I'm planning to upgrade my PC, mainly the CPU, and have around $170–$200 to spend. My current system has a Ryzen 5 3600, an MSI Ventus RTX 3070, an ASRock A320M motherboard, 16GB of Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB memory, an unknown prebuilt power supply that I believe is a 500W Bronze unit, a 1TB Seagate SSHD, and a 256GB ADATA SSD. The operating system takes up most of the small SSD, so I'm also considering spending less on the CPU and adding a larger SSD.
I was initially looking at AMD's 7000-series processors, but I'm not sure whether my motherboard supports them. I'd appreciate advice on the best upgrade for this budget.
There's also a hardware issue I'm concerned about. While the computer was powered on, I accidentally disturbed the fan cables and one of the three front intake fans stopped working after its cable or hub briefly smoked. The rest of the system has continued working for nearly 10 months. Should I replace the motherboard or can I safely use a separate fan hub?
3 Answers
The Ryzen 7000 series won’t work with your current system. Those processors use the AM5 socket and require a new motherboard plus DDR5 memory, which would go well beyond your budget.
A Ryzen 5 5600 is probably the best value upgrade. It’s a noticeable step up from the 3600, works on AM4, and is a reasonable match for an A320 board and RTX 3070. A 1TB NVMe SSD would also solve the storage problem, although fitting both upgrades into $200 may require finding good sale prices.
Before installing the new processor, update the motherboard BIOS while the Ryzen 5 3600 is still installed. Check ASRock’s CPU support list and BIOS notes to confirm the required version.
For the fan problem, don’t use the damaged header, cable, or hub. A SATA-powered fan hub can run the case fans without putting additional load on the motherboard header. Since the PC has remained stable, the whole motherboard may not need replacement, but inspect it for scorching or melted components and replace anything that looks damaged.
The Ryzen 5 5600X is another suitable option, provided it is priced close to the regular 5600. Your board has relatively modest power delivery, so sticking with a 65W processor is sensible. Either model should be a solid improvement without requiring a platform change.
I’d be cautious with the power supply, though. An RTX 3070 is commonly paired with a quality 650W unit. A 500W Bronze supply might work if it is a reliable model, but because the exact unit is unknown, check its label and consider replacing it with a reputable 650W power supply before adding more demanding hardware.
The 5600 and 5600X are close enough in performance that the cheaper one is usually the better buy. The PSU’s brand and model matter more than the Bronze rating alone.
AM4 still has plenty of life left for gaming, so there’s no need to jump to AM5 just for this upgrade. A 5600 is the sensible budget choice, while a 5800X3D would be the high-end gaming upgrade for the platform if you ever find one at a good price, though it doesn’t fit this budget.
I would also avoid trusting the part that smoked. If the fan itself failed, leave it disconnected and replace it. If the motherboard header or a fan hub overheated, use a replacement hub powered directly from SATA power rather than the damaged connection. Don’t keep testing a visibly burned cable.
So the BIOS update needs to happen before I remove the 3600, correct?