Question Upgrade advice ?

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robeeri2

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Sep 19, 2018
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I'd like to upgrade my SFF PC to be able to play current RPGs like Avowed, Clair Obscur, BG3, Dragon's Dogma 2, Ghost of Tsushima, etc at 1440p 60fps.

My current build is:
CPU: Ryzen 2600
RAM: 16GB
GPU: RTX 2060 Super
Case: Cooler Master NR200P Max with pre-installed PSU and AIO
  • If I upgrade GPU, which one would get the performance I'm looking for? Should have >8gb vram and having DLSS as an option is good so NVIDIA is first choice, but I'm flexible.
  • I'm not interested in a minor upgrade, better to make the upgrade meaningful
  • Should I be worried about a CPU bottleneck?
  • If I upgrade the CPU, I'd stick with AM4 and get a 5700x3d, but is that even necessary?
  • In terms of budget, I want to get the best bang for the buck while also making the upgrade meaningful.
 
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robeeri2 said:
I'd like to upgrade my SFF PC to be able to play current RPGs like Avowed, Clair Obscur, BG3, Dragon's Dogma 2, Ghost of Tsushima, etc at 1440p 60fps.

My current build is:
ryzen 2600
16gb ram
rtx 2060 super
In a Cooler Master NR200P Max with pre-installed PSU and AIO
  • If I upgrade GPU, which one would get the performance I'm looking for? Should have >8gb vram and having DLSS as an option is good so NVIDIA is first choice, but I'm flexible.
  • I'm not interested in a minor upgrade, better to make the upgrade meaningful
  • Should I be worried about a CPU bottleneck?
  • If I upgrade the CPU, I'd stick with AM4 and get a 5700x3d, but is that even necessary?
  • In terms of budget, I want to get the best bang for the buck while also making the upgrade meaningful.
Click to expand...
2x16GB DDR4-3200 CL16 or 2x16GB DDR4-3600 CL18 + Ryzen 5 5600

3sq8kWN.jpg
 
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robeeri2 said:
I'd like to upgrade my SFF PC to be able to play current RPGs like Avowed, Clair Obscur, BG3, Dragon's Dogma 2, Ghost of Tsushima, etc at 1440p 60fps.

My current build is:
CPU: Ryzen 2600
RAM: 16GB
GPU: RTX 2060 Super
Case: Cooler Master NR200P Max with pre-installed PSU and AIO
  • If I upgrade GPU, which one would get the performance I'm looking for? Should have >8gb vram and having DLSS as an option is good so NVIDIA is first choice, but I'm flexible.
  • I'm not interested in a minor upgrade, better to make the upgrade meaningful
  • Should I be worried about a CPU bottleneck?
  • If I upgrade the CPU, I'd stick with AM4 and get a 5700x3d, but is that even necessary?
  • In terms of budget, I want to get the best bang for the buck while also making the upgrade meaningful.
Click to expand...

Need to know your PSU make/model as well as budget. I would do at least a 5700x. At only $17 more than a 5600, the 5600 is a terrible buy.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($137.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($67.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $204.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-05-20 07:54 EDT-0400
 
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Here's a complete part list including the pre-installed parts in the case, and what I'm considering upgrading to:

Mobo: b450 gaming-itx/ac Mini ITX
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600 -> Ryzen 7 5700X3D (in my country i can find it under MSRP, roughly $215USD. With AM4 at an end, I think it's best to go for best possible gaming performance, or else get a whole new MOBO setup, which I don't want to do)
Ram: 2x8 ddr4 2666 -> 2x16 ddr4 3600
GPU: rtx 2060 super 8gb -> Radeon RX 7800xt (ideally I'd go for 4070 ti Super, but prices are insane. Whereas I can find 7800xt for about $485 USD)
PSU: Cooler Master V850 SFX Gold
 
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Ok now I have a dilemma regarding GPU. Here are the best prices I've found in my are for the following cards:

- My first choice would be RX 9070 XT but best price I've found is $728 (MSRP: 600)
- Second choice: RX 9070 for $677 (MSRP: 550)
- Which is why when I found RX 7800 XT for $485 (under msrp) I thought I had made up my mind
- Until I found RX 7900 GRE for $550 (exactly msrp)
- I also found RTX 4070 super for $613 (msrp: 600)

The dilemma is, I'd rather get 9070 xt at msrp but is that unlikely? I've run into analysis paralysis
 
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robeeri2 said:
Here's a complete part list including the pre-installed parts in the case, and what I'm considering upgrading to:

Mobo: b450 gaming-itx/ac Mini ITX
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600 -> Ryzen 7 5700X3D (in my country i can find it under MSRP, roughly $215USD. With AM4 at an end, I think it's best to go for best possible gaming performance, or else get a whole new MOBO setup, which I don't want to do)
Ram: 2x8 ddr4 2666 -> 2x16 ddr4 3600
GPU: rtx 2060 super 8gb -> Radeon RX 7800xt (ideally I'd go for 4070 ti Super, but prices are insane. Whereas I can find 7800xt for about $485 USD)
PSU: Cooler Master V850 SFX Gold
Click to expand...
Are you sure about that 3600 ram?

Specs seem to show 3200 is the limit.
 
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Bob.B said:
Are you sure about that 3600 ram?

Specs seem to show 3200 is the limit.
Click to expand...
2933 MT/s is the officially supported JEDEC speed for the Zen+. The Zen2/3 JEDEC is 3200 MT/s. I am currently on a 5800X3D and 3600 MT/s RAM. The 2600 likely cannot do more than 3000 or 3200 MT/s though, if that is what you mean. Most 5000 series CPUs can do 3800+MT/s with looser timings so 3600 MT/s is nearly always stable.
 
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helper800 said:
2933 MT/s is the officially supported JEDEC speed for the Zen+. The Zen2/3 JEDEC is 3200 MT/s. I am currently on a 5800X3D and 3600 MT/s RAM. The 2600 likely cannot do more than 3000 or 3200 MT/s though, if that is what you mean. Most 5000 series CPUs can do 3800+MT/s with looser timings so 3600 MT/s is nearly always stable.
Click to expand...
The cpu and mobo show support for 3200 I suppose the op can get to 3600 if they want to fuss.
 
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robeeri2 said:
Ok now I have a dilemma regarding GPU. Here are the best prices I've found in my are for the following cards:

- My first choice would be RX 9070 XT but best price I've found is $728 (MSRP: 600)
- Second choice: RX 9070 for $677 (MSRP: 550)
- Which is why when I found RX 7800 XT for $485 (under msrp) I thought I had made up my mind
- Until I found RX 7900 GRE for $550 (exactly msrp)
- I also found RTX 4070 super for $613 (msrp: 600)

The dilemma is, I'd rather get 9070 xt at msrp but is that unlikely? I've run into analysis paralysis
Click to expand...
The RX 9070 XT at MSRP would be ideal, but i have a feeling we may be waiting at least a few more months for that to be the case. If the 7900 GRE is new, its a good choice, especially if you want to try your hand at overclocking the memory. That could potentially potentially get you right around 7900 XT \ RX 9070 performance. Otherwise, a 7800 XT isnt a terrible choice.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-radeon-rx-7900-gre-tuf/41.html
 
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Bob.B said:
Specs page shows vermeer at 3200 support.
There is no qvl for vermeer.
If the op wants to try 3600 fine go for it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input! I'm not familiar with tech specs of RAM. Looking around forums it seems like 3200 is supported by default, and that 3600 could be achieved by activating XME. I have never done this and don't know what it entails.

If the price between 3200 and 3600 kits is roughly the same, does it make sense to just get 3600 and have the option to activate XME, or would it somehow be detrimental to have 3600 without XME?

I don't really know what I'm talking about with most of these terms :sweatsmile:
 
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artk2219 said:
The RX 9070 XT at MSRP would be ideal, but i have a feeling we may be waiting at least a few more months for that to be the case. If the 7900 GRE is new, its a good choice, especially if you want to try your hand at overclocking the memory. That could potentially potentially get you right around 7900 XT \ RX 9070 performance. Otherwise, a 7800 XT isnt a terrible choice.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-radeon-rx-7900-gre-tuf/41.html
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the input! I'll definitely go ahead with CPU and RAM upgrade this week, and either get 9700GRE or maybe wait and see what happens with 9070xt prices.
 
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robeeri2 said:
Thanks for the input! I'm not familiar with tech specs of RAM. Looking around forums it seems like 3200 is supported by default, and that 3600 could be achieved by activating XME. I have never done this and don't know what it entails.

If the price between 3200 and 3600 kits is roughly the same, does it make sense to just get 3600 and have the option to activate XME, or would it somehow be detrimental to have 3600 without XME?

I don't really know what I'm talking about with most of these terms :sweatsmile:
Click to expand...
Make sure of the return policy and try it.
 
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Bob.B said:
Specs page shows vermeer at 3200 support.
There is no qvl for vermeer.
If the op wants to try 3600 fine go for it.
Click to expand...
Listen I could be wrong, but my understanding is the following, please correct me if I am wrong.

The specifications page for the motherboard shows for vermeer CPUs just the officially supported JEDEC speeds. If another CPU is capable of getting a QVL for 3600 MT/s speeds, then that means the motherboard is capable of said speed. The determining factor of a CPU for stable memory support is the IMC on the CPU, and since the 5000 series CPUs nearly always run stable with 3600 MT/s and the board is capable of 3600 MT/s with other CPUs with worse IMCs, then I see no reason that 3600 MT/s kit wont work.

Either way, a 3600 MT/s will run at 3200 MT/s. Here is a 3200 MT/s kit and a 3600 MT/s kit, good luck with the upgrade @robeeri2 !
 
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helper800 said:
Listen I could be wrong, but my understanding is the following, please correct me if I am wrong.

The specifications page for the motherboard shows for vermeer CPUs just the officially supported JEDEC speeds. If another CPU is capable of getting a QVL for 3600 MT/s speeds, then that means the motherboard is capable of said speed. The determining factor of a CPU for stable memory support is the IMC on the CPU, and since the 5000 series CPUs nearly always run stable with 3600 MT/s and the board is capable of 3600 MT/s with other CPUs with worse IMCs, then I see no reason that 3600 MT/s kit wont work.

Either way, a 3600 MT/s will run at 3200 MT/s. Here is a 3200 MT/s kit and a 3600 MT/s kit, good luck with the upgrade @robeeri2 !
Click to expand...
Sounds right if the op wants to try it fine.
 
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Thank you everyone for all the help! Today the last of the new parts arrived and I got it all installed. I went with ryzen 7 5700x3d, 32gb 3600 ram (turned on the default xmp profile in bios), and rx 9070 (not xt simply because of prices and stock available in my region).
Tested in Cyberpunk and at 1440p high settings without ray tracing I'm getting over 120fps easily. With some ray tracing (not maxed, no path tracing) still consistently above 60. That's without upscaling, which with the fsr4 on the 9070 should yield great results 🥳
 
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robeeri2 said:
Thank you everyone for all the help! Today the last of the new parts arrived and I got it all installed. I went with ryzen 7 5700x3d, 32gb 3600 ram (turned on the default xmp profile in bios), and rx 9070 (not xt simply because of prices and stock available in my region).
Tested in Cyberpunk and at 1440p high settings without ray tracing I'm getting over 120fps easily. With some ray tracing (not maxed, no path tracing) still consistently above 60. That's without upscaling, which with the fsr4 on the 9070 should yield great results 🥳
Click to expand...
Thats awesome, enjoy your new gaming PC!
 
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