[SOLVED] Is my PC low/mid/high end? What parts should I upgrade (mainly for gaming)

[sh6xy]

Hey, I was wondering if the current PC I have is either a low/mid/high end desktop and would like to know some of your opinions on what parts you think I should upgrade for upcoming games at the moment. I mostly use my computer for gaming and sometimes to watch youtube/netflix. Most of the titles that I play now can run smoothly and with not many issues, however for newer games I believe there could be an issue. Also, which parts that you suggest should I upgrade first?

PC specifications:

CPU: I5 7600K (OC to 4.8GHz)
GPU: Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 1060 6GB (OC Core clock +120MHz & Memory clock +500MHz)
RAM: 16GB (8x2) Vengeance RGB Pro 3000MHz CL15
MOBO: Gigabyte Z270X Ultra Gaming
CPU COOLER: Deepcool Castle 360 RGB v2
SSD 1: Crucial BX300 120GB (Boot drive stored with windows and applications I use the most)
SSD 2: Crucial MX500 1TB (For games only)
PSU: Cronus 600W (80 Plus Bronze)
CASE: Phanteks P400A DRGB



Kind regards!

 

[SkyNetRising]

Is my PC low/mid/high end?

Upper mid-range. It doesn't quite reach high-end.

 

[tennis2]

Low side of mid by current gen standards.

I'd say your GPU is the first upgrade candidate. But I wouldn't recommend upgrading anything until there's performance you're not satisfied with. Sounds like you're happy with it still.

 

[sizzling]

I’d say low. Quad core/thread is the bare minimum for gaming these days and some game will run poorly. PSU is poor quality and needs changing before anything else. The 1060 6GB is decent for 1080p 60Hz gaming.

 

[cryoburner]

I would describe it more as Tennis did, "lower mid-range". It's arguably still decent for running most new releases with decent frame rates at 1080p with reasonable settings though.

CPU-wise, four-threaded processors have become lower-end parts at this point, and even the next Core i3 and Ryzen 3 CPUs will offer 4-cores with 8-threads, much like an i7 from your processor's generation, albeit at somewhat lower clock rates. Per-core performance hasn't improved much though, and your processor is clocked relatively high, so games that are not heavily threaded should still run rather well on that CPU. You might see somewhat less stable performance in certain titles, but practically all modern games should be playable, at the very least. It's probably worth looking into a CPU/motherboard upgrade eventually, but you likely wouldn't notice substantial performance gains in most current titles. More games will likely want additional threads once they start targeted the next consoles though, and the current mid-range is already moving on to 6-cores with 12-threads at this point.

Graphics cards tend to affect gaming performance more, at least if you want to run games with the settings turned up. That graphics card is still about on par with a $160-$200 1650 SUPER, but the cards now available in its original ~$250-$300 price bracket are upward of 40% faster. If you are running a 1440p and/or 144Hz screen, or really want to run the latest games at ultra quality settings, it might be worth looking at a new card, though on a 1080p screen you could probably hold out at least until the next generation of graphics cards launch, which is expected to be later in the year. Those will probably offer things like improved raytracing performance across the lineup, compared to the current models, in addition to more general performance across the lineup. Again, it might be expected that the demands of new games may climb over the next couple years as they start targeting the new consoles launching later this year.

And the PSU does sound rather generic, but if the system seems to be running well enough with it, it's probably not worth swapping for a better quality unit until you start upgrading other hardware.