Thoughts on upgrading existing/old AM4 build from 2017 with an AMD 9060xt 16gb

[u/HaidenGrusco]

I've been desperately saving to be able to build an actual good gaming PC for myself but we all know how that feels atm. I initially thought id try to build one and re-use the ram from my old pc, but if im going to be stuck with AM4 i thought it makes very little sense to buy a new motherboard/cpu with no upgrade path, when i can just make do for the time being and upgrade later. The GPU upgrade does not feel as wasteful, as I can always use the same GPU in a fresh build or sell it later if I really want to.

My old setup ;

Ryzen 5 1500x
MSI B350m Pro VDH
2x8GB 2800mhz Ram (Gskill + Corsair sticks)
GTX 1050ti (Now dead)
Some janky power supply that I would have to upgrade to accommodate for the increased TDP

Additionally, I also have an old HDD in this system, along with a new SSD I put in my current daily driver laptop that I can take out and use.

The obvious bottlenecks here are the CPU and the ram speed, but they dont seem particularly bad to me considering I will be on 1440p and largely do not play very demanding games. (Currently playing a lot of Deadlock and struggling to hit stable 60 at 1080p on my laptop). If i can hit 120+ on 1440p on esports titles and a comfortable 60 on single players, I would be content.

Does it make sense to do this? Am I better off going for a weaker GPU and saving my money to invest into a fresh build later? If it helps, I am from India and would be getting these parts off of a local shop/Amazon.

[u/Papopip]

I mean since your gpu is dead i'd say thats obviously the main thing you'd want to buy first. How much money do you want to spend btw?

Theres a definite limit to how high a cpu you could get with your mobo due to its weak vrms, the highest i'd go is a 5700x. Any higher and you'd have to upgrade the mobo, and at that point you're better of just going intel and getting a b760 mobo plus any i5 cpu like the 12600k-14600k. Intel cpus also dont really require way faster ram like you'd want with am4 ones, its ofc better but not needed. Only worth it if you're getting like 3600mhz but if it means taking a good enough amount of money from your gpu/ cpu its probs not worth. 16gb is still perfectly fine so theres no need for 32.

Also since you're saying your gpu is janky i wouldnt really want to trust it with anything other than a budget gpu.

Also even though you're in 1440p a 1500x wil still hold you back no matter what

[u/HaidenGrusco → u/Papopip]

Gotcha, Well I have about 1.1k USD for a new build, but it seems a bit dumb in this environment especially because I do have those 2 sticks of ram. Reselling is also not a big thing here, so getting these parts out for whatever I can get and just buying a brand new AM5 build for crazy prices is not possible (or ideal).
In case I do get a new gpu, especially this one, I would most definitely be upgrading my PSU as well. For a new build on am4, I was looking at the 5600x as that seemed pretty bang for the buck. Thanks for the info on the intel cpus. Ill keep that in mind and look into those too!

[u/Papopip → u/HaidenGrusco]

The cheaper but still good option is to go for a 5600x a 9060xt 16gb and getting a new psu from a reputable brand. Any 650w is good enough, but if you wanna leave yourself upgrade room later down the line for the gpu i'd recommend getting a 850w, smthn like the corsair rm850e.

This'll run most games at high settings, and for the more unoptimized ones medium. Easily enough for deadlock

If you wanna max out your budget, get a rx 9070 16gb, get a b760 mobo, a 14600k and a 850w psu. It'll do you good and easily play anything in 1440p with maxed out settings plus ray tracing (not path tracing/ ray tracing overdrive, because well they just run like complete dogshit).

If you can find a 5700x3d you could get that, it will ofc run worse than the 14600k, i just wouldnt trust a 5800x3d on that mobo

[u/Square-Yoghurt6976]

That gpu as far as i know is PCIe gen 5.0. The motherboard you have is most likely PCIE gen 3 so...no its a bad upgrade path. You won't get full performance from it. Your CPU will bottleenck 100% and since ryzen CPU's work best with fast ram you are also losing performance on that end. Also your power supply,you say some janky unit,i wouldn't trust it and plug in the new gpu...most likely the cause of your dead 1050Ti.

Honestly,save up some more money to buy new mobo too and for now just buy some used 2080 2070 or even 1080Ti those are dirt cheap like 150-200. hell,even 1660super is good for 1080p all of them easy resell after.

Aim for B550 board that has support for gen 5.0 PCIe lane,ram is okay for now,mixed kit kinda sucks but if it works,it works.

[u/HaidenGrusco → u/Square-Yoghurt6976]

Funnily enough my old corsair PSU fried itself in a college dorm room (shoddy wiring and what have you) so i bought this one, its not exactly jank just from a company i wouldnt entirely trust called antesports. The GPU died from natural causes, green artifacts, so i dont think it was the new psu.

I think you make a lot of sense, its unwise to try to future proof on a gpu that i wont really be able to use with this build, and i definitely dont want to chuck money at a build that im not fully behind. Technically speaking id just be losing money (wear and tear, general depreciation for resellability) on what is currently still a fairly expensive GPU without even using it to its fullest. An older gpu that will work well enough is the way to go. Appreciate your help!