I'm new to PC building and bought this system from a friend a couple of years ago. It still works reliably, but I'd like to play games at higher settings and frame rates on my 1440p 165 Hz monitor. At the moment, many games only reach around 165 FPS on low or medium settings, and I'd like to get closer to that target on high settings where possible. Games such as Palworld, Expedition 33, and Baldur's Gate 3 have been particularly difficult to run smoothly. My current hardware is a Ryzen 5 3600XT, RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB, Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO WIFI motherboard, and 16GB of DDR4 reported at roughly 1064 MHz. I'm using Windows 10 and have a 750W power supply. My upgrade budget is about $1,500 AUD. Which components should I prioritize, and what upgrades would work well together without creating major bottlenecks?
4 Answers
At 1440p, the RTX 2060 SUPER is likely the main limitation in graphically demanding games. Something around an RX 9070 or RTX 5070 would make more sense than spending the entire budget on a CPU first. Use DLSS or FSR when appropriate, because maintaining 165 FPS at high settings in games like Palworld or Expedition 33 may require upscaling and possibly frame generation. No single upgrade can guarantee the same frame rate in every title.
I’d approach it in this order: replace the slow 16GB memory with 32GB of properly rated DDR4, upgrade the GPU, then check performance before deciding on the CPU. If the GPU upgrade leaves the frame rate low in CPU-limited games, move to a 5700X3D or 5800X3D. Check your exact motherboard BIOS version and update it before installing an X3D chip, while following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Your Ryzen 5 3600XT is still usable, but Baldur’s Gate 3 and other CPU-heavy games can benefit from an X3D processor. Since your motherboard supports AM4 upgrades, a Ryzen 7 5700X3D or 5800X3D could be a good later upgrade after a BIOS update. It mainly improves minimums and frame-time consistency rather than magically guaranteeing 165 FPS in every game. I wouldn’t replace the motherboard unless you have a specific compatibility or feature reason.
The graphics card and memory are the obvious first upgrades. The 1064 MHz figure is probably the actual memory clock shown by a monitoring tool, meaning the DDR4 is effectively running at about 2133 MT/s. A 2x16GB DDR4-3200 CL16 or DDR4-3600 CL18 kit would be a worthwhile upgrade, especially for newer games. Enable the appropriate memory profile in the BIOS after installing it. Then put most of the remaining budget toward a stronger GPU. A 16GB card in the RX 9060 XT or RX 9070 class would be a substantial improvement at 1440p. Your 750W power supply should generally be sufficient, assuming it is a reputable model.
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