PC upgrade for son. What way to go.

[conkerman]

My oldest is just about to finish GCSE's and has been working his conkers off, As a well done gesture I wanted to get him a PC upgrade.

He currently has

Ryzen 5 2600
B450 Mobo
16GB DDR4
RX6650XT
1080P 165Hz monitor.

I was considering the following options.

1,
i5 13400F
B760 Mobo
16GB DDR4
New Storage
(Son #2 has one and it is a decent performer).

Pros - All new. Moderate cost.
Con-s would require reinstall of windows, and he is VERY particular about his PC setup. LGA1700 is effectively a dead socket.


2,
Ryzen 5 7600
B650 Mobo
16GB DDR5

Pros - Best Performance, long term support for AM5?
Cons - Most expensive option. Probably need a reinstall of Windows and messing about.

3,
Bios update and lob a 5700X in.

Pros - Easy, Cheapest, no messing with OS.
Cons - AM4 is pretty dead and the Mpbo does not support PCI-e 4 (Not sure how big a deal this is).


Any thoughts from the collective on what way to jump here.

[RedAndy]

let HIM choose the setup.

[conkerman]

No.

Because he won't He also does not know anything about PC's and has no interest, other than playing some games.

[RedAndy]

fair enough

[conkerman]

My youngest on the other hand would be well into it!

I'm currently having a major PC update Merry-Go-Round, and am losing track!

[Jinx]

conkerman said:

3,
Bios update and lob a 5700X in.

Pros - Easy, Cheapest, no messing with OS.
Cons - AM4 is pretty dead and the Mpbo does not support PCI-e 4 (Not sure how big a deal this is).


Any thoughts from the collective on what way to jump here.

The above but instead get the 5800X3D - best gaming chip for the AM4 platform.

[conkerman]

Jinx said:

The above but instead get the 5800X3D - best gaming chip for the AM4 platform.

Indeed, I did consider that. But I wonder whether there is any real difference with the low powered GPU?

[BlueMR2]

NVME storage might be a good speed increase in general depending on what he currently has with an intel upgrade.

I prefer Intel but as he is on ryzen, I'd check number 3, maybe check the price of the best processors his motherboard can accept (maybe need a bios update) and if its cheap, do that and maybe a cooler update. This way it won't change his desktop appearance etc, it should just run software smoother.

It sounds like if your son came home one day and his system was completely different he would be less than pleased. whereas upgrading the processor would be less intrusive but offer better performance if it is a reasonable cost.

Sounds like your other son would be happy enough to do the upgrade.

[xeny]

1 or 3 to taste/budget. RAM on AM5 is a bit too much of a gamble to get best performance. Alder/Rocket Lake are less demanding.

[MissChief]

conkerman said:

Jinx said:

The above but instead get the 5800X3D - best gaming chip for the AM4 platform.

Indeed, I did consider that. But I wonder whether there is any real difference with the low powered GPU?

Jinx’s suggestion is the most bang for buck. You could up the RAM to 32GB with a matched pair (or new matched pair) and if you don’t have some sort of NVME storage a 1-2TB Gen 3 NVME will make his PC feel like a rocket ship. Then consider the graphics card but for 1080p that card is decent.

[anonymous-user]

conkerman said:

3,
Bios update and lob a 5700X in.

Pros - Easy, Cheapest, no messing with OS.
Cons - AM4 is pretty dead and the Mpbo does not support PCI-e 4 (Not sure how big a deal this is).


Any thoughts from the collective on what way to jump here.

As you are keeping the RX6650XT graphics car and don't want to reinstall windows surely this is the easiest option? As you are keeping the same GPU, would you really see much of an improvement choosing the other options over this?

[Type R Tom]

As he is gaming at 1080p, the 5800x3d would be the best bet. Please look at some benchmarks; there will be 1000s around; you might get lucky and find one with his GPU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQLDMalk3xc

[MissChief]

Joey Deacon said:

conkerman said:

3,
Bios update and lob a 5700X in.

Pros - Easy, Cheapest, no messing with OS.
Cons - AM4 is pretty dead and the Mpbo does not support PCI-e 4 (Not sure how big a deal this is).


Any thoughts from the collective on what way to jump here.

As you are keeping the RX6650XT graphics car and don't want to reinstall windows surely this is the easiest option? As you are keeping the same GPU, would you really see much of an improvement choosing the other options over this?

Probably will get an FPS increase and certainly a reduction in low frame instances. CPU matters more at low resolutions.

[Fast and Spurious]

At his age, whatever downloads porn the best.

[conkerman]

Haha. He is sort of NoFap.

Any stuff like this needs to be done. Guerilla style. So for convenience a CPU upgrade seems the path of least resistance. I'm having some doubts in my head as I feel a bit of a tight wad. Weird I know.

[cqueen]

conkerman said:

No.

Because he won't He also does not know anything about PC's and has no interest, other than playing some games.

Then should you consider buying him something else instead?

[goldar]

Stick with a Ryzen.

No need to upgrade the mobo unless a b450 is limiting in some way?

32gb pc3600 as a minimum.

Whatever gpu you feel like affording.

I've got a similar setup. I'm running a gigabyte b550i, with a 2200g, without a graphics card, with 32gb pc3600 Corsair vengeance in a itx setup. I don't play games but it will run them. I can open a bazillion browser tabs and it won't lag...

[130R]

MissChief said:

conkerman said:

Jinx said:

The above but instead get the 5800X3D - best gaming chip for the AM4 platform.

Indeed, I did consider that. But I wonder whether there is any real difference with the low powered GPU?

Jinx’s suggestion is the most bang for buck. You could up the RAM to 32GB with a matched pair (or new matched pair) and if you don’t have some sort of NVME storage a 1-2TB Gen 3 NVME will make his PC feel like a rocket ship. Then consider the graphics card but for 1080p that card is decent.

^ this

You could also look at 1440p monitors which would be a big visual upgrade. 6650 XT should be fine at that resolution although it will mean turning some settings down in the most demanding games.

Edited by 130R on Saturday 17th June 08:33

[conkerman]

cqueen said:

Then should you consider buying him something else instead?

You've not met my son then.

I tried that and he does not want stuff or money. He just does not care about it. He doesn't really do change.

The rx6650 is pretty new as the fans fell off his gtx970.

[ilikepeas]

I agree with everyone here- 5800X3D, another 16GB of 3200/3600 RAM, maybe a storage supper upgrade