When considering purchasing a new PC, you may want to consider leaving space for future upgrades. This is why we offer things such as RAM in various configurations such as 32GB in 2x16GB or in 4x8GB. That is just one example. If you are just getting into PC gaming and want to save some money and don’t want a full-spec PC but also want something that is good enough to be enjoyed, specing out your PC for future upgrades is your solution.
With computer hardware changing soon, such as DDR4 to DDR5, these builds should be relatively cheap to upgrade in the future. When DDR5 comes out, DDR4 will be cheaper than ever. Upgrading your 2 sticks of RAM to 4 sticks will suddenly be much cheaper than if you just got the 4 sticks right away.
In this article, we discuss some PC builds which leave plenty of space to be upgraded for the future. This includes in various budgets and can include selling some parts when they get old and replacing it. Generally, when building a PC with the idea that it will be upgraded in the future, you want to get a decent motherboard and an excellent power supply. At Supernova Gaming, we only sell highly rated power supplies so if you’re going with us for your next build, you won’t have to worry about that. 650W to 750W should be plenty unless you eventually want to upgrade your PC to a top tier PC. So what are the builds?
Tier 1
-Processor: Intel i5-11600K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.
-Motherboard: Basic Z590 or Basic X570 Motherboard. For upgrades, avoid B550 and B560
-Graphics Card: RTX 3060
-Potential Upgrade: Wait for new generation of GPUs (Current NVIDIA 3000 Series)
-RAM: 16GB of DDR4 Memory, 3200MHz (For Intel i5) or 3600MHz (For Ryzen 5) in format (2x8GB)
-Leaves space for 32GBs since this will only take up 2 of 4 DDR4 slots
-Storage: Single M.2 NVMe Drive.
-Leaves space for at least one other M.2 Drive, and in most cases x2 SSDs and x2 HDDs.
-PSU: 750W Corsair RMx Series
-We recommend a 750W with this build mainly because it leaves plenty of room for upgrades + extra. With the way computer hardware is going, it is difficult to tell what PSU is good for next gen. With the release of NVIDIA 3000 series drawing significantly more power than the previous gen, even on the budget cards you might want to think twice about a 650W Bronze rated PSU, so a 750W is optimal for next gen.
This build focuses on being able to expand to a better next-gen platform without breaking the bank on a CPU or GPU. As of 2021, this build should be solid for a few years and would mainly need a RAM upgrade. Things to watch out for is the change to DDR5 and AMD changing to an LGA socket. DDR5 will not be the same slots as DDR4, meaning it would require a motherboard change if you wanted DDR5. AMD switching to LGA means that if you wanted to swap out that Ryzen 5600X for the next gen, you would also need a new motherboard. This build is good if you want to maintain current gen hardware and want to expand in the future, with only minor changes.
Tier 2
-Processor: Intel i7-11800K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
-Neither of these processors will need to be changed for quite some time. They will be able to keep up with next-gen GPUs without hitting a bottle neck.
-Motherboard: Basic Z590 or Basic X570 Motherboard. For upgrades, avoid B550 and B560
-Graphics Card: RTX 3080
-This GPU will have a decent life of performance, similar to the 1080Ti. As of today, the 1080Ti although 6 years old can still keep up an 1080p gaming. The 3080 will most likely be similar, but with 1440p gaming. This realistically will not need an upgrade for quite a few generations.
-RAM: 16GB of DDR4 Memory, 3200MHz (For Intel i7) or 3600MHz (For Ryzen 7) in format (2x16GB)
-Leaves space for 64GBs since this will only take up 2 of 4 DDR4 slots
-Storage: Single M.2 NVMe Drive.
-Leaves space for at least one other M.2 Drive, and in most cases x2 SSDs and x2 HDDs.
-PSU: 850W Corsair RMx Series
-For this build, you can more than comfortably run a 750W PSU. We recommend the 850W not only because the 3080 overclocks better with the 850W, but also because this list is intended to have builds which can be upgraded. The 850W will leave space for a next-gen GPU, or even a CPU upgrade.
Tier 2 is meant to be a current gen monster and last you at least 5 years without needing an upgrade. You will most likely need a storage upgrade in the future as your first if you plan on going that long without changing anything. In terms of RAM, there is space for 64GBs but you will most likely not need or even use it.
Tier 3
-Processor: Intel i9-11900K or AMD Ryzen 5900X
-Motherboard: Z590 or X570 Motherboard. For upgrades, avoid B550 and B560
-Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon 6900XT
-Potential Upgrade: Wait years and sell the GPU and replace it with next-gen equivalent. Generally, we don’t recommend an RTX 3090 for gaming since it is not utilized 100% in most games and most gamers do not play at 4k or 8k. This is mostly a workstation card, which is why we recommend the RTX 3080 or Radeon 6900XT over it.
-RAM: 64GB of DDR4 Memory, 3200MHz (For Intel i9) or 3600MHz (For Ryzen 9) in format (2x32GB)
-Leaves space for 128GBs since this will only take up 2 of 4 DDR4 slots. In terms of usage, this can be reduced to be 32GBs of (2x16GBs). The reason we recommend 64GBs is to match the tier of the PC. Using 32GBs of RAM although is more than possible, with an i9 or Ryzen 9 typical usage we would expect to be hitting the cap of 32GB or needing more.
-Storage: Single M.2 NVMe Drive.
-Leaves space for at least one other M.2 Drive, and in most cases x2 SSDs and x2 HDDs.
-PSU: 1000W Corsair RMx Series
-The 1000W PSU allows for plenty of future upgrades, even to an RTX 3090 which is the most powerful GPU and draws the most power. We can’t tell as of today, but there could be a next-gen or event next-next-gen GPU which draws significantly more power than the 3090 which is why 1000W to 1200W would make sense for this build.
Tier 3 is a top of the line build which can be upgraded and leaves plenty of room for future upgrades. This build will most likely not need an upgrade for many years to come. Even longer than the Tier 2 build. When it does need to be upgraded, there will be plenty of space for upgrades.
Overview
As stated in the beginning, the issue with recommending future builds as of today is that the hardware is changing in the near future. We are soon getting DDR5, AMD is changing to LGA sockets, and more. This can cause issues when upgrading. The reason we made this list is because it is with price in mind. When those come out, they will be significantly more expensive than the current hardware that is out today. With the release of DDR5, the price of DDR4 memory will drop meaning you can get a better deal on 2 extra sticks to upgrade your system. Any of these builds should last you years to come and leave plenty of space for upgrades when needed.
The core components to think about when leaving space to upgrade your system is the Processor, Motherboard, and Power supply. Generally, processors don’t necessarily become outdated and usually are not a huge improvement from generation to generation (with the exclusion of AMD Ryzen 3000 to AMD Ryzen 5000). Motherboards are the main aspect of your system to be able to upgrade it. We recommend an X570 or Z590 and to avoid the B550/B560 motherboards as these generally offer less. We also recommend an ATX sized motherboard.
The issue with Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX is that they are smaller, meaning it will lack some upgradability aspects. Such as Micro-ATX only has two ram slots instead of 4, or a Mini-ITX will have less space for SATA and M.2 Drives as well as no space for an expansion card. Power supplies can last well over 10 years, which is why we always recommend getting a significantly more powerful one than what you actually need for your system. What’s the point in getting a lower power PSU when you plan on upgrading your PC? It’s difficult to say how much power next-gen hardware will draw, so you might as well spend the extra money on it now, instead of buy an entirely new one later.
All Supernova Gaming PCs come with Lifetime Parts & Service Warranty as well as Lifetime Support and offer free continental US shipping.
