Which mobo/CPU/RAM upgrade from my 2500k?

StevieP · 20 Dec 2018 at 15:51

I've recently bought a Vega 56 and am finding that my CPU is a bit of a bottleneck so I am thinking of upgrading the above components (and probably a new PSU too!)

What I'm wondering is what is the best "bang for buck" upgrade these days for a rig mainly used for gaming at 1440p on a 144hz monitor?

I did consider looking at an i7 2600k or 2700k and keeping my mobo and RAM but I quite like the idea of completely new components so I can use my existing bits and pieces for a new build for a family member!

So what is the best path that will give me a decent performance bump for the least money?

Thanks for any help...

lee32uk · 20 Dec 2018 at 16:20

Hi

Ryzen is currently the best value for money if you want to jump to a new platform.

So for example with the 6 core/ 12 thread R5 2600:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 2600 3.90GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £149.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £99.95
1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £104.99
1 x Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £79.99

Total: £434.92 (includes shipping: £0.00)

lee32uk · 20 Dec 2018 at 16:23

This Gigabyte board for slightly less is also fine for the R5 2600. There is also a Gigabyte rep (GIGA-Man) who posts on the forum if you had any issues.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £91.99

Total: £91.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

StevieP · 20 Dec 2018 at 18:28

Thanks for the replies - so Ryzen is the way to go huh? (I know precisely zero about AMD CPU's having been an Intel user for the better part of my adult life!)

tamzzy · 20 Dec 2018 at 18:39

StevieP said:
Ryzen is the way to go huh?

for bang/buck. absolutely. nothing in intel's stable comes close.

lee32uk · 20 Dec 2018 at 18:39

StevieP said:
Thanks for the replies - so Ryzen is the way to go huh? (I know precisely zero about AMD CPU's having been an Intel user for the better part of my adult life!)

From a price/performance view yes. You might get slightly higher frame rates with Intel but the cost is a lot more for the same amount of cores/threads. So the 6 core/12 thread i7 8700K for example is currently £359.99 on here, or same price for the 8 core/8 thread i7 9700K. Even dropping down to a 6 core/6 thread i5 9600K would cost £239.99. So still £90 more than the R5 2600.

StevieP · 20 Dec 2018 at 19:23

lee32uk said:
1 x Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £79.99

Is there any mileage in going for a higher capacity PSU? One of the limiting factors in my getting a Vega 56 as opposed to a Vega 64 was that the 64 needs a far beefier PSU than my existing 600W - I presume I'd be better going for something around or north of 850W to give me a bit of headroom for future upgrades?

tamzzy · 20 Dec 2018 at 19:31

StevieP said:
Is there any mileage in going for a higher capacity PSU? One of the limiting factors in my getting a Vega 56 as opposed to a Vega 64 was that the 64 needs a far beefier PSU than my existing 600W - I presume I'd be better going for something around or north of 850W to give me a bit of headroom for future upgrades?

what 600w psu do you have?
also i wouldn't get the antec earthwatts gold pro or the seasonic focus plus gold if you're going to run a vega card.
they're known to have compatibility issues.

StevieP · 20 Dec 2018 at 19:36

tamzzy said:
what 600w psu do you have?

My existing PSU is an OCZ 600W ModXStream Pro

Any suggestions on which PSU's play nice with the Vega cards?

tamzzy · 20 Dec 2018 at 19:59

600w is sufficient for a vega56 if not planning on super monster overclocking.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! Pure Power 11 600W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £69.95

Total: £80.45 (includes shipping: £10.50)

lee32uk · 20 Dec 2018 at 20:18

tamzzy said:
what 600w psu do you have?
also i wouldn't get the antec earthwatts gold pro or the seasonic focus plus gold if you're going to run a vega card.
they're known to have compatibility issues.

Only affects older units made before Jan 2018 AFAIK. Maybe @Ace Modder can verify that.

tamzzy · 20 Dec 2018 at 20:27

lee32uk said:
Only affects older units made before Jan 2018 AFAIK. Maybe @Ace Modder can verify that.

oh yes, just double checked, it is indeed before jan 18. fair enough.

orbitalwalsh · 21 Dec 2018 at 07:02

To do intel, bit more costly

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £244.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £99.95
1 x Gigabyte Z390 Gaming X Intel Z390 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £137.99
1 x be quiet! Pure Power 11 600W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £69.95
1 x Alpenfohn Ben Nevis CPU Cooler - 120mm= £21.95

Total: £585.93 (includes shipping: £11.10)

StevieP · 21 Dec 2018 at 12:14

I've got no issues with swapping allegiances - Intel have had quite a bit of my money in the past!

I'm just wondering about the PSU - seems a bit daft to not go for something around the 850W range so a future upgrade is covered - can anyone recommend me something suitable?

lee32uk · 21 Dec 2018 at 12:50

StevieP said:
I've got no issues with swapping allegiances - Intel have had quite a bit of my money in the past!

I'm just wondering about the PSU - seems a bit daft to not go for something around the 850W range so a future upgrade is covered - can anyone recommend me something suitable?

Unless you plan on adding another Vega 56 then 850W is way more than you need.

StevieP · 21 Dec 2018 at 12:54

lee32uk said:
Unless you plan on adding another Vega 56 then 850W is way more than you need.

Not adding I wouldnt imagine but some advice I received on another thread suggested that 600W would be insufficient for a Vega 64 for example!

Is this not the case?

lee32uk · 21 Dec 2018 at 13:02

StevieP said:
Not adding I wouldnt imagine but some advice I received on another thread suggested that 600W would be insufficient for a Vega 64 for example!

Is this not the case?

The Anandtech review below shows 459W under gaming load (BF1) for the system with a Vega64.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/11717/the-amd-radeon-rx-vega-64-and-56-review/19

DarkHorizon472 · 21 Dec 2018 at 14:02

Its just how you see future proofing, I went for a higher capacity PSU as it means I can upgrade the GPU etc. in the future and have more spare power available to do that. The same would be true for other upgrades. I am very lazy when it comes to taking things apart and having to reconnect everything

StevieP · 22 Dec 2018 at 10:20

I must admit I'm leaning towards a circa 850W PSU just to give me a bit more flexibility in the future - are there any makes I should look for/avoid?

Also, how do you post your OCUK basket here??

tamzzy · 22 Dec 2018 at 10:28

StevieP said:
I must admit I'm leaning towards a circa 850W PSU just to give me a bit more flexibility in the future

a solid PSU is sufficient, wattage isn't really an issue...
...well it is, but not to the extent that most people make it out to be, more prominent in the past where manufacturers tended to use el-cheapo internals and way overstate the potential power output of their PSUs.
650w is sufficient. 750w if you're a bit OCD. 850w is just overkill unless you're going to run 2x vega64s crossfire

eg, i used to run an overclocked 3770k with quadfire 7990s with a full custom wc loop on a 650w no issues

StevieP said:
Also, how do you post your OCUK basket here??

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/checkout/cart
bbcode - copy and paste (next to the empty cart button)