Question PC UPGRADE 2020

[Camperhunter666]

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

 

[jeremyj_83]

For bulk storage that will be plenty good enough. The RAM that you get should be the same speed and timings as the other RAM that you have. Mixing speeds and timings can lead to instability.

 

[Camperhunter666]

For bulk storage that will be plenty good enough. The RAM that you get should be the same speed and timings as the other RAM that you have. Mixing speeds and timings can lead to instability.

Is there a way to see the timing of the RAM I already have from the PC without opening the case? I don't have the receipt anymore sadly.

 

[Camperhunter666]

For bulk storage that will be plenty good enough. The RAM that you get should be the same speed and timings as the other RAM that you have. Mixing speeds and timings can lead to instability.

Alright so I checked my RAM using CMD and there are two RAM of 8GB DDR4 paired together.

The model is : HyperX Fury HX424C15FB/8

 

[Camperhunter666]

Is there a way to see the timing of the RAM I already have from the PC without opening the case? I don't have the receipt anymore sadly.

So basically as I have two 8GB RAM I am gonna have to buy another two RAM of 8GB because if I buy one RAM of 16GB it will be a bottleneck. Right?

 

[Camperhunter666]

For bulk storage that will be plenty good enough. The RAM that you get should be the same speed and timings as the other RAM that you have. Mixing speeds and timings can lead to instability.

Alright I checked the timing of my model and it is 15-15-15 with a memory clock speed of 2.133 MHz

 

[jeremyj_83]

Alright I checked the timing of my model and it is 15-15-15 with a memory clock speed of 2.133 MHz

If you stick with 2133MHz RAM for the Ryzen you will be losing performance. The 3000 series guarantees RAM at 3200MHz will work just fine. Depending on the application the performance difference between 2133MHz RAM & 3200MHz RAM can be anywhere from 0-15%. Gaming sees the biggest differences in performance between the two RAM speeds. Ideally you will want 3000MHz or faster RAM and having 4 Ranks of RAM. You can achieve 4 ranks either by having 2x dual rank or 4x single rank DIMMs. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-3000-best-memory-timings,6310-2.html
Personally I would go for one of these kits to assure all the RAM likes each other. Note that all of these will achieve 4 ranks of RAM.

4x 8GB:
G.Skill Aegis 32GB DDR4-3200
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red 32GB

2x 16GB
G.Skill Aegis 32GB DDR4-3000
Corsair Vengenance LPX 32GB DDR4-3200

Of them the 2x16GB DDR4-3000 is the cheapest by around 15-20 Euros. If you us 2x16GB you keep 2 RAM slots open for future expansion if you so desire.

 

[Camperhunter666]

If you stick with 2133MHz RAM for the Ryzen you will be losing performance. The 3000 series guarantees RAM at 3200MHz will work just fine. Depending on the application the performance difference between 2133MHz RAM & 3200MHz RAM can be anywhere from 0-15%. Gaming sees the biggest differences in performance between the two RAM speeds. Ideally you will want 3000MHz or faster RAM and having 4 Ranks of RAM. You can achieve 4 ranks either by having 2x dual rank or 4x single rank DIMMs. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-3000-best-memory-timings,6310-2.html
Personally I would go for one of these kits to assure all the RAM likes each other. Note that all of these will achieve 4 ranks of RAM.

4x 8GB:
G.Skill Aegis 32GB DDR4-3200
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red 32GB

2x 16GB
G.Skill Aegis 32GB DDR4-3000
Corsair Vengenance LPX 32GB DDR4-3200

Of them the 2x16GB DDR4-3000 is the cheapest by around 15-20 Euros. If you us 2x16GB you keep 2 RAM slots open for future expansion if you so desire.

I have left only 90 euros max to spend on RAM. I am thinking to buy 2 pieces of this following your advice :
https://www.skroutz.gr/s/19821559/HyperX-Fury-8GB-DDR4-3200MHz-HX432C16FB3K2-8.html

So it will be around 90 € in total.
4x 8GB RAM

What do you think?

 

[jeremyj_83]

I have left only 90 euros max to spend on RAM. I am thinking to buy 2 pieces of this following your advice :
https://www.skroutz.gr/s/19821559/HyperX-Fury-8GB-DDR4-3200MHz-HX432C16FB3K2-8.html

So it will be around 90 € in total.
4x 8GB RAM

What do you think?

It is good RAM.

 

[Camperhunter666]

It is good RAM.

As for the new HDD it's on 2TB. It's this model :
https://www.skroutz.gr/s/7602220/Western-Digital-Blue-2TB-5400rpm.html

I thought that I would be able to find a little bit cheaper one but I prefer the manufacturer.

Hope that it will fit along with the two SSDs and the old HDD 1TB in the 6 SATA ports of the new Motherboard that you recommended me.

Bad thing is that one SATA port should be used by the Disc Drive so there will basically be 5 free for use.

 

[jeremyj_83]

As for the new HDD it's on 2TB. It's this model :
https://www.skroutz.gr/s/7602220/Western-Digital-Blue-2TB-5400rpm.html

I thought that I would be able to find a little bit cheaper one but I prefer the manufacturer.

Hope that it will fit along with the two SSDs and the old HDD 1TB in the 6 SATA ports of the new Motherboard that you recommended me.

Bad thing is that one SATA port should be used by the Disc Drive so there will basically be 5 free for use.

You will be fine for storage as the WD Blue is a solid drive. It will mainly be bulk storage anyways so speed won't be an issue. Again if you use the NVMe SSD you won't lose out on a SATA port as that runs directly off the PCIe Bus.

 

[Camperhunter666]

Thanks very much for your assistance.I just bought another monitor and a bunch of other pc accessories to maximize by budget. Many thanks to you all.