Future upgrades dilemma

[mefys]

My PC is in pre-production for 11 days now and I've been contemplating changing some components, especially the motherboard.

I posted a month or so ago that I am not going to be gaming a lot on this new PC so I took Scott's advice and went with a 1650 Super. But if I was to upgrade my GPU in the future (12-18 months time) would the B550-Plus allow the upgrade to say a 2080ti ? That's the current motherboard I've chosen for the system but I read the x570 has more room for upgrades. If so which version of the x570 should I go for? Thanks.

I'm also looking to upgrade my CPU (3700x) in the future. I know now is a bad time to build a PC given the new set of CPUs and GPUs due to be released later this year but I really need a new build now as I start my master's degree next month (online teaching due to covid)+ current desktop is dead + lack of funds as a student for anything more expensive haha.

 

[ubuysa]

Seriously, if you're thinking of upgrades before your PC is even built you'd be wiser to cancel, seek advice on here and submit a new order.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Completely agree, if you’re loooking to make any upgrades other than gpu in about 3 years then the build isn’t fit for purpose and needs reconfiguring

 

[mefys]

Seriously, if you're thinking of upgrades before your PC is even built you'd be wiser to cancel, seek advice on here and submit a new order.

Well its mainly the GPU which I would look to upgrade in the near future. CPU within 4-5 years which I think is reasonable. I was just questioning whether the B550-plus is the right motherboard for upgrades within this time frame

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well its mainly the GPU which I would look to upgrade in the near future. CPU within 4-5 years which I think is reasonable. I was just questioning whether the B550-plus is the right motherboard for upgrades within this time frame

CPU should last the life of the build for 7 - 10 years.

GPU should easily last at least 3.

I really think you should get some advice on your requirements.

 

[mefys]

Completely agree, if you’re loooking to make any upgrades other than gpu in about 3 years then the build isn’t fit for purpose and needs reconfiguring

These are the specs I went with initially after posting for help last month. The changes I made are the case (changed to Meshify S2), CPU (3700x) and a Noctua nh-u14s cooler. Just not sure about the GPU everything else is fine.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 10.30AM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 18 to 20 working days
Price: £1,523.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[mefys]

My main uses are IT/video editing work and considering gaming ( AAA single player games, not really into shooters and MP). Always been a console gamer but I'd like to venture into PC as well.

 

[mefys]

Well, upgrades and motherboard is more the CPU upgrades....the 570 boards will likely be able to take an extra generation of CPUs over the 550 boards. But, regardless, if the budget is there, then the 570 is a good shout (the ASUS Tuf 570 is fine)

Not sure on your budget but, personally, if there was an extra £140, I'd change:

- CPU to the 3800XT....higher power may be useful for the editing side
- Motherboard to the TUF 570
- PSU to the 750w RXm...better PSU overall and gives more headroom for any potential future upgrades

Regardless of any other changes, I'd drop the extra case fan....the cooling will be fine. Also, the system will be pretty quiet but then you are adding a non-quiet fan....if you find it needs an extra case fan, then source and fit a good one like a Corsair or Noctua (the ones PCS supply are decent at airflow but not at all designed with noise in mind)

Is the 3800xt worth the cost for its slightly bettee performance? I would need to use the Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM for it too right?

I think I might wait till the new GPUs release next month if the current high end ones become cheaper.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I would imagine that the higher frequency may help with the video editing but it would be dependent on what programs are used for it, how they utilise resources etc. Cooler wise, if you can afford it, I'd stick with the H115i as it is a beast of a cooler...you could drop down to the Coolermaster 240 if you needed to save money but it will be louder than the H115i.

Is the H100i Platinum still out of stock?

 

[mefys]

This is the final build I've come to after taking your advice into account. I hope none of these are out of stock. I would like your opinion on this thanks. I changed the case since I dont mind a bit of noise and I don't think this build will be too loud. Changed the motherboard taking future GPUs into account. I own a 1080p monitor so a better GPU is pointless now. Ill upgrade once I get a 4K OLED in the near future. Im happy enough with the 3800x I really dont want to spend the extra money on the XT version. Can you confirm I've got the right power supply since there are 2 750W options.

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY S2 BLACKOUT TEMPERED GLASS
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 10.30AM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 18 to 20 working days

 

[mefys]

@mefys That spec is looking good...you can save £70 and go with the TUF 570 rather than the Strix. At your level, the extra cost of the Strix board isn't really worth it...you could then add the 3800XT for only £10 more then.

Thank you for the feedback. I know you said motherboard upgrades are more in relation to CPUs but would the TUF 570 also allow me to use one of the newer GPU releasing in the next 2-3 years? I plan to upgrade once I get a better monitor. 1650 Super is enough for 1080p gaming at the moment. If that is the case then yes I can afford the 3800XT I guess.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you for the feedback. I know you said motherboard upgrades are more in relation to CPUs but would the TUF 570 also allow me to use one of the newer GPU releasing in the next 2-3 years? I plan to upgrade once I get a better monitor. 1650 Super is enough for 1080p gaming at the moment. If that is the case then yes I can afford the 3800XT I guess.

Any X570 will alllow 5000 series CPU's.

 

[mefys]

Any X570 will alllow 5000 series CPU's.

What about the new graphics cards releasing next month? I dont plan to buy a new one next month but further down the line (once I switch to a 4k monitor/OLED)

Edit: saw NURSEMORPH's comment thank you. I have nothing to worry about then.

 

[SpyderTracks]

What about the new graphics cards releasing next month? I dont plan to buy a new one next month but further down the line (once I switch to a 4k monitor/OLED)

Edit: saw NURSEMORPH's comment thank you. I have nothing to worry about then.

Yeah, graphics isn't motherboard dependent.

 

[mefys]

I'm pretty satisfied with the build now and confident I can implement future upgrades with minimal issues.

I think I gave the wrong impression in my initial post talking about upgrades - not the immediate future but a few years down the line ofcourse.

 

[Scott]

The B550 is fine for any GPU and any future GPU, there's no limitation there as it has PCIe4.0. The last time I looked the X570 TUF was only £40 more so it's a fair spend to consider, but I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.

The X570 will come into its own if you were to upgrade the CPU to one of the 12+ core chips though. This is where the beefier VRMs and cooling would come into play during renders etc. For the 3800X(XT) and CPUs of that ilk there will be little difference (if any).

The XT is definitely worth considering if it fits within the budget. It allows for the highest frequency from an AMD chip at the time of writing so definitely worth it IMO. Will make a difference with some games and any single threaded pro application tasks (photoshop, etc).

The PSU is also another area that may be worth considering, as suggested. 550W is fine for any non-gaming GPU system, but 750W would cover all eventualities in the future.

When the uses change.... the recommendations change

 

[mefys]

The B550 is fine for any GPU and any future GPU, there's no limitation there as it has PCIe4.0. The last time I looked the X570 TUF was only £40 more so it's a fair spend to consider, but I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.

The X570 will come into its own if you were to upgrade the CPU to one of the 12+ core chips though. This is where the beefier VRMs and cooling would come into play during renders etc. For the 3800X(XT) and CPUs of that ilk there will be little difference (if any).

The XT is definitely worth considering if it fits within the budget. It allows for the highest frequency from an AMD chip at the time of writing so definitely worth it IMO. Will make a difference with some games and any single threaded pro application tasks (photoshop, etc).

The PSU is also another area that may be worth considering, as suggested. 550W is fine for any non-gaming GPU system, but 750W would cover all eventualities in the future.

When the uses change.... the recommendations change

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I'm looking to not overspend for my usage. Cant go wrong with either the b550 or x570 I understand. The cooling is what has given me the most headache as I was thinking of changing the H115i RGB PLATINUM to a Noctua u14s in my order but the H115i seems to be popular around here and I've seen it in a lot of builds. I would be able to afford it but from what I've read online the noctua cooler can do a pretty good job too and is cheaper. I've never used a liquid cooler so I'd like to give it a try for something different than usual.

 

[Scott]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I'm looking to not overspend for my usage. Cant go wrong with either the b550 or x570 I understand. The cooling is what has given me the most headache as I was thinking of changing the H115i RGB PLATINUM to a Noctua u14s in my order but the H115i seems to be popular around here and I've seen it in a lot of builds. I would be able to afford it but from what I've read online the noctua cooler can do a pretty good job too and is cheaper. I've never used a liquid cooler so I'd like to give it a try for something different than usual.

You'll be fine with either, yes.... but as I say, if you want to increase the CPU at any point the X570 may be worthwhile given the price difference.

The H115i is my cooler also, it's always a favourite of mine but as you rightly say, it's quite costly.

The Noctua will do a fine job with the 3800X(XT) but anything above that you're looking at a decent AIO water cooler. With the future in mind, I would personally stick with the h115i as it means that you have any future potential upgrade covered.

There are other positives as well, a water cooler will improve airflow through the case simply due to how it works. This means that other components in the build will get the benefit (GPU, motherboard, HDDs, etc).

You won't have any concerns with the h115i as it's a proper top shelf cooler with very premium components across the board. Once you have gone down this route you are very unlikely to ever look back.

 

[mefys]

As I was going through the specs I realised another point of concern.

The Meshify S2 case comes with 3 fans (2 at the front and 1 at the rear). Regardless of whether the H115i fans are mounted at the front as intake or on top as an exhaust, I would end up with 2 intake fans and 3 exhaust fans. Isn't it better to have more intake than exhaust fans? With 5 fans in total only 2 can be mounted at the front as one will be on the rear and the other 2 on top. Am I overthinking and got it totally wrong regarding the set-up and airflow?

 

[Deleted member 17413]

It will usually go in the top, assuming there is clearance for it check the roof fan max sizes.
Think of the airflow more as the direction of air and how heat works, extraction in the roof will work very well.
You'll have air being pumped in from the front, then extracted through the roof/rear.
So air in, heat also rises, air drawn up and backwards so draws it across the whole case in an upward arc and its a clear pathway.

Your GPU may blow air against the flow (not uncommon) but its a decent sized case its not going to interfere with the intake really.

Having the Noctua would be putting a block in the middle of that airflow as you would be drawing from the front and blowing out the back, and heat still rises so its sat above the GPU as well. You'd have to make sure the fan is also oriented the right way when its mounted so it follows the airflow (otherwise you will need to remount it yourself for best results).

I would take the H100i Plat or H115i Plat its a worthwhile investment and gives better upgrade potential as you wont need to replace for a higher CPU, avoids any airflow issues with a giant heatsink in the middle of the case and if you're getting a case with a panel then the RGB doesnt hurt. It will outperform the Noctua which means even if you dont upgrade your gonna get more lifespan out of the machine.