[SOLVED] I would like to upgrade my PC but dont know how

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Maltee

Apr 7, 2021
6
1
15
Hey i have been thinking of upgrading my pc for a while now. Mainly to play video games with smoother fps and run programs faster. But i have no idea what is a good option for a good price. Therefore i am asking for some advice from more expereinced people.

Its a prebuild from Corsair but i upgraded my graphics card from a GTX760

For CPU im running an Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz
I have 16GB of ram (2 sticks)
For graphics card i use a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. I also have 60hz monitor right now wich i will be upgrading for sure.
Dont know if power supply is neccesary but i have a Corsair CX500M.
Also i run 2 SSD's. One 250GB with my system and other software and then a 1TB where i keep all games.

Would love to hear your opinions and potential suggestions about what would be smart to upgrade. Also if you need any more information please let me know :) Thanks!
 
Solution
geofelt
Most games, particularly fast action games are limited by the graphics card.
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.

If you find that graphics is your limiter, you are out of luck.
Good graphics card upgrades are way overpriced at more than 2x MSRP, and largely unavailable.

The cpu issue is much more reasonably solved.
Your i5-4460 has 4 threads and a passmark rating of 4814. That is when all 4 threads are 100% busy.
The single thread rating is 1898. Single thread performance...
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Quanticriver

Quanticriver

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Jul 1, 2017
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Maltee said:
Hey i have been thinking of upgrading my pc for a while now. Mainly to play video games with smoother fps and run programs faster. But i have no idea what is a good option for a good price. Therefore i am asking for some advice from more expereinced people.

Its a prebuild from Corsair but i upgraded my graphics card from a GTX760

For CPU im running an Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz
I have 16GB of ram (2 sticks)
For graphics card i use a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. I also have 60hz monitor right now wich i will be upgrading for sure.
Dont know if power supply is neccesary but i have a Corsair CX500M.
Also i run 2 SSD's. One 250GB with my system and other software and then a 1TB where i keep all games.

Would love to hear your opinions and potential suggestions about what would be smart to upgrade. Also if you need any more information please let me know :) Thanks!
Click to expand...
What kind of games would you want to play?

Also, can you give us an estimate on your budget?
 
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Quanticriver

Quanticriver

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Jul 1, 2017
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Maltee said:
I play mainly shooters. Arma 3, Squad, CSGO and a bit of Rust

My budget would be around 300-400 EUR
Click to expand...

What you can re-use:

SSD's / GPU / PSU

What i would get new:
MOBO / CPU / RAM

Case is a maybe, but given that it's a prebuilt i would guess it's better to get a new one
maybe post a pic or tell us the brand/name of the case

personally i'd go intel on this one (gaming)

look for a i5 10th gen (whichever you feel fits your budget)

i'd recommend getting an aftermarket cooler, something like a bequiet pure rock slim or similar

for mobo i'd go with gigabyte z490 vision G (very good for the money)

for ram i'd go with a 16gb 3000 mhz kit, not really much use in getting faster speeds on intel (but possible, again per your preference)
look for corsair for value

alternatively you can make a new post with a title like "need help upgrading my system"
ppl love threads like those, you will get a lot of answers there

just be sure to mention which components you will keep and what you need
 
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M

Maltee

Apr 7, 2021
6
1
15
Also Arma 3 is my main game that i play. I know it takes more CPU than GPU. I might not have ny idea of what im talking about but isnt my GPU at a higher spec grade than my CPU? Meaning than its CPU bottleneck and that im not using all of my graphics card potential?
 
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Quanticriver

Quanticriver

Honorable
Jul 1, 2017
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Maltee said:
Also Arma 3 is my main game that i play. I know it takes more CPU than GPU. I might not have ny idea of what im talking about but isnt my GPU at a higher spec grade than my CPU? Meaning than its CPU bottleneck and that im not using all of my graphics card potential?
Click to expand...
Don't worry about bottlenecks too much, it's being overrated
as long as you don't go and combine very low end gear with high end the "bottleneck" is neglible

also, may i know what brand monitor/type you are using?
 
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M

Maltee

Apr 7, 2021
6
1
15
@Quanticriver

I have 2 monitors. My main is BenQ GL2460 and my second is a BenQ GL2450 (both are 60hz)

I will for sure be upgrading my main monitor to 144hz+ since there is no point running 100+ fps if youre stuck on 60hz monitor :)
 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
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Most games, particularly fast action games are limited by the graphics card.
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.

If you find that graphics is your limiter, you are out of luck.
Good graphics card upgrades are way overpriced at more than 2x MSRP, and largely unavailable.

The cpu issue is much more reasonably solved.
Your i5-4460 has 4 threads and a passmark rating of 4814. That is when all 4 threads are 100% busy.
The single thread rating is 1898. Single thread performance of the master thread is arguably the more important metric.
CSGO seems to be cpu limited and single threaded so far as I can tell.
You may be able to support an upgrade to an i7 on your motherboard, but that is not a big jump and is likely to be expensive.

An inexpensive upgrade might be a £120 I3-10100.
8 threads and a passmark rating of8949/2468.
Any lga1200 motherboard will do, as well as a 2 x 8gb ddr4 ram kit.
Intel does not depend on ram speed for performance.
A rough guess is that those 3 items could be had for £320 on amazon.uk
I3-10100 is a great budget gamer.
Here is a review:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i3-10100/15.html

A stronger upgrade would be a I5-10400 with 12 threads and a rating of 17629/3091.
They go for about £200.

Your psu is ok, the main power draw is from the graphics card which will not change.
 
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Solution
B

Bob.B

Splendid
Feb 8, 2021
6,915
1,115
24,140
Maltee said:
Hey i have been thinking of upgrading my pc for a while now. Mainly to play video games with smoother fps and run programs faster. But i have no idea what is a good option for a good price. Therefore i am asking for some advice from more expereinced people.

Its a prebuild from Corsair but i upgraded my graphics card from a GTX760

For CPU im running an Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz
I have 16GB of ram (2 sticks)
For graphics card i use a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. I also have 60hz monitor right now wich i will be upgrading for sure.
Dont know if power supply is neccesary but i have a Corsair CX500M.
Also i run 2 SSD's. One 250GB with my system and other software and then a 1TB where i keep all games.

Would love to hear your opinions and potential suggestions about what would be smart to upgrade. Also if you need any more information please let me know :) Thanks!
Click to expand...
Go cheap.
Get a can of compressed air and a small brush.
Give the innards a good cleaning.....heat sinks and fans extra clean.....give the psu a few shots of air from both directions.

Replace the bios battery.

Get the proper bios and drivers.
Check for firmware updates for the ssd's.

Uninstall unneeded stuff.
Run a pass of disk cleanup.....don't forget system files.
Make your startup group skinny.

So far your out about 10 bucks and a little time.
 
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A

alexbirdie

Respectable
Feb 20, 2020
524
112
2,340
fastest CPU for your MB is 4790k.

Suprisingly it seems to be still available.

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-Processor-BX80646I74790K/dp/B00KPRWAX8

But costs from about 250-300 $ or Euro seems a little bit high compared to modern CPUs with 4 cores and 8 threads( or even 6 cores with 12 threads).

But it is cheaper than getting new MB, new CPU and new DDR4-Ram. But if that makes sense for you ..... that's your decision alone.

I would not change to a overpriced 7 year-old and outdated CPU, but would get new hardware.
 
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