I'm in the USA and want to gradually upgrade this PC over the next year using Amazon gift cards from work. Its main jobs are playing RPGs and streaming games locally to a TV and handheld PC through Apollo, Moonlight, or Steam Link.
Current parts:
- Ryzen 5 1600, which is not officially supported by Windows 11
- GTX 1060 3GB
- MSI B350 Tomahawk with its original BIOS firmware
- 16GB DDR4-2400 memory
- EVGA SuperNOVA 650W power supply
My initial idea was to buy a Ryzen 7 5800X3D around the holidays, then replace the graphics card next year. If I find a particularly good CPU deal, I could put the savings toward the GPU instead. I'm concerned that updating the motherboard BIOS across several major versions could be difficult, so I'm open to a different upgrade order or a more balanced parts list. I'm likely targeting 1080p for streamed gameplay, although my TV is 4K and my handheld has a 1600p display. Is 16GB of RAM enough, and would an X3D processor help compensate for my slow DDR4-2400 memory?
2 Answers
Rather than putting most of the budget into the fastest AM4 processor, I’d consider a Ryzen 5 5600 or Ryzen 7 5700X and use the remaining money for a used 32GB DDR4 kit and a stronger graphics card. A GPU such as a 12GB RTX 3060 or another similar midrange model would be a much bigger improvement over the 3GB GTX 1060, especially for modern RPGs and higher-resolution streaming. The 5800X3D is excellent, but it may leave the system unbalanced if the old GPU remains in place for another year.
Your resolution and CPU-core needs should guide the choice. A lower-cost X3D option, such as a Ryzen 5 5500X3D if you can find one at a reasonable price, could leave roughly $450 for a newer graphics card and let you upgrade everything at once. Since you’ll be streaming to a 1080p target most of the time, the CPU does not necessarily need to be the top AM4 model, while the 4K TV and 1600p handheld make extra GPU memory useful. Availability may be the main drawback with that processor, so a Ryzen 5600 or 5700X could be the easier fallback.
Availability is my main concern with the 5500X3D because it isn’t easy to find through my usual shopping options. I could consider another retailer if the price and warranty made sense.
I initially assumed 16GB would be enough and that an X3D chip might make the slow memory less noticeable, but I’m not sure either assumption is right.