Path for upgrades on PO5-640 (What are the parts that I should consider for upgrading my gaming PC?)

eastonsilly
eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

Tinkerer
edited November 2 in Predator Desktops

Hey guys, I got my first PC for gaming from my buddy who bought it new from BestBuy a few years ago. I have a PO5-641 with a 3070 GPU, 12 gen i7-12700, 1TB NVMe Micron 3400, and what appears to be 2 16gb sticks of Corsair DDR5 4800mhs ram. I am a total noob when it comes to PC parts and have only had a few laptops meant for gaming and a desktop for rendering when I was in school. I have read through a few posts and see people have successfully upgraded their PC to allow for better performance and gaming and I am hoping to do the same.

My setup is a little unique as I like to game in the living room so I can hang out with my GF and have the tower located behind the TV on the entertainment stand. I mention that for airflow reasons and it's the only place it will fit that's "acceptable" for now. I play on a 28" Asus VG28UQL1A at 3840x2160x120 hertz monitor if that matters. Right now, my main game is escape from tarkov and I would like to improve the performance. I have been having issues with my screen periodically going black for 2 seconds which I am imagining is due to not having it in gaming mode and on auto mode. Gaming mode seems to be a bit loud for my liking so I want to upgrade the cooling to be more efficient and less noisy.

What is the best path forward for upgrades and order they should be done in? I would ideally like to bring the PC somewhere with the parts and have someone install them, but I am open to learning if there are enough YouTube tutorials out there.

I was thinking I could start with another 1TB Samsung SSD if they are still the best. Which one should I go with?

I was looking at Corsair Vengeance DDR5 4800MHz ram and thinking of just buying 4 sticks of 16gb each to replace whatever's in there, so I don't have any compatibility issues. Would this be the best way to proceed?

I saw posts about the Noctura fan upgrade and was wondering which one would work best for my case & tower location. Do I need an additional "cooler"?

What other parts should I be considering upgrading?

If I want to eventually upgrade the 3070 cards to a 40 series, is there anything I should consider now with the memory and cooling upgrades? Should I say screw it and upgrade the card at the same time?

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I appreciate any and all help you guys can provide and if you have any amazon links would be super helpful. I saw Chugzilla had some good posts but all of it seemed a bit overwhelming as I was reading through.

[Edited the topic title to include the topic issue]

Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,422 Trailblazer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/714410/path-for-upgrades-on-po5-641-what-are-the-parts-that-i-should-consider-for-upgrading-my-gaming-pc

    Hi, I believe you mean the PO5-640 from 2023 as the 641 model just came out, read these threads on upgrades: Weighing all my storage options for Predator Orion 5000 PO5-640-UB11 — Acer Community and on RAM: PREDATOR ORION 5000 PO5-640 Installing 4 Sticks of 16GB Vengeance RAM — Acer Community on CPU i9 Predator 5000(po5-640) upgrade write up: 4090,i9,XMP The cpu upgrade and extra 1600MHz ram speed — Acer Community and on GPU/cooling/PSU upgrades Po5-640 gpu upgrade and What I need a bigger power supply? — Acer Community

    The fastest Samsung SSD is the Gen4 990Pro up to 4TB

  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    It is a PO5-640. I am not sure why it typed 641. Thanks for the links, these are the threads I read through while going through the forums but many were written when it was hard to get GPUs and DDR5 ram was new along with 40 series cards. I was hoping someone could answer who had either upgraded recently or could tell me what they did and how it has been holding up or what they would do now.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer

    You can use XMP enabled memory in the PO5-640 if you have the current BIOS version. Do the upgrade if needed before trying to put XMP memory in. Once you are sure the BIOS is up to date you can pull the existing 4800 memory out and put in faster.

    The screen blanks are likely the monitor reacting to resolution changes. When they go from one resolution to another the screen blanks for a couple of seconds then comes back with the new specs. That's normal for most monitors, though a bit of a hassle when actively playing. Determine what steps in the game require a display refresh (like going from the main play field to a menu) and stay away from that activity unless you can assume that you can get through the time it takes without too much damage.

    Monitor your CPU temperatures to see if you are throttling when gaming the heaviest, you likely throttle at something like 93C, but Acer doesn't show that spec in their SGs for the desktops. If you are getting throttled too often then look into installing the Noctua cooler to replace the stock Intel cooler, that will gain you a decent amount of leeway, 10-15C or so. The Noctua model that fits your case the best is the NH-U12A.

    When you decide to step up the GPU, try to stick with a newer one that pulls the same power as your existing. That would typically be a 4070 if you are on the 3070 now. A 4080 or 4090 will likely also mean a PSU swap to a larger one.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Thanks billsey. Is the NH-U12A easy to install? I am not a fan of the brown color but it seems they sell covers for it. Do you have experience installing on with the cover on. I have almost no experience swapping out PC parts with the exception of swapping RAM and SSDs and a laptop battery. The screen flickering would sometime persist after closing the game out so I wonder if something got too hot and took a bit to cool down. Should I be looking into replacing the stock fans in the case? If so, which ones would you recommend?

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,174 Trailblazer
    edited October 23
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/714410/path-for-upgrades-on-po5-641-what-are-the-parts-that-i-should-consider-for-upgrading-my-gaming-pc

    Your PO5-640 with the Intel i7-12700 cpu is limited to and Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s or Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s type ram, do not install DDR5-5600MT/s and have the XMP turned on in bios as the ram will conflict and your desktop will not boot and you will get an error with a continual beep.

    The below table is what the PO5-640 Acer memory specs are that you should use with the XMP turned on. Also, update the bios to the last version R01-B0 and install the firmware and run Win-1124H2 version with all the windows updates and make sure that you have the NVidia GeForce Experience software installed also, for updates for your gpu driver and for the best settings for the RTX 3070 gpu and a game like "Escape from Tarkov" that this software has in its list from NVidia settings for the RTX3070 also. Good luck and hope this helps you out some more.

    PO5-640 memory and ram type specs, note the new bios does allow DDR5-4800MT/s type ram to be used with XPM overclocking bios setting.

    image.png

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1304686#Comment_1304686

    Thanks StevenGen. I'll have to go with the 4800 ddr5 ram then. I believe that's what is currently in there. Is it worth it to try and match the sticks and had 2 additional 16gb 4800mhs ddr5? Do you think I would be better off with 4 new sticks of ram?

    I had to uninstall GeForce experience because it was conflicting with the settings I was using. Once uninstalling the game ran better.

    What's the benefit of xmp? I read about people having issues with it enabled but I'm not sure if they had incompatible ram installed.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,174 Trailblazer
    edited October 23
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1304692#Comment_1304692

    Install the CPUz software and go to its SPD section #1 and #3 for the detailed specification of the ram that is installed in your PO5-640 desktop now and try to see if you can purchase the exact same ram spec modules (its not essential that its the same manufacturer) as long as its the same specs as that would be the cheapest and best solution.

    Below is the Acer service guide PO5-640 ram detailed configuration diagram, if your desktop has the existing 16GB ram then it either has 2x 8GB DRR5-4800MT/s modules or 1x 16GB DDR5-4800MT/s. If you want to increase the ram to 32GB total and you already have the 2x 8Gb DDR5 modules I would just add an extra 2x 8GB DDr5 same type ram as it will work allot better with 4x DDR5 modules than 2x DDR5 modules.

    image.png

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer

    You can use XMP overclocking on the PO5-640 machines, and 5600 MT/s is supported. What you can't do is mix standard DDR5 4800 memory and XMP memory at the same time, so if you want to overclock pull the stock memory out, then install only the XMP memory. Once it's booted and working with the new memory go into the BIOS (make sure it's been upgraded to the latest) and enable the XMP feature and once rebooted it should be at the 5600 speed.

    As to the installation of the Noctua, it's pretty easy. Use the instruction and ignore the part where they have you take the motherboard out to remove the backplate. Use the existing backplate and M2x10mm screws to get it correct.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1305030#Comment_1305030

    Thanks. I was under the impression from Steven that the fastest ram we could install was 4800mts? I just purchased 2 additional 16gb sticks of Corsair ddr5 4800mts to match the existing two in the system. Am I better off returning those 2 new ones and purchasing 4x16gb x5600mts?

    Someone else recommended another cooler that is on its way here with the ram. Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO CPU Cooler,7×6mm Heat Pipes CPU Air Cooler,Dual PWM Fan Computer Cooling,2150RPM Speed,for AMD AM4 AM5/Intel 1700/1150/1151/1200/17XX/2011 I am hoping it works out.

    For the bios, I tried updating using the link posted in an earlier comment and it seemed to run into issues where my monitor kept flashing. It did eventually boot after unplugging and showed the new version in the bios but I'm paranoid and might try the install again tonight just to make sure everything is fine

    https://a.co/d/4zlZBca

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer

    Yeah, the Thermalright is cheaper, I believe, but might be harder to install. We haven't heard a lot of feedback on those so far. 4800 memory is correct when not using XMP, with XMP you can go faster, but as I said earlier you need all memory in the system to be able to run at the same XMP speed, and we have many reports that 5600 does work.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    That makes sense. I went to do the install today and ran into a bunch of issues. My cooler master fan cables are too short for the argb and power cables to reach the MB so I had to order extenders. The Ram in there is actually 5600mts so I need to get 2 new sticks so they all match. The thermalright CPU cooler I bought requires the MB to be removed for the backplate to be installed so that's going back and Ill be stuck with a brown noctura NH-U12A since the black ones won't be here for a few days and I want to get this over with. On a positive note, I was able to drill out the rivets for the HDD caddy on the bottom and remove it so there is less airflow restrictions now.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,174 Trailblazer
    edited October 27
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1305034#Comment_1305034

    Hey eastonsilly the Intel i7-12700 cpu specs that is installed in your PO5-640 desktop can only workup up to a max Memory Types speed of: Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s or Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s, you can't get 5600MT/s speed out your desktops ram! That is why I quoted the DDR5-4800MT/s ram as being the max ram that you can use with this cpu and the PO5-640 desktop, don't upgrade to DDR5-5600MT/s as the PO5-640 desktop ram will never ever run at those speeds.

    Acer categorically specifies that the PO5-640 memory is at 4400MT/s and with the new bios it can reach up to DDR5-4800MT/s, if you have DDR5-5600MT/s type ram have a look at Task Manager > Performance > Memory as it will quote a speed of between 4400MT/s to a max of 4800MT/s as it will never quote a speed of 5600MT/s. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

    PO5-640 Acer official SG Memory specs:

    image.png

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1305438#Comment_1305438

    Thanks Steven. Since there's already 5600 in there, it's cheaper for me to add 2 sticks that match it rather than buy 4 new sticks at 4800mts.

  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Well it's all finished now. I tried cloning my drive that was in there and in the process it got fried so I needed to do a fresh windows install. Apparently if you are installing to an nvme windows will not see the drive. I had to install drivers onto the USB with windows so it could be installed on the drive. Additionally the wifi drivers were not there so I had to get more drivers on the USB to finish the windows install since Windows won't allow for offline installation anymore.

    I had ram issues which I just sorted today. I tried Corsair vengeance 4800mhz 2x16 and 4x16. Both of them worked but neither would allow for xmp to be enabled so the speed was capped at 4000mhz. I tried an additional 2x16 at the same brand and speed as the 5600 that I got the machine with but it wouldn't boot. Today I got 4x16 Corsair vengeance RGB 5200mhz and booted up, enabled xmp, and now it's running smoothly at 5200mhz and staying cool thanks to the 7 new cooler master fans and noctua cooler.

    I'm getting the itch for more performance now that things are running pretty smoothly and not sounding like a jet is taking off. What are the best options for GPU upgrades from the rtx 3070? I don't mind upgrading the PSU either I just want to get the most performance out of this while using the stock motherboard.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer

    Until Nvidia gets around to designing and releasing a 50x0 GPU, the best you can do is in the 40x0 series. I'd run it as it is now for a while before looking at doing a GPU upgrade and plan on a PSU upgrade at the same time. The stock supply will work fine with a 4070, but a 4080 or 4090 will take more power. you would hate to spend on a 4090 upgrade now and have the 5090 released in January…

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  • eastonsilly
    eastonsilly Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1306274#Comment_1306274

    Do you think the case and motherboard would support the upgrade from a 3070 to a 4090 or 5090? I'm not sure where my limiting factors are going to be as far as upgradability in the future. I understand the need for more power, but I am I going to run into limitations on the case to fit another 40 or 50 series card and will I have the ability to keep everything cool?

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer

    Sure, the case and motherboard will not be a factor. Really the only factor will be the PCIe version (for speed considerations) and power. Your PCIe x16 slot is version 5.0, so no real worries there as far as speed is concerned until version 6.0 is out and new cards start supporting that. And PCIe 6.0, though designed and ready, isn't going into any motherboards yet. Maybe next year for the bleeding edge and 2026 for more wide acceptance.

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