Gaming PC upgrade advice

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Hi all, never posted on here before but thought it was worth a shot based on the good advice i've read on here previously.

Basically i purchased my PC from OCUK in 2015, the "Liberator X6" AMD FX-6 6300 @ 4.1GHz Turbo Nvidia GeForce Six Core Gaming PC" which i primarily use for gaming.

I've noticed that i'm having to set the graphics lower and lower as time goes on so i basically want to know if it is possible to upgrade my PC with a few minor purchases (e.g. graphics card) or if it is worth breaking the bank and going all out for a new PC?

My current set up is:
Processor: AMD FX(tm)-6350 Six-Core Processor, 3900 Mhz
Motherboard: MSI MS-7693
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
Memory: 8GB RAM
HDD: 1x250GB SSD 1x1TB HDD
Case: BitFenix Shinobi


Any advice appreciated.
 
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Yes it is a no brainier and i think others would agree that you should get a entirely a new pc.

The reason why you should go is because that processor is weak as well as the supported processors that am3+ supports, weaker than a 2500k.

I'll set your budget as £800-1000

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £888.13 (includes shipping: £13.20)

You can reuse your ssd and hdd, going with a ryzen 3600 will be a massive improvement over the fx 6350.
 
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Cheers for the replies guys.

@lltfdaniel - Thanks for this, i thought that would be the case but wanted to double check. I'd say that my budget is around £800 so what you linked works out pretty well. I take it that set up leaves a lot more room for upgrades as time goes on as well?

@Plec - Budget is around £800 i'd say but if an extra £100 gets me a drastic improvement then i'd push it to £900. As for the screen the one i have at the moment is pretty old so need an upgrade on that as well, i think the one i have now is 60hz.
 
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If you don't need WiFi the Tomahawk will suffice - otherwise get the MSI B450 Pro Carbon. Very small gains to be had for 3600MHz memory for the money, but you could try clocking the Team Group 3200MHz kit - some have been Samsung B-die.

Assuming you'll re-use your old drives - but would recommend bumping up to at least a 500Gb SSD. ANd case is a place holder - you can get a Kolink Stronghold for ~£40 which doesn't have any RGB...

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £794.06 (includes shipping: £13.20)
 
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Cheers for the replies guys.

@lltfdaniel - Thanks for this, i thought that would be the case but wanted to double check. I'd say that my budget is around £800 so what you linked works out pretty well. I take it that set up leaves a lot more room for upgrades as time goes on as well?

@Plec - Budget is around £800 i'd say but if an extra £100 gets me a drastic improvement then i'd push it to £900. As for the screen the one i have at the moment is pretty old so need an upgrade on that as well, i think the one i have now is 60hz.

Yeah well when people do not set their budget i decide and most of the time it pans out to be their actual budget.

Being realistic for someone who wants a decent gaming machine and knowing bang for buck and the like, £800 is doable.

I have a lot of time, so i get experience with what people recommend and all of that so yeah.

Enjoy your new pc, go with plecs build for £794 there which is above my post here.

Every one including my self would say get a new pc...otherwise if not then why would they defend the am3+ motherboard socket plus at that time those processors were weak to begin with, then ryzen came and changed that.

Dan.
 
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Nothing wrong with your build @lltfdaniel - solid component choice, especially if he needs WiFi.

I live and learn from people like you Plec and all the advise these forums generate.

So yeah for people with no time or little time to know what to buy, then well there are people like us and as far as i know Plec that motherboard is hard to beat at that price and is the budget motherboard to get.

Also i have learned the range of BitFenix power supplys are good as well.

He could save even more money by buying these psu > https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-c...p-to-800-watts?ckSuppliers=84&ckTab=0&sSort=2
Dan.
 
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I decided to do another build to save the op money by picking this power supply but not everything like pc case or hdd/ssd or dvd drive.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £724.00 (includes shipping: £11.10)
 
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RAM is 100% more expensive than it needs to be for 2% performance, totally not worth buying you could buy a Radeon RX 5700/XT, or RTX 2060 Super and stay in your budget. I'd also drop the PSU down a rung.


CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Video Card
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX PSU

Total: <£800
 
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@TripleSod - @Journey is talking about the 3600MHz memory that i mentioned would give very little performance gain for the money and if you kept your case (just noticed - not needed) you could probably squeeze a RX5700XT - but how old is your monitor as you may be better served putting some cash towards a new panel?

*the Corsair RMx650W is worth the extra 100W/£6 while it's on sale.

My spec without case to give you an idea on cost - you would have approx ~£180 to play with for a better monitor if needed (considering your additional £100 surplus if needed)?:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £722.01 (includes shipping: £11.10)


You may find the following useful - you will need to flash the BIOS to make it Zen 2 compatible - but the MSI B450 boards listed have Flashback feature - so no CPU required. Below are instructions:

YouTube clip of the MSI 'Flash Back' process - where no CPU is required (i would use a freshly fat 32 formatted ~8Gb pendrive (basically not a large pendrive)):


And here's latest BIOS list for boards plus a pictorial walk through - Clicky
 
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You don't want to do that - i'm full of bad habits (conversing with @orbitalwalsh is a major one.)

Don't bring me into your Master craving.. ;) or was it Xtreme ... I always forget !? :D

I dont think 3600hz is plug Nd play with B450 , not currently . Bios will be the lowest on B450 for updates, always the way with vendors, flagship first then work down the chain .

Vega 56 now EOL . Shame , though nice to see it at a lowish price but still should be cheaper

As @Journey has mentioned , RX Navi card .

Riotoro G2, just a rebranded Focus for £20-40 cheaper though they have now changed from 10 yr to 5 yr warranty and can't blame them, same quality but cutting their operating costs
 
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I dont think 3600hz is plug Nd play with B450 , not currently . Bios will be the lowest on B450 for updates, always the way with vendors, flagship first then work down the chain .
Not sure either (maybe with future AGESA updates...) - but @llfdaniel was trying out a spec, i think he knows to spec 3200MHz with b450 builds now - was a solid build otherwise, just needed tweaking (like mine - didn't need a case and frees up more money for better GPU/panel...).

As @Journey has mentioned , RX Navi card .
Yeah - would be a good swap out for the V56, just waiting for OP's reply re: monitor as he may be playing on an old 22" etc... The money saved with my original spec (i.e. minus case) plus his bonus £100 could get him semi-decent panel.

Don't bring me into your Master craving.. ;) or was it Xtreme ... I always forget !? :D
ULTRA - if anything, still watching... :p

You getting 3900X still?
 
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@Plec 3600 more like it haha . Cash and then anything that beats my 3.95 aweful 2700 non X would do !

Drop it all down into ITX

Ah agesa , amd really need to improve vendor communication with it . Dread what it must be like at Gigabyte , MSI, Asus, ASRock lab when they first update it and watch hours upon hours of work undone on last bios by AMD
 
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@Plec 3600 more like it haha . Cash and then anything that beats my 3.95 aweful 2700 non X would do !
Sell a couple of Ducky keyboards and you'll be kitted out :p

When i do jump - still think it will be 3700X, as originally planned, if the 3600/3600X comparison is anything to go by. The 3600 is just fantastic value!
 
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Not sure either (maybe with future AGESA updates...) - but @llfdaniel was trying out a spec, i think he knows to spec 3200MHz with b450 builds now - was a solid build otherwise, just needed tweaking (like mine - didn't need a case and frees up more money for better GPU/panel...).

Tested two B450's, one B350 and one X470, with an R5 3600, and half way through testing the 3900X might not get it finished this week. All of them worked fine with dual rank 32GB (2x16GB) at 3600MHz, and none of the kit I tested were rated to 3600MHz. Some were not fully plug and play, as I had to set the voltage and some timings manually to ensure there were not set too aggressively.

The IMC's in the Ryzen 3xxx are silly easy to work with, its like Intel just with a socket that can be used more than once. :D
 
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Tested two B450's, one B350 and one X470, with an R5 3600, and half way through testing the 3900X might not get it finished this week. All of them worked fine with dual rank 32GB (2x16GB) at 3600MHz, and none of the kit I tested were rated to 3600MHz. Some were not fully plug and play, as I had to set the voltage and some timings manually to ensure there were not set too aggressively.
Was this all using those slutty CBS 3000MHz sticks- that kept on giving? (EDIT: @llfdaniel - the decision not to use the 3600MHz sticks was purely money : performance gain - not worth it as very small gains for outlay - especially when working within a restricted budget.)

TThe IMC's in the Ryzen 3xxx are silly easy to work with, its like Intel just with a socket that can be used more than once. :D
Great - i think i'm actually looking forward more to clocking the memory than using PBO when i do eventually buckle...
 
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Soldato
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Was this all using those slutty CBS 3000MHz sticks- that kept on giving?

No, I have about seven different types of RAM, although I did spend way more time messing with the E-Die micron that I did with they Hynix or Samsung modules. I've got a some 8GB and 4GB's still to test, including 4x4GB, and 4x8GB, I'm nearly done with the mixed sets up to 4x 16GB (64GB).

Great - i think i'm actually looking forward more to clocking the memory than using PBO when i do eventually buckle...

It's certainly interesting, especially getting the most from the FCLK at the same time as the RAM, however I've really been struggling with BCLK for some reason I cannot get past 101MHz on either CPU on any board as yet.
 
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