I built this PC roughly seven years ago and have been out of touch with current hardware. I'm getting back into gaming and would like advice on the best upgrades. I'm happy with 1080p, although 1440p would be great if it can be achieved without spending a fortune. My budget is around €1,000, and I'm open to buying used parts. I'm also willing to replace the motherboard if the current platform would limit the upgrade options.
Current system:
- Motherboard: B450 Aorus M
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- Memory: 32GB DDR4
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB
- Storage: 2TB hard drive and 500GB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe SSD
- Power supply: approximately 600W
2 Answers
For a larger platform upgrade, a B550 motherboard paired with a Ryzen 7 5700X3D would give you a strong gaming setup while still using your DDR4 memory. You could then spend the remaining budget on a Radeon RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT, depending on pricing in your area. The XT model may require a higher-capacity power supply, around 750W, so check the exact PSU model and its age before buying the graphics card.
The €1,000 budget makes a much more specific recommendation possible. A sensible route would be upgrading the graphics card first, since the RTX 2060 SUPER will be the main limitation at 1440p. Depending on local prices, a newer midrange card could provide a large improvement while letting you keep the existing motherboard, memory, storage, and possibly the power supply. Used parts could make this option especially attractive.
Thanks, that gives me a clearer direction. I’ll check the exact power-supply model and compare the prices of the 9070 and 9070 XT before deciding.