My current PC has a Gigabyte Q170M-MK motherboard, an Intel Core i5-7500, an old 430W power supply, a GTX 1660 Super, a 128GB NVMe SSD, a 512GB Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD, and a 500GB WD Green hard drive. The i5-7500 seems to bottleneck the graphics card, so I'm considering either an i3-12100F with an H610 motherboard or switching to a used AM4 setup. I want the upgrade to be reliable and as inexpensive as possible, with a budget of around $160. I also need a new power supply because the current one is very old and requires a 6-pin-to-8-pin adapter for the GPU. I have 16GB of DDR4-2400 memory in two 8GB sticks. Should I upgrade the RAM too, and what would be the best upgrade order for playing GTA 5 Enhanced?
3 Answers
You don’t need to replace the memory immediately. 16GB is still adequate for this setup, although DDR4-3200 is a better match for Ryzen if you can afford it later. Don’t mix random kits if you upgrade; ideally replace the current sticks with a matched 2x8GB or 2x16GB kit. Prioritize the PSU and CPU/platform first, then consider faster RAM if your budget allows.
Replace the power supply first. A very old 430W unit combined with a 6-pin-to-8-pin adapter is the biggest reliability concern, even though the 1660 Super itself doesn’t use much power. Look for a reputable 500–600W model with the correct native PCIe connector. After that, save for a used Ryzen 5 3600 or Ryzen 5 5500 with a compatible AM4 board. The 16GB of RAM can be reused initially.
With only about $160, a used AM4 combination is probably the better value. A Ryzen 5 3600 or 5500 paired with a B450 or B550 motherboard gives you six cores and twelve threads, which should help more than staying on the four-thread i5-7500. The i3-12100F is also good, but the motherboard and CPU may cost more together. Keep your GTX 1660 Super and storage for now.
I’m using 2x8GB DDR4-2400. Would faster RAM be worth adding during the upgrade?