Upgrade Path

[homeyyy]

Hello guys,

I'm thinking of upgrading my setup and jumping on the Ryzen bandwagon as it's been around 4-5 years.
My current setup is
CPU:i5-4460
RAM: 16gb DDR3 1600MHz
SSD: 256gb Samsung Evo,
HDD: 2TB WD Red, 4TB WD Red
GPU: GTX 960
PSU: CM 550W

The usual games I play are Dota 2, CS:GO, GTA 5, Total War series. As of now, I'm playing at medium-low settings on 1080p. I plan to split the upgrade path in 2 different steps since there's the rumors of RTX 3000 series coming out end of the year and also I've been noticing my CPU load has been 100% when I'm playing games and my GPU only at <50%.

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
Mobo: MSI Tomahawk B450
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 16GB
SSD: 256gb Samsung Evo
HDD: 2TB WD Red, 4TB WD Red
PSU: CM MWE Gold Full Modular 650W
GPU: GTX 960

Step 2 would be to change GPU to a RTX 3000 series if the specs are worth it and include a M.2 SSD as well

Any advice if this is appropriate?

 

[minuteez]

I would suggest waiting a month or two for the B550 boards to appear. Then you can get those instead of B450. Should last you longer.

If you neet to upgrade now, maybe consider the 570 mobos since those fully support next gen Ryzen too.

 

[homeyyy]

Ooh, I did not know about the B550s coming out in the next month or so. I'll do some research and probably get those instead then. Thanks!

 

[hkchew03]

Hello guys,

I'm thinking of upgrading my setup and jumping on the Ryzen bandwagon as it's been around 4-5 years.
My current setup is
CPU:i5-4460
RAM: 16gb DDR3 1600MHz
SSD: 256gb Samsung Evo
GPU: GTX 960
PSU: CM 550W

The usual games I play are Dota 2, CS:GO, GTA 5, Total War series. As of now, I'm playing at medium-low settings on 1080p. I plan to split the upgrade path in 2 different steps since there's the rumors of RTX 3000 series coming out end of the year and also I've been noticing my CPU load has been 100% when I'm playing games and my GPU only at <50%.

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
Mobo: MSI Tomahawk B450
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 16GB
SSD: 256gb Samsung Evo
HDD: 1x 4TB WD Red, 1x 2TB WD Red
PSU: CM MWE Gold Full Modular 650W
GPU: GTX 960

Step 2 would be to change GPU to a RTX 3000 series if the specs are worth it and include a M.2 SSD as well

Any advice if this is appropriate?

The CPU, MB, RAM, is safe bet. Do you really need 6TB of drive? if not i recommend going with just 1 HDD and a bigger SSD since game eat up storage fast. With that setup your game will still be bottleneck by the GPU.

GPU choice depends on your budget and if you are willing to wait for 3xxx.

 

[homeyyy]

Oops, I missed out that on my current build setup.

I will be reusing the HDD drives from current build until I feel the M.2 SSDs are much more affordable or stick a larger size SSD in.

I expect to throw in about 500-750 for GPU (hopefully the RTX 3000 series don't cost an arm and a leg)

 

[hafiz116]

Yes wait for the B550's to be released as they support PCIe 4.0 so buying a B450 does not really make sense unless you really really want to keep the motherboard cost as low as possible.

 

[NightRaven49]

i think it would be a safer bet to wait for ryzen 4k to drop then upgrade. anyway unless u have pcie4 peripherals theres not much point buying b550, high quality b450s will most likely be cheaper too.

 

[delfina]

Your cpu should still be able to hold up for another year. If you're on a budget can consider getting a second hand 1070 which will see your games performance improvement

 

[homeyyy]

i think it would be a safer bet to wait for ryzen 4k to drop then upgrade. anyway unless u have pcie4 peripherals theres not much point buying b550, high quality b450s will most likely be cheaper too.

I am actually sort of "future-proofing" a little as well so as to upgrade certain parts instead of 1 full build which can be quite painful to the wallet. That's why I think getting a newer B550 board can help to a small extent since I'm more like a light-medium gamer.

Nonetheless, thanks for your input too.

 

[homeyyy]

Your cpu should still be able to hold up for another year. If you're on a budget can consider getting a second hand 1070 which will see your games performance improvement

I would prefer to go first-hand as I have pretty bad experiences with second-hand products in general.

If CPU load is at a constant 100% wouldn't it be bottle-necking my GPU already?

 

[homeyyy]

With the B550 motherboards launched, the prices are very close to x570 boards.. Now I'm in a dilemma to get the x570 or B550 boards.. Anyone has any recommendations?

 

[lucied]

Asus x570-p. Has everything that a regular person needs.

I'm using one with a ryzen 2600

 

[hafiz116]

With the B550 motherboards launched, the prices are very close to x570 boards.. Now I'm in a dilemma to get the x570 or B550 boards.. Anyone has any recommendations?

Now that the B550’s have dropped I would re-ask myself what I really want/need then decide on a model. Next go do some checks on YouTube reviews to make sure you avoid know issues especially those around thermals.

I would strongly advise against going the x570 route if your going to go for the cheapest and your needs do not require PCIe 4.0

Look at B550’s if you think somewhere in the future you may want to drop a Ryzen Gen 4 CPU into it. Again reviews and get something that has been well reviewed. There are some very bad models in all chipset categories!

 

[homeyyy]

Now that the B550’s have dropped I would re-ask myself what I really want/need then decide on a model. Next go do some checks on YouTube reviews to make sure you avoid know issues especially those around thermals.

I would strongly advise against going the x570 route if your going to go for the cheapest and your needs do not require PCIe 4.0

Look at B550’s if you think somewhere in the future you may want to drop a Ryzen Gen 4 CPU into it. Again reviews and get something that has been well reviewed. There are some very bad models in all chipset categories!

I'm currently looking at the x570 MAG Tomahawk WiFi or the B550 MAG Tomahawk as I see reviews on the Tomahawk models are pretty decent in their VRMs and chipset PCIe 4.0 and also their styling (personal preference) of the boards.

And also according to this website, it shows x570 having more USB 10Gbps compared to B550.

EDIT: Just to clarify, would x570 not support Ryzen Gen 4 cpus?

 

[Heroindisguise]

No point getting B550 , it’s overpriced and has no actual benefit for the average joe gamer/consumer. Just get a B450 tomahawk max, it’s good enough and will support the upcoming 4000 series

 

[hafiz116]

I'm currently looking at the x570 MAG Tomahawk WiFi or the B550 MAG Tomahawk as I see reviews on the Tomahawk models are pretty decent in their VRMs and chipset PCIe 4.0 and also their styling (personal preference) of the boards.

And also according to this website, it shows x570 having more USB 10Gbps compared to B550.

EDIT: Just to clarify, would x570 not support Ryzen Gen 4 cpus?

OK on the motherboard front you seem to have done your homework and know what you want. Yes appearance does play a big part in the decision making process so I would pull the trigger on the purchase if your happy with everything you have seen about the board.

X570's will support Gen 4. Its the B450's that AMD came out and said would not support Gen 4 but now they are looking into it and may support on some B450 models but not all so there is a risk that if you do get a B450 it cant take Gen 4 CPU's.

 

[homeyyy]

No point getting B550 , it’s overpriced and has no actual benefit for the average joe gamer/consumer. Just get a B450 tomahawk max, it’s good enough and will support the upcoming 4000 series

Thing is, I am also trying to "future-proof" a little (within budget) as I foresee I will upgrade/change cpu in approx 3-5 years time and would want to still be able to upgrade without changing the board (if it doesn't die on me).

If I were to get the B450 Tomahawk MAX then it wouldn't support the future generations after 4000 series

 

[homeyyy]

OK on the motherboard front you seem to have done your homework and know what you want. Yes appearance does play a big part in the decision making process so I would pull the trigger on the purchase if your happy with everything you have seen about the board.

X570's will support Gen 4. Its the B450's that AMD came out and said would not support Gen 4 but now they are looking into it and may support on some B450 models but not all so there is a risk that if you do get a B450 it cant take Gen 4 CPU's.

Alright, thanks for the confidence boost

 

[Rapt0r]

Thing is, I am also trying to "future-proof" a little (within budget) as I foresee I will upgrade/change cpu in approx 3-5 years time and would want to still be able to upgrade without changing the board (if it doesn't die on me).

If I were to get the B450 Tomahawk MAX then it wouldn't support the future generations after 4000 series

After 4000 series AMD will move to new socket so you can forget about future proofing with b550.

 

[homeyyy]

After 4000 series AMD will move to new socket so you can forget about future proofing with b550.

Oh my. I did not readup any info about this..

Then I think I'll have to rethink it again