Looking for some cpu/MB upgrade suggestions

[yurit1337]

Hi looking for some suggestions on how to go about upgrading my cpu and mother board.
My current hardware is:
Intel i5-6500
z170-p mother board
16gb ram
Nvidia GTX 1060 3gb mini

The cpu seems to be the limiting factor in most cases on my computer. The GPU still seems to run things pretty good without much issue. But from what I have already read, I would need to upgrade my motherboard to get any significant cpu upgrade. I am not looking for the latest and greatest, just a mid range bump so that I am not so bottle necked. Any suggestions on this front?

 

[BugFreak]

Welcome to the forums. I went from a very similar build to my current 11700k build in my sig and love it. I would say anything close would be good. Its the red one in my sig. If money allows go for a newer generation though.

 

[Sologuy]

First thing that comes to my mind is what is your budget for this upgrade path? Really, the whole show revolves around that.

 

[EarthDog]

First thing that comes to my mind is what is your budget for this upgrade path? Really, the whole show revolves around that.

In most situations, I'd agree... but this dude is holding onto a chip from 8+ years ago. It feels like systems are disposable at that point (read: he's not upgrading but replacing the system away for new). But yeah, if he plans to upgrade several years from now (which I don't recommend), that's most certainly the way forward.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

An AMD Ryzen 7900, with a 650b mobo, 32/48 gigs of ddr5 6200, a 7900 xtx and you should be sorted for quite a few years.
In the usd2k for the full yold (excl. Monitor). Mobo, cpu, ram, gfx, SSD, psu, cooler, case

 

[yurit1337]

Yeah I guess I should have clarified, I am hoping to just upgrade the cpu, which means I would need to get a new motherboard. The gpu still runs great, so I am happy on that front. And I don't think I need new or more ram, with 16gb I never give a game or any program a 2nd thought if I have enough ram.

In regards price, I would be hoping to stay around 600-800 range. That is likely on the low end, so not sure what I could get for that. But honestly most things would be a upgrade on what I have now. I am just trying to gauge my options going forward. I am not looking for anything fancy that comes with tons of options. For me simple is usually better, because I likely will never use all the fancy features.

Also as a complete side note, Earthdog mentioned that the chip is 8+ years old. I still use a computer for servers that has a Nvidia Geforce gtx 260 in it. Still hums along without issue, built like a tank.

 

[EarthDog]

Wanting to keep what I imagine to be slower ddr4 ram, and upgrading around that, I dont think is the best way forward...

With a budget like that, you can easily step up to a ddr5 based system (cpu, mobo, ram).

 

[DaveB]

Yeah I guess I should have clarified, I am hoping to just upgrade the cpu, which means I would need to get a new motherboard. The gpu still runs great, so I am happy on that front. And I don't think I need new or more ram, with 16gb I never give a game or any program a 2nd thought if I have enough ram.

In regards price, I would be hoping to stay around 600-800 range. That is likely on the low end, so not sure what I could get for that. But honestly most things would be a upgrade on what I have now. I am just trying to gauge my options going forward. I am not looking for anything fancy that comes with tons of options. For me simple is usually better, because I likely will never use all the fancy features.

Also as a complete side note, Earthdog mentioned that the chip is 8+ years old. I still use a computer for servers that has a Nvidia Geforce gtx 260 in it. Still hums along without issue, built like a tank.

For under $600 you can get a new state-of-the-art setup either AMD or Intel.

Intel Core i7-13700K, ASUS Z790-P Prime WiFi DDR5, G.Skill 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle - $499.99

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, ASUS B650E-F ROG Strix Gaming WiFi, G.Skill Flare X5 Series Kit 64GB DDR5-6000, Computer Build Bundle - $599.99

 

[yurit1337]

For under $600 you can get a new state-of-the-art setup either AMD or Intel.

Intel Core i7-13700K, ASUS Z790-P Prime WiFi DDR5, G.Skill 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle - $499.99

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, ASUS B650E-F ROG Strix Gaming WiFi, G.Skill Flare X5 Series Kit 64GB DDR5-6000, Computer Build Bundle - $599.99

This looks like a fantastic deal, unfortunately I am in Canada. So from what I am reading I won't have access to those bundles. Unless I missed something. In regards my ram it runs at 2323 MHz, I am pretty sure most stuff will blow that out of the water these days. But I never felt like it was an issue, then again I am the one asking for help, so might be best to take the advice and just upgrade all three.

 

[EarthDog]

then again I am the one asking for help, so might be best to take the advice and just upgrade all three.

Yeah... building around that RAM for a system that's supposed to last you another few+ years isn't the way. You'd essentially move bottlenecks, not eliminate them.

That said, surely there are some combo deals on newegg Canada that can get you a system for that money. Now canuckistan bucks won't get you as far, but still could find 7600x/ddr5/mobo.

 

[Woomack]

https://www.newegg.ca/amd-ryzen-5-7600/p/N82E16819113787?Item=N82E16819113787 (or 7600X for a bit more)
https://www.newegg.ca/g-skill-32gb/p/N82E16820374418 (or Trident Z5/RGB for some more)
https://www.newegg.ca/asus-rog-strix-b650e-f-gaming/p/N82E16813119604 or cheaper https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16813145412 (I like ASUS more, but Gigabyte was fine when I was reviewing it)

These Ryzens don't need any special coolers. If you use something like this - https://www.newegg.ca/p/0VE-01P6-00019 then fans can probably be set at 30% speed, and it will be nearly silent. There are other brands, but some forum members like Thermalright for some reason, and this cooler is quite cheap

It's still ~$850 CAD for CPU+cooler+RAM+mobo, but you can browse other stores for better prices.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

https://www.newegg.ca/amd-ryzen-5-7600/p/N82E16819113787?Item=N82E16819113787 (or 7600X for a bit more)
https://www.newegg.ca/g-skill-32gb/p/N82E16820374418 (or Trident Z5/RGB for some more)
https://www.newegg.ca/asus-rog-strix-b650e-f-gaming/p/N82E16813119604 or cheaper https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16813145412 (I like ASUS more, but Gigabyte was fine when I was reviewing it)

These Ryzens don't need any special coolers. If you use something like this - https://www.newegg.ca/p/0VE-01P6-00019 then fans can probably be set at 30% speed, and it will be nearly silent. There are other brands, but some forum members like Thermalright for some reason, and this cooler is quite cheap

It's still ~$850 CAD for CPU+cooler+RAM+mobo, but you can browse other stores for better prices.

The Ryzen 7700 is supplied with the wraith prism IIRC.

 

[trents]

I think the question needs to be asked, "What are your main uses for this system?" Is this a gaming PC primarily? An office PC? Are you doing a lot of video editing? The cheapest way to give a little more bang would be to move up from an i5 to an i7. You can probably find a used i7 6700 on ebay for a reasonable price. https://www.ebay.com/itm/285514405483?hash=item4279fc166b:g:bhsAAOSwHIFlKHx~&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA4C46xzCddzLfZJ0WqWPj0SQVO95uCdqPyIZxeG3QBvKbOkPtIWRuC6WFNVUgLdBClgQnL/hgZu52nyhzXrOMhBYWASvKsU8JM7RtK7jxWVJCaUvON8DDY11DNqJAgoWzgP11gpiMBd3r7TXVUq7htcOWtC2XBy1zS6tADSZTBf60WRBzotvEH00bJuhMEloNcSXW5d7BhilfBHE2eKMwQ7//50XkCAH3ghyIAXL7MUvBcs2V0IDCOcLz1XzWGdcObIa85T2vYsdxwxo6tSbjiOcONKx407+k8ZukAGoqIs6d|tkp:Bk9SR5ih38HnYg

What are you cooling the current CPU with? Stock Intel cooler? If so, moving up to an i7 6700 would also probably mean upgrading the cooler.

 

[Daleon]

Not sure if throwing all your money into cpu\mb\ram and keeping a gtx 1060 3gb is going to come out as the best performance option. What is your disk storage setup look like? Old SSD or still all physical drives? I would highly suggest get a cheap 1GB NVME if so.

I'd shoot for a 5600X ($220 CA), Asrock B550 Pro4 ($110 CA after rebate), 1GB WD Black SN770 ($85 CA), Asus RTX 3060 OC ($384 CA) puts you right at the high end of your budget. A Ryzen 7000/DDR5 setup might give you 5+ years of pretty decent performance but the gpu bottleneck is crushing and I can't see you not having to upgrade the gpu within a year or less. Where as this setup will give you 2-3 years of incredible performance increase compared to what you have now and still be ok for a year or two after. The other nice part of going AM4 is you will be able to pickup a nice used cpu in a couple years for dirt cheap like a 5800X3D for practically nothing.

I would highly suggest grabbing at least 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600C16 for $70, Ryzen's get a noticable boost from the memory speed.

 

[yurit1337]

I think the question needs to be asked, "What are your main uses for this system?" Is this a gaming PC primarily? An office PC? Are you doing a lot of video editing?

What are you cooling the current CPU with? Stock Intel cooler?

It is mostly used for gaming, but I don't really play big games that are all about the graphics. Or competitive games were I need zero dropped frames and zero lag. Currently the "biggest" graphic game I am playing through right now is bg3. And I just notice in certain sections it jugs a bit on medium graphics.

And yes I do believe I just have a stock cooler.

Not sure if throwing all your money into cpu\mb\ram and keeping a gtx 1060 3gb is going to come out as the best performance option. What is your disk storage setup look like? Old SSD or still all physical drives? I would highly suggest get a cheap 1GB NVME if so.

I have a 1TB SSD in the computer, besides having do to a bit of space management from time to time it runs good. Also if I add the gpu to the upgrade pool at that point I am upgrading the whole computer and might as well just go all out. I think just getting a mid range upgrade for the cpu and ram is what I am looking for, it would cover what I want to play. Until I get interested into a really big release game down the road, even in this case I am a person that prefers gameplay over nice graphics as long as there is no stutters.

 

[EarthDog]

I have a 1TB SSD in the computer, besides having do to a bit of space management from time to time it runs good. Also if I add the gpu to the upgrade pool at that point I am upgrading the whole computer and might as well just go all out. I think just getting a mid range upgrade for the cpu and ram is what I am looking for, it would cover what I want to play. Until I get interested into a really big release game down the road, even in this case I am a person that prefers gameplay over nice graphics as long as there is no stutters.

Yep, I'd upgrade when needed if it's working for you.

 

[Daleon]

I have a 1TB SSD in the computer, besides having do to a bit of space management from time to time it runs good. Also if I add the gpu to the upgrade pool at that point I am upgrading the whole computer and might as well just go all out. I think just getting a mid range upgrade for the cpu and ram is what I am looking for, it would cover what I want to play. Until I get interested into a really big release game down the road, even in this case I am a person that prefers gameplay over nice graphics as long as there is no stutters.

Sure, gpu's can always be upgraded as needed also. If your not afraid of buying used, I'd look for a 1080 ti on Ebay. Would still be a massive upgrade for less than half the price of 3060. Why play at medium settings when high looks better heh.

 

[yurit1337]

Thanks all for the suggestions super helpful. I think I have enough to go off of now and have a decent idea on how to go about things.