I built this PC about six years ago and it has started lagging in some games. I mostly play moderately demanding titles, but I would like better performance and some extra longevity without wasting money. My current parts are an MSI B450 Tomahawk Max motherboard, 16GB of RAM, a Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB, a Ryzen 5 3600, and a 600W 80+ Bronze semi-modular power supply. My upgrade budget is roughly $300–$500. Should I focus on the graphics card, upgrade the CPU and RAM as well, replace the power supply, or save for a complete rebuild?
4 Answers
Since you already have an AM4 motherboard, staying on that platform is probably the best value. Check whether your RAM is running in dual-channel and whether you have 16GB as two sticks. A Ryzen 5 5600X3D or Ryzen 7 5800X3D would be a substantial gaming upgrade, assuming your motherboard BIOS supports it. Pairing one of those with a modern GPU gives you plenty of flexibility without paying for a new motherboard and DDR5 memory.
The Ryzen 5 3600 can still handle a reasonable graphics card, but it may limit performance in high-refresh-rate games. A 5600X3D or 5800X3D would extend the life of the system, while upgrading from the RX 5700 XT may only provide a modest improvement unless you buy a substantially faster card. If you need a large overall improvement, saving for a full rebuild could be better than putting several hundred dollars into an older platform.
I have considered a complete rebuild. If a few upgrades would not make a noticeable difference, that may be the better long-term plan.
Before buying anything, watch Task Manager or an in-game overlay while the problem is happening. If the GPU is near 100%, the graphics card is the limitation. If the CPU, memory, or storage is maxed out, a GPU upgrade alone will not fix the lag. Also check temperatures, make sure the games are installed on an SSD, and consider whether Windows or the drivers need maintenance.
A graphics card with 16GB of VRAM would be a sensible target for newer games. Depending on pricing, a current midrange 16GB card or a used higher-end previous-generation card could work well. Your 600W power supply may be enough for some efficient cards, but check the exact power recommendation before buying. If you move to a more power-hungry GPU, plan on replacing it with a quality 750–850W unit.
My budget is around $300–$500, so I was hoping to improve the most important parts without replacing everything at once.