Thoughts on $1000 upgrade... b-day time baby!

[dtrunk]

Aloha OG and new members, been about way too long. I ghost read the forums but haven't chimed in lately. This year is 40 for me, so I'm gonna blow some $$$ on ME. Current rig is pretty close to what I was posting about ten years ago.

MB: Asrock z77 Extreme4
CPU: Intel i5 3570k running at 4k
Ram: Corsair Vengance 2x4gb running at 2133
GPU: EVGA GTX980 Hydro Copper - not oc'd
PSU: Cooler MAster 850w Silent Pro
Monitor: Acer XF270HU 1440p 144hz
Watercooled with monster 140 and xsp 360, temps are great always.

I'm playing BF5 and SC2 on the common, but run through the latest single player games every other month or so.

Pretty much nothing modern will run smoothly at 1440 and 144 and higher graphics settings... I feel like I need to upgrade the GPU but my mobo/cpu/ram are behind times. I could probably sneak the budget up to 1200 but wife will be giving me dirty looks. Mind that I'll have to upgrade cpu waterblock and maybe add waterblock to GPU if I don't get a presetup watercooled gpu.

Thoughts?

Thanks.... Dan

 

[EarthDog]

Dan, id upgrade the whole thing, no doubt. You could go 3770k and 4c/8t, but that is today's minimum IMO..

I'd look into a b550 based board, 3700x, and maybe a 2060 super or 2070 super. Go 2x8gb ddr4 3600 for this platform.

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Dan, id upgrade the whole thing, no doubt. You could go 3770k and 4c/8t, but that is today's minimum IMO..

I'd look into a b550 based board, 3700x, and maybe a 2060 super or 2070 super. Go 2x8gb ddr4 3600 for this platform.

Solid build for the money. You could also look at the 5700xt as another graphics card. Same price as the 2060 super but performs 5% less than the 2070 super. Obviously don’t get ray tracing with that though.

 

[AnimeMania]

I think all you really need is a new video card and the new models will probably be out in about 3 months, so I would save my money till then.

 

[EarthDog]

Solid build for the money. You could also look at the 5700xt as another graphics card. Same price as the 2060 super but performs 5% less than the 2070 super. Obviously don’t get ray tracing with that though.

I think all you really need is a new video card and the new models will probably be out in about 3 months, so I would save my money till then.

Both of these are also good options.

I thought about a GPU only upgrade, but I have concerns knowing his CPU is only 4c/4t... so a lot of performance can be left on the table while his goal is 144 Hz+... BF V really likes cores/threads (less at 2560x1440)... or at least more than 4. Not sure about SC2. So it leaves 10% on the table out of the gate. Not that it will reach 144 FPS, but... when you're reaching for every FPS possible, I think a CPU is needed.

Waiting for a couple of months isn't a bad idea either... at worst RTX 2 series/5700XT are cheaper, or get the new cards and CPU then (prices on new AMD chipset and new Intel stuff will likely be less and more available).

 

[AnimeMania]

If AMD comes out in the next 3 months with a credible GPU challenger, the market will be in chaos, not to mention nobody knows what Intel is cooking up. Here's hoping that somebody leaks something before then.

 

[godevskii]

Mind that I'll have to upgrade cpu waterblock

If you upgrade in the intel platform, your cpu block will be compatible till the latest lga1200.
If you go to amd, then yes, cpu block upgrade is almost mandatory.

 

[dtrunk]

Thanks for the input. I feel like this is the never ending story of being a PC guy... just wait 3 more months and ...... is going to release their new cpu/gpu. UGH!

I'm still reading around, and if I have to wait I get it... When I got the GTX980 HC they released the gtx1080 two months later.

Do I have to worry about pcie 4.0? as in, if I get a new mobo should I make sure it has pcie 4? are the current gpu leaders 2080 and amd RX series even stressing out pcie 3?

Is it worth doing the first upgrade now, cpu/mobo/ram and then wait for the GPU market come august or september time'ish?

is 3rd gen Ryzen 5 enopugh or shoot for ryzen 7?

D

 

[Kris]

I understand how you feel, i bought a fully loaded gaming laptop a few years back and the day it delivered I see a youtube video saying if your going to buy a gaming laptop wait two weeks and then boom the nividia 1000 series launches... That said I am very happy with said lap top even with just a little 980M... If you have the cash and the time is right I say go for the upgrade. I am biased in that I have owned primarily AMD rigs but I think you would be very happy with the performance of either a 3600 or 3600X.

 

[AnimeMania]

I am just thinking about bang for your buck, the next gen video cards should get your monitor to 144 fps even with your current CPU (hopefully). I believe the next gen video cards will use PCIe 4, but will work fine with PCIe 3. Not sure what the next gen video cards prices will be, but since everything is overpriced, either the older or the new cards will have to drop significantly in price. AMD showed that they can make good graphics with the new consoles being released, so I don't think they are going to disappoint the gamers again like they did in the last round of high end graphics. And who knows Intel might pull a rabbit out of their hat. By throwing enough money at it and stealing enough of AMD's graphic card guys that they could have something worth looking at.
I don't think you are spending enough money to sufficiently upgrade your whole system in a significant way, you would have to replace almost everything. That's why I only suggested the video card upgrade.

 

[dtrunk]

What about a side grade?

Keep the Z77 setup, upgrade to a 3770k, upgrade ram to 16gb, then drop the remainder on a new gpu once the next gen comes out... mayb get a gtx2080 HC once the price drops?

D

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Thanks for the input. I feel like this is the never ending story of being a PC guy... just wait 3 more months and ...... is going to release their new cpu/gpu. UGH!

I'm still reading around, and if I have to wait I get it... When I got the GTX980 HC they released the gtx1080 two months later.

Do I have to worry about pcie 4.0? as in, if I get a new mobo should I make sure it has pcie 4? are the current gpu leaders 2080 and amd RX series even stressing out pcie 3?

Is it worth doing the first upgrade now, cpu/mobo/ram and then wait for the GPU market come august or september time'ish?

is 3rd gen Ryzen 5 enopugh or shoot for ryzen 7?

D

Bit late to the party on this reply. I get what you are saying about always waiting for the next tech if you want the best, but sometimes there are moments where things could change drastically. Like back when we went from AGP to pcie. Not saying we have that kind of performance leap but we are very near to graphics tech changing massively. Both Nvidia and AMD will be releasing cards with ray tracing. And unlike the ray tracing offered by the 20 series cards which was a performance hog, this time it should be a lot better.

For me, even though there is zen3 and tiger lake around the corner it’s a lot easier to recommend a cpu upgrade now than a gpu upgrade. CPU’s can last a lot longer, especially in gaming. And any modern cpu from either intel or AMD will be an upgrade for you.

So my 2 pennies worth is upgrade your cpu now (or when you do upgrade) but wait for the new graphics cards.

 

[trents]

bigtallanddopey has good input here.