[SOLVED] Rig upgrade suggestions.

[shmuel1614]

Looking to upgrade my rig (mainly motherboard, debating between GIGABYTE B550 AORUS PRO and GIGABYTE B550M DS3H)
My rig has Gigabyte RTX 3070
Ryzen 5 5600x
1x16GB 3200mhz
Thermaltake TP 750w Semi-Mod PSU
HyperX Kingston 128gb SSD
1tb Seagate HDD
I'm looking to - replace my motherboard, maybe get faster RAM if suggested here, get an m2 / a larger SSD and a case to fit all of this.

 

[sizzling]

What motherboard do you have now and does it not do that you want it to?

The biggest issue I see is your single channel RAM, that’s hurting performance.

 

[logainofhades]

What board do you have now, that you want to upgrade from? You don't particularly need faster ram, but you do need to be running a dual channel kit of 2x8, or 2x16, instead of that single 16gb stick. That is killing your performance . Definitely a new SSD.

 

[shmuel1614]

What motherboard do you have now and does it not do that you want it to?

The biggest issue I see is your single channel RAM, that’s hurting performance.

b450m-a. should I just get another 16gb stick like i have now? isn't extra speed better?

 

[larkspur]

Already been asked but why do you want to upgrade your motherboard? What features does your current mobo not have that you want?

 

[logainofhades]

b350m-a. should I just get another 16gb stick like i have now? isn't extra speed better?

I could see wanting to change a B350 board, for B550. Much higher quality, with more modern interfaces. You could go with a 2x8 or 2x16 gb kit of DDR4 3600 CL16, if you really want. Just avoid 3600 CL18, as it isn't any better than 3200 CL16. I run Crucial 3600 CL16 2x16g, in my X570 I Aorus pro wifi. I have a 2x8gb 3733 CL17 kit, with my 3700x, and B550 Aorus Elite V2. You could get another 16gb stick identical to what you have now. It still might not work very well, compared to an actual 2x16gb kit.

 

[shmuel1614]

Already been asked but why do you want to upgrade your motherboard? What features does your current mobo not have that you want?

Can't OC CPU, RAM and I feel like it holds back the performance

 

[shmuel1614]

I could see wanting to change a B350 board, for B550. Much higher quality, with more modern interfaces. You could go with a 2x8 or 2x16 gb kit of DDR4 3600 CL16, if you really want. Just avoid 3600 CL18, as it isn't any better than 3200 CL16. I run Crucial 3600 CL16 2x16g, in my X570 I Aorus pro wifi. I have a 2x8gb 3733 CL17 kit, with my 3700x, and B550 Aorus Elite V2. You could get another 16gb stick identical to what you have now. It still might not work very well, compared to an actual 2x16gb kit.

why is that? say if i get the hyperx fury beast twice as single 16gb sticks won't do the same?

 

[sizzling]

b350m-a. should I just get another 16gb stick like i have now? isn't extra speed better?

Adding an extra stick is not guaranteed to work without issues, RAM is sold in matched kits for a reason. See the odd man section here https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq...y-ram-and-xmp-profile-configurations.3398926/ Higher speed RAM might give a few extra % performance but running single channel can loose anywhere up to 30% in some games.

Unless there is something specific that your motherboard limits you with an upgrade isn’t going to do much.

 

[shmuel1614]

Adding an extra stick is not guaranteed to work without issues, RAM is sold in matched kits for a reason. See the odd man section here https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq...y-ram-and-xmp-profile-configurations.3398926/ Higher speed RAM might give a few extra % performance but running single channel can loose anywhere up to 30% in some games.

Unless there is something specific that your motherboard limits you with an upgrade isn’t going to do much.

it limits me from OC my cpu and ram limit is 3200mhz, cpu is running on stock speed rn

 

[logainofhades]

3200 is the base speed, for Ryzen, and isn't going to hold performance back all that much, as long as you are running a dual channel kit. Also, overclocking Ryzen 5000 is a waste of time. Turn on PBO, and leave it alone to do it's own thing.

 

[sizzling]

it limits me from OC my cpu and ram limit is 3200mhz, cpu is running on stock speed rn

Your loosing way more with single channel RAM. Going up to 3600mhz RAM might give a few % increase but really not noticeable in real world differences, and going higher just isn’t worth it. As for overclocking there is very little overclocking headroom. If you did get faster RAM and overclock you might squeeze out an extra 10% performance, is it really worth the cost of a new motherboard. You currently throwing away anything up to 30% with single channel ram.

 

[shmuel1614]

Your loosing way more with single channel RAM. Going up to 3600mhz RAM might give a few % increase but really not noticeable in real world differences, and going higher just isn’t worth it. As for overclocking there is very little overclocking headroom. If you did get faster RAM and overclock you might squeeze out an extra 10% performance, is it really worth the cost of a new motherboard. You currently throwing away anything up to 30% with single channel ram.

So should I buy 2x16gb cl16 of 3600mhz for future upgrades or just 3200? Or maybe even 2x8?

 

[sizzling]

So should I buy 2x16gb cl16 of 3600mhz for future upgrades or just 3200? Or maybe even 2x8?

It’s up to you, if you think you will rebuild the system and use DDR4 then go 3600mhz, usually there is very little price difference. As for 2x8gb or 2x16gb, the 2x8gb is plenty today but if going to keep the system for a few years 2x16gb may be a better investment.

 

[logainofhades]

There could be some advantage to going B550, from a performance standpoint. Zen 3, on a B350 board is probably some kind of beta bios. B550 was made with the then yet to be released Zen3. Plus you get PCI-E gen 4.0 for storage, on one NVME slot, and 3.0 for any others. Also looking at that B350 board, it has a terrible VRM configuration, which also could potentially limit some performance.

 

[shmuel1614]

It’s up to you, if you think you will rebuild the system and use DDR4 then go 3600mhz, usually there is very little price difference. As for 2x8gb or 2x16gb, the 2x8gb is plenty today but if going to keep the system for a few years 2x16gb may be a better investment.

If i buy dual ram sticks, should i add my current 3200mhz 16gb stick as well or leave it out? Will it hurt performance?

 

[logainofhades]

Leave it out. Running 3 will put you back in single channel, and could cause instability.

 

[shmuel1614]

There could be some advantage to going B550, from a performance standpoint. Zen 3, on a B350 board is probably some kind of beta bios. B550 was made with the then yet to be released Zen3. Plus you get PCI-E gen 4.0 for storage, on one NVME slot, and 3.0 for any others. Also looking at that B350 board, it has a terrible VRM configuration, which also could potentially limit some performance.

Any reccomendations on a new SSD?

 

[sizzling]

If i buy dual ram sticks, should i add my current 3200mhz 16gb stick as well or leave it out? Will it hurt performance?

No guarantee it will work, if it does work the best will be in flex mode where some RAM operates in dual channel and this stock runs in single channel. For simplicity I’d just sell it.

 

[logainofhades]

Any reccomendations on a new SSD?

That depends on how much you want to spend, and how large of a drive you want.

 

[shmuel1614]

That depends on how much you want to spend, and how large of a drive you want.

512GB should be fine I suppose, got any options?

 

[logainofhades]

I would probably recommend this 1tb, as its pricing is similar to many 500gb class drives.

PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $79.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-01-18 09:15 EST-0500

Review of the 512gb model. Not the fastest model, but still a big step up from what you have now. Gaming rigs don't need super fast NVME, really. I use a 1tb Intel 660p, myself, in my main rig.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/silicon-power-p34a60-m2-nvme-ssd

 

[logainofhades]

B450 is still gen 3, so an MP600 wouldn't be fully utilized. The MP400 is overpriced, as it is a gen 3 drive that costs more some gen 4 drives. Even though it is a gen 4 drive, the WD black 750se is a good option, for the money. A Samsung 970 evo plus, or Crucial P5 would be better options, and a bit cheaper, than the MP400.

 

[shmuel1614]

B450 is still gen 3, so an MP600 wouldn't be fully utilized. The MP400 is overpriced, as it is a gen 3 drive that costs more some gen 4 drives. Even though it is a gen 4 drive, the WD black 750se is a good option, for the money. A Samsung 970 evo plus, or Crucial P5 would be better options, and a bit cheaper, than the MP400.

actually, for me the MP400 comes out about 300ILS ($90) cheaper than the Crucial P5, same price as the Samsung one and slightly cheaper than the WD black

 

[logainofhades]

What country are you buying in?