I'm looking to upgrade my PC from a GTX 1660 and Ryzen 5 3600 with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. My goal is to make this upgrade last another 5-7 years without major changes. I found two motherboard and CPU combos on Newegg. The first is an MSI PRO B850-S with a Ryzen 5 9600X and Team Group DDR5 16GB (2 x 8GB) RAM for $429. The second is an MSI PRO B650-S WIFI with the same RAM for $259, and I could purchase the 7500F for around $115. I'm also planning to upgrade my GPU to a 9060XT. Considering my budget limit of around $450 for these three parts, which combo would be the better option? If anyone knows of any better deals or prefer to suggest used or refurbished options, I'm all ears!
4 Answers
If you have a Micro Center nearby, I’d suggest checking out the 7600X3D bundle for $400. It’ll give you a better gaming performance, even with a single stick of RAM. The B850 board supports PCIE Gen 5, which might boost your GPU performance a bit too.
I’d recommend the 9600X combo. Plus, it includes a free 240MM AIO cooler, which adds good value—about $55 worth! That's a solid deal if you don't already have a cooler.
I’m leaning towards that combo too! However, I already have the AIO cooler from a previous 9600X purchase that I'm refunding. Good to know I won't have to return it!
If it's just a small price difference, I'd go for the faster 9600X. It would give you a better edge during gaming.
I'm really trying to stick to my budget here. Will the performance difference really be that significant?
If you’re set on keeping your PC for another 5-7 years, seriously consider going for 32GB of RAM. The Micro Center bundle with the 7700X + 2x16GB DDR5 is about $500. It costs only $71 extra compared to the 9600X combo, and you'll get a better CPU that could be beneficial down the line. Plus, upgrading RAM later could require swapping your old sticks, which could be a hassle.
I live close to one! But I heard having just one stick of RAM might cost me 5-10% performance. Do the benefits really make up for that?