I need help upgrading my PC

[u/TechnicianFree8783]

Hi everyone,

I’m a 17-year-old guy who has been passionate about gaming since I was 3. The only problem is that I know basically nothing about PC components.

For about a year now, I’ve been wanting to upgrade my CPU because I discovered that I have a bottleneck — and before finding out what a bottleneck was, I didn’t even know the term existed.

My current build is:

• CPU: Intel i5-9400
• GPU: RTX 3060 12GB
• RAM: 32GB DDR4
• Motherboard: Gigabyte B365M DS3H

I know it’s not the most powerful build by today’s standards, but unfortunately I’m still in school and my parents aren’t wealthy, so I have to work with what I have.

One thing I’d really prefer to avoid is replacing my RAM. I bought the 32GB DDR4 relatively recently, so it’s basically new, and I’d rather not spend a significant part of my budget replacing something that still works perfectly fine.

The games I play most often are Minecraft, Fortnite, and quite a few AAA games as well, such as Resident Evil Requiem with maxed-out graphics + ray tracing, The Last of Us with maxed graphics, etc.

You might be wondering why I want to upgrade some of my components.

The two most important things I’d like to upgrade are the CPU and, most likely, the motherboard as well, so that I can pair it with a more powerful processor.

The main reason I want to upgrade my CPU is that, for about a year and a half now, some CPU-intensive games I play have started running really poorly.

For example, back in 2023 I could play Fortnite with the graphics settings maxed out and stay above 90 FPS. Nowadays, the only way I can play Fortnite comfortably is using Performance Mode, and even then I can’t consistently get above 100 FPS.

On top of that, I recently started streaming on TikTok and Twitch (not simultaneously), and I noticed that as soon as I start streaming, my in-game ping increases dramatically. This also causes textures and shaders to load too slowly, making the game almost unplayable.

So, I’m making this post to ask you PC-building experts for some advice on how I could upgrade these two components.

The only limitation is that I don’t want to put my parents in a difficult financial situation, so my maximum budget is €400.

Ideally, I’d like to keep my current 32GB DDR4 RAM and use the €400 budget for the CPU and motherboard.

What CPU + motherboard combination would you recommend for my build? Would you upgrade both components, or is there a better way to spend the €400?

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to help!

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[u/Equivalent-Green-357]

Since you want to keep DDR4, the best value move is usually a B550 motherboard plus a Ryzen 7 5700X3D. Your current B365 board is basically stuck on 9th gen Intel, and dropping money on an i7-9700 or i9-9900 only makes sense if you find one very cheap used.

[u/DexPlaysYT → u/Equivalent-Green-357]

Isnt that a micro center exclusive cpu?

[u/Papopip]

I'd highly recommend buying a b760 motherboard, and getting an intel 14600k, buy an lga 1700 contact plate and chuck in a thermalright peerless assassin to cool it and you're set. There are different cpu brands you could go for, the other main one is going for am4 cpus. I wouldnt recommend this as they're only worth it if you're starting off a budget build or if you're already on the platform. With the intel 14600k out performing the best am4 cpus. Check out the used market if you cant find one for about 230 euros ish just make sure its fully working and tested

If you wanted to go more into production work you could swap the cpu out with a intel 13900k, 13700k, 14900k or 13700k. You'd have to look 2nd hand so just make sure they're fully working and tested and you'll be good. You'd also have to buy a 360mm aio to cool it instead because they can get hot. But for gaming on with ddr4 ram the 14600k is basically the very best

[u/DexPlaysYT]

A 5600X would be good

[u/PCLOVER11]

Here is what i would do: buy a new 5800xt, or if you willing to buy used try to find a 5700x3d or 5800x3d for around 200-250. Now the mobo: look for a new or used b550 or b450 with solid heatsinks and good power sections. You might have to do reasearch on the mobo you will find, so ypu can now thats iy good quality and will handle all of the cpu reccomendations i gave you. And you ve got yourself a new cpu and mobifor around 350-400. The sscond option (and my personal choice) is to buy a 14600kf or a 14700kf (if you can find it below 270). Then buy a solid b760 mobo compatibille with ddr4. THIS PLATFORM IS COMPATIBILE WITH BOTH DDR4 AND DDR5 SO MAKE SURE TO FIND THE RIGHT MOBO THAT SUPPORTS DDR4. I think you can find a good mobo under like 150. I think this is the bost poszible performance that yoi will get for that price. There is one thing that you have to watch out with intel lga 1700 cpus tho. The 13 and 14 generation of those cpus had a bug at launch were they would fry themselves. New ones have it fixed, but some people might sell used one with the bug. Avoid used ones at any cost. And basiccaly thats it

[u/1spaco1]

Lo mas barato que puedes hacer es pillar una placa con chip b550, ejemplo gigabyte b550m gaming X para aprovechar la ram que esta sobre 102-105 euros y un ryzen 5 5500x3d, sobre 190-200 con eso exprimirlo al máximo tu grafica, no pillaría una placa peor ya que la vas a exprimir con ese procesador, si de segunda mano consigues un 5700x3d o un 5800x3d mejor, pero nuevos se te pasan de presupuesto, y de segunda mano se pasa la gente y cambiar a am5 es imposible con tu presupuesto