Upgrade CPU or GPU first? (FX-6300 and GTX 1050 TI)

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unitygaming

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Hi guys, I have an FX-6300 and a GTX 1050 TI and I am planning to upgrade to an AMD Ryzen 3 1300X or an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X and to a GTX 1060 3 or 6 GB. Now I want to ask, should I buy the GPU or the CPU first? Thank you for all answers and have a great day!
 
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raisonjohn


Here's a suggested parts list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€198.95 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard:...
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raisonjohn

raisonjohn

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Upgrade CPU and MB and RAM first, as your current GTX 1050 Ti is still a capable GPU for entry/mid-level 1080p gaming.

Anything more powerful than a GTX 1050 Ti will highly likely be hindered in performance, on most specific situations, when run on an FX-6300 platform.

After the upgrade, choose the GTX 1060-6GB (not the 3GB), for top-of-the-line 1080p/60Hz gaming.
 
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unitygaming

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Thanks for the quick answer, that sound reasonable. Do you know what motherboard would fit best in this situation? And for RAM, I have 12 GB DDR3.

 
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feelinfroggy777

feelinfroggy777

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What is your budget? The Ryzen 1600 is a really good value. Better than the 1500x. The B350 tomahawk and a 1600 will pair nicely together. Ryzen uses DDR4 RAM, so your DDR3 will be useless. When you select RAM, make sure you get RAM that is 3000mhz speed or higher. Ryzen needs really fast RAM to perform as it should.

GPU prices are way to inflated right now in the mid range market. Get your CPU/Mobo/RAM setup now and look at a GPU later when prices normalize.
 
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unitygaming

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My budget is around 500€ now and another 200€ at christmas.
 
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shrapnel_indie

shrapnel_indie

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The FX-6300 is the weakest of the two you're considering. That should be your starting point. Replace the CPU first. That will require a new motherboard and RAM though as Ryzen uses a completely different and incompatible socket. Get DDR4-3000 +/- 200 if you can budget it as Ryzen benefits from faster RAM. Also try for a B350 or X370 board to overclock when you're comfortable enough to do so.

The 1050Ti is decent enough to use for the moment for mid to low graphics settings. When you do finally upgrade, and based on a timetable that puts your upgrade into this generation of GPUs, the 1060 6GB is a good choice when staying at 1080p graphics (RX-580 is as well, but unfortunately has a larger crypto-currency premium attached.) Skip the 1060 3GB model at all costs. Under certain circumstances, with some games (tbh, a small handful) set on high/ultra level graphics settings, the 3GB model will choke with the amount of RAM available and your current GPU will surpass it in performance. So focus on the 1060 6GB model (or higher when thinking NVidia, RX-580 or RX-Vega56 when thinking AMD, although it might be a long while yet before we get the prices back where they belong.)
 
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shrapnel_indie

shrapnel_indie

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For 500 euro, you should be able to change out everything but the GPU. Save the unspent money and add the 200 from around Christmas and do your GPU then. You might even be able to pull off a GTX-1070 at that time. [edit II] Yeah, that is a big might, but you never know with sales.
 
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unitygaming

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With everything you mean like everything? RAM, CPU, MOBO, PSU, because i already have a decent PSU with 600 Watts and I will also look into RAM.
 
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feelinfroggy777

feelinfroggy777

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You don't need to replace everything. Just the CPU/Mobo/RAM.

I would look for something like this:

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Zvr9gL
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Zvr9gL/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($196.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($91.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($157.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer - K272HUL 27.0" 2560x1440 75Hz Monitor
Total: $446.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-19 14:49 EDT-0400

Then get the GPU later.
 
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unitygaming

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Thanks, that's nice summary of parts. I will consider this, except the monitor, because I already have a good one and only do 1080p gaming.

 
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shrapnel_indie

shrapnel_indie

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for 500 Euro, you should be able to replace CPU, MoBo, and RAM easily enough. You would probably have enough to upgrade storage to a degree, case, and PSU if needed and dependent . If not, save that extra money to add to the 200 later.


This is an example of what $500 USD will bring (minus OS, kbd, mouse, monitor, speakers/headset): http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3501746/builds-2017-500-budget-category.html
I know it isn't exactly the euro, nor does it reflect variances between say Italy, Spain, and Germany, but it is an example.
 
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feelinfroggy777

feelinfroggy777

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Sorry, I did not mean to have the monitor on there anyway. It was left on there from a previous build. My bad.
 
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raisonjohn

raisonjohn

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Here's a suggested parts list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€198.95 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard (€101.82 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€133.37 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SSC GAMING Video Card (€299.90 @ Caseking)
Total: €734.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-20 02:09 CEST+0200
 
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shrapnel_indie

shrapnel_indie

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Another suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€195.65 @ Amazon Italia)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard (€107.99 @ Amazon Italia)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€147.20 @ Amazon Italia)
Total: €450.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-20 20:12 CEST+0200



Note, how volatile pricing can be, Ordering from Italy was cheaper than Germany according to PCPartPicker.com. Also day-to-day variances in costs have an effect on final pricing (price difference between a 1500X and a 1600 when I put this together, was about 30 euro.)
 
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