Question Upgrading PC advice

ImranUl-Haq

Reputable
Feb 4, 2020
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Greetings,

The below specs are for a budget gaming PC i bought about 3 years ago, as new games are being released - I have found that my current setup lacks the capabilities to run with a sufficient amount of FPS at 1080p gaming with a 27-inch 144hz monitor.

Can you anyone suggest the next steps to upgrade? I'd like to continue using the same branded items so for example, I don't want to switch to Nvidia or Intel as my system is not build with these parts.

Gigabyte RX 580 8GB VRAM GDDR5 (card is about 4 years old now)
Ryzen 5 2600, 6 cores, 12 threads, AM4 socket
16GB Crucial DDR4 3.2GHZ RAM (2 x 8GB sticks)
Asus ROG STRIX B450 Motherboard
BeQuiet 550W Modular PSU
1TB Seagate HDD
250GB Samsung EVO SSD
480GB FanXiang SSD (Chip style, plugged into motherboard)

What are the first steps? I'd imagine it would be to upgrade the PSU as I don't believe a 550W PSU will be able to handle new components however I am not sure what graphics card / CPU combo I should go with? Will my motherboard and CPU socket be compatible? The last thing I want to do is purchase high-end parts and for them not to work well with each other

I'd appreciate any responses :)
 
I would suggest updating your mobo bios for 5800X3D and an Intel A770.

The A770 is a 225W card, similar to the RX580. So if the PSU is under warranty, i would just update the CPU and GPU.
There are rumors about a new 5600X3D that is gonna launch soon. So maybe upgrade the GPU first and wait n see?

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor (£268.77 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming D Arc A770 8 GB Video Card (£253.48 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £522.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-16 13:46 BST+0100

New PSU options: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...ied-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mpg-a750gf
 
Last edited:
Your first step it to determine what you actually need.
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
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To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run this test:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

If you need more cpu power, there are many cpu upgrades available for your motherboard.
Likely you would need a motherboard bios update first.
To assess the capabilities of a processor, google "r5-2600 passmark.
Your first hit should be this:
It shows 12 processing threads which is more than enough for any game, possibly excepting multiplayer with many participants.
The total rating is 13231 when all 12 threads are fully busy. Not a likely occurrence for games.
The single thread rating is 2248. Arguably the single thread performance is the most important metric for games.
Here is a link to possible cpu upgrades for your motherboard:
A possible upgrade might be a $150 5600X.
same 12 threads but much stronger single thread performance.

If you determine that a stronger graphics card is in order, your psu might be the limiter.
Look to tom's gpu hierarchy chart for relative capabilities:
RTX 3060 or rx6600 might be the strongest upgrade given your psu.