Gaming PC Upgrade help - sons PC

[blackscooby]

Hi,

My son has asked for a graphics card upgrade AND a CPU upgrade for his gaming PC for this birthday.

He has asked for the following new Graphics Card and CPU upgrades
GeForce RTX 5070
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Cache Eight Core 4.5GHz

1) Will they fit his current motherboard... are they compatible ????
2) What graphics card / CPU should we install, he has only taken advice from his mates who've got higher spec machines (peer pressure)

Current spec is as below


Case PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE
Motherboard ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!

Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Six Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory 64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

Power Supply CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Birthday looms a day closer every day... as Mrs BS reminds me frequently !!

Thanks
BS

[grumbledoak]

Internet AIs reckon...
yes, you can plug in the CPU and you would notice the improvement, and
yes, the PSU would be enough, just.

IMO most home builders waste money gold plating the PSU. I would try it before upgrading that.

[essayer]

Both are compatible and the PSU should support the increased wattage from the new graphics card.

BIOS on the motherboard might need upgrading
Check that the PSU can connect to the power input on the graphics card (might need an 6 to 12 pin adapter, should be supplied)

[blackscooby]

Thanks, I was just doing a bit myself to see what I could find and signed up on Part Picker
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/L79vxg


Looks OK, as mentioned the graphics card power socket might need checking. I can have a look at how it's connected later when he goes out.

Question is, will these see a noticeable improvement in performance. I don't want to be spending cash on something that will give marginal gains.

What would be the optimal upgrades for the existing motherboard / PSU ?

Oh and can I move the existing CPU cooler over to the new CPU ?

Much appreciated
BS

[grumbledoak]

Personally I wouldn't upgrade a Ryzen 5 to a 7 for 40% paper gains.

The graphics card will definitely be noticeable.

You can usually re-use the cooler. Just be careful removing it and use some fresh paste.

[mmm-five]

Before you fit the 5700X3D, ensure the BIOS is up to date to support the X3D CPU (at least v2803)...otherwise the machine won't even boot.

Don't forget that the PSUs currently suggested by Nvidia/AMD are based on the PSU being of the newer ATX3.1/PCIe5 specs.

If that TX PSU is the older ATX2/PCIe4 specs, then it probably doesn't have the 12VHPWR or 3x power spike protections required for 50-series GPUs, but there's probably no harm trying it with the current PSU first...it'll just switch off at the PSU if it triggers the OCP/OPP/OLP, and the PSU may even survive a few of those.

Depending on what cooler the system came with (the PCS cases/components are not the greatest for airflow) then you may need a stronger cooler for the hotter X3D part.

BTW, can you confirm how much RAM, as it says 64GB, but 2x8 sticks)

Edited by mmm-five on Sunday 3rd August 11:13

[mmm-five]

grumbledoak said:

Personally I wouldn't upgrade a Ryzen 5 to a 7 for 40% paper gains.

The graphics card will definitely be noticeable.

You can usually re-use the cooler. Just be careful removing it and use some fresh paste.

Ryzen 5 to Ryzen 7, PLUS generational IPC uplift, PLUS X3D cache.

Gains seen would depend on game/resolution, but the huge uplift in GPU performance will see the biggest gains. The CPU won't help much in high FPS games at 4K, but will help more at 1080p. Don't forget the 5070 is 'only' 12GB, and you can get the 16GB AMD 9070 for about the same price, so depending on the resolution being played and the type of game you may want to consider the 9070 instead - assuming the son isn't an Nvidia zealot

Edited by mmm-five on Sunday 3rd August 11:19

[blackscooby]

That's a good shout about that 16GB AMD 9070 which is one reason I came here to ask. I don't have the hardware knowledge as I work with Linux boxes on Virtual Machines day to day and don't game myself! For my lad it's all about the FPS !!

I had noticed that the 5070 also came in a Ti option which was 16Gb, but I'd need to sell a kidney.

I'd have to sound him out about moving away from Nvidia to AMD and see if he thumps his desk shouting Nvidia rules

Might ditch the idea of a CPU and just stick with a GPU based on the comments.

Many thanks
BS

Edited by blackscooby on Sunday 3rd August 11:39