[SOLVED] Full PC Revamp - Advice Needed

[Frostivus]

Hey all,

I am trying to upgrade my computer. However, my motherboard is now too old to support new gen cores like i9. So I am potentially looking for a complete revamp, as the setup is pretty old now.

Setup:
Intel i5-7600k
16 GB RAM
Mobo - ASRock Z270 Gaming K6
GTX 1060
1X SSD, 2X HDD

I need suggestions for how I am able to upgrade this computer, preferably more cost effectively, while still being able to play high-stress games. Any help is appreciated. Is a complete revamp of the setup worth it if I would like to continue playing games smoothly?

 

[siaan312]

You can still do your upgrades in parts, and there's no need to upgrade everything.

You don't need an i9 let me tell you that, but listen
You have a 4 core cpu. that's the bare minimum now, but it's a good pairing to your gpu.

So, neither upgrading your cpu or your gpu will net you a big performance jump depending on what you do.

I would personally tell you to swap your motherboard and your cpu (You can keep the ram, psu, ssds, hdds and the gpu) Then upgrade the gpu later.

 

[Eximo]

Well, GPUs are pretty hard to come by unless you have deep pockets. Ebay is fully stocked with the latest for double the real price. Otherwise it is extreme patience, getting a bot, etc to succeed in buying a late model card. What you can drop in depends on your power supply. If you have a decent 650W, up through the RTX3070, 750W+ for the 3080, and 850W+ for 3090.

You can replace your core system though for not a whole lot. Though i9 is a little much for 'cost effective'. Little practical difference between the i7-11700k and i9-11900k, both 8 core.

You can look into an 11600k and a new Z590 board, you could keep your memory as well if you wanted.

I just bought an i9-10900F, a 10 core locked processor (boosts to 5.2Ghz though, and certainly faster than my old 7700k at 5Ghz). That was $350 for the CPU, and I bought a decent Z490 board to go with it for about $230, new memory as well, but that was just so I could keep the old board together really.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I need suggestions for how I am able to upgrade this computer, preferably more cost effectively, while still being able to play high-stress games

you would need to make a distinction whether you are more gearing towards budget build or high performance.
there is a large difference is price depending on which route.

high quality with advanced features enabled at decent frame rates and higher resolutions
will cost quite a bit more than medium settings with advanced features disabled and at lower resolutions.

Is a complete revamp of the setup worth it if I would like to continue playing games smoothly?

i would definitely be replacing the motherboard, CPU, and RAM asap.
drives should be fine.
depending on the model PSU you are using, that could also be a definite upgrade needed.

 

[punkncat]

Look at this a couple of ways.

What you have now is a well balanced system. Any significant level of upgrade to your CPU is going to be well into overkill for a 1060, and particularly if it's a 3GB model. There is no telling when you will be able to purchase a GPU for a reasonable amount of money to performance.

In this case I believe I would go on the hunt for a 7700K and according to workloads and usage perhaps double the RAM. I would search used. As you well know there are a couple of Ryzen 3 (that you can't find) that made 7th gen Intel functionally obsolete. My bet would be with a little resource and luck you could score one fairly cheap.

 

[Frostivus]

Hey all,

Thank you for all the helpful replies. I have one more question. Assuming I wasn't looking to be cost effective, would a full revamp be something I should look for, or would it still simply be better to replace parts?

 

[siaan312]

Hey all,

Thank you for all the helpful replies. I have one more question. Assuming I wasn't looking to be cost effective, would a full revamp be something I should look for, or would it still simply be better to replace parts?

Wouldn't matter much.
As long as the powersupply is good enough, and the ssds/hdds aren't more than say, 5-7 years old, I don't see a reason to replace them.

 

[punkncat]

If you opt to go for the best CPU and motherboard that you can, while keeping the other functional parts of the old build, consider Intel unless (also) adding RAM to that build is part of the budget. At that point you are so close there is no point in not going ahead with a full new build aside GPU.

The reason I say this is considering RAM speed, if you go Intel it won't matter enough to make it a critical update while using the old GPU. If you go Ryzen the older slower RAM will hamper performance. You didn't list a speed, so guessing...

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Assuming I wasn't looking to be cost effective, would a full revamp be something I should look for, or would it still simply be better to replace parts?

a semi-revamp is what you should be looking into regardless of budget.

if you keep your current GPU until a newer series is actually available
and you decide to stick with your current 16GB of memory
and also considering that your power supply is actually efficient and trustworthy;

your current chipset is 4 years old and was on the lower end of performance at the time of release.
so i would definitely be looking into upgrading the motherboard & CPU.

moving up from an 8700K @ 5GHz to an 11700K @ 5GHz shows a much noticeable improvement in all tasks.
so moving up from your current 7600K to a mid-high tier 10th or 11th gen would show much more of an improvement.

though if you have a decent local marketplace for used hardware like Facebook, Craigslist, etc
i would just look into selling the entire system and going for total new build.

 

[geofelt]

First of all what is your objective?
I might presume it is for gaming.
Most fast action games will be limited bu the graphics card.
Unfortunately, that is a tough thing to buy today.
Good cards are in limited supply and are selling at 2x msrp.

But, some games are more cpu limited like sims, MMO and strategy games.
A cpu upgrade is reasonable then.

How to tell?
Try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
For a cpu upgrade:
Your i5-7600K had 4 threads and a passmark rating of 6878. Perhaps more if you are overclocking.
That is when all threads are 100% busy.
The single thread rating is 2573. not bad, it is the single thread rating that is most important to quickness and games.
You could try to buy a used I7-7700K.
8 threads and a rating of
They sell for $200-$300 on ebay.
Passmark 9708/2764.

I think, though, that I would go current gen with a i5-11400 12 threads and 17853/3059.
You should be able to find a i5-11400f under $200.
Any lga1200 motherboard will do; they start around $70-100.
No problem reusing your ram. Intel performance is not much dependent on ram speed.
Here is a review of the 11400 :

Intel Core i5-11400F Review: The New Value Champ

The Core i5-11400F coupled with a B560 motherboard make for an interesting build configuration, as it's significantly cheaper than the Core i5-11600K/Z590 and less than the cost...

www.techspot.com