Question PC UPGRADE 2020

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Camperhunter666

Mar 26, 2020
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Hello everyone,

I am currently thinking on upgrading my gaming PC which i bought in 2016 and need some advice on what CPU, GPU, SSD and Motherboard are well priced and performance worthy for a new build for this budget.

Current Specs :

-PC Case: Zalman Z11 Neo
-Motherboard: ASUS B150M-K
-CPU: i5 6500
-RAM: 16 GB ( DDR4 )
-HDD: 1 TB
-SSD: 120 GB
-GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
-PowerSupply: PSU COOLERMASTER ELITE SERIES 600W (RS-600-ACAB-M4)

As you see on my first build i focused on obtaining a good power supply, RAM, Case and HDD so that i could focus more on the CPU, GPU and Motherboard in the future. I mainly want to focus on upgrading the CPU with an 8th or 9th generation 8-core processor but that means that in order to do that i have to buy a new Motherboard as the B150M-K is compatible with 6th generation processors ( Skylake ) but not with the new 8th and 9th generation CPUs ( CoffeeLake ). I am also willing to check some AMD processors as i have heard that they come in a pretty good price with good specs but i havent looked them up yet. I definitely want to upgrade the GPU as well. I have already looked the GTX 1660 up which comes in a pretty good price but i am really considering some Graphics Cards from the AMD line as well but havent decided yet. I also want to upgrade my SSD to 1 Terrabyte so that i will focus on upgrading only my RAM on the next upgrade.

I am willing to pay 600-700 euros max for this upgrade.

Thank you in advance
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
Hello everyone,

I am currently thinking on upgrading my gaming PC which i bought in 2016 and need some advice on what CPU, GPU, SSD and Motherboard are well priced and performance worthy for a new build for this budget.

Current Specs :

-PC Case: Zalman Z11 Neo
-Motherboard: ASUS B150M-K
-CPU: i5 6500
-RAM: 16 GB ( DDR4 )
-HDD: 1 TB
-SSD: 120 GB
-GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
-PowerSupply: Coolermaster ATX 600W Power Supply

As you see on my first build i focused on obtaining a good power supply, RAM, Case and HDD so that i could focus more on the CPU, GPU and Motherboard in the future. I mainly want to focus on upgrading the CPU with an 8th or 9th generation 8-core processor but that means that in order to do that i have to buy a new Motherboard as the B150M-K is compatible with 6th generation processors ( Skylake ) but not with the new 8th and 9th generation CPUs ( CoffeeLake ). I am also willing to check some AMD processors as i have heard that they come in a pretty good price with good specs but i havent looked them up yet. I definitely want to upgrade the GPU as well. I have already looked the GTX 1660 up which comes in a pretty good price but i am really considering some Graphics Cards from the AMD line but havent decided yet. I also want to upgrade my SSD to 1 Terrabyte so that i will focus on upgrading only my RAM on the next upgrade.

I am willing to pay 600-700 euros max for this upgrade.

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...
What country are you in so that we can get pricing from there?
 
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Sadly pcpartpicker doesn't have anything for Greece. I did build a list from the German version and this is at least a starting point for the components.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€179.00 @ ARLT)
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (€101.79 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€126.80 @ Alza)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB PULSE Video Card (€284.36 @ Alza)
Total: €691.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-26 16:56 CET+0100
Going with a 1660 Super is also a good choice it just won't have the same performance as the 5600XT.
 
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jeremyj_83 said:
Sadly pcpartpicker doesn't have anything for Greece. I did build a list from the German version and this is at least a starting point for the components.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€179.00 @ ARLT)
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (€101.79 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (€126.80 @ Alza)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB PULSE Video Card (€284.36 @ Alza)
Total: €691.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-26 16:56 CET+0100
Going with a 1660 Super is also a good choice it just won't have the same performance as the 5600XT.
Click to expand...
Yes there are certain issues with buying from foreign countries from here. But prices are almost the same with Europe. You can help me up if you look up hardware on www.skroutz.gr and www.e-shop.gr which are the major sites we have here to buy pc hardware in good prices. Just use the "translate page" setting on chrome browser to translate the pages to english and you're in. This build looks pretty decent and I have heard that AMD builds are pretty beast solid especially when you consider the price in comparison with Intel's. Will the motherboard be able to get paired with Intel's 8th and 9th gen processors if there is any need to switch to intel? I read somewhere that there are Motherboards which are compatible only with Intel and other ones which are only compatible with AMD but are there any which are compatible with both? As for the Ryzen 5 should i buy any processor cooling fans separately as well or are the already installed ones sufficient in case i decide to overclock? Also the motherboard would be compatible with certain new Nvidia graphic cards in case i decide to put one in the future?But i guess i am gonna have to buy both an Intel compatible Motherboard and an AMD compatible one in the long run in order to have more alternative upgrade options in the future. How long will this last until the need to upgrade again and what would be an equal to this Build in Intel standards? I bet it would surely be more expensive but of lower and maybe even of a bit worse performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 is surely stronger than the i7 9700K maybe a bit better as well and the Radeon RX XT more advanced than the GTX 1660 and maybe even a bit more than GTX 1660 Ti. Which is the next more expensive option that we have in case we want to get an AMD video card which is equal to the GTX 2060 - GTX 2080 ?
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
Yes there are certain issues with buying from foreign countries from here. But prices are almost the same with Europe. You can help me up if you look up hardware on www.skroutz.gr and www.e-shop.gr which are the major sites we have here to buy pc hardware in good prices. Just use the "translate page" setting on chrome browser to translate the pages to english and you're in. This build looks pretty decent and I have heard that AMD builds are pretty beast solid especially when you consider the price in comparison with Intel's. Will the motherboard be able to get paired with Intel's 8th and 9th gen processors if there is any need to switch to intel? I read somewhere that there are Motherboards which are compatible only with Intel and other ones which are only compatible with AMD but are there any which are compatible with both? As for the Ryzen 5 should i buy any processor cooling fans separately as well or are the already installed ones sufficient in case i decide to overclock? Also the motherboard would be compatible with certain new Nvidia graphic cards in case i decide to put one in the future?But i guess i am gonna have to buy both an Intel compatible Motherboard and an AMD compatible one in the long run in order to have more alternative upgrade options in the future. How long will this last until the need to upgrade again and what would be an equal to this Build in Intel standards? I bet it would surely be more expensive but of lower and maybe even of a bit worse performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 is surely stronger than the i7 9700K maybe a bit better as well and the Radeon RX XT more advanced than the GTX 1660 and maybe even a bit more than GTX 1660 Ti. Which is the next more expensive option that we have in case we want to get an AMD video card which is equal to the GTX 2060 - GTX 2080 ?
Click to expand...
Looking at those two websites I can say you will want to go with www.skrotz.gr as e-shop.gr is very expensive. On to your questions:
1.) An AMD CPU cannot be used in an Intel motherboard same as an Intel CPU cannot be used in an AMD motherboard. You will have to decide which way you want to go. For price/performance you cannot beat AMD and their absolute performance is also excellent.
2.) If you go with the 3600 it comes with a CPU cooler. The cooler is good enough for use in a stock configuration. If you want to over clock it you will want to get an aftermarket cooler like a Be Quiet Shadow Rock 3, Cooler Master MasterAir MA410M, or Cooler Master 212 EVO. Also manually overclocking a Ryzen CPU does not add much performance and can lead to worse performance. If you want to overclock use their Precision Boost Overdrive function for automatic overclocking.
3.) Performance of the 3600 & 3600X is on par with a stock clocked Intel i7-8700k. When you get into Rendering and Encoding the 3600/X is going to be typically only a little slower than an i7-9700k.
4.) The AMD 5600XT will have better GPU performance than the GTX 1660 Super or GTX 1660Ti. If you get one that has the vBIOS update, like the Sapphire Pulse, the 5600XT will perform like a RTX 2060. The AMD RX5700 is about 10% faster than an RTX 2060 and the RX5700XT is about 10% faster than the RTX 2060 Super, or about 5% slower than the RTX 2070 Super.
 
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I'm not comfortable with the CoolerMaster PSU. They make good coolers and cases, but not PSUs. You want a good PSU to protect your expensive new parts.

Take a look at the first link in my sig - that should give you a good guide into getting a high quality PSU. I know, however, that availability for you might not be the same as in, say, the US, or Germany perhaps.
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
My PowerSupply model is the PSU COOLERMASTER ELITE SERIES 600W (RS-600-ACAB-M4)
Click to expand...
That isn't the greatest PSU by any means. Probably around the Corsair VS in terms of quality. That means you have a 2 year warranty and everything after that is just bonus time until it dies. Problem is that when these go, especially the cheaper units, they tend to take out large portions of computers.
 
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jeremyj_83 said:
That isn't the greatest PSU by any means. Probably around the Corsair VS in terms of quality. That means you have a 2 year warranty and everything after that is just bonus time until it dies. Problem is that when these go, especially the cheaper units, they tend to take out large portions of computers.
Click to expand...
I will definitely invest on a good PowerSupply as well in a good price. I have seen many BeQuiet PSUs recently from the Net but didn't decide which one to consider yet. The Watts must be the same ( 600-700W ) in order to ensure that the Rig stays solid regardless of how heavy will be my budget loadout and future similar upgrades.
Which PSU model would be a good choice in a considerable price?
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
I will definitely invest on a good PowerSupply as well in a good price. I have seen many BeQuiet PSUs recently from the Net but didn't decide which one to consider yet. The Watts must be the same ( 600-700W ) in order to ensure that the Rig stays solid regardless of how heavy will be my budget loadout and future similar upgrades.
Which PSU model would be a good choice in a considerable price?
Click to expand...
I'd go with a 650W of one of these.

7 year warranty semi modular:
Corsair TX-M
Seasonic Focus GM
Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro

10 year warranty fully modular:
Corsair RMx
Seasonic Focus GX

From what I've seen on skrotz's website, the best deal is the Seasonic Focus GX 650. It is only a few Euro more than the TX-M and GM, but comes with a semi silent mode, fully modular, & longer warranty. All of those that I mentioned are high quality PSUs from very reputable manufacturers.
 
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jeremyj_83 said:
I'd go with a 650W of one of these.

7 year warranty semi modular:
Corsair TX-M
Seasonic Focus GM
Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro

10 year warranty fully modular:
Corsair RMx
Seasonic Focus GX

From what I've seen on skrotz's website, the best deal is the Seasonic Focus GX 650. It is only a few Euro more than the TX-M and GM, but comes with a semi silent mode, fully modular, & longer warranty. All of those that I mentioned are high quality PSUs from very reputable manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Many thanks.Looks pretty solid but will all these components fill in the Zalman Case properly? The case is pretty big I gotta say and even bigger than most cases I see nowadays. What do you think?
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
Should I get a Psu with more Watts or is this ok? What will change in case of one with more Watts?
Click to expand...
A 650W PSU is more than enough for just about any single GPU system. You can go more and it won't hurt, you will probably just end up outside of the most efficient power band. A PSU is its most efficient when it is running at 50% capacity, above or below that the efficiency is less. That said if the 750W version of a PSU is cheaper than its 650W version, I'd go with the 750. The makes and models I listed before are all very good models. The ones with the 10 year warranty are even better than the 7 year and usually not much more expensive. They are from well know major manufacturers with known high quality.
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
I am thinking as well to buy a new monitor because the one I have right now is a bit old 27" and not curved. Do you have anyone in mind?
Click to expand...
They are more expensive but going 34" 3440x1440 is the way to go. They have the same vertical height as a 27" but are much wider. The added field of view is worth it for gaming and productivity work. MSI has an entry level one that runs around $450. Since these are more premium products, entry level is already very good.
 
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jeremyj_83 said:
Here are a couple ideas for very high quality PSUs.

650W 80+ Gold:
Seasonic Focus GX
Corsair RMx
Corsair TX-M - this isn't as good as the RMx. Still good quality just not as good as the two above it.

650W 80+ Platinum:
Seasonic Focus PX

750W 80+ Gold:
Corsair TX-M - same comments as the other TX-M
Seasonic Focus GX

750W 80+ Platinum:
Seasonic Focus PX
Click to expand...
As for the mother board you provided me, I decided to spend more euros on order to get a motherboard which has more data ports because I decided to get one more HDD 1TB, one more SSD 1TB and 16GB more RAM.

As I already told you previously, in my current build I have one SSD 120 GB, one HDD 1TB and 16GB RAM. So I basically decided to buy one more HDD of 1TB and one more SSD of 1TB so I need more SATA ports on my motherboard in order to fit those in. And of course I will get one more RAM of 16GB in order to maximize my specs.

I thought that maybe I should put some more money on a better CPU or GPU but those that you provided me already are pretty good and it should be far more time lasting to upgrade my RAM, HDD and SSD.


So the motherboard that you provided me has only 4 SATA ports. The only one I found that has 6 SATA ports is the Aorus B450 M (rev. 1.0) (B450 AORUS M) which is a bit more pricy but worth it.
 
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Camperhunter666 said:
Is there any other motherboard that fits with the parts that you provided me but has 6 SATA ports and its price is between 70-90?
Click to expand...
The biggest thing to remember with B450 motherboards and Ryzen 3000 series is not all boards are setup for Ryzen 3000 series support out of the box. The only ones that I know of are the MSI Max series and ASRock B450M/AC, but the ASRock isn't available in Europe.
These two motherboards are a little more than 90 Euro but have 6x SATA ports.
MSI-B450-A-Pro-Max
MSI-B450-Gaming-Plus-Max
One thing to remember is that the SSD that I had recommended, is an NVMe drive. That means that it doesn't use a SATA cable to connect to the motherboard, it actually plug into a specific port directly on the motherboard. https://www.pcworld.com/article/2899351/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nvme.html
 
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jeremyj_83 said:
The biggest thing to remember with B450 motherboards and Ryzen 3000 series is not all boards are setup for Ryzen 3000 series support out of the box. The only ones that I know of are the MSI Max series and ASRock B450M/AC, but the ASRock isn't available in Europe.
These two motherboards are a little more than 90 Euro but have 6x SATA ports.
MSI-B450-A-Pro-Max
MSI-B450-Gaming-Plus-Max
One thing to remember is that the SSD that I had recommended, is an NVMe drive. That means that it doesn't use a SATA cable to connect to the motherboard, it actually plug into a specific port directly on the motherboard. https://www.pcworld.com/article/2899351/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nvme.html
Click to expand...
That looks fine. As for the new 1TB HDD I found this : https://www.skroutz.gr/s/11871386/Toshiba-P300-1TB-Bulk.html
And for the new RAM 16GB this :

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/19830491/HyperX-Fury-16GB-DDR4-2666MHz-HX426C16FB3-16.html
 
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