Hey everyone! I'm new to PC building and I'm considering some upgrades for my current setup. Here are my specs: B560M D2V motherboard, RTX 3060 GPU, an Intel i5-11400F @ 2.6GHz CPU, and 16GB of RAM. I'm mainly gaming at 1080p, so I think my GPU is okay for now. I've heard that upgrading my CPU and possibly increasing my RAM to 36GB might be good options. I'm based in Australia and looking for some advice on what to upgrade first. Also, I'm thinking about this because my partner wants to get into PC gaming, and I'm trying to decide if it's better to use my existing case and fans to upgrade my system or just buy her a new one from Facebook Marketplace. Any suggestions would be super helpful!
3 Answers
It’s a good idea to monitor the CPU and GPU usage using Nvidia’s overlay or something like MSI Afterburner. If performance isn’t what you want, maybe consider upgrading to something like the i5-13400F—it’s about 29% better than the previous model, and it’s not over the top price-wise! Plus, if GPU prices are high, it might be worth holding off on that a bit. Just a thought!
Have you checked out the lossless scaling program? Sometimes you don’t need a full upgrade! Also, if your partner’s just starting out, maybe see if ramping down some graphics settings helps. You might not need to upgrade after all!
That’s a good idea! I’ll look into that. Just want to make sure I’m making the right choice, considering her interest in gaming.
Have you thought about why you want to upgrade? If it’s mainly for better performance or because your partner is getting into gaming, that makes sense. If you can get a bit more power without breaking the bank, that’s the way to go!
Exactly! I want to squeeze more performance out of my PC without spending too much. My partner is excited to start gaming, so I’m weighing the options.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely check the usage stats and the CPU options you suggested.