Upgrade route

PhilleH · 7 Nov 2023 at 18:36

Hi all
I've recently started thinking about getting back into PC gaming and I'm trying to figure out what I need to do with my rig. I stopped around 2020 as at the time my PS5 could do similar for much less and I didn't have cash to throw at really top of the line components. I think now the gap has widened between PC and consoles and I'm better off financially so interested in getting back into it. No other intense uses apart from gaming.

I'm willing to upgrade anything where it will be worthwhile but I'm also not looking to throw lots of money at minor gains.

Current specs:
CPU: 5600g
Mobo: Aorus b450i
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Case: Nr200p
PSU: Fractal Ion SFX-L 650W Gold
Case: Nr200p

I'm wondering whether it is worth doing a whole refresh or if I could just (say) throw a 7900XT in and call it a day for now? Would other upgrades (mobo + cpu + ram) be a fair bit to spend for minimal gain?

The only other upgrade in set on is a new NVME SSD as I've had the evo for quite a few years now, the 250gb is limiting for a main drive and SSDs seem cheap currently.

If it's of any consequence I'd probably do an ATX build next time around.

Welcome any thoughts

*edit: I have a 4k 144hz monitor so I am hoping for 4k gaming, although I may swap this out for a 1440p ultrawide at some point.

MissChief · 7 Nov 2023 at 18:37

Keep the costs down otherwise you're verging on a full AM5 build. Go for a 5800x or X3D and then something like a 6700XT for £300 or so and you'll have a very capable machine.

You can get 2TB Gen 3 NVME's for less than £100 which is crazy.

Tetras · 7 Nov 2023 at 18:42

What's the graphics card?

PhilleH · 7 Nov 2023 at 18:45

I currently don't have one - just using the apu.

Also should have mentioned that I have a 4k 144hz monitor.

Tetras · 7 Nov 2023 at 18:49

PhilleH said:
I currently don't have one - just using the apu.

Also should have mentioned that I have a 4k 144hz monitor.

D'oh. I was going to say: overclock RAM to 3000, buy a 6600, all good for some gaming again.

But, now? You've gone from budget gaming land, to needing the highest-end gaming parts you can buy.

Do you only play Minecraft and CS2? If you do, then you don't need to empty your wallet yet. Just don't say "I want to play Starfield at 4K".

sx_turbo · 7 Nov 2023 at 18:50

Just put a 7900xt in there. Upgrade the PSU to an 850w aswell

Could upgrade the ram to a 3200 but, just the GPU will do

If it's still a little sluggish change the CPU for a 5800x3d. Won't need anything faster for a while

PhilleH · 7 Nov 2023 at 19:51

Tetras said:
D'oh. I was going to say: overclock RAM to 3000, buy a 6600, all good for some gaming again.

But, now? You've gone from budget gaming land, to needing the highest-end gaming parts you can buy.

Do you only play Minecraft and CS2? If you do, then you don't need to empty your wallet yet. Just don't say "I want to play Starfield at 4K".

Ha, yeah unfortunately I would be looking at including some AAA.

I want to avoid doing major upgrades for marginal gains but if an overhaul is needed then I'll figure that out. If going to an 5800X3D and a 7900XT (or other graphics card) would get me most of the way instead of needing to do a whole overhaul to zen 4 then that's what I'd be erring towards - but if zen 3 is going to struggle with some recent releases (and I believe i miss out on DDR5 etc too) then I'll plan for a full upgrade if worthwhile.

If sticking to zen 3 instead of zen 4 I could maybe justify getting a 1440p ultrawide sooner which then might mitigate some of the need.

sx_turbo said:
Just put a 7900xt in there. Upgrade the PSU to an 850w aswell

Could upgrade the ram to a 3200 but, just the GPU will do

If it's still a little sluggish change the CPU for a 5800x3d. Won't need anything faster for a while

Thanks - this was sort of what I was thinking. Do you think 850w is really necessary? Part of my reason behind 7900XT was the power draw seems to be fairly low so would have thought 650w would be fine in ITX build?

Tetras · 7 Nov 2023 at 20:04

PhilleH said:
Ha, yeah unfortunately I would be looking at including some AAA.

I want to avoid doing major upgrades for marginal gains but if an overhaul is needed then I'll figure that out. If going to an 5800X3D and a 7900XT (or other graphics card) would get me most of the way instead of needing to do a whole overhaul to zen 4 then that's what I'd be erring towards - but if zen 3 is going to struggle with some recent releases (and I believe i miss out on DDR5 etc too) then I'll plan for a full upgrade if worthwhile.

If sticking to zen 3 instead of zen 4 I could maybe justify getting a 1440p ultrawide sooner which then might mitigate some of the need.

A 5800X3D and a 7900 XT will play pretty much anything to a decent level, even at 4K, but some of these newer games have outrageous requirements so you're not going to be achieving native 4K easily, especially if you wanted 144+ fps.

No harm in trying the card first and upgrading the rest if necessary, since a 7900 XT can be paired with a 5600 and still do pretty well, or be sat in a high-end PC with a 7800X3D. In other words: it's not something I'd put in the marginal gains category. A 5800X3D is a big investment in an old platform, but it is still a very competitive CPU and holds up well against the non-X3Ds:

Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs. Ryzen 7 7700, Best Value AMD 8-Core CPU in 2023?

Australia, Cloud III: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C3BV19Q3New Zealand, Cloud III: https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/hyperx-cloud-iii-gaming-headset-bl...

www.youtube.com

sx_turbo · 7 Nov 2023 at 20:34

PhilleH said:
Ha, yeah unfortunately I would be looking at including some AAA.

I want to avoid doing major upgrades for marginal gains but if an overhaul is needed then I'll figure that out. If going to an 5800X3D and a 7900XT (or other graphics card) would get me most of the way instead of needing to do a whole overhaul to zen 4 then that's what I'd be erring towards - but if zen 3 is going to struggle with some recent releases (and I believe i miss out on DDR5 etc too) then I'll plan for a full upgrade if worthwhile.

If sticking to zen 3 instead of zen 4 I could maybe justify getting a 1440p ultrawide sooner which then might mitigate some of the need.

Thanks - this was sort of what I was thinking. Do you think 850w is really necessary? Part of my reason behind 7900XT was the power draw seems to be fairly low so would have thought 650w would be fine in ITX build?

AMD recommend a 750w PSU for the 7900xt. Typo error on my part there

You probably could get away with the 650w one, but I've read that the 7900xt can spike to 500w sometimes.

You could just try it and see how you get on, if it shuts down regularly when playing games then you'll definitely have to swap out the PSU.

jigger · 7 Nov 2023 at 20:46

5800X3D, 32Gb of 3600 c14 memory and a 7900XT would be definitely be a massive jump in performance and more than capable for 4K gaming. My concern would be if the case can offer enough cooling.

PhilleH · 8 Nov 2023 at 07:24

jigger said:
5800X3D, 32Gb of 3600 c14 memory and a 7900XT would be definitely be a massive jump in performance and more than capable for 4K gaming. My concern would be if the case can offer enough cooling.

Thats good to hear. I think cooling should be ok - looking around people do seem to get pretty reasonable temps with the Nr200 even with current gen and no bottom fans due to GPU width but it can definitely be a very snug fit.

sx_turbo said:
AMD recommend a 750w PSU for the 7900xt. Typo error on my part there

You probably could get away with the 650w one, but I've read that the 7900xt can spike to 500w sometimes.

You could just try it and see how you get on, if it shuts down regularly when playing games then you'll definitely have to swap out the PSU.

Ok that makes sense, thanks. I might give it a go and be tempted to underclock if needed for stability in the short-term for more stability and do the PSU with a full upgrade.

Tetras said:
A 5800X3D and a 7900 XT will play pretty much anything to a decent level, even at 4K, but some of these newer games have outrageous requirements so you're not going to be achieving native 4K easily, especially if you wanted 144+ fps.

No harm in trying the card first and upgrading the rest if necessary, since a 7900 XT can be paired with a 5600 and still do pretty well, or be sat in a high-end PC with a 7800X3D. In other words: it's not something I'd put in the marginal gains category. A 5800X3D is a big investment in an old platform, but it is still a very competitive CPU and holds up well against the non-X3Ds:

Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs. Ryzen 7 7700, Best Value AMD 8-Core CPU in 2023?

Australia, Cloud III: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C3BV19Q3New Zealand, Cloud III: https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/hyperx-cloud-iii-gaming-headset-bl...

www.youtube.com

Great, thanks.

Based on all of the above I am currently thinking to get a GPU (almost certainly 7900XT) with a new SSD and see how it goes.
If I am dissatisfied then I’ll upgrade the CPU to 5800x3d - i’ll keep an eye out anyway for any amazing BF or second hand deals (not holding my breath but it is old gen) and might pull the trigger anyway if I can get one cheap. Same deal with RAM - might look at this if I can get some cheap.

I then might plan for a (likely) zen 5 full upgrade later on next year depending on how things pan out.

Please let me know if any obvious issues with that plan but thanks for the help everyone.

Joxeon · 8 Nov 2023 at 07:58

PhilleH said:
I want to avoid doing major upgrades for marginal gains but if an overhaul is needed then I'll figure that out

The GPU would be the most obvious, 5600G graphics to 7900XT is like +1900%, you might get a further 10-15% on the CPU but at 4k it wont be much.

los · 12 Nov 2023 at 10:28

If you're going for a 7900XT you really want a PSU as well. Definitely get a GPU, the rest is okay, except the PSU depending on what GPU you go for

Noughtboy · 12 Nov 2023 at 10:35

los said:
If you're going for a 7900XT you really want a PSU as well. Definitely get a GPU, the rest is okay, except the PSU depending on what GPU you go for

Yep. What @los and @sx_turbo say. Minimum of 750w. Therefore, would recommend you look at 850w minimum to give yourself some headroom.

Unless your next rig will be Intel based in which case consider 1200w