Question GPU vs. System upgrade | help!

[Xelvania]

I have an X99 system that I had built back in 2016, and I think its age is starting to show. I decided to load up the Resident Evil 4 Remake demo that released yesterday, and the performance couldn't be more stark. On average, with most settings on high only (RT turned off), I was hitting 30-40 FPS. Granted, this obviously predates the official release with the proper GPU drivers, but I don't think I'm going to see a big increase come launch. My question is simple: being on a budget of around $1,000 maximum, what should I opt for? A new GPU to tide me over, or a brand new system? I am looking for maximum performance (i.e. high framerate with high graphical settings @ 3440x1440. Ray Tracing doesn't matter much to me).

Here is my setup:




MSI Optix MPG341QR 34" UWQHD 3440 x 1440 (2K)

Corsair Air Series SP120 120mm White LED High Static Pressure Fan Cooling

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 2400

CORSAIR HXi Series HX1000i 1000W 80 PLUS PLATINUM Haswell Ready Full Modular

ASUS TUF SABERTOOTH X99 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Corsair Graphite Series 760T CC-9011074-WW White Full Tower Windowed Case

Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor (default clockspeed)

Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

Samsung 850 EVO 1 TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD

EVGA 06G-P4-2067-KR GeForce RTX 2060 SC Ultra Gaming, 6GB GDDR6, Dual HDB Fans



If the consensus is a new system, I'd preferably like to carry over some hardware (e.g. power supply, hard drive, etc.) to save money if that is possible.
Thank you in advance!

 

[Why_Me]

Here's a couple of ideas. You would need an adapter for your AIO. Another way to go would be with an i5 or AMD 7600 and put the rest of your budget towards a new gpu.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2v...x-atx-lga1700-motherboard-b760-aorus-elite-ax
Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX $169.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B760-AORUS-ELITE-AX-rev-10#kf

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xz8bt6/intel-core-i7-13700f-21-ghz-16-core-processor-bx8071513700f
Intel Core i7-13700F $369.98

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...-30m-cache-up-to-5-20-ghz/specifications.html

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr5-sdram/p/N82E16820374371
G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series DDR5 6000 32GB (2x16GB) CL32 $127.99

or ...

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CFzhP6/msi-pro-b650-p-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-b650-p-wifi
MSI PRO B650-P WIFI $199.99

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-B650-P-WIFI

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dXmmP6/amd-ryzen-7-7700-36-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000592box
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 $328.99

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-7-7700

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb/p/N82E16820374418
G.SKILL Flare X5 series AMD EXPO DDR5 6000 32GB (2x16GB) CL32 $127.99

 

[Xelvania]

Here's a couple of ideas. You would need an adapter for your AIO. Another way to go would be with an i5 or AMD 7600 and put the rest of your budget towards a new gpu.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2v...x-atx-lga1700-motherboard-b760-aorus-elite-ax
Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX $169.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B760-AORUS-ELITE-AX-rev-10#kf

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xz8bt6/intel-core-i7-13700f-21-ghz-16-core-processor-bx8071513700f
Intel Core i7-13700F $369.98

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...-30m-cache-up-to-5-20-ghz/specifications.html

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr5-sdram/p/N82E16820374371
G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series DDR5 6000 32GB (2x16GB) CL32 $127.99

or ...

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CFzhP6/msi-pro-b650-p-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-b650-p-wifi
MSI PRO B650-P WIFI $199.99

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-B650-P-WIFI

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dXmmP6/amd-ryzen-7-7700-36-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000592box
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 $328.99

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-7-7700

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb/p/N82E16820374418
G.SKILL Flare X5 series AMD EXPO DDR5 6000 32GB (2x16GB) CL32 $127.99

Very sorry for the late reply! These suggestions sound great. Do you have a recommendation for the AIO adapter? I tried doing a little research, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

 

[geofelt]

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.

Your 5820 was a nice processor for batch apps, but not so much for games.
Games depend on the performance of a single master thread.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 5820 and look at the single thread rating.
It should be about 514:

CPU-Z Benchmark for Intel Core i7-5820K (1T) - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

Best CPU performance - 64-bit - April 2024

valid.x86.fr

A $200 I5-13400 will score 715. Of course, you could go higher.
You would need a lga1700 motherboard, A B660/B760 motherboard may be $100 and you can keep your DDR4 ram if 16gb is sufficient.
The 13400 comes with an adequate stock cooler.
Of course, one can buy a better air cooler.
It seems that Intel can do quite well on air.

I would guess that a 6 year old aio is on it's last legs.

 

[Why_Me]

Very sorry for the late reply! These suggestions sound great. Do you have a recommendation for the AIO adapter? I tried doing a little research, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-%7C-Parts/PC-Components/Cooling/LGA1700-Retrofit-Kit/p/CW-8960091

 

[Xelvania]

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.

Your 5820 was a nice processor for batch apps, but not so much for games.
Games depend on the performance of a single master thread.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 5820 and look at the single thread rating.
It should be about 514:

CPU-Z Benchmark for Intel Core i7-5820K (1T) - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

Best CPU performance - 64-bit - April 2024

valid.x86.fr

A $200 I5-13400 will score 715. Of course, you could go higher.
You would need a lga1700 motherboard, A B660/B760 motherboard may be $100 and you can keep your DDR4 ram if 16gb is sufficient.
The 13400 comes with an adequate stock cooler.
Of course, one can buy a better air cooler.
It seems that Intel can do quite well on air.

I would guess that a 6 year old aio is on it's last legs.

I appreciate the recommendation for my 5820, but I think I decided to build a new system instead.

Do you think you could help me out on what to pick? I've chosen my main build already, but I still don't know what AIO to choose, nor if my mobo is good. I'm looking for something with longevity, but affordable. I preferably want a system (excluding GPU) to last me between 5-10 years. Also, should I carry over my sound card as well? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ISU33E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/C9jTGL

 

[Xelvania]

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-%7C-Parts/PC-Components/Cooling/LGA1700-Retrofit-Kit/p/CW-8960091

Thank you! I actually already stopped by that exact adapter, but I didn't see my model number on the compatibility list. I'm guessing that means I'll have to replace it?

 

[Why_Me]

Thank you! I actually already stopped by that exact adapter, but I didn't see my model number on the compatibility list. I'm guessing that means I'll have to replace it?

Contact Corsair first.

 

[geofelt]

The parts you listed are fine.
I would not spend a dime on trying to get an old aio to work.
Your case is a good one for air cooling.
Good front intake airflow and 170mm available for a cooler.
Noctua maintains a list of coolers suitable for a I7-13700K:

INTEL Core i7-13700K | CPU Compatibility | Noctua Compatibility Centre

Series: Raptor Lake-S, Socket: LGA 1700

ncc.noctua.at

I recommend the noctua NH-D15S. It cools the equivalent of a 280 aio.
Lest you think air is not suitable, read this study of a 13900K using less than top coolers.

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[Xelvania]

The parts you listed are fine.
I would not spend a dime on trying to get an old aio to work.
Your case is a good one for air cooling.
Good front intake airflow and 170mm available for a cooler.
Noctua maintains a list of coolers suitable for a I7-13700K:

INTEL Core i7-13700K | CPU Compatibility | Noctua Compatibility Centre

Series: Raptor Lake-S, Socket: LGA 1700

ncc.noctua.at

I recommend the noctua NH-D15S. It cools the equivalent of a 280 aio.
Lest you think air is not suitable, read this study of a 13900K using less than top coolers.

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.

www.tomshardware.com

I appreciate you taking the time to review my choices. After reading that article, I think I'm going to go with that air cooler.

Two questions: do I have enough room to install another fan on the cooler and do you think this heatsink will be okay for a minimal overclock? I'm not going to mess with the voltage, only going to see how high I can go without it.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned but you are running a 2060 at a bit over 1440p. I saw a 6800 non xt 16gb card for right around 500 I think on Microcenter’s website. If you can score a deal like that, pick up a b760 board and a 13400, reuse your other parts like ram and storage, and you’d have a decent little box imo.

 

[boju]

Im running Noctua d15 (two fan) in Lian Li mesh performance 2 case which is 229mm wide. With 44mm height ram i had to raise the second heatsink fan about 10mm for clearance and side panel just closes. Your case is 246mm wide so you shouldn't have any issues.

These days overclocking isn't really necessary. Not like the old days where you could easily chase 1000Mhz+ overclock. Cpus now are already there.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Im running Noctua d15 (two fan) in Lian Li mesh performance 2 case which is 229mm wide. With 44mm height ram i had to raise the second heatsink fan about 10mm for clearance and side panel just closes. Your case is 246mm wide so you shouldn't have any issues.

These days overclocking isn't really necessary. Not like the old days where you could easily chase 1000Mhz+ overclock. Cpus now are already there.

Exactly right. At least amd CPUs now days and I’m assuming Intel like to turbo themselves to what they think they can handle. Even in some videos you see when they do a manual overclock, many times in games they don’t get a lot of performance bump.

 

[Xelvania]

Don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned but you are running a 2060 at a bit over 1440p. I saw a 6800 non xt 16gb card for right around 500 I think on Microcenter’s website. If you can score a deal like that, pick up a b760 board and a 13400, reuse your other parts like ram and storage, and you’d have a decent little box imo.

I'll keep that in mind - thanks!

 

[Xelvania]

Im running Noctua d15 (two fan) in Lian Li mesh performance 2 case which is 229mm wide. With 44mm height ram i had to raise the second heatsink fan about 10mm for clearance and side panel just closes. Your case is 246mm wide so you shouldn't have any issues.

These days overclocking isn't really necessary. Not like the old days where you could easily chase 1000Mhz+ overclock. Cpus now are already there.

Thank you for that information.

Would you still say it's unnecessary if I wanted to stream some games at 1080p60?

 

[boju]

Would you still say it's unnecessary if I wanted to stream some games at 1080p60?

Not at all. Improvements compared to your well served cpu is immense. 13700k default turbo won't break a sweat.

 

[Xelvania]

Not at all. Improvements compared to your well served cpu is immense. 13700k default turbo won't break a sweat.

I'm very happy to hear that - thank you.

If you don't mind indulging in one last question: will I have enough room to install 3 more fans on the top of my tower with the NH-D1S5?

 

[geofelt]

I appreciate you taking the time to review my choices. After reading that article, I think I'm going to go with that air cooler.

Two questions: do I have enough room to install another fan on the cooler and do you think this heatsink will be okay for a minimal overclock? I'm not going to mess with the voltage, only going to see how high I can go without it.

To answer your two questions, yes and yes.

The NH-D15s is a slightly redesigned version of the NH-D15 and addresses a couple of compatibility issues. For one thing, it is designed to handle tall heat spreaders. That is not necessary if you use the Corsair lpx ram. Yes, you can add another front fan.
I have considered that on my own rig but decided to not bother.
Tests I have seen show minimal(2c.) benefit. To me, it is not worth fixing a problem I don't have. My suggestion is to first see how you do with the single fan. Then decide if adding another is worth it.
The NH-D15 is built slightly offset so that the cooler will not impact graphics card backplates if the first pcie slot is too close. That happens with some motherboards.
Check the noctua motherboard compatibility link to verify fit for any motherboard.
Here is a link for theDDR4 version motherboard you picked:

ASUS TUF Gaming B760-Plus WIFI D4 | Motherboard Compatibility | Noctua Compatibility Centre

Socket: LGA 1700

ncc.noctua.at

All those considerations are why I suggested NH-D15s vs. the NH-D15 which is a slightly stronger cooler.

Today, you can no longer get something for nothing by overclocking. Processor chips are binned and the better chips will go into the I9 processors which will sell for more.
All core overclocks is what puts the heat pressure on the cooling system.
This can be of advantage if you run multithreaded apps that can fully load all cores.
Games and normal activities will only actively use a handful of cores.
Gamers have found that the default turbo mechanism is the way to go.
That boosts a couple of cores past what the all core overclock could do.

Keep in mind that these new processors are very strong and they are going to loaf most of the time.

On adding fans to the top of the tower, I would not.

Any fresh air that comes in the front is going to exit SOMEWHERE, taking component heat with it.
Top exit fans will tend to redirect the front intake up and out of the case before it
Flows over the motherboard, graphics card and cpu cooler.
If all of the cooling air is from one source and filtered, your parts will stay cleaner.
Added fans will draw in unfiltered air from adjacent openings.
Fan arrangements are not cast in concrete, and there are varying opinions.
It is easy enough to try different options.

 

[Xelvania]

Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who took the time out of their day to help me choose my next parts. I decided to go with this build in case anyone was curious on what I decided on.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DDm4H2

 

[boju]

Make sure the motherboard box says 13th gen ready, otherwise be prepared to try flash bios yourself using flashback. Refer to online manual how to do that.

For storage, if this your only ssd, 1tb minimum. Space goes very quickly.

 

[Why_Me]

I appreciate you taking the time to review my choices. After reading that article, I think I'm going to go with that air cooler.

Two questions: do I have enough room to install another fan on the cooler and do you think this heatsink will be okay for a minimal overclock? I'm not going to mess with the voltage, only going to see how high I can go without it.

Before you spend money on an unlocked i7 cpu I want to show you something. This is the dirty little secret most posters on here won't show you. btw these 13 gen cpu's are pushed to their limit out of the box. Your o/c headroom with an air cooler is slim at best.

Intel® Core™ i7-13700F Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.20 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i7-13700F Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.20 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

www.intel.com

Processor Base Power: 65W
Maximum Turbo Power: 219W

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...-30m-cache-up-to-5-40-ghz/specifications.html
Processor Base Power: 125W
Maximum Turbo Power: 253W

Here's the locked 12 gen i7 12700 / 12700F vs the unlocked i7 12700KF. The difference is a whopping 1 frame per average. I doubt it would be much different with the 13 gen cpu's.

 

[Why_Me]

You can save a few dollars with the cpu cooler.

https://pcpartpicker.com/search/?q=DeepCool+AK620
DeepCool AK620 Dual Tower CPU Cooler $64.98

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/deepcool-ak620-review

https://www.deepcool.com/products/C...formance-CPU-Cooler-1700-AM5/2021/13067.shtml

https://pcpartpicker.com/search/?q=DeepCool+AG620
DeepCool AG620 Dual Tower CPU Cooler $51.98

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/deepcool-ag620-air-cooler

AG620 - DeepCool

The DeepCool AG620 is a dual-tower 120mm CPU cooler that boasts impressive 260W cooling power performance that's been stripped down and optimized for terrific efficiency throughout. - DeepCool was founded with the mission of providing professional, innovative, high-performance PC hardware and...

www.deepcool.com