Question What Motherboard should I get to support my current system but be able to upgrade the components later?

[MrGoober]

I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a GTX 1660.

My current motherboard is a DDR 4 and I know it's preventing me from upgrading the components, but I don't have the funds or money to upgrade everything all at once...

So I was wondering if anyone had a good recommendation for a MB that will still support my current setup, but allow me to upgrade after.

 

[jeremyj_83]

What is your current motherboard?

 

[MrGoober]

My Motherboard is a

What is your current motherboard?

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. A520M S2H (AM4)

 

[JeffreyP55]

I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a GTX 1660.

My current motherboard is a DDR 4 and I know it's preventing me from upgrading the components, but I don't have the funds or money to upgrade everything all at once...

So I was wondering if anyone had a good recommendation for a MB that will still support my current setup, but allow me to up

AM4 is a dead end for an upgrade path. Some AM5 MB use DDR4 but DDR5 would be a better choice. DDR4 is going away slowly. AM5 you gives you a lot more headroom for future upgrades. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on AM4.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Some AM5 MB use DDR4

No they don't. All AM5 are DDR5 only.
AM5 cpus don't have DDR4 memory controller.

 

[MrGoober]

AM4 is a dead end for an upgrade path. Some AM5 MB use DDR4 but DDR5 would be a better choice. DDR4 is going away slowly. AM5 you gives you a lot more headroom for future upgrades. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on AM4.

Yup I'm disconcerting that the hard way.

I want to try and keep the graphics card and CPU that I have currently, but upgrade the motherboard to an AM5 so that I can do upgrades in the future.

 

[kanewolf]

AM4 is a dead end for an upgrade path. Some AM5 MB use DDR4 but DDR5 would be a better choice. DDR4 is going away slowly. AM5 you gives you a lot more headroom for future upgrades. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on AM4.

A 3600 to a 5600X3D would be a low cost upgrade if you already have 16GB RAM.

But there is no motherboard ONLY upgrade that makes sense. You have to do a complete upgrade.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. A520M S2H (AM4)

I see no reason to change motherboard.
Other motherboards compatible with current cpu will not provide any extra cpu upgrade options.

Stick Ryzen 7 5800X3D on your current board.
That's about max, you can do.

 

[JeffreyP55]

A 3600 to a 5600X3D would be a low cost upgrade if you already have 16GB RAM.

But there is no motherboard ONLY upgrade that makes sense. You have to do a complete upgrade.

Exactly. No cheap date here.

 

[JeffreyP55]

No they don't. All AM5 are DDR5 only.
AM5 cpus don't have DDR4 memory controller.

Intel

 

[SkyNetRising]

Intel

AM5 is not Intel.

 

[beyondlogic]

I see no reason to change motherboard.
Other motherboards compatible with current cpu will not provide any extra cpu upgrade options.

Stick Ryzen 7 5800X3D on your current board.
That's about max, you can do.

Not 100 percent not true to upgrade the board. The motherboard only supports PCI gen 3x16 and 3x4 nvme.

If he wants a better board it would be a b550 motherboard with with PCI gen 4 x16 that supports nvme x4.4

 

[beyondlogic]

I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a GTX 1660.

My current motherboard is a DDR 4 and I know it's preventing me from upgrading the components, but I don't have the funds or money to upgrade everything all at once...

So I was wondering if anyone had a good recommendation for a MB that will still support my current setup, but allow me to upgrade after.

If you want a better board that is plug and play get b550 motherboard that supports PCI gen 4.4 faster storage and PCI gen 4 x16 which is what new cards take advantage of.

Ddr4 to me is fine

 

[jeremyj_83]

If you want a better board that is plug and play get b550 motherboard that supports PCI gen 4.4 faster storage and PCI gen 4 x16 which is what new cards take advantage of.

Ddr4 to me is fine

Even an RTX 4090 will have minimal performance difference between PCIe 3 and PCIe 4.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

What would be the purpose of buying a motherboard now and not upgrading anything else right now? It's like saying let's build a house but we can worry about the rooms later.

You should wait until you are ready to upgrade and buy a motherboard based on your components, not your components based on the motherboard. You're digging yourself into a pit.

And while DDR5 is improving, it's still not leaps and bounds (in gaming) better than DDR4, so just stick with what you have until you're ready to do multiple parts. Plus depending where you live stores do motherboard/CPU bundles with a free game.

 

[beyondlogic]

Even an RTX 4090 will have minimal performance difference between PCIe 3 and PCIe 4.

ATM yes i was more referring to the pci gen 4 faster storage which does help in gaming.

 

[jeremyj_83]

ATM yes i was more referring to the pci gen 4 faster storage which does help in gaming.

Difference is minimal in gaming even with storage direct.

 

[35below0]

I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a GTX 1660.

My current motherboard is a DDR 4 and I know it's preventing me from upgrading the components, but I don't have the funds or money to upgrade everything all at once...

So I was wondering if anyone had a good recommendation for a MB that will still support my current setup, but allow me to upgrade after.

As others have mentioned there is no meaningfull motherboard upgrade.

You could buy one but then you'd be locked to whatever that motherboard can do. You would spend money to be in exactly the same situation you're in now.
Save up some $800-1500 then buy a new motherboard+CPU+rest. Possibly RAM as well if you move to DDR5. DDR4 is ok, btw.

But i think your upgrade is far enough in the future that no one can predict which components you will use. Either because the prices are unknow or the stuff isn't on the market yet.

 

[NedSmelly]

I want to try and keep the graphics card and CPU that I have currently, but upgrade the motherboard to an AM5 so that I can do upgrades in the future.

You can keep your GTX1660, storage, and your power supply - but not the CPU or RAM.

 

[artk2219]

My Motherboard is a

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. A520M S2H (AM4)

That motherboard supports a 5700X3D, that would get you a very nice jump in performance, no new board required. How much RAM do you have, what power supply are you using, and what is your budget?

The path I would suggest, depending on your power supply, would be to:
1. Update your bios to the latest version.
2. Pickup a Ryzen 7 5700X3D
3. Upgrade to 32gb of RAM
4a. (Optional depending on current unit) Upgrade power supply if it's a lower end unit
4b. Upgrade your GPU, the GTX 1660 is long in the tooth and you can get some decent replacements depending on your budget. Pick something with 12gb or more of vram, try not to pickup an 8gb card as some games are already using all of that vram. That will only be worse in a few years time.

I've attached the CPU support list for your motherboard, a couple of 5700X3D reviews, and the 7900 GRE review so you can see relative performance between multiple cards. Your GTX 1660 performs roughly around the RTX 3050 6gb. These upgrades, depending on which GPU you choose, should keep you gaming decently for roughly another 3 years.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Ajax/SupportFunction/Getcpulist?Type=Product&Value=7434

https://gamersnexus.net/cpus/new-amd-ryzen-7-5700x3d-cpu-review-benchmarks-vs-5800x3d-more

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-ryzen-7-5700x3d-cpu-review/2

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/powercolor-radeon-rx-7900-gre-hellhound/31.html