My RX 580 appears to be failing, and my Ryzen 5 2600 has started overheating and causing crashes. I need a way to restore gaming performance, but my budget is very limited—ideally under $150, or around $200 at most. My motherboard is an ASUS Prime B450M-K II and uses the AM4 socket. Should I replace the CPU with one that has integrated graphics, repair the overheating issue, or prioritize finding a used graphics card?
4 Answers
For the lowest-cost upgrade, consider keeping the Ryzen 5 2600 and putting the money toward a used GPU. A used RX 5600 XT, RTX 2060, or RX 6600 may offer much better gaming performance than an AM4 processor with integrated graphics. Just test the card carefully and check its condition before buying.
Before replacing the CPU, troubleshoot the overheating. A Ryzen 5 2600 is still capable of running cards like an RTX 2060 or even an RTX 3060 in many games. If you’re using the stock cooler, replacing the thermal paste or buying an inexpensive tower air cooler could solve the crashes for roughly $10–$20 and leave more of your budget for a graphics card.
If you absolutely need graphics without a separate GPU, a Ryzen 5 5600G is one of the more practical AM4 choices. However, its integrated graphics are fairly limited for modern games, so it may be better as a temporary solution than a full replacement for the RX 580. A Ryzen 5 5500 is cheaper, but it has no integrated graphics and would still require a dedicated card.
A used Ryzen 5 5600 paired with a used RTX 2060 or RTX 2070 might fit close to a $200 budget if you find good local deals. Still, make sure the overheating problem is fixed first, since replacing parts without checking the cooler, thermal paste, temperatures, and power connections could leave the crashes unresolved.
It’s worth checking the actual temperatures first. If the system still crashes with a borrowed or known-good graphics card, then the CPU cooling or another component is more likely to be the cause.