserBenchMark tells me it doesn't). It's just a few dollars more expensive than the I3, so it's probably the best pick?
Click to expand...
Nope.
-The 3400g is 4 core/8 threads, not the 3200g, which is basically a pre-overclocked 2200g(4c/4t)
-Same issue as the Ryzen 2200 + A320M HDV option - won't post out of the box unless bios is already updated beforehand.

There's one clear winner among those...


necroheadbanger said:
Now, regarding the PSU, as I said, I was thinking on selling the old motherboard and CPU and getting myself a 80+ PSU, and I found this one: Gamemax VP-500 White. It's a 500W PSU, 408W real watts, 80+ certified, and costs $42 USD. I could get a really cheap one which is a LNZ PX550-FS Black Mod; 550W, 229 real watts, but it's not certified nor anything, but it costs just $12 USD, but I wouldn't trust it to not explode, but I sure believe its better than the current one.
Click to expand...
The power supply is the one part you don't cheap out on. If you have to cut corners somewhere to get a decent one, then so be it, but both of those options are bad. Neither is a step up in quality from what you already have.
A good one under $50USD doesn't exist. They're totally fine for home/office work loads(low power, steady load). Gaming loads are a whole other league(constantly fluctuating power highs and lows), and will exhaust those kinds of units quickly.

Just stick with graphics cards that don't require an external power connection until you can actually afford a decent unit. I think the GTX 1650 is currently the best card available in that category...
 
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Phaaze88 said:
Just stick with graphics cards that don't require an external power connection until you can actually afford a decent unit. I think the GTX 1650 is currently the best card available in that category...
Click to expand...

I have a 1050 so I'm ok with that, I only play esport titles basically and some older singleplayer games.

In any case, what PSU would you recommend? I'm getting all the prices from www.compragamer.com which is probably the best hardware store in the whole country, there's also www.mercadolibre.com.ar where all the used stuff is, apart from most brands and businesses promoting their stuff there, pretty much like eBay, but not good prices there.
 
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This power supply is really a little weak 12*13=156W
9100F + 1050 = 65W + 70W
So it's better to change the PSU.
Recommend PSU: VP450P, Jumper 450b, GX450, NX450
 
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Oof, that selection is rough...

Ok.
You won't like this, and it's definitely out of your budget - but I'm gonna link it anyway, because it's the cheapest, while still being a decent unit; anything cheaper than that is just cheaper:
https://compragamer.com/producto/fu..._80_bronze_ssr_500gb3_9373?redir=1&nro_max=50

It's entirely your choice to use a cheaper psu, and it's not your fault for what's available in your country... just keep in mind to avoid more power hungry gpus until you can get ahold of something better.
For example, gpus like the RTX 2070 and RX 5700 would not have a lasting relationship on those cheaper models.
 
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Phaaze88 said:
Oof, that selection is rough...

Ok.
You won't like this, and it's definitely out of your budget - but I'm gonna link it anyway, because it's the cheapest, while still being a decent unit; anything cheaper than that is just cheaper:
https://compragamer.com/producto/fu..._80_bronze_ssr_500gb3_9373?redir=1&nro_max=50

It's entirely your choice to use a cheaper psu, and it's not your fault for what's available in your country... just keep in mind to avoid more power hungry gpus until you can get ahold of something better.
For example, gpus like the RTX 2070 and RX 5700 would not have a lasting relationship on those cheaper models.
Click to expand...

Don't you worry, I'm not even gonna get a GPU with 50% of the power of those two you mentioned any time soon haha.
 
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