[SOLVED] Gaming Upgrade Questions.

[TomTheNovice]

Hi All,
Im new to the forum and was hoping someone may be able to lend me some advice...
please forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere.
I am a casual gamer who has recently found myself playing more and am considering upgrading my pc as an alternative to buying the new xbox series x.
My pc was once very powerful but it struggles to play the latest games. I mainly play call of duty and other fps games.

My current spec are as follows:
i7-4930k
ASUS P9x79 mobo
22gb RAM
1060 6gb GPU.

In short I have been looking at the new 30 series cards. Mainly the a 3070, or perhaps the 20 series, 2060 super or 2070.

The new xbox promises 4k at 120fps. Im thinking 4k may not be that crucial but the higher fps would be nice. I currently play on an xbox one x at 4k 60fps i believe.

I am thinking I will get a new monitor to handle a high fps, but would my cpu handle the upgrade? Should I cut my losses and just get the new xbox?

I like the idea of having my pc back up to spec but I dont think I could justify spending what it would take to replace the cpu given I would have to buy a new mobo and maybe RAM?
sorry for the long winded questions but im fearful my pc is just not up to the task any more. I am hopefull this may not be the case.
many thanks for any advise you may give.

Tom

 

[Schlachtwolf]

Honestly your 4 core CPU is not going to cut it at 4K in AAA titles, Cyberpunk etc will see to that. I had a 10606gb and it was great BUT even it struggled 18 months ago and huge leaps have been made this autumn that has really knocked older hardware from being good/OK into the obsolete bracket. I would wait before getting a RTX card..... the 2070 0r the 2060 will NOT get 120 fps at 4K on AAA titles.

1. Hard to come by, shortages to stay until 1q 2021
2. Do you want/need Raytracing and DLSS in Nvidia form
3. Wait for Radeon 6000 series reviews and availability, they come out in 1 week
4. If you upgrade your system it will mean a new Mobo, RAM etc ....will you go Ryzen or stay Intel?
5. A Ryzen x570 Mobo, Radeon 6000 series GPU AND 5000 series cpu have a special compatability mode (where the CPU can directly access the GPU memeory) which COULD (no independent reviews yet) give a decent bang for your buck boost
6. Budget

Wait just 1 week then all the big players have ALL their new stuff out (I have a 5900x on order) and then you can make an informed decision..... look at the people that rushed to get a 10GB 3080 for 1200$, now a 3080ti with 20GB is possibly being marketed in January for 999$. Take your time, being on the bleeding edge of tech means your wallet bleeds. Use HardwareUnboxed, Gamersnexus, derBauer etc on Youtube, Tomsahrware, Andatech, Kitguru etc and then make an informed and logical choice that fits your needs.

Just my thoughts

Schlachtwolf

 

[TomTheNovice]

thank you for the fast response.
I value your input and i think i will follow your advice,
i think my cpu is 6 core @ 3.4hz, does your evaluation of it still ring true? your take on it does go along with what i suspected.
thanks again

 

[Schlachtwolf]

My bad you are correct 6 core..... but the max boost of 3.9 single core boost and DDR 3 ram speed is hurting you. Also 22GB RAM is an odd number... what is the configuration?

You are looking at a COMPLETE new setup for a new generation GPU, an RTX on that older platform is a waste of money honestly.......

My tip is for the basics....depending on budget and I am going middle of the road here

AM4 b550 Mobo
Ryzen 3700x or 5600x(both come with a cooler)
DDR4 3200 RAM
750W power supply from a GOOD make (Corsair, Seasonic...beQuiet have a decent new one on the market)

 

[TomTheNovice]

i am not 100% sure on what cards are in there without opening the case right now. i think i had a pair of 8s and then a 4 and 2. not ideal but wouldnt be against sorting that out should need be. the last i used my pc for gaming was when the oculus came out a few year back and it ran it fine.
tbh i think i would be looking to play at 1440p max as i think a high fps 4k rig would be unattainable for me budget wise. do you think i would still be looking at a full rebuild to clear the 100fps mark at 1440, even 1080.
thanks again

 

[Schlachtwolf]

I play 1440p and I love it.....yes I do believe it is time for a re-build, at 1440p the CPU and GPU have to work much harder to fill the extra pixels. the game being released/developed are going to lean heavily to the new stuff like Raytracing,DLSS etc as that is what Nvidia etc want... give the players a reason to buy the new stuff. Hell even the RTX 2080ti has by all accounts a big problem running Cyberpunk at a decent frame rate. If you really want to see the the limits of your system play Red Dead Redemption 2...... even my system struggles to get 60fps on medium settings at times.

If you have a mish-mash of RAM that will limit your system even further, it may not be running dual channel and therefore limiting bandwith. There is a reason RAM is sold in kits, they are tested that they work together at the speed required. Having 1 slow sick of RAM can mean that all other sticks slow down too inorder that it can function.