[SOLVED] 3070 Ti Upgrade

Aug 16, 2021
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Hiya All,

I recently managed to snag a bargain on a 3070 Ti, given the climate I jumped on it. I'm currently running:

9600k clocked to 4.8
AsRock extreme 4 z390.
16 gig DDR4 RipJaw 3333
Coolermaster 650 80+ Bronze
Nvidia 1660 Super (Being Replaced by the 3070 Ti).

I mainly VR Game (Elite Dangerous) and have a HP G2 inbound.

Questions for all the experts:
  1. Bottleneck potential around CPU
  2. PSU requriments (I know it calls for a 750 but I'm stretched a bit on the GPU so strapped for cash)
  3. I assume no point upgrading to 32gig RAM?

Thanks for any advice,

Kind Regards,

Allan
 
Solution
  1. Understood on the CPU, but without changing board (which will of course come in due time.) I'm still left with 9th gen. Any recommendations?
  2. Exact PSU: https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/masterwatt/masterwatt-650/
  3. Absolutely, Current Ram is 2x8gb dual channel. 😛
Regards,

Allan

Without changing your motherboard, your best option would be to move up in the CPU product stack: I personally have a i7-9700k and it has worked very well for me. If you could score one at a decent price you could buy a i9-9900k.

With previous generation GPUs it was possible to run GPUs with power supplies less than what was recommended, but Ampere GPUs are a whole different deal. The power draw and transient...
Bottleneck potential around CPU
A 6/6 is not the best cpu for gaming. At least use 6 core /12 threads nowadays.

PSU requriments (I know it calls for a 750 but I'm stretched a bit on the GPU so strapped for cash)
CM 650w Bronze can be mediocore or bad. What's the exact model of the PSU?
I assume no point upgrading to 32gig RAM?
Current RAM is 2x8GB running dual channel?
 
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A 6/6 is not the best cpu for gaming. At least use 6 core /12 threads nowadays.


CM 650w Bronze can be mediocore or bad. What's the exact model of the PSU?

Current RAM is 2x8GB running dual channel?

  1. Understood on the CPU, but without changing board (which will of course come in due time.) I'm still left with 9th gen. Any recommendations?
  2. Exact PSU: https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/masterwatt/masterwatt-650/
  3. Absolutely, Current Ram is 2x8gb dual channel. 😛

Regards,

Allan
 
Understood on the CPU, but without changing board (which will of course come in due time.) I'm still left with 9th gen. Any recommendations?
i7-8700K or i9-9900K
Double forward with DD-DC, pretty bad voltage regulation and not handling well the latest videocards like all PSUs with a double forward topology. Replace it!
Absolutely, Current Ram is 2x8gb dual channel.
Give it a try. 16GB is enough in a lot of games.
 
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i7-8700K or i9-9900K

Double forward with DD-DC, pretty bad voltage regulation and not handling well the latest videocards like all PSUs with a double forward topology. Replace it!

Give it a try. 16GB is enough in a lot of games.

Righteo, Change PSU. Any chance of damage eg gigabyte's pho-par? Or likely just won't cut it, and random shutdowns etc?
 
  1. Understood on the CPU, but without changing board (which will of course come in due time.) I'm still left with 9th gen. Any recommendations?
  2. Exact PSU: https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/masterwatt/masterwatt-650/
  3. Absolutely, Current Ram is 2x8gb dual channel. 😛
Regards,

Allan

Without changing your motherboard, your best option would be to move up in the CPU product stack: I personally have a i7-9700k and it has worked very well for me. If you could score one at a decent price you could buy a i9-9900k.

With previous generation GPUs it was possible to run GPUs with power supplies less than what was recommended, but Ampere GPUs are a whole different deal. The power draw and transient response is very high on Ampere GPUs and when Nvidia recommends a certain wattage for a GPU, it's non-negotiable. If anything, Nvidia was a bit conservative in some of their recommendations: the RTX 3080 also recommends a 750 watt PSU, but a RTX 3080 can trip the power protection circuitry of all but the best 750 watt PSUs; 850 watts would have been a more realistic recommendation. All that to say, you should definitely upgrade to a 750 watt PSU like a Corsair RM750x or similar.
 
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Solution
I do not know what resolution you are playing but Im guessing you are using highest possible visual settings, right?. I played Elite Dangerous a lot, and you should be fine with your current Core i5 9600K. I got many friends, also commanders, who play without issues on a Core i3 6100.

Will the Core i5 9600K limit your GPU performance in some games?, yes probably, specially at 1080p and a little bit at 1440p (depending on visual settings and game engine), but for Elite you should be fine. Specially if you move or already are playing Horizons.

If the RAM is 2x8GB, then is enough for Elite.

And I agree with both --SID-- and RTX 2080, you need a new and decent PSU (https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/psucultists-psu-tier-list-rev-14-8-12-07-2021.3624094/)


Cheers and enjoy!