Upgrade or Buy New?

[randomone]

Hi,

My current computer is getting a little dated now and I've been debating whether or not to scrap it and buy a new one or upgrade some parts to bring this computer back to life.

Current PC:

CASE: Coolermaster CM Storm Trooper (Gaming Enthusiast Case)
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
MB: ASUS Z97-A: ATX, UBS3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
RAM: 8GB Kingston dual-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
GPU: 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP, 3D Vision Ready
HDD1: 250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s
HDD2: 1TB WD Caviar Black WD1003FZEX, SATA 6Gb/s, 64 MB cache (7200rpm)
PSU: Corsair 850W RM series modular 80 plus gold

I mainly use my PC for gaming, although recently my gaming has been limited to fairly low-spec games such as football manager, hearthstone etc. because whenever I play demanding games I get too frustrated at the poor performance. I'd ideally like to be able to play more demanding shooters such as Escape from Tarkov, Call of Duty, Battlefield etc. without struggling for performance.

I understand I'd likely be better buying a new machine however i'm wondering if there are any quick wins I could do to upgrade my current setup to allow me to save some funds for a new machine.

Budget for upgrades: £100-200
Budget for new PC: £1000-1300

1. What upgrades would you suggest?
2. With the budget for a new machine which build would you suggest?

Any help is greatly appreciated

Note: i'm not entirely sure this is the correct place to post this however it seemed like the most appropriate area. If it's not please move it to the appropriate place!

 

[Scott]

Is it a PCS system?

That's a decent processor and should easily handle any modern titles. I would put more forward for upgrades though.

Which resolution are you looking to game at? What sort of FPS are you aiming for? Which monitor do you have? Are you looking for a monitor upgrade?

Personally I would put more towards an upgrade, around £300-£500 should have you gaming nicely for another while. RAM and GPU would be my 2 recommended upgrades.

 

[randomone]

Is it a PCS system?
It is indeed a PCS system, I got it back in December 2014 so it's fairly old now!

Which resolution are you looking to game at?
Probably 1080p or 1440p? I think?

What sort of FPS are you aiming for?
Usually somewhere around the 100 mark probably. I tend to have a lot of issues when I can either see or feel the FPS dropping when playing shooters. To be honest some of it is probably mental for me but if I feel at a disadvantage because my performance is poor I get incredibly frustrated at playing and end up stopping.

Which monitor do you have?
I'm currently using a BenQ XL2720Z 27 inch 144 Hz e-Sports Gaming Monitor with a simply secondary monitor plugged in via the DVI port.
I think this is a fairly decent monitor so shouldn't need upgraded? I could be wrong though.

I'm definitely open to upgrading if it means I don't need to spend a lot of money on a new machine. My worry has always been that my motherboard would limit me to what I can buy because it's quite old now. I've been looking at getting 16GB of RAM (removing my 8GB)

Which RAM would you suggest?
Which GPU would you suggest?
Anything else that's worth upgrading?

 

[Scott]

That's a 1080p monitor so we will aim for high end 1080p.

GPU I would go for the GTX 1660 Super or the RTX 2060 Super. The 1660 meets your requirements, the 2060 exceeds them but would, IMO, be a worthwhile option. You would notice a HUGE difference with the 2060.

For the RAM you want the fastest DDR 3 you can get. The down-side is that extremely fast DDR3 is quite expensive. You will likely be around £150 for really good RAM.

RTX2060 Super would be around £350

The RX 5700 from AMD would be a good shout too. That can be had for around £320. Very powerful GPU and you've got the PSU to handle either option without breaking sweat.

Hence the £300-£500 comment

 

[randomone]

I'll have a look at the GPUs you've suggested, I like the idea of going for the better one to future-proof a little.

Excuse my ignorance regarding RAM but I have a few questions:

What is the fastest available DDR3 RAM?
Which RAM would you suggest?
Is there any way for me to check that the RAM is compatible with my motherboard? (same question applies to the GPU I guess too)

£300-500 is do-able if it's for upgrades and I don't need to buy a new PC in the near future

 

[Scott]

The motherboard you have takes any speed of DDR3. I think it was built with 3200Mhz OC RAM in mind. That being said, you're going to struggle for 3200Mhz RAM, there's only one brand I know of (GSkill) and it's as rare as hens teeth. I think 2400Mhz or 2666mhz should be achievable though.

The RAM will be compatible with the motherboard, you shouldn't have any issues. ECC would be the only problem but I doubt this would be available anywhere near that speed anyway.

The GPU is fine, slots right in (as long as you have the space. I think the Storm Trooper was quite big though, from memory, so a quick check with a rule just to be sure would be all that was required. Make sure you haven't thrown out the PSU cables though, you may need 1 or 2 of them depending what your current cabling is like.

You bought wisely the first time. The motherboard and CPU have another couple of years in them of high level 1080p gaming. The PSU is what I'm recommending now so it's been a great choice.

I would be purchasing 2x8GB DDR3 2400Mhz Ram (2666Mhz if you can get it) and a 2060 Super. Plugging them in and forgetting about another PC for at least 2 years.

 

[randomone]

I do remember speccing my machine on these forums all those years ago and asking for kit that would be semi future-proof so the kudos are probably due to another form member on here for picking those part for me!

I've been anxious about upgrading for a while now and have never really worked out what my options are. Knowing that my motherboard should be fine to fit both the RAM and GPU saves a lot of researching on my part haha.

The storm trooper case is pretty big and my 980 at the moment is a fairly decent size however i'll do some measuring just to be sure. Luckily I've kept the cable box that PCS send with the machine so I should still have all the cables required to fit a new card.

Thanks so much for your advice, you've no idea how much I appreciated it

 

[Scott]

No worries, post back how you get on

Just as an a-side, it may be worth doing a clean install of windows 10 if feasible. No matter how much you try to keep things neat and tidy you will always see a benefit from a fresh install (full wipe and reinstall from scratch). This allows you to install the latest Win10 from a base, without any upgrades or anything put in over the top.

It can make quite a substantial difference to operation. IMO it's worthwhile doing this at the same time as the upgrades....... so that it's as if you got a new PC.

 

[Deleted member 94250]

That's a 1080p monitor so we will aim for high end 1080p.

GPU I would go for the GTX 1660 Super or the RTX 2060 Super. The 1660 meets your requirements, the 2060 exceeds them but would, IMO, be a worthwhile option. You would notice a HUGE difference with the 2060.

For the RAM you want the fastest DDR 3 you can get. The down-side is that extremely fast DDR3 is quite expensive. You will likely be around £150 for really good RAM.

RTX2060 Super would be around £350

The RX 5700 from AMD would be a good shout too. That can be had for around £320. Very powerful GPU and you've got the PSU to handle either option without breaking sweat.

Hence the £300-£500 comment

BTW the 2060 has had a price drop to £275 i think

 

[randomone]

Just as an a-side, it may be worth doing a clean install of windows 10 if feasible. No matter how much you try to keep things neat and tidy you will always see a benefit from a fresh install (full wipe and reinstall from scratch). This allows you to install the latest Win10 from a base, without any upgrades or anything put in over the top.

It can make quite a substantial difference to operation. IMO it's worthwhile doing this at the same time as the upgrades....... so that it's as if you got a new PC.

Yep i'll definitely look to do this!

 

[randomone]

BTW the 2060 has had a price drop to £275 i think

A price drop where?

I'm struggling to find a 2060 Super for anything less than £340-ish

Is there any difference with the different brands of graphics cards? There seem to be a large range of brands available with no real obvious differences between them - any suggestions which ones to target?

 

[randomone]

Just as an a-side, it may be worth doing a clean install of windows 10 if feasible. No matter how much you try to keep things neat and tidy you will always see a benefit from a fresh install (full wipe and reinstall from scratch). This allows you to install the latest Win10 from a base, without any upgrades or anything put in over the top.

It can make quite a substantial difference to operation. IMO it's worthwhile doing this at the same time as the upgrades....... so that it's as if you got a new PC.

Just to make sure, when you say this are you referring to option 1 or 2 in this table?

 

[Scott]

The 2060 non-super will be around for £275, the Super will always be a bit more. Both are better than 1080p and would be more aimed at lower end 1440p. The non-super would be a 1080p monster, the Super would just be another level again.

Option 2 I am talking about. Wipes everything. If you get into the habit of doing it every year or so (I'm every 6 months usually) you get great organisational skills for your backups and files etc.

 

[randomone]

Hi,

Sorry to keep asking more question. I've pretty much decided I want to take the extra leap and go for the RTX 2060 Super however I'm having real trouble trying to work out all of the differences between the different models. I'm quite happy to spend £350-£420ish on the graphics card and so far have found a number of different models in this price range however I've no idea how to compare.

What would you suggest buying for this range?

For example I've found

£369.99 - RTX 2060 Super Armor OC
£379.99 - RTX 2060 Super Gaming OC
£389.99 - RTX 2060 Super EVO
£391.97 - RTC 2060 Super Gaming X

Are there better options out there?
What's the best way to compare these?

 

[Scott]

There's not going to be a whole lot of difference in them. The maximum boost clocks will all be temperature defined so just go with the one with the best looking cooler.

I've always liked EVGA as their returns policy and warranty are always first class.

 

[randomone]

Okay i'll keep an eye out for the EVGA cards! Good to know they're almost identical and I can save some money by getting the slightly cheaper options (although I noticed a few are reduced by a good amount!)

The next thing is RAM.. I now see what you mean by struggling to find fast DDR3 RAM now after looking for a few hours! I think i'm on the right track with this lot?

£104.68 - G.Skill F3-2400C11D-16GXM Memory Module
£106.26 - G.Skill F3-2400C11D-16GSR 16GB (2x8GB) 2400MHz CL11 DDR3-RAM 1.65v Memory Kit
£121.45 - G.Skill F3-2400C11D-16GAB 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR3-RAM Main Memory

 

[Scott]

I would go with the £106.26. CL11 is about as good as you will get. The only thing that's throwing me is it says 1.65v in the heading yet 1.6v in the description. The lower the voltage the better but I don't think you'll see under 1.6 anyway at that speed so all good.

 

[randomone]

Hi Scotster,

Just to let you know that I have ordered the following based on your advice above:

G.Skill F3-2400C11D-16GSR 16GB (2x8GB) 2400MHz CL11 DDR3-RAM 1.65v Memory Kit
RTX 2060 Super Gaming X

I've also done a bit of research and have a checklist of things to do before my fresh install of windows 10. I've been using this guide and it seems to have everything covered and is fairly easy to follow.

I'd like to thank you for all of your assistance and putting up with all of my questions over the past few days! You've been incredibly helpful throughout.

I'll be sure to let you know how the upgrades go in a few days time.

 

[Scott]

No worries at all, best of luck with it all. I'm sure it'll all be great

 

[Deleted member 94250]

A price drop where?

I'm struggling to find a 2060 Super for anything less than £340-ish

Is there any difference with the different brands of graphics cards? There seem to be a large range of brands available with no real obvious differences between them - any suggestions which ones to target?

I was talking about the stunt NVIDIA pulled to troll AMD just b4 the 5600XT launch