Time to upgrade
Time to upgrade
Hi
I’ve been considering some advice for my setup. Right now I have a Gigabyte A320m-h Socket 4 motherboard, 16GB RAM (DDR 2666), a Ryzen 3 3200G, and a 1TB HDD. I’m not really into new games anymore—just Uboat, FM23, and older titles—but I feel it’s time to upgrade, though my budget is limited.
First, I think about getting an SSD with NVDIMM; that would definitely help. But I’m unsure where to go from there. I’ve done some research—options include a GPU for improvement, or maybe a CPU/GPU combo, but I don’t want to overspend. Also, I noticed some Ryzen 5 5600G could work with a board upgrade.
Another idea is a Ryzen chip or GPU combo that fits within a £200 budget, though I’m not sure where to look. I’m open to checking the secondhand market but always cautious about risks.
Anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks
Is definitely one option. Just wondering is a CPU with GPU might be better way to go, from looking at youtube channels a Ryzen 5 2600 cpu with either a RX580 or a GTX 1060 would be in budget. Would need to upgrade motherboard and ram, but it is possible.
Tray processor without a cooler. You have options for a budget CPU cooler or the one from the 3200G might work.
Apologies for the interruption...
For a GPU, consider raising your budget slightly to get a lightly used RX 6600 or 5500 XT.
Alternatively, the RX580 8GB is a solid pick, and GTX1660 / 1660 Super are also viable choices.
That's a good observation, PSU size really matters when adding a GPU. If it's under 550W, you should definitely check the power needs carefully.
Slightly slower compared to others, yet still a reasonable card. It’s tough to suggest a 7-year-old GPU right now. Even the 1660 is nearly five years old, while the RX500 series is six years old—so you’d likely be investing in hardware with significant fan hours already.
There are some interesting options in the RTX lineup. An RTX 2060 or 2060 Super could be a good choice for low-bid attempts, similar to the used RX6600 and 5500XT 8GB models, which are around £150 each.
The price gap between £200 and £300 for CPU and GPU is huge. New RX6600s start near £200 and are considered entry-level. The Intel A750 faces driver issues and the RTX 3050 underperforms, though it can still run games—just with high costs and compatibility problems.
Beyond that, the GTX1650 is overpriced, barely worth the RX 6500 XT, and the Intel A380 (6GB) is a decent but costly light card option. It’s a bit pricey in the UK and suffers from similar driver problems as the larger models.
Since I'm not a big gamer, I tend to avoid spending too much money because most games I play are older titles that run well on today's systems. This means I only need a cost-effective upgrade, which seems reasonable.