[SOLVED] time for an upgrade (9yr old machine)

[loligo]

Hi,
I have decided it is time to upgrade the following:
intel i3 3.3hz
8GB ram
Radeon 5670 1GB

Maybe keep?:
PSU - Corsair 550 (the computer hasn't been used much in this time)

Components to keep
Lian Li mid tower
1x SSD plus 4x HDD

It is mainly used for light games (nothing GPU intensive), music production and watching movies.

I was trying to keep it cheap, based in Australia, and was thinking
Ryzen 5 3600
a B450 Mobo (could wait for the B550s)
16 GB ram (probably at ~2400 -3200)

GPU --- not sure,
GeForce GT 1030 (@ $115 AUD)
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product...-silent-low-profile-video-card-gv-n1030sl-2gl

Radeon RX 550 - 512 (@ $181 AUD)
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/MbgPxr/asus-radeon-rx-550-4gb-video-card-rx550-4g

Something else? I was trying to keep it under $200 AUD. Advice appreciated!

 

[Darkbreeze]

What generation of i3 do you have currently? What is the exact model?

Is your current system MOSTLY still doing what you need it to do or are you looking for a BIG jump up in performance?

WHICH model of 550w Corsair PSU do you have and how old is that PSU? You realize that when it comes to power supplies that often it doesn't matter whether it's been "used" or "ridden hard". Age is one of the most damaging things to a power supply because the capacitors, especially on much older units, tend to degrade whether they are used a lot or are just sitting there doing nothing.

 

[loligo]

Thanks for the input,
The Intel chipset is i3 -2120 (so Sandy Bridge) and the Corsair is the 550 CX series (not modular.).
Very good point about power supplies, I guess I will add it to the replacement list!

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, how old IS that CX550? If it's less than four years old, then it might still be good, but honestly if you are going to make an investment like this into all new hardware, it's hard to justify not just replacing it anyhow so that you know it's the same age as the rest of the hardware and don't have to play any guessing games about when it might be a good time to replace it. Considering that you can get an exemplary power supply for between 50-100 dollars, and considering that it IS the most important component in the system, seems logical.

This is one way you could do it, and this board will work with that Ryzen 3000 CPU although you will probably need to update the BIOS first, which is no problem since that board supports BIOS flashback and can be updated even without a CPU installed.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($315.00 @ Austin Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($195.80 @ Newegg Australia)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3400 Memory ($161.70 @ Newegg Australia)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Video Card ($199.00 @ Computer Alliance)
Total: $871.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-09 13:17 AEDT+1100


Or, if you REALLY don't need the graphics and the games you play are all actually very light games, at 1080p or less, then you could easily get by with an APU like this that has really good integrated graphics and can even run some AAA games at lower to medium settings depending on the game. Consider, this gives you about 137.226% increase in CPU performance, so, double plus another 37% increase, over what you have now. If you were still getting by with your Sandy i3, this gives you a terrific bump in performance with 4 cores and 8 threads. More than enough for what you probably need, but if not, the build above would be the trick.

Note: You WILL need to manually set the memory to 2933mhz as that is the max memory speed supported EASILY by the 2400G. It will not support 3000mhz, and 3200mhz, while technically possible, has been a mixed bag for most users trying to get it to work with the memory controller on these APUs. For the above Ryzen 3000 build, anything up to 3600mhz should be doable.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($115.88 @ Amazon Australia)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($119.90 @ Newegg Australia)
Total: $414.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-09 13:32 AEDT+1100

 

[loligo]

Thanks for both suggestions! I will definitely look into both options more carefully - the games are 1080p so yes, this would be fine I think (e.g., EveOnline). And, yes will definitely look into a new PSU. Thanks again!!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Of course. Anytime at all.