[SOLVED] not sure what to upgrade....if anything

[GreenAroundTheBit]

Kicking around the idea to upgrade my store bought (micro center) gaming pc. I am kinda new (early 2018) to PC gaming and feel like I am missing out on better, not best, graphics/performance. My monitor is probably the best part of my rig and i want to utilize it a bit more...what do i need to achieve this? Thanks in advance!

P.S. First post on the site, my signature should have pc specs....lets post and find out!

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, how much, total, do you think you want to invest in upgrades, always assuming less is better of course, but also assuming some realistic idea of what it's going to take to get you to a respectable level?

Looking at your specs, I can see that there are some errors there.

For starters, the Ryzen 5 1600 is a 6 core twelve thread CPU, not an 8 core.

It's also not very strong in the area of single core performance and IPC, so the CPU is an obvious first choice especially if you are not hitting the FPS margins you are looking for.

Secondly, the graphics card is not only WAY to weak for 1440p gaming, it's also somewhat dated already as well.

Those would be the first two things that jump out, but knowing what the EXACT model of your power supply is would be helpful as well so we know whether it can support a specific graphics card update AND whether or not it is even in fact a standard ATX form factor. Many prebuilt systems use either proprietary power supplies or smaller form factor versions.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

If you had a 1080p monitor I'd say get a Ryzen 5 3600.

But since you have 1440p,.. I'd go for a GPU upgrade first. While an RTX 2060 would be a good upgrade, I'd spring for a 2070 or 2070 Super. Also, consider an RX 5700 XT.

Wait,.. is that 6GB of RAM you have? You should probably get 2x8GB DDR4 3000 or 3200 if you are buying new RAM.

 

[Darkbreeze]

My 2060 Super does 1440p just fine. Very well in fact. There are only a few games where I need to drop some eye candy. My bigger problem is maintaining higher FPS which is due to my older 6700k not getting the job done because even when I drop off to medium settings, my FPS does not increase. So the 2060 Super is a decent entry level choice for 1440p gaming at mostly high to ultra settings if you have a CPU capable enough to handle the FPS you require.

If a budget will allow it, I'd agree that a 2070 Super is a better choice because you could undoubtedly maintain 60fps or higher, depending on what you're playing, without having to drop any settings for most all titles.

Just about anything though, whether an RX 5700/XT, 1660 Super, 1660 ti, 2060 or higher, would be a very significant improvement from that GTX 1060 though.

16GB of RAM is probably a very good idea as well. Good catch, because I didn't notice that when I looked over the list.

 

[GreenAroundTheBit]

Thanks for the replies, errors noted on my specs so thank you for saying something....budget is key, I’d like to stay less than $600 total but wiggle room is there. Ram is 16gb and the power supply it came with crapped out so it was replaced to a silver 650 I think, not sure on brand but I’m sure it was cheap off the shelf of micro center

 

[Darkbreeze]

This would be my recommendation. If necessary, you could split this up into two upgrades. I'd do the graphics card and power supply FIRST, if necessary, followed by the CPU later.

Your motherboard will support this CPU but you will need to make sure you are on the latest BIOS release. If you wanted an even higher assurance of Ultra settings capability, then the jump to an RTX 2070 or 2070 Super, as mentioned before, wouldn't be wasted here.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.79 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($419.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $689.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-30 01:34 EDT-0400

 

[GreenAroundTheBit]

Ok awesome response, bare with me as Im still learning.....so this would put me “up to date” and in the legit 1440p gaming world for years to come?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes. And if you want "years to come", as I said before, it might not be a bad idea to be looking at the 2070 or 2070 Super, as games are only going to get MORE difficult in terms of hardware demands, as time goes by. But with a 3600 and one of these graphics cards, or even something that might be a little less expensive like an RX 5700XT, you should be good for 3-5 years.

When it comes to Nvidia graphics cards I highly recommend that you stick to EVGA. The quality and customer support after the sale, if needed, are second to none.

If you go with an AMD based card like the 5700xt, I recommend sticking to Sapphire or XFX.