41-50k Upgrading to AM5 system

doors666

Contributor
  • Budget - 45K approx
  • Eexisting hardware
  • CPU - Intel i7 8700
  • Motherboard – Gigabyte Z370 HD3P
  • GPU - None
  • RAM – Vengeance 2 x 16gb ddr4 3000
  • PSU - Corsair CX650M, modular
I am looking to upgrade my desktop as my projects builds are taking a lot longer. This is not a gaming machine. I want to go with AM5 socket, intel is ruled out. Dont want to get into the mess of changing mobo and cpu every few years. The current gen 14 is anyway the last with the current socket.

So far, I plan to keep my psu and chassis, unless they prove to be incompatuble with the mobo i get.

I will go with two 32gb ddr5 ram for now. What ram is good for 2x32, what speed should I go for. Dont care for RGB.

Since I am on a tight budget right now, I will go for the 8600G processor and upgrade the cpu later to some 8/16 or 12/24 cpu. This one is costing about 16k on the net right now.

Main question is the motherboard. I dont want to upgrade the motherboard in near future. Only the cpu.

Below are the must have features. Lack of these is a deal breaker.
Min 3 SSD slots, One should be pcie 5.0.
4 RAM slots.
Should support 7000/8000/9000 cpus.
Atleast 4 sata ports.

Dont care about these things:
USB ports. Most of them have plenty. USB4.
Wifi/BT
Audio.
LAN
CPU overclocking.
Graphics card

So far I thike this – its cheap and has all the features that I need. Though I am not sure what CPUs can the VRM handle without overheating. Its vrm speccs are 6+2+1, 50A. The AM5 CPUs are 65/95/105/120/170w as per amd site.


Also, how much can i get by selling the current cpu and mobo. Will help me plan the finances.
CPU – i7 8700
The mobo is this one - https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z370-HD3P-rev-10#kf

OS will be ubuntu 20/22 LTS

Thanx
 
Last edited:
The motherboard your have shortlisted is pcie 4.0.

Considering must have features. You'll have to look at newer B850 boards, you might overshoot by about 10k before selling off old hardware.
Asus TUF B850 Gaming about 26-27k
8500G at 13.2k to 13.5k
GSkill FlareX5 or Trident Z5 at 20k
 
The motherboard your have shortlisted is pcie 4.0.

Considering must have features. You'll have to look at newer B850 boards, you might overshoot by about 10k before selling off old hardware.
Asus TUF B850 Gaming about 26-27k
8500G at 13.2k to 13.5k
GSkill FlareX5 or Trident Z5 at 20k
its 4.0 for graphics card. I dont need that. It supports one 5.0 nvme ssd and two others, which is fine with me.
 
  • Budget - 45K approx
  • Eexisting hardware
  • CPU - Intel i7 8700
  • Motherboard – Gigabyte Z370 HD3P
  • GPU - None
  • RAM – Vengeance 2 x 16gb ddr4 3000
  • PSU - Corsair CX650M, modular
I am looking to upgrade my desktop as my projects builds are taking a lot longer. This is not a gaming machine. I want to go with AM5 socket, intel is ruled out. Dont want to get into the mess of changing mobo and cpu every few years. The current gen 14 is anyway the last with the current socket.

So far, I plan to keep my psu and chassis, unless they prove to be incompatuble with the mobo i get.

I will go with two 32gb ddr5 ram for now. What ram is good for 2x32, what speed should I go for. Dont care for RGB.

Since I am on a tight budget right now, I will go for the 8600G processor and upgrade the cpu later to some 8/16 or 12/24 cpu. This one is costing about 16k on the net right now.

Main question is the motherboard. I dont want to upgrade the motherboard in near future. Only the cpu.

Below are the must have features. Lack of these is a deal breaker.
Min 3 SSD slots, One should be pcie 5.0.
4 RAM slots.
Should support 7000/8000/9000 cpus.
Atleast 4 sata ports.

Dont care about these things:
USB ports. Most of them have plenty. USB4.
Wifi/BT
Audio.
LAN
CPU overclocking.
Graphics card

So far I thike this – its cheap and has all the features that I need. Though I am not sure what CPUs can the VRM handle without overheating. Its vrm speccs are 6+2+1, 50A. The AM5 CPUs are 65/95/105/120/170w as per amd site.


Also, how much can i get by selling the current cpu and mobo. Will help me plan the finances.
CPU – i7 8700
The mobo is this one - https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z370-HD3P-rev-10#kf

OS will be ubuntu 20/22 LTS

Thanx
Your budget is a little tight for a brand new platform, I would suggest this:


1.png


You should be able to sell your current chip + mobo for around 10k or so, thus bringing your overall to around 40K.

The mobo isn't my ideal choice, but it will get the job done. Could always be swapped out, depending on budget changes.
 
Last edited:
The mobo isn't my ideal choice, but it will get the job done. Could always be swapped out, depending on budget changes.
Thanx for the site and the memory suggestions. saves me time as I dont have to go through individual site to check for prices.

7600X is only 1k more. That probably will be a better choice. It will need a better cooler though.

Whats wrong with this mobo. Any recommendations.

Slightly up in the food chain are
Gigabyte B650 UD AC (rev. 1.0) AM5 ATX Wifi
ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi m-ATX
Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX V2 (Wi-Fi)


Increase the budget by 10k if you want features like PCIe Gen5. Else, the above config is good enough. Get WiFi variant of the mobo if possible.
I use a free VPN, so my current wifi is not the bottle neck anyway. My wifi speed is 300mbps, I dont see myself paying more to get a better one.
 
its still 22.5k. Its a great deal. I can pick it up. But then any chance of going with a different mobo are gone for now.

its out of stock

Steel legend b650e atx is available for 19.8k if anyone wants it. Has only 2 sata ports, so deal breaker for me.

ASRock B650 Pro RS is also on a good price. But it has this for sata ports.
2 from chipset. 2 from ASMedia ASM1061. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing.

Edit:
OK. Raising my budget.... But now I want a better cpu also.
is 7900 a good deal for 32k
 
Last edited:
its still 22.5k. Its a great deal. I can pick it up. But then any chance of going with a different mobo are gone for now.

its out of stock

Steel legend b650e atx is available for 19.8k if anyone wants it. Has only 2 sata ports, so deal breaker for me.

ASRock B650 Pro RS is also on a good price. But it has this for sata ports.
2 from chipset. 2 from ASMedia ASM1061. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing.
I ordered Gigabyte B850 Gaming X WiFi6E for 19.5k. It is B850 version of B650 Gaming X AX, major difference being Gen5 GPU slot & GPU easy release button. I paid 3k extra for these 2 features.