Can't decide whether to upgrade 4 yr old AMD CPU//GPU

RampantMark · 1 Jul 2023 at 11:18

Hello gurus

I am in a quandary on whether to invest in an upgrade for my Mrs PC. Originally bought off OC as a built PC in 2019 - based on 2600X and Veg56 Pulse. Was originally my gaming PC but since then I've built my own (5800X/6800XT) and the previous one has been commandeered by my Mrs and she uses for internet shopping, streaming radio and a few other light duties.

Been thinking about upgrading the 2600X with a 5600 and the Vega with a 6650 (although now I reckon a 7600 makes a better case for itself...)

Can't really figure out whether this is money well spent or thrown away, so I'm looking for your thoughts, please.

Cheerz

Zefan · 1 Jul 2023 at 11:34

RampantMark said:
Hello gurus

I am in a quandary on whether to invest in an upgrade for my Mrs PC. she uses for internet shopping, streaming radio and a few other light duties.

I'll ask the same question anyone asking about an upgrade should ask themselves. Does the hardware deliver satisfactory performance at the job it's required to do? If yes, any upgrade is a waste, unless there are clear functions/features you are looking to gain.

My personal view is that the system she has is overkill, considerations to swap the cpu and gpu for an APU would likely save you energy.

Finners · 1 Jul 2023 at 11:41

If no gaming is being done on the Mrs PC I think I'd get something like 5600G/5700G if the motherboard allows. Faster CPU and you save power/heat/noise from not having a vega GPU in there.

RampantMark · 1 Jul 2023 at 13:22

Thanks for the feedback - my only real concern was making it "future proof" and not waiting for components to potentially fail on me - with the AM4 platform at its end now, and not waiting for brand new AM4 CPUs to be unavailable come failure time!

I'll heed the advice and not spend unnecessary cash

Tetras · 1 Jul 2023 at 13:47

RampantMark said:
Thanks for the feedback - my only real concern was making it "future proof" and not waiting for components to potentially fail on me - with the AM4 platform at its end now, and not waiting for brand new AM4 CPUs to be unavailable come failure time!

I'll heed the advice and not spend unnecessary cash

For the light usage you described, a modern 6 core, 12 thread CPU is more than good enough. For that kind of thing, having a SSD (any SSD) and enough RAM make way more of a difference than the CPU, tbh.

For future proofing, the only potential issue I can think of is Windows 11 compatibility, but the 2600X is on the supported CPU list anyway.

Tinders · 1 Jul 2023 at 13:47

For what it would cost you for a Apu would you really save that much by getting rid of the vega?

RampantMark · 1 Jul 2023 at 13:53

Tinders said:
For what it would cost you for a Apu would you really save that much by getting rid of the vega?

could sell the 2600x for maybe £20-30 and the vega for maybe £50-70 or so...

Just wondering that if I ever wanted to log on to the old PC for a game if mine were to fail on me - would a 5600G be any good to game on without a GPU?

Tetras · 1 Jul 2023 at 14:01

Tinders said:
For what it would cost you for a Apu would you really save that much by getting rid of the vega?

According to TPU's review it idles at 14 watt, but the APUs also idle lower than the regular Ryzen CPUs, so if I take 30 watts to give a decent comparison:

One year's use at 8 hours per day (£0.4 kWh): £36.50 (saving).

RampantMark said:
Just wondering that if I ever wanted to log on to the old PC for a game if mine were to fail on me - would a 5600G be any good to game on without a GPU?

Yes, it is slower than a 5600 non-X (as a CPU), but still pretty good. GPU is around a RX 550 (1080p medium/low in newer 5-10 year old games, med/high in older games).

Quartz · 1 Jul 2023 at 14:07

RampantMark said:
Been thinking about upgrading the 2600X with a 5600 and the Vega with a 6650

Check that BIOS updates are available.

RampantMark said:
would a 5600G be any good to game on without a GPU?

Esports / 720p low, but if your current GPU survives then you can just transplant it.

Zefan said:
I'll ask the same question anyone asking about an upgrade should ask themselves. Does the hardware deliver satisfactory performance at the job it's required to do? If yes, any upgrade is a waste, unless there are clear functions/features you are looking to gain.

This.

If you want to refresh your wife's PC then look at getting her a NUC / uSFF box.

Noughtboy · 3 Jul 2023 at 10:41

It would make more sense to sell the current CPU/GPU, and but the 5600G. Money back inside a year with with the savings on running costs. However, if you are worried about the last hurrah fpr AM4, go all out and get the 5700G. Money back within 2 years and of course 8/16 vs 6/12. You will also gain probably 10%-14% better "gaming" performance such as it is