Should I upgrade platform or graphics card?

[jovanzaric63]

So I've been saving for a new PC for a couple of months now, but due to family issues I have to move to Europe. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but PC parts can be almost double the price. I have a budget of 400$ and was thinking what should I spend it on.

I currently have a AMD Phenom II procesor, 4 gigs of RAM, and a 550ti. I can reuse the HDD, case, and PSU, as they are all fairly new.


So my question is this, should I upgrade the platform first to am4, or should I get a new card like a 1060?

 

[rhoban]

It's a though one. I'm pretty sure the Phenom will bottleneck a 1060.
But the 550Ti will bottleneck the new CPU.

What CPU were you thinking about?
You could opt to go for a Ryzen 5 2400G which has an integrated GPU.
And according to this, the iGPU is way better.

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-550-Ti-vs-AMD-RX-Vega-11-Ryzen-iGPU/3161vsm401440

 

[jovanzaric63]

Hmm, I saw a bundle on Newegg with a ryzen 5 2600 and a x470 Mobo for 250. Let's say 70$ for 8gb of RAM.

 

[polis_putrus]

Upgrade the GPU, because if your games lag, since your CPU is bad just make the graphics setting up to it will use the GPU more than the CPU, so upgrade GPU first.

 

[rhoban]

While the 2600 is a better CPU, it doesn't have integrated graphics.

I assume it will be used for gaming?

 

[polis_putrus]

Here not everything on ebay is a scam just take a look 1,529 processors sold and the guy has 15,000 positive feedback.
So after buying this you will have $210 should be enough for a graphics card.

 

[10tacle]

Yeah this is almost a Catch-22 situation. If you spend $300+ on a new chipset (CPU, motherboard, memory) you won't have enough to replace that very outdated GTX 550 Ti. Then if you spend $280+ on a GTX 1060 6GB, not only would it be severely bottlenecked by the CPU, you won't have enough to spend on a new chipset replacing your outdated Phenom II based chipset.

You don't say what games you play or if you plan on playing newer games like Far Cry 5 so that can make a difference too. But yes, before you move, you definitely need to buy all hardware where you are (I assume US/Canada) before moving to Europe. Import/VAT taxes are a killer there. Also, if it's not a sensitive situation with your family for whatever reason, I'd ask if I could borrow some money to purchase all the main new components (CPU, motherboard, memory, video card) before moving over. I don't want to get too personal in what your situation is, so I'm just throwing that thought out there.