Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Now that good GPUs can be found on the aftermarket, my cousin asked if I could upgrade his son's gaming PC. This was a Covid-era budget friendly APU only gaming machine - stuck playing farming simulator, minecraft, and other low-graphics easy-to-run games. With just $300, we take this machine from a 4/10 to nearly a 9/10 in gaming performance. We went from Minecraft to Warzone and other game capable with an RTX 2070 Super, 1 TB NVME SSD, 4 TB game drive, and an AMD 5500 CPU core upgrade that runs 300% faster.
Some tools I use to clean out spyware:
Malwarebytes ➡️ malwarebytes.com
Defender ➡️ support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/getting-started-with-anti-malware-in-microsoft-defender-f5219ae5-abb7-4985-a149-1ec1bb304eda
Considering these hardware upgrades? Using my affiliate links below earns me a small commission. Thanks!
AMD 5500 🛒 amzn.to/4hTKuln
1TB NVME 🛒 amzn.to/3CBuYuh
UGreen NVME craddle 🛒 amzn.to/413qXJv
RTX2070 Super Equivalent RTX3060 🛒 amzn.to/3CBuYuh
4TB HDD 🛒 amzn.to/40XbeeF
Key Takeaways:
😀 Cleaning the PC is essential before upgrading hardware, especially for a system with a lot of junk files and potential malware.
🔧 BIOS updates are crucial when upgrading to newer generation CPUs to ensure compatibility and improved performance.
💻 Running benchmarking tools like PassMark and Cinebench helps establish a performance baseline before upgrades.
📊 The original system's performance was modest, with low frame rates (around 30 FPS) and a 39th percentile ranking in PassMark tests.
🖥️ Upgrading the CPU to the Ryzen 5 5500 provides a significant performance boost, with 6 cores and 12 threads compared to the original 4 cores and 4 threads.
🎮 Adding a dedicated GPU (RTX 2070 Super) greatly enhances 3D gaming performance, with FPS improving from 30 FPS to over 250 FPS in benchmarks.
💾 Upgrading storage with a 1TB NVMe drive boosts both speed and capacity, addressing space issues from the original 256GB drive.
🛠️ Using an NVMe caddy for cloning data from the old drive to the new one makes the transition easy without losing any data.
📈 After all upgrades, system performance increased significantly, with the machine ranking in the 87th percentile—over double the previous 39th percentile.
⚡ The overall performance improvement was massive: 3D graphics performance increased tenfold, and CPU performance improved by over 3 times, demonstrating the power of hardware upgrades.
🎮 This upgrade ensures smoother gameplay, better multitasking, and future-proofing for years to come, making it an excellent choice for a 1080p gaming PC.
Credits:
Editing: Luke_the_Editor
#pcmr #amd #pcupgrade
Now that good GPUs can be found on the aftermarket, my cousin asked if I could upgrade his son's gaming PC. This was a Covid-era budget friendly APU only gaming machine - stuck playing farming simulator, minecraft, and other low-graphics easy-to-run games. With just $300, we take this machine from a 4/10 to nearly a 9/10 in gaming performance. We went from Minecraft to Warzone and other game capable with an RTX 2070 Super, 1 TB NVME SSD, 4 TB game drive, and an AMD 5500 CPU core upgrade that runs 300% faster.
Some tools I use to clean out spyware:
Malwarebytes ➡️ malwarebytes.com
Defender ➡️ support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/getting-started-with-anti-malware-in-microsoft-defender-f5219ae5-abb7-4985-a149-1ec1bb304eda
Considering these hardware upgrades? Using my affiliate links below earns me a small commission. Thanks!
AMD 5500 🛒 amzn.to/4hTKuln
1TB NVME 🛒 amzn.to/3CBuYuh
UGreen NVME craddle 🛒 amzn.to/413qXJv
RTX2070 Super Equivalent RTX3060 🛒 amzn.to/3CBuYuh
4TB HDD 🛒 amzn.to/40XbeeF
Key Takeaways:
😀 Cleaning the PC is essential before upgrading hardware, especially for a system with a lot of junk files and potential malware.
🔧 BIOS updates are crucial when upgrading to newer generation CPUs to ensure compatibility and improved performance.
💻 Running benchmarking tools like PassMark and Cinebench helps establish a performance baseline before upgrades.
📊 The original system's performance was modest, with low frame rates (around 30 FPS) and a 39th percentile ranking in PassMark tests.
🖥️ Upgrading the CPU to the Ryzen 5 5500 provides a significant performance boost, with 6 cores and 12 threads compared to the original 4 cores and 4 threads.
🎮 Adding a dedicated GPU (RTX 2070 Super) greatly enhances 3D gaming performance, with FPS improving from 30 FPS to over 250 FPS in benchmarks.
💾 Upgrading storage with a 1TB NVMe drive boosts both speed and capacity, addressing space issues from the original 256GB drive.
🛠️ Using an NVMe caddy for cloning data from the old drive to the new one makes the transition easy without losing any data.
📈 After all upgrades, system performance increased significantly, with the machine ranking in the 87th percentile—over double the previous 39th percentile.
⚡ The overall performance improvement was massive: 3D graphics performance increased tenfold, and CPU performance improved by over 3 times, demonstrating the power of hardware upgrades.
🎮 This upgrade ensures smoother gameplay, better multitasking, and future-proofing for years to come, making it an excellent choice for a 1080p gaming PC.
Credits:
Editing: Luke_the_Editor
#pcmr #amd #pcupgrade
