CPU vs GPU - Upgrade sanity check

Seblirium

Seblirium

Seblirium

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Joined
21 Aug 2014
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123
Location
Manchester
Hi folks

With birthdays and Christmas fast approaching, I'm planning to get an upgrade for my son's PC.

Currently, he has an i5 3570, GTX 970, 16GB DDR3-1600, on a 1080p 144hz monitor (this will be the target resolution for any upgrade).

I can only afford to upgrade either the CPU (and mobo, RAM) or GPU (but even then, availability :rolleyes:).

Does it sound about right that I'm planning to get either an R5 3600/B450 mobo or a 10400F, along with 16GB 3200Mhz DDR4? To me, the CPU is long in the tooth these days and has no scope for a GPU upgrade anyway. Though I know the GTX 970 is also showing its age at times.

His main games are Flight Simulator, GTA V Online and Fortnite.
Budget is around £250-£300ish depending on deals etc.

TIA
 
whatalegend123 said:
i picked up a 2nd hand 10400 for £100 and a mobo for £85
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Thanks for the reply!

What chipset mobo did you go with? B460 or B560?
One of the things holding me back from B460 is memory being 2666, and not getting the most out of the CPU.

From what I understand, 10400 with 2666mhz RAM, is overall quite equivalent of a Ryzen 3600 3200Mhz RAM; so I suppose even that case is still good performance.
 
Thanks to you both @whatalegend123 and @Tetras for your replies.

I've priced both up, each with 16GB 3200Mhz:
10400F w/ B560, granted a budget one (MSI B560M Pro)
3600 w/ B450 MSI Mortar Max

And they are both coming out at the same overall cost; so providing things stay the same when I come to make the purchase, I'll flip a coin...(though potentially leaning toward 3600 to keep the primary m.2 slot in case he wants to make use of that one day). But from what I gather, either would be a nice choice for him.
 
mickyflinn said:
Look into power limits of low end b560 motherboards they can lock the cpu down in the bios from boosting to full potential.
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Yeah I've tried to look into, and while I've found it for 11400F (thanks to the Hardware Unboxed video on B560 VRMs) I'm unsure if it relates to 10400F too.
 
Armageus said:
Personally I'd go with the 3600/B450 - it will have the option of dropping in a used 3700X/3800X/3900X or 5600X/5800X/5900X/5950X further down the line, whereas the Intel platform will likely have no real upgrade options (as there will likely be fewer second hand chips for that socket)
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True; hadn't thought of that really - while I can't see him wanting/needing anything like the 3900X or 5900X etc, he may well benefit from going 3600 -> 5800X in a few years time; who knows. So worth keeping options open. I think I'll stick to my original plan and go for the 3600.

edGfaCTor said:
3900 second hand can be had for around £250
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While that is a chunk of CPU for the price, it's massively overkill for a 13-year old who just wants to play his games :) But I get your point.

Tetras said:
It doesn't, because the 10400F rarely exceeds the power limits and is pretty much never >65 watt in games. The 11400F can exceed them in some games and will regularly exceed them in other stuff. In the hardware unboxed video they're running blender though, so it's not exactly typical usage.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that; I thought that may be the case.
 
Thanks for all the replies folks.

I'm going to go with:

Ryzen 3600 - £140 from OCUK Clearance
MSI Mortar Max B450M - £55
Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 16 GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz C16 - £73

All in all, a total of approx £270-£290ish depending on if the 3600 comes with a CPU cooler or not (and factoring in about £20 for either the Wraith Stealth, or another budget cooler).
 
Yup, figured as much, especially as it has 'MPK' in the title - I believe these a tray CPUs, and not 'retail' i.e. they are without a cooler.
Put an offer in via email to Robbie so hopefully it gets forwarded on to the correct person.
 
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