I'm looking to help my younger brother upgrade his self-built gaming PC that he put together about eight years ago. As a college student, he can't afford to upgrade himself, so I want to chip in. Currently, he has an Intel i5 (not sure which model, but it's a quad-core running at 3.6 GHz) and a GTX 1050 Ti. I'm considering two upgrade paths:
1. Go for a new AM5 setup with a Ryzen 5 7600X, a compatible motherboard, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. This would allow him to upgrade to a better AM5 CPU later on without replacing too much.
2. Just upgrade his GPU to a 5060 Ti, but I worry that his current i5 would bottleneck its performance.
Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy him everything at once, so I have to choose between either the CPU+MB+RAM combo or the new GPU. What's the best route to boost his gaming performance in the long run?
3 Answers
You should consider his gaming resolution. Is he mainly playing at 1080p or 1440p? If it's 1080p, the 5060 Ti might serve him well for a while, but if he plans to go higher, the CPU upgrade could pay off more in the long run.
Have you thought about asking your brother to save up a bit and you two could split the cost? That way you both contribute and he can get what he really needs without feeling like he owes you. But since you want to surprise him for Christmas, gifting him the CPU+MB+RAM could be a smart move. It sets him up for future upgrades without getting stuck with an aging CPU.
Totally agree! The surprise factor is awesome, and it would really help him long-term. Players need a good foundation before upgrading GPUs anyway.
Just a thought, do you have access to a Microcenter nearby? They sometimes offer great bundle deals for PC parts that could save some cash on the combo. But if you're not in the US, that won't help much. Either way, I'd lean towards the AM5 upgrade for him since it's more future-proof!
No, unfortunately, I'm not in the US, so that idea won’t work for us. But thanks for the suggestion!
Yeah, I asked him and he’s at 1080p right now, which makes it more flexible. But pushing for a better CPU would help in the future.