Upgrade the cpu or upgrade to AM5

noj

noj

noj

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Morning folks

My system was built back in 2018 it’s a Ryzen 7 2700x in a auros gaming 5 board and an aio cooler.
I’ve upgraded a couple of bits since 2018 and its now running 32mb of ram a 6800xt Gpu, a newer psu and an m2 ssd

I’m looking to upgrade the processor and have a couple of options but not sure which way to jump.
Do I just shove a new cpu in or upgrade the board and chip to AM5 (along with memory)?

Friends have suggested that I should look to replace the aio after this much time either way, so the list of bits to replace gets longer which makes me consider selling the pc as is and putting money into a new one entirely.

The other consideration is I’ve never replaced a cpu before, nor installed a motherboard and not sure how easy it really is, I know lots of you will say it’s simple to do but having never done it I don’t want to screw it up.

If I’m looking to upgrade what would be your opinions/options on what to do. Budget is £1500 for upgrade excl gpu (assuming the gpu is still good enough for now)
 
Cheap upgrade: 5600 (needs bios update)
Value upgrade: 5700x3d (needs bios update)
Use the whole budget upgrade: 9800x3d

Personally, my recommendation would be the 5700x3d and that will allow you to skip the whole of the AM5 series altogether. Your next upgrade would be AM6 or the Intel equivalent in the next 3-4 years.
 
Your GPU is not exactly recent (~5 years old) and your CPU is even older. Upgrading depends entirely on what you're using your computer for. Assuming gaming, it depends on what games, and importantly what resolution. Gaming at higher resolutions generally is more GPU limited than CPU limited, so upgrading your GPU is the highest priority.

Having said that, lots of people (including myself) have upgraded to the 5700X3D because it's relatively affordable (~£200 atm), extremely good bang per buck in gaming, and is supported by the AM4 platform. You can expect a decent performance increase for a relatively affordable price, and you won't have to completely rebuild your PC.

Since AM4 is now deprecated in favour of AM5, it's safe to say that 5700X3D is the best bang per buck available on AM4 (and forever will be).
 
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exhashdotdot said:
Your GPU is not exactly recent (~5 years old) and your CPU is even older. Upgrading depends entirely on what you're using your computer for. Assuming gaming, it depends on what games, and importantly what resolution. Gaming at higher resolutions generally is more GPU limited than CPU limited, so upgrading your GPU is the highest priority.

Having said that, lots of people (including myself) have upgraded to the 5700X3D because it's relatively affordable (~£200 atm), extremely good bang per buck in gaming, and is supported by the AM4 platform. You can expect a decent performance increase for a relatively affordable price, and you won't have to completely rebuild your PC.

Since AM4 is now deprecated in favour of AM5, it's safe to say that 5700X3D is the best bang per buck available on AM4 (and forever will be).
Click to expand...
Time flies, it doesn’t feel 4 years since I shoved that gpu in :D

Gaming and photo editing still the use case for the machine.

Games - things like scum, elite dangerous, dune awakening when it comes out. Resolution is 1440
 
noj said:
Time flies, it doesn’t feel 4 years since I shoved that gpu in :D

Gaming and photo editing still the use case for the machine.

Games - things like scum, elite dangerous, dune awakening when it comes out. Resolution is 1440
Click to expand...
tbh, the other thing which leaps out at me is you haven't actually mentioned that you're not satisfied with your PC's current performance. Again, I'm assuming you want better FPS, etc, but if your resolution is 1440p, what exactly are you not satisfied with? The 6800 XT is still a competent card.
 
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As said already, a 6800 XT is still a great card, it costs around ~£450 new to get that level of performance. I consider the 2700X the weakest link, so a 5700X3D is ideal and will help a lot in more CPU demanding games. There won't be much more to come from the 6800 XT when paired with a 5700X3D, so you'll be set for another 3-4 years until it is overhaul time.

noj said:
I’m looking to upgrade the processor and have a couple of options but not sure which way to jump.
Click to expand...
To be clear, for what reason did you choose the CPU? Are you only a gamer? Are you struggling with certain games?

noj said:
The other consideration is I’ve never replaced a cpu before, nor installed a motherboard and not sure how easy it really is, I know lots of you will say it’s simple to do but having never done it I don’t want to screw it up.
Click to expand...
It is easy to do, you just drop the CPU into the socket, but you do need steady hands and a clear/uneven workspace. AM4 has the pins on the CPU, AM5 has the pins on the socket, personally I would say that pins on the CPU is a little easier than in the socket, but there's a small risk of damage either way. If you take your time and prepare ahead, I don't see why you would mess it up.

noj said:
Friends have suggested that I should look to replace the aio after this much time either way, so the list of bits to replace gets longer which makes me consider selling the pc as is and putting money into a new one entirely.
Click to expand...
Why do they think that? AIOs can last a long time, some have 5+ year warranties. Alternatively, you could get a cooler that supports multiple sockets like a peerless assassin, which is cheap, effective and can be used on AM4, AM5, 1700 & 1851.

noj said:
Budget is £1500 for upgrade excl gpu (assuming the gpu is still good enough for now)
Click to expand...
For me it is good enough, but what are you doing with it? What kind of games and settings? You have a big enough budget to do everything, but I don't know if you want/need it.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £1,498.86 (includes delivery: £11.98)​
 
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Six Core 5.40GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail
PRO-AMD-02677
£249 (incl. VAT)
£230 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Gigabyte B850M DS3H (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard
MOT-GIG-03862
£140 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G6000HC38ADC01)
MY-0B2-TG
£120 (incl. VAT)
£80 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Sapphire Nitro + Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming OC 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card
GRA-SPR-03987
£720 (incl. VAT)
£690 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
KIOXIA EXCERIA PRO 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 Solid State Drive
STO-TSH-01448
£117 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Antec CX600M ARGB M-ATX Mini Tower - Black
CAS-ATC-04160
£55 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black
POW-PHK-02519
£105 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm
COO-TLR-02724
£30 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Tetras said:
As said already, a 6800 XT is still a great card, it costs around ~£450 new to get that level of performance. I consider the 2700X the weakest link, so a 5700X3D is ideal and will help a lot in more CPU demanding games. There won't be much more to come from the 6800 XT when paired with a 5700X3D, so you'll be set for another 3-4 years until it is overhaul time.


To be clear, for what reason did you choose the CPU? Are you only a gamer? Are you struggling with certain games?


It is easy to do, you just drop the CPU into the socket, but you do need steady hands and a clear/uneven workspace. AM4 has the pins on the CPU, AM5 has the pins on the socket, personally I would say that pins on the CPU is a little easier than in the socket, but there's a small risk of damage either way. If you take your time and prepare ahead, I don't see why you would mess it up.


Why do they think that? AIOs can last a long time, some have 5+ year warranties. Alternatively, you could get a cooler that supports multiple sockets like a peerless assassin, which is cheap, effective and can be used on AM4, AM5, 1700 & 1851.


For me it is good enough, but what are you doing with it? What kind of games and settings? You have a big enough budget to do everything, but I don't know if you want/need it.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed reply, helps a lot.

One driver is financial, I have the funds to upgrade now and haven’t spent cash on myself in a while so taking the opportunity whilst it’s there. That said if a couple of hundred quid on a cpu does me for 3 or 4 more years it would seem the right answer unless there is some compelling reason to build a whole new machine (other than mmm sparkly new machine).

I’m not sure why they said that about the aio to be honest, which is why I’m here asking the question as well. It’s seems odd that the aio would stop working or fail by simply replacing the cpu but I’m not a pc building expert!

I’m worried about screwing up the install but again that’s because I’ve not done it, Ive watched videos and read about it. I’m sure just taking time and being careful will sort it.

Maybe the 5700x3d is the way to go.

Do you think the board will be ok or do I need to replace that?
 
noj said:
Do you think the board will be ok or do I need to replace that?
Click to expand...
board will be fine, just needs a bios update first before dropping the 5700x3d in
the 5700x3d is a good pairing with the 6800xt and both will be fine for the next 3-4 years
your next pc will be a full new build
 
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tamzzy said:
Cheap upgrade: 5600 (needs bios update)
Value upgrade: 5700x3d (needs bios update)
Use the whole budget upgrade: 9800x3d

Personally, my recommendation would be the 5700x3d and that will allow you to skip the whole of the AM5 series altogether. Your next upgrade would be AM6 or the Intel equivalent in the next 3-4 years.
Click to expand...
this.


given your budget, 5700x3d / 7090xt
 
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WARburton said:
7090xt
Click to expand...
naughty naughty making people spend more than they need to :P

tbh i would expect the 2700x to bottleneck the 6800xt by a fairly large amount
the 5700x3d should unleash the 6800xt's full capabilities, and so i would expect OP to see an improvement not only in the 1% lows, but also the average fps as well...in addition to less microstutters

if really wanting to splash the dosh, then OP should get the 5700x3d first and try it with the 6800xt
only then upgrading to the 9070xt after, if this performance gain isn't deemed adequate
 
noj said:
One driver is financial, I have the funds to upgrade now and haven’t spent cash on myself in a while so taking the opportunity whilst it’s there. That said if a couple of hundred quid on a cpu does me for 3 or 4 more years it would seem the right answer unless there is some compelling reason to build a whole new machine (other than mmm sparkly new machine).
Click to expand...
If you went with the possible spec I suggested, I suppose you would have a complete PC that you could use as a spare, sell as a unit, or a hand-me-down, but if you have no idea what to do with it the extra money would be wasted.

You would be on a newer platform, with a graphics card that is much newer and supports FSR4, but if the 5700X3D gets you another 3-4 years the overhauled PC you buy then will be a lot better too, maybe even AM6 (or Intel equivalent) instead of AM5.

noj said:
I’m not sure why they said that about the aio to be honest, which is why I’m here asking the question as well. It’s seems odd that the aio would stop working or fail by simply replacing the cpu but I’m not a pc building expert!
Click to expand...
If you were doing an overhaul, I agree it would make sense to replace an old AIO, but just a CPU upgrade I think I'd keep it running (if all is well). That said, a peerless assassin is a very cheap alternative and there's little that goes wrong with air coolers.
 
I’ve gone for an upgrade to the cpu, got a 5700x3d on the way along with some thermal paste.
I figured, as suggested by @tamzzy, I can try this upgrade path and then always go again if I want to. But upgrading and getting 3 more years for £199 seems good value.

Now I just need to install it!
 
Update the bios first.
You'll need to update the bios with the 2700x in situ before you swap over to the 5700x3d, if not it won't boot
 
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Thanks, spotted that being mentioned so it’s on my list of things to do this weekend.
 
noj said:
I’ve gone for an upgrade to the cpu, got a 5700x3d on the way along with some thermal paste.
I figured, as suggested by @tamzzy, I can try this upgrade path and then always go again if I want to. But upgrading and getting 3 more years for £199 seems good value.

Now I just need to install it!
Click to expand...
Definitely sounds like the way to go - saved yourself a grand too!
 
Well I did it…installed the new cpu after a bios flash.
I got a FTPM error but since I’d not encrypted a drive I went with the Y option to reset.

I’m looking at my windows desktop and it all seems ok, not going to lie, I thought it would be a disaster but so far think I’m ok.

Any suggestions to check anything or just shut up the case and crack on
 
tamzzy said:
Shut the case and crack on.

Reset ftpm yes is correct.

Nothing else to do
Click to expand...
Ok then!

Thank you for your support, I know this is child’s play, and to be honest it was a lot easier than I thought, but was worried about it having never touched the CPU.

Now I know it is as easy as that I’ll be able to do it again next time.

Thermal paste videos are a rabbit hole btw…
 
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