Upgrade or wait?

[ataraxia370]

CPU: intel i5-6600 (NOT k and I'm really underwhelmed with it. I get huge framerate drops in some games like BF1 even on low settings)

GPU: GTX 1060 6GB (really happy with it...can hold off on upgrading if it makes sense)

MOBO: Gigabyte H110m-a (crappy entry level micro atx mobo that I don't like)

RAM: 1 x 8gb Kingston (not sure the model and speed, but obviously needs to be replaced down the line)

Case: Entry level micro atx case. Would probably build in a full mid tower next time.

My peripherals, HD, SSD, etc are all fine. Monitor is an old Asus 144hz 1080p which I'll upgrade once my build is better.

My thinking so far is to go AMD (easier to build, impressed with 3700x, stock cooler is nice, and I don't mess with overclocking) and just get a 3700x and a mobo. Preferably one that doesn't require bios update but I could always grab a b450 and get an athlon 200ge which my friend needs to update his bios anyway. So if I get a 3700x, a mid-tier mobo, leave the 1060 GPU alone for now, maybe even leave the RAM until a good 8 x 2 GB pack is on sale, and leave the monitor until after I upgrade my GPU, does that make sense?

I feel my GPU is ok for a little while, but my CPU and mobo are garbage. Obviously I'd have to reassemble the whole thing, probably buy a bigger case, but that's not too pricey correct? Is this going to give me a huge performance boost, or is the 1060 GPU going to bottleneck me. So far it seems my CPU is the bottleneck and my GPU doesn't even get fully utilized.

 

[lltfdaniel]

Your processor is indeed the bottleneck, take the below picture as an example, you will no longer experience low fps drops with a ryzen processor like the 3700x.

The 7600k is also a 4 core, 4 thread cpu like with your 6600.

Yes i recommend that you get a 3700x and whatever motherboard and keep the gtx 1060, you will experience much much better frames per second for sure, especially minimum frames per second being a lot higher like with the above image.

My 2 pence,

Dan.

 

[lltfdaniel]

All in all if you do get the 3700x expect quite a massive leap regarding frames per second drop which is what you get with your 6600, the amd processor will not let you down especially on battlefield 1 giving you a much more smoother gaming experiance.

I'd upgrade as soon as possible.

Dan.

 

[ataraxia370]

Thanks for the advice. I get nowhere NEAR the fps of people who have the 7600k or even 6600k. I also just didn't like the 1151 socket (first time building), and I did skimp on the mobo so maybe that's why. Does it make any sense to grab a 2700x at this point? Probably not I'm assuming. Only reason I ask is because it'd solve my friend's problem of having to update his bios without a compatible cpu. Right now I'm thinking 3700x, don't skimp on the mobo (even though b450 is fine for me, I don't want the nightmare BIOS update issues), and just buy a cheap athlon 200ge or whatever for my friend as a gift.

What mobo would you get in my situation? I don't want to have to deal with BIOS updates ever again after seeing what friends went through lol. At the same time, the x570 or whatever they're called now is more than I need. Ah perhaps I'll just suck it up and get the x570 or something.

 

[lltfdaniel]

Here are 2 two popular budget motherboards picked by well known and experienced people who do builds for people on this forum, you will need to flash and update the bios for those 2 motherboards to support ryzen 3000 processors...but to be honest not all motherboards can support all the ryzen 3000 series processors so you have to check this out.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £99.95
• 1 x MSI B450M Mortar (Socket AM4) DDR4 mATX Motherboard= £88.99

Total: £200.04 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​

Or this below.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Gigabyte X570 GAMING X (AMD AM4) DDR4 X570 Chipset ATX Motherboard= £182.99

Total: £193.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)


Or if your after a decent overclocking motherboard then this below, recommended by overclocking legend @8 Pack and @Gibbo .

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Asrock X570 Taichi (AMD AM4) DDR4 X570 Chipset ATX Motherboard= £309.95

Total: £320.45 (includes shipping: £10.50)

If i was you i would go with a x570 motherboard which will save you a lot of headaches about running ryzen 3000 series processors.​

 

[ataraxia370]

My friend picked a b450 mobo (asus prime b450m-a) which claimed you can do ezflash and flash from the bios. However, because no CPU is seated, he's screwed. Do those two b450 boards either have the BIOS update already (seems risky and I've read mixed things) or can they update without any cpu seated? Actually if I'm looking at a price difference of 100 euro to go up to x570, maybe it's cheaper to buy an athlon 200ge and use that CPU to update both our boards?

 

[lltfdaniel]

I am a bit rusty but that athlon 200ge believe it or not is mentioned in the link below to help people update their motherboards, yeah use that athlon 200ge to update both of the motherboards that is the way to go.

https://hexus.net/tech/news/mainboa...-boot-kit-offer-struggling-ryzen-3000-owners/

If all else fails you can request the free 'Short Term Processor Loan Boot Kit'. After filling in the RMA form on AMD's site - and attaching a picture of your Ryzen 3000 processor and Socket AM4 400 Series motherboard receipts, plus images which clearly show the model numbers and unique serial numbers - you can make your request.

After your request is approved, AMD will send out an Athlon 200GE processor and thermal solution with pre-paid return shipping. The processor must be returned within 10 business days. However, "it is not necessary to return the provided thermal solution," says AMD.

So yeah you either buy the athlon 200ge or get one from amd i assume it will work out cheaper?

Either way yeah.

 

[ataraxia370]

I'm going by this link for his board...another b450 board might be different:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-B450M-A/HelpDesk_CPU/

We looked into the loan boot kit, and apparently the part about communication with your board manufacturer is the problem. You have to explain why they (ASUS) can't just offer a refund, rebate, or upgrade to a compatible board. Basically "you bought the wrong board, best we can do is help you upgrade to a better one" is my interpretation. I know overclockers offer a bundle where the b450 is already updated and ready to go. Maybe I can do that for my build, but I dono if that helps him. Looks like he needs to either find a shop to update it (not easy in my area of Ireland), or shell out the 50 euro for an athlon 200ge that we'll never use again.

 

[lltfdaniel]

I'm going by this link for his board...another b450 board might be different:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-B450M-A/HelpDesk_CPU/

We looked into the loan boot kit, and apparently the part about communication with your board manufacturer is the problem. You have to explain why they (ASUS) can't just offer a refund, rebate, or upgrade to a compatible board. Basically "you bought the wrong board, best we can do is help you upgrade to a better one" is my interpretation. I know overclockers offer a bundle where the b450 is already updated and ready to go. Maybe I can do that for my build, but I dono if that helps him. Looks like he needs to either find a shop to update it (not easy in my area of Ireland), or shell out the 50 euro for an athlon 200ge that we'll never use again.

Yes you are correct overclockers uk can flash your motherboard for you so it supports ryzen 3000 series, i am sure they will do this for you saving you the hassle.

You will have to contact overclockers uk or get someone on this forum to sort this one out and how to do it.

You further ahead than me regarding research but yeah you have to make sure the motherboard supports a 3700x and as well as the bios update.

As well as the bundle that is an option seeing it already has an updated bios to support ryzen 3000 series.

If i was you i would buy the x570 taichi if you had enough of low end motherboards.

Either way if i was you, just look at the range of x570 motherboards, may cost a bit more but would be worth it.

Remember this, when you go with amd and amd processors it is paramount you get a decent amd motherboard because of things like new processors being released for example ryzen 1000 series, 2000 series and 3000series, so going with a decent motherboard is the utmost, never skimp with the amd motherboard.

Dan.

 

[ataraxia370]

Yeah skimping on mobo is a huge regret last time. This will only be my 2nd build. So I'm thinking you're right and go x570 even if it means I have to wait on upgrading the RAM. Are RAM prices considered low / decent now?

 

[lltfdaniel]

So yea it is better you get a decent more expensive motherboard that tactic/strategy pays off.

Do a bit of research in the motherboards section on this forum that is where i first seeked and i am glad i picked an expensive motherboard because my motherboard supports all of the ryzen 3000 series processors, my motherboard is the gigabyte x470 gaming 7 wifi or here > https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/X470-AORUS-GAMING-7-WIFI-rev-10#kf

I would never touch a budget motherboard like the msi i listed only the top end so i am safe and sure that it will support future amd processor releases.

If i was you i'd go with the x570 taichi and call it a day, or for whatever reason i would not recommend a bottom end amd motherboard as that would not be able to support amd processors released in the future.

Anyways up to you,

My 2 pence,

Dan.

 

[lltfdaniel]

As for ram, this is a mix up,

People here would recommend cheaper ram as the performance difference is not worth it so yeah, but as for me since i want the best possible performance and 3600mhz is considered the sweet spot for ryzen 3000 series processors i went with 8 pack ram or look at below.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Team Group Dark Pro "8Pack Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C16 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/= £158.99

Total: £167.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)
​

But with everything there are experienced people on this forum would advise you not to go with this 8 pack ram as the cost for the performance you get is not worth it and i can see why.

Something like this below

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDGED4= £79.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-29200C18 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black= £128.99

Total: £217.68 (includes shipping: £8.70)
​

3200 to 3600 mhz is fine, but i'd go the 3600mhz route but if cost is a factor then 3200mhz will do the job fine, i mean your getting better bang for buck performance for the money with the cheaper 3200mhz ram.

8 pack ram is samsung b die where i think the cheaper stuff is hynix but i don't know so i leave it there, just make sure your motherboard of whatever you buy is compatible with the ram that is all i say.

 

[Terrorfirmer]

Just so you know, Battlefield hates single channel RAM which is what you have. You get serious performance drops when using it.

It's a combination of single channel RAM and a lower clocked 4c/4t CPU causing the issue. However, it is normal to get some dips on a CPU like i5-6600 in BF1, but the severity in your case is also due to your single channel RAM.

Another 8GB of DDR4 to match your current stick and a cheap 2nd hand i7-6700 would sort you out fine if you're looking for an easy life, though no harm to just bite the bullet and go Ryzen either.

Even as an experiment, just throwing in another 8GB stick to match should help a lot.

 

[lltfdaniel]

Yeah check this> https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/best-x570-motherboards.18855867/