So I want to upgrade and my budget is $500 …
Currently I use
i5 6500
R9380x
16GB RAM
Motherboard is a Gigabyte H110M-A - CF
The PS is 550 watts
I am not partial to AMD or intel, either is fine just looking to play WOW on 1080 and maybe 1440 later on
There isn’t a whole lot you can upgrade. With a BIOS update you can upgrade to a i7-7700k but those are discontinued now. Otherwise your graphics card but I think the i5-6500 may bottleneck it a bit, although now is a great time to find a used RTX 2080.
See if you can get a used i7-6700 or 7700 (probably need to update BIOS for 7700) for a good price. No reason to get a K chip if you can’t OC. Put the rest of the money towards one of the new GPU coming down the pipeline from Nvidia or AMD.
If you can’t get a good used price you would be looking at a new platform upgrade
Im looking to upgrade from the motherboard on up.
how fast is the RAM in that system?
If it’s 2666mhz or better, you could get away with an upgrade for around $500. If not, add another $60 for a 16GB kit of DDR4 3200mhz CL16.
Intel:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fnXzy4
CPU: Intel Core i3-10100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B460M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB Challenger Pro 6G OC Video Card ($283.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $483.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-13 12:41 EDT-0400
Ryzen:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LTf6YH
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($114.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($94.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB Challenger Pro 6G OC Video Card ($283.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $493.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-13 12:43 EDT-0400
Note: You could add another $60 for the Intel build for an i5-10400 (50% more resources) and another $85 for the Ryzen 5 3600 for yet again 50% more resources.
There’s also a good chance in the next month there will be big Black Friday sales for Zen2 parts. And since SL is delayed anyway…
Which is better the i5 or the ryzen 5?
they’re pretty much even in most gaming tasks. With faster RAM, the 10400 tends to pull ahead. With overclocking, the 3600 is mostly even or faster outside of some specific intel-favored games. I would say gaming wise it’s not really a significant difference.
In productivity the 3600 is faster. The Ryzen board offers PCIE4, which might be useful.
That said, the replacement, the Ryzen 5 5600X, is being launched beginning of November, but it’s $300. It claims to be faster than both the processors listed in this thread.
But for the price and your budget limitations, it probably makes more sense to find a Ryzen 3000 discounted unit when they start getting price cuts.
Clarification since people complained:
Regarding the Intel System: You will be limited to the memory spec of your CPU on non Z boards. This means the B460 will run at 2666 on an i3-10100. The reason I mentioned buying 3200 if you don’t currently have 2666 or faster, is because you can still have XMP profile enabled on non z-boards, and you’ll benefit from the timings if not the frequency. Additionally, should you decide to upgrade to Rocketlake (if Intel follows their previous history, it’s 2 generations per board), you’ll be able to use what those chips are rated for up to 2933. DDR4 3200 is just the most common inexpensive memory you can get, so that was the reason for suggesting it.
Regarding Ryzen System: if you are on memory below 2666, it will hurt performance quite a bit. 3600 is the sweet spot, but 3200 is very plentiful and cheap.
The 10400 DOES pull ahead with a Z-board, to a point, and with overly expensive memory unsuited to be matched with a locked chip, but I felt it was worth putting out there when asked specifically which one was better and it was not specifically in my build list.
Ultimately the 3600 and mainly its motherboard is more flexible, but right now the 3600 is more expensive and often unavailable whereas the 10400 seems plentiful at a low price. If you are going ultra-low end with the i3, then it’s not really worth getting the Z-board, but if you are getting the i5, I would go with the Z-board. The value sentiment however tends to get muddled up when you start considering memory overclocking support.
Which is why I basically said these two chips are basically identical in performance in reality.
It still stands, basically if you go with a cheap Z490 and an i5-10400, it will be around $100 more (including motherboard cost) and $100 more for a Ryzen 5 3600. Performance differences won’t be perceivable between one another and both will offer more flexible gaming support.
There’s also rumor of an inexpensive i3-10100F for around $75.
If that’s true pricing, then it will be worth a consideration given it’s basically an i7-7700 sans igpu.
Just upgrade your GPU, maybe your PSU.
Problem with this is you can’t overclock the RAM without a Z490 board, which destroys the potential savings. Gamers Nexus did an entire video on just this exact issue, how while the 10400 can pull ahead from the 3600 with a z490 and extreme overclocking on the ram, you cant do it without a significant investment in a quality highend mobo. Which makes no sense for a locked 10400 CPU. Plus, if you take the time to do extreme OC on the ram for the 10400, it would be a reasonable assumption that the person would be willing to spend just as much time OCing a 3600 based system; resulting the the 3600 pulling ahead again.
Right, but there’s a lot of reasons to go with a Z board anyway. I would never buy a non-Z board unless I was using the PC for non-gaming or for a kid.
If I got the 10400, I would get the cheapest Z490 I could, which is right now pretty similar in price with a B550. You absolutely can “overclock” the ram on a cheap Z490, with just XMP.
But it seems you missed the rest of my post which basically said it doesn’t matter and to get a discounted Ryzen 3000 system since it makes more sense.
And you missed this part:
the 3600 is mostly even or faster outside of some specific intel-favored games. I would say gaming wise it’s not really a significant difference.
You seem to just like picking one thing to poke at.
Its because that one thing invalidates the 10400 as a competitor to the 3600.
It’s a noncompetitive choice, this isn’t going to change unless AMD kills off the Ryzen 3000 series to make the currently noncompetitive Ryzen 5000 series “competitive”. Once that happens, the 10400 will absolutely become a valid choice, but that day isn’t today. The 3600 exists, and is unquestionable the superior choice.
Not sure what else to say.
bro
bro
bro
I recommended the Ryzen CPU
Can you read?
I posted both options because they are both viable and both will give virtually identical perceived performance. There’s some software that prefers one over the other, and some users who just prefer one over the other. I gave reasons for and against both, and rendered my reccomendation.
That’s called objective analysis. Try it sometime.
Sure, I’m just pointing out that the conditional you offered that some people mistakenly believe can make the 10400 appear to be a better choice
is objectively false. The 10400 is not going to be paired up with a z490 board in 99.999% of use cases. Thus, faster ram is not going to be available to most 10400 CPUs, meaning that in every real world use case, the 3600 is going to be the superior set up. Even if the 10400 is paired with a z490 board, and the ram is tuned to the limit, the same amount of effort can be put into a Ryzen based system to surpass the ram overclocked z490 10400 based system.
Its not possible to recommend a 10400 based system in anyway right now, due to the existence of B450 boards and the 3600. Unless of course the builder/end user is happy with and actively wants both higher costs, and lower performance in exchange for having an Intel based system.
I’m merely offering clarity on a particular statement you made in a post, not on the overall post itself.
It is objectively NOT false because I didn’t specify with what board in that comment, you made an assumption.
In the options I made, they are virtually identical in performance.
I answered him based on specifically the question he asked about those two CPUs and identified their strengths and weaknesses.
You’re basing everything on your point of view only, and making up variables.
I gave an objective comparison about the two chips, and made a recommendation. You’re stuck on this one comment detached from any context that it was made in.
I’m done talking with you about this. You’re clinging to a completely irrelevant nuance that is not material to the entire point of my whole post.
You also fail to understand what “objectively false” means. I’ll give you an example of “objectively false”:
I’ll give you one good place where it can - in regions where AMD products are incredibly expensive (i post on international forums, and believe me, this is VERY common). Have another - where your application prefers Intel based systems. Have another - you prefer Intel overall for whatever reason.
Get over yourself.
You specifically said “with faster ram”. The only way to get “faster ram” is with a Z490 board. Maybe you didn’t know that, I don’t know.
Didn’t realize a nuance that KOs the 10400 as a serious competitor to the 3600 could be considered “irrelevant”. News to me. Better go educate every tech youtuber out their that they are wrong, consider they universally consider this a truth.
It’s honestly shocking and concerning how angry you are getting over this. I point out one thing, and elaborate on why your final recommendation is valid, and you start having a meltdown.
Sorry the 10400 sucks in a world where the 3600 exists, sorry you didn’t realize faster ram isn’t a viable option, don’t know what else to say. Maybe be mad at Intel for locking ram timings on H and B series boards, that’s who I’d be mad at.
Okay, one lie. I said I wouldn’t talk to you anymore.
Here it is:
I’m probably the most active poster in this forum, and I absolutely know it needs a Z490 board. The comment was an out of context overall assessment of the 10400 and 3600 in a vacuum.
And I also ultimately supported EVERYTHING YOU SAID WITH MY CONCLUSION IN THAT POST. Do you have any other complaint about my post other than that one comment you took out of context?
I’m waiting.
I have to assume you’re trolling at this point.
Done for real this time.
God I wish I could ignore people on this forum. Turns out I can. woowhoo
For now I’ll just switch to my woflman so I don’t see the notifications.
Nope, like I said, I was merely elaborating on the faster ram comment not being a viable solution to pushing the 10400 beyond the 3600. I was correcting misinformation, a $150 z490 board (the cheapest currently available new) and faster ram isn’t going to result in superior performance to a 3600 with equal effort spent on overclocking it.
Take what you will from that, if you think the truth is trolling, no idea what to say to you. I’m proud of you for being the most active poster here, but that aside, it doesn’t mean everything you say is accurate. It’s possible to give incorrect information while still reaching the correct conclusion, as you just demonstrated.
No one is perfect, not even me.
The 3600 is the superior choice, and faster ram won’t push the 10400 ahead of it.
More lies from me - I am responding again.
It is not incorrect. It can be used with faster ram and it in fact does perform quite well. I failed to mention the Z490 board because it’s in my mind obvious, but clearly you felt it needed to be clarified.
You should rephrase your post from “correcting incorrect information” to just “clarifying information.”
You could have gone about this so many different ways, but you chose adversarial confrontation.
Thanks for that.
You’ve also chosen to be belligerent with me in every thread here despite having nearly identical recommendations on parts. You’re a troll and I’ve fallen for it, yet again.
You can. Click a user and then go to “View Activity.” At the top right it should say “Normal” somewhere. Click that, then “Ignored,” then set your desired duration all the way up to forever.