Help me pick a gaming upgrade.

[MoridinUK]

So I've been back and forth on how to upgrade my broken pc.

It's currently a i7-7700k 32gb 3200 cl16, with a Sapphire Radeon RX 6800 XT with a 75hz freesync 32inch 2k monitor

I've not really had an upgrade in ages but I don't really have much money set aside. The system is almost 100% gaming I do not do any workstation stuff on it right now or expect to.

So I'm stuck between going all in and doing something sensible. I will need a new m.2 anyway.

So it's between these two builds I think really, unless someone else has a genius idea:
My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £499.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance 32GB EXPO (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel (SKU: MEM-CRS-02786) = £89.99
• 1 x MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI (AMD AM5) B850 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03993) = £235.00
• 1 x Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01089) = £73.99
• 1 x Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE Black CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03291) = £33.95

Total: £932.92 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D Eight Core 4.1GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-01799) = £199.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB (2x16GB) 3600 MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit (CMK32GX4M2Z3600C18) (SKU: MY-4CL-CS) = £62.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2 (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-593-GI) = £114.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01089) = £73.99
• 1 x Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE Black CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03291) = £33.95

Total: £485.91 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

I've no real desire to invest in the GPU or monitor at this stage and I have a good PSU.

If I went with the 5700x3d I could reuse the current ram though it isn't perfect . I save £447.01 (£510 if I stick with the current ram) But I end up with a board with no future etc. I've looked at other am5 that are cheaper than the 7800x3d but while I can get cpus which will outcompete the 5700x3d in other applications, like the ryzen 5 7600x or ryzen 7 7700x or 9700x I find I'm actually spending MORE on the cpu and would need the ddr5 ram.

I only intend to run 1 gpu and 1 m.2 ssd.

 

[MoridinUK]

I do still plan to also put together an inexpensive i5-12400f or 12600k build (but the 12400f is under £100 right now) As I actually need 3 pcs. Currently they are the i7-7700k/rx 6800 xt (broken cpu) an i5-6600k/1080 gtx (not in a pc but unbroken) a ryzen 5 5600x/970 gtx (which doesn't need an upgrade) and a i5-4430/1050 ti (which desperately needs an upgrade)

I also want to get them all to windows 11. (which only the 5600x can at the moment.)

So I was looking at a 'nice' upgrade for my pc then to put an i5-12400f together to replace the i5-4430 (well actually I was going to replace that with the i5-6600k/1080 gtx in the mean time)

My thoughts on the 9800x3d (or 7800x3d I guess) is that it would permit me a GPU upgrade without bottle necking it, where as the 5700x3d probably hold's back most upgrades. But a GPU upgrade would be at least 18-24 months away. I do think the 5700x3d would pair well with the rx 6800 xt. But as you say the 12400f or 5600x wouldn'y hold it back much.

Technically I may need 4 pcs soon as my youngest gets older. (Sharing is not my strong point!)

 

[MoridinUK]

If I got with the 7600x then I'm only saving about £300 but I do get that upgrade path unlocked and a reasonable cpu upgrade on what I have now... But the ryzen 5 7600x doesn't really hold up against the ryzen 7 5700x3d in the best gaming cpu part of this benchmark round up

 

[MoridinUK]

I'm so frustrated but am starting to think about upgrade path which includes monitor, cpu and gpu.

So I think my options look like this:

Path A (Entry AM5):

1 (2025) £900 now small cpu upgrade and monitor to 165hz 1440 upgrade (R5 7600x + RX6800xt, R5 5600x + gtx 1080, 15-6600k/i5-4430 + gtx 970 or 1050ti)
3 (2026) £700-800 CPU upgrade to the AM5 + Cheap am5 board and ram to reuse the 7600x to upgrade the potato (R7 9800x3d + RX 6800xt, R5 7600x + gtx 1080, R5 5600x + 970 gtx or 1050 ti)
4 (2027) £1000 A gpu upgrade (may also need another monitor upgrade: R7 9800x3d + new gpu, R5 7600x + RX 6800xt , R5 5600x + gtx 1080)

Path B (High end AM5):
1 (2025) £900 now 9800x3dcpu upgrade (R7 9800x3d + RX 6800xt, R5 5600x + 1080 GTX, i5-6600k/i5-4430 + 970gtx/1050 ti)
2 (2025/6) £200 i5-12400f core for oldest system (potato upgraded here) (R7 9800x3d + RT 6800xt, 5600x +1080 gtx, i5-12400f + 970GTX or gtx 1050 ti)
3 (2026/7) £1200 A gpu + Monitor upgrade (R7 9800x3d + new gpu, R5 5600x + RX 6800xt , i5-12400f + gtx 1080)

Path C (Maximise AM4):
1 (2025) £600 5700x3d + monitor upgrade to 165hz 1440 (R7 5700x3d + RX 6800XR, R5 5600x + 1080 GTX, i5-6600k/i5-4430 + 970GTX or 1050ti)
3 (2025/6) £300 Monitor upgrade
4 (2026/7) £1000 GPU upgrade (R7 5700x3d + New GPU, R5 5600x + RX 6800XT, i5-6600k/i5-4430 + 1080 GTX)
5 (2027/8) £1000 CPU and core upgrade to AM5 (R7 9800x3d(or better) + New GPU, R7 5700x3d + RX 6800 XT, R5 5600x + 1080 gtx)

Path A leaves me in 2027 with one good system, one ok (but upgradable system), and one blocked system. In 2025 I get an effective boost to game performance. Medium wait to upgrade potato £2700 total
Path B leaves me in 2026/7 with one good system and two blocked systems. In 2025 I get an ok boost to game performance (probably Path A is a bigger boost). Shortest wait to upgrade potato £2300 total
Path C leaves me in 2027/8 with two good systems but two blocked systems. In 2025 I get the best upgrade to game performance. Longest wait to upgrade potato pc. £2900 total

It's clearly Path A or C isn't it and I'm leaning towards A though it's the least exciting in 2025!

Thank you for letting me think out loud!

 

[MoridinUK]

Thanks all I'm still stuck between path a and C, Sensible and more future proof or instant gratification!

If I went path C I would need a new mainboard. I have a Ryzen 5 5600x in my current am4 board. Just not sure if it's best to put a 5700x3d in a cheap new am4 board (which supports faster memory though) or put the tryzen 5 5600x in that board and the 5700x3d into my current am4 board (Asus ROG crossfire VI Hero)?

 

[MoridinUK]

So a little sad but the 5700x3d is no long on sale and is not out of stock but hey so is the 7600x!

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Corsair Vengeance 32GB EXPO (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel (SKU: MEM-CRS-02786) = £89.99
• 1 x MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI (AMD AM5) B850 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03993) = £234.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01089) = £74.00
• 1 x Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE Black CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03291) = £33.94
• 1 x Samsung 27" LS27CG510EUXXU G51C 2560x1440 VA 165Hz FreeSync 1ms Odyssey Gaming Monitor (SKU: MON-SAM-01618) = £228.95
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600X Six Core 5.30GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DG-AM) = £209.99

The cooler, I could replace it with:

[*] 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 280mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01988) = £69.95

Not sure if it's worth the extra stuff.

 

[MoridinUK]

If you're not comfortable with bundles/imports for the 7400F/7500F I'd consider a 8400F as a cheap boxed entry point to AM5. They're not ideal, but they perform fine and you'll have a nice upgrade path available.

AMD's latest China-exclusive CPUs benchmarked — Ryzen 7 8700F and Ryzen 5 8400F aren't much slower than costlier models

Zen 4 without the RDNA 3 graphics

www.tomshardware.com

That's a lot of board for a 7600X I'd be inclined to go cheap, but not sure if this has already been discussed here too. I just think ~£150 odd is the most you really need to pay for a board to pair with a 7600X.

I'm just not sure about the imports, what's real what are fakes etc. and the 8400f just didn't seem like much of an upgrade next to the processors I was looking for.

Yes, the board is a lot for 7600x but I need an AM5 board whatever happens. And if I intend to replace the 7600x with a bigger CPU in a year or two I was thinking if I had this board I wouldn't need to buy a new one then but you are right I could put that off to later and save some cash.

The air cooler will work just fain if you want to save £70 on the AIO, also a good B650E board will save you around £100 to

But the cheapest I can see b650e on overclockers is still £209 Though Tetras did once point me a lga1700 board in the store I can not find without using his direct link. (which is very odd)

In general agree with this, although didn't realise the 7500F could be found for quite that cheap! Cheapest I found a month or so ago was ~£125 or so, at £100 that is a complete no brainer (even at £140 I'd consider it a no brainer to be honest)

I have found what looks like a crazy bundle I mean it's too good to be true, I really worry I'm just looking at ripped over parts somehow. I know we can't discuss competitors so I can't say more.

I can't find a single 7500f from a retailer I recognise.

Yeah, it is on a certain "import" site/market, but a lot of people have bought them without issue, the price does fluctuate a bit however and with word of mouth spreading they might have went up a bit in price.

I'd say at under £150 they're a bargain tbh.

I struggle to justify the 7600's at their current price point.

This is the same place I just found a bundle which I can't believe my eyes I wish I could ask people's opinions.

if the 7600x is at a bad price point is the 9600x at that much of a better one?

 

[MoridinUK]

Yeah I got mine from ali quickly, no issues just didn't see any cheaper than £125ish, could get them in the UK but I think £140 or so was the cheapest I saw, but yeah even at that price I think it's a great buy.
I would also consider shopping around for 7700x/9600x as both could be had for under £200 2nd hand when I was looking.

Second hand is how I got stuck with my current faulty cpu!

 

[MoridinUK]

When you see a seller with 3000+ sales of the same item with glowing 5 start reviews, and pictures galore from happy buyers you know it'll be fine, also PayPal.

Wish I'd checked this thread again before clicking go... 16 sold lol all 5 stars though.

I will end up with this for £529.97:

Ryzen 5 7500f
GIGABYTE B650M GAMING WIFI Micro-ATX
32 gb 6000cl30 ram
1tb gen 4 t500 m.2
32 165mhz 1440dp freesync samsung monitor

As it's am mATX board I can fit it with my current cooler.

 

[MoridinUK]

What really? Don't think I've ever had an issue and I've abused my fair amount of cpus almost none of which were bought new originally!
Sounds like you'll have a nice system, would personally look to spend a little more to try and get a 2tb drive as they seem to fill up quicker than ever!

ive had a few, both new and used

It took ages to figure out. The 2nd core ran 5-8 degrees hotter than the others. Prime95 would always crash until I tried cancelling the problem core then it would run steady as a rock, even with an overclock on it.
But it took me ages to figure out it was the cpu and the ebay seller wasn't interested in helping out, claimed it was perfect when he took it out of his old machine so....

But what I have coming is not MUCH better than this was so all good.