Time to upgrade from the FX series or wait out another year or 2?

[assassinnickk]

In 2016 I made this build, was working at a budget at the time and tried to keep it pretty low:

(FX-6350, GTX 750-Ti, 8gb DDR3-1600)
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FntBzY

But in comparison to my friends build, which is the same thing w/ an i5-2400, his computer runs significantly better for emulation and other games. I've been debating on upgrading to a Ryzen 5 2600 with either an RX580 or GTX 1070, but I'm not sure if the performance difference would be so significant that it's worth dropping roughly $700-$800 on, since I have no friends with modern day builds.

Should I wait a few more years or go out and build a new PC?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/V6vbyX (What I was planning on going to)

 

[mdd1963]

If you think it still meets your needs is what counts, not what others think....

Certainly an R5-2600 and GTX1070 would go a long way on making today's games run awesome at very good frame rates at least thru 1440P....

A 1060 (6 GB) is still nice for 1080P, oddly enough...

 

[drea.drechsler]

In 2016 I made this build, was working at a budget at the time and tried to keep it pretty low:

(FX-6350, GTX 750-Ti, 8gb DDR3-1600)
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FntBzY

But in comparison to my friends build, which is the same thing w/ an i5-2400, his computer runs significantly better for emulation and other games. I've been debating on upgrading to a Ryzen 5 2600 with either an RX580 or GTX 1070, but I'm not sure if the performance difference would be so significant that it's worth dropping roughly $700-$800 on, since I have no friends with modern day builds.

Should I wait a few more years or go out and build a new PC?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/V6vbyX (What I was planning on going to)

Clocked at 4.5-4.7G or so that 6350 would keep me happy for a while. So if it were my choice I'd go source an 8 Gig DDR3 kit and a better GPU...like that rx580 maybe.

If it just doesn't work out, the RX 580 slides right over to the new build and you only out the cost of that DDR3 kit. But it should hold at least a year.

But it all depends on what your needs are.

 

[Hellfire13]

Building a FX machine in 2016 was not the best idea. For budget, even if you would have had gone the Pentium 6th gen. way, it would have served you well, and you would have had better upgradeability.
The 2400 has much faster cores than the 6350... http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-2400-vs-AMD-FX-6350-Six-Core/803vsm713

That aside, the waiting game is always never ending. Even if you upgrade now, you will have a rock solid performance jump...
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-2600-vs-AMD-FX-6350-Six-Core/3955vsm713
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-750-Ti-vs-Nvidia-GTX-580/2187vs3150


Optimized your build for better performance, with better RAM/SSD/PSU/Case...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($165.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 580 8GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $745.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-10 17:07 EDT-0400

 

[King_V]

The first question you have to ask is - is it performing well enough to make you happy currently? If so, stick with what you have, and keep socking away toward your "new PC" fund.

Also, before upgrading - what's your monitor's resolution and refresh rate?

That said, when/if you finally make the leap to upgrading: I know some EVGA PSUs are good, and some are, uh, not-so-good. If someone could chime in about that particular model in your proposed new build...

I don't think I'd advise getting additional RAM. The 8GB you have now should be more than sufficient for the vast majority of existing games.

What games are you playing currently or planning on playing? Many people are here who can chime in as to whether they're more CPU vs GPU bound.

And, finally, I'll repeat what has already been mentioned: if you do get the new video card first, it may be more than the rest of your system can ever keep up with, but it will improve performance in a lot of games, and it can be carried over to the new system when/if you finally build one.


Still, knowing your needs and how your current system performs is the first step.

 

[assassinnickk]

@Hellfire13

Yeah I know I was not familiar at all with computer building and I was in high school running on a tight budget because it was my first build and had other expenses. Relied on my friends to help me with parts and such. I'll be sure to keep checking that part list instead of the one I came up with, would you suggest swapping out the RX 580 model on that list for whatever is the cheapest at the time of purchase?


@King_V

It performs alright, it does freeze up a bit and slows down at times but nothing too dire. I spend most of my day on the computer that's why I feel so inclined to upgrade it sometimes. In terms of how happy I am with it I'm in the middle, that's why I'm unsure if I should drop all the money on it.

My monitor is 1080p @ 60hz, I don't plan on upgrading it until it has major issues. And I'd have to get new ram sticks regardless if I upgrade because DDR3 isn't compatible with ryzen, in the long run is it worth going for the 8gb?

I think my purposes would be more CPU intensive. World of Warcraft, Various Emulation, and a ton of multitasking are some of the things I do frequently. There's not too many games I'm interested nowadays on steam, but I would like to play NieR and FFXV. Nothing crazy like the new Tomb Raider or Assassins Creed. I don't see myself buying many new games in the future either, games just don't stand out to me like they used to. Not to say I won't at all, but it won't be very frequent if I do.

 

[Hellfire13]

@Hellfire13

Yeah I know I was not familiar at all with computer building and I was in high school running on a tight budget because it was my first build and had other expenses. Relied on my friends to help me with parts and such. I'll be sure to keep checking that part list instead of the one I came up with, would you suggest swapping out the RX 580 model on that list for whatever is the cheapest at the time of purchase?

580 and 1060 are equal cards. Variants doesnt matter as they all perform around the same range. So lookout for whichever you find cheapest among those.

 

[dontlistentome]

Run your games while using a tool like MSI Afterburner to look at CPU and GPU usage. The 750 Ti was entry level when new, so I expect the GPU usage to be high. The real question though is how high is your current CPU usage?

If it's not always pegged at 100%, you might just need a better videocard. Another easy test is run your games at 1080p low settings. Note your framerate. Now run the same games the same way except at 720p. Did your framerate go up? If it did, then you can get good use out of a better videocard. The bigger the jump in framerate, the more a better card will help.

If your framerate is more or less the same at 720p as it was at 1080p then that means that in that game your CPU is maxed out and a new videocard won't help.

 

[King_V]

@Hellfire13

Yeah I know I was not familiar at all with computer building and I was in high school running on a tight budget because it was my first build and had other expenses. Relied on my friends to help me with parts and such. I'll be sure to keep checking that part list instead of the one I came up with, would you suggest swapping out the RX 580 model on that list for whatever is the cheapest at the time of purchase?

580 and 1060 are equal cards. Variants doesnt matter as they all perform around the same range. So lookout for whichever you find cheapest among those.

As far as the 1060 goes, if you do get it, go with the 6GB variant, as the 3GB not only has less memory, but the actual processing capability is slightly cut down from the 6GB version (fewer CUDA cores, specifically).

Whereas, as far as I know, with the RX 580, the 4GB and 8GB are the same in all ways except for the amount of memory.

At 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, the RX 580 or 6GB GTX 1060 are the way to go. Definitely go with dontlistentome's suggestion of trying at a lower resolution and seeing if you get a significant difference in frame rates. That'll help determine, for the games you play, whether it's the CPU that's holding you back, or the GPU.

 

[Neoaculus]

The answer is simple. Yes. The architecture upgrade alone is worth your money, even if you drop to a four core (R3 2200g) from your six core. Looking at your current system, you could even use the APU's integrated graphics and notice a speed up from your 750 ti. If you choose to spend extra for a six core processor (R5 2600[X]), your rig will last even longer for gaming. Upgrading now is the right thing to do, no matter if Ryzen 2 is around the corner or not.

 

[assassinnickk]

Sorry for the late reply, I'm going to go with the new build after all with the part list that Hellfire13 made.

After running multiple tests on games and using programs the programs MSI Kombuster and UserBenchmark I realized that it just doesn't meet the expectations that I'd like it too in terms of performance and benchmark results.

This was the result: (Much worse than I anticipated)
http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/10987587

Maybe I should go to an overclocking thread after this, I'd like to be able to hit a stable 4.2GHZ, doesn't seem to reach that for some reason