Question Best upgrade options (value and performance wise)

[thomassoeby]

Hello fellow gamers,

I've bought a Lenevo Y-900 RE (link to the pc) for one year ago and have recently changed the GPU from a GTX 1080 to a RTX 2080.

Now i'm considering getting a new CPU, Motherboard and perhaps even RAM (+CPU cooler??)

But i have no idea whats possible to get into my case and which parts would be the best upgrade. My own idea is to buy the i9-9700k with the MSI Z390-A Pro Motherboard and perhaps G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200MHz 2x 8GB and replace them with my current i7-6700k, std. lenovo motherboard (real crap) and 2666Mhz RAM.

Is this a good idea or should i buy something different and will the items i'm thinking about even suit to my computer size wise etc.?

I really hope you can help me out.

Best Regards Thomas.

Note its primarly for better performance in PUBG and such games.

 

[vMax]

Having just looked at the Y-900 it has a standard layout so no issues on upgrading as it will take a standard ATX motherboard. If gaming is top priority and you want max FPS especially in PUBG and the like, then the 9700K will more than do the job and the RAM is good at DDR4 3200 but as black Friday is approaching, if you can find some DDR4 3600 even better. As to motherboard, the MSI Z390-A will do the job but the Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Pro or Elite both have a strong 12 phase VRM and will be better if overclocking and just better period...

Finally you could also look at the cheaper Ryzen 3600 route if you want to save money...

 

[thomassoeby]

Thanks for your feedback!

I will definitely consider getting the 3600mhz RAM instead then! But are all the motherboards you were writing about the same size? I'm only asking because i heard from an employee in a electronic store saying that the way you attach the motherboards (screws and the actual size) could be very different, so i should find some parts that suited my case and the way my current motherboard is attached. I can open my computer if needed and take a photo if you need specific informations to being able to tell me which ones i can go with cus i want to be able to overclock ofc.

I have no knowledge about Ryzen, so what kind of CPU from Intel would you say it compares to performance wise?

 

[cryoburner]

I would say the Ryzen 3600 performs most similar to an i7-8700. They both have 6-cores with 12-threads, and provide a relatively similar level of per-core performance, though the 3600 should draw less power and in turn put out less heat.

There isn't a directly comparable processor in Intel's 9th-gen lineup, since the i7s this generation no longer include SMT (Hyperthreading), but add two cores in its place. The current i5s are 6-cores providing 6-threads, and the i7s are 8-core providing 8-threads. In general, the i7-9700 and 9700K should be a little faster at gaming, though that will pretty much only be relevant if you are targeting 1080p on a high-refresh rate screen with your RTX 2080, where a 9700K might average around 5% or so higher frame rates. At 1440p or higher, average frame rates of all of these processors should be nearly identical.

Of course, it's also worth considering how much the upgrade might help performance compared to your existing processor. The i7-6700K is still a very capable 4-core, 8-thread processor, and will handle the vast majority of games nearly as well as any of these newer processors. In terms of per-core performance, it's nearly on par with them, so the main thing you would be gaining would be additional cores. Most current games won't fully utilize those extra cores though, so you would only likely see a noticeable improvement to frame rate stability in a relatively small number of heavily threaded games. That's likely to change as more games better utilize additional threads, but at this time, the benefits are likely to be limited, unless perhaps you are streaming or otherwise multitasking while gaming. And again, it holds true that at higher resolutions like 1440p with the settings turned up, any performance differences will be minimized further, as the graphics hardware will usually be more of a limitation to performance than the processor. So, don't expect upgrading from a 6700K to have all that much of a near-term impact on performance in most games. Personally, I would wait a year or two to see if there is more capable hardware available then. Maybe once Intel launches their 7nm desktop processors, which will likely be in 2021.

 

[Danra]

Regarding motherboards using different hold down screw placement, that is incorrect for almost all desktops. ATX is an industry standard, there are variations due to size but not screw placement. As to the size of screws or threads, that is case specific. You will use the same screws that came with your case. It is important to measure the motherboard if you want to purchase a new one to make certain it will fit. Companies like Newegg usually show the size under specs. However, our motherboard looks like an ATX.

When upgrading major components like a video card and CPU you may need to purchase a higher watt and higher quality power supply, the ones that come prebuilt from OEMs are garbage. Corsair makes good power supplies and a 650 watt Bronze should do fine for you. Because Black Friday sales are in effect shop around and if you find one for $58 or so I suggest you purchase it.

Just a FYI, I purchase components with the future in mind and if I had to purchase a CPU today and had a $300 budget Newegg and Micro Center are selling the Intel i7 9700K for $299 or were earlier today. As to a motherboard for that CPU the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite will work if you never overclock the CPU because the PCB is only 4 layers. If you plan to overclock I suggest the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra for $199, it is a 6 layer PCB. No company can match Gigabyte Z390 VRM this year, it is simply the best mid-range motherboard. Next year may be a different issue.

If you plan on getting a Ryzen CPU I would wait for the 4000 series.

The reason I mentioned those CPUs is because I always project an upgrade path and it has been the video card in my case. So, if you plan on upgrading your video card in a few years please lay the groundwork for the upgrade now or prior to upgrading your computer. For a video card update in 3 years or so a current Intel will be the faster gaming CPU than Ryzen. If you wait until next year AMD may beat Intel in gaming, so the time frame in which you plan to upgrade the CPU is important when planning for the future.

The current best GPU is not a good match for 4K especially if you want to game at 120Hz. AMD is the weaker CPU currently however at 4K the graphics card is the bottleneck, however in 3 years video cards will most likely be able to handle 4K 120Hz gaming. In that case you will want the strongest gaming CPU currently available and currently that is Intel, as I mentioned next year AMD may pull ahead of Intel.

I apologize, my mind sometimes does not lend itself to succinctness.