Question Picking a CPU for what I need

[jacobgarrza]

Hello! I am someone who is looking for a new cpu because the one I have right now isn't cutting it. My current specs are
GTX 1050 ti, ryzen 3 1300x @ 3.9 ghz, and a msi pro-vdh motherboard. I like to stream on twitch but I keep sustaining some lag. I would like to know if it would be a notable upgrade, if I upgrade to a ryzen 7 1700x instead of the 1300x (I'm going to upgrade my GPU later down the line when I can get some money). Thanks for the help!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What board?

 

[mdd1963]

I'd update your BIOS, and shoot for a 2600X instead....higher clock speeds, higher RAM speeds, better gaming performance, still more than enough cores and threads for gaming and streaming...

 

[compprob237]

Hello! I am someone who is looking for a new cpu because the one I have right now isn't cutting it. My current specs are
GTX 1050 ti, ryzen 3 1300x @ 3.9 ghz, and a msi pro-vdh motherboard. I like to stream on twitch but I keep sustaining some lag. I would like to know if it would be a notable upgrade, if I upgrade to a ryzen 7 1700x instead of the 1300x (I'm going to upgrade my GPU later down the line when I can get some money). Thanks for the help!

The VRMs on that board can handle Raven Ridge (2200G/2400G) but a 6-core or higher Ryzen on that board would not be the best idea. Even with the Ryzen 5 2600 the VRMs will be dumping a significant amount of heat and they aren't exactly the greatest quality either. If you do decide to go with a 6-core or higher then I suggest you do not do any overclocking on it. If you do overclock with it then I highly suggest you have fans blowing directly on the VRMs. The VRMs on that board (both the B350 and B450, same VRMs) is hopeless for the 8 core Ryzens. It will work with them but... not for long.

 

[jacobgarrza]

The VRMs on that board can handle Raven Ridge (2200G/2400G) but a 6-core or higher Ryzen on that board would not be the best idea. Even with the Ryzen 5 2600 the VRMs will be dumping a significant amount of heat and they aren't exactly the greatest quality either. If you do decide to go with a 6-core or higher then I suggest you do not do any overclocking on it. If you do overclock with it then I highly suggest you have fans blowing directly on the VRMs. The VRMs on that board (both the B350 and B450, same VRMs) is hopeless for the 8 core Ryzens. It will work with them but... not for long.

I know if I got the 1700x it would be pushing it for my current board and I knew I wouldn’t be able to overclock. But do you thinks it’s a good idea for now while I save up some more money?

 

[jacobgarrza]

What board?

Msi b350 pro-vdh

 

[InvalidError]

I know if I got the 1700x it would be pushing it for my current board and I knew I wouldn’t be able to overclock. But do you thinks it’s a good idea for now while I save up some more money?

Motherboard manufacturers aren't in the business of losing an inordinate amount of money on warranty replacements. If you compare B350/B450 motherboards, you will find out that only the very highest-end models have anything better than a straight quad-phase VRM. While you won't be beating OC records on this, it should still be perfectly fine for normal use.

 

[compprob237]

I know if I got the 1700x it would be pushing it for my current board and I knew I wouldn’t be able to overclock. But do you thinks it’s a good idea for now while I save up some more money?

Personally, I'd save the money for the Ryzen 3000 series CPUs and a new motherboard with at least a 6 or 8-phase VRM. Especially if you go for the alleged 12 or 16-core CPUs.

If you have to upgrade now then look for the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700/2700X for a good price. Just make sure to update the BIOS before you install the new CPU otherwise there's a chance the motherboard wont recognize it (updated CPU support). A good compromise would be the 6-core Ryzen 5 2600X as @mdd1963 mentioned.

Before leaving it at this I would like to know what case you have, what cooler you're using on the CPU, and if the fans in the case are where they are by default.

If your case has poor airflow to the VRMs then I'd be more weary of them overheating but a good airflow case would remove that worry. My initial post appears to imply that the motherboard can't handle anything above a quad-core Ryzen but I want to clarify that it can handle the 8-core CPUs so long as you use the bundled down-draft cooler with the CPU or have a decent airflow case. The VRMs will get quite hot and if you overclock it will be more than I'd be comfortable with.

@InvalidError
All of the MSI AMD 300 series boards use Niko Semiconductor VRM components and those are the absolute lowest quality VRMs you can buy for DC power regulation. Most other brands were using sort of decent OnSemi/International Rectifier/Sinopower MOSFETs that can handle more load. While you do have a point about most of the boards being 4-phase the quality of the components in those 4-phase boards are more important in this specific case.

 

[jacobgarrza]

I'd update your BIOS, and shoot for a 2600X instead....higher clock speeds, higher RAM speeds, better gaming performance, still more than enough cores and threads for gaming and streaming...

Personally, I'd save the money for the Ryzen 3000 series CPUs and a new motherboard with at least a 6 or 8-phase VRM. Especially if you go for the alleged 12 or 16-core CPUs.

If you have to upgrade now then look for the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700/2700X for a good price. Just make sure to update the BIOS before you install the new CPU otherwise there's a chance the motherboard wont recognize it (updated CPU support). A good compromise would be the 6-core Ryzen 5 2600X as @mdd1963 mentioned.

Before leaving it at this I would like to know what case you have, what cooler you're using on the CPU, and if the fans in the case are where they are by default.

If your case has poor airflow to the VRMs then I'd be more weary of them overheating but a good airflow case would remove that worry. My initial post appears to imply that the motherboard can't handle anything above a quad-core Ryzen but I want to clarify that it can handle the 8-core CPUs so long as you use the bundled down-draft cooler with the CPU or have a decent airflow case. The VRMs will get quite hot and if you overclock it will be more than I'd be comfortable with.

@InvalidError
All of the MSI AMD 300 series boards use Niko Semiconductor VRM components and those are the absolute lowest quality VRMs you can buy for DC power regulation. Most other brands were using sort of decent OnSemi/International Rectifier/Sinopower MOSFETs that can handle more load. While you do have a point about most of the boards being 4-phase the quality of the components in those 4-phase boards are more important in this specific case.

The case I’m using currently is the cooler master master box 5 rgb.

 

[compprob237]

The case I’m using currently is the cooler master master box 5 rgb.

That's a decent airflow case. So it should be fine so long as you monitor the VR Temperature and keep it below 110°C (Prefer 80-85) it should be OK running even the Ryzen 7 1700X but I'd suggest the 2700X instead. That jump in physical CPU cores should eliminate your lag and smooth out your stream. Even though my "Gramps" PC is significantly older (6-7 years) than my 6600K system streaming with it is a much better experience in comparison. You just can't beat more physical CPU cores.