Upgrade CPU or GPU ?

[ecco0_128]

New CPU or GPU ?

Hi guys. I'm still rocking the 1055T CPU from AMD. At 3.5Ghz.
Running it with 8GB Of 1.3Ghz Ram. And a GTX 960 GPU ( Not OC'd )
I Only have a budget around €300 / €400 for PC Improvements.

I was thinking about getting a Ryzen 3 or 5 CPU with 8GB of DDR4 ram and upgrading it later to 16GB of ram. But ill be using my old GTX 960 for gaming. I won't be able to buy a new GPU until somewhere halfway 2018.

I Was wondering if i should get the Ryzen upgrade and keep my ''old'' GPU or invest my entire budget on a GTX 1060 and keep my 1055T cpu.

I've noticed that while gaming my CPU And MEM usages always goes around 80% / 95%. Specially playing PUBG / Battlefield

My gaming focus are Shooters. Battlefield. PUBG. CSGO. Anthem (2018 release). Maybe Destiny 2

Could you guys help me out ?

1055T With GTX1060
or Ryzen 3/5 with my old GTX960

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

I would do the CPU, mobo and RAM now and wait with the GPU. Reason being that the GTX 1060 and 1070 for that matter has very fluctuated prices right now. Chances are that next summer they will hopefully get down to normal in price when all the mining craziness are over. Obviously one can only guess about the future.

 

[ecco0_128]

Thanks for your answer. Do you think i'd see some fps improvements while gaming when i buy a new cpu/mem/mobo ? I know that it's mostly the GPU that does all the work, but i'm still wondering because i want to get the most out of gaming.

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

It is not mostly the GPU that does the work, the CPU is responsible for every calculations in the game and also to pre render the frames before send to the GPU. Yes, you should see improvements with a Ryzen 5, but if this is for pure gaming i would recommend going Intel instead as the are faster in gaming.

 

[photonboy]

Thanks for your answer. Do you think i'd see some fps improvements while gaming when i buy a new cpu/mem/mobo ? I know that it's mostly the GPU that does all the work, but i'm still wondering because i want to get the most out of gaming.

How much benefit varies a lot based on the game. What matters most is the performance per core and yours is roughly 1111.

An FX-4300 has 1407 and can be quite a bottleneck in some games even with that mid-range GPU.

I could GUESS and say somewhere between 0% and 60% FPS gains depending on the game (not just average, but may see BIGGER BOOSTS to the low-end FPS so less stutters).

Maybe at least 40% boost on average?

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what to recommend for that budget. You need to buy another Windows copy (i.e. W10 Home 64-bit) but you can use KINGUIN to get a key (and use Microsoft Media Creation Tool to make a USB install of W10.. google for how).

Have to go, but will POST some hardware recommends if I get a chance.

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

The new Windows is only if your current license is an OEM license. If you have a full license you wont need to buy a new.

 

[ecco0_128]

I have a windows home premium 7. Bought it a few years ago.. It does say OEM on the back of the DVD Case. Does that mean i need to buy a new windows aswell ?

Edit: Windows 10 OEM is not that expensive, so that won't be a problem..

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

Yes you will then need to buy a new. With an OEM license you would need a new everytime you upgrade your Motherboard. With a full license you can transfer and use like forever.

 

[ecco0_128]

im open for intel hardware suggestions instead of Ryzen.. id like to get the most out of my money. Max €400 for now. can add more RAM later if needed

 

[photonboy]

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Qtfxjc

With a KINGUIN (dot net) license that puts you slightly over the top or close to 400pnds (not adding tax/ship either), but my very STRONG advice is to base an upgrade around an R5-1600 CPU (at least at this date in time).

If you drop down to a 4-core, lower frequency, non-hyperthreaded CPU you'll lose some performance and won't have nearly the LIFE out of the system.

With an R5-1600 you'll get many years out of it. It's a 6-core, hyperthreaded CPU (6C/12T). It comes with a light cooler so you may get a very SMALL overclock. Probably 3.8GHz at most, but they don't go much above 4GHz if at all even with a good cooler.

MOST GAMES now won't take advantage of more than roughly THREE CORES on average, but future games will definitely benefit (or multi-tasking, or video converting/editing).

*I chose DDR4 FOUR SLOTS for the motherboard because Ryzen needs high bandwidth. It scales up to 3200MHz or so in DUAL CHANNEL so you want 2x4GB to start then later buy another, IDENTICAL kit for a total of 16GB.

Other:
- update BIOS as needed
- setup FAN profile (motherboard fan software)
- run MEMTEST86 prior to Windows install www.memtest86.com
- may or may not have issues getting full FREQUENCY out of memory kit (better now with latest BIOS updates)

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Qtfxjc

With a KINGUIN (dot net) license that puts you slightly over the top or close to 400pnds (not adding tax/ship either), but my very STRONG advice is to base an upgrade around an R5-1600 CPU (at least at this date in time).

If you drop down to a 4-core, lower frequency, non-hyperthreaded CPU you'll lose some performance and won't have nearly the LIFE out of the system.

With an R5-1600 you'll get many years out of it. It's a 6-core, hyperthreaded CPU (6C/12T). It comes with a light cooler so you may get a very SMALL overclock. Probably 3.8GHz at most, but they don't go much above 4GHz if at all even with a good cooler.

MOST GAMES now won't take advantage of more than roughly THREE CORES on average, but future games will definitely benefit (or multi-tasking, or video converting/editing).

*I chose DDR4 FOUR SLOTS for the motherboard because Ryzen needs high bandwidth. It scales up to 3200MHz or so in DUAL CHANNEL so you want 2x4GB to start then later buy another, IDENTICAL kit for a total of 16GB.

Other:
- update BIOS as needed
- setup FAN profile (motherboard fan software)
- run MEMTEST86 prior to Windows install www.memtest86.com
- may or may not have issues getting full FREQUENCY out of memory kit (better now with latest BIOS updates)

That build is in British Pounds, not Euro so it is a lot more than 400Euro.

 

[photonboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYLmdHfFRg

Good video. I recommend you watch the ENTIRE thing (especially the last minute). More quick points:

1. R5-1600 has a CPU cooler, though it's not good enough to get the MAX overclock (4GHz?) but may get about 3.7/3.8GHz sustained
2. R5-1600X does NOT have a CPU cooler, but runs slightly higher clock by DEFAULT, though the R5-1600 can get the SAME performance when overclocked (so the R5-1600X is mainly for those who don't want to mess with overclocking)

3. Intel i5 (as per video) does better SLIGHTLY in most games but is less future proof since it is running near 100% in some games whereas the R5-1600 in the same game might be closer to 60-70% usage.
4. Intel i5 causes more STUTTERING in some games (mainly due to the point #3)

5. i5-7600K (or any "K") requires a good CPU cooler to get the high clocks you see in benchmarks (like 4.8GHz) so that changes the value proposition a LOT compared to an R5-1600 with its own cooler

So an R5-1600 gets SIMILAR gaming performance to an i5, if not less, but is more FUTURE PROOF due to its extra cores/threads. In particular again its compared to an i5 that with CPU cooler costs more.

(Hyperthreading BTW means a CORE in a CPU can take another thread of CODE during the times a CPU is waiting for more data from system memory. In a good 6-core CPU that probably won't matter for gaming but it can make up to roughly a 30% boost in well threaded applications like HANDBRAKE converting video)

 

[photonboy]

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Qtfxjc

With a KINGUIN (dot net) license that puts you slightly over the top or close to 400pnds (not adding tax/ship either), but my very STRONG advice is to base an upgrade around an R5-1600 CPU (at least at this date in time).

If you drop down to a 4-core, lower frequency, non-hyperthreaded CPU you'll lose some performance and won't have nearly the LIFE out of the system.

With an R5-1600 you'll get many years out of it. It's a 6-core, hyperthreaded CPU (6C/12T). It comes with a light cooler so you may get a very SMALL overclock. Probably 3.8GHz at most, but they don't go much above 4GHz if at all even with a good cooler.

MOST GAMES now won't take advantage of more than roughly THREE CORES on average, but future games will definitely benefit (or multi-tasking, or video converting/editing).

*I chose DDR4 FOUR SLOTS for the motherboard because Ryzen needs high bandwidth. It scales up to 3200MHz or so in DUAL CHANNEL so you want 2x4GB to start then later buy another, IDENTICAL kit for a total of 16GB.

Other:
- update BIOS as needed
- setup FAN profile (motherboard fan software)
- run MEMTEST86 prior to Windows install www.memtest86.com
- may or may not have issues getting full FREQUENCY out of memory kit (better now with latest BIOS updates)

That build is in British Pounds, not Euro so it is a lot more than 400Euro.

Hmm.... so it's about 10% more?

1Euro = 0.91BP

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

It depends in which country he lives, i guess and how expensive the hardware is in his country. Change country on pcpartpicker to Germany and your list will cost 383 Euro, change to France and it will cost 408 Euro.

 

[ecco0_128]

It depends in which country he lives, i guess and how expensive the hardware is in his country. Change country on pcpartpicker to Germany and your list will cost 383 Euro, change to France and it will cost 408 Euro.

I live in The Netherlands. But ordering from Germany isn't a problem
A R5 1600 costs €202
and a R5 1600X costs €228

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

Normally I will always recommend Intel for gaming rigs but only if you get a K model and that seems a little outside your budget so what photonboy suggested is probably your best option.
An Intel build would look like this https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/dCGGYr

 

[ecco0_128]

i think i made up my mind and im going for a R5 1600. will my evo 212 fit on a am4 mobo ?

That leaves about €150/€200 for a mobo and memory. What would you suggest ? i want to be able to OC my cpu in the future

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

Any b350 mobo should do, just find one with the features you need. For ram get a 3000MHz kit when it's a Ryzen build and get 2x4 GB or 2x8 GB if you have the money for it.

 

[photonboy]

i think i made up my mind and im going for a R5 1600. will my evo 212 fit on a am4 mobo ?

That leaves about €150/€200 for a mobo and memory. What would you suggest ? i want to be able to OC my cpu in the future

The R5-1600 has a CPU cooler. It's probably SIMILAR in cooling to the EVO 212.

No, the EVO will not fit. There is probably a mounting adapter but just use the included cooler.

You CAN overclock slightly more (Google for how), possibly still with the stock cooler. You do need a BETTER cooler to get the highest clock but it's not much of a boost and adds a lot to the budget.

 

[ecco0_128]

Just to let everyone that helped me know that i´ve bought the following parts:

Ryzen 5 1600 €209,00
HyperX 8 GB DDR4-3000 €97,90
MSI B350M Artic Mortar €99,00

The Wraith cooler looks awesome, but i don't think it cools as much as the 212 does, right now while typing this in Chrome with nothing else on really demanding on the background my CPU is 30 degrees Celsius, while gaming ( PUBG, it quickly goes to around 45 degrees ). So i might get a after marked cooler somewhere in the future because i definitely want to OC my ryzen to about 3.7 / 3.9 somewhere-ish and i can't see doing that with the wraith cooler.

I had some problems with entering the Bios. It seems that my keyboard didn't respond while booting so there was no way for me to enter the bios. I't loaded all the USB drivers upon windows startup so that;s too late to hit DEL for bios settings. i ''fixed'' it by using a old PS/2 keyboard to enter bios. I needed to change my RAM timings manually because at factory settings they were not what they should be.

I've noticed a real performance increase with this upgrade. Every game i play just feels smoother. My old 1055 T never hit 100% while gaming, but somehow using this Ryzen ( Which only uses about 10 to 30 % MAX ) everything just feels more smooth and faster. Next year ill be addinng a additional 8GB RAM to make it 16GB Total. After that i might pick up a MSI 1060 or 1070 depending on the price.

Some ppl here posted that i couldn't use my OEM version of windows because of the hardware change so i saved a few extra €€€ to buy a windows 10 licence. But to my suprize after i installed all the hardware my pc just booted into windows like nothing changed. The first time it booted it took a few minutes ( I've read Ryzen needs a few minutes to boot first time ), but after that everything works like nothing changed. It did asked me to register my Windows again, so i entered my serial key that was on the back of my Windows 7 case and it worked.
Just to be clear. I have a Windows 7 home premium licence ( 64 bit ) And i downloaded windows 10 for free and installed it last year.
So no new windows license was needed.

Thanks everyone for the help posted here. And good luck to anyone reading this and thinking about upgrading from a AMD Phenom 1055t to another CPU, Ryzen 5 1600 is well worth the money.

Cheers/