Question Looking for Help

[LisaNew72]

My son did his own computer build a few years ago. He is now asking to upgrade components. Between the two of us, we only know enough to be dangerous 😉. Thank you!

 

[NightHawkRMX]

A lot of info required.

Are you looking for a brand new PC or to upgrade an existing one?
What exact parts does his current PC have?
What budget do you have?
What do you do with this PC?
What issues is he having with current hardware?

 

[LisaNew72]

I can post exact specs tomorrow.
Looking to upgrade
$500-$800
Gaming, video streaming
He just feels like it’s slow and wants something more powerful.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Ok, can help once we know full specs.

Be sure to include the PSU make and mode.

 

[LisaNew72]

Here’s the info I gathered. Please let me know if you need anything else. Thank you!

EVGA supernova nex650G
ASRock Z97 Anniversary
G Skills Ares F3-1600C10D-16GAO (2x8GB)
AMD Radeon R9 390
Sandisk SDSSHII960G

 

[WildCard999]

Need to know the CPU.

 

[LisaNew72]

Oh! Intel I-5. Is that what you mean? Sorry!

 

[WildCard999]

What is the system struggling to do?

If it's struggling with gaming due to the 4 cores on the i5 then your going to want to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard/RAM (DDR4).

 

[LisaNew72]

He says it’s struggling with gaming.

 

[RodroX]

This is what I would do to have something that will last me a few more years:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($189.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler ($35.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $730.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-18 14:56 EST-0500

Now if you wana save some money this is a good alternative too:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler ($35.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $660.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-18 14:57 EST-0500

Cheers!

PD: I added an aftermarket cooler cause I like silence, or atleast as close to silence as I can get, and I don't like the noise some stock coolers do. If your son doesn't care about that you can just avoid it.

PD2: Theres no much he can do in the "CPU deparment" to upgrade that PC, unless he try to get some used parts, like a Core i7, but Im guessing it will get really expensive.

 

[LisaNew72]

Thank you!

 

[LisaNew72]

Will he add the memory to his current memory or replace it?

 

[RodroX]

You could change the nvidia GPU I posted to this if you like it more (it should be a bit better in the performance department): https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FD2bt6/sapphire-radeon-rx-5700-8-gb-pulse-video-card-11294-01-20g

 

[RodroX]

No, this I posted is getting a new Motherboard + CPU + RAM (memory) + GPU (Video card).

With that budget, I don't think is worth it upgrading that PC. In fact adding more memory wont help him at all.

 

[LisaNew72]

You could change the nvidia GPU I posted to this if you like it more (it should be a bit better in the performance department) to this: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FD2bt6/sapphire-radeon-rx-5700-8-gb-pulse-video-card-11294-01-20g

Would you recommend this as the best choice, then? Also, did you see my question about memory? Thank you! So appreciative!

 

[RodroX]

Would you recommend this as the best choice, then? Also, did you see my question about memory? Thank you! So appreciative!

I replied your memory question up there ^

 

[LisaNew72]

I’m a little confused - are you basically saying if I buy the parts you recommended, he’s essentially building a new one?

 

[WildCard999]

It's close to building a new system as your replacing pretty much half of the parts.

 

[RodroX]

I’m a little confused - are you basically saying if I buy the parts you recommended, he’s essentially building a new one?

Sadly yes, thats what Iam saying. The Z97 motherboard is not compatible with intels 6, 7, 8, or 9 gen CPUs. And far as I know you wont get any new core i7 5XXX. And if you try to buy it as a used part you will expend a lot of money, not really worth it if you ask me.

Adding more RAM to his current system wont help him either.

Changing the GPU (video card) may give him a little boost, but the old Core i5 (with only 4 physical cores and 4 logical threads) will be limiting the FPS and it will still sucks for streaming.

Any new Ryzen 5 CPU has (6 physical cores and 12 logical threads).

 

[LisaNew72]

Got it! So what would be your first pick on the graphics card?

 

[RodroX]

Got it! So what would be your first pick on the graphics card?

The AMD Radeon 5700 should give you a performance advantage over the nvidia RTX 2060.

 

[LisaNew72]

Thank you!

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I would look to almost nearly rebuilding.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor | $129.99 @ B&H
Motherboard | MSI B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | $99.99 @ Amazon
Memory | G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $59.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card | $403.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $84.98 @ Newegg
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $798.93
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $778.93
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-18 15:23 EST-0500 |
I would reuse the old PC case and SSD.

Old ram is ddr3. New ram is ddr4. Not compatable with one another.

The rx5700xt is basically the best value card in your budget. The sapphire pulse is a good model.

 

[WildCard999]

If you don't want to spend that much all at once you could just do the CPU/MB/RAM now and upgrade the others later on. The R9 390 is still a decent 1080P gaming GPU if that's the resolution he's gaming at.

 

[LisaNew72]

Thank you!