Help with my build and future upgrades?

[KnightOwl]

Hi guys/girls

I'm still new to Carbonite, so not sure how this works to be completely honest...
I was a xbox player for years till covid hit and money was needed. As a gamer it was a though decision but what can one do XD

I bough my first PC last year no expecting much as it was a refurbished DELL, but at the time it seemed like a nice idea.
It had a mouse, keyboard, 18" monitor and obviously the box (I5 2500, 250gb HDD, 4gb RAM) with some pre-installed programs like the MS Office.
It was okay for playing stuff like Age of Empires and some older titles, but friends were playing games like Rust and CoD.

Got me to start looking for something bigger and better, enter a guy that builds/fixes PCs. Offers me a box with a I3 2220, Nvidia GTX 1050, 8GB RAM and 500GB HDD.
After adding my old I5 2500 and buying a Rogueware 500GB SSD that wold become my PC.

Now this is basically what I'm working with:

• MSI H61M-P21 (MS-7680)
• I5 2500
• Nvidia GTX 1050 (think it's 1GB or 2GB idk)
• 2x 4GB RAM 1660mhz
• Rogueware 500GB SSD
• 250GB & 500GB HDD

I want to upgrade some parts like the CPU but that means Motherboard and RAM as well.

I have checked Evetech but joh, I need some advice and if I can buy spares that would also help?

 

[Areola Grande]

Hi guys/girls

I'm still new to Carbonite, so not sure how this works to be completely honest...
I was a xbox player for years till covid hit and money was needed. As a gamer it was a though decision but what can one do XD

I bough my first PC last year no expecting much as it was a refurbished DELL, but at the time it seemed like a nice idea.
It had a mouse, keyboard, 18" monitor and obviously the box (I5 2500, 250gb HDD, 4gb RAM) with some pre-installed programs like the MS Office.
It was okay for playing stuff like Age of Empires and some older titles, but friends were playing games like Rust and CoD.

Got me to start looking for something bigger and better, enter a guy that builds/fixes PCs. Offers me a box with a I3 2220, Nvidia GTX 1050, 8GB RAM and 500GB HDD.
After adding my old I5 2500 and buying a Rogueware 500GB SSD that wold become my PC.

Now this is basically what I'm working with:

• MSI H61M-P21 (MS-7680)
• I5 2500
• Nvidia GTX 1050 (think it's 1GB or 2GB idk)
• 2x 4GB RAM 1660mhz
• Rogueware 500GB SSD
• 250GB & 500GB HDD

I want to upgrade some parts like the CPU but that means Motherboard and RAM as well.

I have checked Evetech but joh, I need some advice and if I can buy spares that would also help?

Hey man,

Congrats on graduating to PC Gaming. It is a necessary step so I'm proud you made it.

First question would really be, what is the budget and what games do you want to play?

It is possible to upgrade what you have, but you're quite limited in terms of how far you can go and whether it makes sense or whether it would be better to simply replace.

So, budget?

 

[KnightOwl]

Hey man,

Congrats on graduating to PC Gaming. It is a necessary step so I'm proud you made it.

First question would really be, what is the budget and what games do you want to play?

It is possible to upgrade what you have, but you're quite limited in terms of how far you can go and whether it makes sense or whether it would be better to simply replace.

So, budget?

Hey UrBaN_BuNnY

I have no idea how much this stuff usually cost, but at the moment I wasn't looking at spending the a lot but around R8k? If I could get away with less it would work.
I play War Thunder, Skyrim, Age of Empires, Forza 4 and some older titles.
I would like playing stuff like MS Flight Sim, Tarkov (maybe) and CoD.

Really appreciate the feedback.

 

[Areola Grande]

Will have a look when I have access again, but look through the combo deals on here in the meantime.

 

[Switch]

• MSI H61M-P21 (MS-7680)
• I5 2500
• Nvidia GTX 1050 (think it's 1GB or 2GB idk)
• 2x 4GB RAM 1660mhz

This stuff is really old and frankly not really up to par for modern games imo.

R8k budget can manage a respectable upgrade (but still going to be lacking in some performance, R8k can only go so far) if you manage to sell your current pc to add more funds.

Off the cuff,

• amd 3600 @ ~R1600 (you should try get a 5600, but that blows your budget by a fair amount)
• B550 or X570 @ ~R2000 (can be found cheaper), or a B450/A520 but these don't seem to be regularly available
• 16gb (2x8gb) ddr 3200+ ram @ ~R800
• amd rx 6700xt @ ~R5000

Bargain hunting on carb could get you cheaper components, but rough estimate total is R9400, so you need additional R1400. You may need a psu upgrade, depending on what you have at the moment. You can re-use your existing drives. You might also find some well priced complete builds in the combo section instead of buying individual components.

 

[goldfritter]

This stuff is really old and frankly not really up to par for modern games imo.

R8k budget can manage a respectable upgrade (but still going to be lacking in some performance, R8k can only go so far) if you manage to sell your current pc to add more funds.

Off the cuff,

• amd 3600 @ ~R1600
• B550 or X570 @ ~R2000 (can be found cheaper), or a B450/A520 but these don't seem to be regularly available
• 16gb (2x8gb) ddr 3200+ ram @ ~R800
• amd rx 6700xt @ ~R5000

Bargain hunting on carb could get you cheaper components.

R9400, so you need R1400. You may need a psu upgrade, depending on what you have at the moment. You can re-use your existing drives.

Solid, although getting an SSD is also worth very strongly considering.

At 1080p an RX 6600XT or even RX 6600 will be great as well. Maybe then use the price difference to get a 1TB SATA SSD if possible.

 

[Switch]

Solid, although getting an SSD is also worth very strongly considering.

At 1080p even an RX 6600XT or even RX 6600 will be great as well. Maybe then use the price difference to get a 1TB SATA SSD if possible.

Dropping to a 6600 may free up some funds to upgrade the 18" monitor to something more mainstream like a basic 23" fhd, op indicates he has an ssd, albeit a budget rogueware branded one.

 

[KnightOwl]

Dropping to a 6600 may free up some funds to upgrade the 18" monitor to something more mainstream like a basic 23" fhd, op indicates he has an ssd, albeit a budget rogueware branded one.

Sorry saw I didn't include that, I have the Rogueware 24" monitor.
Running on a 450w Corsair I think.

I also have some other parts I could sell (using as another PC my gf plays on every now and then)
I3 2220
Rogueware 250GB SSD
Nvidia 620 GPU
250GB HDD
In an OLD box 🤣 Shark is the brand

Not sure what this could price for.

 

[Switch]

Sorry saw I didn't include that, I have the Rogueware 24" monitor.
Running on a 450w Corsair I think.

I also have some other parts I could sell (using as another PC my gf plays on every now and then)
I3 2220
Rogueware 250GB SSD
Nvidia 620 GPU
250GB HDD
In an OLD box 🤣 Shark is the brand

Not sure what this could price for.

Sell the i3 (or the i5, or both, depending on your gf needs), and then buy along the lines suggested above or similar (you should look at replacing the power supply to something like a 600w or bigger, more importantly a 12 volt single rail with at least 45 amps. This would mean a bigger budget is needed), the bigger the budget the wider the options.

 

[KnightOwl]

Sell the i3 (or the i5, or both, depending on your gf needs), and then buy along the lines suggested above or similar (you should look at replacing the power supply to something like a 600w or bigger, more importantly a 12 volt single rail with at least 45 amps. This would mean a bigger budget is needed), the bigger the budget the wider the options.

So I sell both PCs and all extras I have.
Then build from scratch?

 

[Phoenix Energy]

So I sell both PCs and all extras I have.
Then build from scratch?

Basically yeah.

Be on the lookout for a 3rd gen Ryzen 5 or 10th gen i5 here on carb, check the combo tab, theres some good deals to be had now and then, and build around that

16GB RAM is minimum now

Maybe a 600W PSU (PLEASE GET A SURGE PROTECTOR PLUG LIKE A ELLIES ONE)

I see you have a 24" monitor, is it 1080p? If so, the 6600 is an amazing card to have!

 

[KnightOwl]

Basically yeah.

Be on the lookout for a 3rd gen Ryzen 5 or 10th gen i5 here on carb, check the combo tab, theres some good deals to be had now and then, and build around that

16GB RAM is minimum now

Maybe a 600W PSU (PLEASE GET A SURGE PROTECTOR PLUG LIKE A ELLIES ONE)

I see you have a 24" monitor, is it 1080p? If so, the 6600 is an amazing card to have!

Will do
Really appreciate everyone's contribution.

I do have surge protectors on all of my electronics.
Yes it is 1080p 75hz

 

[goldfritter]

Will do
Really appreciate everyone's contribution.

I do have surge protectors on all of my electronics.
Yes it is 1080p 75hz

RX 6600 will play pretty much everything at 1080p 75Hz and will even run most of the online shooters at 1080p 144Hz for if (when!) you upgrade your monitor.

 

[Switch]

So I sell both PCs and all extras I have.
Then build from scratch?

Yes if your gf doesn't need a pc, and it seems fortune has presented an opportunity,

https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/ryzen-5-3600-msi-b450m-pro-m2-max-corsair-vengeance-rgb-pro-16gb-2x8gb-3200mhz-cl16.491880/

of course due diligence is needed, and maybe wrangle a bit on the price since the board is on the older b450 and is on the basic side of features, but that sale is a start.

One caveat you should be aware of with buying an rx 6600 series gpu is that it uses only 8 pcie lanes, so using a motherboard that doesn't support pcie 4, like the B450 and A520 chipsets, means you lose out on some fps performance (up to 10% depending on the game), however the performance loss is probably negligible at your intended screen resolution, you probably won't notice.

Edit:

Or this,

https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/ryzen-5-3600-a520m-16gb-rgb-3200mts-ram-r3900.491741/