[SOLVED] About to upgrade my old build, got a bunch of questions...

[siModify]

Hi everyone. A couple of weeks ago my PC's GPU just ... died? It was an Asus STRIX GTX 950 which had served me for more than 3 years, which is more than I could ask for I guess. The PC recognizes it and insists that it's working properly and yet none of the games work. Anyway, I tried fixing the problem but I figured might as well make it an excuse to upgrade.

My system is as follows;
Proc-i5 6500
RAM-Corsair Veng. 1x8, 2400MHz
GPU-ASUS STRIX GTX 950
Mobo-MSI H110M Pro-VD

Upgrading my RAM to 16 gigs, getting a new case with better cooling, getting a new PSU and getting a 144Hz monitor is the first thing on my to-do list. However, about the GPU, I've been thinking about getting an RTX 2060 or a 2070.

Here's the question. Is it worth pushing my budget to get a 2070? It's quite over my budget but if it's worth the cost, I might be getting it. Here are the two models I've been considering.

https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-rtx-2060-rog-strix-rtx2060-o6g-gaming/p/N82E16814126280

https://www.newegg.com/evga-geforce-rtx-2070-08g-p4-2171-kr/p/N82E16814487467

I've also thought about maybe instead of pushing for the RTX, I should get a GTX 1060 and upgrade the processor with the extra money? Although I'll be using designing programs, such as AutoCad or Rhino, I'll be doing it mostly on my laptop that has a i7-8750 so it shouldn't matter that much, perhaps?

 

[Finstar]

Why not RX 5700 XT?
And yea, your cpu would be holding such a gpu back by quite a bit.
Upgrading it however would also mean a motherboard upgrade which can get kind of costly.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I would go for the Radeon RX5700xt 8gb as it costs less than the RTX 2070, yet performs better.

Your CPU will hold back any RTX card or 5700xt, but the only option for a CPU upgrade would be a used i7 that costs as much as a new CPU and mobo.

What is your all-in budget for upgrades?

 

[siModify]

I would go for the Radeon RX5700xt 8gb as it costs less than the RTX 2070, yet performs better.

Your CPU will hold back any RTX card or 5700xt, but the only option for a CPU upgrade would be a used i7 that costs as much as a new CPU and mobo.

What is your all-in budget for upgrades?

Why not RX 5700 XT?
And yea, your cpu would be holding such a gpu back by quite a bit.
Upgrading it however would also mean a motherboard upgrade which can get kind of costly.

I really didn't think about a Radeon. I was talking about it to a friend who is quite the NVidia fanboy and knows about this stuff better than I do, so I was just talking about his suggestions.

My all-in budget is $500 max. I live in Turkey, so 70-100$ of the budget will have to be spent on shipment and tax.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

What PSU do you have?

I would suggest instead of spending all of that budget on a GPU, you consider a new motherboard and CPU as well as a cheaper GPU.

With this approach, you cannot fit any RX5700 or RTX card in the budget, but you can still get a much better performing card.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | $139.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | ASRock B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $79.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | Zotac GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB GAMING Video Card | $219.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $439.87
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-14 14:49 EDT-0400 |
I would concider a new I5 6 core since newer AMD chips like faster ram. Intel cares little about ram speed, so you can reuse your ram.

The GTX1660 is a massive improvement over your current card, while still being cheap enough to get a new CPU and mobo that will still leave room for upgrade.

Depending on monitor and game settings, this will likely merit better performance over your current I5 and RX5700/2060/2070.

 

[siModify]

What PSU do you have?

I would suggest instead of spending all of that budget on a GPU, you consider a new motherboard and CPU as well as a cheaper GPU.

With this approach, you cannot fit any RX5700 or RTX card in the budget, but you can still get a much better performing card.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | $139.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | ASRock B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $79.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | Zotac GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB GAMING Video Card | $219.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $439.87
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-14 14:49 EDT-0400 |
I would concider a new I5 6 core since newer AMD chips like faster ram. Intel cares little about ram speed, so you can reuse your ram.

The GTX1660 is a massive improvement over your current card, while still being cheap enough to get a new CPU and mobo that will still leave room for upgrade.

Depending on monitor and game settings, this will likely merit better performance over your current I5 and RX5700/2060/2070.

Thanks for the reply! Super helpful.
Is that CPU going to make a huge difference? Also I was looking at older forum posts and I had seen here and there that my Mobo could've been fine with the RX or the RTX.

Also, my PSU doesn't have a label but it's super old just like the rest of the rig. Would you mind suggesting a new one fitting for GTX 1660 or the other, newer ones?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Is that CPU going to make a huge difference? Also I was looking at older forum posts and I had seen here and there that my Mobo could've been fine with the RX or the RTX.

I have a similar performing Ryzen 3 1200 with an overclock. With an RX580 (similar performance to a 1060) GTAV stutters and CPU maxes out. I would imagine most games would stutter with your I5 6500 and a more powerful RTX or 5700 card.

While your motherboard and CPU would work, you would have less than ideal performance. The new I5 would make a big difference.

You can swap your CPU for an I7 7700, but that still is only a 4 core and costs as much as the newer motherboard and better performing I5.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Also, my PSU doesn't have a label but it's super old just like the rest of the rig. Would you mind suggesting a new one fitting for GTX 1660 or the other, newer ones?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Fd...onze-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020121-na
I would reccomend this for a 1660/ti, 2060, or 5700.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dR...old-certified-atx-power-supply-mpy6501acaagus
For a 5700xt or 2070 id step up to this.

 

[siModify]

I have a similar performing Ryzen 3 1200 with an overclock. With an RX580 (similar performance to a 1060) GTAV stutters and CPU maxes out. I would imagine most games would stutter with your I5 6500 and a more powerful RTX or 5700 card.

While your motherboard and CPU would work, you would have less than ideal performance. The new I5 would make a big difference.

You can swap your CPU for an I7 7700, but that still is only a 4 core and costs as much as the newer motherboard and better performing I5.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Fd...onze-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020121-na
I would reccomend this for a 1660/ti, 2060, or 5700.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dR...old-certified-atx-power-supply-mpy6501acaagus
For a 5700xt or 2070 id step up to this.

I think I got it. Thanks, guys. I'll probably take the 1660 route and replace my motherboard and the CPU.