I'm looking to upgrade my CPU and motherboard because my current setup is a bit of a mixed bag from previous owners. Right now, I have an Intel i5-8400, Asrock B360M IB-R1 motherboard, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090. I do a lot of multitasking, including gaming and some art with Clip Studio Paint. My budget is around $300, but I'm open to spending up to $500 for a solid upgrade, especially since I play demanding games like Ark Survival Ascended. Also, as a newbie to hardware, I need some guidance on what thermal paste to buy for the CPU and any other tips on upgrading the CPU and motherboard setup. Just for context, I'm currently running Windows 10, but I'm not sure why I'm not eligible for Windows 11 upgrades.
1 Answer
You can definitely reuse your DDR4 RAM with either an Intel LGA 1700 or AMD AM4 motherboard. Given recent updates, AMD's Ryzen CPUs have shown around 8-11% better performance in tasks, so I would recommend going for a Ryzen 5700X paired with a B550 motherboard for a decent balance between price and performance. Just make sure you check compatibility with your existing components!
I should've mentioned that I'm on Windows 10, not 11. Do you still recommend the Ryzen 5700X setup? Thanks for your advice!