[SOLVED] Looking for advice and suggestions on upgrade options

NMueller91

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Sep 2, 2013
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Approximate Purchase Date: This week if possible, if not, then with in the month

Budget Range: $500 after discounts and rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming
Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade:

CPU: Ryzen 5 1600
GPU: RX 580

Do you need to buy OS:
No
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
newegg.com

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Parts Preferences: AMD
Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 3840*2160

Additional Comments: Looking for advice on if I should upgrade to the Ryzen 5 3600, or upgrade to a better GPU.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Looking to get something nice for my self and get some more performance out of my PC.

So my question is, would I get more benefit out of upgrading my CPU to a Ryzen 5 3600, or upgrading my graphics card to a RTX 2060? I don't have the money to spend on getting a new motherboard to use the Ryzen 5 5600X, and from what I can tell, it seems as if the Radeon 6600 GPU's are about the same performance wise as the RTX 2060. My budget is about 600 dollars.
 
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Solution
  • Ethereum's proof-of-stake conversion is still(?) slated to happen in mid 2022....maybe. That will inevitably ease GPU demand and introduce cards into the secondary markets as more casual miners close up shop instead of pivoting to other alt coins that are (currently) less profitable to mine. This should all reduce GPU prices, used and new.
    • FYI, I sold my RX480 a few months ago for $350 to a crypto miner. I paid $550 for my EVGA RTX3060Ti from Best Buy (watching stock checkers for 5 months), but since my 6 year old GPU sold for $150 more than my purchase price, I basically got to use my RX480 for free for 6 years AND it gave me $150 to put toward my new GPU, reducing the effective cost of my 3060Ti to the $400 MSRP of...
What mobo and RAM do you have?
Do you have an SSD?

TBH, at least CPUs/mobos aren't inflated by 2x (the RTX2060 is a $300-$350 GPU). The RX580 still has legs for 1080p gaming.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/624551/asus-b550m-a-prime-(wifi)-amd-am4-microatx-motherboard

^ $350 + tax
 
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Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

Try this 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.
 

NMueller91

Distinguished
Sep 2, 2013
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So I played two matches in War Thunder. The first one was on High, GPU was running at 100% utilization, with about 60 fps. The second match was on low graphics settings, 100% utilization, about 100 fps.

Played a match against the AI in WARNO, full on 4v4. I had the system at high graphics, and was pushing about 15-20 fps, when I switched the graphics in game to medium, the fps rate improved to about 30-35 fps.

So it seems like my CPU is not acting as a bottleneck, so in that case, I should upgrade my GPU if I understand this right. In that case, what would be a good option to upgrade to, even if it is a minor one, as I know my budget won't really allow for anything crazy like a 3070 or a 6600.
 
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  • Ethereum's proof-of-stake conversion is still(?) slated to happen in mid 2022....maybe. That will inevitably ease GPU demand and introduce cards into the secondary markets as more casual miners close up shop instead of pivoting to other alt coins that are (currently) less profitable to mine. This should all reduce GPU prices, used and new.
    • FYI, I sold my RX480 a few months ago for $350 to a crypto miner. I paid $550 for my EVGA RTX3060Ti from Best Buy (watching stock checkers for 5 months), but since my 6 year old GPU sold for $150 more than my purchase price, I basically got to use my RX480 for free for 6 years AND it gave me $150 to put toward my new GPU, reducing the effective cost of my 3060Ti to the $400 MSRP of the 3060Ti FE at the very least. Nowadays, it seems you ain't getting a GPU from Best Buy unless you pay them for a $200/yr membership.
  • I would say that a Ryzen 1600 + RX580 is pretty well balanced. Upgrading one will inevitably allow the other to stretch its wings.
  • Keep in mind availability.
    • As I posted above, you can buy a 5600X + mobo tonight if you want at uninflated pricing.
    • It's not easy to find a GPU to purchase. And if you do, it's gonna cost >>> MSRP typically.
  • Obviously AM5 is set to launch at the end of 2022. Intel's foray into DDR5 and PCIe5.0 this year showed us that those upgrades are very expensive, even if the CPU price is relatively attractive. DDR5 is still pretty hard to get, and costs 2x/GB more than DDR4. Mobos are seemingly $75-100 more than they ought to be. Hard to say how much that landscape will have improved by late 2022 obviously.
 
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