Question PC Upgrade Advice

[RedWingg]

CPU: Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm)
MoBo: AsRock AB350 Pro4
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3000 CL16
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
GPU: EVGA XC GTX 1660Ti 6GB
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300 Mid Tower
PSU: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze

Hey y'all, I'm looking to upgrade my build and have been for some time now. Since I have a steady supply of cash coming in now, and how the market has turned I was thinking that now would be the perfect time to upgrade to some better parts. Ideally, I would like to get a better CPU and motherboard and leave it at that, however I don't have an issue with saving up a little more money to get something that will last me a couple years before eventually upgrading again. I mostly use my PC to play games and am looking for something in $500-$600 range total. I have looked at the i5-12600K, i5-134000, R7 5700/5700X, and the R7 5800/5800X/5800X3D and I'm not sure what to buy, though other suggestions are very much welcome. The issue I've found resides mostly with motherboard selection. Intel motherboards seem to be cheaper than AMD boards from what I've seen and I'd like for, as much as possible, to get a board that will limit the performance of whichever CPU I end up getting as little as possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Why_Me]

Later on when you get more money upgrade your gpu.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($128.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($58.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($50.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *FSP Group Hydro G Pro 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $493.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-09 01:21 EDT-0400

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Since you are planning on changing cpu and mobo, go a model that would give you the option to upgrade the CPU later.

PSU upgrade as the current one you have is not great. the revolt pro 850 would be more than enough for your future gpu upgrades.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B650E PG RIPTIDE WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL38 Memory ($82.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Phanteks Revolt Pro 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $652.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-09 02:30 EDT-0400

 

[RedWingg]

Later on when you get more money upgrade your gpu.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($128.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($58.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($50.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *FSP Group Hydro G Pro 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $493.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-09 01:21 EDT-0400

What about an i5-12600K? That should work with the rest of the parts list you've given here, right? Also, would configuring my case be more difficult with a micro ATX rather than a full?

Since you are planning on changing cpu and mobo, go a model that would give you the option to upgrade the CPU later.

PSU upgrade as the current one you have is not great. the revolt pro 850 would be more than enough for your future gpu upgrades.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B650E PG RIPTIDE WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL38 Memory ($82.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Phanteks Revolt Pro 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $652.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-09 02:30 EDT-0400

Do you think now would be the time to switch over to DDR5? I assume that parts won't really be getting cheaper than they are now. I don't mind spending a couple extra bucks if it means less pain further down the road

 

[Lafong]

Yes, a 12600K would be compatible with those parts. You might consider spending a few more dollars on a better cooler.

Most any case that will accept full ATX motherboards will also accept micro ATX motherboards. Not sure what you mean by "configuring my case".

I'd probably go with DDR 5 unless you are really in a budget storm. Price difference might be under 50 bucks at the 32 gb level? You might be fine with only 16 gb? You just have to decide where to spend the last 50 bucks.... stronger CPU? better motherboard? DDR 5? Larger drive?

 

[RedWingg]

Yes, a 12600K would be compatible with those parts. You might consider spending a few more dollars on a better cooler.

Most any case that will accept full ATX motherboards will also accept micro ATX motherboards. Not sure what you mean by "configuring my case".

I'd probably go with DDR 5 unless you are really in a budget storm. Price difference might be under 50 bucks at the 32 gb level? You might be fine with only 16 gb? You just have to decide where to spend the last 50 bucks.... stronger CPU? better motherboard? DDR 5? Larger drive?

I get that a micro ATX would fit into a full ATX, but I just figured that since its 'micro' it would have a smaller IO but judging from your reaction that must not be the case. I was looking at the Thermalright Peerless Assassin which I've seen does pretty well with most CPUs, so I might drop the couple extra bucks on that, as long as it fits the MoBo that I end up getting, whatever that might be.

 

[Anon#1234]

CPU: Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm)
MoBo: AsRock AB350 Pro4
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3000 CL16
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
GPU: EVGA XC GTX 1660Ti 6GB
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300 Mid Tower
PSU: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze

Hey y'all, I'm looking to upgrade my build and have been for some time now. Since I have a steady supply of cash coming in now, and how the market has turned I was thinking that now would be the perfect time to upgrade to some better parts. Ideally, I would like to get a better CPU and motherboard and leave it at that, however I don't have an issue with saving up a little more money to get something that will last me a couple years before eventually upgrading again. I mostly use my PC to play games and am looking for something in $500-$600 range total. I have looked at the i5-12600K, i5-134000, R7 5700/5700X, and the R7 5800/5800X/5800X3D and I'm not sure what to buy, though other suggestions are very much welcome. The issue I've found resides mostly with motherboard selection. Intel motherboards seem to be cheaper than AMD boards from what I've seen and I'd like for, as much as possible, to get a board that will limit the performance of whichever CPU I end up getting as little as possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

may I introduce you to intel arc

 

[Lafong]

I get that a micro ATX would fit into a full ATX, but I just figured that since its 'micro' it would have a smaller IO but judging from your reaction that must not be the case. I was looking at the Thermalright Peerless Assassin which I've seen does pretty well with most CPUs, so I might drop the couple extra bucks on that, as long as it fits the MoBo that I end up getting, whatever that might be.

There is a major subdivision between Z790M and B760M. Chipset. B760M is fine for me; might not be for you.

There are price/feature variations among micro ATX as well as full ATX. How many slots do you need?

Other factors relate to type and number of USB ports; type and number of M.2 ports; audio codec; VRM quality; number of fan connectors; number and type of monitor connections; LAN provider; M.2 heatsinks, etc etc.

I have no idea which, if any, of those things are important to you.

I wouldn't buy lower level of micro or full. The upper level of micro ranges from 180 on up for 13th generation Intel.

 

[RedWingg]

There is a major subdivision between Z790M and B760M. Chipset. B760M is fine for me; might not be for you.

There are price/feature variations among micro ATX as well as full ATX. How many slots do you need?

Other factors relate to type and number of USB ports; type and number of M.2 ports; audio codec; VRM quality; number of fan connectors; number and type of monitor connections; LAN provider; M.2 heatsinks, etc etc.

I have no idea which, if any, of those things are important to you.

I wouldn't buy lower level of micro or full. The upper level of micro ranges from 180 on up for 13th generation Intel.

Slots for?

I don't need to go crazy with USB ports, 5 does the trick for me. As of right now, I don't have an SSD but I don't really need to go crazy on M.2 slots, either. Audio codec would be a big one I guess, I like sound and audio quality (or lack thereof) is very noticeable to me. VRM isn't super important as I don't plan on overclocking anything as I don't think I really have the experience with computers to do any of that at the moment. Currently on wireless connection but I plan on being in a place where I can freely use Ethernet in the near future and having faster Gb/s would only be a plus. Currently use one monitor and would only have two max, if I ever even decide to do that.

Other than that, if I decided to stick to AMD would you have any advice for me in that regard?

 

[Lafong]

Slots for?

I don't need to go crazy with USB ports, 5 does the trick for me. As of right now, I don't have an SSD but I don't really need to go crazy on M.2 slots, either. Audio codec would be a big one I guess, I like sound and audio quality (or lack thereof) is very noticeable to me. VRM isn't super important as I don't plan on overclocking anything as I don't think I really have the experience with computers to do any of that at the moment. Currently on wireless connection but I plan on being in a place where I can freely use Ethernet in the near future and having faster Gb/s would only be a plus. Currently use one monitor and would only have two max, if I ever even decide to do that.

Other than that, if I decided to stick to AMD would you have any advice for me in that regard?

No AMD-specific advice.

Some people need RAID cards, sound cards, adapters of various types, etc. Full ATX tends to have more slots.

I use a maximum of 1 and my micro ATX board has 4, so I have little use for full ATX.

I use Ethernet only, but many/most micro boards have wireless.

Most micro boards have 2 monitor connections; might be HDMI or Display Port or a combination. The earlier connectors like DVI-D seem to be fading away.

You might pay attention to PS/2 keyboard/mouse connectors; they are fading away too.

Sound tends to be provided by Realtek on nearly any board. There's a few variations of Realtek. I haven't been noticed any difference. If you are blessed/cursed with golden ears, you wouldn't care and would put a stand alone sound card in a slot.

Do you need anything off-beat like Thunderbolt? That can be uncommon.

If you are looking at Intel micro ATX, I'd look at Gigabyte AORUS line or MSI MAG Mortar.