Hey everyone! I'm looking to upgrade my PC with a budget of $500, and I could really use some recommendations on what components to focus on. Here's my current setup: Ryzen 5 5600, MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk, PowerColor Red Devil 6700 XT (12 GB), Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2x8GB), Samsung 980 SSD (1TB M.2), and a Super Flower Leadex III 850W 80+ Gold PSU, all housed in a Corsair 4000D Airflow case.
I'm planning to keep the GPU, SSD, PSU, and case for now, so I'm focusing on upgrading the CPU, motherboard, RAM, and also getting a cooler for the new CPU. From my research, I've seen the Ryzen 5 9600X paired with TeamGroup T-Create Expert 32GB (6000MHz CL30), an MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk MAX WiFi V1, and a Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE cooler recommended for 2025.
I'd really appreciate any opinions or recommendations you guys have!
3 Answers
First off, what are you using your PC for? Knowing whether you want to boost gaming performance or productivity is key. If it’s gaming, you might find that your Ryzen 5 5600 and RX 6700 XT combo is already pretty solid. But if you’re into coding and need faster processing for tasks, the 9600X has some horsepower that could help!
Honestly, unless you're hitting a CPU bottleneck with the 5600, upgrading to AM5 might not be worth it for gaming right now. For most games, the 6700 XT is likely doing fine. If you’re planning to upgrade your GPU soon alongside the CPU, that could make more sense, but as it stands, it feels a bit unnecessary right now.
Yeah, I think I’ll focus on gaming and coding. I’m planning on getting a 9070 XT later this year, so I want something that can last!
Check out this build I found: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tbXGh7. It’s got good components! Just a heads up, I’ve heard some buzz about the Gigabyte motherboard. If you’ve had positive experiences with MSI like you mentioned, maybe stick with that for reliability.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve seen that Gigabyte board mentioned a lot. What do you think makes it a better option? I’ve always had good luck with MSI.
I should probably clarify – I’m looking for better performance in gaming and coding. I plan on upgrading my GPU later this year for 1440p gaming, so I want to future-proof a bit.