New PC build - Worth it? (4th to 8th Gen, DDR3 to DDR4)

Aug 27, 2018
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Hello.

I just did a budget about how much would it cost to upgrade my computer and I'd like to hear some opinions since I'm not sure the big investment will be worth it.

My current specs are:

- CPU i5 4690k @ 3.50Ghz
- RAM 8GB DDR3 @ 1866Mhz
- SSD 500GB Samsung Evo 840
- HDD 2TB Sata 3.0
- GPU GTX 970 Gigabyte Windforce
- PSU 1200W
- MOBO Asrock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer
- CASE Aerocool Xpredator

Some things are a bit of an overkill, I know. Specially because I'm not a big OC guy. Anyway, my PC just feels outdated and I wanted to do an upgrade. This is what I was planning to get:

- Thermaltake Gamer V200 case (not really necessary but the old case annoys me a lot)
- Gigabyte B360M Gaming HD Motherboard
- Intel Core i5-8400 2.8GHz (4.0GHz Turbo, LGA 1151, 9MB Cache)
- Kingston HyperX Fury Black Series 8GB DDR4 2400MHz (1x8GB)

These are the components with the best cost/benefit I could find available in my town. The whole upgrade will cost about 2.5k in my currency (or around $625). It's a big investment, so I was wondering if it's really worth it and if I'll get a decent boost in games and apps. My Windows 10 runs very smoothly so I'm not sure it's gonna change much. As for games, I was wondering if I should just get a new GPU using that money instead. But I feel like my PC is so outdated because I'm still at DDR3 and using a 4th gen CPU.

Thank you all in advance.
 
1. Can you define outdated other than 4th gen? Any sign of stuttering, what FPS do you get?
2. What cooler do you have?

On CPU speed:http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-8400-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4690K/3939vs2432

To me, almost zero value to do the upgrade if your major usage is gaming, extra 2 cores on 8400 may help some productivity/multitasking work.

I will probably just add ram to 16 gb and upgrade GPU. Clean case dust and reinstall OS.
 

Eximo

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I would say no at this time. You would get more gaming benefit from a faster GPU. Perhaps a GTX1070Ti or RTX 2070.

Step one, sell the 1200W PSU, way overkill, you could run 4 GPUs off that. Get something like a 550W.

Overclock the CPU. Should be relatively easy to reach 4.5Ghz+ with a decent CPU cooler.

You could try for 8GB more of memory, but it isn't strictly necessary.

I would hold out for the next process node shrink. 10nm. That should be about 18 months out. Possibly wait for PCIe 4.0 to be released.

Always going to be behind on something, best to pick your battles. (I upgraded from 4th gen to 7th gen solely for an NVMe SSD, a pointless expense, but I like having nothing in the drive bays)
 
I agree with Eximo. Your system is right at that point where you could upgrade but you don't really have to. If your're just into casual gaming and just want to maintain 60fps at 1080p, just upgrade the graphics card to a gtx 1060 6gb. The 1060 will give you better processing power and almost twice the amount of vram. It is a good time to pick one up due to the price drop from the 2000 series cards. However, if you must play triple A titles on ultra settings that are higher than 1080p resolutions, you'll have to go with your new system specifications, along with a gtx 1080 as a bare minimum.
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Thank you for your answer.

I do get a bit of stuttering on most games at an medium/high graphics level, but I'm not sure if it's related to that. Most of my parts are at least 4 years old by now, so I just feel like they've gone past their expiration date and could die at any time. Plus I'm still at DDR3 so it just feels like it's time to do an upgrade. But that could just be me being paranoid.

Maybe I should just try to OC my CPU and memories a bit. And the GPU as well, specially because I have the Windforce version. I'm just a bit insecure when it comes to OC'ing because I don't want to overheat and further degrade my PC parts.

I'm using this cooler: https://www.pcyes.game/zero-k-z5/. I got it after I realized I was hitting over 80ºC CPU temperature in the summer while gaming using Intel's stock cooler.

I was also thinking about going for 16GB. You think it will give me a decent boost in gaming?
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Thank you for your answer.

That's what I was thinking. Sounds like a new GPU would be a better use of my money. I'll check out some info here on the site and go for the OC. I used to have my old FX8350 at 4.5Ghz, but then I got this i5 and never came around to OC it. It's all on me because I have a ton of fans and a good mobo to run the OC but somehow never got around to doing it. I have one of these coolers (https://www.pcyes.game/zero-k-z5/), so I should fine at 4.5Ghz. I'll run some tests.

About the PSU, I got it a while ago. It was on sale for quite a decent price and I just thought "screw it, it's best to be prepared in case I ever do a SLI or Crossfire". And I did used to have a HD7970 crossfire at one point. But it was still overkill, I know. I didn't know much about PC's back then as I do now.

Thanks again. You're right, we'll always be behind in one way or another. It's of no use spending a lot of money now when they're just about to release yet a new generation of something.
 

maxalge

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find a used 4790k

upgrade to 16gb of ram

put the rest of the money into the best gpu you can get


skip upgrading platform for a gen or two
 

engineer5261

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That's a decent amount of money to spend and your gaming performance will not increase much at all. Few Fps on cpu heavy games, your current cpu is plenty strong for gaming. Ddr3 vs ddr4 I didn't feel a big difference in games but you may want to add on another 8 gb of Ddr3 - beware as unmatched ram is not guaranteed to work together. For a massive massive boost in gaming performance and fps upgrade your 970 with a 1080 or 1070 - these have come down in price.
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Thank you for your answer.

Yeah, I'm just a casual gamer. Right now I'm mainly into R6. I'm not a really big graphics guy, all I care about is not experiencing any lag. Of course that the general quality of the textures matter a lot to me, but I'm not gonna be mad just because the reflex of the shadow has a bit of aliasing. I would like to get R6 at 120fps or so, as I've seen most of the gamers reach. All that a decent quality, which for me is high (as opposed to very high or ultra).
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Thank you all for your replies. I'll look into getting a 1060 or even a 1080 and going for 16GB RAM. Meanwhile I'll also OC my CPU to 4.5Ghz and see how high I can raise the RAM's frequency.
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Exactly. That's what I was afraid of. My components are already old, so I don't wanna push too much. I'll go for a decent OC, nothing too crazy.
 

Karadjgne

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Average lifespan for a cpu is well over 20+ years. By keeping an intel cpu under 70° for normal usage, that won't significantly change. The biggest killer of cpus isn't heat, it's voltage, more specifically vcore and associated ring voltages etc so when overclocking, maintaining a vcore as far below maximum is always recommended.
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Thanks! I'll keep an eye on it.
 

engineer5261

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Voltage causes the current flow which causes the heat buildup - in the end it is the heat that damages the transistors
 

engineer5261

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1060 will not be a very meaningful upgrade over a 970 - I would hold out for a 1070 at least.
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Bit of an off-topic question here, but I was just trying to OC my CPU at 4.5Ghz with a 1.4V Core, and my CPU temperature kept oscillating between 85 and 100 under the stress test. It peaks at 100ºC a lot. Is this safe? It's a very cold day today, so I'm a bit jumpy about it. Maybe I should lower it to 4.4Ghz or less.
 

Karadjgne

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You can get enough cooling capacity on a Haswell to keep it under 100 at 1.3+v, it's the voltage that degrades the silicon causing tx death, bleed etc. Of course you are right that any cpu undercooled is going to suffer from heat deterioration, but not nearly as fast as an over-volted cpu.
 

engineer5261

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That's really hot. With that i5 you would not want to exceed 85 deg C under full load. Thermal throttling happens at 100 deg C. Check your temps during gaming.
 
Aug 27, 2018
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Yeah, it does seem way too high. I think something is off with the cooler. I'm getting a new case anyway (think I'll go for a Thermaltake View 31) and I when I install it, I'll get a better quality thermal paste to re-do the fan installation.