I am looking to upgrade my PC components, but I am unsure what would be the best for my current system

[harrison.stafford]

Hello,

I have had a gaming PC for a little over 2 years now, and I am looking to upgrade some of my parts. Previously, I had bought a pre-built iBUYPOWER desktop, so unfortunately, I do not know a lot about the "building" or modification process (pertaining to gaming computers. In short, I would like to make upgrades that are advantageous for high fps/high graphics gaming. I play competitive rocket league, but I enjoy games like The Witcher, GTA V, etc.. as well. Ideally, I would like to upgrade my graphics card to a RTX 2070/2080 or a GTX 1080/1080ti, but I am unsure if my parts will pair with them. In addition, I know there is a little more that goes into upgrading your CPU (MoBo, RAM, etc), but I would like to upgrade to an i7 (Coffee Lake maybe?). Any help regarding the subject matter would be a great help!

My current setup is:

CPU: Intel (R) Core(TM) i5-6400 CPU @2.7GHz (2.71Ghz)
Installed Memory: 16GB
Hard Drive: 1TB + 120GB SSD
GPU: AMD Radeon RX480 4GB
Monitor: BenQ XL2430-B ZOWIE 24" (144Hz)

I am not sure if any other information is needed, but I would be happy to provide more information if needed. Thank you!

 

[Frag Maniac]

All that and no max budget mentioned.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2946386/build-upgrade-advice.html

 

[harrison.stafford]

All that and no max budget mentioned.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2946386/build-upgrade-advice.html

RIP lol
Somewhere around $1,000.00

Primarily, I want to upgrade my graphics card

 

[Frag Maniac]

What case and PSU do you have?

$1000 will go a long ways if you have an adequate Case, PSU, and HDD. The problem is, if you go for one of the GPUs mentioned, your CPU would slow it down, as it's a slow clock model and can't be overclocked.

Only two solutions really. Either upgrade to a 6700k + cooler, which would run st least $345, and spend the rest on a high end GPU (and PSU if the one you have is too weak), or get a 8600k, DDR4 RAM, and Z370 MB, which would run close to $500, and spend the rest on a GPU, possibly PSU as well.

The first method is best bang for buck on the GPU, but the 2nd method is a more up to date platform with higher core count. Since the RTX GPUs are still very high priced, and no ray traced games out yet, they seem like a bad purchase regarding value.

So it would appear the second option is best since it's a more future ready platform and 1000 series GPUs are coming down in price. There are GTX 1080s on sale now for under $450. The question is whether a GTX 1080 would be enough to fully utilize that 144Hz display, and you've ye to even say what the res is.

The 144Hz display is what makes the decision hard. You current spec is also pretty unbalanced because of that one component.

 

[harrison.stafford]

What case and PSU do you have?

$1000 will go a long ways if you have an adequate Case, PSU, and HDD. The problem is, if you go for one of the GPUs mentioned, your CPU would slow it down, as it's a slow clock model and can't be overclocked.

Only two solutions really. Either upgrade to a 6700k + cooler, which would run st least $345, and spend the rest on a high end GPU (and PSU if the one you have is too weak), or get a 8600k, DDR4 RAM, and Z370 MB, which would run close to $500, and spend the rest on a GPU, possibly PSU as well.

The first method is best bang for buck on the GPU, but the 2nd method is a more up to date platform with higher core count. Since the RTX GPUs are still very high priced, and no ray traced games out yet, they seem like a bad purchase regarding value.

So it would appear the second option is best since it's a more future ready platform and 1000 series GPUs are coming down in price. There are GTX 1080s on sale now for under $450. The question is whether a GTX 1080 would be enough to fully utilize that 144Hz display, and you've ye to even say what the res is.

The 144Hz display is what makes the decision hard. You current spec is also pretty unbalanced because of that one component.

First of all, THANK you for your timely response. I am not sure what the psu is (I believe it is a 500w), but I will check when I get home tomorrow. Another question: why is it that the 6700k is the only other i7 option rather than a i7 7700k (not questioning you, just genuinely curious)?

 

[Frag Maniac]

Actually you're right, I was using Newegg as a quick reference and their price on the 7700k was rather high. Amazon has it for $335, and that's a better deal than the 6700k for $325.

 

[pistolpete69]

What case and PSU do you have?

$1000 will go a long ways if you have an adequate Case, PSU, and HDD. The problem is, if you go for one of the GPUs mentioned, your CPU would slow it down, as it's a slow clock model and can't be overclocked.

Only two solutions really. Either upgrade to a 6700k + cooler, which would run st least $345, and spend the rest on a high end GPU (and PSU if the one you have is too weak), or get a 8600k, DDR4 RAM, and Z370 MB, which would run close to $500, and spend the rest on a GPU, possibly PSU as well.

The first method is best bang for buck on the GPU, but the 2nd method is a more up to date platform with higher core count. Since the RTX GPUs are still very high priced, and no ray traced games out yet, they seem like a bad purchase regarding value.

So it would appear the second option is best since it's a more future ready platform and 1000 series GPUs are coming down in price. There are GTX 1080s on sale now for under $450. The question is whether a GTX 1080 would be enough to fully utilize that 144Hz display, and you've ye to even say what the res is.

The 144Hz display is what makes the decision hard. You current spec is also pretty unbalanced because of that one component.

First of all, THANK you for your timely response. I am not sure what the psu is (I believe it is a 500w), but I will check when I get home tomorrow. Another question: why is it that the 6700k is the only other i7 option rather than a i7 7700k (not questioning you, just genuinely curious)?

I agree 100% with those options, definitely your best value for money.

But don't splurge for a 6700k or 7700k unless you can confirm the motherboard you have supports overclocking!
You can save some $$$ getting a non-K processor as I doubt your pre-built system has a Z-170 board. If you're going new, 8600k or 8500 would be my recommendation there as well, if you have no interest overclocking don't spend extra for an OC board/cpu (you should overclock though, it's so easy and you get major performance boosts).

GPU wise, I would look for a used 1070 ti/1080 or honestly just get the best card you can with whatever your budget has left. I would be wary of going 2070/2080 due to the high price vs. performance compared to a 1080 ti. Depends how much you believe in this ray tracing in the future, lots of good deals on 10 series cards which are still beasts at 1080p Max in AAA games

 

[Frag Maniac]

But don't splurge for a 6700k or 7700k unless you can confirm the motherboard you have supports overclocking!

Good point, I agree. Probably should list what MB you have OP. If you're not sure there are free tools like CPU-Z and HWMonitor that will show what brand and model it is. https://www.cpuid.com/