Upgrade advice

Frankie5Angels · 13-10-2022 3:17pm #1

Posted here a few years ago when building and got solid advice. Not really in dire need of an upgrade, but pondering it. Would like to keep as much as I can, but not averse to some advice as required. Current specs are:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 2600x

Motherboard: MSI – B450 Gaming Plus ATX AM4 Motherboard

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 * 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory

Memory: Kingston A1000 480GB M.2-2280 SSD

Memory: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5” 7200RPM Internal HD

Video Card: Asus – Radeon RX 570 4GB ROG Strix Video Card

Case: Corsair CC-9011083-WW Carbide Series SPEC-ALPHA Windowed Mid-Tower ATX Gaming Computer Case - White/Red

PSU: be quiet! System Power 9 600 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

A new case would be a requirement I think - the one I have is just too big and bulky. Budget probably about the 5/600 mark. To be used for WFH, interwebbing and gaming - 1080p is good for now, think that's all my monitors will take.

cornholio509 · 13-10-2022 6:25pm

THis is a hard one to be honest . The issue is your motherboard is limiting your choice of case . A motherboard and case leaves you littel room to upgrade the rest of your system . It will wipe out a thrid of your budget . SO i will give you three options .

1 . Leave the sysem alone for now and get a wifi card . Save up your money for a better build later on for a new build , and then sell your current system for a few hundred euros .

2 . Get a micro Atx board compatable with your CPU with built in wifi and a new mid tower case Upgrade the CPU or GPU .

4 . Dont change the motherboard . Buy A ryzen 3600x cpu can be got for €150 and a ryzen 6600 GPU or Nvidia 2060 for around 350-400 euro . Buy a cheap wifi card for about €20 and leave everything else alone . As that would be inside your budget . Sell the OLD CPU and GPU .

Just a not here on the GPU side of things . The newer graphics card will get close or peak over your powersupplies max wattage .While your pc with the specs i recomeneded wont exceed 590 watts it is possible a new GPU could cause issues . GPU can temporarilly speak past their rated wattege . SO i would budget for an 800 watt powersupply . 750 wat minimum .

K.O.Kiki · 13-10-2022 8:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119740470#Comment_119740470

Don't buy a 3600X - the superior 5600 is down to 165 eur.

Decent model GPU - Sapphire Pulse RX 6600, 330 eur

Case: Aerocool Quantum Mesh for a cheap, shorter tower (14cm shorter). Jonsbo makes some nice, premium towers (though U4/U4 Plus don't have the best airflow). I've linked <a comparison here>. All are smaller than the 54L SPEC-ALPHA.

cornholio509 · 14-10-2022 1:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119740890#Comment_119740890

The 5600 is a faster CPU i agree . I didnt mention it because pcie gen 4 isnt supported on the B450 boards . THen again its not really a factor at the moment because DX12 ultra compatible games arent really here yet .

As for cases i dont know what they OP wants . Though one thing for sure is i wouldnt tough the johnsbo cases . With the AEROcool case the GPU lenght could be a factor . Only specs i can get is the external case dimensions . SO i would have to say no triple fan gpus

K.O.Kiki · 14-10-2022 2:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119742025#Comment_119742025

The 5600 doesn't need PCIe Gen 4 to operate - that's for GPUs/SSDs.

Aerocool Quantum Mesh can accomodate GPUs up to 297mm. It's right there on the spec sheet.

cornholio509 · 14-10-2022 5:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119742067#Comment_119742067

Seriously !!

DID i say anywhere that the CPU wont work ? No . I said the motherboard doesnt support PCIE gen 4 .

DID i say the GPU you linked wont fit ? I only said no to tripple fan gpus with the case you mentioned . Not all manufacturers make all their GPUs the same size . My current GPU would not fit that case and its a triple fan gpu . Not all manufaturers make their GPUs the same size fixed size .

Homelander · 14-10-2022 10:14pm

Honestly at 1080p all you need is a new GPU. Intel Arc 770, Nvidia 3060, RX6600 - all solid options in similar price brackets and massive upgrades on an RX570.

Also previous comments on PSU are miles off. Your current PSU is 100% fine for an upgrade to cards listed above, with tons of headroom left over. They barely draw more power than the RX570 despite being significantly faster.

Frankie5Angels · 19-10-2022 10:59am

Sorry for the delay in replying, chaps. Thanks all for the comments/advice, much appreciated. Cornholio, the wifi isn't a problem for me - I got powerline adapters based on advice here a few years ago and they've yet to let me down :)

jebidiah · 19-10-2022 2:35pm

No idea why WiFi even came into the discussion to be honest? 😅

cornholio509 · 19-10-2022 3:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119765579#Comment_119765579

mentioned wifi because he mentioned PC is bulky . Generally a smaller case usually means i might be moving it from where my PC is . Now i now the op didnt mention wifi but giving him that as a option is not a bad idea in any sense of the word as it would fall inside his budget .

Frankie5Angels · 19-10-2022 4:04pm

The case I have at the minute is quite bulky for a mid-tower imo, Cornholio - the 14cm in height difference that KOKiki mentioned above would be what I'm looking for, no need to move to smaller towers or the like. I thought it was cool when I bought it, but I think something sleeker would be more my bag. ATM the PC is holed up in one of the ikea alex units (back has been torn apart with jig and holesaws before anyone gives out to me about ventilation 😁).

cornholio509 · 19-10-2022 6:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119766175#Comment_119766175

NO problem there with the case just be aware of GPU lenghts in smaller PC cases . SOme give up height and lenght and some are narrower some wider . Usually they have more than one dimension in change . Usually what you give up for in height the oppisite is true in either its lenght or width . OR you end up with a case thats just a knightmare to build in because there is no room for cables inside the back panel .

YOur best bet is to jump onto amazon and type in mid tower PC cases . GO through the cases you like for their dimensions and see how you fare . MAke a list of cases you like then shop around online .

AS for the rest of your budget blow it on a GPU . I think at the moment your GPU is the weakest link in the system . THe ryzen 2600X is no slouch as is .

Jon Doe · 21-10-2022 11:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058267309/upgrade-advice

If you're sticking to 1080p gaming i'd say that machine is still enough for now. My only concern would be the SSD: I don't know the Kingston A1000. If it's an old SSD instaill the Kingston utility app and make sure its write count is still a healthy value.

Upgrade advice

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