Video Card, CPU, and Memory upgrade

[Zerileous]

The integrated graphics on Intel would actually be significantly worse than your current card. The integrated graphics on the AMD APUs would be marginally better, but not enough to justify choosing it if you can get a better CPU with your budget.

In the range you're discussing with the 8600k, I would prefer the 2600x for price to performance. It is $60 less expensive with theoretically lower performance but probably not noticeable in actual use. Overclocking may widen the gap a bit, as the 8600k has 5ghz potential, but I am unsure if that happens at the $99 motherboard price point, as I have not done much research on Intel platforms. However if you prefer Intel for other reasons the 8600k is a great chip, just not the direction I would choose if I were trying to maximize a small budget. With AMD the non X chips are also unlocked, so if you are into manual overclocking you have 4ghz potential and 6 cores with the 2600 for $165.

In other words, if you're willing to bend the budget a bit and want to get into a more recent generation system, there are a ton of possibilities

 

[Night44]

I decided against that motherboard, didn't sound good after reviews. I can't make up my mind LOL. I would like to budget if possible and try to get a GPU later. I don't care about playing Ark anymore. I just want to stop lagging in Warcraft and I don't think it's wise to upgrade what I have. I need to get into the future as much as possible. I'll be honest, I'm not an overclocker. I've always wanted to but never have. I was looking to have that option but not needed if I can get what I need. I was looking at used items on eBay. New would be nice. The board and CPU I was looking at was new. How far are you talking about bending the budget? I've done research but I appreciate everyone's opinion. I appreciate everyone's time helping me with this decision

 

[Zerileous]

Well now you're on overclocker's forums, so you're taking you're getting your feet wet anyway Now is the time!

You'll see all over the internet, "X CPU does Y speed." Well if you search these forums, you will find numerous examples of said CPU exceeding said speed, and numerous examples of it failing to meed said speed. In other words, every system is different. I wouldn't suggest counting on and OC to get you the performance you need. Get something that does what you want out of the box, but look for a motherboard / CPU combo that will support some experimentation.

The Ryzen X CPUs can be "overclocked", in the sense that there is usually a BIOS setting on higher end boards that gives the CPUs normal boosting behavior a higher power threshold (precision boost overdrive or PBO). It can also be traditionally overclocked however few users are able to exceed the performance of the stock boost, much less PBO. If you're willing to overclock, however, using traditional methods, most people can get within a a few 100mhz of the 2600X with a 2600 using traditional overclock. So in deciding which to buy ask yourself if the price for the X is worth 200-300mhz of single core boost vs you're own OC (which would also require more time learning and effort, but may be fun). In this case you're not really "banking" on an overclock because the 2600 will still boost to 3.9Ghz if you do nothing, which is 350mhz less than the 2600X. If the price is not worth 350mhz to you, then get the 2600, and know that you can probably further close the gap with a nice OC.

Most important investments with overclocking will be motherboard and CPU cooler. Once you choose a CPU we can look at good overclocking motherboards. If the budget breaks that's ok, we'll just step down the CPU and try again.

 

[bww794]

WoW is my main game of choice as well and I have experience with how it behaves on a wide range of systems. It leans more heavily on CPU than GPU, especially in Org or SW. I have a computer in my office right now that runs it at 60pfs+ depending on location on just a AMD FX-8350 stock with 16gb ddr3 1866mhz. That being said, if solid performance in WoW is your main concern, you don't have to break the bank. Here is a comparison of your current CPU, the 8350 i described, and a Ryzen 5 2600 (non X). snatch a 2600, b350 mobo and a 2x8gb kit of ddr4 ram and you'll be golden.

 

[Zerileous]

I think the 2600 is solid advice, however please ensure you utilize a b450 chipset motherboard for that CPU. b350 is for 1XXX Ryzens, and although it is technically forward compatible with the 2XXX chips, it would likely require a 1XXX chip in hand to boot and flash the bios.

If you are interested in overclocking said 2600x, not just any B450 motherboard can do that well, however there are a lot that can and no need to step up the more expensive X470 chipset.

 

[Night44]

LOL. Wet feet are only good when swimming or bathing. I had the software on my Gigabyte mobo to O'C
but like I said, never did. I wouldn't mind it at some point.
I'm going to get the Ryzen 5 2600. I can get it for 164.99 on Newegg still. Just saw same deal on Amazon
if Newegg is a pain now. Hear lots of negative about them. Plus Division 2 game lol.
What 450 mobo should I get? Do I need the $114.00 Best Buy (Ebay) suffice as you suggested
previously or any cheaper ones good? Need memory.
I'm at $279.98 for cpu and tomahawk. Newegg (if they are still decent) has combos with memory.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3885331. Of course I
can spend less but is it worth it?

 

[Night44]

I never knew wow was so cpu intensive until you said so on the 1st page. Then got to thinking tho and then it seemed
I did remember it being said long ago. If I hadn't come here and just got a new gpu for the old build I would have been
really upset. I'm so glad you posted. It's slow to load after signing in and when switching characters. I lag when I port to
New Dal and a couople others.
Not Boralus when logging in but moving around at times. I can use Ultra settings when no one is around for a bit. High is ok by myself
But I don't bother. It sure looks nice. LOL Doing wb makes me lag bad now. If I join a group just before they start I don't load in time. Can't wait to fix these problems. What is Character name? I'm Nighttalkers on Misha.

 

[Zerileous]

That combo you linked would work well, if you want RGB ram. The according to this video that board should be capable of running an 8 core CPU. In other words it should be fine for overclocking a 2600, and also would have a decent likelihood of running well with an 8 core CPU in the future. There are plenty of other options, however one advantage is that it is in stock! My only concern is that the memory bundled with the kit is not listed by G.Skill or MSI as compatible with that motherboard/CPU combination. Because of this I would contact Newegg prior to purchasing to confirm that they will take care of things in the unlikely event of a memory compatibility issue. (While they are for the most part resolved, Ryzen CPUs are still pretty sensitive to memory. It's the catch 22, they perform much better with fast memory, but are really picky about fast memory).

The cooler that comes stock with the 2600 is pretty anemic, if you'd like to overclock your CPU then you're going to need a new CPU cooler. On a tight budget the cooler master hyper 212 has a great price to performance. You can even get it in black and RGB fans for a few bucks more on Amazon. You can always bump up the Cryorig H5 for $50 or Cooler Master Master Air. For all of these you'll want to make sure they actually fit in your case before purchasing.

 

[Night44]

Zerileous I'm now in desperate need of a video card as mine died a couple weeks ago. Could my system handle a 1660 non TI for a little while?

 

[trents]

You have plenty of PSU beef to cover the card but the rest of your system will severely bottleneck the 1660.

 

[Night44]

Thanks for the quick reply. I figured as much but will it be that bad? Could it work for a couple of months for 720p W.O.W and Minecraft gaming?

 

[Zerileous]

The card will not reach its full potential. You could encounter some bottleneck related issues, but for a couple months it might not be a huge deal to you.

For the cost of the 1660Ti you could get a B450 motherboard, 16GB DDR4 and a Ryzen 2200G CPU (or better yet the 2400G, the price difference is pretty small). Here is a video of the 2200G playing WoW at 1080p.

In a couple months you could add the 1660Ti, and have a fair path for a CPU upgrade. Before your card died the Ryzen APUs were more of a lateral move graphics wise, although slightly better. Now it seems to make the most sense to me. You'll definitely see game play improvements in your CPU heavy WoW and Minecraft. Ark would be playable but barely, slightly better on the 2400G.

 

[Night44]

I was getting the non TI. What do you think about ASRock B450 pro4? I don't care about Ark.

 

[wingman99]

The GTX 1660 will run smooth with the AMD Phenom II X4 945. However, the FPS will be limited to a little faster than the Video card that died. So you can purchase the GTX 1660 now and take your time saving up for a new motherboard memory and processor.

 

[Night44]

Thank you

 

[Zerileous]

When choosing a motherboard you mainly need to look at what you need in terms of USB headers, SATA ports, other features etc. If you want to overclock then VRM can play a big role. The tricky thing with getting a B450 board for the APU with a plan of upgrade later is that most boards either have a VRM designed to support an APU (more phases for that part of the chip) or support and 8 core CPU (more CPU power phases.) You also need to look at overclocking features like negative voltage offset (this will let you maximize the out of the box overclocking of the Ryzen).

You can start here with features you need, and then look at power delivery. The board you asked about is listed as a 6+3 phase VRM (the first number supping the CPU, the second supplying the graphics processor and memory controller) which sounds awesome, however I believe the Vcore side is "doubled" and actually a 3 phase VRM. Even so this reviewer had good success running a 2700x on the board. It also supports v-core offset. If you are just looking for a motherboard that will *run* 8 cores in the future, this should be okay given adequate airflow to the VRM, but I would suggest spending a few hours doing some more research.

If you get the 1660 and can save up a little money for a nicer board that might be better, in terms of better overclocking future CPUs. It would also allow you to purchase a better CPU vs the APU.

 

[Night44]

I chose that motherboard because it had the features I wanted and then some. It was also cheaper. I won't be overclocking. I've read so much I had to take a break. Comparing motherboards and comparing CPUs. I missed the AnandTech page. I know very little about vrm. Haven't studied that much. I'd like to be able to add more to my upgrade, but we'll see. I have considered the TaiChi board. I wanted to wait till ryzen 3 comes out and see if there would be price drops. Right now I'm just getting a video card.

 

[wingman99]

What video card are you purchasing?

 

[Night44]

1660 non ti

 

[wingman99]

1660 non ti

I contacted Gigabyte and they say GTX 1660 should work in the GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P. Post how you like the GTX 1660.