console gamer new to pc gaming

terence117 · 16 Aug 2020 at 12:13

hi guys like the title says I've been a console gamer all my life has a PC when i was in school played the odd game on it like age of empires and stuff like that but i recently in June decided to go the PC road and bought my self a pre-built PC and was just wondering when I go to upgrade it what would be the best parts to star at as i haven't the faintest clue about building a PC, now bare in mind i didn't go all out when i bought the PC it cost me about £700 for it thought that was a good starting point
the spec's are

Processor - AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Processor
- Quad-core
- 3.6 GHz / 4.0 GHz
- 6 MB cache
RAM - 8 GB DDR4 (2400 MHz)
- 32 GB maximum installable RAM
Graphics card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- 4 GB GDDR5
Storage - 1 TB HDD (7200 rpm)
- 256 GB SSD
knowing my luck these are all outdated already I'm hoping to start upgrading in the new year

Teaf · 16 Aug 2020 at 12:31

Welcome to the forums, and PC gaming! Just a note for the forum - you're not allowed to mention Overclockers competitors so you'd need to take that bit out.

As for the computer, I'd upgrade the RAM first as 8GB 2400 Mhz is quite poor, but you'd need to check the motherboard make/model to see what the board can support (you can check out the OcUK range here). The CPU is on the budget end of the spectrum but it not too shabby to get started. The graphics card isn't really that powerful but it should be fine to dabble in some medium-ish quality gaming, but it depends what you're going to be playing, and at what resolution and refresh rate (the higher each are, the more power you'll need).

You'd get better responses and feedback in the "New to PC gaming & upgrade advice" sub-forum though, or maybe a mod could move this thread for you.

Sparx · 16 Aug 2020 at 15:08

As flibby mentions, 16GB of 3600MHz RAM (like this one) would be a good upgrade. Probably give you about a 10% FPS boost.

By the new year, Ryzen 4000 CPUs should be out. So I'd get the current 3600 equivalent, likely 4600 CPU as a good upgrade for a much better FPS boost. Assuming your motherboard will have a BIOS update to support Zen 3 CPUs (check the make/model first!).

The next gen GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia will also be out, so you could look at the best 1080p card around then when released.

terence117 · 6 Sep 2020 at 14:03

thanks guys, bought 2 16gb of ram, seen the new geforce 3080 was released the other day going to get it in the next few months, or would it be best to upgrade my processor before my graphics card

Xionic · 7 Sep 2020 at 16:22

You really need to check what power supply your pre build is running before considering the 3080 as it's a power hungry beast and pre builds are notorious for leaving little to no surplus,

Also it really depends on the rest of your setup. Something like the 3080 would be wasted at 1080p and a 3070 or even last gen 2070 would be more that sufficient. If your intended to push 1440p/4K and invest in a higher Hz monitor then absolutely it's a great card but otherwise might be overkill

A graphics card would certainly give you a massive boost in fps but would I suspect bottleneck without a higher power CPU to go along with it

On the RAM front is that 2 sets of 16GB or a 32GB set? Does your motherboard have the slots for it? To be honest 32GB is probably overkill but it doesn't hurt to future proof I guess.

Important question is what do you want to play and at what resolution and what screen you using?

terence117 · 8 Sep 2020 at 16:15

@hitman
its 2 sets of 16gb, i was thinking the more i upgrade the more power i would need anyway so the power supply would need changed at some point, my current monitor is

Full HD 1920 x 1080p
Refresh rate: 144 Hz
Response time: 4 ms

haven't a clue if that is good or not was recommended to me in the shop
the newer games id be plays r call of duty, doom, destiny, civilisations 6 and a few older games too. i'm very surprised with the help didn't think i would get ant at all.

Xionic · 8 Sep 2020 at 22:13

Haha hitman is my forum rank lol, I'm Xionic.

Just for future reference you would have been better getting a single 32gb kit as apposed to the 2x 16s as it will run faster

You are limited to 1080p meaning unless you intend on buying a 1440p or 4K screen then the 3080 really is overkill and something like a 2070 or 3070 would be more than enough at 1080p but either card will likely require a power supply upgrade. On the cheaper side even a 1660 Super would see a decent step up in FPS likely without the need for a new PSU

PSU wise if u want a 2070/3070... Something in the 6-750w range I'd say and don't skimp out it's one of the most important parts of the machine

philmo · 8 Sep 2020 at 23:33

I upgraded to a GTX 1660 SUPER (from a 7 year old card) and was delighted with its performance with an old CPU.
Looking at some comparisons it often shows a 60% FPS increase vs your card.

People with much more knowledge than I might be able to offer more advice if you confirm your motherboard model.