I'm looking to upgrade my PC and have a budget of £500, which includes installation. I currently have an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with an A320 motherboard, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, and a couple of storage drives (240GB SSD and 1TB HDD). I'm considering upgrading to either an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 or the 5600, a new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 16GB of RAM, a 500GB SSD, and a 650W power supply. I plan to keep my existing motherboard, case, and drives if that works. What do you think? Am I making a good choice?
4 Answers
I recommend the 5600 not just for performance but to avoid potential compatibility issues with the A320 motherboard. I’ve seen some 300-series boards not play nice with the 5500, which can lead to a headache during setup. The 5600 and 5700X chips are much more reliable on older boards.
What do you mean by ‘your motherboard is going to hate you’? I’ve heard mixed things about the A320 with these Ryzen upgrades. Should I be worried?
I’d definitely go for the 5600 if you can swing it! It offers a noticeable performance boost over the 5500. Also, make sure your new RAM is a 2x8GB kit; ideally, you want it to be 3200 CL16 or CL18, as the A320 motherboard can struggle with speeds above that without issues. Lastly, check which 650W PSU you’re considering, as that’s important for stability.
Just a heads up! You might want to check the pricing difference between the 5500 and 5600. Every penny counts! Also, if you’re going with the 16GB RAM, make sure it’s the right type that your motherboard can handle.
Not really! The 5500 and 5600 are more efficient than your current Ryzen 2600, so you shouldn’t have major issues.