Need MOBO, CPU and Ram for $500 or Less

LKorinFlakes on 12/01/2025 - 11:44
Last edited 12/01/2025 - 12:55 by 1 other user

My son's 6th gen intel motherboard has finally died and now he needs a replacement.

I thought it would be easier to upgrade the entire mobo CPU and RAM combo so we're giving him a budget of $500 to upgrade everything. He already has a 2060, case, Seasonic 750 watt PSU, hard drives, 2.5inch SSD.

Was wondering what his best bet for an upgrade would be? I don't know much if at all about the intel side of things, I could possibly get a Ryzen 5 5600 and mobo combo for him, then tack on some RAM, might even have a little left over for a small nvme. Was wondering what our best bet would be, intel or Ryzen and which individual option would be his best choice. Basically, anything is going to be leaps and bounds better than what he had, so he'll probably be happy either way, any help would be greatly appreciated though.

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  boomramada on 12/01/2025 - 11:57

  +2

  Well you can try and start with this https://pcpartpicker.com/

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  GordonD on 12/01/2025 - 12:20

  +1

  Its a bad decision to "upgrade" to a processor generation and RAM that's already obsolete, like a Ryzen 5000 series with DDR4 RAM. Its like going in a buying an MY23 car because they are offering a discount. You just end up buying something that's already old.

  You can position yourself better for the future by getting into a newer generation at the bottom, so you can upgrade when it gets cheaper. Something like a Asus A620M-AYW with DDR5-6000 RAM, and a Ryzen 8500G because its cheap. Sounds weird to get a CPU with integrated GPU when you've got a GPU, but an 8000 generation CPU is faster than a 5000 series. And you aren't at the end of the upgrade path.

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    FireRunner on 12/01/2025 - 13:54

    +2

    Depends how OP wants to play it, I'd argue if he just wants a PC that he sets and forgets, AM4 with a 5700X3D offers a compelling value.
    However, if he want to continuously upgrade then AM5 is definitely the way to go.

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  oscargamer on 12/01/2025 - 12:45

  Just replace the MB