Good morning, folks. I'm looking to overhaul a few pieces of my current setup. I've got some (limited) experience with building PCs, but I'm not by any means an advanced user. With that in mind, I wanted to layout my current setup and what I had hoped to improve and get opinions on if there's a more cost effective solution, as well as to point out anything I may have over looked.
My current setup is:
Mobo: Gigabyte GA990FXA-UD3 AM3+
CPU: AMD FX8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-core 4Ghz
PSU: Rosewill 1000w
RAM: 4x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600
HDD/SSD: 256GB Samsung Pro SSD, Samsung 850 500GB SSD, Generic 1TB HDD
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Founder's Edition.
Case: Antec 900
My plan is to keep the graphics card, power supply and storage drives. The goal is to have the 256GB SSD exclusively for windows, the 500GB SSD for games and the 1TB HDD for overflow (docs, photos, etc.). This means upgrading the CPU, Motherboard, case and RAM. Ideally, I'm looking for a cost-effective upgrade for gaming, as most of the tech on my current build is fairly outdated. I've looked at a few options and want to keep my costs ideally below $1,000 (CND). This is what I came up with, but definitely would love some advice if there's more optimal solutions. The goal is to improve my performance for gaming, without breaking the bank, or needing to upgrade again (other than maybe my GPU) for another 5 years.
This is what I've come up with so far:
Motherboard: MSI X370 GAMING PRO CARBON AM4 AMD X370 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard ($229 on Newegg)
CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 2700X 8-Core 3.7 GHz (4.3 GHz Max Boost) Socket AM4 105W YD270XBGAFBOX Desktop Processor ($400 on Newegg)
RAM: HyperX Fury 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400MHz DRAM (Desktop Memory) CL15 1.2V DIMM (288-pin) HX424C15FB2K2/16 (Intel XMP, AMD Ryzen) ($129 on Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase H500 ATX Mid-Tower, tempered glass panel, two 200mm RGB fans ($139 on Newegg)
The obvious question is will this be a significant performance increase? I don't know what the impact of switching to DDR4 vs DDR3 is. On top of that, the clock speed on the CPU for the Ryzen is actually lower than my current setup, but everything I've seen suggests it's a significant upgrade. The motherboard is of course a necessity as the AM3 sockets don't support DDR4, but I'm definitely open to the possibility of a better/more cost effective choice. If I do go with this build, does anyone see any potential compatability issues?
Lastly, I've always used AMD, but I've been told that intel has better options at this price point. I'm reluctant to switch, as AMD is just what I'm comfortable with (I've used them for my last 4 builds and never been disappointed). Having said that, if someone can make a strong case otherwise, I'm definitely open to the switch at this point.
EDIT: Also, should add I've never overclocked (or really worked with additional cooling/radiator options), so I'm not planning to do so with this build. Would be running everything stock.
Thanks for any and all advice, it is very much appreciated!
My current setup is:
Mobo: Gigabyte GA990FXA-UD3 AM3+
CPU: AMD FX8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-core 4Ghz
PSU: Rosewill 1000w
RAM: 4x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600
HDD/SSD: 256GB Samsung Pro SSD, Samsung 850 500GB SSD, Generic 1TB HDD
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Founder's Edition.
Case: Antec 900
My plan is to keep the graphics card, power supply and storage drives. The goal is to have the 256GB SSD exclusively for windows, the 500GB SSD for games and the 1TB HDD for overflow (docs, photos, etc.). This means upgrading the CPU, Motherboard, case and RAM. Ideally, I'm looking for a cost-effective upgrade for gaming, as most of the tech on my current build is fairly outdated. I've looked at a few options and want to keep my costs ideally below $1,000 (CND). This is what I came up with, but definitely would love some advice if there's more optimal solutions. The goal is to improve my performance for gaming, without breaking the bank, or needing to upgrade again (other than maybe my GPU) for another 5 years.
This is what I've come up with so far:
Motherboard: MSI X370 GAMING PRO CARBON AM4 AMD X370 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard ($229 on Newegg)
CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 2700X 8-Core 3.7 GHz (4.3 GHz Max Boost) Socket AM4 105W YD270XBGAFBOX Desktop Processor ($400 on Newegg)
RAM: HyperX Fury 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400MHz DRAM (Desktop Memory) CL15 1.2V DIMM (288-pin) HX424C15FB2K2/16 (Intel XMP, AMD Ryzen) ($129 on Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase H500 ATX Mid-Tower, tempered glass panel, two 200mm RGB fans ($139 on Newegg)
The obvious question is will this be a significant performance increase? I don't know what the impact of switching to DDR4 vs DDR3 is. On top of that, the clock speed on the CPU for the Ryzen is actually lower than my current setup, but everything I've seen suggests it's a significant upgrade. The motherboard is of course a necessity as the AM3 sockets don't support DDR4, but I'm definitely open to the possibility of a better/more cost effective choice. If I do go with this build, does anyone see any potential compatability issues?
Lastly, I've always used AMD, but I've been told that intel has better options at this price point. I'm reluctant to switch, as AMD is just what I'm comfortable with (I've used them for my last 4 builds and never been disappointed). Having said that, if someone can make a strong case otherwise, I'm definitely open to the switch at this point.
EDIT: Also, should add I've never overclocked (or really worked with additional cooling/radiator options), so I'm not planning to do so with this build. Would be running everything stock.
Thanks for any and all advice, it is very much appreciated!
Last edited:
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