[SOLVED] Wondering if upgrade is worth it?

dannb1989

Commendable
Dec 22, 2018
35
4
1,535
Hey guys

Looking to upgrade my computer fairly soonish with new mobo, ram and CPU but I'm worried about buyer's remorse and the components not making much of a difference. The reason I'm looking to upgrade is to future proof my PC for gaming.

I currently have

B360 mobo
16 gb DDR4 at 2666mhz
intel i5 8500 and an RX Vega 64

I'm looking at upgrading to

MSI MPG Z390 gaming plus mobo
16 gb of DDR4 at 3000mhz
intel i7 9700k and leaving the GPU as is

All things considered, it's fine for running 1080p at ultra and that's cool but I don't want to get caught out any time soon for not making the upgrade and I wouldn't mind a bit of overclocking potential

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated, guys. Cheers
 
Solution
Hey man

Thanks for the reply! I've been looking at the 3800x and mobo and ram pairings for it but I don't really know much about either. Do you have any good recommendations for a motherboard and ram? I was looking at a Gigabyte X570 gaming X board and 16GB g.skill ripjaws @ 3200mhz but have no idea whether these are a good match? these come to pretty much the same price as the stuff I was thinking of in the first place so it fits in that aspect but I'm not entirely sure about any other factors

Thanks again
Cpu: Just get either 3600 or 3700X. The other cpus - 3600X, 3800X - offer next to nothing for the cost, and that money can be better spent elsewhere. [Exception: if the 3600X and 3800X are on sale and within 10USD of the...
Just leave it. Unless you're really unsatisfied with your PC's current performance, it is not worth it to make an upgrade to the next generation just for "future proofing". This honestly defeats the point of future proofing. Save your money, and buy something decent a few years down the line. There's no reason this hardware won't last that long. CPU overclocking is cool and all, but in the end, the uplift in performance is most of the time not worth spending more on cooling, a decent PSU, OC capable motherboard, and a K sku CPU.
But if you are interested, you can do a lot of modding and OC with vega 64. From custom bioses to power play tables, along with undervolt + OC. It's probably one of the best cards for playing around with.
 

bobjackieson

Reputable
Dec 30, 2017
135
6
4,595
Hey guys

Looking to upgrade my computer fairly soonish with new mobo, ram and CPU but I'm worried about buyer's remorse and the components not making much of a difference. The reason I'm looking to upgrade is to future proof my PC for gaming.

I currently have

B360 mobo
16 gb DDR4 at 2666mhz
intel i5 8500 and an RX Vega 64

I'm looking at upgrading to

MSI MPG Z390 gaming plus mobo
16 gb of DDR4 at 3000mhz
intel i7 9700k and leaving the GPU as is

All things considered, it's fine for running 1080p at ultra and that's cool but I don't want to get caught out any time soon for not making the upgrade and I wouldn't mind a bit of overclocking potential

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated, guys. Cheers
You are running decent midrange specs atm. I personally doubt that you are gonna struggle with gaming etc!

Ask yourself this:

1) Is it worth it for the games I play?

2) Will I notice the difference in performance?

3) can this money be better spent elsewhere?

If the answer to these is no, then probably not. Up to you though but if are scared of buyer remorse then you are likely to get beaten over the head with it!
 
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If you have spare money, why not, that CPU is a bit old and your GPU could use a better platform to really show it's performance.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 GAMING K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $339.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-03 01:42 EST-0500
 

dannb1989

Commendable
Dec 22, 2018
35
4
1,535
thanks for the replies guys!! My main problem with the current setup is that when I'm gaming my CPU is constantly running at 100% while I'm gaming and although it's not a massive problem I'd rather have a CPU that handles it a bit better. Obviously, if I buy a new CPU I'd want to buy one that was an actual upgrade and if I upgrade that I'd need a new mobo for 9th gen support and then I may as well get faster ram while I'm at it. I know CPU running at 100% isn't a massive problem and that's what makes me wonder if it's a worthwhile upgrade (just to clarify)

Regardless, I've taken these responses into account and I'm going to put it off for a little bit until I feel it's absolutely necessary.

Thanks again
 
thanks for the replies guys!! My main problem with the current setup is that when I'm gaming my CPU is constantly running at 100% while I'm gaming and although it's not a massive problem I'd rather have a CPU that handles it a bit better. Obviously, if I buy a new CPU I'd want to buy one that was an actual upgrade and if I upgrade that I'd need a new mobo for 9th gen support and then I may as well get faster ram while I'm at it. I know CPU running at 100% isn't a massive problem and that's what makes me wonder if it's a worthwhile upgrade (just to clarify)

Regardless, I've taken these responses into account and I'm going to put it off for a little bit until I feel it's absolutely necessary.

Thanks again
You could just get a used i7 8700 or something if you're desparate, but don't go any further than that. Spending any more on motherboard/cooler just to be able to overclock is not worth it.
 
Hey guys

Looking to upgrade my computer fairly soonish with new mobo, ram and CPU but I'm worried about buyer's remorse and the components not making much of a difference. The reason I'm looking to upgrade is to future proof my PC for gaming.

I currently have

B360 mobo
16 gb DDR4 at 2666mhz
intel i5 8500 and an RX Vega 64

I'm looking at upgrading to

MSI MPG Z390 gaming plus mobo
16 gb of DDR4 at 3000mhz
intel i7 9700k and leaving the GPU as is

All things considered, it's fine for running 1080p at ultra and that's cool but I don't want to get caught out any time soon for not making the upgrade and I wouldn't mind a bit of overclocking potential

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated, guys. Cheers

There is nothing wrong with wanting to future proof your pc. In fact, NOW is one of the better times to upgrade as prices may be rising soon (Linus Tech Tips is my source).

However the AMD 4000 series MAY be dropping later this year which would mean a pretty nice price drop on the 3000 series (I would opt for a 3700x or a 3800x over the R5 3600 for future proofing). The 3600 is nice for 1080p but when you want to go up to 1440p you may find you want a little more power. The 3700x and the 3800x have dropped in price. The 3700x is about 299$ now (dropped from 380$) and the 3800x is about 330$ now (dropped from about 450$).

Both of those CPUs will be better for the future over the 3600.

With all that said, if there are no performance issues with your current setup. If your running games fine and your happy with the performance, you could wait like 6-8 more months and probably catch a better deal on some better parts for the future.
 
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dannb1989

Commendable
Dec 22, 2018
35
4
1,535
There is nothing wrong with wanting to future proof your pc. In fact, NOW is one of the better times to upgrade as prices may be rising soon (Linus Tech Tips is my source).

However the AMD 4000 series MAY be dropping later this year which would mean a pretty nice price drop on the 3000 series (I would opt for a 3700x or a 3800x over the R5 3600 for future proofing). The 3600 is nice for 1080p but when you want to go up to 1440p you may find you want a little more power. The 3700x and the 3800x have dropped in price. The 3700x is about 299$ now (dropped from 380$) and the 3800x is about 330$ now (dropped from about 450$).

Both of those CPUs will be better for the future over the 3600.

With all that said, if there are no performance issues with your current setup. If your running games fine and your happy with the performance, you could wait like 6-8 more months and probably catch a better deal on some better parts for the future.

Hey man

Thanks for the reply! I've been looking at the 3800x and mobo and ram pairings for it but I don't really know much about either. Do you have any good recommendations for a motherboard and ram? I was looking at a Gigabyte X570 gaming X board and 16GB g.skill ripjaws @ 3200mhz but have no idea whether these are a good match? these come to pretty much the same price as the stuff I was thinking of in the first place so it fits in that aspect but I'm not entirely sure about any other factors

Thanks again
 
my CPU is constantly running at 100% while I'm gaming and although it's not a massive problem I'd rather have a CPU that handles it a bit better.
You currently have 6core/6thread cpu and thinking about upgrade to 8core/8thread cpu.
Honestly - it's not that big of a difference.

i7-8700 would be a better upgrade. It's 6core/12thread cpu.
 

Phaaze88

Titan
Ambassador
Hey man

Thanks for the reply! I've been looking at the 3800x and mobo and ram pairings for it but I don't really know much about either. Do you have any good recommendations for a motherboard and ram? I was looking at a Gigabyte X570 gaming X board and 16GB g.skill ripjaws @ 3200mhz but have no idea whether these are a good match? these come to pretty much the same price as the stuff I was thinking of in the first place so it fits in that aspect but I'm not entirely sure about any other factors

Thanks again
Cpu: Just get either 3600 or 3700X. The other cpus - 3600X, 3800X - offer next to nothing for the cost, and that money can be better spent elsewhere. [Exception: if the 3600X and 3800X are on sale and within 10USD of the other 2 models.]
Motherboard: Save money here as well and get either Msi B450 Tomahawk MAX, Gaming MAX, or A Pro MAX.
Memory: Dual channel 3200mhz CL14-16 kit. I would disregard the cheaper 3600mhz CL 18 kits, as they will have worse timings, negating their frequency advantage.
 
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Solution

dannb1989

Commendable
Dec 22, 2018
35
4
1,535
Cpu: Just get either 3600 or 3700X. The other cpus - 3600X, 3800X - offer next to nothing for the cost, and that money can be better spent elsewhere. [Exception: if the 3600X and 3800X are on sale and within 10USD of the other 2 models.]
Motherboard: Save money here as well and get either Msi B450 Tomahawk MAX, Gaming MAX, or A Pro MAX.
Memory: Dual channel 3200mhz CL14-16 kit. I would disregard the cheaper 3600mhz CL 18 kits, as they will have worse timings, negating their frequency advantage.

Awesome! Thanks so much for that! I was looking at a B450 for the price initially but I kept seeing recommendations for the X570 boards so I just thought it was the best pairing. The only reason I was considering the 3800X was the faster base clock out of the box but I didn't realize the difference was so small, that and the 3800X is only $25AUD more. I'll definitely keep those recommendations in mind though!

Thanks again
 
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