Pc upgrade needed.

Soldato
Joined
24 Dec 2011
Posts
4,735
Hi all long time since iv done this.

Current build is
4690k
16gb ddr3
H100i cooler (keep if I can get a new bracket to fit newer processors)
1tb ssd (keep)
2tb sshd storage drive (keep)
Nvidia 970 (unsure on this)
Phanteks matx case (keep)
Cooler master 600w psu (keep if possible)

So my processor is often stacked out at 100% in simple games now and chrome can downright hammer the pc with afew tabs open. I want to upgrade the pc attempting to keep as much as I can of the old system to keep the price down. What's out there which will provide a noticeable upgrade whilst not spending a fortune.

Thanks
 
best bang for buck will be a ryzen 3xxx processor (budget dependent - and no need for a G).

Whip 16GB DDR4 on a B450 board and you should be fine. If the GPU becomes the bottleneck of the sytem you can deal with that then - although with ampere and Big Navi due in a few months it could be worth the wait.
 
Is the little amount of money more between ryzen 3 and 5 worth it?

Also can a bracket for the old processor still be had for a H100i? A new cooler adds another 70-120 on the price for something iv already got seems a harsh reality. I'll post in the Cs forums also and check that one
 
Depends what the machine is for. If it's Just gaming, Ryzen 3 is fine, the more productivty you add to the machine, the better value Ryzen 5 is.

That being said, I bagged a 3600X off the MM recently for £140 , the going rate of a 3300X so if you're willing to go second hand on the chip, you could get the better performer (overall).
 
Is the little amount of money more between ryzen 3 and 5 worth it?

Also can a bracket for the old processor still be had for a H100i? A new cooler adds another 70-120 on the price for something iv already got seems a harsh reality. I'll post in the Cs forums also and check that one

2 more cores + 4 more threads makes it a no brainer imo, price difference between the 3300x and the 3600 isn't big enough to make the 3300x worth considering unless you are on a very strict budget.

Can get a AM4 bracket direct from corsair for the cooler
 
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Might be worth waiting a week or two though with B550 boards coming out.

Hang on to the 970 until Nvidia’s 3000 series GPUs come out Aug-Sep time. You may also want to double check your PSU can still do the job by then too.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £378.97 (includes shipping: £0.00)
 
Might be worth waiting a week or two though with B550 boards coming out.

Hang on to the 970 until Nvidia’s 3000 series GPUs come out Aug-Sep time. You may also want to double check your PSU can still do the job by then too.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £378.97 (includes shipping: £0.00)


That's within my budget. I hoped to spend £400 or less as a semi upgrade to keep me going for now. All isn't lost as the older Intel gear will be passed onto family who are running even older gear than me
 
So my processor is often stacked out at 100% in simple games now and chrome can downright hammer the pc with afew tabs open. I want to upgrade the pc attempting to keep as much as I can of the old system to keep the price down. What's out there which will provide a noticeable upgrade whilst not spending a fortune.
If you're having Chrome problems it's more likely to be RAM than the CPU, as long as a tab isn't bugged out, but you'd need more than a few tabs to use 16GB of memory.
 
Happy days, that would be a nice upgrade then mate ;)

I would seriously consider waiting another week though if you can, B550 boards are due to release around 16th June as things stand.
 
Happy days, that would be a nice upgrade then mate ;)

I would seriously consider waiting another week though if you can, B550 boards are due to release around 16th June as things stand.

Iv had a look at B550 and it doesn't really show much in terms of it being an upgrade unless iv missed it. Its incompatible with ryzen 1 and 2 gen? Does this mean iv got to get a newer cpu also or will the one you specced work?
 
Ryzen 3600 is not 1st or 2nd gen, so not an issue. It means it's not compatible (if true) with Ryzen 1xxx and 2xxx CPUs.

B550 brings a few 'nicety' upgrades and perks... Main things are PCIe 4.0 and native Ryzen 4000 support.

Quoted from: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/05/21/amd-b550-motherboards-are-finally-here/

The long-awaited successor to AMD’s popular B450 chipset, the main advantage of buying a new B550 board is that it’s got built-in support for AMD’s next CPU architecture, currently code-named Zen 3, giving you plenty of future-proofing for your next upgrade.

The B550 chipset also supports the super fast PCIe 4.0 standard like AMD’s flagship X570 motherboards, which gives you even more future-proofing for adding PCIe 4.0 SSDs and graphics cards to your system further down the line. All of AMD’s existing Radeon RX 5000 GPUs have support for PCIe 4.0, for example, including the budget-oriented RX 5500 XT, and there are more PCIe 4.0 SSDs starting to become available now, too, although the latter still cost an arm and a leg like the £270 / $230 1TB Gigabyte Aorus NVMe Gen 4 SSD.

PCIe 4.0, in case you’ve forgotten, gives you loads more bandwidth than the existing PCIe 3.0 standard, allowing up to 32GB/s of data flowing in each direction instead of the current 16GB/s. Provided you’ve got PCIe 4.0 compatible hardware plugged in, this should lead to significantly better performance across the board – although how much benefit you’ll see when it comes to gaming remains to be seen at the moment, as few games demand that kind of data flow right now. Still, with AMD’s hardware sitting at the heart of both next-gen consoles come the end of the year, it’s only a matter of time before PCIe 4.0 starts coming into its own.

The B550 chipset also comes with support for up to two native USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (plus six USB 3.1 ports and six USB 2.0 ports), as well as up to eight SATA ports for any existing 2.5in SSDs you’ve got knocking around, and overclocking support.
 
Got my upgrade thanks for the advice folk!

Went for MSI B550 Mortar Mag
Ryzen 3600
Hyper x fury 3200mhz 16gb

Looking for a card which is a worthwhile upgrade over a 970 now without breaking the bank. Also how long do PSU Units last for? Mines 9 years old now and still rocking along
 
What's your budget for the GPU? Could be worth waiting a few months for next gen if you can hold on.

If you can find the PSU model number you should be able to find the number of hours it's rated for. I don't think it's generally advisable to keep it much past when the warranty expires as if it goes out badly it can take other components too
 
Would wait for next gen Gpus before upgrading the 970.

If you can't wait then I wouldn't advise spending more than a 5700XT.
 
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Would wait for next gen Gpus before upgrading the 970.

If you can't wait then I wouldn't advise spending more than a 5700XT.

I'll keep hold for a while longer then :)

I'll check into the psu a little more. I see manufacturers don't seem to offer a solid warranty as they used to. Mine had 5 year warranty and was £75 or so. For that price band now I can't find much
 
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