[SOLVED] Looking for upgrade advice

[evanater91]

Here's a link to my current build (originally built in late 2017) (updated to show hard drives)
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/evanater91/builds/#view=FRFG3C

Here are the upgrades I'm considering but I'm open to suggestions. I added an extra ram card and swapped the GPU for a pricier one with double the memory.
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/evanater91/builds/#view=Rrcqqs

This upgrade runs ~$450 but I'd rather keep it under $300.

Most demanding stuff I play right now: kingdom come: deliverance, mount and blade 2: bannerlord, witcher 3, skyrim heavily modded, and I plan to get cyberpunk when it comes out

I'm not opposed to waiting for cyber Monday.

 

[richiestang_78]

Here's a link to my current build (originally built in late 2017)
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/evanater91/builds/#view=FRFG3C

Here are the upgrades I'm considering but I'm open to suggestions. I added an extra ram card and swapped the GPU for a pricier one with double the memory.
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/evanater91/builds/#view=Rrcqqs

This upgrade runs ~$450 but I'd rather keep it under $300.

Most demanding stuff I play right now: kingdom come: deliverance, mount and blade 2: bannerlord, witcher 3, skyrim heavily modded, and I plan to get cyberpunk when it comes out

I'm not opposed to waiting for cyber Monday.

You really dont want to just buy another stick of RAM and add it, theres no guarentee it will work, or it will work at slower speeds, or be unstable or it might work perfect. Buy a set of matching RAM such as these https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Vt...b-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3600-memory-f4-3600c19d-16gvrb


You also might want to look for a used Ryzen 2600 or 2700 (be sure to update your BIOS with your current 1600 installed). Or wait for the Ryzen 3600s to go one sale when the 4000 series get released.

 

[ben001]

Hi,
Let's make your system faster.

1. Added faster memory. Your Ryzen will thank you for that.
2. I found your current motherboard supports RAID, so why not take that advantage. WD RE4 500GB (2x) with RAID 0 (Stripe). It also offers you more storage space as well.

PCPartPicker Part List

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-4000 CL18 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital RE4 500 GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($37.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital RE4 500 GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($37.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $175.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-16 05:38 EDT-0400

I highly recommend waiting for the new RTX 3000 series which might launch around next month. Observe the market, GPU performance for the price, and spend wisely. Apart from these items, I will touch nothing at the moment.

 

[cryoburner]

Here are the upgrades I'm considering but I'm open to suggestions. I added an extra ram card and swapped the GPU for a pricier one with double the memory.

The amount of video memory alone isn't directly indicative of the performance of a graphics card. On a particular game that doesn't utilize more than 4GB of VRAM, more VRAM alone isn't going to make a difference, though it can help in some of the more demanding games with the settings turned up.

What matters more is the actual performance of the GPU chip and other components on the card. In the case of a 2060 SUPER compared to a 1050 Ti, it can be up to around three times as fast as that card. That would make for a nice performance upgrade, but even a 2060 (non-SUPER), currently around $320, will typically provide around 85-90% of the SUPER version's performance. So, that might be a reasonable way to cut down the cost of the upgrade. And even a 1660 SUPER (starting around $230) should offer around double the graphics performance of a 1050 Ti. The 20-series cards do offer some additional features not found in the 16-series, but a 1660 SUPER might still be a reasonable option if you want to keep the total cost down to a minimum.

As was pointed out, a new generation of graphics cards is expected to launch next month, though I would only expect the really high-end models to be available initially. Some rumors are suggesting that a successor to the 2060 SUPER with significantly more performance might go on sale for around $400 in November, but it will probably be even later before we see models in the 1660 SUPER to 2060 price range, possibly not until early next year, though the exact release schedule is not publicly known at the moment.

Added faster memory. Your Ryzen will thank you for that.

1. I found your current motherboard supports RAID, so why not take that advantage. WD Black 500GB (2x) with RAID 0 (Stripe). It also offers you more storage space as well.

A matched set of faster memory is probably a good idea, but paying a premium for DDR4-4000 is a waste. First and second-gen Ryzen processors tend to top out around DDR4-3200, and even third-gen Ryzen typically only manages to handle up to around DDR4-3600 to 3733 speed. There's no sense paying significantly more for RAM frequency that they won't be able to make use of, and they might need to manually configure the RAM to get the most out of it at those reduced speeds.

As for a pair of 500GB hard drives in RAID0, it seems pointless when SSDs now offer far more performance and reliability in a similar price range. Hard drives are mainly good for bulk storage at this point, and for that, a single 2TB model can be had for less. For performance, it's possible to get a 1TB SSD for under $100 that will wipe the floor with any traditional hard drives in RAID0.

 

[ben001]

A matched set of faster memory is probably a good idea, but paying a premium for DDR4-4000 is a waste. First and second-gen Ryzen processors tend to top out around DDR4-3200, and even third-gen Ryzen typically only manages to handle up to around DDR4-3600 to 3733 speed. There's no sense paying significantly more for RAM frequency that they won't be able to make use of, and they might need to manually configure the RAM to get the most out of it at those reduced speeds.

As for a pair of 500GB hard drives in RAID0, it seems pointless when SSDs now offer far more performance and reliability in a similar price range. Hard drives are mainly good for bulk storage at this point, and for that, a single 2TB model can be had for less. For performance, it's possible to get a 1TB SSD for under $100 that will wipe the floor with any traditional hard drives in RAID0.

Yes, you may be right. A frequency 3600Mhz is fine. Getting a solid-state drive definitely a good option over RAID 0 spending $20-$30 more than 2 HDDs if you can get one from the market, but if you like a move towards HDD then the recommendation of RAID 0 (stripe) will be better than a single 2TB.

A single 2TB is cheaper but have also the potential to make one's system run slower. I am trying to provide a vision towards a performance also trying to cut costs as much as possible. I see the user has a familiarity to use less storage space since I don't notice any HDD at his current list. A 1TB should do the job done.

Overall, the focus should be on memory and storage space what I see at this point in time, and let's wait for the upcoming RTX release.

 

[evanater91]

@ben001 @richiestang_78 @cryoburner
Apologies, I didn't think to add my extra hard drives and ssd to the list, they were old ones from a previous build. I updated the first link to show what I have now precisely. Thank you all for your responses, I'm learning a lot.

Assuming the storage is taken care of, what should I prioritize? GPU, CPU, or RAM? Or what combination?

 

[ben001]

Hi,
So far my opinion is concerned, a faster 16GB of memory should be a good move (matched pair) and GPU whichever is newer to the market.

Based on your current profile, it shows 2 additional HDDs including an SSD. I would sell those mechanical drives and get any NVMe PCI M.2 1TB which will make things a lot better.

I also might attempt to overclock your Ryzen processor with a cheap aftermarket air cooler once I have the latest GPU, but your motherboard doesn't seem well-tuned for it, but it will do the job. You can try using your BIOS or AMD's software tool. In that case, you will need more wattage, but things will increase your budget. Anyways, this is optional.

 

[cryoburner]

The storage is probably okay for the moment. Loading games off a mechanical drive will typically take longer, but generally that shouldn't affect performance much while in-game. Installing the game library to an SSD might be nice, but isn't really a requirement for at least today's games, and in terms of what will provide the most gaming performance within that $300-$450 range, I would focus on the graphics card and RAM.

As was already pointed out, Ryzen prefers faster RAM. DDR4-2400 is a bit slow by current standards, but more importantly, only running a single stick will hurt the RAM's performance by only operating in single-channel mode. Mixing different RAM not sold in a matched set could potentially not work right, and if you have different speeds of RAM installed, it will all revert to the speed of the slowest stick. So ideally, you would be looking at getting a new matched 2x8GB kit of RAM, and maybe selling the old stick of RAM to recoup some of its value.