Question Upgrading a prebuilt PC

[CerysB]

Two years ago I bought a prebuilt PC.
However, this PC is unsuitable for what I need it for and I don't have the money to buy a whole new system as of right now.
I am in a design course where decent rendering times and pc power is vital (photoshop, video-editing) as the current system struggles simply previewing edits I work on. I also play games and I would very much like to be able to play my current games at decent frames as most games I play drop frames and freeze, I'd especially like to play cyberpunk 2077 and BL3 at good settings with good frames.
I'm unsure if its a good idea to upgrade a prebuild as I don't have the experience of actually building a PC myself and I am worrried of messing stuff up.
If I were to upgrade it I would also wonder what parts to keep and what would be compatible with what I have now, I've tried to compile a list of this PC's specs below.

PC SPECS

CPU : AMD Ryzen 3 1200
RAM: Corsair Vengence 2x 4gb DDR4 RAM
GPU: Radeon RX 570 4gb
MOBO: ROG Strix B350-F Gaming
PSU: Corsair VS450
SSD: Western Digital Green 110gb
HDD: Seagate BarraCuda 3.5" SATA HDD 1TB

(more storage would also be a plus however a better system is a higher concern for me)

All advice is much appreciated!

 

[SchizTech]

OK. For better performance there are a certainly options to bump up the CPU, memory and perhaps GPU. It would help to know how much you are able/willing to spend here.

 

[RodroX]

If you can find someone that knows what he/shes doing, and have enough tech knowladge to help you out, then I would try the following:

1. Update BIOS according to ASUS website so you can suport Ryzen 2nd gen (ZEN+)
2. Buy and install a Ryzen 5 2600
3. Sell your current RAM.
4. Buy and add 2x8Gb DDR4 3200MHz kit for dual channel.

Alternative (more expensive):

1. Update BIOS according to ASUS website so you can suport Ryzen 3rd gen (ZEN 2)
2. Buy and install a Ryzen 5 3600
3. Sell your current RAM
4. Buy and add 2x8Gb DDR4 3200MHz kit for dual channel.

 

[logainofhades]

I would update the bios, and get an R5 3600, and upgrade the ram as well. I would recommend getting a better quality power supply, once stock and pricing normalize. The VS450 is not a very good quality unit, and any meaningful graphics upgrade would require it to be changed out regardless.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($167.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $231.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-04 11:53 EDT-0400

 

[CerysB]

Thanks for the replies sorry didn't see them till now, BIOS update was a huge shout it hadn't been updated since august 2017 so it will definitely help when it comes to upgrading the PC would it be better to get the RAM then CPU first then PSU? I'm also thinking of backing up some data then resetting the whole PC as there's so much clutter and a few glitches I get on this PC (i.e file explorer keeps crashing n me and my AMD graphics software refuses to launch but still takes clips etc)

 

[ShadowRD]

Thanks for the replies sorry didn't see them till now, BIOS update was a huge shout it hadn't been updated since august 2017 so it will definitely help when it comes to upgrading the PC would it be better to get the RAM then CPU first then PSU? I'm also thinking of backing up some data then resetting the whole PC as there's so much clutter and a few glitches I get on this PC (i.e file explorer keeps crashing n me and my AMD graphics software refuses to launch but still takes clips etc)

i don't know how tied is your budget, but i recommend to upgrade to 16gb of ram (2x8 3000mhz or 3200mhz), also to buy a RX 580 instead, and getting a Ryzen 3 3200G (the one with integrated gpu) with 10us more you get 15% more performance

All games @1080p you will have not problem getting fps above 80 ultra setting (some games mix between ultra/high)

And of course like others have said, a Ryzen 5 3600 will be perfect, but will be limited by the gpu, so it doesn't make sense to buy it if you will keep the RX 570/580

 

[CerysB]

i don't know how tied is your budget, but i recommend to upgrade to 16gb of ram (2x8 3000mhz or 3200mhz), also to buy a RX 580 instead, and getting a Ryzen 3 3200G (the one with integrated gpu) with 10us more you get 15% more performance

All games @1080p you will have not problem getting fps above 80 ultra setting (some games mix between ultra/high)

And of course like others have said, a Ryzen 5 3600 will be perfect, but will be limited by the gpu, so it doesn't make sense to buy it if you will keep the RX 570/580

Thank you, the budget I can spend this month is £200, however I'm willing to wait and upgrade to more expensive parts in the next few months.

I definitely have a plan ahead of me in terms of upgrading now though

Thinking in the long run, I think I'd lean towards copping the Ryzen 5 3600 and upgrading the graphics card eventually, with that said have you got any recommendations for what gpu would be paired well with it?

 

[RodroX]

Thank you, the budget I can spend this month is £200, however I'm willing to wait and upgrade to more expensive parts in the next few months.

I definitely have a plan ahead of me in terms of upgrading now though

Thinking in the long run, I think I'd lean towards copping the Ryzen 5 3600 and upgrading the graphics card eventually, with that said have you got any recommendations for what gpu would be paired well with it?

If youre going to wait, be sure to keep an eye open for the upcoming AMD zen 3 cpu launches (september?... maybe?) and some time later the Rocket Lake Intel cpus.

As for GPU recommendation thats hard to said cause you may have some new GPU launches before the end of the year too lol. So I would say wait till you have the money and then ask again so we can pointyou out to some suggestions with the new products on the street.

Having said that, right now you can pair the Ryzen 5 3600 with any GPU, the more important question is what resolution are you going to be playing? Is not the same to suggest a GPU for a 1080p display, than for a 1440p display. And with the huge amount of high refresh panels offers out there, is important to know what refresh rate does your monitor have, are you goin with the standard 60Hz panel?, or do you have a 120Hz~144Hz one?

 

[logainofhades]

i don't know how tied is your budget, but i recommend to upgrade to 16gb of ram (2x8 3000mhz or 3200mhz), also to buy a RX 580 instead, and getting a Ryzen 3 3200G (the one with integrated gpu) with 10us more you get 15% more performance

All games @1080p you will have not problem getting fps above 80 ultra setting (some games mix between ultra/high)

And of course like others have said, a Ryzen 5 3600 will be perfect, but will be limited by the gpu, so it doesn't make sense to buy it if you will keep the RX 570/580

A 3200g and an RX 580 would not be worth the money spent. A 3300x would be a much better option, if money is tight. It is a sweet budget chip. GPU, a 1660 super at minimum, for a decent bump, in performance.

Thinking in the long run, I think I'd lean towards copping the Ryzen 5 3600 and upgrading the graphics card eventually, with that said have you got any recommendations for what gpu would be paired well with it?

The 3600 is fine, at stock, up to at least a 2060 super, if not more, depending on your monitor resolution.

 

[RodroX]

The Ryzen 3, 3300x is also a valid option, if money is tight. It is an sweet budget chip. The 3600 is fine, at stock, up to at least a 2060 super, if not more, depending on your monitor resolution.

Yeah the Ryzen 5 3600 can run any GPU, other CPUs may give you a few more FPS depending on the gaming titles and resolution. As you scale up (1440p), like logainofhades wrote, GPU becomes the "bottleneck" factor and thus investing a little bit more on the GPU, in that particular situation, is a better idea.

 

[CerysB]

Hey Just to update the situation I've bought the Ryzen 5 3600, major fps boosts and better performance was noticed straightaway so I'm very happy with the purchase. I currently have around £300 to spare (in counting) to put towards ram and potentially other parts.

I know it might be a bit overkill for the current system but I've decided that I want to upgrade to 32gb of ram just to have that extra blanket of safety in video editing and hopefully in vr next yearish, as well as, a more long term future proof for when I upgrade more parts. I'm not too sure what sticks to get, I don't really care about LEDS just as long as it gets the job done and they're good value. So any thoughts are welcome

I was also wondering after upgrading this is my PSU still good enough as it was mentioned to be a pretty crappy unit?

 

[RodroX]

Hey Just to update the situation I've bought the Ryzen 5 3600, major fps boosts and better performance was noticed straightaway so I'm very happy with the purchase. I currently have around £300 to spare (in counting) to put towards ram and potentially other parts.

I know it might be a bit overkill for the current system but I've decided that I want to upgrade to 32gb of ram just to have that extra blanket of safety in video editing and hopefully in vr next yearish, as well as, a more long term future proof for when I upgrade more parts. I'm not too sure what sticks to get, I don't really care about LEDS just as long as it gets the job done and they're good value. So any thoughts are welcome

I was also wondering after upgrading this is my PSU still good enough as it was mentioned to be a pretty crappy unit?

Glad you are happy with your R5 3600, I know Im happy with mine.

As for your memory question theres a QVL on your motherboard website: https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING_Memory_QVL_180125.pdf

 

[egda23]

Whatever RAM you purchase, be careful to buy a 32 GB kit and not 2 kits of 16 gb or several singles. Only kits sold together give you a guarantee to actually work together in your PC.
The best price / performance in you situation is probably a 3200 Mhz kit.
The QVL for your motherboard dates from 2018, and therefore many 32 Gb kits available today are not listed. In fact a single 3200 Mhz 32 Gb kit is there : HX432C16PB3K4/32
You can get this kit here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-HX432C16PB3K4-32-Predator-DDR4/dp/B01GCWQATY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=HX432C16PB3K4/32&qid=1598359384&sr=8-1
but is is rather pricey.
Another possibility is to look on a configurator of a reliable RAM brand. Here you have the one from GSkil and the results fro your mobo is there
https://www.gskill.com/configurator?page=1&cls=1529635169&manufacturer=1524725352&chipset=1532078402&model=1532078507&adSearch2=Capacity§32GB (8GBx4),Capacity§32GB (16GBx2),Tested_Speed§2933MHz,
Two kits of 4 x 8 Gb are indicated as compatible. Note that no 2 x 16 Gb kits are not proposed (and GSkill has many of them).
Crucial, another reliable brand, gives this list as compatible, and you can find 32 >Gb kits there
https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/asus/rog-strix-b350-f-gaming

 

[CerysB]

Thanks a ton! Sucks there's not many options. Got a bit confused with the reply there,
is it not an option to go for 2x16gb sticks rather then 4x8gb because of compatibility issues with the mobo? All the links are really useful too thanks, appreciate that.

 

[egda23]

Thanks a ton! Sucks there's not many options. Got a bit confused with the reply there,
is it not an option to go for 2x16gb sticks rather then 4x8gb because of compatibility issues with the mobo? All the links are really useful too thanks, appreciate that.

Crucial proposes kits composed of 2x16gb sticks as compatible with your MoBo.
Read carefully the list that I have linked. Fore example these kits
CT2K16G4DFRA32A
BL2K16G32C16U4B
are proposed by Crucial as compatible and both are on amazon.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=CT2K16G4DFRA32A&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=BL2K16G32C16U4B&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

 

[CerysB]

Thanks

 

[2plash6]

If you can find someone that knows what he/shes doing, and have enough tech knowladge to help you out, then I would try the following:

1. Update BIOS according to ASUS website so you can suport Ryzen 2nd gen (ZEN+)
2. Buy and install a Ryzen 5 2600
3. Sell your current RAM.
4. Buy and add 2x8Gb DDR4 3200MHz kit for dual channel.

Alternative (more expensive):

1. Update BIOS according to ASUS website so you can suport Ryzen 3rd gen (ZEN 2)
2. Buy and install a Ryzen 5 3600
3. Sell your current RAM
4. Buy and add 2x8Gb DDR4 3200MHz kit for dual channel.

The R3 1200 is future proof because the upcoming 5000 series will use the same socket, and all you would need would be Bios update.

 

[RodroX]

The R3 1200 is future proof because the upcoming 5000 series will use the same socket, and all you would need would be Bios update.

So far AMD only said they will give mobo makers the code to support Zen 3 (Ryzen 5000 series) on B450 and X470 mobos. Theres no mention about support for older chipsets like the (B350) which is the one in OP mobo: ROG Strix B350-F Gaming.

So I wouldn't count on that for now

 

[CerysB]

Since my OP I have upgraded my system

Updated Specs
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 32GB (16x2) DDR4 3200MHz

Originally this was a good upgrade but like many... Cyberpunk has led me to desire another upgrade sooner than later 🤣

I wanted to go all out and upgrade my GPU to a 3060-3080 or something, however, I would certainly need to upgrade my PSU and I'm unsure about my MoBo as I believe it's quite dated. I would additionally upgrade these myself. I did the CPU and RAM myself but I'm quite worried about how hard it would be to switch out MoBo and PSU myself as it's connected to everything.

To summarise as I seem to have waffled a bit:

• What PSU would you recommend for this upgrade?
• Will my MoBo support these upgrades or would I have to switch?
• If in any sense can you rate the difficult of the process of changing the PSU or potentially the whole MoBo for a beginner who's only swapped CPU and RAM

Specs to upgrade??
GPU: Radeon RX 570 4gb
MOBO: ROG Strix B350-F Gaming
PSU: Corsair VS450

 

[RodroX]

Since my OP I have upgraded my system

Updated Specs
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 32GB (16x2) DDR4 3200MHz

Originally this was a good upgrade but like many... Cyberpunk has led me to desire another upgrade sooner than later 🤣

I wanted to go all out and upgrade my GPU to a 3060-3080 or something, however, I would certainly need to upgrade my PSU and I'm unsure about my MoBo as I believe it's quite dated. I would additionally upgrade these myself. I did the CPU and RAM myself but I'm quite worried about how hard it would be to switch out MoBo and PSU myself as it's connected to everything.

To summarise as I seem to have waffled a bit:

• What PSU would you recommend for this upgrade?
• Will my MoBo support these upgrades or would I have to switch?
• If in any sense can you rate the difficult of the process of changing the PSU or potentially the whole MoBo for a beginner who's only swapped CPU and RAM

Specs to upgrade??
GPU: Radeon RX 570 4gb
MOBO: ROG Strix B350-F Gaming
PSU: Corsair VS450

Well you will really need a better PSU, at least 750 watts for a RTX 3080, from a well known maker and a good model. Just a few examples:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Jf...d-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020131-na

Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

pcpartpicker.com

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/64...fied-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-750fx

As for the mobo, if its working I don't think you have to worry about it, the R5 3600 should be plenty enough for today games and the close future.

 

[CerysB]

Well you will really need a better PSU, at least 750 watts for a RTX 3080, from a well known maker and a good model. Just a few examples:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Jf...d-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020131-na

Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

pcpartpicker.com

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/64...fied-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-750fx

As for the mobo, if its working I don't think you have to worry about it, the R5 3600 should be plenty enough for today games and the close future.

Thanks! I was also considering installing a new SSD or HDD, I know it won't take up near as much power but should 750 be enough for the GPU and HDD updated?

 

[RodroX]

Thanks! I was also considering installing a new SSD or HDD, I know it won't take up near as much power but should 750 be enough for the GPU and HDD updated?

Yes it should be enough!!!