I built my PC in 2022 and want to improve it gradually rather than replace everything at once. I mainly want Valorant to run smoothly at a high refresh rate, while also getting decent graphics and performance in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn. My monitor supports up to 165Hz, but my current system cannot consistently keep up.
My current hardware is:
- Lexar NM790 2TB SSD
- AMD Radeon RX 6600
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
- Corsair RM550x 550W 80 Plus power supply
- Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite motherboard
- 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3200 RAM
- ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 cooler
I am in Italy and do not have a strict budget, although I am comfortable spending around €1,500 if necessary. I would prefer to upgrade the most important components first and keep costs reasonable. I am also interested in a white-themed build if it does not add too much to the price. Any recommendations for a better case and additional fans would be appreciated too, since I do not really like my current MetallicGear Neo Air ATX case.
1 Answer
The graphics card should be your first major upgrade. The RX 6600 is the part most likely to hold back performance in modern games, especially if you want higher settings and better frame rates. Your Ryzen 5 5600X is still usable for gaming, particularly at higher resolutions, so I would upgrade the GPU before changing the platform.
Your 550W power supply is adequate for the current system, but check its requirements before choosing a new graphics card. For a substantial upgrade, replacing it with a good 750W unit would give you more headroom. An 850W model is worthwhile only if you choose a particularly power-hungry high-end GPU. With a total budget around €1,500, you could reasonably upgrade the PSU and GPU now, then consider a CPU upgrade later.
That makes sense. I was worried the power supply would need replacing as soon as I upgraded the graphics card, but I would rather do it properly than risk running too close to its limit.