Hey everyone! I'm hoping to get some tips on upgrading my gaming PC that I built about 6 years ago. It's been a budget-friendly 1080p gaming rig, and while it can still handle most newer AAA games, I know it's only going to get harder to keep up with the latest titles. My budget for upgrades is around **$700**, but I'm flexible if needed!
**Here's what I mainly use my PC for:**
- **Gaming:** Mostly AAA titles at 1080p.
- **Casual browsing.**
- **Coding:** Nothing too heavy, but I do use Android Studio with emulators occasionally.
**What I'm hoping for:**
- A solid gaming experience at 1080p for current and near-future games.
- The ability to transition to 1440p later on, if possible.
- I know replacing one part might require me to upgrade others too.
**Current specs:**
- **CPU:** AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6c/12t) with a Hyper Tx3 EVO cooler.
- **GPU:** GTX 1660 6GB.
- **MOBO:** MSI B450 Tomahawk.
- **RAM:** 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3000MHz.
- **PSU:** Seasonic M12II EVO 620W.
- **Storage:** Samsung 870 QVO 2TB SSD + WD Blue 1TB HDD (from 2012).
I'm also planning to pick up the new parts while I'm in Thailand soon!
5 Answers
If you can swing it, pairing a Ryzen 5700X3D with a 5070 will set you up nicely for 1440p gaming in the future. I'd recommend looking for sales to find these at MSRP!
You could easily upgrade to a 5700X and sell your 3600 for around $50. Personally, I’d suggest a card with at least 12GB of VRAM. Something like a 6800 non-XT would give a solid boost. Don't forget to consider how NVIDIA-specific acceleration could benefit you if you're going that route!
Your motherboard can handle either the 5700X3D or 5800X3D. Just a thought, selling your current build for about $300 (keeping the SSD) could help you reach a $1000 budget. This way, you might opt for a budget-friendly AM5 setup! Just be cautious about the GPU market - many lower-end GPUs have only 8GB VRAM, which might not cut it for AAA games even at 1080p.
I’d suggest upgrading to the Ryzen 5800X3D if you can find it used, and then grab the best graphics card you can for the rest of your budget. That combo should give you great performance for both 1080p and 1440p down the line!
Upgrading your CPU, GPU, and RAM should be your focus. Look at the Ryzen 7 5700X or the X3D for CPU. For GPU, aim for the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or RX 7700 XT, and maybe bump your RAM up to 32GB DDR4 3600MHz for extra performance.
Definitely consider the Ryzen 5700X3D as well, especially if it's available at a good price. You’ll definitely see a nice boost in performance!