Question I need advice on upgrading my desktop PC ?

Shigiya · Oct 11, 2023

I have a HP Tampa2 motherboard with a i7-9700k and an RTX 2060 which I'm prepared to replace it with a RTX 3060 or higher.

I want to know if it is compatible or if I have to buy another motherboard and CPU ?

turtletarget111 · Oct 11, 2023

You will not need to upgrade your motherboard or CPU to upgrade your video card. Just be aware that if you go with a 3060 or higher your CPU will put a notable bottleneck on your video card. It's not the end of the world with the 3060, but a 3070 or higher will be held back by your CPU. Ideally, you want a CPU and GPU combo with less than a 5% bottleneck. For reference, a 9700K with a RTX 3060 will produce roughly a 6-7% bottleneck in GPU intensive tasks like gaming. Just to reiterate, you don't need to uprade your entire system for a 6% CPU bottleneck, it's just something to keep in mind if you opt for a higher end card. Hope this helped, take care.

Lucky_SLS · Oct 11, 2023

^ do you have some numbers to back up that claim?

i would say as long as the CPU is able to push 120 fps with a given gpu and game, dont worry about bottleneck. even 100fps would be within the G sync/Free sync range,

look at YouTube benchmarks for the games that you play for the 9700k.

care about bottleneck only if you play competitive and you are having 300fps and 10ms internet latency. for general gaming, its absolutely fine with G sync/ Free sync.

I would suggest looking at a 6750XT for long term 1080p gaming. 6650XT if you are short on cash.

go for 3060ti or 3070 only if you want ray tracing. but with those mid tier cards, even the ray tracing performance wont be that great.

Shigiya · Oct 11, 2023

turtletarget111 said:
You will not need to upgrade your motherboard or CPU to upgrade your video card. Just be aware that if you go with a 3060 or higher your CPU will put a notable bottleneck on your video card. It's not the end of the world with the 3060, but a 3070 or higher will be held back by your CPU. Ideally, you want a CPU and GPU combo with less than a 5% bottleneck. For reference, a 9700K with a RTX 3060 will produce roughly a 6-7% bottleneck in GPU intensive tasks like gaming. Just to reiterate, you don't need to uprade your entire system for a 6% CPU bottleneck, it's just something to keep in mind if you opt for a higher end card. Hope this helped, take care.

I just want to replace the RTX for now, will it cause any other problems for my other parts aside from the small one with the CPU?

The power supply that I am using is an 80 plus Bronze.

Shigiya · Oct 11, 2023

Lucky_SLS said:
^ do you have some numbers to back up that claim?

i would say as long as the CPU is able to push 120 fps with a given gpu and game, dont worry about bottleneck. even 100fps would be within the G sync/Free sync range,

look at YouTube benchmarks for the games that you play for the 9700k.

care about bottleneck only if you play competitive and you are having 300fps and 10ms internet latency. for general gaming, its absolutely fine with G sync/ Free sync.

I would suggest looking at a 6750XT for long term 1080p gaming. 6650XT if you are short on cash.

go for 3060ti or 3070 only if you want ray tracing. but with those mid tier cards, even the ray tracing performance wont be that great.

I just want to replace the RTX for now, will it cause any other problems for my other parts aside from the small one with the CPU?

The power supply that I am using is an 80 plus Bronze.

Shigiya · Oct 11, 2023

shanejoyce said:
Your existing i7-9700K should not bottleneck an RTX 3060 or higher, as it's a capable processor. if you're considering a significantly more powerful GPU, it's essential to ensure that your CPU can keep up with the GPU's performance to avoid potential bottlenecks in demanding applications or games.

I just want to replace the RTX for now, will it cause any other problems for my other parts aside from the small one with the CPU?

The power supply that I am using is an 80 plus Bronze.