Upgrade + downsize

[MVRX]

Happy new year ladies and gents, I’m looking to upgrade my system that I built 5 years ago with the possibility of downsizing to a small form factor in the future. (So the upgraded components must fit in a case such as FD terra or a slightly larger case lian li a3 mATX). I’m aware my current components won’t fit in the case, the down sizing will happen over time.

I’m just looking for an immediate upgrade that’ll last a few years as
I’m starting to notice the system struggle in certain titles. Currently playing on a 1440p ultra wide monitor.


Samsung 500GB 860 EVO SSD 2.5 SATA 6Gbps 64 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-76E500BEU)

Team Group Night Hawk RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - RGB Black (TF1D4

AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail

Powercolor Radeon RX 5700 XT Red Devil 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard

Seasonic Focus PX-750 750W 80 Platinum Modular Power Supply

Seagate 2TB Barracuda 7200RPM 256MB Cache Internal Hard Drive (ST2000DM008)

Noctua by-d15 chromax cooler

ASUS tuf gaming gt501 Case

Any suggestion on what to upgrade or change would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

 

[tamzzy]

What's your budget?
My first instinct would be a partial upgrade
CPU: 5700x3d
Ram: 32gb (2x 16)
Gpu: 4070/4070 super or 7800xt

Oh wait you need a new mobo...might as well go the whole hog and get a AM5 platform upgrade then.

 

[MVRX]

Yeah I thought that originally, but can’t afford to fork out how ever much it would be to upgrade in one go and also don’t want to the added monthly payments if I go down that route.

I had the idea of staying with am4, upgrading my cpu and GPU then at some point in the future, downsizing with a new mobo, cooler and case when time/money was more convenient. I only game and watch movies with my pc.

 

[freddie64]

Do you need to downsize?

How about this for the full upgrade and downsize to AM5? ( you could add a X3D CPU later if needed)

You can reuse your PSU, Cooler (think it fits the case) and SSD. You could even use your GPU and upgrade that later.

Added a NVME to replace the HDD.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7800 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 16GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture (SKU: GRA-SPR-00764) = £449.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £179.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance 32GB EXPO (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel (SKU: MEM-CRS-02786) = £89.98
• 1 x MSI Pro B650M-A WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-378-MS) = £149.99
• 1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02350) = £69.95
• 1 x WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58G-WD) = £104.99

Downsizing AM4 would not be much cheaper unless you got some good 2nd hand deals.

 

[MVRX]

Do you need to downsize?

How about this for the full upgrade and downsize to AM5? ( you could add a X3D CPU later if needed)

You can reuse your PSU, Cooler (think it fits the case) and SSD. You could even use your GPU and upgrade that later.

Added a NVME to replace the HDD.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7800 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 16GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture (SKU: GRA-SPR-00764) = £449.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £179.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance 32GB EXPO (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel (SKU: MEM-CRS-02786) = £89.98
• 1 x MSI Pro B650M-A WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-378-MS) = £149.99
• 1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02350) = £69.95
• 1 x WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58G-WD) = £104.99

Downsizing AM4 would not be much cheaper unless you got some good 2nd hand deals.

The reason for downsizing is due to the fact I bought a a fairly large case when it wasn’t needed. Just thought it looked nice. I’m also moving homes and have to reduce the footprint of my set up. Currently I have a desk that’s 150cm x 60cm which allows me to fit my ultra wide monitor and tower on the desk. This is now being reduced to 120cm x 60cm and a dual monitor set up rather than the ultra wide. I’d rather not resort to putting my tower on the floor due to animals, dust etc. hence the downsizing.

I like what you’ve suggested though. I can make suitable upgrade when I can. Would it be worth going processor(am5), mobo, ram, storage and case and keeping my current GPU + ssd for the next 6 months and upgrading towards the summer?

 

[mickyflinn]

The reason for downsizing is due to the fact I bought a a fairly large case when it wasn’t needed. Just thought it looked nice. I’m also moving homes and have to reduce the footprint of my set up. Currently I have a desk that’s 150cm x 60cm which allows me to fit my ultra wide monitor and tower on the desk. This is now being reduced to 120cm x 60cm and a dual monitor set up rather than the ultra wide. I’d rather not resort to putting my tower on the floor due to animals, dust etc. hence the downsizing.

I like what you’ve suggested though. I can make suitable upgrade when I can. Would it be worth going processor(am5), mobo, ram, storage and case and keeping my current GPU + ssd for the next 6 months and upgrading towards the summer?

Yes


If you prefer to wait for GPU then the 5700xt is still a decent GPU just turn down the resolution and in game detail until your ready to upgrade it.

 

[tamzzy]

Yeah I thought that originally, but can’t afford to fork out how ever much it would be to upgrade in one go and also don’t want to the added monthly payments if I go down that route.

honestly downsizing without an upgrade makes no financial sense, unless you really really have no room to put your current case in your new dig

what exactly is your current budget you have not told us?

 

[MVRX]

honestly downsizing without an upgrade makes no financial sense, unless you really really have no room to put your current case in your new dig

what exactly is your current budget you have not told us?

So I currently have my system on my desk and find it just about comfortable to use. With downsizing the desk, I know I won’t enjoy having it there and like I said before, don’t want to banish it to the floor due to animals, dust, hair etc.

I would say maybe a budget of £400 to upgrade and downsize if I can get away with using my current GPU and looking to upgrade that later on in the year. So the upgrade would include cpu, mobo, ram, case and possibly more storage via m.2 if this is within budget. I understand that £400 won’t get me far but it’s a start.

 

[freddie64]

Would it be worth going processor(am5), mobo, ram, storage and case and keeping my current GPU + ssd for the next 6 months and upgrading towards the summer?

That is probably best anyway as new Nvidia and AMD GPU's will be available.

You can fit your HDD in the Lian li case, so you could leave the NVME till later as well if need be.

 

[tamzzy]

With downsizing the desk, I know I won’t enjoy having it there and like I said before, don’t want to banish it to the floor due to animals, dust, hair etc.

Just stick in on the floor and see what happens in the first instance. Dust really isn't a big problem if you can't see your computer innards anyhow. Just dust it out a couple times a year and you'd be fine.

Might as well try it out before committing money to a sidegrade that you don't really need.

 

[Capitano]

I would personally go for an AM5 build if I were you