Upgrade advice for gaming PC

LiquidDude

LiquidDude

LiquidDude

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Joined
19 Mar 2023
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3
Location
Newquay
Hi everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my gaming PC which I bought about 5 years ago.

CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Six-core prosessor 3.2Ghz
GPU - Asus Nvidia GTX 1060 6Gb
Mobo - ROG STRIX B350-F Gaming Motherboard
RAM - 16GB T-Force Xtreem ARGB
PSU - Super Flower 550w Platinum King

In the long run I'd like a CPU/GPU upgrade possibly keeping the motherboard if still compatible with modern CPU. I was wondering though if it was actually viable to just upgrade the GPU first and then to upgrade the CPU at a later date to spread the expense.
I was aiming at Asus GeForce RTX 3060 Dual V2 OC LHR 12GB GDDR6 which at the moment seems to be on sale, or something of a comparable price (discounted). Also I'm not 100% sure on whether the PSU will be enough. Will that require an upgrade too?
I have an 1080p monitor, which is the reason why I could play fairly well until recently with a GTX 1060, though now I can feel the system needs an upgrade. I wouldn't buy a new monitor straight away but at some point I'd like to move up to a 1440p.

What do you guys suggest? Could I start by upgrading the GPU, and maybe the PSU, and then the CPU a bit later or or it wouldn't work and should I look into getting a CPU and GPU together straight away?

Thank you for any help!
 
as you're on the AM4 platform, you are in luck. a simple bios update will unlock all the ryzen 5000 cpus
rog.asus.com

ROG STRIX B350-F GAMING | Motherboards | ROG Global

rog.asus.com rog.asus.com
so it's a simple drop in upgrade from the 1600 to the 5600
your gpu choice will depend on your budget

unfortunately nvidia's scheduler is very ancient and dependent on single core speeds. you will find that the 3060 will be bottlenecked by the ryzen 1600
 
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Instead of the 3060 at £350, I'd get the RX 6700 XT which is £375 and much, much faster than a 3060 (review).

PSU: you'll probably be alright, I wouldn't buy a new one unless you're having problems.
 
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Given you'll have CPU and GPU to sell I'd do them both together; you should be able to raise enough from selling both to buy a Ryzen 5 5600.
 
I'd also consider bumping up to 32gb of RAM, DDR4 is cheap at the moment and more and more games are benefiting from more than 16gb.
 
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tamzzy said:
budget?
Click to expand...
I was thinking something around £500/600 for CPU and GPU combined, which seems matching what has been suggested.

Thank you all for the prompt advice. As you all suggested I'm thinking to go for this CPU:

And for the GPU I'm considering one of these two:
I'm not sure if there is any big difference between the two, despite the price.

I'll keep the RAM upgrade in mind as well, but for now I'll focus on CPU and GPU and most probably add two more 8Gb banks later this year.

Any recommendation for a CPU cooler? I just used the one provided with the Ryzen CPU with the idea to replace it later but I've never done it and in the end it has done its job decently. Now I'm wondering though if it could be worth having a better one with the new processor.
 
LiquidDude said:
Any recommendation for a CPU cooler? I just used the one provided with the Ryzen CPU with the idea to replace it later but I've never done it and in the end it has done its job decently.
Click to expand...

Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler, 4 Heatpipes, TL-C12C-S PWM Fan, for AMD AM4/AM5 Intel 1700/1150/1151/1200 (AX120 R SE ARGB)​


not stocked at ocuk but available elsewhere and pretty cheap too
 
tamzzy said:

Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler, 4 Heatpipes, TL-C12C-S PWM Fan, for AMD AM4/AM5 Intel 1700/1150/1151/1200 (AX120 R SE ARGB)​


not stocked at ocuk but available elsewhere and pretty cheap too
Click to expand...

The 5-heatpipe version is also good, usually like £1 more.
 

Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE CPU Air Cooler is the 5 heatpipe version and currently it's only £1.80 more than the 4 heatpipe version but has no ARGB. These coolers are a steal considering the performance.​

 
Journey said:
The 5-heatpipe version is also good, usually like £1 more.
Click to expand...
yes, either of them will be more than sufficient to cool the 5600
just went with the 4 heatpipe version because you know...rgb bling bling lol :cry:

found the rgb version of the 5 heatpipe:

Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler, AK120 SE ARB, 5 Heatpipes, TL-C12C-S PWM Quiet Fan CPU Cooler With S-FDB Bearing, for AMD AM4/Intel 115X/1200/17XX, LGA1700​

90p more...no brainer then lol get the 5 heatpipe version
 
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pastymuncher said:

Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE CPU Air Cooler is the 5 heatpipe version and currently it's only £1.80 more than the 4 heatpipe version but has no ARGB. These coolers are a steal considering the performance.​

Click to expand...
the rgb version is cheaper than the non-rgb version lol :cry:
 
Alright it seems like an unanimous advice :cry:, I'll look for Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE ARGB CPU Air Cooler then.

Thanks all again for the help
 
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