What should I upgrade?

adi3412

Member
Firstly i'm sorry if this is the wrong thread to post this kind of post to, It's my first time on here!

I have had my PC since 2017 and it's worked beautifully for me. It runs games like Destiny 2 and Siege at a steady 60-80 frames (last time I checked) and Valorant and CSGO at around 100-160 fps. However, I've found that newer games such as Warzone and Batman Arkham City have lots of trouble running. This is especially true for warzone, even at lowest settings it runs like a powerpoint. With black friday sales and christmas coming up I was thinking about upgrading a few parts, but my PC knowledge is quite limited so I have no idea where I should start. Which parts would you recommend I upgrade?

I have included my specs below just so you can see what I'm working with.

Many thanks in advance :)

Edit: I have added a Samsung 860 Evo 1Tb SSD to this build aswell

CaseCOOLERMASTER K350 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7400 (3.0GHz) 6MB Cache
MotherboardASUS® PRIME B250-PLUS: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card ReaderINTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power SupplyCORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor CoolingINTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal PasteSTANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound CardONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network CardWIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt OptionsMIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating SystemGenuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
 
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Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Hi mate, to be honest your CPU, motherboard, RAM and storage are really showing their age

Quad core at 3.0Ghz just isn't all that much anymore and the RAM is very very slow mix that with a mechanical HDD and no SSD its a combo for performance drops in games that are continuously loading

Might be time for a new machine mate
 

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Might be time for a new machine mate
I thought I'd let someone else say it..................

If you let us know a budget and monitor details, we'll see what we can do, you could move the 1TB to a new machine and also if you were no longer going to use this you could also move the W10 license over as well
 

adi3412

Member
Hi mate, to be honest your CPU, motherboard, RAM and storage are really showing their age

Quad core at 3.0Ghz just isn't all that much anymore and the RAM is very very slow mix that with a mechanical HDD and no SSD its a combo for performance drops in games that are continuously loading

Might be time for a new machine mate
Haha might have to wait a while for one of those to be released.

Yeah tbh I thought as much, I completely forgot to add but I did add a Samsung 860 evo ssd but everything else is exactly the same.
 

adi3412

Member
I thought I'd let someone else say it..................

If you let us know a budget and monitor details, we'll see what we can do, you could move the 1TB to a new machine and also if you were no longer going to use this you could also move the W10 license over as well
Honestly my budget is probably as cheap as I could get it whilst still getting good performance, how much do you think it would cost to get this rig up to standard Or to get a new one altogether?

My primary monitor is the

Acer Nitro XV240YPbmiiprx​

And my secondary monitor is an old 60Hz AOC monitor I can’t seem to remember the name of.

Oh and also I’ve just edited the post now but I have added a Samsung 860 evo 1tb SSD to this build too.
 

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Honestly my budget is probably as cheap as I could get it whilst still getting good performance, how much do you think it would cost to get this rig up to standard Or to get a new one altogether?

My primary monitor is the

Acer Nitro XV240YPbmiiprx​

And my secondary monitor is an old 60Hz AOC monitor I can’t seem to remember the name of.

Oh and also I’ve just edited the post now but I have added a Samsung 860 evo 1tb SSD to this build too.
The option you do have is to go for a GPU-less build then put your 1060 in for the time being. With the storage and windows key you’ll have to transfer over, I reckon you could get a decent start for about £700-800? The 1060 obviously isn’t ideal but it’ll save you a tonne for the time being assuming it’s still serviceable, then you could upgrade once the prices are more reasonable!
 

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
In a normal market, you could upgrade the graphics card and get at least another year or two out of it. A 3060 Ti and a 1440p monitor and it would still be a very servicable gaming machine. The 7400 may be an oldish chip, but it would still be fine especially at higher resolutions. You could then buy a new build and move the new graphics card into it in a year or so.

Of course, the world is the way it is and a graphics card upgrade is phenomenally expensive/difficult, so this route probably isn't open to you...
 

adi3412

Member
The option you do have is to go for a GPU-less build then put your 1060 in for the time being. With the storage and windows key you’ll have to transfer over, I reckon you could get a decent start for about £700-800? The 1060 obviously isn’t ideal but it’ll save you a tonne for the time being assuming it’s still serviceable, then you could upgrade once the prices are more reasonable!
Ahh okay I see what you mean, that does sound much more viable than buying an entirely new rig.

What parts would you personally recommend if you don’t mind me asking?
 

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Ahh okay I see what you mean, that does sound much more viable than buying an entirely new rig.

What parts would you personally recommend if you don’t mind me asking?
You could spend more in some areas (PSU) and save in others (CPU cooler) but something like this should be a pretty solid start!

Storage wise- you have to have a storage drive with a PCS build so I've opted to put in a 500GB NVME SSD to use as a boot SSD. It'll be about 7x faster than your Samsung drive and will be big enough for Windows and applications, I'd then format and insert your Samsung SSD to use as a games drive and HDD to use for general files. You could just go for the cheapest drive possible then continue to use your SSD as a boot drive, but M.2 NVME's are really the way forward and as someone that's just swapped from SATA to NVME, I'd highly recommend it!

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE Solid airflow case, another option is the slightly more expensive Cooler Master TD500
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4) Good gaming CPU
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready! Good mid-tier motherboard to handle the 5600X and a potential future upgrade
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) 16GB is the standard for a gaming system these days, AMD loves fast RAM so gone for a 3200mhz kit
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD Put your 1060 in here
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW) Explained above
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET High quality PSU that'll allow you to upgrade comfortably to a 3070, or a 3080 if you wanted to push it.
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition Not 100% necessary so could save £30 but will reduce CPU temps and improve noise levels
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 If you need WiFI, this is the WiFI card to have
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED Transfer your windows key over from your 7400 1060 system
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Well worth the fiver
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 16 working days
Price: £788.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/khPxsSwAhT/
 

adi3412

Member
In a normal market, you could upgrade the graphics card and get at least another year or two out of it. A 3060 Ti and a 1440p monitor and it would still be a very servicable gaming machine. The 7400 may be an oldish chip, but it would still be fine especially at higher resolutions. You could then buy a new build and move the new graphics card into it in a year or so.

Of course, the world is the way it is and a graphics card upgrade is phenomenally expensive/difficult, so this route probably isn't open to you...
God I wish I had the funds atm to do that, sounds like a dream haha. Unfortunately I don’t think I could do that but I may be able to buy a new gpu if I saved from now until like next year. I might still go down the route of upgrading the other parts and then finally doing the gpu
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
God I wish I had the funds atm to do that, sounds like a dream haha. Unfortunately I don’t think I could do that but I may be able to buy a new gpu if I saved from now until like next year. I might still go down the route of upgrading the other parts and then finally doing the gpu
What's your optimal budget for upgrading the current system?
 

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
God I wish I had the funds atm to do that, sounds like a dream haha. Unfortunately I don’t think I could do that but I may be able to buy a new gpu if I saved from now until like next year. I might still go down the route of upgrading the other parts and then finally doing the gpu
The only caution I'd offer here is about what your actual bottleneck is. If the graphics card is the bottleneck, upgrading the rest of the system will only offer a moderate upgrade in performance. I'm not familiar with the games you mention and of course your graphics settings will also play a role.

I'd do some investigation: when you're gaming, use Task Manager or other apps to see what use you're putting on CPU and graphics card. If the graphics is at 100%, there's not a whole deal of sense in buying a new platform and keeping the same graphics card.

Or, of course, if you're trying to run the games at maximum settings, turn them down.

I'd pay attention to all these questions before I dive into specifications, personally.
 
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