Build Advice Upgrading some parts - Balance between Workstation and Games

Cyrus3v

Honorable
Dec 26, 2012
60
0
10,630
Hi everyone,

So my current build is this

FX-8350
Gigabyte 990fxa-ud3
16GB Ram
MSI R9 270X Hawk
Corsair Vx550W

Although I don't work that much from home, would be nice to have a decent workstation to work with 3ds Max, Photoshop and at the same time run some of the latest games. I am thinking of keeping my case (z11) and the PSU (Corsair VX550W).


Approximate Purchase Date:

Next couple of weeks

Budget Range:

Around £800 or 1000 $

System Usage from Most to Least Important:

Workstation (3ds Max, Revit) , Games (Tomb Raider, Far Cry 5)

Are you buying a monitor:

No - I have a 2k Benq Monitor and a second 22 Samsung

Parts to Upgrade:

I am thinking of keeping my PSU Corsair VX550W, the 500GB SSD Samsung and the Z11 Case and the DH15 Noctua Cooler.

Do you need to buy OS:

No - I have my windows license

Location: London, UK

Parts Preferences:

I prefer AMD CPUs, MSI graphics card

Overclocking:

Maybe

SLI or Crossfire:

Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution:

2560x1440

Additional Comments:

Don't care about RGB stuff, is a working machine and the quieter the better.
One doubt I have is if my PSU Corsair VX550W will handle this new system? Also, I am not sure about the 1660 ti, as there are tons of options. I love my MSI R9 and had good experiences with MSI, For RAM - 16GB is the minimum I need, but if I could get 32GB the better. I know the Ryzen isn't the best for gamming, but that isn't my priority and I saw how well and better a Ryzen works with software I use.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:

I want to test some software that mainly uses Cuda cores to render (things like Fstorm, Octane) and at the moment I am stuck with my AMD graphics card. I also want to have a little bit of more room to work with 3ds Max and Arnold or Corona Renderer. At the same time, if possible playing some of the latest games, although I am not fussy about having X FPS or playing at 1080p.

I did quite a lot of research in terms of CPU, Motherboard and Graphics Card. This post is also to double check if I am doing a good choice or if I could do better with other options.

So what I think could be a good upgrade

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor (£259.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard (£114.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£171.59 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB ARMOR OC Video Card (£269.98 @ Box Limited)
Total: £816.55


Let me know your thoughts
 
If you are going current gen, then something like this should be good...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor | £193.98 @ Aria PC
Motherboard | MSI - B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard | £114.99 @ Amazon UK
Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | £131.99 @ Aria PC
Video Card | EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB XC BLACK GAMING Video Card | £299.98 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply | Corsair - TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | £67.70 @ CCL Computers
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | £808.64
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-28 09:25 BST+0100 |

Since both the 2700 and 2700x overclock around the same range and you have a robust board with plenty of power phases and a solid cooler, saving some money there is recommended. That money can go towards a better PSU as the Corsair VS is low quality... https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1045610-new-psu-tier-list/
 

Cyrus3v

Honorable
Dec 26, 2012
60
0
10,630
Thanks for the reply.

I saw that the Ryzen 7 3700X isn't going to be that much and you get an improvement of 15%. Since is still using AM4, that means I can keep the motherboard, etc.

Will I have any issues with this new CPU? I ask that because I saw how new CPUs can have issues with motherboard BIOS, etc. I think I can pay the extra £67 for the PSU and see how much the 3700X will be. The only prices I can see are in dollars.

Also, why the RTX 2060 over the GTX 1660ti?
 
Last edited:
The new gen. of CPUs should ideally need a BIOS update to work ofcourse. Usually it needs a current gen CPU to do that. Luckily for you, that board has an automatic Flash BIOS feature...
https://nl.hardware.info/vergelijkingstabel/producten/457481-468007
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450-GAMING-PRO-CARBON-AC/Specification
BACK PANEL PORTS
  1. PS/2 Combo Port
  2. DisplayPort
  3. Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
  4. LAN Port
  5. HD Audio Connectors
  6. Flash BIOS Button
  7. USB 2.0 Port
  8. HDMI Port
  9. USB 3.1 Gen1
  10. USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A + C
  11. Optical S/PDIF OUT
 
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