Upgrade advice from 2500k and GTX 970

Gjiir · 30 Jul 2019 at 13:38

My current PC has done well to last me this long but its now time to upgrade.

I currently have:
2500k CPU
16GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 970
500GB SSD + 1TB SSD.
CX 600M PSU
2x 1080p monitors

I'm keeping my current SSD's, 500GB for OS and 1TB for games along with the 2x 1080 monitors.

Also keeping the 970 for now as i only game in 1080 and im unsure what GPU to get atm, so gonna wait a while to see if something jumps out at me. Looking for bang for the buck and pretty quiet.

Dont really have a budget, but I generally look for best bang for the buck upgrades, pretty quiet and i get a good few years out of my upgrades. I got my 2500k cpu shortly after release and the GPU when Witcher 3 was released so got a good amount of time out of them
.
I mainly play games and watch twitch and netflix etc. Play games like the Total war series, Xcom2, WoW, Witcher 3, Battletech, Stellaris.

I have no use for RGB etc, my case is on a shelf on the floor.

For my new case im going for the NZXT H500 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/nzxt-h500-midi-tower-gaming-case-black-window-ca-191-nx.html Really like the look of it.

CPU wise im going for a Ryzen, probably a 3600. What is the stock cooler like? I dont overclock, so im really just looking to keep cool and quiet.

I am looking at getting an x570 mobo for ease of use (I thought about the 450/470 board but the problems atm just put me off) and future proofing, but am unsure which i should get. Thoughts?

What speed memory should i be looking at? looking for 16GB, i dont think 32GB is needed for gaming?

PSU. Is my current PSU ok? OR would i need a new PSU if i get a new GPU sometime?

I think thats all i need. Keeping keyboard, mouse etc

Thanks for any help.

ExRayTed · 30 Jul 2019 at 14:04

A Ryzen 3600 would be ideal and is great value for money and the stock cooler does a great job. I'd be tempted to change the PSU as it's around 6 years old now and could probably do with being replaced simply due to its age - @EsaT is the man to talk to here I believe.

No, you won't need 32gb yet, stick with 16gb of 3200/3000 ram.

Gigabyte boards are great and have UK RMA in the unlikely event of a problem plus I believe they have a rep on here too to answer any questions. Get the Gaming X unless you need the features of the Aorus range.

thedandyp · 30 Jul 2019 at 15:59

annoyingly due to a small price hike, the 3600x actually seems a marginally better option than the 3600 RIGHT now, I'm sure that will change in a few days/weeks, but right now the 3600 seems to be around £200 whereas the 3600x is going for just under £220. If you intend to use the stock cooler the 3600x comes with the slightly better Spire cooler. Other than that, I too, would swap out the psu for something in the £40-50 range. Heck you'll even have (almost) enough components left over to make a basic office pc out of.

Terrorfirmer · 30 Jul 2019 at 16:36

Having to shell out for a X570 is a royal pain and sucks the value out of some of the Ryzen CPU's, especially those people who don't really need their motherboard to do anything except just work.

You could consider a B450M and a 2600X, use the rest to get a new GPU. 3600 is a better CPU, but not a huge amount better, and cost of 3600 + X570 is miles higher than 2600X + B450M.

GPU wise, I'd say something like a GTX1660Ti @ £260 is a major upgrade. Really depends on what you're looking to spend. Coming from a 970 I'd probably be inclined to go with something like that, but the cheaper GTX1660 or RX590 are still reasonable upgrades.

EsaT · 30 Jul 2019 at 16:39

Are you playing on single monitor or two?
Two 1920x1080 monitors demand more "pixel pushing" than 2560x1440.
Also GTX970 is really 3½GB card with rest of the memory behind slow access, so for modern games on two monitors it would very likely be bottleneck.
AMDs would be performance per buck choises:
https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_radeon_rx_5700_and_5700_xt_review,13.html

While Wraith Prism of 3700X is very competent for stock cooler, lower models have not so cool or quiet cooler.
Dropping to pretty much Intel stock buzzaw level at 3600
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCkS77QUreQ

Definitely would change PSU.
Despite of Corsair brand hype those CXes aren't any quality PSUs, just standard cheap components cheapos.
This would be major upgrade:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/b-gr...650w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-bg-0ac-bx.html

MartinPrince · 30 Jul 2019 at 16:43

Terrorfirmer said:
Having to shell out for a X570 is a royal pain and sucks the value out of some of the Ryzen CPU's, especially those people who don't really need their motherboard to do anything except just work.

You could consider a B450M and a 2600X, use the rest to get a new GPU. 3600 is a better CPU, but not a huge amount better, and cost of 3600 + X570 is miles higher than 2600X + B450M.

GPU wise, I'd say something like a GTX1660Ti @ £260 is a major upgrade. Really depends on what you're looking to spend. Coming from a 970 I'd probably be inclined to go with something like that, but the cheaper GTX1660 or RX590 are still reasonable upgrades.

Yes I'd go with this all the way and would have said something similar. As you're gaming at 1080p then even the GTX1660 will do a grand job and is a good improvent over the 970 so that you will be able to whack everything to Ultra and still have playable frame rates whereas with the 970 you might have to scale back in the odd game.

thedandyp · 30 Jul 2019 at 16:50

MartinPrince said:
Yes I'd go with this all the way and would have said something similar. As you're gaming at 1080p then even the GTX1660 will do a grand job and is a good improvent over the 970 so that you will be able to whack everything to Ultra and still have playable frame rates whereas with the 970 you might have to scale back in the odd game.

I wouldn't upgrade from a 970 to a 1660. In a vacuum sure, there's a decent performance increase, however if you already have the 970, then paying £200 for a 1660 (or £220 for a decent one) really doesn't make much sense.

MartinPrince · 30 Jul 2019 at 16:55

thedandyp said:
I wouldn't upgrade from a 970 to a 1660. In a vacuum sure, there's a decent performance increase, however if you already have the 970, then paying £200 for a 1660 (or £220 for a decent one) really doesn't make much sense.

Just checked GPU Bench and I might conceed that point. Only the odd game like Wolfestein is showing really large improvents. Everything else is in around the 20% margin of improvement and you probably want something more like 30%. So 1660 TI it is.

Gjiir · 30 Jul 2019 at 17:05

Terrorfirmer said:
Having to shell out for a X570 is a royal pain and sucks the value out of some of the Ryzen CPU's, especially those people who don't really need their motherboard to do anything except just work.

You could consider a B450M and a 2600X, use the rest to get a new GPU. 3600 is a better CPU, but not a huge amount better, and cost of 3600 + X570 is miles higher than 2600X + B450M.

GPU wise, I'd say something like a GTX1660Ti @ £260 is a major upgrade. Really depends on what you're looking to spend. Coming from a 970 I'd probably be inclined to go with something like that, but the cheaper GTX1660 or RX590 are still reasonable upgrades.

Reason i decided on X570 is that it seems plenty of people are having problems with the 450/470 boards and the new Ryzens, and i dont really want to bother with all that. So a cheap 570 will be good enough for me.

EsaT said:
Are you playing on single monitor or two?
Two 1920x1080 monitors demand more "pixel pushing" than 2560x1440.
Also GTX970 is really 3½GB card with rest of the memory behind slow access, so for modern games on two monitors it would very likely be bottleneck.
AMDs would be performance per buck choises:
https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_radeon_rx_5700_and_5700_xt_review,13.html

While Wraith Prism of 3700X is very competent for stock cooler, lower models have not so cool or quiet cooler.
Dropping to pretty much Intel stock buzzaw level at 3600
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCkS77QUreQ

Definitely would change PSU.
Despite of Corsair brand hype those CXes aren't any quality PSUs, just standard cheap components cheapos.
This would be major upgrade:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/b-gr...650w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-bg-0ac-bx.html

I game on one monitor at 1080 and watch streams on the other.

New PSU it is then, and i think i will get a better cooler too. Anything recommended?

Any specific RAM needed? Have been looking at DDR4 3200?

Still unsure on GFX card, dont have a set budget, just bang for the buck that'll last a few years really. Will have a look at the 1660 TI. May even leave it a bit (maybe nearer Cyberpunk release) as the games i currently play seem to run well and will be better with the new CPU.

EsaT · 30 Jul 2019 at 17:49

Gjiir said:
New PSU it is then, and i think i will get a better cooler too. Anything recommended?

Any specific RAM needed? Have been looking at DDR4 3200?

Still unsure on GFX card, dont have a set budget, just bang for the buck that'll last a few years really. Will have a look at the 1660 TI. May even leave it a bit as the games i currently play seem to run well and will be better with the new CPU.

This would be certainly big improvement to stock cooler of 3600/3600X:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-freezer-34-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-077-ar.html
Just not sure when it becomes available.
This would be in stock:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpenfohn-ben-nevis-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-048-al.html

3200MHz CAS16 is the sweet spot price wise at £80
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/g.sk...3200mhz-dual-channel-kit-black-my-10x-gs.html
CAS14 costs ~50% more, making it rather cost ineffective.

GTX 1660 Ti isn't that impressive in performance for its price when you look at what AMD has around that price level.
One option would be waiting for non-reference Navi cards for moe competition.

Gjiir · 30 Jul 2019 at 18:56

My current thinking is the following.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE (AMD AM4) DDR4 X570 Chipset ATX Motherboard= £209.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £199.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB 3200 MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Kit= £82.99
1 x NZXT H500 Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black Window= £69.95
1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £74.99
1 x Arctic Freezer 34 CPU Cooler - 120mm= £19.99

Total: £657.90 (includes shipping: £0.00)

I probably wont be ordering for another week or so.

So im going to see if the other bits come in stock and think on the mobo, not sure which to get yet.

My current thinking the X570 will be better for future proofing, but a mobo at half the price is very tempting.

Terrorfirmer · 30 Jul 2019 at 21:52

I got a B450M Mortar, flashback worked perfectly and zero problems with my 3600. Again, it's a massive pain to have to literally spend more on the board than the CPU, sucks the value out of it for me personally.

Though I do understand entirely not wanting to have to worry about possible issues.

EsaT said:
GTX 1660 Ti isn't that impressive in performance for its price when you look at what AMD has around that price level.
One option would be waiting for non-reference Navi cards for moe competition.

AMD only has Vega 56 at that price level? I would personally take the 1660Ti over that. Not that I don't disagree that the actual cost for the performance offered isn't great, but there isn't many options.

5700XT is another £130 on basic 1660Ti's, and that's for not so great reference models.

The other thing about the GTX970 you have to remember as well as that it's effectively a 3.5Gb Vram card, so even something like a GTX1660 will outperform it by much greater margains in some of the very latest games. Think back to how the GTX1060 6GB was often almost 100% faster than the 3GB model at 1080p/max in games that demanded more vram.

So all in all, a 1660Ti is a huge upgrade, almost double the vram and a major core speed increase too.

thedandyp · 30 Jul 2019 at 22:00

Terrorfirmer said:
I got a B450M Mortar, flashback worked perfectly and zero problems with my 3600. Again, it's a massive pain to have to literally spend more on the board than the CPU, sucks the value out of it for me personally.

Though I do understand entirely not wanting to have to worry about possible issues.

AMD only has Vega 56 at that price level? I would personally take the 1660Ti over that. Not that I don't disagree that the actual cost for the performance offered isn't great, but there isn't many options.

5700XT is another £130 on basic 1660Ti's, and that's for not so great reference models.

The other thing about the GTX970 you have to remember as well as that it's effectively a 3.5Gb Vram card, so even something like a GTX1660 will outperform it by much greater margains in some of the very latest games. Think back to how the GTX1060 6GB was often almost 100% faster than the 3GB model at 1080p/max in games that demanded more vram.

So all in all, a 1660Ti is a huge upgrade, almost double the vram and a major core speed increase too.

This is a solid point, when comparing a 970 and a 1660ti there's no comparison; the 1660ti easily beats the 970. In this case though it's a bit more nuanced, you have to factor in actually already owning the 970. If it was myself already owning the 970, I'd want more out of dropping £220 (ish) on a new gpu.

Gjiir · 31 Jul 2019 at 18:17

So fine tuning the order, currently with

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £184.99
1 x Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE (AMD AM4) DDR4 X570 Chipset ATX Motherboard= £209.99
1 x NZXT H500 Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black Window= £69.95
1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £74.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK16GX4M2D30= £79.99

Total: £633.11 (includes shipping: £13.20)

Got the Arctic Freezer 34 CPU cooler coming from elsewhere too.

Now the PSU is out of stock, do i need a 650w PSU or can i get away with a 550? I can also get a Seasonic Focus Plus+ 650 Watt Gold Modular PSU/Power Supply for £80 if thats good.

I have selected 3000mhz RAM, is that ok or should i get 3200? I wont be overclocking is that makes a difference.

I have also selected the Aorus Elite x570 mobo, but may get the Gaming X instead, gonna read some reviews to see what the difference really is.

thedandyp · 31 Jul 2019 at 18:24

The Seasonic focus PLUS 650 is a pretty great psu, shouldn't have any issues there.
There's no issue with 3000 ram, the speed only makes a massive difference if using an apu with its integrated graphics. However if 3200 is only say £10 more or so, just treat yourself and get that instead.

Plec · 31 Jul 2019 at 18:35

If you're not clocking get the Gaming X board - put the money towards the better PSU - Seasonic Focus is a great choice 10 year guarantee and 3200MHz.

The problem with some 550W you may not get 2 independent PCIe cables, which may be problematic with some GPUs for future upgrades. For example the BitFenix 550W Gold doesn't come with two independent PCIe cables - and this is also the case with 'some' lesser quality/wattage PSU's - and, personally, i wouldn't recommend a running a V56, for example, without 2 independent leads feeding the card. So, i would be mindful of this if selecting another PSU - look for two independent power leads - i.e. no daisy chaining on power hungry cards for stability.

I would also stump up the extra £10 for the 3200MHz - if you wait a week it may be in the sale, plus the Bitfenix 650W may be in stock again.

EDIT: Having said all that this is in the sale (thanks @pastymuncher - saw your post)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Super Flower Leadex III 550W 80 PLUS Gold Modular Power Supply - Black= £64.99

Total: £64.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

Gjiir · 31 Jul 2019 at 19:35

After a google search, it seems that gigabyte have a promo where you can get a £30 steam wallet code for buying and a leaving review of an Aorus mobo.

So i am getting the Aorus elite as i buy mist games on steam anyway, so its technically £30 less for the mobo.

Plec · 31 Jul 2019 at 19:36

Gjiir said:
After a google search, it seems that gigabyte have a promo where you can get a £30 steam wallet code for buying and a leaving review of an Aorus mobo.

So i am getting the Aorus elite as i buy mist games on steam anyway, so its technically £30 less for the mobo.

Yeah they do - definitely worth it if you're buying the games anyway.

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/x570-aorus-and-30-steam-voucher-for-review.18859482/

Danny75 · 31 Jul 2019 at 23:05

@Plec

Careful with the Leadex III if you want two separate PCIe cables - takes you to the OcUK page for the 550W but it then lists the description for 650W below.

SuperFlower don't have the product up on their site, to see what the actual specs are.

Plec · 31 Jul 2019 at 23:54

Danny75 said:
@Plec

Careful with the Leadex III if you want two separate PCIe cables - takes you to the OcUK page for the 550W but it then lists the description for 650W below.

SuperFlower don't have the product up on their site, to see what the actual specs are.

Thanks for heads-up @Danny75 (well spotted - good ol' OcUK :/) - yep, the SuperFlower site lists it as having 1 x lead.

@Gjiir ^^^^ great PSU - just the one PCIe cable with 2 x PCI 6 + 2 Pin connections. But it's a quality 550W PSU and good value in the sale and would power a 1660Ti with no issues.