Upgrade or New Build?

maxinflixion

maxinflixion

Gawd
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
625
Hoping to hear some logical third party thoughts here.

A year or so ago, I took advantage of the mining craze and sold of my 5700xt, which caused me to have to downgrade from a 2700X to a 3200G as a CPU.

Figuring I'd wait it out until I got the itch, this continues to serve me well. Component prices are back within reason now, and I am ready to make a move in a couple of weeks.

Up until an hour ago, I was set on grabbing a 12700K bundle getting biggest bang for buck GPU I could find day of or wait a little while for an unbeatable deal.

This was until I realized my trusty Asus Strix ROG B350-F Gaming motherboard (I should have initially gone for something better as it is), now supports all the way up to 5900X.

Use Case:
Some gaming, but I am not competitive (and still play Battlefield 2)
Audio and Video Editing.

I'll be reusing my DDR4, PSU (650w Seasonic Gold), case and SSDs.

Going w/ the new AMD CPU will certainly require a new GPU on day one, but save me from having to buy a new motherboard and also rebuild from scratch (I actually don't mind doing that part though). I guess I am wondering what major limitations the B350 would bring? This might allow me to spring for a better GPU this go-round and bide my time for Zen 4.

Going Intel will not require a new GPU on day 1, although I'll definitely be shopping for one already anyway. The motherboard cost will not be a huge factor, but could affect my GPU choice.

Posting this in the AMD area for a reason. Learning I could use more CPU options than I thought has me leaning this way now. Is my thinking correct?
 
I think the main limitation of that mobo would be I/O capabilities. If you’re OK with your current storage setup, I don’t see a problem dropping in a 5900X, and that CPU is a good choice for content creation.
 
Thank you for your input. I've done a couple of sample "builds" and sticking w/ the B350 setup saves a nice chunk of cash.

Switching to a different motherboard opens up so many variables and also the game of "stepping up" the motherboard kicks in. This way I am locked in to all but GPU and CPU choice.

Life gets easier.
 
It looks like you can go all the way to a 5950x.

Do you want new or are you willing to go used? I got a second hand 5800x for less than $250 vs a brand new 5950x at over $500. The extra could go to a better GPU. Which if you are doing video editing I think may be beneficial. Just a thought.

But yeah, in socket upgrade is the way to go. Only drawback is the b350 only does pcie3 not pcie4 like b550 and x570. But when review folks looked, it didn't impact GPU performance much.
 
maxinflixion said:
Hoping to hear some logical third party thoughts here.

A year or so ago, I took advantage of the mining craze and sold of my 5700xt, which caused me to have to downgrade from a 2700X to a 3200G as a CPU.

Figuring I'd wait it out until I got the itch, this continues to serve me well. Component prices are back within reason now, and I am ready to make a move in a couple of weeks.

Up until an hour ago, I was set on grabbing a 12700K bundle getting biggest bang for buck GPU I could find day of or wait a little while for an unbeatable deal.

This was until I realized my trusty Asus Strix ROG B350-F Gaming motherboard (I should have initially gone for something better as it is), now supports all the way up to 5900X.

Use Case:
Some gaming, but I am not competitive (and still play Battlefield 2)
Audio and Video Editing.

I'll be reusing my DDR4, PSU (650w Seasonic Gold), case and SSDs.

Going w/ the new AMD CPU will certainly require a new GPU on day one, but save me from having to buy a new motherboard and also rebuild from scratch (I actually don't mind doing that part though). I guess I am wondering what major limitations the B350 would bring? This might allow me to spring for a better GPU this go-round and bide my time for Zen 4.

Going Intel will not require a new GPU on day 1, although I'll definitely be shopping for one already anyway. The motherboard cost will not be a huge factor, but could affect my GPU choice.

Posting this in the AMD area for a reason. Learning I could use more CPU options than I thought has me leaning this way now. Is my thinking correct?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm on the AMD-wagon at this point in my PC build journey. See my sig. I =love= being able to drop an upgraded cpu into my "fleet lead" and then let that cause cascading upgrades to the rest. So, I'd be on board with the idea of keeping your mobo and just adding in a new AMD cpu.

Right now, GPUs are coming down in price. If you're going to need a GPU, this is not the worst time to do so. Just my .02.
 
I would say if a 3200g is cutting it for you then maybe just jump to a 5600g for around $150 and wait for gpus to plummet. I'm pretty sure that b350 will only give you pcie 3 so no real reason to say jump to a 5600x, or even a 5950x unless you actually need more cores.
 
As someone who has used both a 12900k and a 5950x, I wouldn't necessarily do a full new build just to build around a 12700k when your board supports a 5XXX series CPU.

As the others have said, the only real limitation of that board is the I/O. I don't know that you'd notice the difference between a PCIe 3.0 x4 and a 4.0 x4 SSD in normal tasks. A GPU might be gimped depending on what you buy (nothing above the mid range should have issues though) but the difference is minimal unless you are near the bleeding edge (doesn't sound like you are).

I'd just buy a 5900x and new GPU and go from there. Drop in replacements. Good performance for your stated use cases. Should last a number of years.
 
kirbyrj said:
As someone who has used both a 12900k and a 5950x, I wouldn't necessarily do a full new build just to build around a 12700k when your board supports a 5XXX series CPU.

As the others have said, the only real limitation of that board is the I/O. I don't know that you'd notice the difference between a PCIe 3.0 x4 and a 4.0 x4 SSD in normal tasks. A GPU might be gimped depending on what you buy (nothing above the mid range should have issues though) but the difference is minimal unless you are near the bleeding edge (doesn't sound like you are).

I'd just buy a 5900x and new GPU and go from there. Drop in replacements. Good performance for your stated use cases. Should last a number of years.
Click to expand...

^ This right here...

Should easily last through the first phases of ironing out the bugs with AM5.. then you can scratch that itch again with a completely new build, on a new platform at that point.
2-3 years? or more.. depends on how sensitive you are to the itching lol
 
jlbenedict said:
^ This right here...

Should easily last through the first phases of ironing out the bugs with AM5.. then you can scratch that itch again with a completely new build, on a new platform at that point.
2-3 years? or more.. depends on how sensitive you are to the itching lol
Click to expand...
not to mention DDR5 is expensive
 
I still have a working B350 that has the $89 1600 AF and it runs 3333Mhz memory in XMP1 profile, so that part is the cpu and bios updates not the board, I tested that with my x470 and 3700x is at 3600Mhz memory speed in XMP profile, like me I been thinking of going to BB and picking up a 5600x to replace my 3700x just for gaming.

PCI Express 3 is fine with my RTX 3070 https://www.3dmark.com/fs/26803164
 
Lots of great replies. It is appreciated.

It's funny how a few weeks can change the trajectory of these things.

I grabbed a 5900X and a 6700 XT last weekend. Luckily, some self inflicted issues slowed me down in my upgrade, because I did some math and decided that grabbing a B550 board would give me a couple of the creature comforts I liked (USB-C port, an extra M.2, etc...) and would also force me to nuke and pave my setup. So now I have the B550 version of my old motherboard, a box of new fans and cable extensions to round out my hardware pile for building this Sunday.

The last holdout is a little RAM upgrade which will probably be picked up on the way home from work if I don't fight the urge.

Thanks again for the input, everyone.
 
maxinflixion said:
Lots of great replies. It is appreciated.

It's funny how a few weeks can change the trajectory of these things.

I grabbed a 5900X and a 6700 XT last weekend. Luckily, some self inflicted issues slowed me down in my upgrade, because I did some math and decided that grabbing a B550 board would give me a couple of the creature comforts I liked (USB-C port, an extra M.2, etc...) and would also force me to nuke and pave my setup. So now I have the B550 version of my old motherboard, a box of new fans and cable extensions to round out my hardware pile for building this Sunday.

The last holdout is a little RAM upgrade which will probably be picked up on the way home from work if I don't fight the urge.

Thanks again for the input, everyone.
Click to expand...
Okay good! I was about to comment that the first gen ryzen motherboards are notorious for having barely adequate VRMs so although a 5900x would socket in and turn on I would be very surprised if your CPU didn’t throttle due to VRM thermals and voltage ripple. That B550 is much better built
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top